Author Archives: simon
Bradley Whitford
Bradley Whitford is like the friend from school whose voice broke before yours did. He’s got the atmosphere and energy of the older brother who will take you to the pub against your parents orders when you’re under age and … Continue reading
Posted in Celebrity Profiles
Leave a comment
Australian Centenary
Tell any cliché bound Brit that you’re writing about Australian culture and back comes the stock joke about the article being very short. Fosters, Neighbours and Rolf Harris don’t amount to an over laden cultural table. They see a country, … Continue reading
Amy Biehl
Just a few weeks ago a middle aged, fairly well off husband and wife from California took a poor, black South African couple from Cape Town out to lunch. The young man works for their Foundation. His girlfriend works in … Continue reading
Posted in Politics, Reconciliation
1 Comment
Alan Bates
It must be a nightmare being theatrical crumpet because no one ever takes you really seriously as an actor. Alan Bates left RADA at a charmed moment in British theatre. In 1956 he was 22 years old and played Cliff … Continue reading
Posted in Celebrity Profiles, Uncategorized
Leave a comment
An iconoclast on Broadway
Acclaimed for transforming the face of the American musical, he has also been condemned for pessimistic lyrics and unhummable tunes. Simon Fanshawe on a champion of commercial theatre, back in London to revive one of his shows that was panned … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Celebrity Profiles, The Guardian
Leave a comment
A chorus of disapproval for gay hearts worn on sleeves
This column is usually about other people. But this time, as the tag line for the worst of the Jaws sequels said, “it’s personal”. In this season of Gay Prides, I have been trying to work out how gay I … Continue reading
Posted in Society, The Guardian
Leave a comment
Why ideal homes project has its knockers
Normally, this column is about an individual. This week, it’s about a doorbell. And a gym and a bus. To tell the story, we have to go back to 1975, when the IRA bombed the Caterham Arms on the southern … Continue reading
Posted in Society, The Guardian
Leave a comment
The wild and wonderful voice of community pride
This piece is full of prejudices and preconceptions – mostly mine. I first saw Charly in a photo, standing next to a policeman and an 80-year-old woman on an estate in Brighton. Nothing unusual in that, except that Charly’s hair … Continue reading
Posted in Society, The Guardian
Leave a comment
Society now accepts gay men as equals. So why on earth do so many continue to behave like teenagers?
In just one hour I get to burn every bridge in the gay world I’ve got. I’ll become the whipping boy of the more extreme political factions of the gay world, and also of the hedonists who drink and drug … Continue reading
Posted in Society, The Guardian
Leave a comment
Brutal lessons that offer fresh hope to failing kids
My friend, John, says he first met Kamal Ahmed in 1976 when he was a rather fat 11 year old. Kamal lived a life of violence. Not that he fought very much. He was more beaten up than beating. A … Continue reading
Posted in Society, The Guardian
Leave a comment