Latest news with #FeelGood
Metro
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
It's been 5 years since one of the best LGBTQ+ shows and I'm still obsessed
Mae Martin's semi-autobiographical show, Feel Good, remains one of the greatest gifts to LGBTQ+ TV five years after its premiere. The two-season comedy starring Mae as a fictionalised version of themselves and Charlotte Ritchie as their love interest George has to be one of my favourite depictions of queerness in all of its forms. The Channel 4 show first came out to plenty of acclaim and fanfare, securing it a second season and cultivating plenty of impressed fans along the way, myself included. For the uninitiated, the first episode opens on George (Ritchie), who is initially characterised as a stereotypical heterosexual woman on a comedy night out with her uptight friend Binky – and utterly enthralled by Mae's pithy stand-up set. When the two connect later that night, we embark on the charming, turbulent (often heartbreaking) story of their relationships that explores late-in-life coming out, self-empowerment, gender identity, and co-dependency. Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro's TV Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we'll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you. All of this is hooked onto the central throughline around Mae's past struggle with addiction, their attempts to stay sober, and reckoning with a traumatic past as they try to envision a future with George. Martin manages to write tender and evocative scenes depicting the pervasive ways that addiction has imploded not only Mae's life but those of the people around them – including their parents (portrayed by Lisa Kudrow and Adrian Lukis in the show). Meanwhile, George is by no means forgotten by the plot. We see her work through her fears around her identity, her anxieties around being another thing her partner is addicted to, her complex relationship with her parents and even question what she wants out of her career. Heck, even messy roommate Phil (portrayed by Phil Burgers) gets some tearjerking character development throughout the 12 episodes. What makes Feel Good so refreshing is – despite the difficult and heavy topics it deals with – it delivers them with such frankness and with so many well-weaved wisecracks in between that it also stands up as one of the funniest shows around. Whatever Mae and Charlotte were infusing into that script was comedy gold that can flip you from crying to laughing with a well-timed punchline. In a TV landscape where it is rare to see well-fleshed-out queer women and non-binary characters, Feel Good offers this representation in spades and makes no apologies for the fact that sometimes both George and Mae can be utterly unlikable. Yet you can't help rooting for them anyway. It is also one of my favourite depictions of love on screen. As something worth fighting for at its ugliest and messiest, because that's when you know there could be something beautiful underneath. The show knows exactly when to go all in on the madness, like the episode where George goes to a wedding for the day so Mae completely spirals and ends up on a completely mad dash with her (kind of) sponsor Maggie to stalk her daughter Lava (Rity Arya). Or the time Mae and George go to Blackpool to bury the ashes of Mae's cat Solomon with their parents, and the day breaks down into chaos. Or when Mae dresses up as a medieval knight and proposes to George in a school hall. The list goes on… But it also completely disarms you by interspersing the hijinks with moments of depth, such as when Mae admits to wearing black all the time because they are afraid to wear colour, and it breaks George's heart. Or when the couple talk about Mae's gender identity and George simply tells them, 'you tell me the right words and I'll use them'. Even the moment George realises that despite her whole life having changed after finding love with Mae, she still misses her old friends, despite the fact that they don't totally get her now. Strangely, it also serves as a time capsule of this golden time in the late 2010s/early 20s when we seemed to have reached the pinnacle of LGBTQ+ and women's rights. When championing trans rights was seen as the mainstream stance; calling out high-profile abusers hadn't completely devolved into a social media battle over wokery and cancellation; and the TV industry felt like it was making an active effort to platform complex queer stories told in full (rather than being cancelled premturely). I love how Charlotte and George are selfish and angry and enabling and scared. I love how queer intimacy is portrayed as something tender and heartfelt and kinky and messy and fragile and rough. Most of all, I love that we get a satisfying happy ending. No ifs, ands or buts. More Trending I'm desperate to see more British adult comedies explore the ever-evolving LGBTQ+ community through a queer female and non-binary lens that reach the same calibre as Feel Good. So, for those who have never seen it, this is your sign to watch it. Right now. And for those who have, what are you waiting for? It's overdue for a rewatch to hit you in the feels all over again. View More » Feel Good is available to stream on Netflix now. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: The words I wish I could say to my 17-year-old closeted self MORE: Holly Willoughby suffers major blow as Netflix show is 'axed' after one season MORE: I binge-watch TV for a living – here are my recommendations for June
Sunday Post
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sunday Post
Charlotte Ritchie on life imitating art and thriller Code of Silence
Get a weekly round-up of stories from The Sunday Post: Thank you for signing up to our Sunday Post newsletter. Something went wrong - please try again later. Sign Up Charlotte Ritchie is recognisable to comedy fans as the star of Ghosts, Fresh Meat and Feel Good, but it's fair to say her profile has changed a little recently. In 2023, she joined the cast of You, Netflix's hit thriller series, for its fourth and fifth seasons, in which she played the icy and unsympathetic Kate. She's also about to star in tense drama Code of Silence – opposite Rose Ayling-Ellis – which begins tonight on ITV. Actors who zig instead of zag probably wonder what audiences make of it. Generally it's a bit of a no-no for them to outright ask the fans what they think in public, however. Yet Charlotte couldn't help it. In what was an out-of-character moment she did just that while in New York recently. 'It was a bizarre thing. I heard two girls next to me talking and they said: 'She looks a lot like the girl from You,'' she recalls. 'They were talking about me and I just had this urge to find out what they thought. So I leaned over to say: 'I'm actually in the show. What do you think of it?'' The girls were complimentary and, you would imagine, quite surprised. Perhaps taking the risk of speaking to a fan in real life is more rewarding than scanning through the bear pit of online comments. 'Even if that girl had thought I was really bad, I think that the necessity of social kindness that doesn't exist on the internet does still sometimes exist in real life,' Charlotte ponders, before adding drily: 'Maybe asking in person shielded me from her honesty. 'Yes, perhaps it's better to ask people face to face, because they're less likely to be rude…' © ITV Asking some fans what they think of her show then pretending it's so they can't be rude? Charlotte, it seems, is equal parts droll and self-effacing. When asked about working on Code of Silence, she would rather talk about her co-star's performance than her own. Rose plays deaf caterer Alison, who works to support her mother, when she is asked by the police (one of them played by Charlotte) to lip-read conversations between dangerous criminals. Charlotte was drawn to the role because it was a chance to work with 2019 Strictly Come Dancing champion Rose, who has been deaf since birth. The unusual telling of the crime drama from Alison's perspective was what attracted Charlotte. 'We're seeing this story told through the point of view of Alison, a young deaf woman who's struggling with multiple jobs and looking to kind of find a way to just get a bit more out of life,' she says. 'There was that, but also I liked the writing, and I loved that character, and I liked the detail around Ashley, my character. 'But also the real clincher is when they told me that Rose was playing Alison, and I'm a big fan of Rose, both as an actor and as a person. One of the perks of this job is working with really interesting and lovely, thoughtful people, and I really would count Rose as one of them, and I wasn't proved wrong. She's brilliant.' © BBC/Monumental Television Charlotte prepared for her scenes with Rose by studying some rudimentary British Sign Language. 'She was reading my lips actively, so if I was to turn away or she couldn't see me, she would tap me on the shoulder if she hadn't heard or understood what I'd said,' she adds. 'So it wasn't put on. It was a real-life interaction happening between us, which is what's lovely about working with her. She's very natural. 'She doesn't have to be, but Rose happens to be very generous with her time and patience around hearing people.' © BBC/Neal Street Productions Charlotte appears in episode one wearing a fetching sleeveless jumper. Her knitwear game, as Ghosts fans know, is second to none. Now, following her starring role in You, Charlotte has graced the likes of Harper's Bazaar in some dazzling photoshoots. She looks more than at home in front of the photographer's camera, but this wasn't always the case. 'I used to worry: 'I look awful, this is embarrassing,'' she explains. 'I still feel it, but I let it get in the way less. 'I think I'm also just bored of my own anxiety. I feel more confident than I have before. Doing You helped, because the character had to be confident in her clothes.' Charlotte explains how for years she battled anxiety but age helped, as did some practical measures. 'I do therapy and meditation, which helps,' she adds. 'Now I can observe my thoughts a bit more. Sometimes I watch these thoughts, it's like a mad person having five conversations. It's actually kind of funny.' © David Reiss The hit series You is about Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley), a dangerously charming book seller whose infatuations turn to murder. Over five seasons, the show's fandom gleefully followed the dark story, veering between feelings of delight and disgust for its anti-hero. Critics questioned the morality of following someone like Joe, and even rooting for him. 'The show treads a fine line which it sometimes crosses, and sometimes doesn't,' Charlotte says, considering the fans' strong reaction to the twisted storylines of You. 'What's essential is that watching You is optional. You can stop watching! You can have a distance and control over what's going on – that's important.' Charlotte also wants to give viewers credit where critics perhaps don't. 'The fans seem to have so much self-awareness. They know what it is,' she says, before adding: 'Honestly, that conversation about the influence of TV is too big for me. What matters is our individual relationship with the content and whether we understand why we're engaging with it.' Sitcom Ghosts, where Charlotte played Alison, the only person who can see the spectres haunting her stately home, began in 2019 and quickly became a viewer favourite, spawning five seasons and a US spin-off. Between that, Fresh Meat and You, Charlotte looks as if she enjoys being part of an ensemble. I wonder if she wants to be the central star in a TV show. 'The biggest pleasure in acting has always been in the company of people,' she says. 'It's the whole experience – the crew, the cast. 'I love ensemble work. Couldn't imagine leading a show on my own, maybe that would be just too much pressure? I don't know.' While Fresh Meat and You had a blackly comic streak, Ghosts was adored by viewers because it was wholesome. 'I look back on Ghosts and love it so much,' Charlotte adds. 'I feel the same way about it as fans do. It has so much heart – about community, compromise, empathy, being silly. 'It sneaks all that in under the guise of silly humour, but it also resonates. To me, that's the best.' 'I just love going to Scotland' Fresh Meat was a comedy created by Jesse Armstrong following his success on Peep Show, and before the screenwriter created the iconic drama Succession. Charlotte Ritchie starred as Oregon, a student who had a relationship with her lecturer and then his son. She shared the screen with Gary: Tank Commander star Greg McHugh, who played Howard, her socially inept housemate. The series ran from 2011 until 2016 and Charlotte, unprompted, singles out Greg for praise. 'My first big job was Fresh Meat, which was an incredible ensemble. Greg McHugh was amazing – I learned a lot from him,' she says. 'He's such a lovely man.' Although she grew up in England, Charlotte's family origins in the Borders make her, she says, an honorary Scot. 'I've been to the Edinburgh Festival most years since I was 18 and I first did a play there at 16,' she says. 'Scotland is probably my favourite place to visit. 'I love Glasgow – it's got a particular personality about it. I won't get into Edinburgh vs Glasgow though… 'I've toured to different places with theatre shows – Inverness, Orkney, Ayr. 'I just love going to Scotland.' Charlotte stars in Code of Silence, which begins tonight on STV at 9pm, with episodes available on STV Player.
IOL News
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
The Jazz Was a Prayer, and We Were the Amen
Black Coffee and Nduduzo Makhathini closed their show strongly, elevating the spirit of CTIJF to new heights. Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers By Faiez Jacobs It's been a full week since we stood shoulder to shoulder beneath red lights and ancestral drumbeats at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival 2025. And still, it lingers. Not the hype. Not the Instagram stories. The feeling. The texture. The truth. It lives in our bones, in our softened chests and quiet thoughts. Because what we experienced at CTIJF wasn't just a was a collective remembrance. A necessary cleansing. A deeply Cape Town communion. Acid jazz pioneers, Incognito during their stint on stage, at Thursday night's CTIJF free concert on Greenmarket Square. Image: Fuad Esack Where We Began On Thursday, I attended the People's Concert the perfect prelude. It was warm, easy, full of hugs and long-overdue greetings. It felt like a homecoming. I hadn't seen many of my comrades and old friends in years. To reconnect, to feel, to breathe in that atmosphere it meant everything. Friday night, April 25, began not just with the last rays of sun but with a shared energy, a readiness. Inside the CTICC, Lira gave us more than melody. She gave us light. She gave us affirmation. The enigmatic Lira in action at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival. Image: Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Newspapers "Feel Good" wasn't just a hit it was a permission slip to hold joy again. "Let There Be Light" became an invocation. And when she smiled, we saw our own resilience reflected back. At Manenberg, Ramon Alexander Trio delivered a tight, rooted, unapologetically Cape set. He didn't perform for us; he played with us. Ghoema rhythms echoed stories from the Flats, vinyls spinning on Sunday afternoons, laughter around mosques and kitchens. Ramon is familiar, a brother. I say this with deep respect and gratitude. Then the energy shifted. Renowned saxophonist and composer Nubya Garcia on the Kippies stage on Saturday evening during the 22nd Cape Town International Jazz Festival. Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers Nubya Garcia took the Kippies stage like a spiritual warrior. Red backdrop. Braids. Sunglasses. Saxophone in hand. Yoh! Wow. She's young, fearless, and emotional —bringing power, technique, and ancestral echo into every note. She opened with 'Source', and within minutes the room was spellbound. Her set wasn't smooth. It was alive diaspora longing and ancestral defiance braided into sound. You don't dance to Nubya. You surrender. Malcolm Jiyane performing at the 22nd Cape Town Jazz Festival, which was held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC). Image: Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Newspapers Malcolm Jiyane Tree-O followed and I need to speak honestly here. He didn't entertain. He made us uncomfortable in the most necessary way. He reminded me of my post-'94 time at Yeoville. A trombonist, pianist, composer, and bandleader from Katlehong, he represents a new wave of South African jazz deeply rooted in Soweto's revolutionary music traditions. He played grief. He moaned put his left hand inside the piano and pulled out ghosts. "No More" wasn't a song. It was a scream from a man who's survived addiction, poverty, betrayal. It was a spiritual protest: • No more injustice. • No more pain without healing. • No more forgotten voices. • No more suffering without recognition. I closed my eyes — not to escape, but to carry the weight of it. This wasn't 'Friday night out.' This was the gut of the thing. The Kyle Shepard Trio on the Rosies stage during the 22nd Cape Town International Jazz Festival. Image: Henk Kruger / Independent Media Then came Kyle Shepherd Trio. He reached into the belly of the piano literally and plucked the strings with his bare hands. Not for show. For truth. In that moment, I witnessed: • The world above and below seen and unseen. • Control and surrender key and string. • Rationality and intuition mind and soul. • Cape Town's past and future tradition and freedom. His playing was a prayer. Sparse. Tender. Profound. 'Silence is music too,' it seemed to whisper. 'Trust the space. Let it hold you.' His fingers painted landscapes: rivers, deserts, streets, memories. I didn't overthink. I felt. Kyle once said:'I come from a place where silence was dangerous. You had to find a way to speak without words.' He isn't just a pianist. He's a healer. A memory-keeper. A spiritual architect. A dreamer of freedom. Festinos enjoying the Cape Town International Jazz Festival events at the CTICC. Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers After that, I needed DJ Masoodah. Our own soulful selector. Beloved curator. Fierce. Soft. Duidelik. She reclaimed space — for Black, Brown, Woman, Queer energy. She healed — by mixing sounds carrying ancestral memory. She connected jazz to the streets — reminding us that jazz is life, not just stage. I danced. I let go of needing to 'understand.' I felt. And I connected to everyone around me. All of us vibrating together. Because dancing together in this city, in this moment, is an act of radical joy. Masoodah is a healer. A rebel. A celebrant of spirit through sound. Then I went inside. Thandiswa Mazwai captured the audience with a powerful performance at CTIJF. Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers Thandiswa Mazwai was calling. She is not an artist. She is a movement. A mother. A priestess of the people. She didn't headline. She claimed the space. Unapologetically African. Politically militant. Spiritually rooted. Feminist and fierce. From the moment she called 'Nizalwa Ngobani?!',we were not at a concert; we were inside a ritual. Beadwork like battle armour. And truth on her tongue. She called out the AmaSellout; those who drank the revolution and pissed on its roots. I felt ashamed. But I also felt the power of the people to remember, correct, and love again. "Amanz' Amanzi" was mourning for stolen futures, poisoned water, and broken promises. She chanted 'Hela Hé' 'Call upon! Strengthen us! Witness us, ancestors!' And 'Dinekè' spiritual endowments, divine gifts. And we answered her, as congregation. "Jiki Jela" transported me back to my own political detention. Was I still in prison? Had I given up? She triggered us. Ambushed us. And we surrendered gratefully. Thousands of people from across the globe attended the CTIJF 2025 where top local and international artists took to the stage. Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers Then Came Bongisiwe Mabandla Under the bridge. Quiet space. Sacred air. Bongisiwe Mabandla, the African soul mystic. His voice holds veld loneliness, spiritual yearning, and quiet hope. He sang: • "Mangaliso" — a prayer for small miracles. • "Yaka" — calling to the absent father, or spirit. • "Zange" — mourning lost innocence. • "Ndiyakuthanda" — I love you. Simply. Deeply. • "Masiziyekelele" — Let us surrender. He didn't shout. He whispered us whole again. Not Just a Line-Up. A Lifeline. This was more than music. It was a map: • Of what we've lost. • Of what we still carry. • Of what we dream. From ghoema to gospel-infused jazz, from sweat to tears —we held joy and rage. Memory and movement. Pain and purpose. TKZee rocked the crowd with their nostalgic tracks and dynamic stage presence. Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
IOL News
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
Outpouring of love for Lira as she takes to CTIJF stage: 'Giving up was never on my plate'
The crowds cried with Lira in an emotional and truly outstanding performance at the CTIJF 2025. Image: Armand Hough/Independent Newspapers Everyone was singing along and had smiles, from ear to ear, giving award-winning songstress Lira an outpouring of love as she performed at Cape Town International Jazz Festival's Kippies stage tonight, Saturday, April 26. It was the first time in a number of years that Lira performed in Cape Town, and the crowd made sure to make it an unforgettable one for the singer. The South African afro-soul singer marked a significant chapter in her remarkable journey following a stroke that sidelined her from performing for several years. Her stroke, which she suffered in 2022, left her unable to read, write or speak. Although she has been performing, her show in Cape Town has been her first major festival. In full action: Lira. Image: Bheki Radebe Lira was overcome with emotion, and shook her head a little in disbelief at the love she received on Saturday night. At one point, she let one tear fall down her right eye, but made sure to regain composure wanting to deliver a wonderful performance. She did just that, as the crowd was ready to welcome her with open arms. "Giving up was never on my plate. It didn't even occur to me. Now I'm standing on this stage, looking across all of you." "I struggled to talk, and I didn't focus on singing… In December I noticed I could sing. "In January of 2024, I decided to practice my song and singing came very easily to me, and I got my life was a difficult journey but it was worth it,' Lira said. 'I'm living in the moment… The stroke was a blessing to me. I learned to appreciate what life has to offer.' Lira delivered an energetic and joyous performance filled with Lira's timeless classics such as "Feel Good," "Hamba", "Believer," and "Something Inside So Strong". Lira moved the crowd to tears and to screams of joy at this years CTIJF. Image: Armand Hough/Independent Newspapers Thulisa Dyantyi, 31, and her friend, Thandolwakhe Skeyi, were dancing and singing along throughout her set. They said it was amazing to see her back on stage. 'I don't know the last time I've seen Lira performing like that, but it was so liberating,' Dyanti said. 'She is such a good performer, and it just took me back to the days where I was still in high school, and Lira was just one of my favourite playlists.' Skeyi said they want to see more like it from her. 'We love it and we want to see more of it. We loved her show, it was an amazing performance. The enigmatic Lira in action at the TIJF Image: Ayanda Ndamane/Independent Newspapers 'Prior to her performance, she spoke to IOL Lifestyle and said: "I thought I'd have to give up singing, but I've been singing since last May, and being in front of the audience, I feel loved and supported. I really missed being on stage, and the audience had missed me…" "It's a great way to spend time sharing our talent."Lira, who faced immense challenges after suffering her stroke, has become an inspirational speaker, sharing her story with others facing similar difficulties. "Even if I had no words, unable to speak, I'd use gestures and act out what I was trying to say. After a year and a half, I managed to speak enough so I could tell my story. I've been working as an inspirational speaker for under two years, and it's been so good for me.
CairoScene
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
Select 324: Mixed by HALAWA
The Dubai-based selector takes us on a colourful house journey that gradually builds in velocity, from ambient to heavy basslines. Apr 12, 2025 This Saturday on SceneNoise's Select, HALAWA - arguably one of the most promising selectors in Dubai - takes us on a colourful house journey that gradually builds in velocity from ambient to heavy rhythmic basslines. The set is packed with an eclectic track selection such as Calabasas' 'Bubble Trouble', Delicious Inc's 'The Poem', and Trik's 'Feel Good'. Listen to the full set below: SceneNoise · Select 324: Mixed by HALAWA
