One of Brisbane’s rising independent theatre performers, Regan Lynch, is one of these 2,000 men. And his new cabaret, Regan Lynch Does It In Public, offers a cheeky glimpse into life before, and after he began taking the drug.

“PrEP, I think, gives us a chance for a new sexual revolution. Or at least the continuing of an old one. Some of us have never known life without a fear and anxiety of HIV. It’s been driven into us since we were children. Antiretrovirals give us a chance to live without that fear, and I think that’s pretty exciting.”

While airing the details of his sex life may seem risky, for Regan it offers a unique opportunity.

“Sex is hilarious and weird,” he says. “Which is why it makes a great topic for comedy. But more than that, as a queer man I am used to people being pretty obsessed with my sex life. Shows like this are a way for me to reclaim that conversation and throw it back on my own terms.”

Regan has been described by Aussie Theatre as “larger-than-life, high camp, high fidelity and even higher energy,” by AbsoluteTheatre as “exceptionally good,” and by Rip It Up as “a must see for cabaret fans.” In 2015, he was nominated for Best Male Actor in a Leading Role at Queensland’s pre-eminent Matilda Awards.

Regan Lynch presents his first solo work, Regan Lynch Does It In Public, at this year’s Anywhere Festival. It’s a comedy funk and punk cabaret, a burlesque, and a raucous and sometimes alarmingly interactive hour of stupid sex clowning.

Performed with an electric guitar, a ukelele, angel wings, several layers of fetish-wear and a jar of meds, audiences will groove, laugh and be a little aroused as Regan meanders his way through sexual anecdotes and observational songs.

Regan is teaming up with local business, Betty’s Espresso and Bar, to present this work. Well-regarded for its vintage furnishings and comfortable, lush couches—as well as being the home of Naked Ostrich Burlesque—this is the perfect setting to present a sexy musical romp.

Regan Lynch Does It In Public
Thursday 4th May – Sunday 21st May @ 7:00pm
Betty’s Espresso and Bar – 11 Browning St, West End
Tickets can be purchased at anywheretheatre.com

Having released two massive singles in ‘Peculiar’ and ‘Power’, he’s been touring non-stop both locally and internationally, including a barnstorming UK and European tour, and a triumphant return to the hallowed Splendour In The Grass stage last month, playing a spectacular set backed by a horn section and driving fans wild with his captivating, on-stage showmanship.

All that hype and build-up has served as the perfect intro to Harts’ latest album, Smoke Fire Hope Desire – which is set for release September 16 via Dew Process/UMA. Recorded in Hart’s home studio in Melbourne, the LP is the culmination of the often labeled “one-man music-making machine”, (he writes everything, plays all the instruments, records and produces all his music single-handedly) spending the past few years developing his sound, both on the road and in the studio.

The record is the sound of an artist who has locked his musical identity and his voice into his sights. As Harts says, he’s allowed himself to be influenced by, “a lot of what I was seeing in the world around me – very current day issues, mixed with my own thoughts and challenges in my life.” The result is a record that seems destined to find success on both a local and a global level.

To support the release of the Smoke Fire Hope Desire, Harts will be embarking on a huge national headline tour, playing club shows in Newcastle, Sydney, Geelong, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Ballarat – starting September 16. Tickets are on sale now!

Harts “Power Tour” 2016
16 September 2016 – THE CAMBRDIGE HOTEL – NEWCASTLE
17 September 2016 – OXFORD ART FACTORY – SYDNEY
23 September 2016 – THE WORKERS CLUB – GEELONG
29 September 2016 – SOLBAR – SUNSHINE COAST
30 September 2016 – THE ZOO – BRISBANE
2 October 2016 – THE CORNER HOTEL – MELBOURNE
7 October 2016 – UNI BAR – ADELAIDE
8 October 2016 – KAROVA LOUNGE – BALLARAT
www.hartsmusic.com

There are even times when it can inform on a period that wasn’t even experienced first hand. That ramble brings us to Lovelace, it’s not a film score but a collection of tracks that evidently will be included in the not yet released movie about the porn star Linda Lovelace and the movie Deep Throat.

If taken as a sampler of the radio of the day (Deep Throat was released in 1972) it shows how constricted and formatted modern day radio has become and how wide open and fun it used to be. Funk, rock, soul and R&B (and not the R&B lite crap of today) was presented back to back and the end effect was very groovelicious.

One of the coolest things about this collection is despite the fact that a number of the songs included here were somewhat minor-hits back in the day, they play out so well together now. Reading the song list does little to spike the memory until you play them and then the revelations start to happen.

Play it during your next retro cocktail party and its grooves will perfectly suit the click of martini glasses. Better still spin it while you’re getting busy with your significant other and it all makes sense. Also just wanted to add as an antidote to my next-door neighbours’ incessant playing of Christian rock on Sunday, it worked a charm.

Rob Hudson