A Brief History of Evil

Hilarious and mesmerising, terrifying and absurd, A Brief History of Evil is a duet about lies and where they can lead us.

Who hasn’t embroidered the truth, or pretended to be someone they’re not? When all the lies are stripped away, who is left? When we look in the mirror, who looks back? Which version is really us?

A Brief History of Evil is a white-knuckle ride to an unknown destination: what happens when we listen to the voices inside us? Or don’t?

Description

Created and performed by Ewan Downie and Jonathan Peck, with directorial assistance from Al Seed, A Brief History of Evil combines Company of Wolves’ electrifying movement style with the vulnerability, mockery, and satire of clown and bouffon. The result is a performance that is dangerous, relentless, and very, very funny.

A Brief History of Evil was performed for five shows at Summerhall during the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe, and embarked on a fifteen date, thirteen venue tour across Scotland in October 2016 with shows at Woodend Barn (Banchory), Gable End Theatre (Hoy), Macarts (Galashiels), The Drouthy Cobbler (Elgin), An Cridhe (Isle of Coll), Lochgoilhead Community Hall, Craignish Community Hall (Ardfern), The Mill Theatre (Thurso), Theatre Royal Dumfries, Wigtown County Buildings, Harbour Arts Centre (Irvine), Scottish Youth Theatre Brian Cox Studio (Glasgow) and Assembly Roxy (Edinburgh).

Credits

Created and performed by:
Ewan Downie and Jonathan Peck

Directorial Assistance:
Al Seed

Lighting Design:
Lex Burnhams

Costume Design:
Catherine Barthram

Rehearsal Assistant:
Andrew Scade

Tour Technician:
Alberto Santos-Bellido

Supported by
The National Lottery through Creative Scotland

In association with
Woodend Barn, The Touring Network, North East Arts Touring, and Dumfries and Galloway Arts Live

Produced by FERAL

DEVELOPMENT POSTS

Kristin Linklater Review – A Brief History of Evil

World renowned voice teacher Kristin Linklater came to see A Brief History of Evil on Hoy, and wrote a review of the piece for The Orcadian. Here it is in full.

A Brief History of Evil – The “Here Be Dragons” Tour

After six weeks of criss-crossing Scotland with A Brief History of Evil from Galashiels to Coll, from Wigtown to Hoy, here’s some snapshots from the road.

A Brief History of Evil Rehearsal shots

Some images from our rehearsals for A Brief History of Evil at Kinning Park Complex in June.   

Reviews

Sinister yet playful… sympathetic and witty despite the undertow of horror.

Gareth Vile in The List

Lighthearted yet devilishly dark… A powerful exploration of our inner evil.

edinburghguide.com

You’re caught up in the downward spiral of its characters; the eerie spoken word and seductive physicality sucking you in in spite of your growing discomfort

Broadway Baby

Violent. Sensual. Nightmarish. Ill. Two people who are awful for each other. Unhealthy.

Audience Member