Provocateurs

Provocateurs has been running since 2013. This is a collaborative effort between the four universities in Edinburgh (coordinated through the Beltane Public Engagement Network and curated by the University of Edinburgh), Fair Pley (an arts production company) and Susan Morrison (stand-up comedian and professional entertainer).

These events take public engagement into the thick of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and provide opportunities for audiences to discuss and debate cutting edge and controversial research with experts.

2025 Program

Find out which events members of the School of Mathematics are involved in. 

Power Cuts / War Monsters 

Sunday 3 August 11.25am

Hosted by comedian Susan Morrison. Dr Lars Schewe (The University of Edinburgh) is applying maths to prevent power cuts – by switching off powerlines. He also wants to close roads to alleviate traffic jams and turn off pipes to improve gas and water supplies! Dr Lucy Hall (Heriot-Watt University and the Open University) explores ideas of monstrosity in World War II Britain to discover if we are really so different from the monsters we create.

Click this link to buy tickets for Power Cuts / War Monsters 

Power Cuts / Smokey Skies

Wednesday 13 August 5.40pm

Hosted by comedian Jojo Sutherland. Dr Lars Schewe (The University of Edinburgh) is applying maths to prevent power cuts – by switching off powerlines. He also wants to close roads to alleviate traffic jams and turn off pipes to improve gas and water supplies! Dr Kirsty Pringle (The University of Edinburgh) recounts the global history of the air we breathe.

Click this link to buy tickets for Power Cuts / Smokey Skies 

Power Cuts / Robot Romance

Wednesday 20 August 5.40pm

Hosted by comedian Susan Morrison. Dr Lars Schewe (The University of Edinburgh) is applying maths to prevent power cuts – by switching off powerlines. He also wants to close roads to alleviate traffic jams and turn off pipes to improve gas and water supplies! Franziska Heck (Edinburgh Napier University) explores the ethics and absurdity of artificial love and addictive chatbot relationships.

Click this link to buy tickets for Power Cuts / Robot Romance

A 600-Year-Old Fart Joke / Talking to Machines

Thursday 21 August 11.25am

Hosted by comedian Sarah-Jane Judge. Dr Michael Barany (The University of Edinburgh) argues that a fart joke can explain the essence of mathematics. Dr Wataru Uegaki (The University of Edinburgh) dives into the weird overlap between human language and programming.

Click this link to buy tickets for A 600-Year-Old Fart Jokes / Talking to Machines

Tickets and full program 

All shows will take place at The Stand Comedy Club: for directions and venue-specific information, visit the websites linked below.

The Stand Comedy Club 

Click to view The Stand's upcoming events