Help! I Think I'm a Nationalist
Written & performed by Seamas Carey
Directed by Agnieszka Blonska
Who am I? Where do I belong? Is it okay to be a nationalist?
Seamas is confused.
He’s watched gentrification sweep through his rural hometown. There’s nowhere to live, yet second homes stand empty. He wishes his Cornish home was more welcoming and inclusive, but watches 'London money' sow division and suspicion.
Could closing borders and nationalism be the answer?
Where’s the line between pride and power?
What happens when it all goes too far?
All the way from Cornwall, UK, Seamas Carey presents the controversial, comedy show on identity, second homes, xenophobia and bagpipes.
“Thoughtful, nuanced and entertaining” The Times
★★★★ "A clever, well-crafted and intriguing piece of comic theatre" All Edinburgh Theatre
Presented by: Seamas Carey and Joanne Hartstone
Seamas Carey is a Cornish artist, composer, choir leader, perhaps best known for his podcast series The Reason Why, and the "provocative, nuanced and controversial" comedy show - Help! I Think I'm A Nationalist.
His other work includes; Pagan Pandemonium, I Wish I Was A Standing Stone and Seamas Carey Meets His 4 Year Old Self (Emma Rice’s 2019 theatre highlight, The Guardian). He also founded and still conducts Cornwall’s first alternative male voice choir, Men Are Singing. In 2020 he received the Maurice O’Connell Bursary Award and went on to exhibit work at Tate St Ives the following year.
As a multi-instrumentalist (accordion, piano, double bass, bagpipes) Seamas has worked for 12 years as a performer and musical director with theatre companies such as Kneehigh and Bristol Old Vic.
Reviews & Fringe Feed Reacts
such intelligently presented theatre deserves our full attention - David Jobling, Fifty+ SA
Striking, thought-provoking, and a violent, sorely needed wake-up call about the importance of finding the balance between pride and tyranny - Moss Meunier, Binge Fringe
A sincere and humorous exploration of Cornish nationalism and finding (and sometimes crossing) the line between local pride and xenophobia - Simon Barnett, Glam Adelaide