Naked Homo

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This post was contributed by Lee Pritchard, a Birkbeck MA English student

At one point in Martin Lewton’s candid one-man performance ‘Naked Homo’, seen here before its short run at the Brighton Fringe, a small towel is utilized as a head scarf – the sketch, one of 8 that make up any one show, concerns a transvestite’s frank recounting of a recent encounter with a haberdasher. Sitting on a chair (the show’s only other prop and sole staging device) Lewton was visibly struggling to tie the towel – no bigger than flannel – around his head before he could start his monologue. After tying a loose knot he confides that it may well fall down later and that we will have to do our best to just imagine it in place. After a short burst of coy-feminine, cross legged introduction, the towel does indeed fall off. Martin gives a panto aside of ‘told you so’ and an unabashed smile in our direction before carrying on, unflustered. It’s a trivial memory of an otherwise smooth performance but one, I dare say, that could have actually been just as intentional as any other part of the choreography. What it allowed Martin to do was something quite crucial: it broke down the wall for only the briefest of moments, letting us all breathe a slight awkward laugh of relief that the naked man in the room was aware of his nakedness and that he could smile and share in our tightly hidden embarrassment, thus alleviating some small part of it.

Nakedness is not just a selling gambit for this show. It is, more than the ‘homo’ part, its very subject. How do we feel about parents talking to their son after he has just walked in on them having sex? Do we feel differently when considering that their parents are gay? How about gay and naked, standing in front of their son who, we learn, has had his own pre-pubescent homo-erotic encounter?  It is to Martin’s credit that he has been able to deftly ‘get at’ the now standard gay-drama issues (e.g. attitudes to casual gay sex in a post-aids era, cross-dressing, gay parenting, gay-hate and the secular popularity of summer ‘pride’ festivals) by simply adding the element of nudity. It speaks to a very British sensibility, perhaps, that finds itself even in these ‘unshockable’ times open-jawed at the sight of a naked actor bending over to show them a close-up view of their anatomy(!) Even more so as this performance has none of the Saddlers Wells high-art dance sheen that makes nudity acceptable to a paying cultured class; rather the point of nudity here is to give a wry, heel-kickingly proud prod in the sides of our less than modern relationship with sex and nudity. The aim is very much to make you smile, to make you go through all the phases of smiling that even the most prepared art-goer is likely to encounter: from wide-grinning embarrassment down to friendly, relaxed familiarity by the end of the show.

The real nakedness however, comes in those sketches that focus on the less than assured gay-personas. In an autobiographical sketch as Martin tells us, we hear a man’s life-long suppression of homo-eroticism blend with the guilt of his wife’s recent passing and the new lease of (sex) life this has granted him. The emotions are tenderly uncovered as Martin skilfully shrinks his body in on itself, covering his intimacy up in a ball of hand-wringing guilt as he learns to confront the real man he is finally learning to love. In a Q + A session after with Martin and director/partner Andrew McKinnon, we learn that this inauspicious rehearsal studio is surprisingly not the strangest space Martin has performed ‘Naked Homo’ in (suffice to say that the angle a seated diner has at a table looking up at a naked actor makes for quite a unique experience!) We asked if Martin had ever experienced any negative heckling at a performance or any walkouts – Andrew stepped in to tell us of a man, on his own and clearly gay who could barely conceal his discomfort and did indeed nearly walkout. The frankness of the themes explored perhaps, or the way that a friendly naked man can make you see old problems afresh, can provide for some a very affecting experience.

 

Dr Holly Furneaux, ‘Dickens’s Gentle Soldiers: Fiction and Journalism of the Crimean War’

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 This post was contributed by Emma Curry, a a PhD student in the Department of English and Humanities, working on Dickens’s representations of objects and body parts.

Dr Holly Furneaux’s first book, Queer Dickens, has already become legendary within the world of Dickens scholarship. Based on her PhD thesis from her time as a student at Birkbeck, the book is exciting, pertinent, thought-provoking and utterly ground-breaking, and changed the field by redefining the ways we think about Dickens’s representations of sexuality. Having found Dr Furneaux’s work a huge help to my own research on Dickens, I was thus both excited and intrigued to find out more about her latest project.

Moving on from her explorations of male nursing in Queer Dickens, Dr Furneaux’s lecture centered on the figure of the ‘gentle soldier’ within narratives of the Crimean War, and explored why the man of feeling became the particular model for male heroism in this period. Her lecture began with a close reading of ‘The Seven Poor Travellers’, an often-overlooked tale that Dickens wrote for the Christmas edition of his journal Household Words in 1854. Dr Furneaux highlighted Dickens’s attention to the tactile, emotional nuances of the relationship between the two soldiers of this tale, Captain Taunton and the improbably-named Richard Doubledick, and suggested that such a portrayal was a means of thinking through the social and psychological consequences of war. She then moved on to discussing the tale’s subtly reformist agenda, pointing out that by positioning the tale directly after an article critiquing the elitist ranking of military officials, and by portraying the gentle Richard Doubledick’s swift rise to Major, Dickens sought to redefine contemporary notions of honour and heroism within the Victorian armed forces. She then went on to trace the implications of other ‘gentle’ representations in art and literature of the period, and once more their surprising prevalence. I found her research on the troops’ battlefield reading particularly interesting here, as she pointed out both the range and sheer quantities of texts dispatched to the front lines, furthering her argument on the widespread dissemination of these ‘gentle’ ideals.

By drawing on such a broad range of literary, artistic and historical material, Dr Furneaux’s lecture was thus a fascinating insight into a relatively underexplored facet of nineteenth-century history. She made a strong but nuanced argument for the significance of these military men of feeling, highlighting their radical, reformist potential whilst at the same time pointing out that, contrary to her own expectations, much of what she had discovered often worked to promote as well as critique a militarized society. The productive, stimulating nature of her research was further indicated by the number and range of questions at the end of the lecture. I look forward to reading the finished work!

JENGbA – Joint Enterprise Not Guilty By Association

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Presentation at Birkbeck on Wednesday 9 May 2012; 7 – 9pm.

Debbie Johnson, a student on Birkbeck’s MA Gender, Sexuality and Culture:

The Joint Enterprise Law is hailed as the answer to ‘gang crime’ in Britain.  However, an alarming number of teenagers are currently serving life sentences for being ‘guilty by association,’ or simply being ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time.’  This includes being imprisoned for crimes they did not commit, could not have foreseen, had no intention of committing or even in numerous cases – tried to prevent happening.

JENGbA campaigners Gloria Morrison, Patricia Brown and Karen Horlock spoke at Birkbeck last Wednesday evening about the implications of the Joint Enterprise Law (JE) and why we should be concerned about its current application.

The evening began with a short film detailing the history of JE.  It is a law over 300 years old for the prevention of illegal duels holding equally culpable all in attendance, not only the combatants but also the medics or any witnesses – they would all be ‘guilty by association.’  It is this law which has re-emerged as Britain’s answer to ‘gang crime.’  However, its current application is targeting large numbers of working class families in Britain particularly those from Black, Asian and Ethnic minority groups.  JENGbA are campaigning for the reform of the Joint Enterprise Law.

Karen Horlock spoke first relating how the JE law had devastated her family.  Her son is serving a life sentence for a crime he did not commit and despite having witnesses to testify that he was not present at the crime, he was imprisoned because he knew some of the people involved and by JE law is ‘guilty by association.’  Karen questioned why her son – a 30 year old married man – has been imprisoned under an archaic law supposedly used to prevent teenaged gang crime.  Karen further explained the impossibility of the appeal process; it is inadmissible to use evidence used during the trial, you are required to find fresh evidence ‘how do you find DNA evidence to prove you weren’t there?’ said Karen to the stunned audience.

‘It encourages lazy policing,’ said JENGbA campaigner Sharon Spencer sat in the audience, the police no longer need to find evidence, you are guilty simply by knowing the person who is involved, ‘people have been imprisoned for a phone call.’

Patricia Brown then spoke about her son.  While walking home from school with a friend, they were attacked by a much older boy, Patricia’s son managed to break free, he was 15 years old at the time and ran home scared.  Later it was discovered that his friend had stabbed the older boy.  Patricia’s son was sentenced to 15 years in prison for a crime he did not commit, was not present at and – as also required by JE law – had no forethought or knowledge of.  Patricia was visibly distressed, speaking just above a whisper, she like Karen is still grappling with the enormity, and pain of what has happened to her son.

Campaign Coordinator Gloria Morrison then gave what proved to be a rousing finale to the evening.  Gloria outlined JENGbA’s aim to not only campaign for the reform of The Joint Enterprise Law but for solidarity with all miscarriages of justice.  Gloria cited many examples of social injustice against working class people including the deaths in police custody of Christopher Alder and Anthony Grainger.  She invited everyone present to JENGbA’s fundraiser on Tuesday 26 June 2012 and also an upcoming presentation on Monday 21 May 2012 to include John Carlos who performed the iconic black power salute at the 1968 Olympic Games, Doreen Lawrence the mother of murdered Stephen Lawrence and Janet Alder the sister of murdered Christopher Alder.

Liz Feteke – Director of Institute of Race Relations:

Room incredibly packed – must be seventy people.
Very diverse audience, age-wise, gender-wise, race-wise a real representative cross section of the population.  People in the audience shaking their heads when they hear the sentences of the people convicted under JE.
 
Karen Horlock explains how JE works and what happened to her son, also the lack of evidence in JE cases, and the long term impact on the health and well being of her family.
 
Patricia then spoke of her son’s case and the media handling of a high profile case.
 
More people coming in as Gloria does her ‘state of the nation’ address on JE.
 
Questions are very challenging. One lady in the audience reveals that her godson has been sentenced for 18 months for a crime he did not commit, and he has gone off the rails now. A lot of focus on the media

Anna Foldvari, Birkbeck MA student:

We heard the voice of the voiceless. Thanks to JENGbA we heard how frequently in the name of justice and order, injustice occurs in the UK. The fact about the destruction of the lives of hundreds and thousands of ordinary and innocent people and their families cannot be hidden anymore. The horrid experiences of families and innocently imprisoned people cannot be denied anymore because JENGbA and the amazing people behind it raise their voice. They are here and they are campaigning against an outdated, politically charged law which application is so very often motivated by racism and middle-class anxieties. And because change is desperately needed, responsible citizens cannot turn their head away and cannot sit with their hands folded.”

You can follow JENGbA on Twitter @JENGbA
Find JENGba on Facebook
Follow their blog.

 

 

 

 

The Bellwether Revivals – book reading

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Birkbeck creative writing lecturer Benjamin Wood’s debut novel The Bellwether Revivals (Simon & Schuster) was published in February this year, and is currently longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize. The Guardian praised it as “an accomplished novel, suffused with intelligence and integrity.” Here, Benjamin outlines the musical themes at the heart of the book, from which he will read at a special Hubbub event for Arts Week on Monday 14th May 2012.

My relationship with music has always been more visceral than intellectual. By that I mean I was drawn to teaching myself to play an instrument as a teenager, not because I wanted to comprehend the mechanics of music, but because I saw it as emotional release. In some of the most difficult periods of my life—as I’m sure is the case for most people—I have sought consolation in music, be it the mournful hush of a Jeff Buckley vocal, the skin-prickling harmonies of a church choir, or the searing hum of Bach’s cello suites. The impact a piece of music can have on our state of being—how a simple melody can comfort and relieve us, elevate our spirits, and bring memories as vivid as any picture to the surface of our minds—is what The Bellwether Revivals aims to explore.

In writing the novel, I wanted to find out if the redemptive power of music could be explained in definite terms. And so I began reading into music theory and got acquainted with the more cerebral aspects of music that I’d skirted around in my younger days. The themes within The Bellwether Revivals began to emerge when I discovered the writings of the largely forgotten Baroque composer, Johann Mattheson. I approached the novel wanting to build a story around a character who claims to be able to manipulate the properties of music for healing effects, and, before long, I conceived of Eden Bellwether, a gifted organ scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, who is inspired by Mattheson’s theories. I was also intrigued by the idea of what full-blooded commitment to honing musical technique might do to a boy and his family, the rivalry and tensions this could create amongst them, and how such profound musical talent might alter a person’s perspective on the world.

Through his skill and scholarship, Eden finds a way to connect the theoretical foundations of music with its more elusive, visceral powers—for Eden, the sadness we feel when we hear a sad song is something that can be designed and controlled by the composer. The lives of the characters in The Bellwether Revivals hinge upon how much they believe in the restorative properties of Eden’s music. The book investigates what might happen if the refrain of a cello, or the sound of a church organ, or the swell of voices singing in harmony, could hold more influence over us than we ever expected.

For more details on Benjamin Wood, you can visit his website at: www.benjamin-wood.com

For further details on Birkbeck’s creative writing programmes, please visit: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/study/ug/creativewriting/UBACWRIT.html