Mayfesto is a new theatre festival for Glasgow focusing on contemporary issues that will run at the Tron Theatre from 1 to 19 May, with performances, reading and debates on issues including the Omagh bombing and the 2011 English riots.
On the main house stage will be Ramesh Meyyappan in association with Iron Oxide with the aeriel piece Snails & Ketchup, a darkly comic tale of a dysfunctional family with a son who takes to living in the trees to escape a brutal home life. Egyptian artists Laila Soliman and Mustafa Said will perform No Time for Art 0+1, a series of documentary performance about police and military violence in modern Egypt. From Ireland, Minute After Midday from 15th Oak Productions and the Gilded Balloon looks back at the Omagh bombing through the eyes of three people. Finally on the main stage, Gavin Kostick's Fight Night from Rise Productions charts the comeback of a failed amateur boxer from a long line of accomplished fighters.
There will also be a series of rehearsed readings and performances of works in progress, including the first of National Theatre of Scotland's 5-Minute Theatre events for 2012, Julia Taudevin and Kieran Hurley's new monologue Chalk Farm and a reading of Marius von Mayenburg's new play The Stone by The Visitors.
Scenes Unseen is a rehearsed reading presented by Natalie Toyne of unperformed short works by Patrick Marber, Alan Ayckbourn, Athol Fugard and JP Donleavy plus works by new writers including Stef Smith, writher of Olivier Award-winning play Roadkill. There will also be workshops for writers, panel debates, a Skype performance bringing together young people from Scotland and the Middle East and more.
For more information, see the Tron's web site.