F***ing Men, The Vaults

Joe DiPietro’s cult hit is enjoyable, but rather predictable in form and content

Following no less than three smash-hit, sell-out runs in London and at the Edinburgh Fringe, the King’s Head Theatre production of Joe DiPietro’s Fucking Men, or F*cking Men (as the publicity calls it), now transfers to The Vaults Theatre in Waterloo for a five-week run. It’s clearly been around long enough to attract attention. But, apart from the shocking name, what’s it all about?

Little Men

LITTLE MEN Poignancy of friendship explored in sensitive new film from Ira Sachs

Poignancy of friendship explored in sensitive new film from Ira Sachs

American director Ira Sachs is becoming a master at telling the small stories of life, giving them a resonance that speaks beyond the immediate context in which they unfold. That context, for his three most recent films, has been New York, and he’s as acute as anyone filming that metropolis today in sensing how the city itself plays a role in the lives of those who make it their home.

Rotterdam, Trafalgar Studios

ROTTERDAM, TRAFALGAR STUDIOS New drama about a transgender lesbian is hugely enjoyable

New drama about a transgender lesbian is hugely enjoyable

How many genders are there? The simplistic answer is two, but if you really think that then it’s time to go to the back of the class. In recent years, the rapid growth in perception of the fluidity of gender identity has meant that although there has been an increase in transgender stories in the news, culture has lagged a bit behind. Now every art form wants its own Danish Girl. Playwright Jon Brittain was inspired to write the hugely enjoyable Rotterdam after a couple of his friends transitioned in the late 2000s.

Summertime

SUMMERTIME Evocative early-Seventies French drama of sexual discovery confronting traditional values

Evocative early-Seventies French drama of sexual discovery confronting traditional values

Set at the beginning of the 1970s, Catherine Corsini’s Summertime (La belle saison) is a story of love in a political climate, one in which the post-1968 assertions of a changing society have infused the public context in theory but do not ultimately translate into liberation for the film’s two lead women characters. The restrictions of tradition, especially in the rural world in which the greater part of Summertime is set, finally prove too strong for their relationship.

Eisenstein in Guanajuato

EISENSTEIN IN GUANAJUATO Peter Greenaway's Mexican filmic fiesta for his director hero

Peter Greenaway's Mexican filmic fiesta for his director hero

This is an unashamed, fulsome, extravagant tribute from Peter Greenaway to his cinema idol. The British director – though that description is probably more point of origin these days than allegiance – has long acclaimed his Russian-Soviet counterpart Sergei Eisenstein as the most adventurous figure that the film industry has ever known, one whose ground-breaking experiments and discoveries are as alive today as they ever have been.

Brighton Festival: 1967 and All That

BRIGHTON FESTIVAL: 1967 AND ALL THAT Brighton Festival CEO Andrew Comben discusses the ongoing influence of the first Festival

Brighton Festival CEO Andrew Comben discusses the ongoing influence of the first Festival

With the 50th Brighton Festival taking place this year, Festival CEO Andrew Comben meets theartsdesk for a chat about the original 1967 event, and its relationship with this year’s Festival. Comben has been the Brighton Festival's overall manager since 2008, also overseeing the Brighton Dome venues all year round. He shares the festival’s curation this year with Guest Director Laurie Anderson.

DVD: Carol

DVD: CAROL Despite not winning any Oscars, Todd Haynes's Fifties drama is a masterpiece

Despite not winning any Oscars, Todd Haynes's Fifties drama is a masterpiece

I hope Todd Haynes isn't consumed with bitterness about the way Carol was ignored at the Oscars – mind you, a world where the dreary Spotlight can get Best Film probably isn't one he misses much – but the discerning filmgoer can be in little doubt that this is a masterpiece.

Freeheld

Uninspired direction mars well-meaning gay rights drama

There’s always a slight sinking feeling when the first words to appear onscreen are "Based on a True Story". The first worry is that it’s a story you already know, and the movie will lack any narrative surprises, the second that it will be a Good Cause. Sadly, Freeheld doesn’t dodge these pitfalls, despite a quality cast. This has to be blamed on the predictable script by Ron Nyswaner (of Philadelphia fame) and Peter Sollet’s by-the-numbers directing. 

The Rolling Stone, Orange Tree Theatre

THE ROLLING STONE, ORANGE TREE THEATRE Nicely textured family drama centred on homosexuality and the Church in Uganda 

Nicely textured family drama centred on homosexuality and the Church in Uganda

I’m still pondering the title of Chris Urch’s new play. On the surface it’s clear enough: The Rolling Stone is a weekly newspaper in Uganda that has been notorious for pursuing that country’s anti-gay agenda. In particular, at the beginning of the decade, it started a campaign of publishing the photographs and addresses of those it believed to be homosexual.

London Spy, Series Finale, BBC Two

LONDON SPY, SERIES FINALE, BBC TWO Hats off to Ben Whishaw. Dunce's caps for the rest of 'em

Hats off to Ben Whishaw. Dunce's caps for the rest of 'em

Well, they're saying this was the final episode, but these days you never know how long TV's ratings-hungry marketeers might eke a successful show out for. London Spy 2 would be a major ask, considering how this series somehow spun a bare minimum of content (even though it was shrouded in oodles of atmosphere) out to five episodes. Still, the ending didn't really end, so watch this space.