A celebration of the power of language to help bring about change, the show weaves a narrative of resistance and revolution against oppression across the centuries. With musical accompaniment the speakers quote poets from Catullus to Ginsberg and beyond and link their words to events they helped precipitate and the tyrants they pissed off along the way. It's an intriguing concept and mostly works well, making a strong case for the power of the poet. A couple of guest versifiers each day add contemporary voices on current issues.
The music added value at times, but was too often repetitive to the point of being soporific and made it hard to concentrate. And although the coverage of events spreads across continents, there isn't a single mention of Burns, never mind the whole Scottish tradition of radical verse, which felt a strange omission for an Edinburgh show.
Despite these flaws it's an entertaining hour and well worth a look.
Poetry Can F*ck Off is in Stand 3 until 28 August.
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