BEHAVIOUR FESTIVAL
GARY MCNAIR CLAIRE CUNNINGHAM
DONALD ROBERTSON IS NOT PINK MIST
ROB DRUMMOND THE RIOT OF SPRING
A STAND-UP COMEDIAN
Born: 1986 in Paisley. Grew up in Erskine. Now lives in Glasgow.
Background: The writer-performer-director has looked at the nature of money in Crunch, analysed the voting system in Count Me In and dramatised the life of an endurance athlete in Born to Run. We said: ‘McNair leaves a strange brew of exhilaration and unease in the room’. What he says about Donald Robertson Is Not a Stand-Up Comedian: ‘I’m telling the story of a young lad called Donald Robertson who I met on a bus and who wanted to get into stand-up. It’s an exploration of what we look for in comedy and what its functions are in society. Humour is very important in my work, but I have never billed it as comedy. This time, I’m letting people bring an expectation of comedy and seeing how that affects the work. As a teenager, there was a part of me that wanted to be a stand-up and I guess there was always that curiosity: could I do it? To research this show, I went out to the New York Comedy Festival and cemented myself in that world. Through this process, I’ve realised I’m actually happier doing what I do.’
Born: 1977 in Kilmarnock. Now lives in Rutherglen. Born: 1982 in Paisley. Now lives in Glasgow.
Background: A classically trained singer who reinvented herself as a dancer and aerial artist in spite of her osteoporosis, she was nominated for best female performer at the Dublin Fringe for Evolution. She also made the perfect boyfriend out of crutches in Ménage à Trois, which Disability Arts Online called ‘an unforgettable experience’. What she says about Pink Mist: ‘Most of my work is autobiographical and this was a chance to do something that wasn’t about me. I had a loose plan that tied me to the idea of the landmine, which I thought of as an object that created other crutch-users: it is designed to maim rather than kill. I did a research trip at the end of January to Cambodia, a predominantly Buddhist country where a lot of people believe disability is a result of a misdemeanour in a previous life. I wasn’t prepared for that. It changes how people relate to the concept of disability and it makes me question how my beliefs around disability have been formed by the culture I’m in. I’m not looking at Pink Mist purely as choreography. I’ve been interested in creating visual and sculptural images and this initial stage has a live art/installation feeling.’
Background: The actor and playwright got the audience to help him dream up a story every night in the CATS-award winning Mr Write and had a gun pulled on him in Bullet Catch which The Guardian described as ‘remarkable, multilayered and utterly gripping’. Before The Riot of Spring, his play Quiz Show is at Edinburgh’s Traverse (Fri 29 Mar– Sat 20 Apr). What he says about The Riot of Spring: ‘It’s not a recreation of The Rite of Spring, which would be pretty much impossible, but we’re doing a three-man reaction to the original. I went to America last year to do four weeks’ intensive performance training with the SITI Company. The Rite of Spring was part of our stimulus. I’m not really a ballet guy, but immersing yourself in it, you realise it’s really special. When it came to what show I was going to do, everything fell into place: it was the 100-year anniversary of the ballet, which caused a riot in Paris and I had this background knowledge and I’d been trained in movement. It was a show I had to do. The Auteurs Project is all about stretching yourself, so why not throw yourself in at the deep end and do a movement piece?’
What we expect: A sideways look at the funny business with the chance of a few good gags.
What we expect: A visually arresting attempt at marrying the politics of war, disability and religion on a global scale. What we expect: Unlikely to be one for the Stravinsky/Nijinsky purists, it should at the very least be a moving experience.
When it’s on The Arches, Glasgow, Wed 3, Thu 4 and Sat 6 Apr. 26 THE LIST 21 Mar– 18 Apr 2013
When it’s on The Arches, Glasgow, Thu 25–Sat 27 Apr. When it’s on Tramway, Glasgow, Fri 10 & Sat 11 May.