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No Ordinary Man, Dream, Lofi Hip Hop, James Levine

Director Chase Joynt on 'No Ordinary Man', his film about musician and trans culture icon Billy Tipton. We review The RSC's 'Dream'. What is Lofi Hip Hop and who's listening online?

Director Chase Joynt joins us to talk about his film No Ordinary Man, an in-depth look at the life of musician and trans culture icon Billy Tipton. Tipton was born in Oklahoma in 1914, and with the limited resources of the 1930s, had no choice but to transition alone. Entering the heady world of jazz as a pianist and band leader, he enjoyed a long and successful career, becoming a husband and father of three adopted sons in the 1960s. He never shared his gender history with anyone and when he died in 1989, the press seized on the public outing, generating much lurid coverage and incredulity. No Ordinary Man uses a unconventional format to explore the meaning of his life and legacy from the perspective of trans artists today.

Dream is a new collaborative production by the RSC which isn鈥檛 quite like their usual work. It uses actors, stop motion techniques, graphics and interactivity familiar from gaming and puts them into a pandemic-proof online show inspired by A Midsummer Night鈥檚 Dream: a live performance in a virtual forest. Could this point the way to future developments on stage and screen? Critic Naima Khan gives her verdict.

Looking for an accompaniment to working from home? Search 鈥渓ofi hiphop鈥 on YouTube and among the hours of background music mixes and Anime pictures, you鈥檒l find communities of students and workers from around the world congregating to listen and work together. Journalists Allegra Frank and Wil Jones explain the appeal of the channels, the music and the communities around them.

Conductor James Levine, who led New York's Metropolitan Opera for 40 years before being fired over sexual abuse allegations, has died at the age of 77.

Main image: Bandleader Billy Tipton
Image credit: Courtesy BFI Flare

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28 minutes

Last on

Wed 17 Mar 2021 19:15

No Ordinary Man

No Ordinary Man
is available to stream on the BFI Player until 20 March 2021, as part of the LGBTIQ+ Film Festival.聽 聽 聽
Images:聽 Main image above: Billy Tipton in 1946.聽 聽 聽Image to the left:聽 the No Ordinary Man team - with Co-director in the centre.聽 聽 聽Images credit: Courtesy BFI Flare

Dream

Dream
The RSC's聽,聽an interactive virtual performance聽 inspired by Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and gaming is performed online until 28 March 2021.聽
Image: Dream, 2021 set-up shot -聽The actor and avatar of Puck (EM Williams) performing in a motion capture suit and moving through the virtual forest.聽 聽Image credit: Stuart Martin (c) RSC

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  • Wed 17 Mar 2021 19:15

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