The Daring Buds of May: Exciting theatre across the central belt this month

• Gareth K Vile
• 2 May 2019

V/DA's Sonic Séance / credit: Matthew Arthur Williams

Including Twa, Sonic Seance and The Sinister Wink

Despite theatre's general inclination to play it safe and revive those classic plays that guarantee audiences and unthreatening remixes of familiar scripts, there are a range of shows across Scotland during May that poke at the potential for provocative pleasures. From representing new voices through to oblique takes on cabaret, performance can provide an alternative vision of how things are – or could be.

The Sinister Wink

'As dark as the inside of a black hat', the Creative Martyrs' evening of cabaret is a contemporary take on the Weimar style: political, mischievous and wryly haunting, they have assembled a line-up that takes in object manipulation, satirical songwriting, puppetry and an atmosphere that delights and disorientates. Part of the Southside Fringe, this regular event has flown the flag for the edgier, seductive brand of Scottish vaudeville and variety.
The Bungo, Glasgow, Sun 26 May.

Twa

Based on a classical, and horrific, myth of female abuse, Twa mixes multiple forms of media to tell a story of exclusion and silencing. Postulating creativity as an act of resistance, and descending to the darkest of subjects to chase resolution and escape, writer Annie George and visual artist Flore Gardner confront difficult material with a bold belief in speaking without shame.
Traverse, Edinburgh, Fri 24–Sat 25 May.

Sonic Séance

V/DA's contribution to the Take Me Somewhere festival is a 'rage of reason', that ranges across ritual, dance, spoken word and a happening. Celebrating the power of women and their ancestors, it forges a new 'language to describe our experiences' and chases towards an ecstatic immersion in music and sound. Featuring Patricia Panther, Letitia Pleiades, Ashanti Harris and Mele Bromes, it threatens to upend traditional performance for something new, filled with awe, female power, afro-futurism and the ghosts of triumphs past, present and yet to come.
Tramway, Glasgow, Thu 16 & Sat 18 May.

Shine

From his appearance in I, Daniel Blake, through to his career as a rapper to this autobiographical story, Kema Sikazwe has made a habit of bringing his charisma to stories that sit outside of the mainstream. Following his childhood migration from Zambia to Newcastle, Sikazwe examines the shifting nature of the self, and how identity is forged through challenges and the determination to follow one's dream.
Traverse, Edinburgh, Thu 16–Sat 18 May.