Vote Culture!

May 6 2015 | By More

Polling day production

Culture is on the agenda on polling day, with the Traverse staging a pair of Two Minute Manifesto performances that attempt to capture the spirit of debate.

Curated by playwright David Greig, Scottish Greens activist Sarah Beattie-Smith and the writer and filmmaker Christopher Silver, the two debates will offer a space to look at the bigger picture on the day of the General Election.

Sarah Beattie-Smith, Christopher Silver and David Greig. Photo: Traverse

Sarah Beattie-Smith, Christopher Silver and David Greig. Photo: Traverse

Guests are invited to bring their own personal manifesto ideas to the stage, from the serious to the silly, and present them in 2 minutes. This packed format will talk about big ideas with humour, music, audience interaction, and expert analysis of the current political climate.

The Two Minute Manifesto concept is something of a spin-off from the All Back to Bowie’s production which David Greig was part of curating at the fringe last August.

Greig said: “I love the atmosphere of the Traverse on Election Day. The bar’s full of gossip, speculation, wit and whisky. Two Minute Manifesto is an attempt to make a show that captures that spirit. We’ve got fascinating guests who can talk about culture and ideas, top writers looking back at the campaign and forward to the future, as well as some great music.

“Who knows what’s going to happen on 7 May but whatever the result, the Traverse is the place for discussion, debate and passionate ambivalence.”

The two performances, at 1pm and 10.30pm, will feature different guests and presenters.

Listings

Thursday 7 May 2015
1pm (1 hour)
Presenters:
David Greig and Sarah Beattie-Smith
Guests:
Scottish playwright Linda McLean;
Juliet Swann, Campaigns and Research Officer at Electoral Reform Society Scotland who is working on the ‘Democracy Max’ programme;
Peter Geoghan, journalist and author of The People’s Referendum: Why Scotland Will Never Be the Same Again;
James Kelly who writes the pro-independence blog Scot Goes Pop!;
and the singer Chrissy Barnacle (http://chrissybarnacle.bandcamp.com/)

Thursday 7 May 2015
10:30pm (an hour or more)
Presenters:
David Greig with the cultural activist, ethnologist and ethnomusicologist: Mairi McFadyen
Guests:
Singer Karine Polwart, four times winner at BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards;
Ian Fraser, author of Inside RBS, The Bank That Broke Britain (named as Book of the Year in 2014 by the Financial Times, Bloomberg, The Week and Huffington Post);
Hannah McGill, freelance writer, critic and former Artistic Director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival
The band Wounded Knee
Christopher Silver co-curator of the event
and the playwright Stephen Greenhorn.

Further details and tickets (£8/£6) from the Traverse website: www.traverse.co.uk

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