Interview on BBC Scotland’s Book Cafe about the radical seditious Robert Burns

Also.. another review .. this time in tonight’s Edinburgh Evening News.  A 4 star review too.

Robert Burns: Not In My Name, National Library, George IV Bridge ****

By Barry Gordon

TO SOME, retelling the “dangerous” works that Robert Burns wouldn’t put his name to may seem like yet another in a long line of pieces inspired by Scotland’s national poet. They’d be wrong.

Kevin Williamson’s passionate and moving interpretation reveals a side of Burns rarely seen – the risqué poems, subversive lines and incriminating, unfinished pieces that discuss sex, war and politics in graphic detail. Some of these poems were found on the backs of money notes, hidden away on friends’ farms, or inscribed on pub windows.

Williamson pronounces every word as though he’s reliving every tale. Come the end, the founder of legendary literary imprint Rebel Inc points to Burns’ name on the back of his shirt in a fashion more commonly associated with a footballer having scored a crucial goal. It’s an emotionally uplifting sight.

Run ends 28 August

The reviews (so far) of Robert Burns: Not In My Name

Only one national newspaper has reviewed ROBERT BURNS: NOT IN MY NAME thus far, but it was by Scotland’s top theatre critic, Joyce McMillan, for The Scotsman, and she enjoyed the show.  Some other reviews have appeared online.  Here’s a … Continue reading →

That Robert Burns T-shirt…

I’ve been wearing a football-style Robert Burns T-shirt on stage each night and have been asked what the quote on it is, and where it comes from.  Answer:  from the poem ‘Epistle To Davie: A Brother Poet.’ *

The honest heart that’s free frae a’

intended fraud or guile.

However fortune kick the ba’,

Has ay some cause to smile.

The Burns T-shirt’s are supplied by Philosophy Football and can be bought at the venue each night for £17.99, or can be ordered direct from the Philosophy Football website.

The T’s may seem a wee bit pricey but all Philosophy Football T-shirts are printed on both sides (the other side has the squad number 25, with BURNS above it) , are high quality, use ethically sourced material, and are manufactured by trade-unionised labour.

(* This poem may have been an inspiration for Paul Reekie’s infamous story ‘Submission’ in the Children of Albion Rovers anthology I edited in 1996).

Opening night thoughts…

Never-wracking doesn’t quite do it justice.  But once on stage it was fine.  Anyway, that’s the first night over and I’m pleased the way things panned out.  It all came together nicely.  A fair sized audience turned up too and from the reaction at the end most seemed to enjoy it.  Some critics turned up as well, including the redoubtable Joyce McMillan, and I’ll be interested to find out what they thought of it.

Have to say thank you especially to the feedback from Innes Mitchell and his group of students from Austin, Texas, who I spent an enjoyable hour with this morning at Queen Margaret University. They came last night and they really got what we were trying to do, with the films in particular, even if some of the 18thC Scots words left them baffled!

The bonus was meeting Joe, an American Professor, who has been a big Burns fan for over 40 years, and was so blown away by the show he wants to help take it international.  Watch this space as they say.

Spreading the word

The  posters and flyers for the show came back from the printer’s yesterday.  (Thanks Carla.)  Gonna enjoy going round the pubs with them this weekend.

If the idea of this show appeals to your poetic or radical sensibilities, please feel free to download a copy of the above poster.  I’d be very appreciative if you emailed, Facebooked, or Tweeted it to any Robert Burns fans in your circle of friends.

Let me know if you help out, just so I can thank you. 🙂

I can be found @robertburnsbard on Twitter; or emailed:  robertburnsnotinmyname2011 AT gmail.com.   Ta.

 

Rabbie’s Rhymes

You can never be too young to enjoy Robert Burns.  In the above video, my oldest laddie, just turned two last month, enjoys learning some Burns poetry courtesy of ‘Rabbie’s Rhymes.’  As can be seen he’s already got his favourite!

Every bairn should have one!

‘Rabbie’s Rhymes’ is published by Itchy Coo and I couldn’t sing their praises too loudly.  The children’s publishing company launched in 2002 by James Robertson and Matthew Fitt is doing wonders for the encouragement and enjoyment of the Scots language.  Like most Scots parents these days, we’ve got ‘Katie’s Coo‘,  ‘Katie’s Ferm’, and a whole stack of their titles in the hoose and they’re the ones our wee laddie usually wants us to read to him.

What do Burns, Edith Piaf, Linda Lovelace, Thomas Paine, Gay Times, Nabokov, de Sade, and 16thC Republicans have in common?

Hats off to the National Library of Scotland for their professional approach to publicity for this show.  Their posters and flyers (above) look great.  The NLS Fringe programme features one other show:  ‘Piaf’ – which is on at the NLS during my days off (14th-20th Aug at 7pm).  Christine Bovill, who sings the Edith Piaf songs, has a gorgeous sensual voice and the show promises to be a bit special.

If you’re going past the NLS on George IV Bridge I’d seriously recommend checking out the ‘Banned Books’ exhibition.  (It’s free.) This is a fascinating history of censorship through the ages.  I was especially intrigued by a large leather-bound book on display from the days of the Spanish Inquisition.  The book was concerned with republicanism in the 16th Century and lies open at pages where the Inquisitors have scored out sentences they disagreed with.

Also in the Banned Books exhibition is a book by our very own Robert Burns.  Aye, our national poet is in there among such esteemed company as the Marquis De Sade, Alex Trocchi, Thomas Paine, Nabokov, Gay Times, Linda Lovelace and DH Lawrence.

Incidentally, the Burns book is displayed open at a poem featured in ‘Not In My Name’.  If you want to know which poem …. you’ll have to visit the Banned Books exhibition!

 

Our new Robert Burns image for posters, etc

The above image was specially created for this show by Alastair Cook.  Pretty sexy, huh? Its a nice morph of Burns and Che.  From one radical to another.  Okay, now to get the posters done…

Four weeks to go…

“The World is like a ride in an amusement park, and when you choose to go on it you think it’s real, because that’s how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round, and it has thrills and chills and is very brightly colored, and it’s very loud. And it’s fun, for a while.

Some people have been on the ride for a long time, and they’ve begun to question, ‘Is this real, or is this just a ride?’, and other people have remembered, and they’ve come back to us and they say ‘Hey, don’t worry. Don’t be afraid, ever, because this is just a ride.’  And we KILL THOSE PEOPLE.

“Shut him up! We have alot invested in this ride! SHUT HIM UP! Look at my furrows of worry. Look at my big bank account, and my family. This just has to be real.”

It’s just a ride.

But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that. You ever noticed that? And let the demons run amok. But it doesn’t matter, because … It’s just a ride.

And we can change it anytime we want. It’s only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings of money. A choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear wants you to put bigger locks on your door, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love, instead see all of us as one.

Here’s what we can do to change the world right now, to a better ride:

Take all that money we spent on weapons and defense each year and instead spend it feeding, clothing, and educating the poor of the world, which it would many times over, not one human being excluded, and we can explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever.. in peace.”

Bill Hicks (1961 – 1994)

Luca Nasciuti

I love the films of Robert Bresson.  Not only do they loook unique but they sound unique too. It is a mystery to me how he got that spartan quality to his recordings. If you shut your eyes during A Man Escaped or Lancelot Du Lac you’ll know you’re listening to a Bresson movie.  It’s like Miles on the trumpet. Unmistakeable.

I’m very pleased we’ve got composer Luca Nasciuti on board to create and produce the sound for the 12 Burns films. I’ve heard some initial roughs and I’m liking what I hear. There’s a sense of space, time and texture in Luca’s recorded work which is perfect for what we’re trying to achieve here. People who have worked with him say Luca is a genius and I can understand why. He really gets what Alastair and myself are trying to do here.