WHEREAS some spent the weeks between the Brexit vote in June 2016 and the election of Donald Trump that November in an increasingly aghast stupor, performance duo Two Destination Language were creating their new piece Manpower, which is touring across Scotland this autumn.
Originally developed as a playful work about the diversity of “how people can be males in the contemporary world”, Bulgarian artist Katherina Radeva and Scottish artist Alister Lownie found their piece needed an overhaul in the wake of the vote to leave the EU.
“It was right to change the show,” says Lownie, who is based in the Borders with his partner Radeva. “That playful piece was beginning to feel quite drowned out by a sea of bullying male voices on the political landscape both here and in America.”
The pair were on a working residency in Portugal when the result to Leave came through.
To a soundtrack of era-defining songs, the piece centres on a wooden structure being made live on stage by Lownie while Radeva tells him her views on the British working class.
The piece is less about pushing a particular side of debate, and more about the use of language and the changing roles and expectations of men in recent decades, Lownie explains.
“With both Europe and Trump, the debate wasn’t so much about positive values, it was quite negative, with people laying claim to the idea of ‘taking back control’,” he says. “That’s an idea that in itself is quite a traditionally male, hierarchical view of how a society might be built.”
With Lownie working on his DIY construction for most of the piece, the majority of Manpower’s words are spoken by Radeva. Her on-stage character has split audiences, says Lownie.
“She is a bit of a Thatcherite figure,” he says. “A faultline can appear in the audience between people thinking the piece is satirising those views, or supporting them. That’s what we’re trying to do, create a little bit of space to talk about those differences.”
“It’s not about what side you’re on, it’s about beginning to find ways of talking to one another across those divides, about sparking conversations which might not have happened otherwise.”
Oct 11, Lyth Arts Centre, Caithness, 8pm, £6 to £14, lytharts.org.uk; Oct 24, Beacon Arts Centre, Greenock, 8pm, £10 to £12, beaconartscentre.co.uk; Oct 25, Platform, Glasgow, 7pm, £8.50, £5, £4 concs, www.platform-online.co.uk; Nov 28, Eastgate Theatre, Peebles, 7.30pm £14, £12 and £6 concs, www.eastgatearts.com. www.twodestinationlanguage.com
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here