It's the Merry Month of May!

May sees Mayfesto taking over the Tron’s programming, showcasing explicitly political work that tackles the theme of colonisation. Quite a fitting theme, considering the summer of 2014 is expected to turn Glasgow into a centre of celebration of the twentieth Commonwealth Games. This will also involve Culture 2014 events, which are intended to celebrate the diversity of the Commonwealth; after all, the Commonwealth is made up of 53 countries, most – if not all – of which used to be part of the British Empire.

Mayfesto itself is a reincarnation of the 1980s Glasgow-wide festival known as Mayfest, which celebrated Glasgow’s arts and culture scene in relation to its political and socioeconomic history. The last Mayfest took place in 1997, but Andy Arnold – artistic director of the Tron theatre – resurrected it as a spoken word season of programming with a political edge. This year, Mayfesto tackles colonisation – through war, through culture, and through language, which Arnold takes to heart and applies to Shakespeare and Aimé Césaire’s Tempest.

Based on the novel The Playmaker by Thomas Keneally, Our Country’s Good takes quite a literal approach to things. Set in the penal colony of New South Wales (Australia), the play follows the attempts of an officer to rehearse a play with the inmates, promoting rehabilitation instead of the daily floggings and death threats the convicts had to deal with. Meanwhile, Saltbush – Children's cheering carpet leads us on an interactive journey across Aboriginal Australia through live dance, music, song and stories. It is presented by Compagnia TPO and Insite Arts, as part of the Glasgow 2014 cultural programme, with the help of the Imaginate Festival on Tour. Imaginate promotes and celebrates performance for children and young people, and is also launching its own festival in May. 

Looking to the Middle East, the multi-disciplinary play Heart by ZENDEH examines the question of what Britain is doing in the Middle East (in this case, Iran) and how the current situation has come about. Director Nazli Tabatabai-Khatabakhsh points out that the play could be considered “a study of humanity” as we zoom in on the lives of three individuals trapped in a love triangle, while they try to make it through the minefield that is Tehran of 1953, during the coup d’etat instigated and aided by Britain. While set in a relatively modern context, the play also nods to the rich cultural history of Iran and the Persian empire, as the love triangle itself is inspired by the poem Leili and Majnoun – what Tabatabai-Khatabakhsh calls the "big sister of Romeo and Juliet." It is the second of three plays that ZENDEH are performing in the period 2012 - 2015. 

Aside from plays, the Mayfesto programme features rehearsed readings, workshops and three debates – two of which are debate-performances. Alan Bissett's work in progress Jock: Scotland on Trial tackles a debate about Scotland, imperialism, and whether or not Scotland has been colonised or acted as coloniser and hence can be held accountable for theft from other countries. 

Meanwhile, the Arches' Behaviour Festival draws to a close on May 2 with Dark Behaviour. Performance collective 85A and their allies are taking over the space, with performances and visual art in every nook and cranny of the building, while the music programme features Golden Teacher, Planningtorock and Fem Bitch Nation to name a few.