Lost In Digression

Lost in Digression came from an idea I had to create a cabaret for acts that would maybe not be included in traditional cabaret. I have spent the last couple of years seeing a lot of cabaret and always loved that they provide a space for artists to share. However, I started to become familiar with the acts and felt that there was an opportunity to create a night for people new to performing in such an environment. It should subvert expectations of cabaret by being less about showmanship and more about creation.

The audience can expect that all of the acts will be performing their own work. The night is very much about original work, some of which has never been shared with an audience before. It is all loosely themed around the notion of digression; losing track of exactly where it was you were going and ending up somewhere quite different from where you expected to be. The acts will all be telling stories about this loss in a variety of ways.

For the launch night in October the performers include: poets exploring subculture and the dark edges of the mind, a new monologue based on the idea of fragmentation of the self and musicians that include two members of Glasgow band Run from Red doing an acoustic set and upcoming band The Raw Kings. I think that this variety allows ideas to be explored from many different angles. I am interested in how the night can evolve through an audience and will hopefully become a regular night in the Tron.

In terms of the cabaret revival I hope Lost in Digression will take from what has been done and open up a space with a slightly darker edge to it, moving away from say burlesque or show tunes and more into taking new artists and giving them free reign to perform new work.

I see it as a compliment to other types of cabaret, merging the idea of open mic and poetry jams all structured within a night of good but also thought-provoking entertainment. In a time when the arts are facing funding cuts and music has become focused on reality television shows I hope Digression can provide a celebration of creation.

The Tron as a venue it seems to be ideal. It has a vast and varied history on providing a great space for cabaret, always open to the new and at the forefront of the Glasgow arts scene. It is a very forward thinking venue that has in the last few years has become a hub again in Glasgow, with a programme that is always full and changing and very supportive to upcoming artists.

Andy Arnold seems to see how vital it is to allow the Tron to be a space which is about creativity and experimentation, allowing the public access to a variety of theatrical experiences and hopefully Lost in Digression can become a regular fixture in its Victorian Bar.