LGBT
LGBT list.co.uk/lgbt
Events are listed by city, then by type. Submit listings at least 14 days before publication to lgbt@list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Kirstyn Smith.
GLASGOW
Activities & Events FREE T-Time Sat 3 Jan, 1–4pm. Albany Learning and Conference Centre, 44 Ashley Street, Woodlands, 332 2444. Informal event for transgender people and their partners, family and friends. TYCI’s Christmas All-Dayer Sat 20 Dec, 12.30pm. £3 for a day ticket; £10 for an evening ticket; £12 for an all-day ticket. Stereo, 20–28 Renfield Lane, 222 2254. A killer Christmas line-up of performance, art, live music, a mini market and loads more from TYCI as a Christmas present to you. Clubs FREE Hashtag Fridays Fri 12 Dec & 19 Dec, 10pm–3am. before 11pm; £4–£5 after. The Polo Lounge, 84 Wilson Street, pologlasgow.co.uk With DJs BelledeHell, David Clark and Gavin Watson. Pretty Ugly Sat 13 Dec, 8pm–3am. £5–£6. The Admiral, 72a Waterloo Street, 221 7705. A big old Christmas knees up with live music from Band of Gold and We Were Promised Jetpacks v Fatherson on the decks. Sin-Sational Saturdays Sat 13 Dec, 20 Dec & 27 Dec, 9pm–3am. £6 (£5). The Polo Lounge, 84 Wilson Street, pologlasgow.co.uk Be as bad as you can be at Polo’s thoroughly wicked Saturday night, with DJs David Clark, Preston Connor and Gavin Watson. Hot Mess Sat 13 Dec, 10pm–2am. £6. The Poetry Club, 100 Eastvale Place, 357 7246. Queer dance party where the focus is on the music, which is a heady mix of pop classics, obscure synthwave, house, techno and disco from the safe hands of DJ Simonotron. Yes! Fri 2 Jan, 8pm–3am. Free before midnight; £5 after. The Flying Duck, 142 Renfield Street, 564 1450. Launched by a group of friends who want a gay night that plays indie and guitar bands, the emphasis is firmly on music from classic artists such as David Bowie, The Smiths and Blondie and cutting edge acts like Django Django, Band of Skulls and Grimes. Pretty Ugly Sat 10 Jan, 8pm–3am. £5–£6. The Admiral, 72a Waterloo Street, 221 7705. The Pretty Ugly girls play sexy, glamorous indie rock’n’roll, electro beats, 60s soul and experiment with some new artists to get everyone in the mood for dirty dancing.
EDINBURGH
Activities & Events FREE Women’s Wellbeing Group Fri 12 Dec & 9 Jan, 2–4.30pm. Hemma, 75 Holyrood Road, 629 3327. A relaxed setting in which to meet other women and chat about health and wellbeing. A meal out to celebrate the winter season. FREE LGBT Centre Drop-in Mon 15 Dec, 5.30–8pm. LGBT Centre for 92 THE LIST 11 Dec 2014–5 Feb 2015
523 1100. Informal space for bisexual (and beyond) people to get together for social activities. FREE LGBT Learning Disabilities: Social Circle Thu 18 Dec, 2–4pm. LifeCare, 2 Cheyne Street, 343 0940. Social group for those LGBT people who also identify as having a learning difficulty or disability. FREE T-Time Sat 20 Dec & 17 Jan, 1–4pm. LGBT Centre for Health & Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street, 523 1100. See Glasgow, Activities & Events. FREE The Big LGBT Music Jam Sat 3 Jan, 1–4pm. LGBT Centre for Health & Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street, 523 1100. Music-making in a creative and supportive environment. Bring an instrument (which could be your voice) and join in with singing, playing or just listening. FREE Trans Women Sat 3 Jan, 7.30–9.30pm. LGBT Centre for Health & Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street, 523 1100. A monthly group meeting for transgender women. FREE LGBT Centre Drop-in Mon 5, 12 & 19 Jan, 5.30–8pm. LGBT Centre for Health & Wellbeing, 9
Howe Street, 523 1100. See Edinburgh, Activities & Events. FREE Just for Men Wed 14 Jan, 6.30–8.30pm. Woodland Creatures, 260–262 Leith Walk, 629 5509. Social group for gay, bisexual and trans men.
Arts Loud and Proud Fri 12 Dec, 7.30pm. £10 (£7). St Cuthbert’s Church, 5 Lothian Road, 229 1142. A warming mix of winter songs, plus you’re invited to join the group afterwards for home baking, mulled wine and a chat. LGBT Winter Concert Sat 13 Dec, 3–5pm. £5 (unwaged £2.50). St Mark’s Unitarian Church, 7 Castle Terrace, edinburgh-unitarians.org.uk Performances from Edinburgh Gay Men’s Chorus, Loud and Proud, Shaz, Jules and Pawel and Jo Clifford. Clubs FREE Bears in the East Sat 13 Dec, 9pm–1am. The Regent, 2 Montrose Terrace, 661 8198. A fabulous Christmas night out with two floors of fun and an exclusively male downstairs bar.
Health & Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street, 523 1100. Weekly, informal drop-in service to meet new people, get info and catch up on the latest goss. The Sonics: LGBT Basketball Group Tue 16 Dec & 6 Jan, 7–8pm. £3. Leith Community Education Centre, New Kirkgate, basketballers@hotmail. co.uk An informal weekly practice for beginners and regular players alike. FREE Bi & Beyond Wed 17 Dec & 7, 21 Jan, 7–9pm. LGBT Centre for Health & Wellbeing, 9 Howe Street,
MALE BURLESQUE BRIEFS The Spiegeltent, Edinburgh, Thu 18 Dec–Sun 4 Jan
Mention burlesque and what image springs to mind? A voluptuous, raven-haired woman, stripping out of vintage corsets? Fire-eating and tassel twirling? Happy to subvert female-dominated cabaret, the chaps from Briefs sashay back with their inimitable brand of boylesque, incorporating audacious aerial work, drag, vaudeville and a soupcon of nudity.
The Australian troupe, huge favourites with the Edinburgh Fringe audience, return to the Spiegeltent in St Andrew Square to unleash their latest high-camp Christmas extravaganza. Smart and skillfully choreographed, this anti-variety show weaves together disparate influences from Chaplin to Priscilla, Queen of the Desert via Cirque du Soleil, all executed with satirical bite.
No one is safe, as acid-tongued host Fez Faanana warns: ‘The front row may not necessarily be the splash zone. Every seat has its own adventure and advantages. Some acts will explode on the stage, some will unfold on your cabaret table, and some may brush past you before you realise that you have become part of the show.’ All he will promise is, ‘our biggest show yet, with an eight-person cast. We have jam-packed the show with our favourite stunts, our most talked-about acts and our typical idiot mayhem.’
For younger revellers, Briefs are holding the Brat Kids Carnival (Sat 27 Dec–Mon 4 Jan), also at the Spiegeltent. But the main show’s not one for kids or the easily shocked, thanks to their tendency to misuse yo-yos or birdbaths. It’s going to get messy. (Lorna Irvine)