We Can Be Heroes with Paul Burston

Today's guest is HIV/AIDS educator, activist, actor and king of the gym selfie Matthew Hodson.Matthew is Executive Director of the international HIV information charity aidsmap and former Chief Executive of the activist charity Gay Men Fighting AIDS.Matthew's heroes include Jodie Foster, Toyah Wilcox, Derek Jarman and Peter Tatchell.Paul Burston's memoir We Can Be Heroes will be published by Little A and is available to preorder now from Amazon and all good bookshops.Image by Mark Wardel aka Trademark.If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast, you might enjoy the Paul Burston newsletter, where you'll find the latest updates on my books, offers and competitions. Sign up here.

Today's guest is author, artist and artist's muse Sue Tilley.Sometimes known as Big Sue, she was close friends with Leigh Bowery and wrote the official biography of the designer and performer, who died in 1994.She also famously posed for Lucian Freud. The portrait, Benefits Supervisor Sleeping, became the most expensive painting by a living artist.Now based in St Leonards, Sue continues to paint, run art classes, produce T shirts and help keep Leigh's legacy alive.Sue's heroes include Bowery, actor Drew Barrymore, filmmaker Baillie Walsh and fellow artist Rui Miguel Leitao Ferriera.Paul Burston's memoir We Can Be Heroes will be published by Little A and is available to preorder now from Amazon and all good bookshops.Image by Mark Wardel aka Trademark.If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast, you might enjoy the Paul Burston newsletter, where you'll find the latest updates on my books, offers and competitions. Sign up here.

Today's guest is award-winning writer, performer and theatre maker Travis Alabanza.Alabanza's poetry was first published in 2015, in the anthology Black and Gay in the UK.As a performer, their work has been featured at Duckie, Bar Wotever, Late at Tate, the V&A and many other venues.Their shows include Burgerz and Overflow. They also starred in a stage adaptation of Derek Jarman’s Jubilee.Their book None of the Above describes their personal journey as a black queer person living beyond the gender binary.Alabanza's heroes include performance artist David Hoyle, actor and activist Laverne Cox and writer James Baldwin.Paul Burston's memoir We Can Be Heroes will be published by Little A and is available to preorder now from Amazon and all good bookshops.Image by Mark Wardel aka Trademark.If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast, you might enjoy the Paul Burston newsletter, where you'll find the latest updates on my books, offers and competitions. Sign up here.

Today’s guest is author Kerry Hudson.I first met Kerry shortly after the publication of her debut novel, Tony Hogan Bought Me An Ice Cream Float Before He Stole My Ma.She read at Polari at the Southbank Centre and was later shortlisted for The Polari First Book Prize.Since then, she's published a second novel, Thirst, and an award-winning memoir, Lowborn, about the realities of being poor in the UK today.Kerry's 'sheroes' include writers Andrea Dunbar and Bernardine Evaristo and her own best friend, who is head teacher at a South London school.Paul Burston's memoir We Can Be Heroes will be published by Little A and is available to preorder now from Amazon and all good bookshops.Image by Mark Wardel aka Trademark.If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast, you might enjoy the Paul Burston newsletter, where you'll find the latest updates on my books, offers and competitions. Sign up here.

Today’s guest is author, director, performer and playwright Neil Bartlett.I first came across Bartlett in the late '80s with his landmark play, A Vision of Love Revealed in Sleep – which began as a one-man performance piece and was later developed into a full scale production.Since then, he's produced an extraordinary body of work, including several prize-winning and shortlisted books. His latest, Address Book, is shortlisted for The Polari Prize 2022Neil's heroes and heroines include Bette Bourne, Bette Midler, Juan Goytisolo, Rose Marie and Siouxsie Sioux.In a sometimes emotional conversation, we also discuss our mutual friend Derek Jarman, the late drag legend Regina Fong and contemporary performance artist David Hoyle.Neil Bartlett's latest work for the theatre includes new adaptations of Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde and Virginia Woolf's Orlando.Paul Burston's memoir We Can Be Heroes will be published by Little A and is available to preorder now from Amazon and all good bookshops.Image by Mark Wardel aka Trademark.If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast, you might enjoy the Paul Burston newsletter, where you'll find the latest updates on my books, offers and competitions. Sign up here.

Today’s guest is someone I’ve known personally for over 30 years – singer, actress and one third of award-winning cabaret trio Fascinating Aida, Adele Anderson. Adele's heroes and heroines include a famous jazz musician, an inspirational trans icon and two women close to her heart, personally and professionally.In a characteristically candid conversation, Adele also talks about cancel culture, radical drag, her personal journey as a trans woman and surviving cancer – and writing and performing songs about both.Paul Burston's memoir We Can Be Heroes will be published by Little A and is available to preorder now.Image by Mark Wardel aka Trademark.If you've enjoyed listening to this podcast, you might enjoy the Paul Burston newsletter, where you'll find the latest updates on my books, offers and competitions. Sign up here.