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David Bowie: ‘Scotland, stay with us!’
Scotland: ‘Cheers David, don’t mind if we do!’

In response to David Bowie’s famous declaration at the Brit Awards, a group of Scottish artists set up camp in Bowie’s (metaphorical) Manhattan rooftop apartment throughout August 2014 for an irreverent Edinburgh Fringe show exploring the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, and what it might mean for the country to stay with – or leave – the UK.

Billed as ‘an hour of gentle thinking and hard daydreaming’, the show was a non profit making shot in the dark made by people hungry to bring the ideas, internationalism and insight of the referendum debate to a wider public.

You can listen to podcasts of all the shows on this website.

All Back To Bowie’s was created by Scottish playwright David Greig (Midsummer, The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) with Hamish Brown, Laura Eaton-Lewis, Andrew Eaton-LewisKieran Hurley, Julia Taudevin, Karine Polwart, Peter Arnott, Sara Shaarawi, Jenny Lindsay, Lucy Macaulay, Linda McLeanCora Bissett, Tommy Sheppard, Fiona Ferguson and Kirstin Innes.

Our idea was to explore Scottish culture and politics from surprising angles, to interest an audience in independence but not try to convert them, to create a show that felt like one of those good nights you get in the pub after a grassroots Indy event: a session where people are fizzing with ideas and gossip, intimate enough that everyone gets a shot at talking but open enough that folk to feel free to discuss concerns as well as hopes and dreams… and lubricated enough that there’s a seasoning of songs, stories and poems as well.

We’d like to thank Paul Lambie for designing our posters and flyers (the ones with the Aladdin Sane-style image of Scotland, a stroke of genius on his part).

Here’s some of the media coverage we got…

David talks to Phil Miller of the Herald
David talks to Libby Brooks from the Guardian
David’s feature for the Scotsman
Bella Caledonia preview
Edinburgh Spotlight review
British Theatre Guide review

And here are some photos from the show.

 

 

David Greig and friends present a lunchtime #indyref show at Edinburgh Fringe 2014