Make A Scene Film Club - The Birdcage (1996)
The Birdcage is the 1996 update of the seminal 1978 French queer comedy film La Cage aux Folles directed by Édouard Molinaro, based on Jean Poiret's 1973 play about middle-aged gay couple who run a drag nightclub whose lives become upended when their straight son is set to marry a girl from a conservative family. Robin Williams and Nathan Lane play the gayest of gay soulmates and the late, great Gene Hackman stars alongside Diane Weist as the Republican senator and his wife who Williams and Lane try to hide their world of camp, glitter and sequins from as they visit them their home above The Birdcage nightclub in Miami when the two families meet. Directed by Mike Nichols (The Graduate, Working Girl) and written by Elaine May this hilarious comedy classic marks the first on screen collaboration of Nichols and May, who had been a comedy duo in the 1950s and 1960s, it debuted at the top of the North American box office and is groundbreaking as one of the few films from a major American studio at the time to feature LGBT characters.
Come and enjoy this camp classic queer comedy which features a scene stealing supporting performance by Hank Azeria (Mr Burns and many characters from The Simpsons) as a flamboyant house boy and culminates in musical numbers and Gene Hackman in full drag! We’re thrilled to be screening it as it deserves to be seen…in a room full of fabulous film fans at our favourite cult cinema CULTPLEX.
This screening includes an introduction by Make A Scene Film Club's curator Gary James Williams who is also lead programmer for SCENE Manchester LGBTQ+ Film and TV Festival.
Please note: This screening is not a Make A Scene "way-too-interactive screening" meaning audience participation isn't encouraged! We do encourage you to stick around and mingle in the bar after the screening to discuss the film and suggest future screenings.
Make A Scene is Manchester's queer and camp film club, screening fabulous favourites and future classics since 2016. For more info head to: www.makeascenefilmclub.com
