The Mack Daddy

Markus Makavellian would like to introduce a new world order – where the verb does not equal the noun, amongst other things. Glasgow performance artist Drew Taylor presents his New York poet Markus Makavellian from his poetry office. The American-ness of his character seems superfluous, and Taylor is not a space-encompassing performer. He wonderfully ponces, and his poetry transcends the at times awkwardness of his stage presence.

A skull leers out from the desk that is Markus’ poetry office, shades of Macbeth’s indecision and internal conflict. It is not with himself that Markus conflicts, it is possibly the world at large. A poetic performance exposé of Alanis Morissette-esque unsent love/stalk letters, he regales us with thought-provoking lists of homophobia and social commentary on the nature of gay versus camp.

For Markus, there are “important words amidst the drivel”: opening the performance with the nature of the poo is inspired. Risky, but driving the point home with the fact that all humans must perform this bodily function leads to success, helped along by the audience being enticed to blow raspberries one by one, with spit flying.

Markus is cute, cutting and his transitions between poem introduction and poem performance are seamless.