Many Good Men is an interactive forum theatre performance in the form of a participant-led digital forum theatre project from Civic Digits, a forward-looking company founded in 2018 that specialises in blending digital technology and gaming with live performance and the aim of empowering people to take control of their digital lives for a greater societal good. They bring their specific skills to Many Good Men as young people from the local community co-create and present the story of a young footballer drawn into online radicalisation.
Using digital tools and live intervention techniques, audiences don’t simply watch – they actively shape the narrative and explore different paths the story can take. The project opens urgent conversations about healthy masculinity, digital influence and how communities can respond to harmful behaviours.
Supported by Creative Scotland, Dunfermline High School, Fife Violence Against Women Partnership and Dunfermline Athletic Football Club, Many Good Men invites audiences into a uniquely immersive theatre experience that explores masculinity along with online pressures and choices through the lens of real young people’s creative voices.
Artistic Director of Civic Digits and Director of Many Good Men, Clare Duffy, said “When we started researching this project, I set up an email as a young man and asked YouTube, ‘how do I get a girlfriend?,’ within two hours I was watching misogynistic content that promoted incel ideology, just by letting the algorithm run. Through Many Good Men we want to find out how young people experience this, how it affects their lives and how parents, youth workers, teachers and young people can communicate about the sense of overwhelming isolation the digital broadcasting of these ideologies can create.”
Many Good Men has received national media attention, highlighting its innovative approach to addressing online harm through participatory theatre and the article was the most read on the BBC News website on the day of its publication.
This staging of Many Good Men follows the recent launch of the Many Good Men Education Pack, developed in partnership with the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) to support educators in facilitating meaningful conversations about misogyny and gender-based violence in secondary schools and further education settings.
Mental Health Ambassador at Dunfermline Athletic Football Club, Eddie Martin, said “We are delighted to open our doors to host this fantastic play. This event reflects our ongoing commitment to supporting our community and strengthening our partnerships – locally with Fife Violence Against Women Partnership and nationally with the White Ribbon Campaign Scotland.”
Since its acclaimed premiere at Heart of Midlothian FC in 2024, the project has been recreated with young people in Romania and the upcoming performances in Dunfermline will be its second iteration in Scotland.
Dates and Times:
Thursday 2nd April @19:00
Friday 3rd April @14:30 & 19.00
Venue: East End Park, Dunfermline
Age Recommendation: 12+
Approximate running time: 90 minutes
Book via eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/many-good-men-tickets-1982348501732?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
Irene Brown
Radio Summerhall Arts 