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Across the Festival: Referendum productions

Michael Cox reviews All Back to Bowie's and The Pure, the Dead and the Brilliant.

One of the observations many have made about this year’s Fringe is the low profile of productions focused on the referendum. Maybe many expected it to be a common theme, but there have been many out there. In fact, two of the most high profile shows via the Assembly Rooms are all about the question of Scottish independence.

First is All Back to Bowie’s, which is more of a discussion panel than a production. Inspired by David Bowie’s statement to Scotland to ‘stay with us’, Bowie’s offers a look at different themes based on the question of independence with changing panelists.

The day I saw it, it was chaired by David Greig and Julia Taudevin, had music by Gerry Campbell, poetry from Nancy Somerville and a panel discussion with Alison Peebles, Robert Softley Gale and Jo Clifford (along with closing comments from a member of the act that followed: Falafel, Houmous and Baba Ganoush). All were excellent and intriguing with what they had to say with the theme of ‘living independently’, though as it was a full panel of ‘Yes’ believers, several of the Nos in the audience offered slight heckles from time to time.

Every show is completely different in make-up and theme, so it is impossible to ‘review’ the production. What I can say is that I found the hour to be thought-provoking yet delivered with good humour. Each day’s panel is being offered as a podcast, and though I went in feeling fine experiencing only one of its panels, I now want to listen to every other episode.

Much more on the theatrical side of things is The Pure, the Dead and the Brilliant (***). Sacha Kyle & Alan Bissett’s political romp is a panto-at-heart that sees Scotland’s imaginary characters pushing for a No vote for fear that Yes will make Scotland real, thus pushing them out of existence.

The show is not meant as a debate: its Yes credentials are worn proudly on its sleeve. Which is perfectly fine, even if it means there’s less bite in the satire. Is it Yes propaganda? Perhaps, though when I saw it, it seemed as if a quarter of the audience were still happily in the No camp for the end vote; they still had smiles on their faces, so the ribbing might not be as brutal as it could have been.

But of course there is irony here, for once the referendum happens on September 18, Yes or No, this production itself will cease to have a reason to be. Pure may not be ‘brilliant’, but it is good fun nonetheless.

All Back to Bowie’s website is: http://www.allbacktobowies.com/

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