Chris Thorpe’s Fringe First-winning play Confirmation at Royal Exchange

The Royal Exchange presents a highly-topical one-man show that looks at what drives people’s core philosophies. Confirmation looks at the prevalence of political bias – where people only see things that prove what they already believe. Former Manchester-based writer and performer Chris Thorpe looks at this phenomenon in relation to the rise of extremism in the UK. Developed using academic research and conversations with extremist people, the show aims to be a rational look at the ‘facts’ driving those with hard-line opinions. Thorpe asks if there some reasonableness to every point of view. He doesn’t shy away from questioning his own biases, and asks if his liberalism has been somewhat lazy. Confirmation debuted last year at the Edinburgh Festival, where it won the Fringe First award. If you’ve seen Thorpe perform before, you’ll have booked your tickets already. An hour in his presence is something special.
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Tue 26 May – Sat 30 May, The Studio, Royal Exchange Theatre, St Ann’s Square, Manchester, M2 7DH. Tel: 0161 833 9833, £12 (£10 conc.), www.royalexchange.co.uk