Sunday, December 22

Author: H.S. Baker

Earwig – Assembly Rooms
Scotland

Earwig – Assembly Rooms

Impeccable timing, fine acting and sustained energy are what make this short play well worthy of a five-star rating.  Too short really, I couldn’t believe an hour had passed so quickly and left the venue wanting more. This perky play, set in the silent movie era of the roaring ‘20s, tells the story of Marigold.  Now a young woman, Marigold has been deaf since the age of five after contracting meningitis, she now lip reads and speaks perfectly.   Although never formally qualified, Marigold has a passion for insects and has become an expert in the field of entomology.  She lives with her mother, a snobbish northern woman with aspirations for herself and her daughter that have nothing to do with Marigold’s passion for creepy crawlies.   She marries Marigo...
Boy – Summerhall, Main Hall
Scotland

Boy – Summerhall, Main Hall

“Boy” tells the true story of David Reimer, a Canadian boy born in the 1960s and raised as a girl.  Named Bruce at birth, David was an identical twin to Brian, his name later being changed to Brenda.  When they were six months old, both boys were referred for circumcision at hospital.  A comparatively new method was used on Bruce, the first twin to have the surgery, and resulted in catastrophic and irreversible mutilation to his penis.  The procedure was not carried out on Brian.  His parents sought advice from Johns Hopkins psychologist, John Money, on how best to help their son in the coming years learning to live with his situation.  The advice from Money was that, since in his opinion gender identity stems from social learning, it would be better to have t...