EDINBURGH 2017: BWW Q&A- 1917 A Phantasmagoria

Tell us a bit about 1917: A Phantasmagoria.

It's new solo show by Michael Daviot, the actor-playwright of 2016's five-star reviewed, twice award-shortlisted Nosferatu's Shadow.

A hundred years ago or yesterday? Strange and distant events, or strangely familiar? Feminism, Art, War, Pop Music, Revolution, Detective Fiction, Independence, Racial Violence, Lovesick Poets, Protests, Scientific Wonders. From Baker Street to Paschendaele; from Yeats pining in his Tower to a lynching in Tennessee; from the storming of the Winter Palace to the stylings of Harry Lauder; from Dadaism to the visionary genius of Nikola Tesla, let the Spirit of 1917 be your guide on a quirky and surprising tour of a watershed year.

Often satirical, occasionally harrowing, always thought-provoking, this new piece is dedicated to Michael's mother, who would have been a hundred this year.

What was the inspiration for the show?

Thinking about how to commemorate her led to a deeper exploration of the year of her birth and the making of this phantasmagoric 'docu-play'.

Why is it important to perform it in 2017?

With the ongoing commemoration of the 14-18 war, a play about life and the world in general at that time seemed to me a useful companion piece to a lot of work which focuses on the war itself. So, what else was happening and, a century later, how much/little has changed?

What sets it apart from other shows at the Fringe?

I don't think anything like this has been done before; a global, multicultural, alternative overview of one year, performed by one actor.

Who would you recommend comes to see it?

Anybody with an interest in politics, history, world cultures...... and satire.

Timings and ticket information for 1917: A Phantasmagoria are available on the edfringe website.

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