Foundation wants to set up gay Theatre

Amsterdam should have an international gay theatre. This
opinion was voiced by the recently formed foundation for an
International Gay Theatre in Amsterdam. The theatre should
provide a place where all art-forms can be shown from a homo-
sexual perspective, thus supporting the emancipation of gay
men and women. The foundation has chosen the "Oranjekerk" as a
location and has handed in a request to be registered as a
user of the locality. Prof. dr. Rob Tielman last week presen-
ted a report to alderman Koopmans of the Amsterdam local
council "de Pijp" and to Annemarie Grewel, openly lesbian head
of Amsterdam's cultural committee. The foundation aims at
acquiring two stages, a room for rehearsels and a foyer, where
exhibitions are to be held as well. According to the plans
presented the theatre should be financially in the clear after
one year, based on an annual 72,000 visitors to the centre.
According to research the centre meets the need for a place
with an international character where new art-forms can deve-
lop from a gay perspective. The Foundation plans to devote
special attention to young gays struggling with their hono-
sexuality and to lesbians women.


Arrests made in gay murder case.

Two men aged 24 and 30 were arrested in connection with the
murder of a 75-year old man in the eastern Dutch town of
Zwolle last december. The victim had been murdered after
having visited a parc, known locally as a cruising area for
gay men, near his house. The circumstances under which the
murder took place were shown in a Dutch version of "Crime-
watch" on national tv a few weeks later together with an
appeal from the police for information and an assurance that
witnesses' identities would be proteced.


Gaykrant celebrates its 15th anniversary.

In the last weeks of december 1994 Hollands biggest gay and
lesbian newspaper the "Gay-krant" ("Gay-paper") celebrated the
fact that the paper first came out at the and of december of
1979. The paper started life as a Christmas present for the
patrons of Eindhoven's gay club "Du Masher" but when people
actually started asking questions on how to subscribe Henk
Krol, one of the people behind the Eindhoven Gay News as it
was then called, took up the idea of starting a regular gay
newspaper. In 1987 the paper purchased their own building in
Best near Eindhoven, in 1988 the paper started to be published
bi-weekly, the glossy "Magayzine" was started and in 1989 the
gaytel information service, based on the French Minitel sy-
stem, began operating. Relations between the Gaykrant and the
national Dutch gay and Lesbian movement COC have from time to
time been problematic, much of it due to a difference in
culture between the (commercially run) Gaykrant and the COC
which is largely financed through state and local subsidies.
In an interview last december on Amsterdam's gay radiostation
MVS-radio Henk Krol, editor and founder of the gaykrant soun-
ded as confident as ever when looking at the future.


Love from Holland,

Bert Schuur
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