GLASGAY!
SIMPLY
IIVINE
His regular slot on Comedy Nation and cameo role in Velvet Goldmine barely hint at what THE DIVINE DAVID can get up to on stage. The avant-garde superstar brings GLASGAY! to a glorious end - but not
before we've listed all the .
other events at Glagsow's gay and lesbian festival. ‘.‘-.'<:'<:s: Rory Weller
THIS IS WHAT BLACKPOOL DOES TO YOU. The ghosts of Victorian variety acts. a rusty phallic edifice thrusting above a circus. fortune in a booth and glamour painted tip and pouting out. The Divine David was born here during a cabaret show at The Vinyl Drip (‘|ub. and some time before. in a more salubrious place. so was David Hoyle.
‘lt‘s hard not to be inspired and affected by a place like Blackpool.‘ says David/Hoyle. the stellar superstar of avant-garde. ‘I actually thought the song “We’re haying a gang bang" was the national anthem until I was eleven.‘
David worked as a Blackpool BHS shop assistant for nine years: menswear and shoes. observing and interacting. At night he performed in cabaret. honing the character that would become The Divine David. which would let him escape the heady world of fashion retailing. move to Manchester and perform professionally. Shows at the l(‘.r\. Albany. 'l‘ramway'
and his own club nights helped create The Divine
David as the continually evolving neo-variety. dem- agogue dandy he is now.
You might have seen him recently as the laconic. sound-bite aristo-punk on BBC‘Z‘s ('(miet/y' Nation or in a small but pivotal role in li'li'ei (in/(lliiiite. llis act is not one you easily forget: drenched in bathos. unsettling. existential and — hell. yes —- downright weird.
David has just finished filming his own six-part show for ('hannel 4. which they want to call The Divine David Slum". but he‘s happier with the working title of 'Ii'rrm'i'isi'mi. which sci/cs the essence of what he does so much more. For someone who has almost always been self-directed. it seems curious he has embraced such a platform
20 THE LIST 3: '9 ‘.:;. ‘998
'I actually thought the song "We're having a gang bang" was the national anthem until I was eleven.’ The Divine David
r ’-
The Divine David: a man without piers
for his monologues and performances.
‘Working in television there is quite a substantial amount of collaboration] he explains. 'You work with a team of people and you open yourself tip: like a fig being wrenched apart. The climate is right for the character to develop and grow. which is why I'm moving onto television. With the 2()th century being in its death throes. new modes of expression should be encouraged to get away from banality. I don’t like the idea that people's intelligence is con— stantly being insulted. and that everything has to be so sickenineg anodyne.‘
Where The Divine David is really allowed to experiment is in the club/cabaret environment. He was host at the Paradise Factory in Manchester for two years. and his own club nights in London are said to have a ‘near religious foilow'ing’. With the show he is specially devising for Love Boutique featuring The Divine David. Jay (‘loth (nursing assistant) and Father (‘loth (sound) —s he hopes to present an ‘unpalatable antidote to the (ilasgayl fes- tival’. l~le loathes the idea of gay and straight. and loves the idea of human beings. and human spirit.
‘1 don‘t think what people do with their toilet parts really constitutes the backbone of a person‘s identity.‘ he says. glad to be given the chance to address the Glasgow genitalia issue. The show. he promises tis. will contain a healthy dollop of ambi- guity. lasting the whole evening. with a few costume changes too. ()oh. it’s just like the summer season at the end of the pier.
The Divine David performs live at Love Boutique, The Arches, Glasgow, Sat 7 Nov. Comedy Nation is currently on BBC2 on Fridays, and Terrorvision will air on Channel 4 from early Dec.
INFORMATION
Glasgay! runs until Sun 8 Nov. (ilasgayf is based at IS Albion Street. 3nd floor. (ilasgow. (il IL“. [:01' a programme. call (II-ll 4()() ()30]. .-\ cafe bar. offering special menus and prices. w ill be operating throughout the festiyal at the (ilasgow (lay and Lesbian ('entre. l l Dixon Street (-100 I008) from I lam midnight
t l lam l lpm on Suns). .-\lso. watch out for special pub and club events. Listings compiled by Miles liielder.
THURSDAY 5
The Gordon's Gallery 34 Albion Street. I lam 7pm. l-"ree. .\'ew gay
\ isual arts space created for (ilasgayl and housing five exhibitions illustrating different aspects of being gay now and through the ages: Born .-lii'kii'm'(/. lint/y l’nsilii't'. (iwierulimis ()t'l’erset‘ulimi. Space and Lore. ()pen forum at 5pm on Bur/y" I’m/live, two photographic exhibitions: an essay about the HIV sufferer care group. lioodlinc. and a collection by the Body Positive group. Dark Victory (ilasgow l-‘ilm Theatre. I: Rose Street. 332 8128. (1.15pm. £4.35 (U I. Bette Dax is on top form as the petulant Long Island heiress w ho learns she has only months to liye. Little Pink Pictures (ilasgow Him and Video Workshop. 3-1 .-\lbion Street. 7pm. l’i‘ee. World premiere of new gay short liltits: l);i\id Kittloch's [in]. l.otltsc Lockwood's Hnmn Hman and Robin Mitchell's Dream (In .llurmr' Buy. l‘ollowcd by a talk with tilnuiiakers Dianne Barry. Lucinda Broadbent and Stuart Brown.
Edward II Raiiishorn Theatre. 08 Ingram Street. 7.30pm. £7 tUi from 387 55] l. Radical reworking of (‘hristpher Marlowe's homoerotic |7th century stage drama.
Fingerlicks The Arches. Midland Street. 7.3!) pm. Hi (Hi from 221 400]. l’tissy -lo\ ing. bike-riding. guitar-
play ing. tingcrlicking stories from
d} ls‘cs. sisters and loxct's. dey ised and performed by lesbians living in (ilasgow.
The Dyke & The Porn Star The Arches. Midland Street. 0.30pm. £6 (Hi from 231 4001. Direct from the Sydney .\lardi (iras. a sexually explicit drama about a young butch dy ke's obsession with a top porn star.
Caberet Sauvignon Ramshorn 'I‘heaire. US Ingram Street. I lpm. £5 (£3.50) from 287 55! I. \‘intage songs. poetry and fiction from the dry w it of Robyn Archer. \ ia the palate of .\'oel ('oward.
FRIDAY 6
The Gordon's Gallery 34 Albion SII'L'L‘I. l lttltt 7pm. l’rec. SL‘L‘ Thu 5. Majorettes In Space (ilasgow t-‘ilm 'l‘lIL‘ttll'L‘. l3 Ruse SII‘L‘L‘I. 332 8128. 3pm. £3.35 (£3 I. Award-w inning collection of the lilIIIs about 1:11} tlL‘stt'L'.
Just Good Friends (‘ouri Senate Suite. l'nixersiiy of Strathclydc. Richmond Street. 5.]5pm. l-‘ree. Bishop Richard Holloway and Dr liIi/abeth Stuart. adyocates of gay and lesbian rights within the church. disctiss the concept of marriage.
Grand Reading “'ttlct'stottcs. l5: l5“ Sauchiehall Street. 332 UNIS. 7pm. [I if! I. Writing hot off the press by new and experienced \oiccs. hosted by (ilasgay? w ritcrs-iii-residence limma Doiioghue (SI/r I-'rv. l/mul. lx'i'ume 'l’lit' llT/(‘lll and .lulia Darling (If/mul/mm. ('rmmll/e Sou/i). Throughout the week. Donoghue will give workshops for experienced gay atid lesbian writers.
w hilc Darling w ill cater for new writers. Work produced in the workshops w ill by featured at the (irand Reading.