Robert Softley's guest appearances

Robert Softley

The Spotlight Podcast

Traverse Theatre

Putting it Together

Disability Arts Online and Mind the Gap present The Disability and...Podcast

Live and Now

Natasha Sutton

John Nicholson

Alan Gordon

Jack Thorne

David Greig

Lorn Macdonald

Ruth Madeley

Jess Thom

Sasha Dugdale

Julie Hesmondhalgh

Al Smith

John Byrne

Zinnie Harris

John McCann

David Ireland

OwlTail

In this episode of Live and Now, Steve talks with Robert Softley Gale about his solo show If These Spasms Could Speak, making My Left / Right Foot – The Musical for National Theatre of Scotland – and the pragmatics of taking ‘experimental’ work to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Robert’s prolific career calls attention to the specific circumstances in which live art and new performance becomes possible – as well as the potential for such work to cross over into mainstream spaces in ways that challenge any neat distinction between ‘fringe’ and not. In framing the chat, Steve also offers a pocket history of The Arches (a major Glasgow performance and club venue forced to close in 2015) as a space straddling those worlds – and whose absence raises persistent questions about the conditions of possibility for experimental practices and creative risk in Scotland. Episode transcript Full interview Contexts and documents: Birds of Paradise Theatre CompanyDocumentation of If These Spasms Could Speak, performed at the Going Solo International Theatre Festival, Mumbai, in 2015.A Conversation With Robert Softley Gale – Disability Arts OnlineMy Left / Right Foot – The Musical for National Theatre ScotlandDISCOURSE OR INTERCOURSE / TALKING &amp; F*CKING (2017) at Arika, Episode 9: Other Worlds Already ExistKirstin Innes and David Bratchpiece’s Brickwork: A Biography of The Arches (2021)‘The Right To Fail: Remembering Glasgow Venue The Arches’ – The QuietusTake Me Somewhere, the international biennial festival and year-round sector support organisation that exists to position Scotland as the place to create and see radical performance, created to build on the legacy of The Arches

In this episode of Live and Now, Steve talks with Robert Softley Gale about his solo show If These Spasms Could Speak, making My Left / Right Foot – The Musical for National Theatre of Scotland – and the pragmatics of taking ‘experimental’ work to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Robert’s prolific career calls attention to the specific circumstances in which live art and new performance becomes possible – as well as the potential for such work to cross over into mainstream spaces in ways that challenge any neat distinction between ‘fringe’ and not. In framing the chat, Steve also offers a pocket history of The Arches (a major Glasgow performance and club venue forced to close in 2015) as a space straddling those worlds – and whose absence raises persistent questions about the conditions of possibility for experimental practices and creative risk in Scotland. <a href="https://liveartscotland.org/wp-content/uploads/Live-and-Now-Robert-Softley-Gale-episode-transcript.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Episode transcript</a> <a href="https://liveartscotland.org/wp-content/uploads/Robert-Softley-Gale-Live-Art-in-Scotland.pdf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Full interview</a> Contexts and documents: <ul><li><a href="https://www.boptheatre.co.uk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Birds of Paradise Theatre Company</a></li><li>Documentation of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dClrmNr7zRE" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">If These Spasms Could Speak</a>, performed at the Going Solo International Theatre Festival, Mumbai, in 2015.</li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmScNK9lKkw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Conversation With Robert Softley Gal</a>e – Disability Arts Online</li><li><a href="https://www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/past-performances/my-left-right-foot-the-musical" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">My Left / Right Foot – The Musical</a> for National Theatre Scotland</li><li><a href="https://arika.org.uk/discourse-or-intercourse-one-one/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">DISCOURSE OR INTERCOURSE / TALKING &amp; F*CKING</a> (2017) at Arika, Episode 9: Other Worlds Already Exist</li><li>Kirstin Innes and David Bratchpiece’s <a>Brickwork: A Biography of The Arches</a> (2021)</li><li>‘The Right To Fail: Remembering Glasgow Venue The Arches’ – <a href="https://thequietus.com/articles/30889-david-bratchpiece-kirstin-innes-interview-brickwork-a-biography-of-the-arches" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Quietus</a></li><li><a href="https://takemesomewhere.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Take Me Somewhere</a>, the international biennial festival and year-round sector support organisation that exists to position Scotland as the place to create and see radical performance, created to build on the legacy of The Arches</li></ul>

Live and Now: Robert Softley Gale

Robert Softley Gale

This month Joe Turnbull, assistant editor of Disability Arts Online chats with Robert Softley Gale, writer, actor, activist, and Artistic Director of Birds of Paradise Theatre Company, about Disability And...the Mainstream. This podcast contains strong language.

16. Disability And...The Mainstream with Robert Softley Gale

TravCast is the Writer's Podcast from the Traverse, Scotland’s New Writing Theatre. Associate Director, Hamish Pirie, interviews well known playwrights whose work features in the year round programme at the Traverse.In this episode, Hamish Speaks to Robert Softley. Robert is an established figure in the Scottish arts scene, with over ten years of experience in diverse and varied roles - including disability rights activist, actor and performer, writer, artistic director and supporter and advocate of equality of access to the arts for disabled people whether as artists or audiences.Robert's professional acting debut was with Theatre Workshop (Edinburgh) in ‘Nothing Ever Burns Down By Itself’ in 2002 and since then has appeared in many productions and has developed his own artistic practice - most recently instigating, co-writing and performing in ‘Girl X’ for the National Theatre of Scotland, directed by Pol Heyvaert of Belgium’s Campo.  In 2011 he was awarded and undertook a Creative Scotland residency which allowed him to develop ‘If These Spasms Could Speak’.A graduate of Glasgow University with an MSc (Hons) in Business &amp; Management, Robert’s other role is as a director of flip – disability equality in the arts (http://www.flip.org.uk/) which works across Scotland to support individuals and organisations in the arts sector. Robert is also an Artistic Director of Birds of Paradise Theatre Company, Scotland’s touring company that promotes the work of disabled artists in partnership with non-disabled artists and mainstream theatre venues and companies.Other acting credits include: ‘The Hogmanay Boys’, ‘Asylum’, ‘I Have Before Me…’, ‘The Threepenny Opera’, ‘The Last Little Fish in the Net’ and ‘Hans Christian Andersen: A Christmas Tale’ (Theatre Workshop); ‘The Irish Giant’ and ‘Brazil 12 – Scotland 0’ (Birds of Paradise), ‘Heelz n Wheelz’ (Fittings Multimedia); ‘A (Gay Disabled Transsexual) Love Story...’ (Boygirlfruitflower) and ‘Private Dancer’ (Janice Parker). Film and television credits include ‘Out of Order’ (MacInnes Films), ‘Trouble Sleeping’ (Makar Productions) and ‘River City’ (BBC Scotland). He has recorded a number of dramas for BBC Radio 4.Original music by James Iremonger www.jamesiremonger.co.ukProduced and engineered by Cian O Siochain

TravCast is the Writer's Podcast from the Traverse, Scotland’s New Writing Theatre. Associate Director, Hamish Pirie, interviews well known playwrights whose work features in the year round programme at the Traverse. In this episode, Hamish Speaks to Robert Softley. Robert is an established figure in the Scottish arts scene, with over ten years of experience in diverse and varied roles - including disability rights activist, actor and performer, writer, artistic director and supporter and advocate of equality of access to the arts for disabled people whether as artists or audiences. Robert's professional acting debut was with Theatre Workshop (Edinburgh) in ‘Nothing Ever Burns Down By Itself’ in 2002 and since then has appeared in many productions and has developed his own artistic practice - most recently instigating, co-writing and performing in ‘Girl X’ for the National Theatre of Scotland, directed by Pol Heyvaert of Belgium’s Campo. In 2011 he was awarded and undertook a Creative Scotland residency which allowed him to develop ‘If These Spasms Could Speak’. A graduate of Glasgow University with an MSc (Hons) in Business &amp; Management, Robert’s other role is as a director of flip – disability equality in the arts (<a href="http://www.flip.org.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.flip.org.uk/</a>) which works across Scotland to support individuals and organisations in the arts sector. Robert is also an Artistic Director of Birds of Paradise Theatre Company, Scotland’s touring company that promotes the work of disabled artists in partnership with non-disabled artists and mainstream theatre venues and companies. Other acting credits include: ‘The Hogmanay Boys’, ‘Asylum’, ‘I Have Before Me…’, ‘The Threepenny Opera’, ‘The Last Little Fish in the Net’ and ‘Hans Christian Andersen: A Christmas Tale’ (Theatre Workshop); ‘The Irish Giant’ and ‘Brazil 12 – Scotland 0’ (Birds of Paradise), ‘Heelz n Wheelz’ (Fittings Multimedia); ‘A (Gay Disabled Transsexual) Love Story...’ (Boygirlfruitflower) and ‘Private Dancer’ (Janice Parker). Film and television credits include ‘Out of Order’ (MacInnes Films), ‘Trouble Sleeping’ (Makar Productions) and ‘River City’ (BBC Scotland). He has recorded a number of dramas for BBC Radio 4. Original music by James Iremonger <a href="http://www.jamesiremonger.co.uk" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.jamesiremonger.co.uk</a> Produced and engineered by Cian O Siochain

TravCast - Robert Softley