Rikki Beadle-Blair: Difference between revisions
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He was brought up by his single mother, [[Monica Beadle]] (born 1944), a counsellor and unionist who is also gay.{{Fact|date=February 2008}} She was born in [[Jamaica]] and moved to [[United Kingdom|Britain]] when she was 12. She was the first black child in her school in [[Peckham]]. |
He was brought up by his single mother, [[Monica Beadle]] (born 1944), a counsellor and unionist who is also gay.{{Fact|date=February 2008}} She was born in [[Jamaica]] and moved to [[United Kingdom|Britain]] when she was 12. She was the first black child in her school in [[Peckham]]. |
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Rikki was brought up with a brother, Gary (also an actor of Eastenders fame), 4 years younger, and a sister, Carleen, 8 years younger. He attended Lois Thompson nee Acton's Experimental Bermondsey Lampost Free School. He initially wanted to be a novelist, but wrote his first play aged 7 and started directing aged 11.{{Fact|date=February 2008}} |
Rikki was brought up with a brother, Gary (also an actor of Eastenders fame), 4 years younger, and a sister, Carleen, 8 years younger. He attended Lois Thompson nee Acton's Experimental Bermondsey Lampost Free School. He initially wanted to be a novelist, but wrote his first play aged 7 and started directing aged 11.{{Fact|date=February 2008}} He has a half-brother and sister from a later relationship of his mother's Nathan (born 1989) and Nia born (1996) |
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==Career== |
==Career== |
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Revision as of 23:32, 14 February 2008
Rikki Beadle-Blair was born in July 1961, in Camberwell and raised in Bermondsey, both in south London. He is a British actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, singer, aerobics teacher, designer, choreographer/dancer and songwriter of West Indian origin.
Early life
He was brought up by his single mother, Monica Beadle (born 1944), a counsellor and unionist who is also gay.[citation needed] She was born in Jamaica and moved to Britain when she was 12. She was the first black child in her school in Peckham.
Rikki was brought up with a brother, Gary (also an actor of Eastenders fame), 4 years younger, and a sister, Carleen, 8 years younger. He attended Lois Thompson nee Acton's Experimental Bermondsey Lampost Free School. He initially wanted to be a novelist, but wrote his first play aged 7 and started directing aged 11.[citation needed] He has a half-brother and sister from a later relationship of his mother's Nathan (born 1989) and Nia born (1996)
Career
The BBC current affairs television programme, Nationwide, made a documentary about Beadle-Blair when he was a child performer in Bermondsey, south London, in the 1970s.[citation needed]
When he was 17 he did a cappella concerts at the Gay's The Word bookshop in Bloomsbury, London, with fellow singers Robert Chevara and Michelle Baughan. The group went under the name of 'Three People'. He was also involved with the Gay Liberation Front (GLF).
Beadle-Blair has worked as a dancer, a cabaret artist, a rock musician, an actor, a choreographer, and a director. He has performed worldwide,[citation needed] and has written plays for BBC Radio 4 and Channel 4 television. In the film Sirens he played Blue, a punky Scouse heroin junkie.
His Band 'Boysie' was a fixture on the 80's gig circuit.[citation needed]
In 1994, Beadle-Blair wrote the screenplay for Nigel Finch's film Stonewall, about the Stonewall Riots. This won the audience award at the London Film Festival[citation needed] and the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Film Festival[citation needed].
In 1999 Beadle-Blair wrote "Native", a Radio 4 play that became an award-winning Short film directed by Rene Mohandas.
In 2000 Beadle-Blair wrote and performed a series of short radio plays for Radio 4 - including 'Fares Fair', 'Puppy Love', 'Finders Keepers', 'Silly Me' and 'Open Pores'.
In 2001 he adapted Boy George's autobiography Take It Like A Man for a BBC film. This has not yet been produced.
In March 2001, he wrote, produced, and directed the Channel 4 television series Metrosexuality in which he also played a lead role. This also featured Noel Clarke, who went on to write and star in the movie Kidulthood. Beadle-Blair co-wrote and co-produced the soundtrack album with Mark Hawkes. On the album he sings a duet with Davie Fairbanks who played "Bambi" in the series. Noel Clarke contributes two raps to the album, which also features a track performed by Mat Fraser.
The same year, he hosted the Big Up Yourself And Be Proud show at The Brixtonian during Mardi Gras Festival in aid of GMFA, a London based gay men's health charity whose Big Up innitiative (targeting black men), he is supporting.
In 2002, his documentary Roots of Homophobia, for BBC Radio 4 won the Sony Radio Academy Awards for Best Radio Feature. There he brings his own experience as a gay black man to inform his investigation into homophobic attitudes in Jamaican pop music.
He was the Executive story editor for both seasons of the US TV series Noah's Arc' He was also a writer on season two (credited for eps 2 & 4)
He was supervising director for the South African organisation for first time filmmakers Out of Africa. in 2004 and 2005
Beadle-Blair has recently taken up photography. He generally takes the publicity/poster shots for his productions. He has written songs for Kevin Marques. His Theatre company, Team Angelica, is resident at the Tristan Bates Theatre in Covent Garden, London.
In 2005, Beadle-Blair wrote and directed the play 'Bashment' for Theatre Royal Stratford East, this tackled homophobia in the Ragga/hip-hop music scene. The play ran two seasons in May and September. Beadle-Blair also wrote the music. The play was nominated for "Best New Play" at the national TMA awards.
Beadle-Blair has adapted his own Screenplay of Stonewall for the stage and his production company Team Angelic which he took to the 2007 Edinburgh Festival. He also directed, produced, designed both sets & costumes, & choreographed on the show. The play was nominated for "Best Ensemble" at The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence.[1]
In May 2006, Beadle-Blair wrote and directed 'Jucy' for Queer Contact at the Contact Theatre in Manchester, as part of the Queer Up North Festival
In May 2007, Beadle-Blair hosted a night of Queer Hip-Hop for Queer Contact at the Contact Theatre in Manchester, as part of the Queer Up North Festival
In Autumn, 2007, FIT, a play for young people commissioned by the Manchester-based arts organisation queerupnorth and the gay equality organisation Stonewall, went on tour around the UK. The play was developed to help tackle homophobic bullying in Britain's schools. [2] The play was performed at the The Drill Hall in London, The Birmingham Rep, The Contact Theatre in Manchester, the Unity Theatre in Liverpool, and the CCA in Glasgow. The show was also performed in Schools in London, Greater Manchester, Bournemouth, Brighton & Glasgow.
Beadle-Blair, directed, choreographed, composed and wrote the show. Davie Fairbanks remixed the the main theme music. The Cast was Ludvig Bonin, Sasha Frost, Steven Clarke, Jack Shalloo, Duncan MacInnes, Lydia Toumasou and Rikki Beadle-Blair. The lighting designer and Company Manager was Rob Armstrong.
Beadle-Blair has a long-standing creative association with fellow writer, John R Gordon, who was also a writer for Noah's Arc. Beadle-Blair Directed John's first short film script 'Souljah' (2007) Which premiered in the London Film Festival. He also appeared in John first play 'Wheels of Steel', Which John R Gordon directed. The two-hander also featured Karl Collins - who went on to play Beadle-Blair's Ex-husband in Metrosexuality.
Beadle-Blair has helped to develop new work by playwrights, Matt Harris, Jai Rajani, John R. Gordon & Greg Owen.
Plays
His plays include:
- FIT (2007) National Tour - currently being adapted for film.
- Stonewall (2006/7) - stage adaptation of the BBC film
Taken In (2005) Set in a halfway house for homeless youths.
- Bashment (2005) - explores the controversy around dancehall reggae music and the consequences of homophobic lyrics - Theatre Royal Stratford East
- Totally Practically Naked In My Room On A Wednesday Night (2005) - a night in the life of 17 year old Dylan, desperate to lose his virginity.
- the South London Passion Plays trilogy (Gutted, Laters and Sweet) (2004) Tristan Bates Theatre
- Captivated (1997) - the story of a gay black man imprisoned for murder. Shane corresponds with an Asian pen pal who writes him as an act of charity. Shane’s self-hatred turns into a soul-searching journey from cockiness to agonized self-reflection, and finally ultimate gratitude for his unseen friend. This was releaed on video (now deleted) Directed by David Squire
'Ask and Tell' - Homosexuality and the Army.
Four one hour ensemble plays 'Exposures' 'Street Art' 'The Grope Box' 'Fucking Charlie'
'Below the Radar' A straight guy/gay guy pair of roomates and their sexual misadventures in New Orleans.
- Human - Two terminally ill cancer patients get together for a final riotous love affair.
- Prettyboy Described as a 'Dogma Style Musical" at the Oval House Theatre.
- Gunplay (He did not direct)
- Wild At Heart Riverside Studios (1988)
He directed and appeared in Matt Harris's comedy play 'Venom' at the Oval house '2003'
He directed the staged readings of Jai Rajani's 'onenight.com' at the Tristan Bates and the Contact Theatre Manchester in 2007
External links and Sources
- Personal MySpace
- Team Angelica MySpace
- Rikki Beadle-Blair at IMDb
- Interview on Rainbow Network - 6 June 2005
- Profile on Knitting Cricle
- Rikki Beadle-Blair on ‘Metrosexuality’
- interview in Closer Magazine - April 2002 ?
- Tristan Bates Theatre
- script of Roots of Homophobia (scroll down to No 6)
- Interview of Beadle-Blair in the Independent - August 2007
- Interview of Beadle-Blair in the Guardian - August 2007