Mayfesto 2013
The Tron Theatre launches its summer season with Mayfesto – Glasgow's theatre festival since 2010. Mayfesto 2013 examines the theme of identity from as many angles as possible, with 15 events over 19 days.
“I’m a great believer in providing occasions to have a celebration of theatre," explains Andy Arnold, the artistic director responsible for creating the festival in 2010. It is focused heavily around new work, works in progress, and the spoken word.
Partly political in nature, the idea for Mayfesto stemmed from the original Mayfest as set up in 1983. May as a month seemed appropriate as it is both “the month of socialist revolutionary celebration” and a reasonably quiet time of the year for theatre.
It all kicks off with Jenna Watt's award-winning Flâneurs. This is a thought-provoking piece of theatre exploring the nature of violence and how it is related to the ‘bystander effect;’ if someone is being attacked, do we intervene? If the answer is ‘no,’ why not?
Equally troubling questions are brought to the surface by Mike Daisey’s The Agony and The Ecstasy of Steve Jobs. Looking at Apple, one of the world’s favourite brands, in a completely different light, the show explores the state of electronic sweatshops in China – including armed guards, child labour, and the toxic effects of hexane.
Vanishing Point also make an appearance with As It Is. The situation: Damir Todorovic is taking a polygraph to determine whether or not he imagined certain events in his past or not. In January 1993, he was sent to the war in Bosnia against his will. What really happened? Can a polygraph answer such a question? This piece appears to be the beginning of a very long discussion about true and false, and how we experience certain events.
Discussion is also thrown into the mix, however, as the Mayfesto 2013 programme includes a debate about Scottish culture, titled Who Runs Scottish Culture? (And What is it Anyway?). In the context of the Scottish independence referendum, the remark by Alasdair Gray concerning the reliance of the Scots on the English ‘colonists’ was met with outrage in 2012. What would the cultural landscape of an independent Scotland look like? This free but ticketed event is no doubt just tackling a piece of a very large, multi-layered puzzle.
On the other end of the programming sit more light-hearted, yet equally engaging pieces, like Daniel Bye’s The Price of Everything. This considers the difference between the price of an object and its value, and also includes a free glass of milk.
Stage to Page is the festival’s final event on 20 May. Run by The Playwrights’ Studio as a regular event on the last Monday of every month, it involves examination of three scenes from brand new plays through hour-long workshops, performed readings and heated debate. On this particular day, Andy Arnold features as the industry guest.
These events are just a taste of what Mayfesto promises for 2013: overall, an entertaining, at times provocative, and certainly thought-provoking, engaging night out for less than a tenner.