Robin Ince’s Dirty Book Club

Programmed as a part of the Science Festival, this was a one-off never-to-be-repeated version of Robin Ince’s acclaimed Bad Book Club, in which he strings together excerpts from various publications he has collected from charity shops the length and breadth of the country, teaching and entertaining and filling himself and his audience with wonder. Already on the verge of blushing, Robin launched himself into the whole project with a specially selected library at his side. With additional slots from the local articulate musings of George Egg in the diary of his pubescent self, this was an education on sex education and books in brown paper from a bygone era. With a surprisingly effective finale seeing the pair share the stage, reading simultaneously from ’50 Shades Of Grey’ and ‘The Shipping Forecast’ to create a verbal collage of erotica and remarkably evocative weather, this was a beautiful start to The Science Festival’s weekend of reproductively themed shows.

The Old Market, 8 February 2013

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