Glaswegian performer, writer and theatre maker Martin O’Connor presents his new spoken word and sound performance, 'The Mark of the Beast' to Edinburgh audiences at the Scottish Storytelling Centre on Thursday 19 April.
Both entertaining and politically astute, the show explores society’s relationship with alcohol and outlines its impact on Scottish male identity, family attitudes and morality.
Three years in the making, Platform invited O’Connor to collaborate with sound artist Nichola Scrutton and The North East Recovery Community (NERC) to visit six recovery community cafes, collecting experiences from participants recovering from alcohol and drug addiction.
Together, O’Connor and Scrutton created the sound installation Good Days Bad Days, which informs the soundscape for The Mark of the Beast.
Martin O’Connor says about his latest work:
“I’m excited to be finally presenting the final version of 'The Mark
of the Beast', which brings together my spoken word and the recorded stories collected from Glasgow participants.
“It is important to share these life experiences with new audiences and to experiment with the relationship between recorded and live material.
“It also feels like an important step in my practice as I continue to explore the place of marginalised voices in performance and the poetry of Glaswegian Scots.”
O’Connor’s unique style of writing and performing in ‘the idiolect’, first applied in his previous works 'Theology' and 'Building a Nation', is a mixture of high and low registers, Scots, English and Gaelic, to echo colloquial ways of speaking.
Greatly compassionate, humorous and interspersed with religious references, this performance won’t fail to make you laugh, whilst recognising the many faces and effects of “the demon drink.”
Presented by Martin O’Connor. Co-created by Sound Artist, Nichola Scrutton; Designer, Fergus Dunnet and the North East Recovery Community. Produced in association with Platform.
Tickets
£10 (£8) | 16+