No man is an island; Why so many one man shows in Edinburgh?

'No man is an island'; John Donne's popular phrase, written over 400 years, expresses the recently unpopular belief that human beings work better when they consider each other and work together. An idea that seems to ally closely to theatrical ideals of collaboration and the model of a theatre collective.

Grounded - Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Many of us have felt the impact of digital advancements in the workplace, not just its affect upon employment levels, but also the feeling that the benefits of efficiency are a poor substitute for the tangibility of pen to paper, or face to face contact or the pleasures of understanding the mechanics of your instrument.