Adapted specially for the screen, the hit solo show returns for at home streaming and in person in Dumfries and Galloway this February
Multi award-winning feminist theatre company Jordan & Skinner cut to the bone of the current conversation around gender politics with a Scotland wide series of on demand showings of their riotous solo show, A Brief History of a Fragile Male Ego.
Following a hugely popular world premiere during Edinburgh Fringe 2019, audiences can now enjoy a very special return of the hit show streaming online in conjunction with Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival’s year round Arts Live programme. Now reworked as a performance for the screen, audiences can view the show at an in person screening in partnership with Driftwood Cinema on 7 February or from the comfort of home from the 8 – 15 February.
Andrea has been giving her lecture but it’s not going well. Her previous events have been marred by protests and she’s hoping the open minded audience will hear her out. You see, half the world is suffering under the weight of a great burden and if we don’t wake up to this problem everything will smash. And we wouldn’t want that now, would we.
This irreverent performance lecture takes in a journey through time and space on a quest to liberate the men of history who have struggled under the burden of their fragile male ego. A sharp and innovative take on the current crisis of masculinity, Jordan & Skinner present a vibrant and provocative piece of physical theatre, now adapted for the screen, that dares to go where no man has gone before.
A Brief History of the Fragile Male Ego is inspired by the current conversation around gender dynamics in the fall out from the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the #MeToo movement. It is an exploration of a perceived crisis in masculinity and particularly the way in which women are often socialised to understand and meet the needs of men. With inspiration taken from Freudian psycho-analysis, relationship advice materials and self help literature, this satirical comedy dares to confront the notion of male ego and masculine dominance and invite the audience to think about the ways in which mainstream notions of masculinity impact our lives.
On giving the show new life on screen, Director Caitlin Skinner and Performer Melanie Jordan said: “A Brief History of the Fragile Male Ego is a show about a lecture given by a slightly naive and misguided men’s rights activist called Andrea. When lockdown happened we realised that if Andrea was to be faced with theatre closures etc she would ABSOLUTELY make a version of her lecture for Zoom. We could picture all the naff graphics she would use and how excited she would be to talk to people in the ‘digisphere’ and mute all the people who tried to heckle her. So we collaborated with excellent theatre and filmmaker Rob Jones to create a version that amplifies many of the ideas in the stage version, particularly the ways in which the lecture is interrupted by Andrea’s real life crisis. What Rob and the rest of the team have created is a version equally as silly and entertaining but that also lets you into the knotty pain of Andrea’s breakdown a bit more.”
The multi award-winning Jordan & Skinner are amongst Scotland’s most exciting young theatre makers and bring their unique, irreverent style to this topical and edgy material. Hugely inspired by theatre clown, physical theatre and comedy, this refreshingly hilarious and biting comedy is pulled back to reveal a more tender exploration of men’s mental health, feminism and the complex unravelling of gender norms that we are all still grappling with.
This digital adaptation of A Brief History of the Fragile Male Ego is supported by Creative Scotland.
For more details on all dates, visit jordanandskinner.com.
“Everyone needs to watch this” – Feminist Fringe ★★★★★
“Appropriately absurd” – EdFest ★★★★
“Fifty minutes of hilarity from Jordan & Skinner ensue, thanks to the incredible comedic abilities of solo performer Melanie Jordan and to Caitlin Skinner’s smooth direction” – The Skinny ★★★★
“A brilliantly clever show” – The Wee Review ★★★★
