Author: birminghamreview

Posted on

Reflections Of A Baby Gay At Birmingham Pride’s 25th Anniversary 23-25 September

Writer Laura Mills / Photographer Maddie Cottam-Allan


 
Now for me, this is my first Pride festival so I really went into it not exactly sure what to expect, but with open eyes awaiting the celebration to be loud and proud.

Walking around the city centre of Brum I see Pride flags all over, the streets are packed but the atmosphere is great as everyone heads down into the Gay Village. Once I’m down there it’s just packed with colour and life.

It’s a sea of people everywhere but every single person looks so happy – like pure happiness and joy across everyone’s faces. Even when they’re queuing for wristbands or drinks, it doesn’t seem to have dampened their spirits.


 
As I’m walking down the parade it’s weird, I don’t think I’ve ever had a feeling like this before, a feeling of complete belonging surrounded by people who don’t quite fit the boxes we’ve been socialised into. It’s not just belonging, I feel safe – completely and utterly safe.

Finally making the way through the parade, I turn the corner to Smithfield Live. Walking through the security I notice loads of posters talking about Pride with ‘BAB’ on giving it that signature Birmingham style.


 
Entering the main bit of the festival there’s music pumping, people all over dressed in bright colours, rainbows, big hair. People from every walk of life including couples and families.

I see Drag Queens everywhere I turn, and they all slay; they all look fabulous but also very unique too.


 
The busyness, hustle and bustle of day-to-day life appears to have drifted out of me the second I entered the arena. From here on out it’s parties and celebrations, smiles, and sunshine.

It’s so rare to walk through anywhere freely and without judgement, but that’s exactly how Pride felt for me.


 
For more from Birmingham Pride go to: www.birminghampride.com

Posted on

Birmingham Pride 2022: Celebrating 25 Years Of Pride Party & Protest

Writer Jasmine Khan / Photographer Maddie Cottom-Allan


 
I’m wearing all black to this year’s Birmingham Pride which marks “25 years of pride & protest” across our fair city. As fishy queens, fat queens, disabled queens, melanated queens, and ENBY queens from MOBILISE lead the charge, lathered in carnival technicolour like birds of paradise, I feel a bit like a sad crow.

However, then comes the Poundland float – amongst a number of other irrelevant corporations – and my outfit is suddenly fitting. Companies that don’t mention queerness outside of Pride month do seem to saturate our street parade, one of the few free events still available to queer Brummies across the weekend.

To paraphrase LIL BAB, why are we giving these organisations the space to be performative allies? Maybe that’s why most of my friends don’t come to Pride anymore.


 
The parade still moves me to tears (although that could be the post pre-Pride hangxiety) and it is important to mention that not every float is a thrusting rainbow capitalist dildo on wheels. There are kids sitting on their parent’s shoulders wrapped up in Pride flags, leather daddies, dog masks, queer joy, and some serious top energy about the place.

Unsurprising, considering Brum is fresh off the back of a double UK Drag Race win on last Thursday’s Season 4 premiere, courtesy of the iconic Black Peppa.

Photographer Maddie and I hit up the Community Stage first because that’s what we’re about at BR (spoiler alert, Maddie will have a serious allergic reaction on Sunday morning and won’t be able to shoot on day two). Alas, for now the Community Stage and Maddie are prepped and popping off with the provocative nature of everyone’s outfits in fierce competition.


 
I’m just in time for dancers/performers Rajan Das, Emily, and Joey Taylor. It might be drizzling outside, but it just got steamy in here. With a combination of hip hop, ballet, and ballroom choreography (you know which one) these immaculately dressed queers evoke “ooos” and “ahhs” galore, as well as plenty of supportive screams from yours truly.

Rajan says: “It’s such a crazy and wild time. It is pretty manic, but I love performing and dancing so it’s quite the dream to be performing during a festival that truly means a lot to me.”


 
Next up, it’s Blü Romantic who I will continue to claim is Joe Lycett dressed-up as Freddie Mercury, crossed with a Smurf. They are pretty sassy about their reception as they take the stage, repeatedly demanding more and more applause. Then, sass melts into song.

Blü Romantic might be a tad show girl, but they’re not too shabby.


 
Head over to Smithfield Live, and one of the sponsors GAYDIO (brilliant name) is heavily present in the dance tent. This space is fuller than I’d expect for the middle of the day and there’s plenty of bump and grind to go around, thanks to Gay Garage and Mix-Stresss.

No one’s tried to dance with me yet, so it might be time to lose the abya and show off my new harness and sports bra combo.

As I leave tent number one and take a wander through the arena space, I can’t keep my eyes still. It’s Willy Wonker’s chocolate factory but with more dicks. Every kind of sweet is available along with tacos, pizza, fans, flags, and obviously plenty of bars.


 
That being said, I know Sober Pride is currently underway for those queers who want a more chill way to celebrate.

Once I’ve made my way through the various stalls and bars, I get to the heart of Pride – the main stage. The main stage isn’t as busy as the dance tent, but for me it’s truly astounding to hear the sound of queer Bollywood as the bouncers – who are delightful all day – let Maddie and I into the VIP section, which spans the entire width of the stage and goes back about 10 meters.

I’m not sure the platinum gays needed this much space, and the set ups really stunting the community vibes, as well as spreading the crowd thin.


 
Regardless, HUNGAMA’s set is an explosion of colour and the perfect balance between traditional and modern South Asian music, art, and dance, wrapped up in the most to die for sarees.

Every Asian person in the audience is taking the opportunity to strut their stuff a little, and a murder of drag queens stand off to the right drooling at the Bollywood drama on stage.


 
Led by BBC Three host Ryan Lanji, whose relentless energy and emotion fills the currently sparse VIP area, Bolly-Illusion, Miss Tikka, and several other incredible artists whose names I cannot find for the life of me, steal my soul for a minute.

As I twist my heels and wrists, twirling around in the unbuttoned abya my cousin gave me for Eid, I think about how blessed I am to have come out to my dad this year. Then how much trouble I’d be in if he saw what I was wearing (or indeed not wearing) under my abya.

There are still so many South Asian and POC communities that don’t feel like they fit in at Pride. Ensuring collectives like HUNGAMA take centre stage is key and makes a real difference.


 
Switching it up, I pop over to the Conrad Guest Cabaret Stage that’s seemingly dripping in (who would have guessed it?) more queens. One of them is on stage in velvet blue, cinched at the waist.

Miss Lola Lasagna is singing ABBA flapping a fan that says ‘FUCK THE TORIES’, which shouldn’t be hard with the Conservative conference round the corner… but it’s not for me.

Miss Lola Lasagna is a bit of me. Even though she’s a smidge fromage, she’s everything you’d want from classic, comedic, interactive drag.


 
Back to the dance tent and it is old skool garage banger after old skool garage banger with DJ Luck & MC Neat. There’s a migraine skank challenge which results in four people getting up on stage, although I’m pretty sure only three were invited.

MC Neat refuses to call a winner, though we all know who it is. Then there are kids and what I think are peacock inspired balloons on the stage.

It’s getting a bit ridiculous, but I don’t think I’ll be leaving this tent for some time – there’s too much arse shaking and finger guns.


 
It’s only 7pm and I’ve still got plenty of glitter in the heels of my DMs, looking around and taking in the entirety of the spread, I’m slightly more understanding about why you might need to take out a mortgage to get into the main weekend Pride events (not that I did).

It’s not just Pride, it’s Pride the Festival and a testament to how far we’ve come. While there isn’t much protest, we’re partying in peace, and perhaps that’s a protest in itself.


 
Back to the Cabaret Stage and I’m thrilled to be welcomed yet again by locals Rajan and Emily, this time supporting the tantalising Miss Kenya Knott. The raw energy coming for this trio is immense as they cover classic Beyoncé tracks like ‘Summer Renaissance’.

Even with Beyoncé’s spiritual presence in the tent, it’s still a tie over who’s the biggest and baddest queen up on stage. Miss Knott, Emily, and Rajan all throw it back, bend it over, snap it, and dust it off as the crowd eats up every crumb. Hunny! We. Are. Obsessed.

At 10:30pm (9 ½ hours since I arrived) our long awaited headliner Becky Hill comes to the main stage.


 
Taking a power stance right at the front of the stage, her affirmative voice rings out through the crowd accompanied by bass, confetti, and the odd firework. In a full sequin suit she’s definitely dressed for her audience and as Maddie turns to me smiling, neither of us have got a clue about the journalistic challenges we’ll face on day two.

Still, what a stunning first day at Pride it has been.

Birmingham Pride 2002 – Saturday 24 September / Maddie Cottam-Allan

For more from Birmingham Pride go to: www.birminghampride.com 

For more from Fatt Projects and MOBALISE go to: www.fattprojects.org
For more from Rajan Das go to: www.uk.linkedin.com/in/rajan-das
For more from Emily go to: www.instagram.com/emlayting
For more from Joey Taylor go to: www.instagram.com/joeyalantaylor
For more from Blü Romantic go to: www.instagram.com/bluromantic
For more from Gay Garage go to: www.outsavvy.com/gay-garage
For more from Mix-Stresss go to: www.soundcloud.com/rebz-1
For more from Sober Pride go to: www.solcafebrum/sober-pride-is-coming/
For more from HUNGAMA go to: www.outsavvy.com/organiser/hungama
For more from Ryan Lanji go to: www.ryanlanji.com
For more from Miss Tikka go to: www.instagram.com/saya_tikka
For more from Bolly-Illusion go to: www.outsavvy.com/organiser/bolly-illusion
For more from Lola Lasagne go to: www.twitter.com/misslolalasagne
For more from DJ Luck & MC Neat go to: www.djluckandmcneat.com
For more from Miss Kenya Knott go to: www.instagram.com/misskenyaknott
For more from Becky Hill go to: www.beckyhill.com

Posted on

Discovering Kantha Kathak-K With Amina Khayyam At Birmingham Hippodrome 20/09/2022

Writer Jasmine Khan / Photographer Simon Richardson


 
Before her dance company’s performance of Kantha Kathak-K at the Hippodrome on the evening of 20 September, Amina Khayyam took the time to answer a few questions about her personal relationship with kathak and the journey that led to her dance company’s performances here in Birmingham.

For those who don’t know, which included me before seeing the dance company’s moving and deeply elegant performance of Kantha Kathak-K, kantha is a type of embroidery craft originally made from recycled materials and founded in Bangladesh and eastern regions of India. Its namesake pertains to the aesthetic style of stitching used to make everything from saris to quilts.

Kathak is a story-telling style of dance and one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance.


 
“We are telling a story, not just dancing, and do so in character, so character development within the story we tell and their exploration of the theme matters,” explains Amina, “each performer has their own methodology of how they prepare for a show – and they go through that before the show.”

Amina begins, “I first encountered Kathak as a teenager, watching dancers like Nahi Siddiqui and fell in love with it, so I started learning intensely.”

Amina first started dancing with Alpana Sengupta in Croydon. She then progressed to a professional level with Sushmita Ghosh at The Bhavan (London) under whom Amina also made her professional debut at the Purcell Room, Southbank. She is estimated to have performed over 1000 times wearing kathak costumes.

And it’s not Amina’s first performance in Birmingham.


 
“We’ve been to Birmingham several times performing our previous shows at the mac,” she explains, “this is the first time at the Hippodrome – we are always in Birmingham for workshops with a number of women’s groups.”

Indeed, one of these workshops is a significant inspiration for Amina’s recent performances – the Kathna made by local groups of South Asian women which will be hung as part of the performances.

In Birmingham, the kantha were created in association with Ashiana Community Project and Birmingham Settlement. But the project was initially developed with over 638 women in Luton, Woking, Slough, Brighton, Birmingham, Leeds, and London, who told their stories and engaged with their experiences of Covid-19 lockdowns during October 2020 to March 2021.

Amina says: “It was as expected that they (the women) readily jumped into Kantha – it was an activity that they found intensely pleasurable and yet cathartic to the environments of covid lockdowns.”


 
She continues: “Despite the lockdown being a standstill period  it was busy for us – managing and engaging in activity in about six WhatsApp groups up and down the country. The WhatsApp groups were amazing – in the way they created engagement with each other – how participants reviewed each other’s work and shared and discussed their stories.

“This is not entirely a mental health issue project,” Amina explains, “but one of the stories originates from that. Just before this project we had completed The Hum in My Heart which explored mental health in communities that do not acknowledge it, so the topic was fresh in our awareness.

“All the kantha from Birmingham are part of the display at the Hippodrome around which we have created dance from a select six stories that have a common theme of loneliness, anxiety, fear, death, and hope.”

As I enter the Patrick Studio at the Hippodrome (after grabbing a tasty combination of vanilla and salted caramel ice cream) it’s dressed with the aforementioned kantha. I don’t get much of a chance to decipher the various messages and daintily stitched artwork, but they fill the space from the ceiling to the floor, creating small rooms adjacent to the seating.


 
Aunties continue to file in late, as is to be expected, but Amina gets underway introducing herself, her company, and the embroidery. All the dancers have bells on their feet and are wearing modest dresses with flowing skirts also donning lockdown inspired kantha created by the aunties whose chatter hushes as the music begins.

The score is Borodin’s ‘Nocturne’, specially adapted by Jonathan Mayer to Indian instrumentation and immediately I’m pulled into the unique atmosphere created by traditional Indian scales and time signatures. The tabla rhythm is particularly prominent emphasised by the dances nimble stomping.

Amina is accompanied by three performers who, in the first movement of the dance, all float about the room, winding their arms with poised fingers plucking flowers, seemingly, open and closing books. The use of synchronicity implies a sense of community and togetherness charmingly expressed through the company’s effeminate movements.

All the while, the dancers softly stop and spin on their heels adding to the rhythm of the music.

Slowly the atmosphere changes and a singer’s voice joins the instrumentalist, releasing a dynamic, graceful, chilling note. A lone dancer slams a chair on the floor, over and over again in different positions around the makeshift kantha rooms.

This is the lockdown I remember.

Part of the artistry of the Amina Dance Company is the way their faces as well as their movements tell the story. I can feel the frustration, the isolation and desperation with each erratic movement made by the dancer as she physicalises the experiences of women in lockdown hanging around her.

The anxiety and fear are clear on her face as she pushes against the makeshift walls and I’m moved to remember my own and the way it felt like Covid might never end, like we might never be able to talk to people face to face and hold our family again.


 
Amina’s repetitive spinning solo, which exemplifies classic footwork at an impeccable standard, seems to express something deeper. Her facial expression isn’t easily visible due to the dim lighting and constant movement, but it is one of terror enhanced by the shadows cast about by her chopping arm movements.

Death and domestic violence are mentioned as one of the key lockdown experiences that came out of the WhatsApp groups made up of the women who inspired Kantha Kathak-K.

6.9% of all women aged 16 to 74 were a victim of domestic abuse once or more in the last year. It also found that 3.4% of women aged 16 to 74 who were born in any of the selected South Asian countries were a victim of domestic abuse.

Considering this, Amina’s kathak is haunting and precise, as well as distinguished and effortlessly beautiful. 


 
For more from The Amina Dance Company see www.aminakhayyamdance.co.uk/touring and look out for Bibi Rukiya’s Reckless Daughter which will be coming to Birmingham in spring.

Posted on

Night Beats With Support From You Said Strange At Hare & Hounds 18/09/22

Writer Mark Roberts / Photographer Connor Pope


 
As I walk into the Hare and Hounds on Sunday evening, I am disappointed to see I am the third person to enter, but it’s unsurprising considering the Queen’s funeral is tomorrow and the country is in mass grief.

After saying hi to Brummie staple Mazzy Snape, one half of Side Step 9 who are DJing in between acts at this event (and pumping out some pure bangers might I add), I wait with anticipation for You Said Strange.

The band comes dressed in broody dark clothes, opening the night with some big dreamy psych riffs. The tones from the guitars and the bass are spot on and the psychedelic harmonies are pitch perfect. These Normandy lads are playing exceptionally well, which is a shame because the audience feels thin and a mile away.


 
The lead singer’s hair flops about his face, whilst the bassist sways backwards and forwards. The other guitarist, seemingly in a trance, provides atmospherics.

The songs undulate between various styles, large walls of noise pierce through the room before falling into groove after groove. Not a note seems out of place, the big blooming chords fading into angular rhythms, descending into ghostly noise. Every aspect of sound has been carefully curated here and it’s as tight as pushing a marshmallow through a keyhole.

The aesthetic of the band juxtaposes with the psychedelic genre; this is psychedelia with post-punk characteristics. This is psych going in a new direction. The bassist thanks the crowd for being there, which has by now filled out somewhat, the humility in the words is honest and reflective.

These Normandy lads are very happy to be touring the UK.

On the last song, the chords give way to a cacophony of noise, a guitar stuttering in time, reverberations colliding off every wall before coming back to a groove and finishing on another soundscape. Which continues as You Said Strange walks off stage.


 
Night Beats come on shortly after and the first thing of note is that the lead singer’s hat is ridiculously cool. In fact, all of the members look super cool, as if they were born in a spaghetti western – and some of their songs sound like it too (or am I just reading too much into the bolero hat?).

The sound starts off rough, and clearly Night Beats know because they are near constantly requesting adjustments to their monitors between songs. About half way through the set the sound becomes clearer, which is nice. I really like hearing the vocalist.

The guitar snaps around with spring reverb on it, giving it that space-shotgun effect, the bassist glides up and down the neck and the drummer holds it together with true precision.

This is classic psychedelia, blues drenched and sun-kissed. I am transported to a place where cowboys are breaking through the fourth wall, the solos are stunning, full of personality, the tones are iconic and fitting, and the pace of the band is ballsy.


 
The drums are close to the ground, I don’t quite understand how they can be that low, surely the drummer is sitting on the floor at this point, and yet his beats are fat and timely. They push the music through the speakers, allowing it to run along with the tunes.

Night Beats feel somewhat revivalist in their approach and normally I have a bit of an issue with bands that sound like they could be from another era, but Night Beats are so effective at what they do, so sonically perfect, I just can’t fault it.

As the night finishes, I think to myself how amazing a gig this was considering that it was less than half full.

I hope to see both bands in the future; You Said Strange are going places, and Night Beats are a tour du force. A bunch of Kings to make you less upset about the Queen.


 
For more music from Night Beats go to: www.thenightbeats.us

For more music from You Said Strange go to: www.you-said-strange.com
For more music from Side Step 9 go to: www.instagram.com/sidestep9

For more gigs at the Hare and Hounds Kings Heath go to: www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk