Take a closer look at the work of some members of our Artist Network, celebrating the variety of work that is happening here in Scotland across the eclectic range of disciplines that we support. This month we meet Glasgow based performer and theatre-maker Dylan Read.
Tell us about yourself and your creative practice
I am a performer and theatre-maker based in Glasgow, Scotland. I trained at the Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris, graduating in 2014. Since then I have worked in various capacities throughout Scotland, the UK, and internationally. My preference is for collaboration and ensemble practice. I tend to be involved in shows that are absurd, surrealist, poetic realist, anarchic, magical realist and non-boring. I work in text-based and visual theatre, and I don’t really make a distinction between live art, dance, acting, collective ritual, protest, puppetry and architecture. I teach theatre in various contexts, and often work as a dramaturg/outside eye. One day I would like to be a really good clown.
How did you first discover a love for theatre?
Standing naked on a stool in front of gathered family and giving a New Years speech in gibberish (now a yearly custom). Watering the hippo in the roses. Going to the circus. Fancying girls. Reading Antonin Artaud: “If there is still one hellish, truly accursed thing in our time, it is our artistic dallying with forms, instead of being like victims burnt at the stake, signalling through the flames.” Also, I’ve only just recently found out that my mum was once a magician’s assistant, clown and tightrope walker, as well as being personal assistant to the puppeteer Robert Anton!! She is the most theatrical person I know, and I love her.
Can you name a personal career highlight and why?
Any grassroots, devised, ensemble work is the most exciting, vulnerable and fulfilling thing. LARDS, Collective Endeavours, Oceanallover, Théâtre Senza, The Spleen, Blood of the Young, Ludens Ensemble, The Krumple, Tortoise in a Nutshell etc. All of the (successful and less successful) attempts at group devising, organizing, understanding one another and meeting the audience with our bright+sparkling new universe… So thrilling! It’s real work. Securing funding is tough because stepping-out in this way implies risk… We need to fight to keep this kind of work alive in Scotland. “Run, comrades, the old world is behind you! The prospect of finding pleasure tomorrow will never compensate for today’s boredom….”
What advice would you give to those beginning a career in theatre?
This is difficult because my perspective is informed by my own specific history, identity and privileges, including class, race, gender and relative generational privileges. The landscape for someone starting out as a performing arts practitioner in Scotland is very different to what it was even 10 years ago. Having said that, being an “established practitioner” in the current climate can also feel quite close to that of an “emerging artist” in many practical respects.
Eat the Rich.
Collectivism and autonomy are not mutually exclusive.
The status quo is not the only option.
Sometimes it’s best to be direct and explicit (ie. Free Palestine).
Breathe and listen. It’s an ecology.
Support others in their work.
Combine forces and organise.
Guerilla tactics when needed.
Poetry is in the streets.
Don’t worry about censorship, it’s totally fine!
[redacted]
Protect the playing space from your own encroaching careerism.
Memento mori.
Follow the fun.
What has your previous relationship been with Manipulate Arts, and any impact of this on your practice?
I have attended and performed in several Manipulate Festival programmes across the years, as well as assisting in the creation of new work which was featured at the festival. These pieces have been presented in both scratch and cabaret formats, and as larger scale “feature-length” work. The Manipulate Festival is absolutely a gathering-point and touchstone for the live arts scene in Scotland. It is also one of the places where I experience a genuine promotion of internationalism and creative exchange. This is important to me as a European artist who has chosen to base his practice in Scotland.
I have also attended several workshops hosted by Manipulate Arts, and have benefitted hugely not only from the stagecraft skills acquired, but from connecting with a scene of excellent practitioners with similar interests. Several of my friendships and ongoing working relationships are with people who I encountered through Manipulate Arts and the associated Festival. Long may these vital platforms endure.
What are you working on next?
Next thing for me is some dramaturgical/outside-eye work in supporting the development of 3 new solo shows (Cockaigne by Andrew Simpson, Verity by Sarah Cosgrove and Hover by Althea Young), alongside r+d for a new show at the National Theatre of Scotland and a residency for a potential visual theatre 3-hander at SURGE’s TechBox space. I’ve also been invited to do some teaching at Acting Out Scotland and the Royal Conservatoire in Glasgow. In terms of public-facing work I will be performing in this years’ Christmas show at the Lyceum in Edinburgh, and am set to tour the UK in pieces by Scottish Dance Theatre and Tortoise in a Nutshell in 2025. Work-wise I am in a good place for the next 6 months. This is a lucky and privileged position relative to many of my equally talented peers… On date of writing (20/08/25) the general cultural landscape in this country is being cut down and devastated. Time to organise.
“In the dark times will there also be singing? Yes, there will also be singing about the dark times.” (Bertolt Brecht)