Directed by Paul Hunter

‘It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong.’ (Voltaire, 1770)

Collaborating with award-winning poet Simon Armitage, Told by an Idiot, National Theatre Scotland and Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh present a wildly comic and provocative piece of music theatre.

 Edinburgh; a cold town on the edge of civilisation, in very much the Year of Our Lord, 1696. The church has spies everywhere. Here, you keep your counsel and choose your words with care ... unless you are Thomas Aikenhead– a loud-mouthed, smart-arsed and likable student at the university. A man in the wrong place at absolutely the wrong time ... trouble is brewing for Thomas.

A rich vein of black humour is exploded in this account of the last person in Britain to be executed for blasphemy. Using Told by an Idiot’s internationally celebrated theatrical invention, we glimpse into Edinburgh’s dark past to reveal this true story with universal resonance.

A riotous and unsettling drama which swings between 1696 and the present day, I Am Thomas is performed with an original live score.

• "Their work is never less than sublime"
  The Times on Told by an Idiot
• "Told by an Idiot are the most exciting, enthralling and energising presence in British Theatre"
  Carol Ann Duffy, Poet Laureate
• "Theatre about as inventive, imaginative and fantastical as it gets"
  Time Out on Told by an Idiot

#IAmThomas | #lyceum50

Cast and Credits