Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas - Fringe 2023

Take two top academics, some dangerous ideas, add one comedian and it’s the force of nature that is the Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas (CODI). Hosted by comedian Susan Morrison, and now in its eleventh year, CODI is ninety minutes of rapid-fire research from some of the finest minds in the country.

Go to your room! This common directive reflects a punishment levelled at children across the globe. The ultimate display of a parent’s authority over a child. But what happens when isolation is taken to the extreme? Is isolating a child an abuse of their rights and a pathway to irreparable harm? For decades, international standards have prohibited the use of isolation amounting to solitary confinement of children. Dr Kasey McCall-Smith (The University of Edinburgh) will explore the fine, and not so fine, lines between isolation, torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment when we send a child to ‘their’ room.

Do well. Be well. And Dance. Ballet careers are competitive, subjective, physically demanding and risky – with an expectation of maintaining peak condition six days a week for their entire careers. They require health, high performance, and constant development. Dancers define success as achieving their goals, AS WELL as being healthy, happy, and having a good work-life balance. Future dancers should be prepared to face challenges and experience success – to be made – not broken. Erin Sanchez (The University of Edinburgh) wants to support dancers’ mental health and success, challenging the frankly tragic and comedic aspects of this traditional artform.

CODI is curated by the University of Edinburgh as part of Beltane Public Engagement Network and produced by Fair Pley.