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Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Award winning Wexford director to head up production of ‘The Full Monty'
Their latest production of The Full Monty is an 'extremely close adaptation' to the popular 1997 movie of the same name and the organisers hope to impress the community with their steamy show. The production is directed by multi-award winning director, Stephen Acton who will also take on the leading role. He promises a night full of laughter. 'This stage play is full of heart and real life stories that everyone will relate to. However, what it really has is comedy in abundance that will guarantee to have your stomach and sides sore from laugh out loud laughter,' he said. Based in Sheffield during the early 1990s, The Full Monty tells the story of six unemployed men who set out to create a male striptease act in order to make some money and for the main character, Gaz, played by Stephen Acton, to be able to continue seeing his son Nathan. The role of Nathan is being shared by two up and coming performers, Jay Swinburne and Sean Nolan. 'We observe these many diverse characters hilarious interactions and personal developments as they prepare to bare all during their new male strip group called 'Bums of Steel.' Once news gets out that the show is sold out, to quote Gaz: 'Fellas, we are past the point of no return'. 'Set against the backdrop of the closure of the steel industry due to the cruel reign of Margaret Thatcher, this play is a triple threat - heart, humours and hunks' Stephen added. The production is choreographed by Roisin Currid, while stage manager Nigel May will be the captain of the ship for the duration of the performances. Artistic director Louise Forde will oversee all artistic elements that are required to make this production special. The play runs at the Gorey Little Theatre, with performances continuing through July and August every Tuesday and Thursday, with curtains up at 8pm sharp. The last production will show on Thursday, August 28. The cast playing in this summer's roaring comedy consist of: Stephen Acton, Ian Parle, Roy O Connor, Reece Hughes, David Pepper, Brendan Sheridan, Jay Swinburne, Sean Nolan, well known Fair City actress Aisling O Neill, Paula Acton, Gillian Tallon, Aoife Parle, Marion Murphy, Grainne Tyndall, Anthony Murphy, Fin Brennan, Eamonn Murphy and Saidhbe Sheil. Tickets are available for purchase now.
Stuff.tv
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Stuff.tv
Help! I'm a serial reloader in videogames
I have a confession to make: in videogames featuring gunplay, I reload. Excessively. I'm not sure how or when this became a problem, but in bullet-ridden titles like Call of Duty or Apex Legends, I'd down an enemy and immediately mash the reload button on my console controller before they've even hit the floor, no matter my ammo status. Meanwhile, their best friend comes steaming around the corner, catching me like you would your dog with their snout in the biscuit tin, desperately trying to jam my virtual magazine into my virtual firearm. And then sweet revenge is theirs. Yes, yes, I still hear the advice of the late Gaz from Call of Duty (2007) ringing in my ears: 'Remember, switching to your pistol is always faster than reloading.' But you see, I'm the sort of person who can't stand the sight of my ammo counter reading 29 when it could and should be 30. So, I reload. And reload. And reload again. The familiar sight of me hemorrhaging barely empty magazines all over the shop is enough to turn John Wick crimson. Jonathan Ferguson, Keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, England, says I'm not the only one: 'I can only speak to my experience and a couple of friends who've found themselves doing this due to a) time to kill and b) lack of skill where you need most of a mag to kill a player, so you reflexively reload after one burst, which gets you killed if someone is close by when you're in the middle of the reload animation. Play For me, ammo anxiety is very much a real fear. Case in point, when the undead hordes in Resident Evil 2 Remake are bearing down on my tasty brain lobes, and I have the closest creeper's noggin perfectly lined in my sights, but suddenly, 'click.' I'm out. Cue my gratuitously gory demise with that heavily unsubtle 'You are Dead' message. No, I say. I'd never let the lack of a lead projectile accelerated by igniting gunpowder be my untimely demise. So, if I fell an enemy, I reload. If I'm testing a game's physics by shooting a window out, I reload. If I nudge the R2 trigger mistakenly and let loose a rogue bullet, I reload. In fact, the only time I'm not reloading is when I'm firing. Then, I'll reload. Of course, this gets me into all sorts of trouble 'twixt-gunfight. When you're a level 1 noob, re-magazining takes an eternity when there are no skill points banked under reload speed. And as I'm unsheathing my next mag before glacially placing it into my firearm with all the grace of a double decker rolling down a cliff, I wonder if my foes die of laughter before I succumb to lead poisoning. Of course, common sense dictates that the ideal time and place to reload is between bullet trading sessions, in plenty of cover, away from adversaries. When I'm doing it, I'm out in the open and surrounded, so I do the 'dance.' An erratic choreography of circling frenziedly across a 3-foot ballroom, optimistically dodging airborne lead and waiting impatiently for my reload to complete. It rarely ends well. Jonathan has some ideas on how to help counteract this phenomenon: 'The only ways I know of to avoid that would be to slow the pace of the game itself, or implement semi-realistic ammunition management. So a reload over half full means you drop a load of ammunition or fully realistic where you end up with a load of half full mags later in the map/mission, which isn't ideal if you end up in a protracted gunfight. And despite my damage per second and K:D ratios drastically diminished, there's almost no reason to reload so compulsively. Except for when your mag isn't full, and you hit a spare ammo pickup, maxing out your reserve ammo without topping up your mag, losing out on precious bullets in the process. We call that disposophobia, or a fear of waste. So there's that… Forgive me, Gaz.
Daily Mail
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Race Across The World star breaks down in tears over 'bizarre' situation with ex in heart-wrenching reunion episode
Race Across The World star Yin broke down in tears as she broke down in tears over the 'bizarre' situation with her ex in Wednesday's heart-wrenching reunion episode. The fifth series of the BBC series wrapped up last week (11 June 2025) and fans were over the moon to see the cast back on their screens for a big old catch up. The instalment got very emotional, especially when exes Yin and Gaz - who were the first out of the show - opened up about their time on the programme. The former couple were married for more than 30 years but split three years ago. Speaking about how it works between the two, Gaz said: 'It probably has brought us more together. What we want in life for the pair of us is to just be happy.' He added: 'Whether I or Yin find love again, we will always be in each others' lives because we are just great friends. 'It probably looks bizarre to the outside world, but to us it's normal.' Yin looked touched as Gaz said: 'All I've ever wanted was the best for Yin and I'm just very proud of how Yin has become.' Yin also opened up about just how much being part of the much-loved series has changed her as a person. Talking to the camera, Yin said: 'Since leaving Race, I recognised that I was struggling already with what China means to me personally. 'My heritage is Chinese and I do identify as a Chinese person. 'Where I struggle is, with my upbringing, it was in a very traditional household. 'I didn't leave home on good terms with my parents.' Clearly getting very emotional at the dining table with the rest of her co-stars, she continued: 'Some of the struggles I went through are probably quite unique in the sense of because I look Chinese, I don't speak mandarin. 'I've struggled with my Chinese heritage.' She then explained that the death of her partner is what really encouraged her to take part. Yin continued: 'When I came back from Race I reconnected with my siblings and recognised that has to be addressed. 'The real gift that Race gave me was to address that then move forward with my life... 'My partner, who I had been with for three years, had passed away very suddenly in September 2023. 'One of the reasons to come on Race was to give me energy to see what is out there. 'The relief and lightness I now feel, I do feel like one of the biggest things that I've probably hanged about my self, life is there to live. 'It was the catalyst to enable me to move forward.' This year's series of Race Across the World hit our screens on 23 April. After nine episodes, the show finished last week. And it was mother-son duo Caroline and Tom who were crowned winners. It comes after Gaz left his ex-wife Yin emotional with a heart-wrenching confession live on Lorraine. Ranvir Singh stepped in for Lorraine and hosted the ITV morning show on Tuesday. The pair have been separated for three years and at one point during the interview, discussed their marriage breakdown on Lorraine. Gaz reflected: 'Like all break ups it was hard, I'm of that generation where what do you do? You try and blank it out, have a few beers and sort of forget about it.' He admitted that Yin 'helped' him and explained: 'She's an amazing person and I don't think I would be here if it wasn't for Yin. 'It wasn't that bad but it got to the point where I didn't like myself, I didn't like what I was doing, I just didn't want to be around anybody, very insular. 'Yin was the one that kept pushing me.' Yin appeared to be emotional as she interjected with praise for her former husband and said: 'He put in so much hard work and I'm just so proud of him.'
Telegraph
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Race Across the World's reunion episode was a charming farewell to one of its best series
Nobody really needed Race Across the World: The Reunion (BBC One). The race finished last week in an entirely satisfactory manner. However, the BBC likes to flog a hit for all its worth, so viewers got this follow-up programme anyway. I'm glad we did. It was a suitably life-affirming farewell to a heartwarming series. Six months since the globe-trotting contest climaxed at the southernmost tip of India, our five intrepid pairs gathered to reflect on their epic 14,000km odyssey across China, Nepal and India. Meeting up with friends you made on holiday often backfires. Once the tans fade and the sundowners stop flowing, so does the conversation. Happily, this was a lot less awkward. They met as strangers but are forever bound together by their shared experience. The forgotten team, former married couple Yin and Gaz, were knocked out before the midway mark but now gained a sense of closure. Yin tearfully admitted how she'd struggled with her heritage while travelling through China. Since returning home, she had built bridges with her family and made peace with her past. Sixtysomething siblings Brian and Melvyn, who finished fourth, rebuilt their brotherly bond on the road.'Things got a bit emotional but a cold beer sorted it,' said the typically phlegmatic Melvyn. Having emerged as the race's cult hero, he stole the show again, declaring, 'Up the oldies!' Still the cheering updates kept coming. Teenage sweethearts Fin and Sioned, who claimed the bronze medal, had caught the travel bug and since been on a trip around Australia. The race runners-up, sisters Elizabeth and Letitia, were inspired to build their own homestay in Kenya. Victorious mother-and-son duo Caroline and Tom were similarly reborn. Caroline was newly carefree, while Tom's confidence had blossomed so much that he was now self-employed and excitedly planning his next adventure. Those who had become tired of the sob stories won't have been appeased by some of the navel-gazing. There was plentiful talk of 'personal growth' and 'moving forward'. Yet the show and its participants are so likeably wholesome, it was hard to be too cynical. Caroline and Tom might have clinched the £20,000 prize but money was barely mentioned. Indeed, the winnings are so incidental to the show's magical mix, it's easy to forget there's cash involved at all. When it comes to Race Across the World, it truly is the taking part that counts. We were treated to unseen clips – cue backpack-laden dashes down streets, like panicking turtles – and breathtaking scenery. Everyone paid tribute to helpful locals and praised the kindness of strangers. Behind-the-scenes footage revealed how embedded film crews captured their every move. It made for a fascinating insight into the vast logistical operation required to make the show. My main complaint was that the location for the reunion – a wood-panelled suite at London's L'Oscar hotel – bore a distracting resemblance to the Round Table showdowns from BBC stablemate The Traitors. I kept expecting a tweed-clad Claudia Winkleman to pop up and demand that somebody be banished. Please, anyone but Melvyn. The last word went to winner Tom. 'It's important to enjoy the journey, as well as the destination,' he concluded. This was a celebratory, albeit non-essential, way to sign off. Now how about applying for next year's race?
Metro
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Race Across the World star sobs while recounting heartbreaking life 'struggles'
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Race Across The World star Yin got emotional on tonight's reunion show while talking about what the show meant to her, and how it's changed her life. Yin was paired up with her former partner Gaz for the 14,000km race, which took BBC contestants from the Great Wall of China to Kanniyakumari, the southernmost tip of India. However, Yin and Gaz – one of five pairs – didn't make it too far, when they boarded a train that took them 250km in the wrong direction. They were the first to be eliminated from the show. In tonight's reunion episode, Yin tearfully reflected on the show. 'Since leaving Race, I realised I was struggling already with what China means to me personally,' she explained. 'My heritage is Chinese and I do identify as a Chinese person. Where I struggle is, with my upbringing, it was in a very traditional household. I didn't leave home on good terms with my parents. Explaining that her not being able to speak Mandarin was a personal struggle for her, Yin revealed the journey made her reconnect with her family. 'When I came back from Race, I reconnected with my siblings and I recognised that had to be addressed. I realised the real gift Race gave me was to address that and move on with my life,' she said. Opening up about why she applied for the show, Yin explained: 'My partner who I'd been with for three years had passed away very suddenly in September 2023. 'One of the reasons for coming on Race was to give me that energy to see what's out there.' Now Yin feels a 'relief and lightness' she explained, revealing she and Gaz had a 'brilliant' time travelling together after the show. Meanwhile, Gaz also brought a tear to many eyes when he reflected on their time together during the show, with many viewers saying the pair should get back together again. 'It probably has brought us more together. What we want in life for the pair of us is to just be happy,' he said. 'Whether I or Yin find love again, we will always be in each others' lives because we are just great friends. It probably looks bizarre to the outside world, but to us it's normal.' Yin looked touched as Gaz said: 'All I've ever wanted was the best for Yin and I'm just very proud of how Yin has become.' Sending the love right back at her former partner, Yin said through tears: 'Gaz is the most amazing, kind-hearted amazing person. I always want him to back me, because I don't think I could have done it without you.' 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. View More » MORE: It's 20 years since Doctor Who's best finale – but not for reasons you think MORE: Amazon Prime fans have days to binge BBC historical drama hailed a 'masterpiece' MORE: 'Most divisive film of 2023' available to stream for free in coming days
