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Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas

The Cabaret of Dangerous Ideas featured University lecturers debating and discussing controversial research with the wider community.

The Cabaret was curated by the Beltane Public Engagement Network, produced by Fair Pley, and compered by the comedian, presenter and festival director Susan Morrison.

Researchers from the city of Edinburgh and beyond created, wrote and performed the shows. In 2014, there were 24 shows, many of which featured University of Edinburgh academics.

2014 Shows

The Cabaret ran 1-25 August at the Stand in the Square (Venue 372).

Shows featuring staff from the University of Edinburgh included:

  • Should Capitalism be Criminal? with Dr Lynne Copson
  • Benefit Scrounger - or Unemployed Worker? with Dr Jan Eichhorn
  • The Internet - a Human Right? with Professor Michael Fourman
  • In Pursuit of Beauty with Edinburgh College of Art
  • Alcohol Costs Too Much! with Dr Angus Bancroft
  • Antidepressants are Not Overprescribed! with Professor Stephen Lawrie
  • Is Scottish Independence Bad for your Health? with University of Edinburgh's Innogen Institute
  • Are 'designer babies' a slippery slope? with Dr Gary Kerr
  • I Know What You Ate Last Summer with Dr Mhairi Aitken
  • Breed Bilingual! with Professor Antonella Sorace
  • Brain Training on Trial with the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology
  • Are We Wasting Your Data? with Dr Felicity Mehendale
  • Is your Marmite Watching You? with the Design Informatics Research Centre
  • Prescriptions for Sunbeds? with Dr Richard Weller
  • Hug a Thug with University of Edinburgh academics