Robert Newman History of oil

Originally Posted to 'the Fake Headlines' by Rachel Flood

I recently found this performance online and it has quickly become my new favorite. I watch it regularly, not just because it is informative but because it is a breath of fresh air in a sea of stagnant performance approaches. I am a performance poet and I have been largely uninspired by the works I have seen of late, what with gimmicky "slam " poets and overly earnest performance artists there has been little by way of engaging, funny and educational works in the public sphere...or at least my sphere. Not since Spalding Grey's - Swimming To Cambodia have I seen a poignant and relevant political statement that was as engaging and entertianing as it was informative and relevant. That is until i found this! So enjoy. ******************************************** Robert Newman gets to grips with the wars and politics of the last hundred years - but rather than adhering to the history we were fed at school, the places oil centre stage as the cause of all commotion. This innovative history programme is based around Robert Newman's stand-up act and supported by resourceful archive sequences and stills with satirical impersonations of historical figures from Mayan priests to Archduke Ferdinand. Quirky details such as a bicycle powered street lamp on the stage brings home the pertinent question of just how we are going to survive when the world's oil supplies are finally exhausted.