Traverse Theatre to Present David Greig's TWO MINUTE MANIFESTO

A new addition to its Spring season, the Traverse will host Two Minute Manifesto, curated by Scottish playwright, David Greig, Scottish Greens activist for Edinburgh North & Leith, Sarah Beattie-Smith; and writer and filmmaker, Christopher Silver.

Political debate and discussion reached a new level in 2014 with a range of different voices coming to the fore in the run-up to the Referendum. Next week, on Thursday 7 May at 1pm and 10.30pm, Two Minute Manifesto will offer a space to look at the bigger picture on the day of the General Election. Guests are invited to bring their own personal manifesto ideas to the stage, from the serious to the silly, and present them in 2 minutes. This packed format will talk about big ideas with humour, music, audience interaction, and expert analysis of the current political climate.

At 1pm, presenters David Greig and Sarah Beattie-Smith will be joined for an hour-long show by five guests, including Scottish playwright, Linda McLean, Juliet Swann, Campaigns and Research Officer at Electoral Reform Society Scotland, working on 'Democracy Max' programme and Peter Geoghan, journalist and author of The People's Referendum: Why Scotland Will Never Be the Same Again.

In the second show at 10:30pm, presenters David Greig and Mairi McFadyen will be joined by guests including singer Karine Polwart, four times winner at BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards; Ian Fraser, author of Inside RBS, The Bank That Broke Britain (named as Book of the Year in 2014 by the Financial Times, Bloomberg, The Week and Huffington Post) and Hannah McGill, freelance writer and critic, and former Artistic Director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Curator and presenter, David Greig comments: "I love the atmosphere of the Traverse on Election Day. The bar's full of gossip, speculation, wit and whisky. Two Minute Manifesto is an attempt to make a show that captures that spirit. We've got fascinating guests who can talk about culture and ideas, top writers looking back at the campaign and forward to the future, as well as some great music. Who knows what's going to happen on 7 May but whatever the result, the Traverse is the place for discussion, debate and passionate ambivalence."