Wow! What a whirlwind. It’s been an absolute privilege to bring the story of Kenmure Street to the stage. It’s a testament to this event that happened 5 years ago today, that an audience from Glasgow got to see a traditional Scottish play about such a significant moment in our history - that audience had people from Kenmure Street, who were there on the day! It’s a thank you to them, but also a f*ck you to the home office, and an increasingly oppressive state!
Thanks to our brilliant actors @bettyveeee@realkalsabir and Neshla Caplan - the amazing direction of @nicolamccartney761 - and all the team at @playpiepint
It’s on at @oranmorglasgow till Saturday and then transfers to @aberdeenperformingarts on Tuesday 19th May 📸@tgkwan
#kenmurestreet #communityaction #antiraid
Today marks the fifth anniversary since the Kenmure Street protests, when the local community came together to stop a dawn raid.
Simon Jay, writer of this week’s drama commemorating and retelling the events of that day, was on @bbcradioscot on Sunday Morning talking about writing this important play and the research behind it.
Listen to the full interview on BBC Sounds 🔊
Great to be back at Granton Hub with Romain’s dulcet tones leading the life drawing class. Was musing as I posed - that life drawing classes are a perfect reminder of why AI in art is total trash - and the act of communion and making art together is irreplaceable x
6’106 days with Ben - today is our 7th wedding anniversary. More in love than ever ❤️ A little universe made for three (obvs Floyd gets a mention how could he not)! Couldn’t ask for anything more in life x
Although I’m no longer active or a member of @scottishgreens - they are the best party to vote for in the regional list. It’s lucky that people don’t really differentiate between @thegreenparty (England and Wales) and Scotland - because the charisma and populist rhetoric down south will benefit the party here. It’s unlikely they’ll get much on the constituency front - the terror of Reform will bring another SNP majority. My time in the greens was always to try and make the membership see that they were not reflective of real people - when you talk to people - it’s not who they’re going to vote for - it’s that they aren’t bothered to vote at all.
Brilliant week of R and D for BLOUSE a dramatic monologue about neurodivergence and kink - at @summerhallarts - the best writing happens when you’re in a space with other creatives. Thanks so much to @thesalvadorkent for the direction and dramaturgy, @edgar_ally_poe for set design ideas and @emrearslanbek for taking on the role of Stephen. We found out a lot :) - can’t wait for the next stage!
Absolutely love these two - dear, dear friends :) Never could I have imagined moving to Scotland would mean meeting such amazing people x @that_jrf@robert_s_gale
Join Cinephiles Jrf and Si for a night of camp clips, shocking scenes and special guests! You’ll be taken on an odyssey of the silver screen, hear ridiculous trivia, and take part in some ridiculous games. All in the illustrious cinema room of the Banshee Labyrinth.
What’s more it’s all a fundraiser for the amazing Mermaids supporting trans, non-binary and gender-diverse children, young people and their families since 1995.
Come along! Free Popcorn! And a prize for the best cinema inspired outfit. Doors at 7. Tickets in stories!
March Reads 📕
I Swear by @johndavidsonmbe - gives an interior perspective of what it’s like to live with Tourette’s. A surprise cameo from Dr. Oliver Sachs - who rang Jon when he was a teenager - and told him to accept his condition, that his life would be different, really tough, - and only through accepting this could he thrive.
Leaving Home by @mark__haddon - a text imbued with so many images, drawings and scrapbook goodies, the chapters are short and non-linear revealing a soul adrift, a miserable childhood, health scares and breakdowns. Through the litany there are moments of utter humanity that shot like fireworks.
Why I Am No Longer Talking To White People About Race by @renieddolodge - was written a decade ago, but the careful examination of systematic racism in the UK is almost reserved in the face of the mobilised far-right of 2026. It didn’t just outline the political divide, but how our everyday lives are ordered around racist practice so insidious many don’t see it, or don’t want to.
Yellowface by @kuangrf I completely missed this phenomena when it came out a few years ago. But this excoriating satire of the publishing industry, cancel culture and cultural appropriation also works as a thrilling page-turner.
The Bread You Throw 🎭 premieres at The Lion & Unicorn Theatre - Kentish Town this Summer
Emma is a newly qualified teacher, or at least, she thinks she is. Emma is stuck in an endless loop, reliving the same events over and over, but this isn’t time-travel or sci-fi, this is frontotemporal dementia. Join Emma on her journey, a journey that will challenge the narratives around the lived experience of dementia.
Opens Tues June 30th 7.30pm 🎫 £15
Book here: /event/the-bread-you-throw
Photography by: @bodolajberart
The Bread You Throw 🎭 premieres at The Lion & Unicorn Theatre @landutheatre - Kentish Town this Summer and starring @mirandashrapnell and written by @simonjayness
Emma is a newly qualified teacher, or at least, she thinks she is. Emma is stuck in an endless loop, reliving the same events over and over, but this isn’t time-travel or sci-fi, this is frontotemporal dementia. Join Emma on her journey, a journey that will challenge the narratives around the lived experience of dementia.
Opens Tues June 30th 7.30pm 🎫 £15
📷 @bodolajberart
Booking Link in profile. #londontheatre #fringetheatre #dementia #dementiastories
