STEWART LEE at THE STAND EDINBURGH FRINGE

Had the pleasure of seeing Stewart Lee in his long run at the Stand , every show he tests out material on 2 separate topics to use for a TV show later in the year , the two topics he discussed are very close to my heart - Islam and Pish.Though new material the Islam portion was very close to this one.


 (The best joke on Islam ever comes at the 7mins30sec mark)

 He has a great record of doing fundraisers for the Palestinians , After the gig he was flogging his DVDs on a stall ,a tenner a go ,very touching and sad at the same time.I was so moved went on to buy one which he kindly signed.

MARK THOMAS CUCKOOED at the EDINBURGH FESTIVAL

This highly personal play deals with the tragic , sad and touching tale about how corporations destroy Humanity outward and in , based on the activists true experience campaigning for the anti-Arms trade organisation CAAT
In this  video he discusses the personal and social issues involved in the play.

This is a highly taut and polished one man play which brings all the intellectual , theatrical and stand-up comic skills of Thomas to create a genuine powerful drama of both Human and Social scale.



The production was the winner of this years Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award.

'Mark Thomas richly deserved the 2014 Freedom of Expression Award for Cuckooed. This should be compulsory viewing for everyone in the UK. The timely and very important issues include the erosion of our rights to privacy, and democratic activism without interference from the state, but ultimately it was about freedom of expression, which is the reason we created this award.'
Siobhan Reardon, Amnesty International's Scotland Programme Director"

This review from The Guardian gives a good overview of the production.

"For years, Martin appeared to work tirelessly for Campaign Against Arms Trade. He was warm, funny and apparently loyal. He was a good friend, turning up at the police station after Thomas's first arrest for activism. He was so loved that he was asked to be godparent to one activist's child. But he was being paid to spy on the group by BAE Systems, Britain's largest arms manufacturer. Who could ever have imagined it? This was a man who put a custard pie in the face of the former BAE head honcho, Richard Evans. A spy wouldn't do that, would he?
Part of the power of this neatly crafted one-man show is the way it exposes how easily we believe and how hard it is to accept that we have been duped. How without trust everything breaks down: friendships, partnerships, even our relationship with the state. Particularly our relationship with the state, in fact. If it turns out they are spying on us, why should we ever trust anything they say?"

BEOWULF adapted by SEAMUS HEANEY at the TRON THEATRE

An epic Scandinavian Tale , told by German Anglo Saxon invading colonists in England and translated by a Nobel Prize winning Gaelic Poet in the 20th century makes for quite a remarkable transfiguration on the views and angels this all time classic tale has made throughout the ages.

Once a story of all conquering machismo superheroes cleaving a heroically brutal darwinian manifest destiny through less worldly wise tribes ripe to be wiped out for the betterment of the forces of civilisation.The Heaney translation bring this tale , which even in the last century was seen as one of the expansion of the fittest , into a story of self-sacrifice and helping neighbours out in order to repel overseas invasions and tyrannical occupations , keeping your local region safe from outside expansionist forces.

This review from The Herald newspaper captures the mood that this was not in any way a rehearsed reading from this brilliant cast who performed without notes in what was very much a full production with a full atmospheric set.

"While by no means explicitly anti-war, in the current climate one can't help but think of what happens when real-life monsters invade small and vulnerable countries. There too, it seems, it is the women who are left to tell the bloodiest of tales."

And this review from the public reviews website  captures the strip down quality of Heaneys translation which bring the words ,and not the fantastical images,of the original the centrepiece of the work and its connection to audiences of today.

"Alone, Seamus Heaney’s translation reads with an elegant fluency; paired with the Tron Theatre Company Beowulf leaps to life in a flourish of literary devices set against a darkened and brooding stage. The distinct voices of three of Scotland’s finest actresses collectively portray the iconic tale of a Danish community under siege by the god-cursed monster, Grendal. From across the sea comes the heroic Geat warrior Beowulf, determined to protect the Danes and the Heorot Hall built by their King, the sole location of refuge and solidarity in the midst of their devastated community."