The Arches' BEATS by Kieran Hurley Set for Edinburgh Fringe

Writer, director and performer Kieran Hurley brings early 90s rave tale BEATS to the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh from 14 – 26 August 2012 as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2012 complete with live DJ Johnny Whoop and accompanied by psychedelic, rave inspired visuals for a full club atmosphere.

BEATS, one of the two Platform 18 award winners at the Arches BEHAVIOUR festival this year, focuses on the 1994 the Criminal Justice Act which effectively outlawed raves. The act banned public gatherings around amplified music characterised by "the emission of a succession of repetitive beats." This coming-of-age story, follows central character Johno McCreadie, on a one night journey into a world of state prepression, chemical excess, teenage longing, police violence, and communal euphoria against the desolate backdrop of post-industrial Scotland. With techno. Lots of techno. Featuring classic tracks including Higher State of Consciousness by Josh Wink and Little Fluffy Clouds by The Orb.

Read James T Harding's BWW review of Beats here.

Kieran Hurley is a writer, performer, and theatre maker based in Glasgow. His work is always collaborative, even when it looks like a solo show. Writing credits include Allotment (National Theatre of Scotland), St. Anthony's (gHost City, Edinburgh Fringe), Chalk Farm (with Julia Taudevin, Tron, Mayfesto), The Jean-Jacques Rousseau Show (co-writer, Oran Mor). His monologue piece Hitch, created in collaboration with pop band Over The Wall, was nominated for a Critics Award for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) for Best New Play in 2010 and has played throughout the U.K. and internationally and continues to tour in 2012 produced by Trigger (England tour) and the Arches, Glasgow (Scotland tour). As a recipient of the Arches Platform 18 Award he presented a new work, BEATS, with Johnny Whoop, which received rave reviews from The Scotsman (4 stars, Performance of the Week), Herald (4 stars) and The Guardian (4 stars) and has been nominated for two awards at the Critics Award for Theatre in Scotland (CATS) 2012 (Best New Play, and Best use of Music and Sound). Kieran is an associated artist with Forest Fringe, and is currently a supported artist with The National Theatre of Scotland.

Written and performed by Kieran Hurley with Arches resident DJ Johnny Whoop and hazy, psychedelic visuals by Jamie Wardrop.

As a new generation of political activists make their voice heard, join us for this poignant performance which explores rebellion, hedonism and the irresistible power of gathered youth. For more information on BEATS, go to www.thearches.co.uk.

Performances are at 11pm. Tickets are Sunday – Thursday £17/£12 /£6, Friday – Saturday £19/£14
from The Traverse Theatre, 10 Cambridge Street, Edinburgh, EH1 2ED box office in person, on 0131 228 1404 or online at www.traverse.co.uk or via www.edfringe.com / Box office: 0131 226 0000.