9:12:37 > 9:12:41This programme contains some strong language
9:12:41 > 9:12:42Welcome back to Scotland's capital,
9:12:42 > 9:12:45where the world's biggest arts festival
9:12:45 > 9:12:46may be drawing to a close,
9:12:46 > 9:12:49but the city is still partying.
9:12:49 > 9:12:51Brexit means...
9:12:51 > 9:12:52Coming up...
9:12:52 > 9:12:56comedians respond to Brexit, British voters and Boris...
9:12:56 > 9:12:57Have a bendy banana.
9:12:57 > 9:13:01..ventriloquist Nina Conti on puppets, profound and profane...
9:13:01 > 9:13:03SCREAMING
9:13:03 > 9:13:07..refugees tell their own powerful stories of migration...
9:13:09 > 9:13:12..plus a special performance from The Lemon Bucket Orkestra,
9:13:12 > 9:13:16whose Guerrilla Folk Opera has had rave reviews.
9:13:20 > 9:13:22The repercussions of the vote to leave the EU
9:13:22 > 9:13:24are reverberating around the city.
9:13:24 > 9:13:27Spare a thought, then, for some of the Fringe performers who,
9:13:27 > 9:13:29in the light of the referendum result,
9:13:29 > 9:13:32have had to rewrite their material rapidly.
9:13:37 > 9:13:40The political upheaval of the past few weeks has hardly gone unnoticed
9:13:40 > 9:13:44by the hundreds of comedians performing here in Edinburgh...
9:13:47 > 9:13:49..and one big beast from the Brexit campaign
9:13:49 > 9:13:53has attracted particularly close attention.
9:13:53 > 9:13:57It's a new world, but I do believe, and I have done, felt strongly
9:13:57 > 9:13:59ever since at least March that...
9:13:59 > 9:14:02we're better off inside the EU.
9:14:02 > 9:14:05I mean, sorry... out, out, outside the EU. Sorry.
9:14:05 > 9:14:07You look particularly despondent, sir.
9:14:07 > 9:14:09- Have a bendy banana.- Thank you.
9:14:10 > 9:14:14With the result announced just six weeks before the start of
9:14:14 > 9:14:17the Fringe, the referendum has very quickly taken centre stage.
9:14:19 > 9:14:21Brexit means Brexit.
9:14:21 > 9:14:23And Brexit means fuck all,
9:14:23 > 9:14:26cos Brexit is a made-up word.
9:14:26 > 9:14:28Do you think the referendum
9:14:28 > 9:14:30- kind of galvanised things for comics this year?- Yes, I do, yeah.
9:14:30 > 9:14:33I mean, it's the same as any big event, whether it's an election
9:14:33 > 9:14:36or a referendum or, you know, a World Cup or anything like that.
9:14:36 > 9:14:40Big, major events attract ideas and they inspire people.
9:14:40 > 9:14:42It encourages people in the arts,
9:14:42 > 9:14:45in music and in comedy to talk about the things that define the eras.
9:14:45 > 9:14:49So what was it like for you when the vote became clear?
9:14:49 > 9:14:53For a while there was a period where I felt quite emotional
9:14:53 > 9:14:57- and then because of my line of work I...- You went, "Wham, bam!"
9:14:57 > 9:15:00I felt very excited, yeah. I said, "Well, this is superb."
9:15:00 > 9:15:03Because I've been doing shows for years trying to convince people
9:15:03 > 9:15:05that politics is fascinating and I think it's fair to say most
9:15:05 > 9:15:09people take a bit of convincing. This referendum has proved it.
9:15:09 > 9:15:11Tattoo - probably voted Leave.
9:15:12 > 9:15:15Baguette - probably voted Remain.
9:15:18 > 9:15:20Tattoo and a baguette - pervert.
9:15:21 > 9:15:25When I woke up and saw the result, I thought, "OK, this has happened."
9:15:25 > 9:15:27At first I thought about the implications for our country,
9:15:27 > 9:15:29- obviously.- Obviously.
9:15:29 > 9:15:31But then about an hour later I thought,
9:15:31 > 9:15:32"Wow, I've got 25 minutes
9:15:32 > 9:15:35"of absolutely irrelevant stand-up comedy."
9:15:35 > 9:15:38The second half of the show wasn't going to be like,
9:15:38 > 9:15:40"So we've remained in the European Union,"
9:15:40 > 9:15:44but I wanted to do a show about sort of economics and the kind of
9:15:44 > 9:15:47- changing nature of capitalism. You know, the fun stuff.- Yeah.
9:15:47 > 9:15:50I wanted to do a show about that but it just suddenly seemed
9:15:50 > 9:15:53redundant to be talking about anything in politics
9:15:53 > 9:15:55other than the referendum after the result.
9:15:55 > 9:15:57Say what you will about the Labour Party,
9:15:57 > 9:15:59you have to give them credit cos they've looked across the bench
9:15:59 > 9:16:02at the turmoil engulfing the Conservative Party
9:16:02 > 9:16:03and reacted like this -
9:16:03 > 9:16:06"You call that political disarray? Sit down.
9:16:06 > 9:16:10"Let the professionals show you how it's done."
9:16:10 > 9:16:13- The referendum campaign threw up some great characters.- Yeah.
9:16:13 > 9:16:16If you imagine, the kind of Shakespearean, you know,
9:16:16 > 9:16:19the Gove relationship with Boris, it's... You know.
9:16:19 > 9:16:21Yeah, it's absolutely incredible.
9:16:21 > 9:16:23I mean, I think that we didn't give the theatrical community
9:16:23 > 9:16:26enough time with the vote but I suspect next year we're going to
9:16:26 > 9:16:31get a lot of Macbeths with Michael Gove.
9:16:31 > 9:16:35I think that that's definitely... that's definitely coming.
9:16:35 > 9:16:40- And Lady Macbeth. - And Lady Macbeth. Boris Johnson.
9:16:40 > 9:16:43The look on Boris Johnson and Michael Gove's face.
9:16:43 > 9:16:45The didn't look like two men who'd won a referendum.
9:16:45 > 9:16:48They looked like two men who'd lost a side bet and one of them
9:16:48 > 9:16:51was going to have to fuck a cheese grater.
9:16:51 > 9:16:53So you changed your show entirely.
9:16:53 > 9:16:55- Yeah.- That must have been a mountain of work.
9:16:55 > 9:16:57It was, I mean, initially,
9:16:57 > 9:17:01heartbreaking and very scary because, as a comedian
9:17:01 > 9:17:02working towards Edinburgh,
9:17:02 > 9:17:05most of the year you start working up material
9:17:05 > 9:17:07and because I do political stuff, really,
9:17:07 > 9:17:10it's post-January, so I only really have about five or six months
9:17:10 > 9:17:14before June and July when I have to preview the show and get it ready.
9:17:14 > 9:17:17This time, I had five weeks to start from scratch.
9:17:17 > 9:17:21We are living through something of a spicy period.
9:17:21 > 9:17:22It's a spicy period, guys.
9:17:22 > 9:17:24You want to know how I know it's a spicy period?
9:17:24 > 9:17:27There's a lot of people living in this country who would object to it
9:17:27 > 9:17:29being described as spicy. That's how you know.
9:17:29 > 9:17:32So how did the vote affect you personally?
9:17:32 > 9:17:37On 24 June, I was doing a gig at the Comedy Store and that night
9:17:37 > 9:17:39a man told me to go home, from the audience,
9:17:39 > 9:17:43and I just briefly brought up the idea of it being a historic day,
9:17:43 > 9:17:46cos I talk about studying history when I was at school, and I said,
9:17:46 > 9:17:48"I don't know what's going to happen,"
9:17:48 > 9:17:50and he shouted, "You can go home."
9:17:50 > 9:17:54I saw politicians and the major figures in the Leave camp
9:17:54 > 9:17:58dismiss outright any connection between the Leave vote
9:17:58 > 9:18:01and a spike in hate crime and I just thought,
9:18:01 > 9:18:05"I'm sick of being told that this didn't happen to me."
9:18:05 > 9:18:10So that was when the decision was made to start talking about it.
9:18:10 > 9:18:12Aaron Banks is a major figure in the Leave campaign and he said
9:18:12 > 9:18:14the biggest problem with the Remain campaign was
9:18:14 > 9:18:17that it was too reliant on fact.
9:18:17 > 9:18:22- Where this show would be interesting would be Sunderland.- Yeah.
9:18:22 > 9:18:24I mean, in many ways, Kirsty,
9:18:24 > 9:18:27that is the most devastating heckle I could have with my show.
9:18:27 > 9:18:30It would have been amazing if you'd shouted that at the gig.
9:18:32 > 9:18:34"Go say this in Sunderland!"
9:18:36 > 9:18:39There's no shortage of material mocking the Leave campaign,
9:18:39 > 9:18:42but there is one comic bucking the trend.
9:18:43 > 9:18:46We're so delighted to find you because actually finding
9:18:46 > 9:18:50a comedian who is Brexit is like finding a needle in a haystack.
9:18:50 > 9:18:53Yeah, there's not many of us up here and when I say many I mean any.
9:18:53 > 9:18:55I mean it's literally... I believe it's me.
9:18:55 > 9:18:57I'm the only one dumb enough to come up here with
9:18:57 > 9:19:00a show called Conswervative and then at the end also reveal that
9:19:00 > 9:19:02I voted Leave, and it's been an interesting run, to be honest.
9:19:02 > 9:19:04Voting Conservative is a bit like
9:19:04 > 9:19:06buying a James Blunt album. Know what I mean?
9:19:06 > 9:19:08You know millions of other people must have done it
9:19:08 > 9:19:10but weirdly, you never seem to meet one.
9:19:10 > 9:19:12So when the vote happened, did you go,
9:19:12 > 9:19:15"Well, that's fantastic cos it means I can change my show,"
9:19:15 > 9:19:17or did you go, "Oh, God, I've got to change my show"?
9:19:17 > 9:19:19I think firstly I felt a bit like everybody, like...
9:19:19 > 9:19:23- I had a bit of buyer's remorse. - Buyer's remorse! Seriously?
9:19:23 > 9:19:25Yeah, no, I did. The reality of what happened,
9:19:25 > 9:19:28certainly when Cameron quit and the markets slumped
9:19:28 > 9:19:30and everything seemed to briefly go into freefall,
9:19:30 > 9:19:32it was natural to sort of question, is this the right thing?
9:19:32 > 9:19:35- But did that give you great material?- I drew back for a while.
9:19:35 > 9:19:38I thought, "Let people be angry, let people be disappointed."
9:19:38 > 9:19:40There was quite a lot of comics saying,
9:19:40 > 9:19:41"Well, the world's laughing,"
9:19:41 > 9:19:44and I was thinking, "Well, I'm a comic so...job done."
9:19:44 > 9:19:46My mum would've been great at negotiating Brexit.
9:19:46 > 9:19:49She would have said to Theresa May, "Theresa, babe,
9:19:49 > 9:19:50"I've got you a good deal, yeah?
9:19:50 > 9:19:53"I got you access to the single market, concessions on freedom
9:19:53 > 9:19:56"of movement and Jean-Claude Juncker is now called John, all right? OK?
9:19:56 > 9:19:59"Yeah. Pain au chocolat, my arse."
9:19:59 > 9:20:01So what's the response from the audience been like?
9:20:01 > 9:20:04There was one woman who waited for me in this courtyard
9:20:04 > 9:20:05and waited till everybody had gone
9:20:05 > 9:20:08and said, "Are you a character actor?
9:20:08 > 9:20:10"You can tell me." I was like, "No."
9:20:10 > 9:20:13I don't know if at that point she thought I was going to go,
9:20:13 > 9:20:15"Yes, actually, my name's Tristram.
9:20:15 > 9:20:18"Let's go and do some Bikram yoga and let's talk it through."
9:20:18 > 9:20:21She just couldn't believe, maybe with some justification,
9:20:21 > 9:20:22that anybody would come up
9:20:22 > 9:20:24and kind of share these views at a liberal arts festival.
9:20:24 > 9:20:27The first day afterwards, first day, I was a racist.
9:20:27 > 9:20:28That was the dialogue. Racist.
9:20:28 > 9:20:31Second day, xenophobic. Third day, I was thick.
9:20:31 > 9:20:32I was thinking, "Thick?
9:20:32 > 9:20:36"I'm not the one who organised a march after the vote, OK?"
9:20:36 > 9:20:39When I saw on BBC News that we had left the EU,
9:20:39 > 9:20:42I immediately had violent diarrhoea.
9:20:42 > 9:20:43Just horrible.
9:20:43 > 9:20:46Like, "We've left the EU... Oh, God!"
9:20:46 > 9:20:49Straight in the... I had a bad case of the Brex-shits, guys.
9:20:49 > 9:20:51It really... Seriously.
9:20:51 > 9:20:54The Nando's I'd had the previous evening
9:20:54 > 9:20:57voted to leave with an overwhelming majority
9:20:57 > 9:21:01and article 50 was triggered immediately.
9:21:01 > 9:21:04The festival's into its third week but thousands of performers
9:21:04 > 9:21:07are still going strong, so here's our final selection of
9:21:07 > 9:21:10highlights for this year.
9:21:10 > 9:21:13Grandson of comic genius Charlie Chaplin,
9:21:13 > 9:21:16the acrobatic, poet, clown and magician James Thierree
9:21:16 > 9:21:19leads his audience into a magical world of dance,
9:21:19 > 9:21:22circus and physical theatre in The Toad Knew.
9:21:27 > 9:21:31Us/Them by Brussels-based company Bronks explores the harrowing
9:21:31 > 9:21:36events of the 2004 Beslan school siege with sensitivity and humour,
9:21:36 > 9:21:40cleverly contrasting the views of adults and children.
9:21:40 > 9:21:41The terrorists have got the school!
9:21:41 > 9:21:44But maybe not every terrorist wants money.
9:21:44 > 9:21:46Maybe some of them only want peace.
9:21:47 > 9:21:50# Cider man, cider man... #
9:21:50 > 9:21:52While the Fringe is always awash with keen, new upstarts,
9:21:52 > 9:21:54one comic stalwart is celebrating
9:21:54 > 9:21:57his 30th year of Edinburgh silliness -
9:21:57 > 9:21:59the ever entertaining Simon Munnery.
9:22:00 > 9:22:04Joke there. Joke there. Do another one at the end.
9:22:08 > 9:22:11What would Edinburgh be without some impromptu performance?
9:22:11 > 9:22:15Pop-up Duets is a collaboration between award-winning choreographer
9:22:15 > 9:22:19Janis Claxton and composer Pippa Murphy, and brings beautiful
9:22:19 > 9:22:23dance to unsuspecting visitors at the National Museum of Scotland.
9:22:30 > 9:22:32Senegalese superstar Youssou N'Dour
9:22:32 > 9:22:35raised the roof at the Usher Hall with his joyful fusion
9:22:35 > 9:22:37of traditional and world music.
9:22:39 > 9:22:43As ever, there is a profusion of puppets at the festival.
9:22:43 > 9:22:46The ventriloquist and comedian Nina Conti pulled a few strings
9:22:46 > 9:22:48and got us into some of the hottest shows in town.
9:22:51 > 9:22:55Teatro Delusio employees breathtaking movement techniques
9:22:55 > 9:22:58to explore life behind the scenes in the theatre.
9:23:03 > 9:23:07Ada/Ava mixes animation, live action and shadow puppetry
9:23:07 > 9:23:10to create an eerie American Gothic tale.
9:23:16 > 9:23:19Randy Writes A Novel is a foul-mouthed, philosophical rant
9:23:19 > 9:23:22from purple puppet Randy Felt Face.
9:23:26 > 9:23:27And in Nina's own show,
9:23:27 > 9:23:31audience members are brought on stage and turned into human puppets.
9:23:31 > 9:23:34# And my lovely wife tended them with care
9:23:36 > 9:23:39# In the garden!
9:23:39 > 9:23:44Tonight on stage, you had five people in masks and yourself.
9:23:44 > 9:23:47Does your head always stay straight?
9:23:47 > 9:23:49No, my head is a rambling chunk of nonsense
9:23:49 > 9:23:52and I just get through it moment to moment.
9:23:52 > 9:23:56- How you doing, Martin?- I'm ready!
9:23:56 > 9:24:02- You're ready? How you doing? - I want to be in the garden.- You do?
9:24:02 > 9:24:03How are you?
9:24:03 > 9:24:09I... want... to... do... a... painting...
9:24:11 > 9:24:12You want to do a painting?
9:24:12 > 9:24:15She's always fucking painting!
9:24:16 > 9:24:18Always at your side is Monkey,
9:24:18 > 9:24:22but Monkey seems very traditional but also incredibly modern.
9:24:23 > 9:24:28- So, what's that on your face? - That's my microphone.- Where's mine?
9:24:28 > 9:24:31You shouldn't get yours. You don't need one.
9:24:31 > 9:24:32Well, that fucks up the illusion.
9:24:34 > 9:24:37It's a great, liberating mouthpiece for me.
9:24:37 > 9:24:40It is like your foul-mouthed alter-ego?
9:24:40 > 9:24:42Yeah, it's the unspoken thoughts,
9:24:42 > 9:24:44but they're not the thoughts I would stand by.
9:24:44 > 9:24:47They're not really like my secret thoughts of what I really think.
9:24:47 > 9:24:50It's just all the thoughts that could occur.
9:24:50 > 9:24:52Teatro Delusio - three guys, 30 characters,
9:24:52 > 9:24:56cartoonish heads and total physicality,
9:24:56 > 9:24:58which I thought was so completely different from your show.
9:24:58 > 9:25:02A completely different form of action?
9:25:02 > 9:25:05I love the beginning when the puppet comes on stage
9:25:05 > 9:25:08right at the start and the puppeteer puts a hand through the sleeve
9:25:08 > 9:25:11and she looks at it.
9:25:11 > 9:25:14That was a very exciting moment, I thought.
9:25:14 > 9:25:15These guys have amazing bodies.
9:25:15 > 9:25:18They change their bodies so much to match their faces.
9:25:18 > 9:25:19Well, the ballet dancers.
9:25:19 > 9:25:22One ballet dancer looked like a proper ballet dancer.
9:25:22 > 9:25:25Those faces are really enchanting and mixed with that music,
9:25:25 > 9:25:28it's just got a great atmosphere, hasn't it?
9:25:28 > 9:25:29It's really otherworldly.
9:25:37 > 9:25:40I always thought masked acting was a bit of a drag
9:25:40 > 9:25:44and kind of Greek and worthy but it's funny, that one, isn't it?
9:25:44 > 9:25:46- Really playful.- It's fantastic. - Yeah, I really enjoyed it.
9:25:46 > 9:25:49It's powerful what you can say without words
9:25:49 > 9:25:52and it all happens in the audience's head.
9:25:52 > 9:25:55It just gives you that liberty to imagine your own story.
9:26:05 > 9:26:06Ada/Ava is a shadow puppet show,
9:26:06 > 9:26:09but so much more because you see all the workings.
9:26:09 > 9:26:11There is a live band and there's singing.
9:26:16 > 9:26:19I've never seen it done like that before. That was amazing.
9:26:25 > 9:26:30They chose spooky and tender. Very spooky when the hand...
9:26:30 > 9:26:32I know, I know.
9:26:38 > 9:26:41It was fascinating to watch the workings of that.
9:26:41 > 9:26:43Like the Wizard of Oz or something.
9:26:43 > 9:26:45You could see behind the curtain the whole time.
9:26:45 > 9:26:48Do you think actually that because you could see the workings,
9:26:48 > 9:26:51- it was actually more powerful? - I thought so.
9:26:51 > 9:26:54You can see her face with the profile stuck to it below
9:26:54 > 9:26:56and you can see the face she is making.
9:26:56 > 9:27:00It doesn't take away from it at all, it doesn't diminish it.
9:27:00 > 9:27:03- I think it enhances it. - You respect it so much more.
9:27:03 > 9:27:05Now we're all used to soundtracks and dialogue
9:27:05 > 9:27:07and everything fast-cut,
9:27:07 > 9:27:11and to just slow it right down and simplify it like that...
9:27:11 > 9:27:13It's such a craft. They clearly care enormously about it.
9:27:13 > 9:27:15I actually found it profoundly moving.
9:27:15 > 9:27:19You have the distress of death, loss, guilt, imagining.
9:27:19 > 9:27:21It's extraordinary.
9:27:21 > 9:27:25It's so much easier to love a shadow puppet than a bad actor!
9:27:25 > 9:27:27Isn't it?
9:27:27 > 9:27:31I don't know why that is but it seems so easy to be genuine
9:27:31 > 9:27:33when it's just a silhouette.
9:27:40 > 9:27:44Randy Writes A Novel is simply a one-man puppet show.
9:27:44 > 9:27:47Edinburgh Fringe is one of the few times I really notice
9:27:47 > 9:27:49the difference between being a drinker and a non-drinker
9:27:49 > 9:27:51because every night after my show I'm like,
9:27:51 > 9:27:54I'm just going to go home and have a cup of chamomile tea and read
9:27:54 > 9:27:56some Haruki Murakami.
9:27:56 > 9:27:59Everybody else in the entire city is like, "Aaagh!"
9:28:01 > 9:28:03He's really enchanting, really powerful.
9:28:03 > 9:28:07He really kicks ass as a puppet, as a host to an audience.
9:28:07 > 9:28:08He's really unafraid.
9:28:08 > 9:28:10- He holds the stage. - He holds the stage.
9:28:10 > 9:28:12I recognise that struggle
9:28:12 > 9:28:14of the puppet not being able to actually see
9:28:14 > 9:28:17but you feel people ducking out of his eyeline,
9:28:17 > 9:28:20but there's no eyes there, and that is the power of the thing.
9:28:22 > 9:28:23I love that.
9:28:24 > 9:28:26I wrote a book!
9:28:26 > 9:28:28Wooo!
9:28:28 > 9:28:31Yeah, don't get too excited, I think it might be shit!
9:28:31 > 9:28:34I can't tell any more. I'm too close to it.
9:28:34 > 9:28:36I'm concerned that it might be like an ugly baby,
9:28:36 > 9:28:40that I'm looking at through the eyes of a loving mother.
9:28:40 > 9:28:42What I was experiencing was thinking, you're just
9:28:42 > 9:28:46a mouthpiece for the guy under the table, which is fascinating.
9:28:46 > 9:28:48It's just stand-up.
9:28:48 > 9:28:51At what point do you think you are looking at the stand-up
9:28:51 > 9:28:52and you just forget he's a puppet?
9:28:52 > 9:28:54I never forget he is a puppet.
9:28:54 > 9:28:57I love thinking of that sweaty guy underneath,
9:28:57 > 9:29:01hunched with his hand held high with the blood draining out of it.
9:29:01 > 9:29:04I actually, yes, that's quite sadist of me,
9:29:04 > 9:29:07but I enjoy the struggle that must have gone into this illusion
9:29:07 > 9:29:08and I don't really forget it.
9:29:08 > 9:29:11I'm going to read bits of the book out.
9:29:11 > 9:29:14You are going to react, and then at the end,
9:29:14 > 9:29:19we'll all collectively decide whether or not I should kill myself.
9:29:21 > 9:29:25You at least, we see you, the hand is in Monkey but we see you,
9:29:25 > 9:29:28but what must it feel like in Randy Writes A Novel?
9:29:28 > 9:29:29You never see him.
9:29:29 > 9:29:32- He is just that puppet.- I know.
9:29:32 > 9:29:35I think in some respects, it must be hugely facilitating
9:29:35 > 9:29:42to just be completely free, but it must be pretty sore on the back.
9:29:42 > 9:29:43I mean, I couldn't do it for an hour.
9:29:43 > 9:29:48I can't imagine how he does it. But Randy is so alive, isn't he?
9:29:48 > 9:29:53The power that comes through him. That's fantastic puppetry.
9:29:53 > 9:29:57You know my favourite bit of that whole story? I just made it up!
9:29:59 > 9:30:01Nina Conti is at the Pleasance until Monday
9:30:01 > 9:30:04and dates in London next month.
9:30:04 > 9:30:08Stories of migration are never far from the headlines these days
9:30:08 > 9:30:09but at this year's festival,
9:30:09 > 9:30:12refugees are bringing their own stories to the stage.
9:30:12 > 9:30:14The writer and broadcaster Bidisha
9:30:14 > 9:30:18has been hearing tales of struggle and survival.
9:30:26 > 9:30:29I've been working with asylum seekers and refugees in the UK
9:30:29 > 9:30:33for several years now and I'm always struck by the difference
9:30:33 > 9:30:37between the way politicians and the media speak about them
9:30:37 > 9:30:40and the daily reality of refugees' lives.
9:30:40 > 9:30:43To me, they are the victims of the world's biggest humanitarian crisis
9:30:43 > 9:30:45and I've come to Edinburgh
9:30:45 > 9:30:48to curate some events at the Book Festival here,
9:30:48 > 9:30:51which will hopefully enable audiences to
9:30:51 > 9:30:54see the world through refugees' eyes.
9:30:55 > 9:31:01In 2006, Gulwali Passarlay fled the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
9:31:01 > 9:31:05He spent 12 months crossing eight countries to reach the UK.
9:31:05 > 9:31:08Six years later, he was selected to carry the Olympic torch
9:31:08 > 9:31:11in the run-up to the 2012 games.
9:31:12 > 9:31:15"If I have made it this far, I could make it now.
9:31:15 > 9:31:19"A survival instinct deep within me spurred me on.
9:31:19 > 9:31:23"I didn't want to die. Not here, not like this.
9:31:23 > 9:31:28"Not gasping and choking for breath in the cold depths of the sea.
9:31:28 > 9:31:31"How would anyone find my body?
9:31:31 > 9:31:34"My mother's face flashed before me again.
9:31:34 > 9:31:37" 'It is not safe for you here, Gulwali.
9:31:37 > 9:31:41" 'I am sending you away for your own safety.' "
9:31:41 > 9:31:43Gulwali, I've read your book,
9:31:43 > 9:31:46which tells the story of an incredible journey,
9:31:46 > 9:31:49but it begins when you are just 12 years old,
9:31:49 > 9:31:51when your life changes completely.
9:31:51 > 9:31:55I was forced to flee and leave my family, leave my home,
9:31:55 > 9:31:57everything that I loved, everything that I knew.
9:31:57 > 9:32:00I now was heading to the world of unknown.
9:32:00 > 9:32:03What kind of risks were you in danger of?
9:32:03 > 9:32:05I saw death on many occasions.
9:32:05 > 9:32:08But at one stage where I was very certain that death was happening,
9:32:08 > 9:32:11it was imminent, was when I was crossing from Turkey to Greece.
9:32:11 > 9:32:13The boat was designed for 20 people.
9:32:13 > 9:32:15There was 120 of us in it
9:32:15 > 9:32:17and for about 49, 50 hours, we were in the sea.
9:32:17 > 9:32:19So when I saw that death was happening,
9:32:19 > 9:32:22the boat was sinking, I was having this conversation with God
9:32:22 > 9:32:25because faith and hope was things that was keeping me going.
9:32:25 > 9:32:27What was your expectation of Britain?
9:32:27 > 9:32:28When I first arrived,
9:32:28 > 9:32:31I felt relieved I was finally here, but that I would be treated better
9:32:31 > 9:32:34than how I was treated in the rest of half of the world.
9:32:34 > 9:32:35But ultimately, it was another battle,
9:32:35 > 9:32:37another journey, another beginning.
9:32:37 > 9:32:40This is not where my journey ended, it's where it actually restarted.
9:32:40 > 9:32:43The authorities and social services, the immigration services,
9:32:43 > 9:32:45although they were trying to help me,
9:32:45 > 9:32:48they did not believe my age, they did not believe my nationality.
9:32:48 > 9:32:50It was actually more harder than the journey itself,
9:32:50 > 9:32:52being in the UK for the first year or two.
9:32:52 > 9:32:56What would you change about the current system?
9:32:56 > 9:32:58It took me five years to get refugee status
9:32:58 > 9:32:59and that's not acceptable.
9:32:59 > 9:33:01We blame the refugees or the asylum-seekers,
9:33:01 > 9:33:03when they have risked everything to come here.
9:33:03 > 9:33:05We don't give them the second chance in life,
9:33:05 > 9:33:08we treat them as unworthy human beings
9:33:08 > 9:33:10or basically that doesn't deserve to be here,
9:33:10 > 9:33:13that doesn't deserve the peace and security
9:33:13 > 9:33:15and opportunities we enjoy.
9:33:16 > 9:33:19"On so many times on my journey to freedom, I had felt hopeless,
9:33:19 > 9:33:22"despondent and afraid.
9:33:22 > 9:33:26"But at those moments of weakness, one thought had kept going.
9:33:26 > 9:33:28"My mother sent me away to save my life.
9:33:28 > 9:33:32"As I run through the street of my adopted second home,
9:33:32 > 9:33:37"the torch burning brightly, with people cheering and taking photos,
9:33:37 > 9:33:40"I thought of only of one thing - her."
9:33:41 > 9:33:46"At that moment, I knew beyond all doubt that I hadn't failed her.
9:33:46 > 9:33:47"I had made it."
9:33:55 > 9:33:59Gulwali is just one of countless individuals who risked their lives
9:33:59 > 9:34:02crossing the Mediterranean to seek safety in Europe.
9:34:02 > 9:34:04In Cast Away,
9:34:04 > 9:34:07Charlotte McDonald-Gibson explores what's driven them to make
9:34:07 > 9:34:11this perilous journey through the stories of five refugees
9:34:11 > 9:34:13who've arrived in Europe since 2011.
9:34:15 > 9:34:19Charlotte, why did you want to tell these five individual stories?
9:34:19 > 9:34:22Well, I've been reporting on the refugee crisis for a long time,
9:34:22 > 9:34:25since the Arab Spring, really, in 2011, when we really first started
9:34:25 > 9:34:29to see this movement of people coming across the Mediterranean,
9:34:29 > 9:34:32making these incredibly difficult journeys and coming to Europe.
9:34:32 > 9:34:37I wanted to find a way to tell these stories, to expose what was going on
9:34:37 > 9:34:41in this place, in the European Union, which is held up as a beacon
9:34:41 > 9:34:44for human rights for other countries to follow.
9:34:44 > 9:34:46"David was beside Sina on the deck.
9:34:46 > 9:34:48" 'Don't worry, we'll be safe,' he said.
9:34:48 > 9:34:51" 'We're very close to the beach, you don't have to worry.
9:34:51 > 9:34:54" 'We will not die, I promise you.'
9:34:54 > 9:34:57"At that moment, Sina felt the wood beneath her feet give way
9:34:57 > 9:35:00"and slide into the water, taking her with it.
9:35:00 > 9:35:03"First she went down, then up again,
9:35:03 > 9:35:06"desperately trying to keep hold of a slippery rope.
9:35:06 > 9:35:09"Then there was nothing to hold on to any more. She was in the water.
9:35:09 > 9:35:11"Sina heard a voice.
9:35:11 > 9:35:13" 'Please help us, we have a nine-month pregnant woman,
9:35:13 > 9:35:15" 'help us, she's here.'
9:35:15 > 9:35:17"Then everything went black."
9:35:17 > 9:35:20Sina's an extraordinary young woman, so she's from Eritrea.
9:35:20 > 9:35:23It's got one of the most oppressive regimes in the world,
9:35:23 > 9:35:24it's a dictatorship.
9:35:24 > 9:35:27I find her story extraordinary cos it's a story of survival,
9:35:27 > 9:35:30of a mother and child, set against the backdrop of all these
9:35:30 > 9:35:32news events we're familiar with - the closures of the borders,
9:35:32 > 9:35:35the shipwrecks, the massive arrivals on the Greek islands.
9:35:35 > 9:35:36How important is it,
9:35:36 > 9:35:40given that these are huge global trends and we're so used to seeing
9:35:40 > 9:35:43these pictures of refugees crammed into boats
9:35:43 > 9:35:46or detainees in detention centres,
9:35:46 > 9:35:50to humanize this crisis?
9:35:50 > 9:35:54It's absolutely crucial, because when they're viewed as "others",
9:35:54 > 9:35:57it's the otherization of other peoples.
9:35:57 > 9:35:59There's no empathy, you have no empathy.
9:35:59 > 9:36:01Everybody, they're just like us,
9:36:01 > 9:36:04they have the same basic motivations,
9:36:04 > 9:36:07which is to find the best life possible for your family,
9:36:07 > 9:36:10to find somewhere safe where you can build a life.
9:36:12 > 9:36:14It's not just the Book Festival
9:36:14 > 9:36:17that's focusing on forced migration this year.
9:36:17 > 9:36:20At the Fringe, Dear Home Office gives a voice to
9:36:20 > 9:36:25eight young refugees as their right to remain in the UK is tested.
9:36:25 > 9:36:28Tell me how this project came about.
9:36:28 > 9:36:31I manage the housing project that most of these guys live in,
9:36:31 > 9:36:35so in the day, I'm kind of sorting out their day-to-day business,
9:36:35 > 9:36:39and in the summer, Awet said to me that he thought that he had
9:36:39 > 9:36:42a story to tell and that he thought it was quite funny
9:36:42 > 9:36:45and could kind of interest an audience.
9:36:45 > 9:36:50Actually, when I was young, I was, like, acting in school
9:36:50 > 9:36:55and I love writing kind of stories, so I thought, like,
9:36:55 > 9:37:00this is going to be helpful if we make drama or stuff.
9:37:00 > 9:37:02And what story did you want to tell with this?
9:37:02 > 9:37:06You know, our story, like, our journey.
9:37:06 > 9:37:10So I find a man who would take me out of there.
9:37:10 > 9:37:12It was a little car with about 15 other people.
9:37:15 > 9:37:17They made us throw out our water
9:37:17 > 9:37:20so we could hold big cans of petrol.
9:37:21 > 9:37:23I was crushed and hot.
9:37:23 > 9:37:25The petrol made me sick. THEY RETCH
9:37:25 > 9:37:29There are some really dramatic moments that I think lots of people
9:37:29 > 9:37:32don't understand about being an asylum seeker.
9:37:32 > 9:37:35Like, one question they ask you, like, more than 30 times,
9:37:35 > 9:37:39they repeat again, again, again...
9:37:39 > 9:37:45So they make me, like, the other people or me or my friends,
9:37:45 > 9:37:47they make feel sad, really.
9:37:47 > 9:37:50How old was your mum when she had you?
9:37:50 > 9:37:52Did you go to school?
9:37:52 > 9:37:54Did you work?
9:37:54 > 9:37:55Did you help in the house?
9:37:55 > 9:37:57Did you have a girlfriend?
9:37:57 > 9:37:59How long did you go to school?
9:37:59 > 9:38:01What year were you in when you left to come here?
9:38:01 > 9:38:04- Do you have any qualification or degrees?- How long ago?
9:38:04 > 9:38:06Can you be more specific?
9:38:06 > 9:38:09What do you want audiences to take away from Dear Home Office?
9:38:09 > 9:38:10I want...
9:38:10 > 9:38:14if I'm capable of changing their opinion, if some people,
9:38:14 > 9:38:18like, they have different kind of opinion about refugees,
9:38:18 > 9:38:22I want to show them, like, you know, we are good people,
9:38:22 > 9:38:26we are the same like them, we can do, like,
9:38:26 > 9:38:30good things for the people, for the society, for the world.
9:38:30 > 9:38:33I just want to work hard and have a peaceful life,
9:38:33 > 9:38:35is that too much to ask?
9:38:35 > 9:38:39I'm studying GCSE, I want to be a psychologist to help kids like me.
9:38:41 > 9:38:43Our story has only just begun.
9:38:45 > 9:38:47AUDIENCE APPLAUDS
9:38:49 > 9:38:51That's about all from us, but there's plenty more at...
9:38:55 > 9:38:57We leave you tonight with a stunning performance
9:38:57 > 9:39:00from the Lemon Bucket Orchestra, who have been picking up praise
9:39:00 > 9:39:04and prizes for Counting Sheep, a powerful and immersive piece
9:39:04 > 9:39:08at Summerhall, which recreates Ukraine's Maidan revolution.
9:39:08 > 9:39:09Goodnight.
9:39:16 > 9:39:17Ah, ah!
9:39:24 > 9:39:27SINGS IN OWN LANGUAGE
9:39:38 > 9:39:41SINGS IN OWN LANGUAGE
9:39:51 > 9:39:55SINGS IN OWN LANGUAGE
9:40:04 > 9:40:09SINGS IN OWN LANGUAGE
9:40:18 > 9:40:22SINGS IN OWN LANGUAGE
9:40:31 > 9:40:35SINGS IN OWN LANGUAGE
9:40:44 > 9:40:49SINGS IN OWN LANGUAGE
9:41:17 > 9:41:19Ah, ah!