GAIL PORTER
LEVI ROOTS
DARK NOON JEREMY DELLER
LADY BLACKBIRD
ELLA LILY HYLAND
BOOK FESTIVAL AT 40 THE RITE OF SPRING
GRAYSON PERRY
POLE DANCING
COLIN CLOUD
COLIN CLOUD
THEON CROSS
GODMOTHER OF
THE COMEDY STEPS OUT
BIIG PIIG
EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL
FILM FESTIVAL
18–23 August edfilmfest.org.uk
Andy Williams sang about Christmas being ‘the most wonderful time of the year’. Bah humbug. The guy clearly never stomped around the streets of Edinburgh in August, trouser pockets crammed with flyers as he stumbled unwittingly into a silent disco. Probably during one of the city’s renowned ‘light showers’.
Yes, it remains a genuine delight and huge privilege for the world’s biggest arts festival to be right on our doorstep. Of course it has its problems (how could such a vast undertaking not experience some issues) and those shouty naysayers will be just as vocal as they always are, but for anyone who loves the Edinburgh Festival and feared that it would be wiped out by covid, these are the good times.
Here’s a brief selection of what’s coming up in this bumper package: homecoming queen Gail Porter tells us why she’s taking the plunge into stand-up; Geoff Sobelle, creator of theatre that’s ‘sublime ridiculous’ (his words), revels in being out of control; mentalist Colin Cloud touches on more personal material for his new magic hour; we mark 40 years of the Book Festival, compile an A–Z of Grayson Perry, and speak to Fringe acts who are using pole dancing to smash the patriarchy. And our cover star Bridget Christie tells us why a comedy show about the menopause really does contain something for everyone. Plus we have a City Guide detailing all the places where you can eat, drink and refuel before heading to your next show.
Of course, the fun doesn’t end here with this Festival Guide; far from it. We have three weekly magazines to lavish upon you, starting with a big preview issue on 31 July then two offerings in August packed with reviews of the good, the bad and the 3-star. On top of that, there’ll be acres of shows to write about online while a host of weird and wonderful things will be occurring on our socials. Brace yourselves. It’s going to be a big one.
FESTIVAL GUIDE EDITOR
CEO Sheri Friers
Festival Guide Editor
Brian Donaldson
Festival Guide Deputy Editor
Megan Merino
City Guide Editor
Jo Laidlaw
Art Director
Seonaid Rafferty
Designer
Carys Tennant
Writers
Ailsa Sheldon, Ania Magliano, Brian Donaldson, Carol Main, Claire Sawers, Danny Munro, Eddie Harrison, Fiona Shepherd, Greg Thomas, Isy Santini, James Mottram, Jessica Matthewson, Jo Laidlaw, Katherine McLaughlin, Kelly Apter, Kevin Fullerton, Lucy Ribchester, Marissa Burgess, Megan Merino, Miranda Heggie, Neil Cooper, Rachel Ashenden, Rory Doherty, Stewart Smith, Suzy Pope, Zara Janjua
Sub Editors
Paul McLean, Megan Merino
Social Media and Content Editor
Megan Merino
Senior Business Development Manager
Jayne Atkinson
Online News Editor
Kevin Fullerton
Media Sales Executive
Ewan Wood
Digital Operations & Events Manager
Leah Bauer
Events Assistant Eve Johnston
Editorial Assistant
Jessica Matthewson
Sequels are complicated. It’s rare that a follow-up makes as big of a splash as the original (notable exceptions: Paddington 2, World War 2). If you’ve had something go well, you’ll be familiar with the initial elation of ‘I did it!’, followed by the anxiety of ‘how will I ever do that again?! I will embarrass myself and bring shame to my family.’ That’s how I felt when I started writing my second stand-up comedy hour. It’s not technically a sequel, but it is still about my life. You could describe it as confessional, autobiographical, or ‘a lot to think about’ if you’re my dad.
Reflecting on the initial delight (and subsequent dread) of selling out her debut Fringe show, Ania Magliano writes about overcoming second-album syndrome and her deep-felt gratitude for work-inprogress audiences
When creating my first show, I had my entire life to draw from. Stories, thoughts and ideas from February 1998 to July 2022, to be exact. Preparations began on my next show in October 2022. The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that July to October is a marginally shorter period of time to draw inspiration from. This realisation panicked me initially. But rather than spin an hour out of a sheer three months, I decided to look back at my whole life and attempt to dig a little deeper. In this new hour, I’m talking about events and topics that are more personal to me (sorry, dad), and that require more skill and confidence to deliver well on stage.
This was, of course, only possible thanks to the kind-hearted support of audiences who attend work-inprogress shows before August. If you’re someone who has ever been to one of these, then you are truly a martyr for comedy. There is a special place in heaven for you (in a chair, watching god test out new scripture ideas scribbled in his notebook before he sets them in stone). Thank you. Now I’m starting to realise that having another go can be useful for creating a higher-quality finished thing. Like the second pancake . . . or child: the first one never turns out all that great. More evenly-cooked; a little less time on the iPad before bed. It’s how things grow and improve. So I hope that’s what this show is. A better, well-rounded, perfectly warm pancake/child.
n Ania Magliano: I Can’t Believe You’ve Done This, Pleasance Courtyard, 2–27 August, 4.35pm.
You have to feel a little sorry for Fringe acts who need to get their show title into the programme often before they’ve even fully conceptualised that August masterpiece.
Best way to attract attention is with a ripe old pun. Here’s a bunch that took our fancy
Iraqnophobia
3rd Rock From The Pun
Involuntary Momslaughter
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Stutter
Woke In Progress
Worm In Progress
Your Mother Chucks Rocks And Shells
Actions Speak Louder Than Nerds
Get Rich Or Cry Trying
Great Sketchpectations
Cancer Culture
Married At First Fight
Married At First Sleight
Death On The Mile
Full Frontal Lobe
The Dark Side Of The Room
Greece Lightning
The Odd Couplet
Chronic Boom
Gentrifucked
How The Whitey Have Fallen
The Hills Have Ayes
In a Festival-tinged take on our regular column, we continue to set Kevin Fullerton a series of alcohol-fuelled challenges. This issue’s mission . . . concocting Festival cliché cocktails
The Stewart Lee Martini Sip the same drink over and over again for upwards of 15 minutes, then continue sipping until the drink loops from being boring to absolutely hilarious. Continue until you win a BAFTA.
The Audience Of One Slammer Mix five shots of tequila, tap water and 700 mulched flyers: serve in a discarded bin bag. To be enjoyed while crying.
In the run-up to Festival season, performers are beavering away to capture that perfect promo shot for show posters, flyers and us, the beloved press. But how many succeed in catching our eye? For better or worse, these three animalthemed shots piqued our curiosity for being, well . . . barking mad!
The Freudian Cigar Accoutrement Place a celery stick in your drink for every encounter with a flaccid penis during a theatrical monologue about growing up (you’ll need at least two bags of celery a day). For erect members, contact the police and take a shot.
The Unfortunate Majority Apologetically down an entire midpriced beaujolais every time a middle-class comedian makes a joke about how trivial their jokes are because they’re middle class, then proceeds to make unashamedly tedious observations about middleclass minutiae for 50 minutes.
The LBC Fringe Commiseration One glass of port mixed with spite every time a former right-wing politician attempts to reinvent themselves as light entertainment.
The Old Fashioned Falter Knock back a Depression-era whisky and soda every time you see the light in a comedian’s eyes fade into darkness when their joke doesn’t land. Buy them a drink afterwards as consolation.
The Celeb Memoir Concoction A mixture of drain swill and battery acid every time you spot a celebrity biog being peddled.
The Bugg Fizz One fruit juice and champagne for every disappointing rock-pop crossover act booked in a misbegotten attempt to capture the yoof demographic (sorry, Jake).
The Chin Stroker’s Delight Two fingers of gin, a lemon slice, and a vat of brandy whenever you spot a neckbeard wander out of an experimental art piece and claim they ‘really loved the atonal symmetry of the arrangements’ or other variations on clueless pretentious bumwash. An additional shot of sambuca if they describe an art piece as being ‘non-Euclidean in its grandeur’.
Delve into a sonic universe with our curated Festival Guide soundtrack
Explore the music within these pages, with the varied sounds of Scotland’s exploding jazz scene through Kitti, Seonaid Aitken and corto.alto; sonic treats from Lady Blackbird, Ichiko Aoba and Alison Goldfrapp via Edinburgh International Festival; as well as songs from Biig Piig, Levi Roots, Kirsten Adamson and more . . .
Scan and listen as you read:
While giving less of a damn these days what people think of her, Bridget Christie just so happens to also be at the peak of her comedic powers. She tells Kelly Apter that against all the odds, a stand-up show about the menopause really does have something for everyone
Bridget Christie and I are sitting on a bench in Clissold Park in Stoke Newington when she suddenly jumps up and starts demonstrating a recent event. This beautiful plot of north London green space is the venue for Christie’s daily run, and as we discuss the invisibility of middle-aged women (plus the empowerment this sometimes brings), she’s got the perfect example. Running behind a young woman, she spotted a bench-full of workmen up ahead checking her fellow runner out at length, before clocking Christie briefly, looking disinterested, and resuming their conversation.
‘So I stopped running,’ she says, then hilariously mimes walking up and down the length of the bench, running her eyes from the men’s feet to their heads appraisingly. ‘One of them said “hello” in an unsure way, and then I started running again. I enjoyed it so much and it made me so happy. I find these joyful little things every day.’
Speaking to Christie, you can well believe it. At the age of 51, the comedian is enjoying something of a renaissance both personally and professionally. Although to be fair, 2013’s Edinburgh Comedy Award-winning show A Bic For Her was the real turning point after Christie had left behind character comedy to embrace feminism and win a legion of new fans. Since then, a plethora of stage shows, radio programmes and television appearances have cemented her status as a safe comedic pair of hands, with a thoughtprovoking agenda and right on her side.
But today, bursting with energy on a Saturday morning in the park, you can’t help but feel she has been born again. The catalyst? The menopause. Which, not coincidentally, is the topic of Christie’s new stand-up show Who Am I?, and her much-lauded Channel 4 sitcom, The Change. ‘I now feel more like the true Bridget I was as a child,’ she says. ‘The young me before puberty hit was, I feel, my true self. Then there was this whole middle section between the ages of 11 and 50, and now I feel truly and deeply who I’m supposed to be. And the things that I’d always disliked about myself, I’m just accepting them because they’re me, and I don’t have another me. I’m in the last third of my life now, and I don’t want to waste any more of it giving myself a hard time.’
This shit needs to be said ” “
This new-found sense of self-love is, says Christie, ‘a hormonal thing’ which has also left her caring far less what people think of her. Ironically, with five-star reviews pouring in for her funny, poignant and wonderfully bizarre TV show, now would actually be an OK time to concern herself with the opinions of others. It’s also a great time to feel positive about what lies ahead. ‘I’m really excited about my future, my post-menopausal life, and the fact that I’m out the other side and not in my reproductive years,’ she says. ‘And I’m happy to let go of needing to be liked or attractive. There are millions of other people who can be down on me, but I’m not going to be one of them now. And it’s not about being arrogant, because I’ve struggled with confidence most of my life; it’s about self-care.’
That sense of empowerment is something Christie hopes Who Am I? will pass on to her audience. Not just the women of a similar age who will howl with laughter in recognition of the menopause’s many symptoms, but young women for whom all that lies ahead; and, in fact, anyone with a pulse. When Christie first started trying out menopause material at comedy gigs earlier this year, she was unsure how it would go down (mindful of how much of a ‘hard sell’ she found feminism a decade earlier). When she spotted a group of young men in peals of laughter, she enquired what was funny, thinking it might be something other than her. Surprisingly, it was Christie’s depiction of the menopause, which chimed with their own experience.
‘They said, “that’s our mums”, which was very interesting for me,’ recalls Christie. ‘I realised that this subject is relatable to everybody, because it literally does affect every single person on the planet. It’s you, or your wife, or your mum, or your sister. We all respond to things in different ways, of course, and it’s easy for me to say I’ve found it empowering. But if I can change just one other woman’s experience of it, that would make me so happy. I’ve had brain fog, hot flushes, sleep deprivation and anxiety, but I still see it as the most important transition of my life.’
Having found that the early drip-feed of menopause material went well, Christie went on to craft a whole show. But what if it hadn’t? What would she have done? ‘Carried on until it did,’ she says unequivocally. ‘It’s the same as what happened in 2013 with feminism; this shit needs to be said. It’s not just about me, there are millions of people out there who are exactly the same as me. So I want to do a good job for them, and that’s a great motivator to do good work. The fact that women say to me after shows that they feel heard is very special for me.’
Anyone who has watched Christie’s stand-up shows, listened to her radio broadcasts or read her books will know that she is a political animal. So while the menopause may feel like a purely biological issue, recent events
in the House Of Commons have taken it into a whole new arena. The rejection of several key recommendations in the ‘Menopause In The Workplace’ report (on the grounds they might ‘discriminate’ against men) has angered many. In particular, the refusal to make it a ‘protected characteristic’ was deemed especially disappointing. How did Christie feel about that, and will we be hearing about it in the show?
‘It just made me so furious. Pregnancy and maternity is a protected characteristic and not all women have babies; but all women will have the menopause. And the discussion around it was so patronising. We lose something like £40m a year from menopausal women taking time off work. So to say it would discriminate against men . . . I think they were just being deliberately provocative. At the moment it’s in my little notebook, but by the time I get to Edinburgh, bits will be in the show; and definitely for the tour in September.’
With The Change currently winning over television audiences and critics alike, her role on Taskmaster bringing in a whole new fanbase, and her three Radio 4 series (Bridget Christie Minds The Gap, Utopia and Mortal) all hitting the spot, does the world of stand-up comedy still feel like home?
‘Oh yes, I can’t wait to get out there. Stand-up is really addictive because you’ll never, ever win. You just have to keep doing it forever. You’ll never get to the point where you think, “that’s it, I’m the best stand-up that I can be”, because every audience and every situation is completely different. And stage time and experience . . . you can’t put a price on that. I never want to lose that feeling, and I don’t think I ever will. The eight-year-old Bridget would want the 51-year-old Bridget to do this, unencumbered by estrogen and societal pressure to do things in a certain way. Other jobs come along, and to get commissions in radio and TV is absolutely incredible, but this is what I’ll be doing until I die.’
Bridget Christie: Who Am I?, The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 2–9 August, 1.50pm.
We can't be certain that previous winners of the Edinburgh Comedy Award gather together in August when they all happen to be here doing a new show. But if so, they’d need a table for nine: Bridget Christie and this octet...
FRANK SKINNER
As we’re doing it in strict chronological order, Skinner is the one comic on this list to have a better excuse than most if he’s forgotten all about his big victory. His self-reflexive show title, 30 Years Of Dirt, works on two maybe even three levels.
Assembly George Square, 3–27 August, 8.50pm.
DANIEL KITSON (2002)
The last winner on this list to have scooped the Perrier Award (depending on who you talk to about such matters, that was either the prize’s heyday or era of sponsor shame), Kitson’s stage work is now more of the storytelling/theatrical bent. To his legion of fans, it’s all still gold.
Summerhall, 2–27 August, 10.30am.
DAVID O’DOHERTY (2008)
Musical comedy did well in those early 80s days of the award, but this whimsical and highly affable Irishman stands (well, sits) alone in the modern era. He’s barely missed a Fringe since receiving his gong, which shows that it’s all about progressing his own act rather than trying to nab a TV deal. Not that we’re suggesting any of the previous winners have ever done that. Ever . . .
Assembly George Square, 2–28 August, 7.20pm.
ADAM RICHES (2011)
Not only is this guerrilla comic doing his own character show (Adam Riches Is The Guys Who), but he’s slipping back into his Sean Bean persona for a gameshow at Monkey Barrel entitled Dungeons ‘n’ Bastards. Shrinking violets should probably steer clear.
Underbelly Cowgate, 3–27 August, 2.10pm.
JOHN KEARNS (2014)
In terms of history makers, Kearns remains the only comic to win Edinburgh’s main award the year after being crowned Best Newcomer. The Varnishing Days has already stormed it on tour so if you’re a fan of his tonsure-wigged, false-teethed stage alter ego, you’ll be in your element.
Monkey Barrel, 2–14 August, 4.15pm.
JOHN ROBINS (2017)
Couldn’t have been easy to share the award with a show that pretty much rewrote the rules of stand-up (Hannah Gadbsy’s Nanette) but Robins seemed to deal with it in good charm, mocking himself relentlessly whenever he got the chance. He’s here with Howl and a work-in-progress show.
Just The Tonic Nucleus, 3–27 August, 8.50pm.
ROSE MATAFEO (2018)
Sold-out in barely any time, the New Zealander’s work-in-progress affair is her first appearance in Auld Reekie since she hit sitcom stardom with Starstruck. Energy and devilish spirit will be in abundance here.
Monkey Barrel, 16–27 August, 11.20am.
JORDAN
For a while there (the duration of a pandemic approximately), it looked as though Brookes might be the last ever Edinburgh Comedy Award winner. Those pesky vaccines knocked that thought out of bounds and now he’s back doing a work-inprogress show like he’s never been away.
Pleasance Courtyard, 2–8, 21–27 August, 10.50pm.
Edinburgh International Book Festival celebrates 40 years as a literary world leader. We hear from a number of festival bosses about the highlights (and mishaps) of doing the job, while Nick Barley marks his final campaign by paying tribute to a much-missed director
One of the highlights was actually a no-show: Hunter S Thompson’s failure to turn up at the very last minute, despite his publishers laying on every inducement possible in Scotland, from golf to grouse. His black-leathered fans turned away meekly at the box office, muttering that they had never really expected him to come anyway.
Many of the best moments inevitably happened offstage: authors meeting for the first time such as Angela Carter and Jan Pieńkowski, surrounded by a host of children, in front of the huge frieze they created that morning. And two memorable handshakes: one, captured by The Guardian, was between Amos Oz and Ben Okri by the statue of Prince Albert. The other was an encounter, over breakfast in the Roxburghe Hotel, between two stars of the very first festival in 1983. One proffered his hand: ‘Updike? Burgess . . . we have corresponded.’
Trying to choose memorable moments from numerous events is almost impossible; there are just too many. Typically it’s often the things that went wrong that rush to mind: last-minute cancellations, being stuck in a lift with Anthony Burgess, power cuts, walking round the square to calm nervy authors, and the all-time heart-stopper for our steadfast band of interviewers when authors changed their mind about what they were going to talk about just as they approached the theatre door. Fortunately those occurrences (particularly the last one) were infrequent but memorable nevertheless.
Gratifyingly, EIBF audiences were very loyal and mostly very understanding in extremis. Bringing writers and readers together was the main aim and that couldn’t have happened year on year without the extraordinary, above-and-beyond efforts of the staff teams, support of publishers and sponsors, and interest from journalists and media.
So many of the most successful authors of the day agreed to come, sometimes from afar, some closer to home, and several became Festival stalwarts over the years. Listing highlights is of course dreadfully invidious, but here, like a random bookshelf, is a shortened selection including some who were then just emerging writers (for it was many years ago): Carol Shields, Simon Armitage, Angela Carter, Peter Carey, William McIlvanney, Vivian French, Eric Newby, Jessie Kesson, Anthony Burgess (once we got out the lift), Margaret Forster, Janice Galloway, Douglas Adams, Jackie Kay, Alan Bennett, Shena Mackay, Norman MacCaig, Debi Gliori, Ian Rankin, Joyce Carol Oates, Mario Vargas Llosa, Val McDermid, Milorad Pavić, Edwin Morgan, Colin Thubron, Doris Lessing, Jonathan Coe, Maya Angelou, James Kelman, Hilary Mantel, Ben Okri, Liz Lochhead, Jack Mapanje, Candia McWilliam, Edna O’Brien, Michael Ondaatje, Anne Fine, Alasdair Gray, Alan Warner, Bernard MacLaverty, Jacqueline Wilson, Ali Smith, Lemn Sissay, Kate Grenville, Walter Mosley. What a feast, what an honour.
Festivals are like sourdough starter cultures. They allow good discourse to flourish, and that healthy culture in turn nourishes new growth. Jan Fairley, a director who brought a distinctly Latin American flavour to Edinburgh’s literary life, did as much as anyone to cultivate the rich mix that made the Book Festival what it is today.
I never had the pleasure of meeting Jan but she had an impressive track record before her appointment as director late in 1995. She had lived in (and fled from) Chile during times of revolution, and had built an impressive reputation as a musicologist and journalist with an unusually international outlook. By all accounts, Jan brought passion and fierce humanity to her work with the festival; and while holding onto much of the good culture she’d inherited from her predecessors, she added a hefty dollop of internationalism to an already-popular mix. Not only did she make the bold move of inviting the legendary Mario Vargas Llosa to headline the festival, Jan brought music and politics to Charlotte Square too.
She introduced readings for imprisoned writers (which would live on for years as an Amnesty project) and presided over one of the most important changes in the Book Festival’s history: taking it from biennial to annual. Despite her compassionate and foundational innovations, Jan moved too quickly for the Book Festival trustees. After taking the necessary step of moving to a yearly cycle, as she later explained, she ‘fell foul of the board, being slightly headstrong, too much my own person, and naïve as to significance of profit in the first change-over year.’ She was also ahead of her time.
Jan remained a voice in Scottish journalism after leaving the Book Festival in 1997. Her untimely death from cancer at the age of 63 in 2012 prompted renewed recognition, and an award for young journalists was inaugurated in her name. Perhaps most importantly, there’s a rich seam of internationalism and humanism that continues to be part of the Book Festival more than 25 years after she left. There’s still a distinct taste of Jan Fairley’s fizzing internationalism every time a new Book Festival programme is baked.
Nine extraordinary Augusts, 9000 memories of our glorious green oasis of thought. We enticed the great literary giants of the time; not with fat fees, ours was a profoundly egalitarian festival where everyone, whether world-renowned or unheard-of author, was paid exactly the same modest sum. But entice them we did. In those years, when the festival grew rapidly in size, reach and reputation, we had a dozen Nobel Laureates, Booker winners too many to mention, and just as importantly, new authors for both adults and children from many lands as well as local.
Looking back, it’s sobering to realise how many of my most fondly remembered guests are now in the great writers’ retreat in the sky, hopefully sharing a dram and happy recollections of Charlotte Square. Among them, Muriel Spark, Seamus Heaney, Susan Sontag, Hilary Mantel, Iain Banks, Doris Lessing, Tony Benn, Martin Amis. They’ll be keeping the angels on their toes.
How to pick memories from such a multitude? The reunions in our unorthodox green room, the yurt: in one cosy nook, Harold Pinter is in deep discussion with his pal John Hurt (‘Hurt’s in the yurt!’ went a whisper round the site) over how best to time the pauses in Beckett’s Krapp’s Last Tape. Out in the Main Theatre, Margaret Atwood’s astonishing LongPen invention allows both Alice Munro in Canada and Norman Mailer in Cape Cod to sign books for us in Edinburgh, live and in real time, as if by magic.
Other enduring images: Ian Rankin kneeling at the feet of Muriel Spark. True, she’s small and seated and Ian is tall, but it’s the picture of adoration. Carol Ann Duffy and her daughter revelling at our closing ceilidh. Amos Oz strolling towards the exit when the young security guard assigned to him (he elicited strong feelings from different Middle Eastern factions) suddenly blurts out he’d like his autograph: he’s been so moved listening to his events. Crowds singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to a beaming Sean Connery. The great Toni Morrison, a proud empress in braids and a flowing gown, being persuaded it would be rude to Scots NOT to take a glass of whisky into her book signing. I could pick hundreds more. One is especially poignant. It’s 2005 and the fatwa is no longer in force. Salman Rushdie walks onto site alone and smiling, no special protection. Calm and safe in our green oasis of thought.
Edinburgh International Book Festival, Edinburgh College Of Art, 12–28 August.
Brazilian director Christiane Jatahy has created an acclaimed work for the stage inspired by Lars von Trier’s brutal and controversial movie Dogville. Known for merging the worlds of film and theatre, she tells James Mottram how the far-right’s rise in her homeland and a fear of history repeating itself played into the making of Dusk
When theatre director Christiane Jatahy first saw Lars von Trier’s 2003 film Dogville, starring Nicole Kidman as a Great Depression-era runaway named Grace, she was shocked. ‘It made a great impact on me,’ she recalls. ‘The way that Lars von Trier worked, in between theatre and cinema, and how he was going to a place that was so strong and violent was very arrresting. But at the same time, it was very difficult for me. From the beginning, I had a conflict with this film.’
Indeed, even by the standards of Danish provocateur von Trier, Dogville is one of his more extreme projects. All set on a darkened soundstage, with just white markings on the floor etching out where buildings stand, Kidman’s Grace Mulligan is on the run from mobsters when she winds up in a Rocky Mountains town in Colorado. She’s given refuge, in return for helping the townsfolk with chores. But as the mood darkens, the atmosphere changes and Grace is ultimately enslaved and repeatedly raped by inhabitants.
Inspired by Dogville, Jatahy decided to create a theatrical piece entitled Entre Chien Et Loup (or Dusk, in English). ‘Not to do an adaptation, because it’s not an adaptation of Dogville,’ she explains. ‘It’s a dialogue with this film. It’s a kind of debate with this film.’ Playing at this year’s International Festival (the first time this Brazilian-born theatre director’s efforts have been produced in Britain), Dusk marks the inaugural piece in a trio of works that Jatahy created. Together with the second and third parts (Before The Sky Falls and After The Silence), she calls it, ominously, ‘the horror trilogy’.
‘I was really obsessed about the idea to do more than one piece about the same thing that touched me,’ she says. In this case, Jatahy was watching on, disturbed, with Jair Bolsonaro as Brazilian president between 2019 and 2022. ‘It was important for me to think fascism can grow in invisible ways,’ she says. While her focus was always going to be her native Brazil, caught in the midst of a crisis thanks to Bolsonaro’s authoritarian rule, she is swift to point out that extreme right-wing politics can (and have) surfaced across the world, almost imperceptibly.
So how does all this fit into Dusk, you might wonder? In the piece, a young Brazilian woman named Graça flees the quasifascist regime of her homeland. She encounters a community of theatrical players staging Dogville. ‘They ask themselves, and ourselves, how it’s possible to accept others? To be together, to accept difference,’ says Jatahy.
At first Graça is welcomed into the group, but she’s gradually exploited and abused. So is she a carbon copy of Kidman’s character? No, says Jatahy. ‘She’s not passive. She’s a woman today who really believes it’s possible to change. Not in the same way that Grace in the film accepts everything. She really fights.’
In Jatahy’s eyes, her production is an intersection of past and present. ‘This is what interested me. How it’s possible, when you know what happens when fascism arrives, to live through this again. How you can allow this. Dogville is the past. But how is it possible to repeat this again? In Brazil, we had 20 years of dictatorship, yet people vote for someone who defended dictatorship? This question is not about us only, but something that’s happening all over the world.’
Jatahy, whose celebrated career includes her winning the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Theatre at the 2022 Venice Biennale, has previously been praised for her abilities to merge theatre and cinema (that same year, she created The Lingering Now, a multimedia take on Homer’s Odyssey). Dusk would seem to be no different, especially with its mix of live filming and recorded segments. Of course, as she rightly points out, she didn’t follow Lars von Trier’s use of minimalist sets, which were inspired by Bertolt Brecht (particularly The Threepenny Opera).
The presence of this 1900s dramatist, however, still hovers over the show, with Jatahy’s characters breaking the fourth wall and talking directly to the audience. After Dusk premiered at the Avignon Festival in 2021 (where The Guardian called it ‘a piece of high artistic maturity’), it’s been touring around ever since. To date, though, von Trier has yet to see it, although Jatahy is full of praise for him.
‘He gave me the freedom to work with this film,’ she says. He was very generous. I hope that one day I can show it to him.’ He should certainly be pleased; according to Jatahy, those who see Dusk but have not seen Dogville are now seeking out the film.
‘This is a kind of circle,’ she says. ‘And then people come back to see the theatre show again, with the memory of this film. So, really, it’s a beautiful dialogue.’
Dusk, Lyceum Theatre, 5–8 August, 7.30pm; 7 August, 2.30pm.
As Dusk will show, putting visceral film work onto the stage and making it work is no mean feat. Over at the Fringe, Yippee Ki Yay (Gilded Balloon At The Museum, 3–27 August, 5.45pm) returns after big success last year with this homage to Die Hard now starring Darrel Bailey (pictured). Larger-than-life icon Orson Welles is portrayed by David Shopland in Raising Kane (Assembly George Square Studios, 3–28 August, noon) for this recollection of how the greatest movie of all time (fact) came about. Proving there’s no such thing as a bad idea, 30 Minute Musicals (Assembly Checkpoint, 2–14 August, 7.50pm) bring us Top Gun. But will this troupe perform their own stunts?
ALI WATSON QUARTET
A graduate of Guildhall School Of Music And Drama, this talented double bassist is a long-time friend and collaborator of saxophonist Matt Carmichael
MATT CARMICHAEL
While Carmichael attended the Royal Conservatoire Of Scotland, he met piano player Fergus McCreadie, who also features on his debut album Where Will The River Flow
RICHARD GLASSBY
Also a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire Of Scotland, Glassby is a drummer from Aberdeenshire who gigs alongside being a full-time teacher.
FERGUS MCCREADIE
The Mercury-nominated, SAY Award-winning pianist, known for his equally folk-tinged compositions, plays in STRATA with Graham Costello and in corto.alto with Liam Shortall, both of whom attended the Royal Conservatoire Of Scotland alongside him.
SEONAID AITKEN
A performer at 2022’s SAY Award ceremony (who picked up the award for McCreadie in his absence), this Fife-born violinist is a seasoned orchestrator and session musician, recently contributing gorgeous string arrangements to corto.alto’s new single ‘Bye’. She formerly hosted BBC Scotland’s Jazz Nights programme.
Showcasing local and international talent across jazz, blues, funk and soul genres, Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival celebrates its 45-year anniversary. To mark the occasion, we challenged Megan Merino to find connections between every Scotland-based artist performing this year. Turns out the nation’s jazz scene is one big happy family
HARRY WEIR
Alongside being a key member of STRATA and corto.alto, as well as experimental trio AKU!, this killer tenorist spearheads his own quintet, Harry Weir’s Blue Boar Brass, who can be seen playing with Norwegian jazz rock trio Elephant9 this year.
GRAHAM COSTELLO
Bandleader of STRATA, and drummer in AKU! (alongside Shortall and saxophonist Harry Weir) and corto.alto, Costello was nominated for a SAY Award in 2019 for breakthrough album Obelisk
LIAM SHORTALL
Trombonist, guitar player, producer and creative mind behind corto. alto, Shortall has also sharpened his teeth in the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra and in funk-soul out t Tom McGuire & The Brassholes. As part of his Live From 435 series, he wrote the song ‘Better’ featuring vocalist Kitti
LAURA MACDONALD
This award-winning saxophonist from Ayr was also a MasterChef nalist in 2021. Appearing on BBC Scotland’s Jazz Nights at the time, she explored music inspired by food and drink with Seonaid Aitken
KITTI
This Paisley-born singer won Best Vocalist at 2022’s Scottish Jazz Awards for her rich, soulful tone which she lends to lyrically dense original compositions.
Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, various venues, 14–23 July.
Pole dancing has been grabbing headlines in Edinburgh this year as it became embroiled in city leaders’ failed attempts to ban lap-dancing clubs. Rachel Ashenden takes a look at four Fringe shows using pole as a key element in exploring the personal, the political and the plain funny >>
Earlier this year, the Scottish courts overturned Edinburgh Council’s plans to impose a total ban on lap-dancing clubs across the city. It was ruled that the council, which included pole dancing in what councillors deemed as ‘commercial sexual exploitation’, acted unlawfully. Believe it or not, the council had even tried to block sex workers from attending the court hearing. According to the United Sex Workers Union, this ‘nil cap’ on lap-dancing clubs would have resulted in 100 women losing their jobs, potentially pushing them into unregulated and unsafe working environments.
Against this backdrop of political contention and union triumph, four solo performers are bringing their pole-dancing talents to this year’s Fringe. Scottish comedian Fern Brady used to open her stand-up sets with the pithy line, ‘I know what you’re thinking: why is the stripper talking?’ Creative polymath Siân Docksey explains that this question has been burned into her brain, as she queries the dichotomous choice women are restricted to, of ‘picking between being seen or being heard’. In a bid to experience both, she integrates pole dancing with stand-up in her show, Pole Yourself Together! (admittedly, this is also the approach her tax advisor recommends so that she can continue expensing pole-dancing lessons for her comedy gigs).
Two years in development, the performance brings Docksey’s unique absurdist humour to the stage. As she readies herself for this year’s Fringe, she reflects upon the socio-political questions entangled within her routine. She returns to a pressing question explored in her earlier Work In Polegress show: can pole dancing be funny? Pole Yourself Together! marks Docksey’s contentment with the questions which previously troubled her, including whether pole is tied to wanting sexualised attention and if that’s necessarily a bad thing. She recognises the necessity for the feminist debate to move on from such limited notions of what a woman can want, do or be.
Alongside the financial and physical, pole dancing has unexpectedly proffered a wealth of wellbeing benefits for Docksey. In a recent op-ed for The Independent, she generously wrote about how pole enabled her to feel ‘fully connect[ed] to [her] body’, in the wake of a complex PTSD diagnosis. Drawn to pole as a ‘self-repair tool’, Docksey proclaims that Pole Yourself Together! is about ‘banishing dread’: an indicator of where her head was when she wrote her entry for the Fringe brochure.
A different kind of existentialism can be expected in Scottish writer and stand-up comedian Jay Lafferty’s show, Bahookie Alluding to the ageism which prevails in the arts and culture sector, in which women are given a short window to ‘make it’, Lafferty initially took to pole dancing to compete with performers in their alleged prime. Finding comedic confidence and ‘power in ageing’, pole has become a tactic to negotiate the underlying rules around risk-taking in the arts. ‘It is about seizing the opportunities which have previously passed me by,’ explains Lafferty. ‘Ultimately, it’s about letting go of the fear of failure and recognising it’s OK to end up on your arse sometimes.’ Speaking both metaphorically and literally here, Lafferty expands upon the training involved to pull Bahookie off. A teacher has put her through her paces over the course of nine months, which she describes as ‘apt’, because ‘it’s been just about as painful as childbirth’.
When we discuss Edinburgh Council’s failed ban on lap dancing clubs, Lafferty speaks honestly, admitting she cannot speak to this with any authority as she doesn’t have the lived experience of pole dancing in that context. However, Bahookie’s feminist slant is about ‘learning to love your body at any age’, and in turn, embracing ageing and sensuality. This autobiographical show will explore Lafferty’s relationship with her body across this nine-month pole journey, as well as feeding off pivotal life events.
The challenge of learning pole solely for Fringe purposes has similarly captivated Clementine Bogg-Hargroves, who began lessons just over a year ago. This is no mean feat, with BoggHargroves’ injuries ranging from the standard bruising to tearing her rotator cuff and having to take eight weeks off training to
heal. Her show, titled Please Love Me, is a tragi-comic spectacle which is autobiographical in scope. Using pole dancing (and singing) to tell the story of her volatile teenage years, Bogg-Hargroves analyses the behaviours associated with co-dependency, discerning the distinction between validation and love with a healthy dose of hindsight. While she found pole dancing in early adulthood, it still aids the show’s coming-ofage narrative, particularly as she has learned to accept where she is now, including her physical limitations.
Elsewhere at the Fringe, the ironically named Lucy And Friends is a cabaret solo show in which pole dancing features prominently in the first act. Without going into too much detail and ruining an element of surprise, Lucy McCormick uses the cabaret format to ‘open up questions around systems of power, and the labour and value negotiations of making Fringe shows.’ Befriending her audience in the process, McCormick capitalises
on the ‘entertaining’ and ‘sexy’ nature of a pole performance to explore how loneliness can be conquered with community and connection. These four acts use pole dancing to excavate internal turmoil, bodily autonomy and patriarchal systems of power, but as McCormick reminds us, it’s also just a ‘great workout’. Across these shows, pole dancing emerges with a multiplicity of meanings for these creators. As they trample on outdated criticisms of pole as an ‘exploitative’ form of expression, sexuality and sensuality are not dampened in the process.
Siân Docksey: Pole Yourself Together!, Pleasance Dome, 2–28 August, 7.10pm; Jay Lafferty: Bahookie, Gilded Balloon Teviot, 2–28 August, 6.20pm; Please Love Me, Pleasance Dome, 2–26 August, 8.20pm; Lucy And Friends, Pleasance Courtyard, 2–23 August, 5.20pm.
All the way through to September, contemporary portrait photography is celebrated with the Taylor Wessing prize exhibition. While some celebrity shots are in there (Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard and Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford), the majority of images are of regular people doing fairly regular things. Stuff like chilling in the garden, hugging a favourite toy and being in love, such as in this image by Suleika Mueller. ‘Shaheen & Bari’ comes from her series entitled The Muslim In-Between. (Brian Donaldson) n National Galleries Of Scotland: Portrait, until 10 September.
Spanning a 40-year career, Edinburgh is staging the biggest ever exhibition of Grayson Perry’s work. Greg Thomas brings us everything we could ever want to know about the popular and provocative cultural icon
Grayson Perry has owned his world-renowned teddy bear since he was nine months old. Named after a neighbour’s son and memories of an early bout of measles, Alan became a fantasy guardian, a ‘benign dictator of my made-up land’, says Perry, during a turbulent and affection-starved adolescence. Since the mid-noughties, the foam-stuffed totem has popped up in dozens of artworks.
BIKES
Perry loves motorbikes. He once drove across Germany in a custom-made, powder-pink and baby-blue HarleyDavidson, carrying his teddy in a glass shrine over the back wheel. He described the look of his vehicle as ‘Mexican Day Of The Dead meets Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’.
Girlish alter-ego Claire has been credited by her creator as ‘a 19th-century reforming matriarch, a middle-England protestor for No More Art, an aero-model-maker, or an Eastern European freedom fighter.’ Dressing in women’s clothes since his teens, Perry used to purloin petticoats, slips and nighties from house clearances his stepfather did on the side.
Claire often steps out in garb reminiscent of an oversized female marionette or Little Bo Peep toy, sometimes carrying an extra dolly for good measure. The artist recalls cutting out pictures of dolls from his sister’s Bunty comics as a child and making new clothes for them.
The flat landscapes and stolid suburban culture of Perry’s home county permeate his creativity. See, for example, recent works such as 2017 tapestry ‘The Battle Of Britain’, with its drab yet comforting pylon-speckled flatlands; and ‘A House For Essex’, a functioning holiday apartment built over the River Stour, inspired by the life of a fictional Essex woman named Julie May Cope
Perry’s left when he was a kid, after his mother took up with the local milkman, an alpha-male who by turns intimidated, abused and ignored him. He has described his dad leaving as ‘the event that has had the largest impact on me in my life’. Now he is a father himself to illustrator and author Florence.
‘From my childhood I developed guerrilla tactics; there was no sense in confronting the enemy head on,’ Perry says of his relationship with his stepfather. His breakout 2002 show at the Barbican Centre was called Guerrilla Tactics and depicted scenes of violence, sex, war and childhood trauma, on ceramic works hinting at the craft’s ancient Greek origins.
A vivisectionist of masculine myths, Perry has written in The Descent Of Man of the need for men to become more comfortable with failure and embarrassment; humiliation even. Humiliation (though not his) came in 2014 when, for a TV show exploring identity, Perry made a pot which depicted disgraced MP Chris Huhne, whom he described as ‘Default Man’. The piece featured repeat patterns of the politician’s face, his personalised number plate and penises.
Perry’s practice revives the archetype or icon as a subject for art and literature. Figures, objects and places stand not for themselves but for some essential quality or absolute truth about life. In the artist’s hands, these have less to do with religious dogma than personality-shaping events in childhood: garden sheds, crashed cars, pylons, pillboxes, and girls with dolls all pop up everywhere.
Art critic and professional vibe-killer Jonathan Jones hates Grayson Perry’s work. He once called it, ‘what happens when art becomes a pseudo-intellectual entertainment for a world that is too busy to look at, too distracted to feel.’ Jones’ paraphrased criticism of Perry’s work as ‘suburban popular culture’ turned up on a pot in Perry’s 2017 Serpentine exhibition, with the reviewer’s name spelt wrongly. Burn.
Definitely not included in this list because its author studied there, KEGS regularly appears on lists of top state schools in the country and has been carting off maladjusted young men to Oxbridge for centuries. When Perry went there, he had a satchel rather than the de rigeur Adidas sports bag. He was bullied. Plus ça change.
There was a functioning leper hospital until the 1970s near one of Perry’s childhood homes, in the semi-rural Tory-ish village of Bicknacre. No joke. Art was the young man’s ‘ticket out of Essex’ and into a world of squats, drugs and nudity in the capital, via art college in Portsmouth.
Perry credits his outspoken working-class mum for ‘a lot of my rebelliousness, the style of it’. Maternal themes recur throughout his work, including ‘The Mother Of All Battles’ (1996), a famous photograph of Claire as an Eastern European peasant girl wielding an enormous gun. But young Perry was a boys’ boy, too, obsessed with military vehicles and aircraft. In his book, The Descent Of Man, he skewers the compulsions placed on men to be silent, violent and dully dressed.
The first avant-garde group to which Perry attached himself was spearheaded by his friends at art college in Portsmouth. Surrounded by the artifice and glamour of 80s culture, they staged naked sitins at art galleries, painted on each other’s bodies, and generally indulged in whimsical enactments of earthy, hippy soulfulness.
With its busy compositions, nods to folk craft and (only apparent) lack of concern for institutional approval, Perry’s art owes a debt to the tradition variously dubbed art brut or outsider art. This work is created outside the canon, often without formal training, sometimes by people confined in mental asylums. The artist was astounded by an outsider art show at London’s Hayward Gallery early in his career.
As a young artist, Perry recalls, he took up pottery as ‘a funny dalliance . . . a tease . . . pottery was a joke . . . I was attracted to pottery because it was naff.’ Coming of age in a provincial town in the late 1970s, he was an adolescent pogo-er too, and brought something of the iconoclastic spirit of punk to his new craft, rarely making prototypes and often cracking things in the kiln. Honourable P mentions for Portsmouth, psychotherapy and his partner, therapist Philippa Perry.
‘We had two teachers in my first primary school,’ Perry’s autobiography recalls. ‘One was called Mrs Quick, the other Mrs Moth. “Quick! Catch the Moth!” was our joke.’ He was on QI once, too (look, Q is hard).
Perry gave the 2013 BBC Reith Lectures. In a series of talks titled Playing To The Gallery, he considered the state of 21st-century art, exploring some of the pretensions and confusions responsible for its mixed reception.
When pop artist Peter Blake remade his famous photo-collage from The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’ s record cover in 2012, Perry was among the icons of contemporary British culture to appear.
Perry is now arguably better known for his TV work than for his art. His credits include Why Men Wear Frocks (2005), Grayson Perry: All Man (2016), and Grayson’s Art Club, aired during the lockdowns of 2020–22. Perry often creates artworks as part of the onscreen narrative for his shows.
‘I can remember the first time I saw an urban fox,’ Perry recently recalled. ‘I was so thrilled to see this piece of wildness wandering across the road nonchalantly.’ In the lockdown years, he made a series of drawings, paintings and collages called Urban Fox based on nocturnal encounters near his London home.
Perry is an inveterate fan of outsider artist Henry Darger, a hospital janitor from Chicago who lived a solitary life and spent his evenings writing and illustrating an extraordinary fantasy opus that was only discovered after his death. It was called The Story Of The Vivian Girls, In What Is Known As The Realms Of The Unreal, Of The Glendeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused By The Child Slave Rebellion. Perry paid homage to Darger with his 2000 vase ‘The Revenge Of The Alison Girls’, misremembering the little heroines’ names.
In this disquieting piece from 2000, Perry confronts the theme of child neglect more directly than elsewhere. A woman looks at her dead child, surrounded by figures who may be comforting or confronting her. The glazed earthenware is littered with phrases such as ‘never have kids’ (a refrain of Perry’s mother), which the artist calls ‘the thin end of the wedge of child abuse’.
Stretching the alphabetical format with this entry: Perry’s first ever ceramic plate, ‘Kinky Sex’ (1983), shows Christ on the cross with a coin over his penis. ‘It appeared as if he had had an enormous wet dream while being crucified.’ Charming.
In his 2006 autobiography, based on recorded interviews with his friend Wendy Jones, Perry transports readers from the estates and caravan parks of his youth, to art college and the glazing of his first plate; which, as we now know, showed Jesus with a penny on his cock.
Perry won the prestigious award (it contains a Z, so sue me) in 2003, beating off competition from favourites the Chapman Brothers. It secured the legend of Grayson Perry as artist and provocateur.
Grayson Perry: Smash Hits, National Galleries Of Scotland: National, 22 July–12 November.
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The way people judge others is central to Christian Noelle Charles’ new exhibition. Ahead of its Edinburgh Printmakers opening, she talks to Isy Santini about self-love, community and breaking the rules
'The title is inspired by Flashdance,’ laughs Glasgow-based artist Christian Noelle Charles as she explains her latest exhibition, WHAT A FEELING! | ACT I, which explores themes of racial identity, inequality and care. ‘It’s that feeling of pressure, the sense of an audition feeling like a fight. ACT I is about getting ready for that.’ The exhibition at Edinburgh Printmakers is driven by conversations with other Black creatives and their experiences within art institutions. It will showcase a series of five portraits representing these creatives getting ready, in what Charles intends to be a celebration of her artistic community.
Originally hailing from Syracuse, New York, Charles’ work is concerned with self-love and the experiences of Black women. This exhibition will focus on gestures of judgement and the way that these can create tension within a space.
‘People judge you with the simplest hand gestures. It’s triggering because you’re now thinking, “am I doing the right thing?” instead of, “this is who I am”. It can hit your chest sometimes.’
For Charles, it’s important to call out that type of judgement, while also denouncing the position of power from which it comes. ‘In terms of being a Black woman, you have to work twice as hard to get half as far. You have to present yourself a certain way. For example, if you have locs, you’re called out because it’s not business-proper. In getting ready you’re being reminded that you can be judged for how you look and what you’re doing.’
Charles explains that the exhibition developed from her emotional response to being treated this way, but also from discovering a sense of self-love and community. To that end, she chose to situate her prints within a beauty-salon installation.
‘Growing up as a Black woman, that was your space for getting ready and being pampered, but also your space for gathering and talking about your situation and problems.’ Her art moves fluidly between media, utilising print, video and performance. ‘You make these layered experiences when creating a dance piece; with screen-printing it’s all layers. Every time a new layer is added it feels like a piece of music, and I start dancing.’ While music underpins her art, it’s through screen printing that she challenges the expectations of others. ‘Screen printing is a very particular process and method, but I can also be open and creative. I can feel like I’m breaking the rules.’
Charles is inspired by artists such as Carrie Mae Weems and Matisse who do the unexpected with their art. ‘You create these spaces to find new ways of seeing, as Nina Simone says.’ She hopes with WHAT A FEELING! | ACT I to critically examine the concept of opportunity. ‘It’s frustrating when it feels like you’re being tokenised rather than judged based on merit. It’s about trying to be aware and recognise those things, but at the same time celebrating how hard we’ve worked to just do what we love.’
Christian Noelle Charles: WHAT A FEELING! | ACT I, Edinburgh Printmakers, 28 July–17 September.
Over 70 exhibits aim to offer fresh perspectives on Scottish art history, including works from Alison Watt, Sekai Machache, Rachel Maclean and Joan Eardley, plus the pictured piece, Beatrice Huntington’s ‘A Cellist’.
n Dovecot Studios, 28 July–6 January.
Accompanying his Festival-long exhibition at Collective is the oneoff BEAST!, a performance work by Lakhrissi which explores historical interpretations of gay people and those in the Global Majority as being somehow monsters.
n French Institute, 26 August.
Germany-based Portuguese artist Antunes brings us the apparent length of a floor area with sculpture which aims to dismantle traditional boundaries between art, design and craft. nFruitmarket, until 8 October.
Tapping into Robert Louis Stevenson’s Jekyll & Hyde concept and the intensity of anxiety dreams is Shitfaced, Mendick’s first solo show in Scotland, which tackles troubling issues with candour and wit. n Jupiter Artland, 15 July–1 October.
When The Apple Ripens is a large-scale retrospective of this London-born Scottish painter whose instantly recognisable work has covered areas such as the working men of Glasgow and war in Bosnia.
n City Art Centre, until 1 October.
This largest showing of Whittle’s work to date, create dangerously makes connections with colonialism and climate crisis, particularly highlighting Scotland’s complicity in racial supremacy.
n National Galleries Of Scotland: Modern One, until 7 January.
The Tower is part two of a trilogy first launched at the 2017 Venice Biennale. Based on the writings of medieval female mystics, it explores stories of women who were murdered back then for the crime of heresy.
n Talbot Rice Gallery, until 30 September.
A clear TV highlight from last Christmas was the BBC’s adaptation of Andrew O’Hagan’s 2020 novel about lifelong friendship and what lengths you’d go to in order to help out a pal on the brink. Switching between rumbunctious youthful times and ‘sensible’ middle-aged lives (Tony Curran, Martin Compston and Cal MacAninch played three of the gang), it succeeded in being heart-breaking and uplifting all at the same time. O’Hagan is joined here by the drama’s screenwriter Andrea Gibb and executive producer Claire Mundell to discuss their journey in taking this story from page to screen.
(Brian Donaldson)
n Edinburgh College Of Art, 22 August, 2.15pm.
Perhaps Munroe Bergdorf first appeared on your radar back in 2017 when she became the first transgender model to be hired by beauty brand L’Oréal. Three days after they announced it, they controversially fired her. Bergdorf made the headlines, not to mention a lot of new fans, when she calmly challenged Piers Morgan on Good Morning Britain about white privilege and institutional racism, standing by the comments that got her sacked. Three years later, LOréal hired her again.
Or maybe you spotted her in Anohni’s recent music video for ‘It Must Change’, or on the front cover of Rolling Stone for Trans Day Of Visibility, or chatting about the telly on this year’s Celebrity Gogglebox. Despite being the target of much racist, sexist and transphobic abuse, Bergdorf’s star continues to rise, scooping up accolades and new roles as she goes: she’s been UK Cosmopolitan’s Changemaker Of The Year, Gay Times’ British Community Trailblazer, Attitude mag’s Pride Icon, an ambassador for trans charity Mermaids, and an advocate for UN Women, to name a few.
Bergdorf will be appearing at the Book Festival to talk about her excellent new memoir, Transitional. Her eloquent, timely book calls out many social injustices: misogyny, hoarding of wealth, violence against women, oppression, and murder of trans and Black people. The modern world makes sure she has plenty to rail against and she considers it her duty to speak up for those without a voice.
It’s also her personal story, from growing up as the only Black kid at an all-boys school in the English village of Stansted Mountfitchet, to becoming an active member of the Brighton and London club scenes. She describes many transitions: her gender identity and sexuality, but also from poor mental health as well as being stronger in the wake of rape and abuse. A central theme is that individuals and societies transition and evolve all the time.
She explains that Transitional isn’t designed to turn TERFs and their views around; she is pragmatic in her view that antitrans activists ‘are beyond logic and reason’. Instead, she hopes that trans kids reading her story suffer less, knowing that some progress is being made while acknowledging much work still needs to be done.
Munroe Bergdorf, Edinburgh College Of Art, 23 August, 7.30pm.
Transgender model and activist Munroe Bergdorf is not afraid to make her voice heard. Claire Sawers takes a look at one person’s inspiring battle against prejudiceCaorunn responsibly
A slice of lemon just doesn’t cut it for us.
While headlines will inevitably zero in on Greta Thunberg, the Swedish activist is but one of many talented writers using their Book Festival platform to discuss all things ecological.
Danny Munro cherrypicks a number of those chatting about our beautiful yet imperilled planet
Pure bloodorangey brilliant.
Kickstarting the alternative list of climate names at Edinburgh International Book Festival is ornithologist Dr Mya-Rose Craig (27 August, 1.45pm). Known as ‘Birdgirl’ (pictured), her talk is expected to be among the most refreshing and engaging showings on offer throughout August, when she will discuss her recently released children’s book, Flight Having spoken alongside the likes of Greta Thunberg, Malala Yousafzai and Emma Watson, Craig is widely regarded as one of the leading modern-day climate activism trailblazers, and her new book (illustrated by Lynn Scurfield) provides an informative, accessible glimpse into the everyday coexistence of human beings and our avian cousins.
Eco-authors David Farrier and Katherine Rundell (21 August, 3.15pm) are also bringing their combined surfeit of environmental knowledge to Edinburgh in the form of Creature Feature, a joint talk that takes a broad look at the potential losses we may encounter collectively as a result of the swiftly developing climate situation. Looking locally, Edinburgh University medical student turned author Mikaela Loach (12 August, 7pm) will no doubt receive a warm welcome at her Changing The Climate Narrative event. Far from the doom and gloom that climate discussions are often associated with, Loach offers a positive outlook, straying from a defeatist attitude while insisting that we focus our efforts on what can be achieved.
Opting for a more arts-based approach, multi-faceted wordsmith Ben Okri (13 August, 11.45am) employed a fusion of poetry and essay-style writing in his latest release, the revealing and enlightening Tiger Work No stranger to environmental activism himself, Okri looks inwards at his own climate experiences, as he attempts to envision what life may look like for those forced to live with the consequences of humanity’s actions (and inaction) in years to come.
All events at Edinburgh College Of Art.
ith over 500 events to choose from, there’s something for everyone at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. For music fans, join Annie Macmanus and Mat Osman, and for TV and film lovers, Rob Delaney and Sara Pascoe will take to the stage. We’ll also be joined by award winning authors Ian McEwan, Ali Smith and Graeme Armstrong, to name a few.
This year’s Festival is a particularly exciting one, as it marks 40 years of bringing the world’s finest writers and thinkers to Edinburgh. Join us at our Festival Village in Edinburgh College of Art, Lauriston Place, as we celebrate the joy of words.
Pick up a copy of our programme where we’re sure you’ll find your Book Bliss. Or book now at edbookfest.co.uk.
Connection and collaboration are central to the work of award-winning conceptual artist Jeremy Deller. He tells Neil Cooper that while his faith in the future of humanity is fragile, creating art inspires a sense of optimism
Early on in Art Is Magic, Jeremy Deller’s bumper compendium of his 30-year back catalogue, the 2004 Turner Prize winner talks about how he made the shift ‘from making things to making things happen’. This line sums up Deller’s whole approach as an artist across four decades, whether persuading the Williams Fairey Brass Band to play house music in ‘Acid Brass’ (1997), reconstructing ‘The Battle Of Orgreave’ (2001), a key moment in the 1984 miners’ strike, or reinventing Stonehenge as a bouncy castle on Glasgow Green in ‘Sacrilege’ (2012).
Other works featured in Art Is Magic include ‘Father And Son’ (2021), where two life-size wax figures (closely resembling Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch) slowly melt; ‘So Many Ways To Hurt You’ (2010), a film about glam wrestler Adrian Street; and ‘Everybody In The Place: An Incomplete History Of Britain 1984–1992’ (2019), which filmed Deller giving a history of rave culture to a classroom of teenagers. Deller’s mix of pop culture, social history and civic spectacle has made for a form of very public art that engages the world with playfulness at its heart. In keeping with this, Art Is Magic more resembles a scrapbook or a Christmas annual than a coffeetable tome, becoming an artwork in itself as much as a historical retrospective. The effect, it seems, was deliberate.
‘I wanted something that was approachable, readable and friendly in terms of the tone,’ says Deller. ‘The way the cover’s done probably does make it reminiscent of annuals and so on, but I wanted that feel to it. I didn’t want it to look like an art book, and I wanted it to be full of things. It’s not got everything I’ve done over the last 30 years, but it’s got quite a lot; maybe 60 or 70%. I wanted it to be packed with stuff so you could revisit the book and look at different sections at different times. You don’t have to take it on logically either, because it’s not in chronological order, which is really important.’
Deller’s Book Festival event is called It’s Time To Lose Control, named after the fourth chapter of Art Is Magic. ‘That’s the most meaty chapter in the book,’ he says, ‘and I suppose I wanted to have something a bit cryptic. There are two or three big projects in that chapter, all of which have their own degree of risk and chaos.’ Regarding his move from making things to making things happen, Deller puts it down to ‘Acid Brass’.
‘That brass band liberated me from having to make objects and be an artist in that sense. They made me understand that I could work with people and do projects. They were so easy-going and made everything so straightforward, even though I was asking them to do something that probably sounded a bit odd. You rely on people who are just going to be up for doing something a bit different, and seeing where it goes.’
If there is a thread running through Deller’s work, it is arguably about making connections, both in terms of himself and others. ‘I suppose it’s about connecting people, and connecting ideas that might not be thought of as being connected, like a brass band playing acid-house music, and trying to find some common ground.’ While human connection is obviously important to Deller, he admits he’s not very hopeful about the state of the world. ‘I never have been. I don’t feel very confident about the future of humanity, but I try to make art to keep me hopeful about things, to keep me engaged with the world and what’s going on in it.’
Jeremy Deller, Edinburgh College Of Art, 22 August, 5.45pm.
It’s pretty clear why you’d choose our raspberry gin.The best book by Jeremy Deller
Two highly influential Scottish writers pair up for this event on the back of their recent works about ancient legends: Greig takes on 9th-century Iona and Warner (pictured) tackles the 18th-century fallout from Culloden.
n 16 August, 1.30pm.
Dismantling the all-enveloping power of patriarchy, Logan (pictured) and Holm analyse how witches (and their callous historic treatment) can say so much about marginalised communities in today’s ‘civilised’ society. n 12 August, 5.15pm.
Superstar DJ turned bestselling author, Macmanus is in town to chat about her second novel. The Mess We’re In tracks back to the turn of this century as troubled Orla leaves Ireland to make her way in London.
n 26 August, 5pm.
To date, still the youngest winner of the Booker Prize, New Zealander Catton struck more literary gold this year with Birnam Wood, an evocative, updated echo of Macbeth n 12 August, 6.45pm.
An outspoken and vital member of the Scottish literary community (probably a title he’d baulk at), this 1994 Booker winner (to the London literati’s chagrin) is back to chat about his latest novel, God’s Teeth And Other Phenomena
n 20 August, 6.45pm.
The poetry legend that is Linton has moved into prose-writing for a new non-fiction look at a half century of culture and politics from the perspective of his Jamaican roots and wider lived experiences.
n 19 August, 8.30pm.
The esteemed historian and broadcaster discusses major landmarks of Black British history across almost two millennia featuring a lot of things you won’t have read in your school or uni textbooks.
n 26 August, 3.15pm.
Shane Meadows’ fth movie tells of Richard, a soldier seeking retribution on the drug dealers who tormented his disabled brother while he was away in the army. Here, the classic revengethriller formula is transposed onto a workingclass Derbyshire community. A sense of almost unbearable realism pervades every scene, even as the soundtrack boasts haunting folk tunes and ethereal choral music; but it’s Paddy Considine’s layered performance as the deceptively con icted Richard that cements Dead Man’s Shoes’ position as a classic of British cinema. Nearly 20 years later, it remains a troubling but powerful tale of guilt and vengeance.
(Isy Santini)
Everyman, 22 August, 8.15pm.
It’s really, really hard to be loud and proud as a disabled person ”
In her powerful documentary Is There Anybody Out There?, Ella Glendining aims to move away from the medical and capture the soul of disability. She talks to James Mottram about humanising disabled people, celebrating our differences, and moving into the world of fiction
British filmmaker Ella Glendining’s debut documentary feature is like nothing you’ve seen before. Raised in Norfolk, Glendining has an extremely rare disability; she was born without hip joints and has extremely short femurs. Having already made films with support of the BFI, she set out to make a work that explored whether there were others out there with a similar condition. In her eyes, she wanted to create something brimming with positivity. The result: Is There Anybody Out There?
‘I’ve never seen a first-person documentary where I feel that the disabled protagonist has been accurately portrayed,’ she says. ‘We’re fighting against so many negative stereotypes. And it’s really, really hard to be loud and proud as a disabled person. So often, first-person documentaries from a disabled perspective are very focused on the medical details of their condition. And I wanted to make a film that was very much a celebration, and about the soul of disability.’
While the film suggests that many view disability ‘as a fate worse than death’, Glendining is desperate to combat that prejudice. ‘That’s my main ambition with the film, to humanise disabled people and just present another angle on disability.’ Still, there are some shocking moments, like when Glendining reveals how many jobs she’s been overlooked for, including night-shift work at a supermarket chain.
After joining a Facebook group, she also began to investigate others with similar conditions. ‘At one point, I did get very fixated on finding someone exactly like me,’ she says. ‘But I think it was
incredibly freeing to discover that there is no one exactly like me. It’s really just a range of conditions.’ In America, Glendining meets several folk with similar disabilities, including a hair and make-up artist named Priscilla Miranda. ‘It was amazing, just meeting someone with that shared experience of what it’s like to exist in the world with a body like mine. I’ve never experienced that before.’
Five years in the making, it’s been an epic odyssey for Glendining. ‘I have to admit, I always had big ambitions,’ she explains. ‘I knew that I wanted it to be big, and a powerful journey film . . . but I didn’t know how personal it was going to be!’
In 2018, when she was 26, she fell pregnant with her son River. It wasn’t planned, but it put her own story front and centre in the film. If that wasn’t enough, the covid pandemic curtailed a planned trip to India, stretching out the making of her movie even further. But on reflection, she was glad of these events. ‘I think it made the film richer.’
With the documentary getting its world premiere at Sundance, Glendining is delighted by the response to it so far. ‘I’m very, very excited that I’m getting recognition as an artist,’ she admits. Already, she’s scripting her first feature for the BFI, called Curiosities Of Fools, a historical drama about a court dwarf in the 1600s. ‘It’s about his journey to overcoming internalised ableism and finding community amongst the court fools of the palace.’ So will she alternate between docs and features in the future? ‘I love documentary,’ she adds. ‘But I think I love fiction more.’
Is There Anybody Out There?, Vue, 19 August, 6.30pm; 20 August, 11.10am.
Irish actress Ella Lily Hyland is on the brink of big things. TV stardom awaits through Fifteen-Love, while she helps launch this year’s EIFF with Silent Roar, a tale of awkward pals bonding over surf and grief. Katherine McLaughlin spoke to her about unlikely friendships, disturbing quirks in the law, and Kate Bush vibes
Tthe year 2023 is a big one for Ella Lily Hyland as she makes waves in the EIFF opening film Silent Roar and gets her big break in a leading role with Amazon’s tennis drama Fifteen-Love Born in Carlow, Ireland, Hyland made the move to London ‘nearly a year ago’, she reflects, as we speak to her via Zoom from her home in Crystal Palace. She’s been ‘playing pretend’ from a young age when her parents put her in drama school, but stopped for a time in secondary school until the age of 16 when she joined the National Youth Theatre group and then attended The Lir Academy in Dublin. If Hyland were to make a film of her life, it would probably be a comedy. ‘Because growing up is so awkward and that’s probably why I resonated with Silent Roar because these characters are so awkward,’ she says. ‘Me and Johnny probably have a similar vein in that way.’ Hyland is referring to Scottish debut feature filmmaker Johnny Barrington who has written and directed Silent Roar, loosely based on his own teenage years growing up on Skye. This off-kilter coming-of-ager follows a grieving teen called
Dondo (Louis McCartney) who finds solace in surfing and develops a friendship with his confident, high-achieving school friend Sas (Hyland).
It’s a film that has a similar vibe to Richard Ayoade’s Submarine (‘I love Submarine!’ exclaims Hyland). Of Silent Roar, she says, ‘the thing I loved most was the friendship between Dondo and Sas because it’s very unique. I feel like if you were to look at them separately you wouldn’t put them together in a social circle.’
Music really informed the character of Sas; while the cast and crew bonded while filming on the Isle Of Lewis, they shared songs, went on hikes and watched movies together. ‘The music from that time is really so special to me,’ Hyland explains with endearing enthusiasm. ‘One song that really reminds me of Sas was Aldous Harding’s “The Barrel”. Sas listened to loads of Jimi Hendrix; he was her hero. There was a Father John Misty song called “Pure Comedy” that one of the other cast members played me and told me that it reminded them of Sas. Loads of Kate Bush, which related to how weird and ethereal she
was; that really got me into the world of Silent Roar. I feel like she has a bit of a Kate Bush vibe.’
In Silent Roar, Sas asks Dondo to teach her how to surf, something Hyland herself cannot do. Doubles were used as a work-around in the film, but for her starring role in the tennis drama Fifteen-Love, she did a lot of ‘physically challenging’ training with multiple coaches, including former pro tennis player Naomi Cavaday. The series also has a #MeToo spin which explores Hyland’s tennis-playing character’s relationship with her older coach, played by Aidan Turner.
For research, Hyland read countless stories about women in sport and their experiences of abuse of power and struggles with mental health. ‘One of the biggest things that is an integral part of the storyline of FifteenLove is that, until recently, the Sexual Offences Act didn’t consider tennis coaches to be a person of trust, which meant they could have a relationship with 16 year olds.’ Hyland despairs at the lack of emotional and physical protection afforded to athletes who dedicate
their life to sport, and it was a major motivating factor in telling their story. ‘To know that the law doesn’t deem those people who are much older than you, and completely in a disparity of power, to be persons of trust, is harrowing. I think a huge thing to realise in situations like this is that athletes’ lives are on the line.’ In addition to her acting career, Hyland has other strings to her racquet, including writing and screenwriting. Citing A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing author Eimear McBride as inspiration, along with Sally Wainwright, Alice Birch and Megan Nolan, she’s currently developing a film with the working title of Fenna. ‘It’s about growing up in a small town and drug culture told through a female perspective.’ She may be writing about small-town life, but with Screen International naming her one of their Rising Stars Ireland for 2023, it seems the big time beckons for Hyland.
Silent Roar, Everyman, 18 August, 6.30pm, 6.35pm, 6.40pm, 6.45pm, 6.50pm, Vue 9pm; 19 August, Vue, 11.30am, 11.45am, noon.
Always a risk but never anything less than a joy, this year’s batch of outdoor movie screenings includes The Lego Movie, Safety Last! and Puss In Boots, plus recent Oscar champs Everything Everywhere All At Once (pictured) and Parasite
n Old College Quad, 19 August, 10.30am–11pm; 20 August, 10am–10pm.
Robert Louis Stevenson’s gothic classic is given a fresh injection through Hope Dickson Leach’s film which was originally a project in collaboration with National Theatre Of Scotland.
n Everyman, 21 August, 6pm; Vue, 22 August, 2.30pm.
Debut feature writer-directors Ng Choon Ping and Sam H Freeman tackle masculinity in this story of a drag act (Nathan StewartJarrett) who develops a complex relationship with the leader of a gang (George Mackay) which assaulted him in a homophobic attack.
n Everyman, 20 August, 8.45pm; Vue, 21 August, 3.30pm.
This anime adaptation of the popular manga series features a David and Goliath basketball match focussing on team players whose difficult lives have brought them to this critical point.
n Vue, 22 August, 5.45pm; 23 August, 11am.
Having left behind her childhood sweetheart in Seoul, Nora (Greta Lee) reunites with Hae Sung (Teo Yoo) many years later in New York. Sounds great, except she’s now married to writer Arthur (John Magaro).
n Vue, 20 August, 9.10pm, 9.20pm, 9.30pm; 21 August, 1pm, 1.10pm.
A welcome revisit to Wayne Wang’s 1990 movie about pre-handover Hong Kong and its larger-than-life cityscape which acts as the vivid backdrop to this tale of a cowboy and a mob boss.
n Vue, 23 August, 2.15pm.
Iggy Pop, Gail Porter and Martin Compston are among those paying tribute to the iconoclastic author in a documentary which tells Welsh’s story in his own very evocative words.
n Everyman, 23 August, 6pm.
It may come in and out of the headlines, but Britain’s prison crisis is a permanent concern. For this dance/physical theatre piece, verbatim company LUNG and Oxford’s North Wall Theatre worked with three families whose loved ones took their own lives at HMP Woodhill. Negligence and injustice led to these deaths which happened in the Category A male prison in Milton Keynes, but Woodhill re ects upon wider issues of male suicide, the UK’s attitude to incarceration, and how to better match up crime and punishment. (Brian Donaldson)
Summerhall, 2–28 August, 8.55pm.
back to the Fringe with a personal show which touches on trauma.
Eddie Harrison meets the Scottish mentalist who’s making waves in America
Tennessee Williams once wrote that a stage magician provides ‘illusion that has the appearance of truth’. Straight out of Harthill, Colin Cloud describes himself as a mentalist, someone who demonstrates highly developed mental or intuitive abilities: both definitions merge in his new show, After Dark. There are always plenty of mentalists around, but Cloud has fashioned his own take on the form, and it’s one that comes from the heart.
‘If you’d told me back at the start that this is what I’d end up doing, I’d have said you were crazy,’ says Cloud after downing a few early Americanos to clear his head the morning after a Fringe warm-up show in Glasgow.
‘I’m quite a shy, reserved person, and I’d have been petrified to have so many eyes on me. I was fascinated by the deductions of Sherlock Holmes when I was a child, and interested in how that idea might work as live comedy. I went from playing to 40 people in a teashop, to 60 in The Caves, then several hundred in the Pleasance Grand, and then to America’s Got Talent. I had no real desire to be famous, but once I was in the room immersed in the performance, things just developed naturally from there.’
Unlike the stereotype of a slick, impersonal magician, After Dark’s fusion of comedy and illusion is a deeply personal show for Cloud. One part of the routine, involving razor blades, reflects on a particularly unhappy moment in Cloud’s life, and you can hear a pin drop as the emotion plays out.
‘That’s good to hear; that’s what I intended. Although I’m doing illusions and performing to connect with people, I’m also trying to be honest with my audience about what I’ve gone through personally; a story I want to share. The show is called After Dark, and that’s specifically about getting away from the darkness and getting into the light, so I do want to acknowledge all the dark stuff I went through,’ says Cloud, previously known under the name Colin McLeod. ‘The name change started out as a misprint, but it stuck because it was somehow more memorable. It also felt like there were aspects of my own personality that I wanted to embellish for the show to be impactful on an audience.’
After Dark hinges on the audience following Cloud through complex routines designed to bamboozle, but it’s also straight-up comedy. His influences are familiar enough. ‘I grew up with The Fast Show and Chewin’ The Fat. And I’m a big fan of Stewart Lee, the way he dissects
what he’s saying as he’s saying it; he’s got a real meta approach. I also looked at great comics like James Acaster, Daniel Tosh and Anthony Jeselnik, looking for the best way to connect with an audience.’
And there’s no hiding place; pretty much everyone attending ends up participating in Cloud’s illusions. All of which is by design. ‘In the US, I learned from watching people play stadiums of five or ten thousand people, but how can you create something big that’s also involving and intimate? So I encourage people to get out their phones and use them in the show. That’s a risk, because you want people to stay in the experience and not getting a text from the babysitter that’ll take them out. But it also helps with possible participation. I always want to find new twists.’
And after some American success, heading back to the Edinburgh Fringe should finally give Cloud the chance to polish his craft at home. ‘I want people to come in with open minds. I want to do what people expect of me but in a way that they’re surprised . . . and it has to be worthy of 60 minutes of anyone’s time. That’s the truth.’
Colin Cloud: After Dark, Underbelly Bristo Square, 17–21 August, 9.15pm.
Playbill, the monthly theatre magazine distributed across America known internationally as a symbol of the arts, is thrilled to bring you the Ambassador Cruise Line’s Ambition–a sustainable and modern cruise ship–as the inaugural Playbill FringeShip for the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
The beautiful and recently renovated ship will be the official ‘Floatel’ by the Fringe, docked in the buzzing port district of Leith. Playbill FringeShip will have direct transportation to and from the festival, as well as bringing the life and vibrancy of Edinburgh Festival Fringe on board.
Along with ultra-comfortable lodging in an array of accommodations on board, all guests of the Playbill FringeShip will enjoy a number of amenities on and off the ship, including:
• Breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day in our many restaurants and lounges, paired with a drink package of your choice
• Exciting Fringe entertainment within the FringeShip’s state-of-the-art theatre and cabaret lounge, for onboard guests only
• Access to roundtrip coach service from Leith to the centre of Edinburgh
• Wellness centre, gym, two swimming pools, and a top deck open-air lounge with a pizza parlour
Make your stay at Fringe easy and comfortable–join us on the Playbill FringeShip!
Prices starting at £179 per day, per person!
For two consecutive years, Jason Chasland, otherwise known as Leather Lungs, has been a winner of the weekly Adelaide Fringe Best Cabaret Award for his Higher Love drag extravaganza. This year, the Kiwi-Australian brings this very show to the Edinburgh Fringe. Part of House Of Oz’s line-up (which platforms a diverse, genre-spanning platform of antipodean talent), Leather Lungs is a self-proclaimed ‘master of falsetto and stiletto’, who revels in an impressive fouroctave vocal range.
In keeping with her stage name, she is often clad in the most extravagant of tight leather-studded outfits without limiting her flexibility; Leather Lungs’ impressive capabilities have granted her the opportunity to perform with the Beckhams and even sing alongside Adele. Covering powerhouse anthems
The Bye sisters (Maddy and Marina) host Siblings And Family Friends (Pleasance Dome, 9, 16, 23 August, 11.20pm), a trio of nights involving acts from across the Fringe genres. They won’t actually be appearing as slightly spooky puppets but wouldn’t it be amazing if they did? Now very much a C venues staple, The Electric Cabaret (C aquila, 2–27 August, 11.45pm) has a tasty blend of circus, jazz and speciality acts for its alternative latenight Fringe experience. Dolly Diamond’s Rather Large Variety Night (Just The Tonic At The Caves, 15–26 August, 6.40pm) guarantees campness and fun as this UK-born Australian drag diva hosts lip-syncing, burlesque and risqué songs. As usual, Julian Clary managed to get the final word by dubbing Dolly as ‘Lorraine Kelly on crystal meth’.
from the likes of ABBA, Elvis Presley and Whitney Houston, this drag queen promises a 50-minute set of guttural laughs and audience interaction. If past performances are anything to go by, then you can expect a night of debaucherous entertainment (Son Of A Preacher involved throwing around 17inch dildos in the air). Lungs has been known to not shy away from difficult and taboo topics, some of which stem from Chasland’s personal life, bringing an element of pathos to the otherwise electrifying upbeat showtunes and dance routines. Nevertheless, this Fringe set first and foremost combines comedy with celebration, as Leather Lungs strives to find higher love through an ‘explosion of song’.
Leather Lungs: Higher Love, House Of Oz, 4–27 August, 9.30pm.
From TV darling to homelessness, bankruptcy and well-documented battles with alopecia and mental health, there’s not much that life hasn’t flung at Gail Porter. As she prepares for her Fringe stand-up debut, Claire Sawers finds the likeable and no-bullshit Edinburgher just wants others to know they’re not alone
Gail Porter is sitting on a tartan blanket in her London flat, talking me through some of the curveballs that life has dealt her, from the surreal to the cruel via the downright daft. Her rescue cat Ziggy comes and goes from her lap, rubbing slowly on Porter every time she passes. ‘I’m bald but also covered in hair,’ Porter eyerolls, giving Ziggy a warm squeeze.
The TV star and mental-health advocate is describing getting a phone call at work a few years ago to say her dad had just passed away. They’d spoken a few hours earlier. After dealing with the news of his sudden death from a brain haemorrhage, Porter made an emergency trip to Spain and managed, with difficulty, to bring her father’s ashes home on the last flight before the country went into lockdown (she scattered them in the sea at Portobello, where she was born and raised). ‘After takeoff, this air hostess asked me if I’d like a glass of prosecco. Harassed but relieved I’d made it, I looked over at dad in the chair beside me, or rather his ashes, and said, “we’ll take four please”.’
Fifteen minutes into our Zoom call, we’ve covered cremation, having her phone hacked by a tabloid, a phase when she slept rough, modelling jobs, social media and drag queens. By 30 minutes, the very likeable and compulsively real Porter has given me her mobile number and invited me for a cocktail when she’s in Edinburgh.
‘I have to allow an extra hour when I go out,’ she says. ‘I end up chatting to my neighbours or someone I don’t know in Sainsbury’s. I normally end up hugging someone. Yesterday two elderly women were telling me about their friend who lost her dentures.’ Blethery and bright eyed yet balancing everything with a healthy dose of cynicism, there’s barely any filter on the chat, but no bullshit either.
If there are haters, that’s life ”
Porter doesn’t do phoney bravado, nor does she do self-pity. She just tells you what happened; shrugging, laughing, once almost crying but not quite. In the 2019 documentary Being Gail Porter (which went on to win a BAFTA), she revisited some of her favourite jobs, including being the vivacious TV presenter of Fully Booked and Top Of The Pops during a phase of selfharm and extreme loneliness. The documentary showed her to be a passionate campaigner for many excellent causes close to her heart (eating disorders, alopecia, animal rights, homelessness), as well as someone still openly struggling with anxiety and self-doubt. It also covered the incident Porter believes she is most famous for; when lads mag FHM projected her naked image, without her knowledge or consent, onto the Houses Of Parliament.
‘I think I’ve pretty much told everyone everything by now,’ she deadpans, while explaining why she’s bringing her debut Fringe show to Edinburgh. ‘I’m sure some folk in the crowd will be yawning like, “yeah, we already know that Gail!”,’ she adds, self-deprecatingly. ‘Doing my own stand-up show is a bucket-list thing; it’s personal. My mum took me to Fringe shows every year. It’s not for my friends; we’ve discussed all our problems together by now anyway, and my brother won’t come because he can hear me tell those stories anytime for free. But I do want people to hear that they are not alone. If they are smiling but also struggling, they can come and have a good cry. I’d like to make people smile too.’
The night before our interview, after a pre-Fringe preview in London, two girls waited behind to see her. ‘They were about 20 or 21, my daughter’s age. They told me they’d really enjoyed the documentary. I said, “oh! Do you not get out much?” They said they appreciated me speaking about mental health. That’s who it’s for.’
While others bring shows to Edinburgh hoping it will springboard them on to starry projects or international work, Porter isn’t raising her expectations too high. ‘I very much doubt anything will come of it, but if I can pay my rent and look after [her daughter] Honey, I’m happy. Friends have given me their house to house-sit in August so that should help me avoid bankruptcy with Edinburgh rent prices.’
When Porter jokes about bankruptcy it’s with the gallows humour of someone who has been there. She slept on benches in Hampstead Heath when work dried up and she declared herself bankrupt in 2017. Her belongings were auctioned when she couldn’t afford to take them out of storage. ‘Sometimes I watch Storage Wars hoping I might spot my stuff!’ she chirps. Although returning to Edinburgh brings back difficult emotions, including grief over her mother’s death from breast cancer, she also looks forward to ‘going home’.
‘Whenever I get off the train in Edinburgh, I know I will get a hug; from someone who works on the trains, a passenger, someone who went to school with such and such. It’s a Scottish thing. In London you get the foldedarms thing in comedy clubs. They sit there like, “make me laugh”. There’s nothing I’m afraid to cover in my show, I don’t care what people think. OK, I’m still a sensitive person, but if there are haters, that’s the nature of life. I’ve heard it all before and I have to take it on the chin.’
As someone who has been very public about episodes of bad mental health, Porter plans to avoid Edinburgh Festival crash-and-burn by swimming regularly and watching her beloved crime TV shows to relax. ‘I hope to have fun while I’m there and, of course, I’m looking forward to letting my hair down when it’s all over!’
EGG are back and, it seems, sillier than ever. This comedy duo chat to Marissa Burgess about the joy of reuniting, forging new ways of working, and laughing about toast
The ease of Anna Leong Brophy and Emily Lloyd-Saini’s friendship is evident in our evening chat over Zoom. As Leong Brophy notes, ‘we should have had wine’. That relationship is very much a driving force behind their latest sketch show Absolutely Fine. Though both are working actors, the last couple of years have taken Anna to Netflix and Emily to motherhood, but they’ve carved out time and space to present another EGG show.
It’s their third after 2016’s EGG: Static and 2018’s Richard Pictures, and one that has their renewed connection at its core, cultivated after time spent apart. ‘We were struggling to see each other but you can’t shortcut making shows about being really close and bonded, vulnerable and raw with each other,’ says Leong Brophy. ‘By making the work, you have to do the life stuff to get there.’
But having reunited, something special happened with that bond. ‘We were so surprised when we started working together again after nearly three years off from doing any live stuff,’ Lloyd-Saini explains. ‘We were just having loads of silly fun, the dynamic between the two of us had changed, but in this lovely way where we go, “oh, this is who we are, this is who we are in this show”. It just got better. It’s become apparent to us both that a lot has changed, actually. And that’s also a wonderful thing.’
Out of this renewed energy sprung a fresh confidence in their creative process too, as Leong Brophy elaborates. ‘In years gone by, we would have a torturous writing process. This time it was just like, “what is the stupid joke that Emily just told me that is really making me lie on the floor, laughing my ass off?” Back in the day, we would go, “OK, well, that’s enough of that. Let’s do some work”. And now we’re like, “oh, this is the work”. We should just follow our nose and just follow this really, really stupid thing.’ LloydSaini picks up on the point: ‘we couldn’t have made the show at any other time. And I love the dynamic between onstage Anna and Emily now. We know each other inside and out.’
The pair met while both performing in BattleActs!, the improv group that Leong Brophy created, but were particularly drawn to each other when they discovered they shared a similar irreverent sense of humour. ‘Years into BattleActs!, we were at the Edinburgh Fringe and Josie Long was doing a gig,’ recalls Lloyd-Saini. ‘She told a joke about toast; I burst out laughing and Anna burst out laughing. And the whole audience laughed, and then moved on. And then about five minutes later, I looked at Anna and she’s still laughing at the toast thing. And I thought, “she’s my people”!’
EGG: Absolutely Fine, Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 August, 4.50pm.
Looks like the 3–4pm slot has got very busy with comedy pairings this month.
EGG seem positive night owls with their 4.50pm starting time compared to these worm-catching early birds. After a successful debut year which resulted in an Amused Moose award, Grubby Little Mitts (Assembly George Square Studios, 2–28 August, 3.50pm) are back with Hello, Hi, a piece (of broken pieces) about employment, friendship and love. Fret not, it will be funnier than that sounds. This Fringe, Shelf (Voodoo Rooms, 5–27 August, 3.25pm) have both a kids’ and a grown-up show; the latter here is Teenage Men, so titled as they used to be mistaken for teenage boys. By extension, they may well now be mistaken for teenage men.
Two not-teenage men comprise Bishops (Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, 2–27 August, 3.40pm) who claim that ‘what they lack in divinity they make up for with sensational sketches’. They probably don’t refer to themselves in the third person, this is just what their official Fringe blurb says.
Dancers such as Pina Bausch and Sylvie Guillem have blazed a trail for the older body and its poetry on stage. Lucy Ribchester discovers how a new dance theatre piece, co-created by former Bausch dancer Finola Cronin, is set to interrogate our attitudes to ageing >>
Ask anyone to draw a picture of a dancer and the overwhelming likelihood is that they’ll sketch a body that is slim, graceful and implicitly young. Mainstream dance fetishises youth perhaps more than any other art form, but in celebrating athletic agility it also narrows the opportunities for audiences to see their own bodies reflected on stage.
More recently, however, the genre has been starting to catch on to the notion that we are all going to age, there is beauty in it, and the ageing process itself is a rich seam of substance to explore onstage. All of these ideas were entry points for dancer and academic Finola Cronin, when co-creating new piece Dances Like A Bomb, along with fellow performer Mikel Murfi and Junk Ensemble artistic directors Jessica and Megan Kennedy.
‘It’s not just about the experience of being older,’ says Cronin. ‘It’s also a much wider interrogation of how society views somebody getting older.’ The piece, Cronin says, reveals things about the body that are both frail and strong, while at the same time testing perceptions (both our own and those of others) about our ageing bodies.
‘We’ve had great fun teasing out these ideas about what it means to get older. Because, of course, people say, “oh gosh, I feel like 25 inside”. And we do at times. We don’t go around constantly saying, “I’m 45 or I’m 65 and therefore I must behave accordingly”. It doesn’t work like that.’
All-female Australian troupe YUCK Circus (Assembly George Square Gardens, 2–28 August, 4.20pm) are once again ‘ready to flip off double standards and kick art in the face’, landing (feet first) in Edinburgh with more acrobatics, dancing and confessions. With Tulu, Circus Abyssinia (Underbelly’s Circus Hub On The Meadows, 5–26 August, 2.05pm) deliver extraordinary physical feats while telling a powerful story, that of the first African woman to win a gold medal at the Olympics. Expect contortions, fire juggling and a killer soundtrack. Another group from the antipodes, Oat Milk & Honey (Summerhall, 2–27 August, 10am) go big on bold acrobatics, all the while exploring issues around anxiety. A heady mix.
Cronin’s own experiences of the dance world are perhaps more unusual than most when it comes to appreciating the power of an ageing body. In her 20s, she danced with Pina Bausch’s company at a time when the German was a pioneer for working with older dancers (indeed Bausch herself continued to dance into her 60s). ‘When I joined the company, there were already people there who were a good ten years older than me which, of course, in your 20s, that’s ancient,’ Cronin says. ‘One couldn’t help but be impressed by their wealth of experience and ability.’
Bausch also made space for women to return to dance after giving birth, frequently accommodating children in her rehearsal room. ‘And this was in the 80s,’ says Cronin. ‘It wasn’t, in my experience, something that I would have met or heard about in other walks of life; you know, that sort of latitude.’
Now Cronin believes attitudes are starting to change. ‘I had, I think, assumed wrongly that this piece would be something for older dancer festivals. But that’s not how it seems to be panning out at all . . . I think people are interested these days in looking at difference; different kinds of bodies.’
Age, says Cronin, doesn’t have to stand in antithesis to that preconception of the agile dancer. ‘The image of the dancer is about being lithe, flexible, muscular, capable; and I suppose we are those things as we age, but in different ways.’
Dances Like A Bomb, ZOO Southside, 15–27 August, 2.40pm.
Italian New Yorker Mario ‘The Maker Magician’ Marchese is known on social media for an anarchic mix of robotics, conjuring and punk style. Lucy Ribchester reckons he’s set to get Edinburgh kids raiding their recycling bins, thanks to his magical cyborgs made
Edinburgh from household trash
It sounds like a vision from the future: robots performing onstage tricks, making coins disappear or selecting the correct card from the deck, without any sleight of hand or misdirection patter. But according to New York-based magician Mario Marchese, robotics and conjuring have gone hand-inhand for over 150 years. ‘There is a famous magician named Robert-Houdin from France,’ notes Marchese. ‘He became famous for making these mechanical contraptions where the magic would happen on the table while he stepped away.’
Robert-Houdin’s heyday was the mid-19th century, and even after his death in 1871 he was celebrated enough to inspire legendary escapeartist Harry Houdini to take his name. But for Marchese, Robert-Houdin’s legacy is all about the robotics. One of the Frenchman’s most famous inventions was a miniature pastry shop, where an audience member would select a treat from a menu, and a miniature chef inside the tiny shop would make it and present it to them. ‘That concept just inspired me so much; the idea of walking away from your magic, and that the machine creates magic on its own.’
There’s a steampunk spirit that runs throughout Marchese’s approach to magic, from his Adam Ant-ish rock look (the result, he says, of playing in punk bands during his 20s) to his scientific ethos of discovery and limit-pushing. ‘The show has this kind of punk rock, never-grow-up kind of attitude,’ he says. ‘But how do we bring it with education? How do we bring it where we inspire kids to make stuff? We’re taking these principles of education, but then we’re putting that punk rock edge to it.’
Marchese was heading towards a career as an elementary school teacher when his magic performances started to take off. These days his whole family (wife/manager Katie and two children) travel together as a tight renegade band. Elevenyear-old Gigi is growing proficient with stage lighting, while eight-year-old Bear can strike a set at breakneck speed, and they all have input on the creation of the show. Their schedule can vary, from performing at school assemblies to theatre tours, to accompanying Marchese backstage at his TV appearances such as on Sesame Street
During the pandemic however, like all live performers, Marchese had to turn to online work, and that was when Automabot was born: a lo-fi cardboard-box robot whose TikTok tricks went viral. You may have caught its square-lined movements and permanently surprised expression on your phone screen over the past couple of years. While Automabot has stayed home this time, Marchese says its ‘spirit or ghost’ is infused into the Edinburgh show.
But you can expect to see other robots which he makes from all sorts of things; one of his most unusual being a cute Pixarstyle lamp created from a Campbell’s tomato-soup can. The most important thing to him is that the technology he builds is all open-source (another example of punk ethos), allowing audiences to access its code and hopefully build their own robots at home later. ‘Open-source philosophy is like a religion to me,’ Marchese says. ‘Everything I’ve learned is not from going to a traditional school; it’s because of the open-source community, the maker community. They took the time to help me learn the secrets of how to build robotics, and this is stuff that’s accessible to everybody.’
Marchese believes that art ‘always comes from the ground up; it never starts at the top.’ Innovation too, he says, ‘happens from the bottom’. The legacy of his approach was no better exemplified than after one of his shows when he overheard a kid asking his mum if he could raid the recycling. ‘We were selling merch and this child ran up to his mom and was like, “ma, when I go home I want to go through the trash and make a magic show like Mario”.’ He laughs but he’s perfectly serious about his philosophy. ‘It is super important to me that there is a minimal amount of hurdles when the audience sees the show. It excites me when kids see the fact that it is so homemade. Pizza boxes, cardboard, straws . . . but robots.’
Can’t be too many acts at this Fringe who have appeared on the Got Talent shows of China, Romania and Bulgaria but this is now on the Bubble Laboratory (pictured) CV. Adventure Bubble Show With Milkshake (theSpaceTriplex, 4–20 August, 10am) features just about every kind of bubble you can think of from square to smoke. No round-up of bubble-concocting acts could possibly be complete without a mention of Louis Pearl. The Amazing Bubble Man (Underbelly George Square, 2–28 August, 12.30pm) has been at this bubble game for more than 30 years, propelled by a mix of science and magic.
Guinness World Record holder The Highland Joker delivers The Bubble Show (Assembly George Square Gardens, 3–20 August, 10.30am) which doesn’t just do bubbles: it does bubbles within bubbles! Bet the word ‘bubbles’ is stuck in your head now.
Having a beloved musician as your parent is a tough gig when trying to make your way in the same industry. But with a new album, Kirsten Adamson has carved out her own unique identity. She tells Fiona Shepherd how she has come to connect more closely with her late father through his music >>
Although Kirsten Adamson has been playing and writing music for years, first fronting country-flavoured six-piece The Gillyflowers and latterly as a solo artist, it is only now, with the release of her second album Landing Place, that she feels she’s arrived as a songwriter. Her 2015 debut album was self-titled but not, she feels, a true reflection of her work.
‘Everyone wants to give you advice on what you should do next,’ she says, ‘and because I was feeling a bit lost, the first solo album was really me writing what I thought people wanted to hear rather than what I actually just felt. In some ways Landing Place feels like my first album. This is more me, it’s more how I write music.’
One of the most hailed songs on the album is ‘My Father’s Songs’. As her father was late Big Country frontman Stuart Adamson, there are a lot of appreciative listeners who feel a sense of ownership over his music, and she has always tread carefully around his legacy.
Lockdown changed her approach, particularly when she began to receive requests to play her dad’s songs at online gigs. She began with an unreleased song called ‘Buffalo Skinners’, mashed up with one of Big Country’s biggest hits, ‘Chance’. ‘It was all acoustic with my voice so there was no hiding anything; they could really hear the lyrics coming through.’
The response was overwhelmingly positive and Adamson went on to cover about 30 songs over the next two years, ranging across her dad’s catalogue from The Skids via Big Country to his Nashville duo The Raphaels; but not without a personal impact.
‘Going through all my dad’s music, I almost grieved the loss of him again,’ she says. ‘I was feeling so close to him and his music and, of course, I was playing to all these people; but really I was just sitting by myself in my little summerhouse out back. I was connecting to a lot of people through his music, but to me there was only one person I was connected to at that point and it was my dad. So it was a really emotional thing to do. I really felt like I got to know his story a bit more through his music.’
Adamson was only 16 when her dad passed away. ‘I thought at the time that I was OK. But when I look back on that period, and even going into my twenties when I started my first band, it was really tough for me to want to pursue music; even though I knew it was all that was in me.’
After the release of her solo debut, Adamson fell back on the seemingly safer territory of jobbing covers gigs as a way of bringing in a steady wage. But she never stopped songwriting, collaborating regularly with London-based musician Dave Burns as The Marriage and, more recently, with her fellow Edinburgh-based country troubadour Dean Owens.
‘Over lockdown I started to realise the value in myself and what I can bring to the table,’ she says. ‘“My Father’s Songs” is one of the most personal songs on Landing Place but it seems like it connects with the most people, even though it’s just my story; music is strange and wonderful that way.’
On a roll now, Adamson has another album written and ready to record, and will release a brand new single ‘Take Me As I Am’, to coincide with her Fringe appearance with The Tanagers. As she explains, that band is named after ‘a wee spiritual bird which is supposed to bring you a message from beyond to keep striving for your goals and for self-empowerment.’
Ahead of Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band’s Fringe gig, Neil Cooper reflects on the Liverpudlian’s status as an unsung songwriting genius
The eternal renaissance of Michael Head has been a wonderful thing to witness. Over a wayward 40-odd-year anti-career, the Liverpool-born songwriter has moved from the underachieving felicities of The Pale Fountains to the urban fantasias of Shack, alighting a decade ago in his current tenure helming the ever-changing Red Elastic Band. Judging by 2022 album, Dear Scott, and its 2017 predecessor, Adiós Señor Pussycat, Head seems to have finally found his time.
The Red Elastic Band’s line-up currently features a superb ensemble bringing Head’s scallydelic kitchen-sink narratives to life with guitar-led grit, laced by baroque flourishes. This should translate in their forthcoming Fringe outing into a virtuoso showcase of more recent material, interspersed with a pick-and-mix of favourites from Head’s colourful back pages.
Recently, this has seen Head rewind back to some of the best moments from The Pale Fountains and Shack, which sit seamlessly alongside songs from Dear Scott. A cover of 1960s band Love, a perennial inspiration for Head, may also feature.
As previous Edinburgh visits have shown, Head is in full possession of a renewed focus that sits alongside his impish spirit and easy bonhomie with a devoted audience. With Head finally receiving the attention he deserves as one of the finest songwriters of his or any other generation, as the man himself might say, ‘is right’.
Michael Head & The Red Elastic Band, Summerhall, 11 August, 7pm.
Starting off in 2011 as a weekly dropin singing session, Choir!Choir!Choir! (Underbelly George Square, 4–27 August, 5.45pm) is now a global success. Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman (pictured) are the Canadian chaps behind this phenomenon. Assuring music, comedy and beer in three reasonably equal measures, Pub Choir: This Worked At Home (Liquid Room, 16 August, 7.45pm) stop off in Edinburgh during a busy UK tour before heading to the US. Even if you can barely hold a note, come along, and by the finale you’ll be contributing to a pop tune in three-part harmony. If your choir tastes demand something a little more on the traditional side, you’re unlikely to find anything better than the National Youth Choir Of Scotland (St Giles’ Cathedral, 7 August, 10pm). Donald Runnicles dubbed them ‘one of the best choral ensembles in the world’, and frankly, he’s going to know.
Dark Noon is an ambitious and subversive interrogation of American history which seeks to tell wider stories.
Rory Doherty hears from the show’s codirector Nhlanhla Mahlangu about his unique approach to physical storytelling
The Fringe ethos of platforming global stories is perfectly exemplified in Dark Noon, a devised subversion of American history. Here, Danish theatre-maker Tue Biering and South African co-director Nhlanhla Mahlangu centred on perspectives that were forcibly removed from the history books: Native Americans, Chinese immigrants and African slaves. But the play’s story extends far beyond this undertold past.
‘We use the Western story as our creative device,’ explains Mahlangu. ‘But we are using South African actors who have South African stories living in their own bodies. So we created this parallel world of using the American story as a frame, but somatically we are excavating the South African story and creating these parallel relationships.’
Mahlangu, who has gained international renown for his venerable work as a choreographer, performer and teacher, was not satisfied at the prospect of only scrutinising America. ‘I’ve never done a piece that’s about something foreign and only about that. Even if you gave me a Shakespeare today, I would still want the actors to bring their own personal narrative: “what does it mean to you? What is your Romeo in life? What is your Hamlet in life?” If it’s only about one thing, then it’s empty for me; it’s not interesting.’
Dark Noon draws on Mahlangu’s experience with devised theatre, with actors assembling (in full view of the audience) the buildings and structures that ‘make’ and symbolise America. ‘Because the piece is about land, we wanted it to be an immersive experience where the audience gets to see the vastness of land from the outside. Then once in a while they get to be invited in. It’s almost like you’ve stepped out of the world that you live in, and you are looking at it from the outside.’
Seeing the process of labour up close was paramount. ‘It’s all well and good to have stage hands moving the set but it’s not the kind of theatre we were intending to make. In terms of constructing and deconstructing and reconstructing, it was our intention to make that a language of the piece because of how the West and the Americas were built.’
Tue Biering was put in touch with Mahlangu after voicing a desire to work with an African director. After some Zoom conversations, they met in-person in Germany, and their fierce creative chemistry led to a unique directing process. ‘We had to find a common ground, a language and a shorthand,’ explains Mahlangu. ‘My process is to develop a situation, explore it physically, and then give actors an opportunity to write and reflect about how they feel about that exercise. I then make those feelings a part of the text and script.’
It’s fitting that a play about how history naturally expunges the voice of the oppressed emerged as a result of such collaborative efforts. Mahlangu’s work has always sought to examine complex ideas with a heightened awareness of the vessel we all move through the world in: our own bodies. ‘I keep making movements that are informed by personal history. The history you don’t even remember lives in your body.’
With this in mind, Dark Noon’s international resonance is even clearer. Mahlangu sees storytelling on a multidimensional, metaphysical plain. ‘I believe that the world travels in two directions. There’s a horizontal direction, from the beginning and middle to the end; and there’s a vertical direction, which involves death and the visceral memory. And that is rooted in South Africa. The horizontal line is rooted in America.’ After seeing his latest work, audiences may find it impossible to see history the same way again.
Dark Noon, Pleasance At EICC, 2–27 August, 5pm.
From serenading Nelson Mandela to building a Caribbean sauce empire, Levi Roots has been there, done that. Now, as Zara Janjua discovers, he has a new iron in a fresh fire, bringing sound-system culture to the stage in a ‘reggae Romeo And Juliet’
B‘ack in my day, kids didn’t want to join gangs; it was all about sound systems,’ Levi Roots says before regaling me with a re-enactment of his first ever musical performance. He laughs infectiously, explaining how getting on stage as a box boy in 1977 secured him a spot in Sir Coxsone’s legendary sound system.
‘Music was a big thing for me; I had a sort of vibe for music,’ says Roots.
‘A few weeks after that performance, I recorded my first song “Poor Man’s Story” and that became a massive hit.’ His music career was propelled by sound-system culture and he quickly found himself mixing with reggae royalty. ‘I was playing football with Bob Marley in Battersea Park at the weekends. He was a huge inspiration for me; I couldn’t believe I was rubbing shoulders with him and it was all because of my music.’
Roots left Jamaica at the age of four, growing up in Brixton, a place central to the UK Black civil-rights movement. In 1996, ten years after the Brixton riots, Nelson Mandela visited the area with the-then Prince Charles. ‘I was crowd-surfed to the front of the auditorium to sing “Happy Birthday, Mr President” to Nelson Mandela. It was one of my proudest moments, even if I didn’t sound like Marilyn Monroe.’
You would think that anyone who self-describes as a ‘jammy bastard’, has built a £35m business empire, made a name for themselves in the music industry and enjoyed a burgeoning career on screen might feel as though they had completed the game. But not Levi Roots. ‘Last year I was in the shower, singing away, and I had this spark: “has there ever been a musical about sound systems?” I merged reggae with food because Caribbean food was waiting to explode into the mainstream; now it’s sound systems.’
In less than a year, Roots has taken his idea from conception to the Fringe. Sound Clash: Death In The Arena is a contemporary street musical about star-crossed lovers, set in a dystopian world where music is everything. ‘It’s an absolute stonker of a play that is full of music, and acts of murder and killings, as Shakespeare would have had it done, but in a more modern setting.’
Roots describes the show as a reggae Romeo And Juliet tale that brings together dancehall culture, family politics and musical warfare. Modern reggae, hip hop, jungle and Afrobeats play out in this current-day love story: it’s a rollicking ride of music and lyrics.
Roots has teamed up with producer Adrian Grant from Thriller Live, choreographer Jade Hackett (Get Up Stand Up!) and director Ray Shell for a show that’s been written by award-winning novelist and playwright Alex Wheatle, whose own story featured in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe anthology series in 2020. ‘Alex and I went to the same school and he was inspired by my music, so before I knew it, he’d written half the show.’
As the production prepares to open, it’s perhaps significant that this year marks the 75th anniversary of Windrush, a moment that shaped Britain socially, politically and musically. ‘It was sound system that bounded people together when they came to this country. They brought their records over from the Caribbean, then boom! You had these massive trucks with sound systems.’
Roots was born with the distinctly Scottish name of Keith Graham, which he changed after learning of its historical links to slavery. But nonetheless, he’s looking forward to revisiting his Scottish roots, declaring Edinburgh the perfect place to launch this show. Back in 2007, he famously serenaded viewers on Dragons’ Den while pitching his Reggae Reggae Sauce, singing, ‘it’s so nice, I had to name it twice’. Like his condiments, Roots will be hoping audiences love the show so much they’ll keep coming back for more.
Sound Clash: Death In The Arena, Pleasance Courtyard, 2–28 August, 4.10pm.
The High Commission of Canada in the UK celebrates all the Canadian talent on show across Edinburgh this August.
For details of the amazing Canadian work to see this year – follow the QR code to check out the online listings.
Where do our voices live? What will be the legacy of the human voice in a non-human future? These are just some of the big questions posed in The Talent. Neil Cooper talks to Deborah Pearson, one of the show’s creative team, about voiceover artistry, AI’s rise and trying to develop new work in lockdown
an you hear me, Deborah?’ Deborah Pearson looks like she’s lip-syncing at the start of our conversation about The Talent, the Canadian writer/performer/director’s collaboration with Action Hero (aka artists Gemma Paintin and James Stenhouse), which is part of the artist-focused Horizon Showcase. As is the way of things these days, Pearson and I are attempting to talk over Zoom.
As I shout into the silence, I’m conscious of sounding like Clem Fandango, one of the pompous hipsters directing arch thespian Steven Toast during the old luv’s voiceover gigs in TV sitcom, Toast Of London. This fits in all too well with The Talent’s focus on a voiceover artist taking direction for a variety of presentations in her recording-booth limbo.
‘I had this idea of how interesting it would be to see a show which is just a woman in a sound booth recording something,’ says Pearson, once the mute button has been dealt with. ‘But I discarded the idea because it didn’t sound like a show I would do. Then I was on tour with Action Hero, and I told them about it. They said how Gemma can do all of these voices they’d never found a showcase for, so it all suddenly clicked. Action Hero’s narrative dramaturgical style uses the debris of capitalist language, which I thought might be the perfect thing for the woman to be saying in the booth.’
With all three co-writing, Pearson and Stenhouse co-directing, and Paintin performing, development of The Talent coincided with lockdown. ‘The meaning of what we were working on started to change a lot,’ says Pearson. ‘It raised questions about the woman’s isolation in her booth.’ The increasingly all-pervasive influence of AI also left its mark. ‘AI had a minor key when we first started working on the show, but is definitely a major key now. Doing voiceovers is one of the fun jobs. But it is quite likely within five years that AI will be doing a lot of it.’
The voiceover artist is one of the acting world’s great secrets, as heard-but-not-seen performers give disembodied life to all manner of outlets, from radio ads to talking books and computer game characters. Indeed, Pearson herself leads a double life as a voiceover artist, performing under a nom de plume in between writing plays and performing her own solo shows ever since she co-founded acclaimed Edinburgh experimentation hothouse, Forest Fringe.
‘During the pandemic, I was shocked by the resilience of capitalism in these voiceovers, and its ability to keep going. For me, the piece is really about the legacy of the human voice under capitalism, as well as making us question what are all these recorded voices we’re leaving behind. But I also feel like there is a sense in which this is the experience of watching someone record a voiceover session that lasts until the end of humanity, and maybe after.’
The Talent, Summerhall, 22–27 August, 2.35pm.
Originally directed for the stage by Alan Cumming, Jacob Storms’ Tennessee Rising: The Dawn Of Tennessee Williams (Assembly Rooms, 3–27 August, 5.05pm) is quite the mouthful. This piece focuses on those years when young Tom Williams went from being a wannabe scribe to one of the world’s most famous playwrights. Andrew O’Hagan is having a busy year, and The Ballad Of Truman Capote (theSpace @ Niddry Street, 4–26 August, 6.05pm) is his debut play, all about a man described by the Glaswegian as ‘the inventor of self-invention’. In recent times we’ve heard all about Hamnet Shakespeare, but what of his twin sister? Upstart! Shakespeare’s Rebel Daughter Judith (Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, 2–27 August, 12.10pm) brings her story to the fore.
Part of Smack The Pony, a sketch trio (completed by Sally Phillips and Doon Mackichan) that was huge on Channel 4 as the 21st century turned, Allen arrives with her debut stand-up show, On The Run
n Pleasance Courtyard, 2–20 August, 4.15pm.
Two questions abound in this dance/ physical theatre work: ‘who am I?’ and ‘who are we together?’ Finding real human connection in this digital world is the area tackled by From Start To Finnish.
n Summerhall, 2–20 August, 4.05pm.
If you happened to find yourself in the outer limits, the last person you’d want to meet is the Prince Of Darkness. This anarchic string quartet’s new sci-fi horror musical show, Dracula In Space, could kill or cure you.
n Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, 2–27 August, 4.30pm.
The good doktor prescribes us his Wheel Of Even More Science featuring shrink-wrap, homemade hovercrafts and all manner of chemical reactions. Take once at noon.
n Pleasance Courtyard, 2–27 August, noon.
Featuring acts from across the Fringe, this nightly two-hour extravaganza (already a huge underground hit in America) has them attempting to escape some weird punishments (paintballs and a giant chicken among them).
n Underbelly Cowgate, 3–27 August, 10.45pm.
El Dizzy Beast is a theatre, clown, LGBTQ+ show by Spisto, an artist who, in their own words, ‘makes a mish mash of live theatre, art buffoonery (and) gallery interventions’.
n Assembly George Square Studios, 15–27 August, 10.30pm.
Well Don’t Just Stand There Dancing is the new hour from one of Australia’s most invigorating and incisive young comics. A personal and political show, there may be at least one mention of Sam Neill.
n Monkey Barrel, 3–27 August, 2.55pm.
MORE SCIENCE. MORE COMEDY. MORE KABOOM!
MORE SCIENCE. MORE COMEDY. MORE KABOOM!
12:00 2-27 August
PLEASANCE.CO.UK 0131 556 6550
Known for producing hits like ‘Ooh La La’ and ‘Strict Machine’, Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory (known together as Goldfrapp) were riding high on their self-produced synth-pop anthems in the early to mid-00s. After announcing an amicable split, the eponymous half of Goldfrapp has pivoted to a solo career doing, well, pretty much the same kind of thing. Her first solo album, The Love Invention, was written during lockdown and came out earlier this spring. Across 11 tracks, she captures the essence of Goldfrapp’s dance-inducing sound but with more subtle melodies and house-inspired grooves. Expect euphoric bops and the cutting of many shapes.
(Megan Merino)
n Edinburgh Playhouse, 25 August, 8pm.
Geoff Sobelle is back with another slice of immersive theatrical illusion, this time tackling our relationship with food. He talks to Rory Doherty about turning his focus on an audience and the joy of losing control
Alot of things fascinate Geoff Sobelle. As he returns to Edinburgh International Festival with a new show, the theatremaker and illusionist (aren’t they the same thing?) has set his sights on food, with an immersive and absurdist piece that interrogates what we take for granted about what we eat. The show forms a loose trilogy with previous Edinburgh shows, The Object Room and HOME, even if the scale has been drastically altered. In 2018, HOME built a cross-sectioned house in front of the audience every night, filling it with the rituals and repeated motions that make a space lived-in. ‘I loved the size of that very, very much, and I hope to return to that,’ Sobelle says. ‘But my instinct was to come back to something small and intimate at a table.’
He has spent an enviable career making the unusual feel welcoming and the recognisable seem uncanny. FOOD gathers an audience around a large, restaurant-style table (‘people are funny. They’ll put their phone or their keys on the table. It’s not a restaurant, but it sure seems like one!’) with one of its four sides being Sobelle’s stage.
I ask if there’s a science to immersing an audience in a theatrical experience; he centres on the word ‘science’ a lot, referencing the unusual space he used for The Object Room at Summerhall in 2014.
‘There was no stage; there was no vantage point; in the beginning there was nothing to look at. You were kind of rooting through boxes, and it was like an installation,’ he explains. ‘So when stuff started to happen, you didn't really know where to look. People were scattered in a very haphazard way and pretty uncomfortable . . . all of that I found tremendously exciting, because you were kind of bonded with the other people in this awkwardness.’
These observations were crucial to FOOD’s staging. ‘It’s a little more comfortable seating-wise, but you’re in a funny proximity with one another. You might be sitting right next to somebody who you didn’t come with, but it’s like being at a dinner party; you’re like, “oh well, hi there”, and suddenly you’re next to them.’
It’s also true that despite a lot of dinner parties and restaurants being socially uncomfortable, isn’t there a pervading expectation that we should find them relaxing?
In response, Sobelle cites another example from his work. ‘When we did HOME, we made a house on stage. There’s a moment of a big party, and many audience members would find their way on stage, and people would gravitate toward the kitchen. Is it a kitchen? No, there’s just nothing usable in the kitchen, and yet it had all of the signs of a kitchen. That was enough for people to feel safe the way they do at parties, when they just come to the kitchen. We always laughed at that. We still go there even though there's no beer in the fridge.’
Audiences may baulk at the idea of attending a show where a spotlight is turned onto how they watch and react to the stage. For Sobelle, it’s part of the process of questioning relationships we thought we knew intimately. What’s more, he’s fascinated with illusions (which are created through constraints being imposed on what we see) and if the same applies to the cultivating, harvesting and preparing of food. He talks about ‘tableside guacamole’ from his native California, where four ingredients are brought out and turned into guac in front of the customer. ‘In my version of this, it would have been like, “I’m gonna bring all of the soil that it would take to make your stupid avocado, and then I’m going to bring all of the migrant labour that actually grew that avocado, and their families. And I’m going to bring all of the gas that it took . . . ” and so on.’
Of course, it depends on your perspective: as the cook in his family, Sobelle feels no wonder towards cooking’s many miracles. He finds it laborious and mundane. But getting down and dirty with all the minerals and creatures that make things grow in the garden, which he started with his wife and two young children during the pandemic, has been eye-opening.
‘That kind of elemental, visceral thing is the antithesis of the neat box of the theatre, and certainly of magic and illusion. In an illusion, you need the 90-degree angles, the box tricks; it’s about really trying to control vantage points. With gardening, and even cooking and certainly feeding toddlers, the last thing you are in is control. That’s exciting to me.’
It’s clear even the simplest (but of course, not that simple) food concepts ignite something in Sobelle’s mind. ‘There’s something funny about an illusion of growing, the idea that you put a seed in and grow a potato, like it happens that fast. It’s sort of a delicious joke. You also recognise that a lot of people are excised from this equation. But in a restaurant, there is an illusion; the seed is, “I’ll have the steak tartare”, and, ding ding, here is the product.’ With FOOD, it seems Geoff Sobelle has crafted a way to serve his many fascinations to the world.
FOOD, The Studio, 3–26 August, 8pm; 12, 19, 26 & 27 August, 2pm.
BASED ON THE FILM DOGVILLE BY LARS VON TRIER, FROM AWARD-WINNING DIRECTOR
CHRISTIANE JATAHY
With world-class violinist Nicola Benedetti taking the International Festival director’s chair and laying down her bow for a spell, the stage is set for new stars to make their name in Edinburgh. Miranda Heggie picks out five performances that will put violins front and centre
Expect searing gypsy passions infused with sultry jazz from virtuoso Hungarian violinist Geza Hosszu-Legocky and his multi-instrumental band of 5 DeViLs. With a classical training, Hosszu-Legocky was admitted to the Vienna Music Academy aged just six and has played with some of the biggest names in classical music including Maxim Vengerov, Steven Isserlis and Yo-Yo Ma. For this musical project he turns his technique to the world of folk, with a dazzling set of Hungarian gypsy melodies accompanied by his dextrous multiinstrumental band.
The Hub, 8 August, 8pm.
Nicola Benedetti joins conductor Iván Fischer to discuss ideas for the Budapest Festival Orchestra’s future. Though it looks like Benedetti herself may be leaving her violin at home for this event, audiences can still expect a range of solo highlights from across the orchestra’s sections as they perform excerpts from Monteverdi, Transylvanian folk and Jewish Klezmer music
Usher Hall, 8 August, 8pm.
Fiddler and composer Catriona Price fuses traditional Celtic and Orcadian music with classical expertise and improvisatory aleatoricism to bring her debut solo album Hert to The Hub. Hert is Orcadian Scots for ‘heart’, and this nine-movement suite for nine musicians is inspired by literary works from several of Price’s Orcadian compatriots. Scored for the eclectic line-up of string quartet, vocal trio, harp, keys, flute, bass and drums, Hert is a personal aural tapestry of the Orkney Isles.
The Hub, 11 August, 8pm.
While this may not feature a solo violin performance, the first piece is sort-of based on one. Janáček’s ‘Kreutzer Sonata’ is inspired by the Tolstoy novella of the same name. Its protagonist is roused to a violent, jealous fury after his pianist wife has a jam with his violinist colleague: themes of jealousy, anger and violence against women that are still all too pertinent.
Queen’s Hall, 18 August, 11am.
PatKop, as she’s known to her devotees, is one of the most innovative classical soloists today. Example: in 2021,when recovering from a hand injury, she sang and recorded Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire to rave reviews. She’s bringing us more ingenious creativity for a reimagining of Haydn’s The Seven Last Words Of Christ which she’ll direct from the violin. She’s joined by Camerata Bern, who’ll perform against the backdrop of a brand new video installation by Berlin-based videographer René Liebert.
Queen’s Hall, 26 August, 11am.
Pina Bausch’s visceral take on Stravinsky’s story of rituals reaches Edinburgh with a pan-African production featuring dancers from 14 countries. Lucy Ribchester speaks to the late choreographer’s son Salomon and artistic director Jorge Puerta Armenta about Pina’s unique working methods
Salomon Bausch doesn’t remember the first time he saw his mother’s seminal 1975 work The Rite Of Spring. ‘I can’t answer this question, really,’ says the 42-year-old who established the Pina Bausch Foundation shortly after her death in 2009. ‘I was witnessing rehearsals and performances since I was very young; I continuously saw performances.’
It’s possible that The Rite Of Spring is Pina Bausch’s most famous work (although there are other contenders, such as Café Müller and Kontakthof). What is clear is that the Stravinsky piece, first performed by Ballets Russes in 1913, has its own special power and allure, which keeps drawing companies and audiences back to it time and again. ‘The music is very strong,’ says Jorge Puerta Armenta, one third of the artistic directing team who have restaged the Bausch choreography in a production that has toured Europe for the past two years, and hits Edinburgh mid-August (it will be performed alongside new duet common ground[s] by renowned Senegalese choreographer Germaine Acogny and former Bausch dancer Malou Airaudo).
‘It’s dramatically impressive,’ Armenta continues, ‘and compiles a lot of human feelings. And of course there is this plot of ritual sacrifice, together with the discovery of sexuality and sensuality; plus this music which is so compelling.’ Armenta, who worked with Pina Bausch on the piece during his time as a dancer in her company, recounts an anecdote told to him by his co-director Josephine Ann Endicott, about Stravinsky’s music being the seed of Bausch’s creation. ‘One day Pina came into the studio in Wuppertal. She turned off the lights and played the music for the dancers; in the dark, no explanations. And then afterwards she just said that she would like to do the piece.’
This latest production is a collaboration between the Pina Bausch Foundation, Sadler’s Wells and Senegal’s École des Sables, and has been no small feat to put together. It was in development for several years while the cast was assembled from all over Africa. The team conducted auditions in Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire, and at École des Sables, whittling down an initial 250 applicants to a final cast of 34, drawn from 14 nationalities. ‘It’s a continent where people are hungry to dance and want to dance, and live their professions as dancers,’ says Armenta. ‘I think also their way to approach dance and performing matches the choreography in a way that is different.’
‘What I like about this project is that the dancers are from so many different backgrounds,’ continues Salomon. ‘Some have experience in different traditional African dances [of which there are huge numbers, he clarifies], others have urban dance, some have a ballet background. It’s very broad. This is different from other companies. If you go to a ballet company normally, everybody has more or less a similar background and experience. It’s very nice to have this broadness.’
When reviving choreography with a fresh team of dancers, Salomon says there is no contradiction between keeping the precision of the original movement and allowing dancers a freedom to make it alive and fresh. ‘I think the only way to be true to the piece is to really dive into it and dance it.’ Armenta, who worked so intensely on the work with Pina Bausch, sees his methods of ‘driving the dancers’ as having evolved naturally from his mentor. ‘It’s like when, as a kid, you learn to cook with your parents. You start out cooking the same kind of way, then little by little you put in your own extra things that you think it needs.’
The Rite Of Spring/common ground[s], Edinburgh Playhouse, 17–19 August, 7.30pm.
It’s a long way to the top and it took Lady Blackbird a change of name and style to get there. This extraordinary vocal talent reveals to Fiona Shepherd the ups and downs that eventually triggered her breakthrough >>
Lady Blackbird has truly taken flight since the 2021 release of her album Black Acid Soul. But her fledgling years were long, varied, instructive and frustrating, taking in dues-paying bar and hotel gigs, session singing, abortive solo contracts and a whole heap of styles, both musical and visual. The diva born Marley Munroe in Farmington, New Mexico, first found her voice as a pre-schooler. Her mother had little Marley in a recording studio at the age of five, singing hymns and gospel standards.
‘I loved to sing,’ she says. ‘It was all I wanted to do, and my mother wanted to put that on tape. She found a local studio in someone’s home and I was so excited to go in and record these songs; it was just for us. I remember having to stack apple crates up to the mic; there was no possible way for me to reach it.’
Munroe was signed to a Christian music label throughout her teens and sang with rap rockers DC Talk before making a move into the secular market. It took years for her to find her niche; along the way, she dabbled most capably in soul, rock, R&B and hip hop, sang anywhere that would have her, and took on session work, songwriting for the likes of Anastacia.
She was signed in her own right to Epic Records ten years ago, but her polished productions failed to catch fire and she was dropped. Down but not out. ‘I don’t know how I would get through life without singing,’ she reflects. ‘I don’t think I’d be able to last very long. But you definitely get torn down a bit and you start to doubt. There was a point I let it go a bit, just loosened my grip on my dream to give room for everything to naturally grow and fall into its place.’
The turnaround came in collaboration with songwriter and producer Chris Seefried. A Munroe-fronted demo of one of his songs, ‘Nobody’s Sweetheart’, hit a nerve that previous recordings hadn’t. The approach was simple: strip away the arrangements and focus on Munroe’s superbly honed voice. ‘When it works, it works,’ she says. Encouraged by the positive response, they began to put together a new set of mostly jazz and folk covers. Munroe was rightly bold in her choices, recording a version of Nina Simone’s ‘Blackbird’ which resonated with a new generation of civil-rights activists when it was released in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.
Her breakthrough song supplied her with a new artist name (the Lady being a reference to another of her diva inspirations, Billie Holiday aka Lady Day) and she coined an album title and style, Black Acid Soul. Lady Blackbird has been dubbed ‘the Grace Jones of soul’ and her distinctive look is key to the package. ‘When Chris was talking about doing this more stripped-down sombre jazz style, I’m going, “yeah, but can I still wear my costumes?” For me, you can tell a story through fashion. You put the right pair of heels or suit or piece of clothing on and it can change everything: your mood, your walk, your attitude. And music does the same; so, for me, they go hand in hand.’
Lady Blackbird is now playing stages big enough to fit her voice and persona, and where bigger in the Scottish summer than Edinburgh International Festival where she is set to whip up a quiet storm. ‘It’s such a true and genuine and authentic project,’ she says of her Black Acid Soul epiphany. ‘Maybe that’s why people are gravitating towards it.’
Lady Blackbird, Festival Theatre, 12 August, 8pm.
Basing his libretto for Bluebeard’s Castle on the French folk tale about a rich nobleman who murders his multiple wives, poet Béla Balázs described it as a ‘ballad of inner life’. The only opera by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók, its psychological symbolism draws parallels between the titular duke and the composer himself, who bizarrely dedicated the piece to his 16-year-old bride.
The narrative usually unfolds with Bluebeard’s new young wife, Judith, opening a series of locked doors until the final one reveals the living corpses of her three predecessors, whom she then joins. Exploring their relationship in a very different way, director Daisy Evans retells the story with a new libretto that takes a direction still inspired by an ‘inner life’, but where the dark, deep recesses of Gothic horror are replaced by a loving husband facing the challenges of having a wife with dementia.
‘There is so much love in the music,’ says Evans, ‘and I couldn’t see Bluebeard having such beautiful music if he’s this terrible monster.’ It’s an opera which Evans and her Theatre Of Sound partner, conductor Stephen Higgins, had long wanted to work on together. Their starting point was looking at the four wives as different parts of life: youth, home building, mid-life and later life. The setting is domestic, and instead of doors, Judith opens a locked trunk full of memorabilia from happy times together.
‘Bluebeard is a dad, a grandad, with his tote bag and little anorak,’ Evans explains. ‘Slowly but surely opening doors to memories, he brings his wife back, as we sense that’s what he’s trying to do. She reverts to being a very virginal young bride again. Watching how much he loves her is transformative.’
Originally scored for two singers with a large symphony orchestra, Bartók’s music is now heard in a specially arranged reduced instrumentation by Higgins.
‘We thought about what the sound world could be,’ says Evans, ‘and it’s almost like a gossamer version, but still very full and expressive. It almost feels like the orchestra is part of Judith’s fractured life. It’s very clever in the choice of instrumentation for seven players and, of course, we’ve got an organ.’
Going smaller enables the opera to be staged in a more intimate space than Bluebeard would otherwise be seen. ‘It’s an incredible opportunity for performers to be so close to an audience,’ says Evans, ‘and quite an intense hour in the theatre.’
Bluebeard’s Castle, Church Hill Theatre, 23–27 August, 8pm.
Living with dementia is at the heart of a radical retelling of Bartók’s opera, Bluebeard’s Castle. Director Daisy Evans explains to Carol Main the creative process which led to this major departure
Greek tragedy and Korean musical storytelling meet with this blizzard of theatre, sound and movement to produce a stirring portrayal of finding strength in the face of war’s cruellest forces.
n Festival Theatre, 9–11 August, 7.30pm.
The acclaimed and charismatic Venezuelan conductor takes us on a sumptuous trip through his country’s musical roots before launching into Gustav Mahler’s ‘Symphony No 1’.
n Usher Hall, 26 August, 8pm.
Taking its cue from a line in A Little Life (the adapted play which seared many people at last year’s EIF), Sharon Eyal and Gai Behar’s L-E-V company return to platform the highs and lows of relationships.
n Festival Theatre, 13 & 14 August, 9pm.
Mime, video and puppetry groups from Belgium deliver this tale about the forces of nature which humans thought they’d be able to control and use for their own purposes. Silly humans.
n Church Hill Theatre, 15–19 August, 7pm.
Aimed at those aged 6–11, Punchdrunk Enrichment lay on an immersive production which seeks out precious stories from an enormous library (all 314 floors of it), putting power in the hands of children.
n Church Hill Theatre Studio, 3–27 August, times vary.
Neo-gothic folk maximalists Lankum bring hypnotic intensity to their mystical songs. Recent album, False Lankum, features tracks with titles veering from apocalyptic (‘Go Dig My Grave’) to serene (‘Clear Away In The Morning).
n Queen’s Hall, 17 August, 9pm.
The Grammy Award nominee returns to Edinburgh for the first time in six years. On this occasion it’s with her quintet who are all members of a thriving London scene where classical and contemporary converge.
n Festival Theatre, 27 August, 8pm.
New York saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin may have contributed to embellishing the horn sections of Prince, Jay-Z , Missy Elliott and J Cole throughout her career, but as she makes an Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival debut this year, her own accomplished work takes centre stage. Benjamin’s 2023 album Phoenix is imprinted with the eclectic sounds of her home neighbourhood of Washington Heights. Latin merengue and hip hop, as well as bebop and free jazz, make their way into her compositions, accompanied by her Wayne Shorter-esque tone, so smooth and agile it can occasionally be mistaken for a human voice. (Megan Merino)
George Square Spiegeltent, 16 July, 8.30pm.
After last year’s mesmeric International Festival performance with former band Sons Of Kemet, Theon Cross speaks to Stewart Smith about learning to step into the spotlight and the influences he’s built a career on
Long underrated as a jazz instrument, the tuba has come back into favour in recent years sparked by a brass-band revival in New Orleans and the innovative approaches of master musicians like Jose Davila, Oren Marshall and Jon Sass. Leading this new generation is Theon Cross, the London-based musician and composer perhaps best known as a member of the now-disbanded Sons Of Kemet, whose radical fusion of African-Caribbean music, grime and jazz shook Edinburgh
International Festival to its foundations last year. In that group, Cross held down the bottom end with aplomb, but he also stepped forward to take solos, unleashing earthquaking borborygmi (that’s rumblings, folks) and wild leaps into the instrument’s upper register.
‘In those moments, [Sons Of Kemet leader] Shabaka [Hutchings] would say, “I want you to play by yourself to introduce the next song; just do whatever you can do”,’ Cross recalls. ‘It gave me the opportunity to try lots of different ways of playing, that freedom to really find my own voice and develop a sound.’ All through his time in Sons Of Kemet, Cross formed his own style, touring with grime artists such as Kano and composing music for his trio with saxophonist Nubya Garcia and drummer Moses Boyd. The latter two were key players on his debut album Fyah, released to widespread acclaim in 2019.
An organic fusion of African-Caribbean diasporic styles, the album is a key document of the new London jazz scene. ‘In my parents’ house, there was reggae and soca, music from the Caribbean,’ Cross explains, ‘but also, hip hop was a massive thing; grime was a big thing.’
A graduate of Tomorrow’s Warriors, the community music organisation that has been vital to London’s jazz renaissance, Cross went on to jam sessions at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club and the Steam Down nights. ‘I was fortunate enough to find myself experiencing a lot of different sides of the London jazz experience, which I think is pretty varied. So when it came time to make a musical statement, it was an amalgamation of my life experience and the things that I had the opportunity to do and take from.’
He followed the largely acoustic Fyah with 2021’s Intra-I, a solo album recorded with drummer-producer
Emre Ramazanoglu and a stellar line-up of guest vocalists. Drawing on reggae, dub, dancehall, soca, hip hop and grime, the album sees Cross processing and layering his tuba to create a range of timbres and textures. At times, the tuba can sound like a dub bassline or a grime synth; at others, it’s a tuba choir. ‘Sometimes I’d watch college marching bands where you had a tuba section that plays a tune. That was great. When the tuba harmonises with itself, it’s a world within itself. I really wanted to explore that as an album, and when lockdown came it gave me a bit more time to really focus on that, going into the tuba and exploring the different sounds and production. If you can utilise these things, you can make some great art.’
Intra-I also has a strong message, with the guest vocalists raising consciousness about African-Caribbean history and culture. ‘Conceptually, I feel like I was in a period where I was learning more about myself and what I wanted to say. I wanted people that could speak to the themes I was presenting, which for the most part was introspection; also knowing about your lineage and your history.’ The album is dedicated to Cross’ late father, Errol, a musician active in the 1980s British reggae scene.
Cross paid homage to that era last year, with a cover of Aswad’s ‘Back To Africa’, the B-side to his single ‘Wings’, a banger recorded with his live band. ‘I really thought I should get this down in the studio because there’s a certain energy to it that I really like.’ This is the group he’ll be playing with in Edinburgh, with Nikos Ziarkas on guitar, Patrick Boyle on drums, Chelsea Carmichael on saxophone, and Nathaniel Cross on trombone. ‘Expect some explorations of music from the last few albums,’ he teases. ‘I feel that stepping into a live show is more of a wall of sound.’
Theon Cross, George Square Spiegeltent, 18 July, 8.30pm.
Hoping their upcoming show will birth a third memorable experience, Megan Merino recalls her previous live encounters with explosive collective Nubiyan Twist
In my brain, Nubiyan Twist and emotional euphoria are inextricably linked. The first time I saw the collective play at Glasgow’s Hug And Pint in 2019, I had just clocked off from a stressful week of work experience at a daily newspaper. Inside an already sweaty basement, my body still processing the adrenaline secreted from trying to survive at the bottom of a newsroom food chain, Tom Excell and his band crammed onto a tiny stage, tripping over multiple saxophonists and percussive instruments en route. With everyone gathered around drummer Pilo Adami, who was uncharacteristically on lead vocals this particular evening, the show began.
Whether due to relief of having survived my first proper journalism shifts or the cosiness of dancing shoulder to shoulder with fellow fans, Adami’s memorable rendition of ‘Straight Lines’ in his native Portuguese caused all tensions of the past week to leave my body.
Some time later, on the home stretch of covid regulations and a good year since I had seen any form of live music, finally one (albeit socially distanced) gig was going ahead: Nubiyan Twist’s Freedom Fables album launch at Islington Assembly Hall. The album had been out for a few weeks, and judging by the queue outside, I could tell everyone was twitching with anticipation to feel the explosive horns of ‘Tittle Tattle’ and
deep groove of ‘Buckle Up’. Upon entry, reality set in: chairs were spaced out next to signs that read ‘please remain seated’, while men in hi-vis vests circled the parameters like it was a dystopian school talent show.
But we didn’t let that extinguish our excitement levels. An overhead voice saying the show was about to start evoked a disproportionate level of applause, before a near-hysterical welcome began for the musicians as they positioned themselves around the large stage. So far, everyone was abiding by seating rules, but during one explosive drop on the album’s fifth track ‘Keeper’, a brave comrade in front of me leapt to their feet.
An angry neon vest was summoned almost immediately, but before the dancer could be convinced to sit back down, another person flew up in the opposite corner. Then another and another. It was a protest of dance, and positively thrilling. When it became clear this game of human whack-a-mole couldn’t be won, the crowd (now more like caged animals than naughty school children) were left to stand, united in movement. Invigorated and full of joy once again, I made my way back home.
Now, I know Nubiyan Twist’s late-night performance at this year’s festival will (presumably) not feature such feral antics, nor will it compare to seeing them for the first time in a 120-capacity basement, high on stress hormones. Yet my excitement to witness this dynamic collective conjure up a slightly different flavour of their signature jazz-fusion cocktail is just as present. Fortunately this time, the crowd’s heartfelt grins won’t be hidden by surgical masks.
Nubiyan Twist, George Square Spiegeltent, 22 July, 11pm.
Stewart Smith highlights five must-see acts crossing the seas to play in Edinburgh
ENRICO ZANISI
Combining lush romanticism with an inquisitive contemporary jazz feel, Italian pianist Zanisi makes a welcome return to Edinburgh.
St Bride’s Centre, 15 July, 8.30pm.
THE ORIGINAL PINETTES BRASS BAND
There are few sounds as glorious as a New Orleans brass band, and The Pinettes are one of the finest around, updating tradition with a spicy mix of hip hop, funk and R&B.
George Square Spiegeltent, 17 July, 6pm; Murrayfield Parish Church, 18 July, 6.30pm.
MONA KROGSTAD QUARTET
Spark: Jazz From Norway is a strand which includes emerging talents such as Krogstad. Inspired by 1960s Blue Note masters and the modern Scandinavian scene, this saxophonist combines lyrical composition with playful improvisation.
Jazz Bar, 19 July, 8pm.
ARILD ANDERSEN, TOMMY SMITH & THOMAS STRØNEN
Norwegian bass maestro Andersen teams up with Scottish saxophone legend Smith and drummer Strønen for what is sure to be a compelling set of adventurous modern jazz.
St Bride’s Centre, 22 July, 8.30pm.
NABOU
A rising star of the Belgian scene, trombonist Nabou Claerhout brings her fresh contemporary quartet to Edinburgh for the very first time.
Jazz Bar, 23 July, 8pm.
The pomp and pageantry of the Tattoo returns to Edinburgh Castle in August, with Stories as its theme. Aiming to celebrate the tales that connect us all through our unique military and cultural heritages, expect a riot of colour and sound as music, dance, spoken word and imagery fuse with the combined energy of 800 performers from across the world. The United States Air Force Band will make their Tattoo debut, joined by the Trinidad And Tobago Defence Force Steel Orchestra, the Swiss Armed Forces Central Band and, of course, the musical might of the Massed Pipes & Drums.
(Jo Laidlaw)
n Edinburgh Castle, 4–26 August, 9.30pm.
Cameraman, dancer and now author, it seems there’s no end to Hamza Yassin’s talents. Jessica Matthewson caught up with the wildlife enthusiast to discuss his new book and battle with dyslexia
From mastering the art of nature filming to being crowned king of Strictly Come Dancing, Hamza Yassin has taken on multiple challenges with grace and enthusiasm. His TV career began with a role as Ranger Hamza on hit CBeebies show Let’s Go For A Walk, which led him to further presenting opportunities on Countryfile and later Channel 4’s Scotland: Escape To The Wilderness. Most recently, he’s also contributed to David Attenborough’s Wild Isles series from his home in the West Highlands. However, Yassin’s latest adventure involves writing a book about the basics of birdwatching; as someone with dyslexia, it’s a challenge he’s excited to bust taboos about in the process.
‘For me, I want to spread the word and show how important it is to know that you have dyslexia and therefore know you have a superpower,’ says Yassin. Be A Birder will be published in September with the aim of ‘inspiring the masses’ to get more involved in birding and other outdoor-based activities. ‘Birding is the gateway into the natural world, at least here in the UK.’
Yassin’s love of nature was sparked in his native Sudan. ‘We had pet monkeys and things like that,’ he explains, but when he moved to the UK, people he met said, ‘we’ve only got cats and dogs’. Yassin replied: ‘oh is that it’? In response, he nurtured an ability to find natural beauty right on his doorstep. Yassin reckons you must simply, ‘open your eyes and look beneath the layers’ to see that the UK is brimming with wildlife.
He’s appearing at this year’s Fringe By The Sea to present My Life Behind The Lens, in which he’ll share more about his work as a cameraman, his Strictly success, and how dyslexia has allowed him to view the world differently. ‘In reality, being dyslexic is my gift,’ he insists. This, however, is a man with more than one gift, and his talent for documentary-making is one he intends to keep building upon. ‘I want to travel the world telling unique and unusual stories, and untold stories of the natural world.’
Hamza Yassin: My Life Behind The Lens, Big Top, Lodge Grounds, North Berwick, 6 August, noon; Fringe By The Sea runs 4–13 August.
Anyone of a certain vintage will remember Dick & Dom’s bogey-filled mid-2000s heyday. Now they’re causing chaos as DJs, pitting themselves against each other to decide who has the best tunes. Expect dancing and unhinged energy with a competitive edge.
n Big Top, Lodge Grounds, North Berwick, 5 August, 1.30pm.
Dylan Moran may appear in TV and films from time to time, but the stand-up circuit is clearly where he’s most at ease. He’s spent almost three full decades honing his onstage persona (one part misanthrope, three parts spleen-venting absurdist) to dizzying effect. If you’ve never watched the Black Books star live, now’s your chance.
n Big Top, Lodge Grounds, North Berwick, 6 August, 7.30pm.
Rapper Bemz has enjoyed rising-star status for a while, garnering a dedicated fanbase with his party beats and electrifying stage presence. He’ll be joined by The Honey Farm, who describe themselves as ‘potentially the first and, by default, greatest Scottish female rap group of all time.’
n Lodge Stage, Lodge Grounds, North Berwick, 11 August, 7pm.
As Jessica Smyth prepares to play a Saturday slot at this year’s Connect festival, Kevin Fullerton talks to the artist known as Biig Piig about avoiding a sesh, creating mixtapes, and the art of putting together a perfect set
For London-based Irish musician Biig Piig (aka Jessica Smyth), this is a summer to embrace the energy of festival crowds. ‘We’ve got the set to a place I’m really happy with now,’ she says proudly. ‘With some of the tracks, I feel like we’ve put them into a live setting and made them bigger than they are on record. Playing our first festival last week, I thought, “this is sick”. It was the best feeling in the world.’
It makes sense that her debut mixtape Bubblegum is resonating with festival audiences. Featuring a mixture of garage beats, glistening pop shimmers and Biig Piig’s silken voice, Bubblegum’s stratospheric sound blasts out of speakers like rays of sunshine. ‘It was never supposed to be a mixtape. It was just me making tracks hoping to figure out where I was going to go with an album. Looking at it now, there are so many different pockets it sits in sonically because of the producers I worked with. I think it was a stepping stone, helping me test the waters to see that you can have different songs in a project and still make it fluid. That’s what I want the album to be when it’s done.’
A highlight of the mixtape, ‘Picking Up’ hits on the fluidity and variation Smyth is discussing, veering wildly from slow guitar-picking to hyperactive drum & bass rhythms, the underlying melancholia of her lyrics offset by dancefloor-filler music and glitchy sound samples. Made in collaboration with Deb Never, Smyth describes the song as having, ‘this alternative side to it. The production team fleshed out the feeling, and the lyrics just came out. Then me and Debs went on a night out after that. It’s one of those tracks I don’t listen to too much, to be honest, because whenever I do, it perpetuates me going out on a sesh.’
The unabashed energy of ‘Picking Up’, a heart-racer of a song that’ll set festival crowds alight, is only one part of the alchemy of performing. ‘The art of energy in a gig is super important. I want the same feeling to happen in a night-time slot and a daytime slot. A good set works anywhere. The set just now starts summery then goes into a darker mood; things get a bit heavier in the older tracks. And then it picks up around tracks four or five, before ending in total party mode.’
Biig Piig, Royal Highland Showgrounds, 26 August; Connect runs 25–27 August.
CATO
ADAM FROST • MAGGIE O’FARRELL • HAMZA YASSIN PATRICK GRANT • SIR ROBIN KNOX-JOHNSTON
MARK BEAUMONT • VIGGO VENN • ALISTAIR DARLING
SUSIE MCCABE • DENISE MINA • CAL MAJOR • WILLIAM DALRYMPLE
HOLLIE MCNISH, MICHAEL PEDERSON & WITHERED HAND • SEAN LUSK
JEAN-LUC BARBANNEAU • BOOZY BOOK CLUB – KAREN CAMPBELL
MEGAN MCCUBBIN • ELEANOR TUCKER • GRAEME MACRAE BURNET
SALLY MAGNUSON • GILES & MARY ON COUNTRY LIFE
SPLASH TEST DUMMIES • DICK V DOM DJ BATTLE
INTERNATIONAL FILM ORCHESTRA PRESENTS THE SPECTACULAR MUSIC OF HARRY POTTER
ROALD DAHL’S THE THREE LITTLE PIGS ON TOUR ARTIE’S SINGING KETTLE
MR BOOM • SKYE MCKENNA • ALEXANDER THE GREAT • HELEN PETERS
ABI ELPHINSTONE • MONSKI MOUSE BABY DISCO • SILENT DISCO
THINK CIRCUS TAKEOVER • KEVIN QUANTUM: AND FOR MY NEXT TRICK
A WHALE OF A TIME WITH MISS GOOGIEPANTS • CEILIDH KIDS
All nestled in the beautiful Lodge Grounds, North Berwick, with delicious street food, Coulters Makers Market and the Lighthouse Live music stage.
MIDNIGHT TRAIN TO EDINBURGH
Back for another year of talks, exhibitions, live music and more, the Festival Of Politics proves it's certainly not all debates and drivel. Jessica Matthewson is first past the post with a look at this year’s expansive programme
From the ethics of artificial intelligence to discussions about Scotland’s arts sector, the 19th annual Festival Of Politics promises to be an exciting and informative three-day event. Hosted by the Scottish Government at Holyrood (with a few events at The Hub), expect panels covering politics, current affairs and environmental issues paired with a lively programme of music, dance and exhibitions in the café bar.
For the first time in the festival’s history, it will partner with Edinburgh International Festival for a number of events surrounding EIF’s central 2023 theme, ‘where do we go from here?’, inspired by the writings of Martin Luther King. Highlights from this line-up include two In Conversation With sessions: one with world-renowned percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie (9 August) and another with Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel (25 August). These will take place in Holyrood’s debating chamber and are set to be hosted by broadcaster and former MP Michael Portillo.
There are also three free-to-access exhibitions to explore. Grit And Diamonds, presented in partnership with Glasgow Women’s Library, is an archive of materials showcasing how women contributed to Glasgow’s cultural history throughout the 80s and 90s. Mental Health And Wellbeing Amongst People Navigating The Asylum Process, created with Maryhill Integration Network, unveils the personal mental-health stories of those seeking asylum in Scotland. And World Press Photo winners will also have work on display, highlighting the climate crisis and the impact of war on civilians, among other subjects.
Festival Of Politics, Scottish Parliament & The Hub, 9–11, 25 August.
Delve into our round-up of alternative festival highlights also hitting the Scottish capital (or just outside) this August
This year’s Edinburgh TV Festival (22–25 August) features Jesse Armstrong, creator of Succession and Peep Show, who’ll discuss his career with journalist (and TV comedy writer in her own right) Marina Hyde. Meanwhile, Louis Theroux delivers the centrepiece MacTaggart Lecture. Then there’s Edinburgh Deaf Festival (11–20 August), which this year has the theme 'Welcome To Our World' as an invite for everyone to share in deaf culture. Featuring more than 60 acts, this is a dynamic showcase of comedy, drama, workshops and cabaret which puts the deaf world at the forefront. The Just Festival (11–19 August) is making social justice and human rights the focus with conversations, talks, exhibitions and performances that try to open discussions around some of the biggest issues facing contemporary society. Jupiter Rising (19 August), the arts and music extravaganza at Jupiter Artland, has been teased with a one-night collaboration with Edinburgh Art Festival, featuring a new performance from Lindsey Mendick, an artist-inspired barbecue, the performance collective STASIS, a late-night stage curated by queer collective Bonjour, and much more. Let’s cross our fingers this is a sign that an even larger festival outing at the Artland will still occur.
(Kevin Fullerton)SUMMERHALL
THU 3 AUG 9PM-3AM
Explore the curiosity and creativity of Fringe season at our award-nominated List Festival Party on Thursday 3 August.
The List will once again take over the iconic Summerhall and a selection of its unique spaces to showcase the best of what awaits festival goers this August.
Sneak a peek at over 25 hand-picked preview performances from the worlds of comedy, cabaret, drag and more whilst enjoying drinks from sponsors Hendrick’s Gin, Monkey Shoulder, Innis & Gunn and Seedlip, along with support from Playbill, Adelaide Fringe, Citizen Ticket and LNER
Warm up your night with a line-up of DJs from Paradise Palms followed by a set by Lemon Jelly legend Fred Deakin. Get your face painted by Fantoosh and head out on Silent Adventures Belt out guilty pleasures with your pals in our famous karaoke room and end the night dancing yourself silly into the wee hours with our resident List Festival Party DJ Trendy Wendy
This exclusive event is invitation only and we’re giving our readers the chance to be there too. To be in the chance of winning a pair of tickets log onto list.co.uk/competitions and tell us:
Name one of the drinks sponsors at this year’s List Festival Party?
Edinburgh in August: the greatest place on the planet. But even if there are five shows standing between you and bedtime, you still got to eat. From speedy pitstop to welcome pint, Michelin-starred gastronomy to falling asleep into your chips’n’cheese, Edinburgh is bursting with top-notch eating and drinking options. We’ve pulled together the very best, grouped around six of the city’s prime festival venues, plus insider knowledge from our very own Team List who know the city’s noodle joints and cocktail slingers like the back of their hands. Hungry yet? Read on, and enjoy everything the city has to offer. (Jo
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Laidlaw)ILLUSTRATIONS: SEONAID RAFFERTY
Normal drills see the Playhouse (one of Europe’s largest theatres) acting as a receiving house for musicals, comedy and large-scale touring productions. Come August, they play host to much of the International Festival’s contemporary music strand, as well as the comedy behemoth that is Forth On The Fringe.
Straddling the point where the New Town ends and Leith begins, the Playhouse faces a range of casual restaurants all perfectly adapted to the in-and-out of a pretheatre meal: tapas-focused La Sal is reliably authentic, while Laila aims for the Insta crowd with a sweet-as-candy all-day brunch menu. Around the corner, Phuket Pavilion is a reliable choice for Thai. Nearby is comedy hotspot The Stand, as well as Eastside, a friendly bar with an ambitious comedy line-up.
Leith Walk is the gateway to some of Edinburgh’s best eating and drinking: Joseph Pearce is a friendly Swedish bar with a casual menu. A few doors up is the legendary Valvona & Crolla, a stunning Italian deli and caffé where you can load up on picnic treats. Spry wine bar is also handy, a pared-back bottle shop specialising in naturally made wines (and an everchanging seasonal menu), with a downstairs coffee bar, Ante, for a quick coffee or simple breakfast. The Walnut is worth the ten minute or so stroll down the Walk and if you want a couple of hours away from it all, head to The Gardener’s Cottage.
Heading back up towards Princes Street brings you to St James Quarter which has a huge selection of food and drink. The Alchemist attracts a dressed-up crowd for their theatrical cocktails and weekend brunch, grab a bagel from Bross Bagels, or choose your own adventure in Bonnie & Wild, a reimagining of the food hall concept with local producers and street food vendors.
Ada
9a Antigua Street, adarestaurant.co.uk
Ada serves a selection of cold mezze and Turkish grill favourites in a classy, laid-back neighbourhood joint at the top of the Walk. Whole fish is perfectly seared and lamb melts in the mouth, plus they have kunefe on the dessert menu; the most deliciously indulgent mix of honey and cheese.
MY PICKS
At some point in August, the urge to flee screaming from the heaving festival mob becomes overwhelming. Fear not: simply heading north of George Street leads to relatively peaceful sustenance. Good Brothers Wine Cellars’ new corner home in Northumberland Street has a tip-top selection of interesting drops, and I’m a fan of the traditional boozer action (but with decent wine and beer) at Clark’s Bar, a couple of blocks further down Dundas Street.
If the west wind takes me, The Voyage Of Buck in William Street is hard to beat for good food and cocktails. In Stockbridge, I’ll either unsuccessfully feign coolness at newbie Skua (beautiful small plates, cocktails, late opening) or accept time’s ravages in the eccentric and kitsch St Bernard’s Bar (all of the above love dogs, btw). And now with trams to Leith and Newhaven, Alby’s killer sandwiches are within easier reach or stay to the end of the line for sunsets over the Forth and quality seafood at The Fishmarket.
Bodega
14–15 Albert Place, ilovebodega.com
With its pale pink and tropical green décor, this Mexican restaurant is certainly photogenic. Tasty twists on soft tacos dominate: think buffalo sesame chicken with a dollop of blue cheese sauce, or tempura tiger prawns with sweet chilli and soy dressing. The house cocktails deserve their own Insta page too.
Dishoom
3a St Andrew Square, dishoom.com/edinburgh
Yes, the breakfasts at Dishoom are worth the fuss, but so is dinner. Biriyani speckled with dried cranberries and topped with juicy chicken is moreish and the pau bhaji transport you to hot evenings in Mumbai. There’s plenty of room inside and it’s a lovely spot for an end-of-evening cocktail infused with Indian spices.
Down The Hatch
13 Antigua Street, downthehatchdiner.com
There’s little chance of leaving hungry with the generous portion sizes at this Canadian diner. The dining room is tucked through the back in a funky, church-like space where huge bowls of poutine dripping with gravy and cheese curds are served alongside towering burgers and chicken wings. This is not impress-your-date territory: it’s going to get messy.
Ka Pao
St James Quarter, ka-pao.com
The original Glasgow branch of Ka Pao is steeped in Michelin accolades and awards, and their second outpost at St James Quarter doesn’t disappoint. All the small plates have a South East Asian twist. Fried chicken and crisp pork belly are solid contenders for best dish, but hispi cabbage with cashew nut butter is a surprise candidate.
Kahani
10 Antigua Street, kahanirestaurant.co.uk
This lively and colourful Indian restaurant has plenty of space for a gang, plus corkage-free BYOB to keep everyone happy. There’s a range of slightly more unusual street-food style dishes, but it’s hard to see beyond their thali lunch, which will keep you going through a full day of Fringe-ing.
L’Escargot Bleu
56 Broughton Street, lescargotbleu.co.uk
Elements of L’Escargot Bleu’s precision French menu may change with the seasons, but one thing is always guaranteed: the finest steak tartare in Edinburgh. Old theatre posters adorn the walls and the candlelit interior feels like you’re in a Lyon bouchon. Quite simply, one of Edinburgh’s most reliably solid restaurants.
Lucky Yu
53–55 Broughton Street, luckyyu.co.uk
Handmade gyoza and fusion bao buns are the focus at this laidback joint on Broughton Street. The interior is stripped back and airy, letting the flavour-packed food speak for itself. And speak it does: bao with sticky five-spice brisket is almost too good to share and Korean chicken wings are addictively sweet and spicy.
Mowgli Street Food
22 Hanover Street, mowglistreetfood.com
Nisha Katona’s Indian street food has landed in Edinburgh, where a fairy light-strewn former bank makes a fitting setting for her bright plates and bold spicing. Mix, match and share or take a chance on a chef-selected tiffin box; you can’t go wrong either way, although skipping the treacle tamarind fries will lead to buyers’ remorse.
New Chapter
18 Eyre Place, newchapterrestaurant.co.uk
The seasonal menu at New Chapter is all about Scottish produce, carefully crafted into fine-dining dishes. Specials featuring topdrawer ingredients like venison and perfectly seared scallops are usually offered. The wine list is considered, but perhaps try the Old Fashioned cocktail, served with smoky flair. Excellent private dining options for larger groups.
Tipo
110 Hanover Street, tipoedinburgh.co.uk
Up a set of stairs on Hanover Street, a window table at Tipo is a great chance to people-watch over a glass of crisp soave. Chef Stuart Ralston’s newest venture combines the smartcasual feel of a wine bar with Italian cooking. Follow the small plate trend or buck it completely with a filling bowl of strozzapreti and sausage ragù.
Artisan Roast
57 Broughton Street, artisanroast.co.uk
An Edinburgh institution, it’s testament to Artisan Roast’s exceptional quality that you’ll find their beans in cafés and restaurants across the capital. Branches have cropped up in Leith Walk, St James Quarter, Bruntsfield and Stockbridge, selling aromatic blends from all corners of the globe, but the wood-clad original is right here on Broughton Street.
Edinburgh Street Food Omni Centre, Leith Street, edinburgh-street-food.com
Got a group with dietary
requirements? No problem.
Edinburgh Street Food caters to all: Antojitos’ Mexican fare for vegans, multi award-winning Junk for the traditional Scottish fast-food palate, or The Peruvian for a bit of spice. App ordering at the long, shared tables inside (or with a Calton Hill view outside) keeps it convivial. Great fun.
Gulp Ramen
9 Albert Place, gulpramen.com
Steaming bowls of handmade noodles are served beneath vibrant murals at this wee Leith Walk joint. Portions are hearty but there’s a delicacy too; the French fine-dining flair of the shoyu ramen means it’s somewhere between a broth and a bisque, while there’s a South East Asian kick to the laksa-style veggie ramen.
Lowdown Coffee
40 George Street, lowdown.coffee
If you’re serious about coffee, it’s worth the pilgrimage to this basement spot on George Street. The staff know when a long pour might enhance flavour, and what blend goes best with oat milk. There’s also a mouthwatering array of cakes, with soup, sourdough and pomegranatespeckled avocado toast offering something a little more substantial.
One20 Wine Café
120 Dundas Street, one-20.co.uk
From breakfast coffee to a final glass of wine, this is one of the few places on Dundas Street where you can sit outside. The selection of Slovenian, Sicilian and Loire Valley whites are perfect on sunny days, while small plates have Italian flair with gooey burrata, charcuterie boards and lunchtime pasta dishes.
Singapore Coffee House
5 Canonmills, singaporecoffeehouse.co.uk
Discover the incredible diversity of Singaporean cuisine at this snug
new café, inspired by the chef’s childhood visits to traditional kopitiam (coffee shops). The roti canai is a must; a delicious buttery flaky flatbread with a rich curried sauce and pickled vegetables and peanuts. Pair it with a sweet cup of traditional kopi with condensed milk.
Urban Angel
121 Hanover Street, urban-angel.co.uk
Seasonal, local, brunchy-lunchy, coffee: it sounds so simple but this atmospheric basement café always adds up to so much more than the sum of its parts. It’s positively cavernous inside; don’t be put off by a queue, although competition for the outdoor tables is fierce. Get the chorizo skillet. Always.
The Basement
10a–12a Broughton Street, basement-bar-edinburgh.co.uk
Margaritas so deliciously sour they make your face pucker plus plates of fusion soft tacos make this subterranean bar super-popular. At times, it’s almost impossible to walk in and bag a table. But, as you’re licking homemade guacamole off your fingers and ordering another tipple from the huge tequila selection, you’ll know making that reservation was worth it.
The Bon Vivant
55–57 Thistle Street, bonvivantedinburgh.co.uk
A dark, candlelit interior inspires murmured conversation and slowly sipped gin and tonics. Delicate bar bites showcase some distinctly Scottish flavours (and are all around a fiver for those that like to share). Mains are the kind of indulgence you want to sit and enjoy, plus there’s a mean Sunday roast with all the trimmings.
The Keller
23–27 Broughton Street Lane, kellertaproom.com
One of the prettiest spots for a pint in the area, The Keller lures you down a dark alleyway with promises of delicious, micro-brewed hefeweizens and rich porters. Inside, you’ll find German beerhall-style long tables in the centre, a verdant greenhouse garden, cosy window nooks with a mini-library and swinging chairs suspended from the ceiling.
Pickles
60 Broughton Street, getpickled.co.uk
Once a basement hideaway that topped Tripadvisor lists, Pickles has grown into its larger rooms at street level without losing any of the romance. Dimly lit and atmospheric, charcuterie boards are piled high with locally sourced cured meats, cheeses and (of course) homemade pickles to accompany a vast wine list.
Edinburgh is great for veggies and vegans; it’s rare to find yourself at the wrong end of a mushroom risotto almost anywhere these days, but here’s our pick of the best places that are either 100% vegan, or almost there
CURRAN GEAL
20 Leven Street, instagram.com/curran.geal
A tiny café and deli, with sandwiches, soup, coffee and cake to eat in or takeaway, plus a handy range of groceries. Vegetarian options.
DAVID BANN
56–58 St Mary’s Street, davidbann.co.uk
This Edinburgh institution is still one of the few veggie places that feels a bit special, where you’d happily snuggle in for the evening. Vegetarian options.
FOODSTORY
127 Easter Road, foodstorycafe.co.uk
Funky wee café with strong environmental creds (bring your own container if you want a takeout) in the middle of on-the-up Easter Road. Vegetarian options.
HENDERSONS
7–13 Barclay Place, hendersonsrestaurant.com
After becoming one of the city’s higher-profile lockdown casualties, veggie pioneers Hendersons are back with this bright and stylish bistro space. Vegetarian options.
HOLY COW
34 Elder Street, holycow.cafe
Handily placed for the bus station and with later opening hours than many cafés, Holy Cow
specialise in vegan burgers and sandwiches. They also run the café at Edinburgh Printmakers.
NOVAPIZZA VEGAN ITALIAN KITCHEN
42 Howe Street, novapizza.co.uk
A pocket-sized Italian straddling the border of the New Town and Stockbridge. You’ll find pasta and a huge range of pizzas; they do gluten-free too.
PLANT BAE
220 Easter Road, heyplantbae.co.uk
Cute-as-a-button candy-coloured café with a range of waffles, pancakes, brunch dishes and bowls, plus their legendary brownies and bakes.
SEEDS FOR THE SOUL
167 Bruntsfield Place, seedsforthesoul.co.uk
From all-day breakfast through to dinner, this pleasingly rustic café-restaurant does a roaring trade serving the good people of Bruntsfield with seasonal, plantbased food.
SORA LELLA
13a Brougham Street, soralella.co.uk
This family-run restaurant proves it’s possible to reimagine classic Roman cooking without any animal products whatsoever. Pure Italian comfort food.
Truth be told, the festivals can feel like a distant dream in some parts of Leith, which can lead to a welcome change of pace. The festival experience here focuses around small indie venues: Leith Depot itself recently fought a glorious campaign against the developers to survive and is a stellar example of a community venue, with a lively bar, decent food and an August programme focusing mainly on live comedy. Across the road is the equally vibrant Leith Arches, with its pretty, fairy-light strewn café bar.
But you’re here for the food and drink, right? Good choice. There’s a lot going on at the lower end of Leith Walk, where you’ll find Woodland Creatures, a great wee bar with a hidden outdoor space. It’s across the road from Victoria Bar, a Swedish-themed pub with a strong beer selection and no kitchen; they’ll let you order a takeaway to your table though. The Mother Superior is a genuine wee place where they know their whisky inside out; ask for a recommendation. Mind you, Artisan Roast is practically next door if you want a coffee first though.
Heading down Constitution Street, Smoke & Mirrors is a gorgeous, friendly little pub. You’ll also find Chop House Leith and The Old Spence Café nearby, both worthy of your time. Proclaiming the best chippy in town is always fighting talk, but Pierinos is pretty good (and also the best chippy in town).
Around The Shore, Toast is a modern, unfussy wine bar and Borough are doing some pretty special things. That said, the volume of competition around The Shore (a pretty hub for bars, cafés and restaurants) means there are few duds. Well-loved names like The Shore and The Ship On The Shore make their homes here, but whatever you fancy, you’re probably going to be in safe hands.
Indian Street food, tandoori grill, curry’s, fresh mocktails and more.
10 Antigua Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3NH
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Antonietta
331 Leith Walk, antoniettaedinburgh.co.uk
A jazzy new replacement for La Favorita, Antonietta is a riot of colour with floral tiles and coral and teal walls. The food is bright and fun too; a pink beetroot and sage aioli tops the taleggio and squash arancini, and the pizzas are a twist on the usual.
Fingal
Alexandra Dock, fingal.co.uk
Luxurious, special and definitely not something to rush through, Fingal is Edinburgh’s floating hotel with accompanying restaurant and bar. It aims to evoke the glamour of a bygone age and afternoon tea in particular is a gorgeous way to while away a few hours. There’s really nowhere quite like it.
Fishers Leith
1 The Shore, fishersrestaurants.co.uk/fishers-leith
Set in an old watchtower on The Shore, Fishers balances specialoccasion surroundings with laid-back service and precision cooking. Whether you’re planning a (pre-ordered) hot shellfish platter blow-out, or just fancy a bowl of
mussels and fries at the bar, this is a restaurant for all seasons.
Origano
236 Leith Walk, origano-leith.co.uk
Handmade pasta and gourmet pizza are on the menu at this casual spot, which radiates Italian rusticana. A stone pizza oven roars away and the mood is set by flickering candlelight. Start with a piled-high meat or cheese board, then dive into cannelloni stuffed to bursting and spinacio pizza topped with a gently oozing egg.
Razzo Pizza
59 Great Junction Street, razzopizza.co.uk
Perfect Neapolitan pizzas prepared in a huge wood-fired copper oven by skilled pizza chefs: unbeatable. Order the melanzane with fried aubergine, pecorino and fior di latte, or napolitana with anchovies and capers, and pair your pizza with a glass of nero d’avola. Delivery drivers buzz in and out, but you won’t care.
Sabzi
162 Ferry Road, sabzistreetfood.com
Family-run Sabzi brings vibrant Punjabi street food and home-style favourites to north Edinburgh and the locals couldn’t be happier about it. The menu changes weekly, the dhal makhani is rich and delicious, and the masala haggis toastie with mango chutney just can’t be beaten. It closes at 8pm so get there early.
Chorrito Sauce Shop & Cantina
126 Leith Walk, chorritosauce.com
Take a seat at the tiled bar of this shiny new cantina and let the taco good times roll. The all-natural
August is all about the busy-busy, but sometimes it’s nice to just take the weight off and relax. When it’s time to bin off the Chekov, book ahead and spoil yourself with one of our indulgent fine dining choices
AURORA
187 Great Junction Street, auroraedinburgh.co.uk
The juxtaposition of busy Great Junction Street and the precise elegance of Aurora’s inventive tasting menu never fails to startle. Truly transporting food.
DEAN BANKS AT THE POMPADOUR
Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh –The Caledonian, Princes Street, deanbanks.co.uk
A fine-dining tasting menu that manages to be super-luxe without being fussy; Dean Banks brings a new lease of life to the prettiest dining room in town.
FHIOR
36 Broughton Street, fhior.com
This stripped-back Scandi-style restaurant puts Scottish produce at the heart of every plate, turning out beautiful, inventive dishes that revel in their own simplicity.
HERON
87–91a Henderson Street, heron.scot
Heron can’t put a foot wrong. This airy space with Water Of Leith views is home to some of Scotland’s best contemporary cooking and a shiny new Michelin star.
THE KITCHIN
78 Commercial Quay, thekitchin.com
There are no prizes for quietly
pursuing excellence daily; if there were, The Kitchin would definitely win. Sublime food and exquisite attention to detail.
THE LITTLE CHARTROOM
14 Bonnington Road, thelittlechartroom.com
A move to slightly off-the-beatentrack larger premises gave Roberta Hall-McCarron an even bigger stage to shine from. That it still feels so charmingly informal is even better.
THE LOOKOUT BY GARDENER’S COTTAGE
Observatory House, Calton Hill, thelookoutedinburgh.co
It’s a pull up the hill but the views are worth it. Save a little bit of your attention for the food though; it’s equally striking.
RESTAURANT MARTIN WISHART
54 The Shore, restaurantmartinwishart.co.uk
Restaurant Martin Wishart exemplifies luxury, classical technique and beautiful ingredients, and the veggie menu is equally carefully thought through.
TIMBERYARD
10 Lady Lawson Street, timberyard.co
Strictly local, strictly seasonal. Timberyard is celebrating its longoverdue Michelin star by sticking to what they’ve always done best: making the most of Scotland’s abundant larder.
hotsauces are made on-site; try them with hand-pressed tacos stuffed with roast cauliflower or slow-cooked pork. The Baja fish taco with red cabbage slaw and chipotle mayo is a particular highlight.
Cocorico
96 Jane Street, instagram.com/cocorico_leith
The Scots-French couple behind this place used to run the Water Of Leith Bistro, so if you’ve been missing their Cullen skink and croque monsieur, then this is where to find them. Cocorico combines restaurant skills with a relaxed café style, and cakes and pastries are a speciality: get the roast plum frangipane tart.
Krema Bakehouse
21 Leith Walk, instagram.com/kremabakehouse
Slabs of red velvet cake and a rainbow of photo-perfect cupcakes might tempt passers-by into this takeaway cake shop. But made-toorder brioche (topped with fresh strawberries, or perhaps vanilla cream and piped with a filling of your choice) is the star of the show.
Printworks Coffee
42 Constitution Street, instagram.com/printworks_coffee
A good strong coffee and an egg roll from Printworks is guaranteed to set you up for the day, although you may be tempted to just hang out at a sunny outside table all afternoon. Also on the menu: homemade soup, filled wraps and addictive chocolate tiffin, served up in an attractive, airy space.
Seb’s Urban Jungle
187–189 Leith Walk, instagram.com/sebsurbanjungle
This sleek, trendy spot offers casual brunch, coffee and cake amid lush, green foliage. Verdant houseplants (all for sale) create a botanical backdrop to light meals of feta and avo on freshly baked sourdough, accompanied by single-origin Brazilian coffees. Occasional plant care workshops with BYOB and hands-on guidance add to the fun.
Williams & Johnson
1 Customs Wharf, williamsandjohnson.com
You’ll find delicious small-batch single origin Williams & Johnson coffee available across Edinburgh, but it’s best enjoyed at source in this contemporary roastery and café. The stylish café leads straight into the vibrant Custom Lane exhibition space or grab a sunny table outside by the river. Don’t miss the homemade sourdough pastries.
Abode
229 Leith Walk, abodebarleith.co.uk
A cracking little neighbourhood bar with a great wine list and local beers on tap including Barneys and Campervan Brewery. Pop in for a
coffee, a glass of wine, or a sharing platter of Mellis’ cheese and East Coast Cured charcuterie. It’s a wee pub with a big heart.
Leith Arches Café Bar
6 Manderston Street, leitharches.com
Part of Leith Arches, where you’ll also find a handful of Fringe shows, this café bar feels like a retreat despite looking out onto the hustle of Leith Walk. Food is simple, staff are warm, beers are local and the wine list is short but perfectly adequate. A lovely place to lose yourself for an hour or two.
Lost In Leith Fermentaria
82 Commercial Street, campervanbrewery.com/lostinleith Run by local brewers Campervan, this spot has European canal-side vibes and gets plenty of sunshine. Alongside their own brews (aged onsite), you’ll find an eclectic global selection of low-intervention wines and beers, while pizza from Pizza Geeks across the road can be delivered straight to your table.
Mistral
10–12 Bonnington Road, mistral-leith.co.uk
Sample interesting wines from small European producers at this relaxed and unpretentious wine bar, where wines by the glass change regularly so there’s always something new. There’s a small but high-quality grazing menu to complement the wine: share some oysters or freshly made nduja and ricotta crostini.
Nauticus
142 Duke Street, nauticusbar.co.uk
With leather seats, dark panelling and expert bartenders in smart aprons, Nauticus has a timeless, sophisticated feel that’s ideal for a date night or quiet dram. The regularly changing cocktail menu champions Scottish drink producers
and takes inspiration from Leith’s maritime trading history, from spice routes to the whisky boom: don’t miss the house Whisky Mac.
Nobles
44a Constitution Street, noblesbarleith.co.uk
Stained-glass windows, nautical ephemera and a giant Björk print: Nobles shouldn't work, but it really does. This lovingly restored familyrun bar serves up some of the best pub food in Edinburgh. Enjoy a terrific Bloody Mary with brunch or explore the extensive delights of the à la carte menu in the evening.
Roseleaf
23–24 Sandport Place, roseleaf.co.uk
Cheery neighbourhood favourite Roseleaf is the place for a slap-up brunch or a hearty pub meal; their ‘big yin’ full cooked breakfast is legendary. Dishes and drinks are inspired by Leith: try the Banana Flat cocktail, featuring a vegan flatwhite martini with oat milk, Kahlua, espresso and banana liqueur.
Teuchters Landing
1a Dock Place, teuchtersbar.co.uk
This unpretentious bar has local beers on tap including Paolozzi lager and Moonwake IPA, which is brewed just yards away. Outside is a generous riverside beer garden and heat lamps, with warming mugs of stovies and a particularly fine whisky range to keep you nice and snug if the weather turns.
Three Marys
63–65 Henderson Street, instagram.com/threemarysleith
Billed as a neighbourhood cocktail bar, Three Marys is a stylish spot; all stained glass, dark florals and velvet, with a relaxed local pub vibe. Behind the horseshoe bar,
cocktail maestros will fix your favourites, and there’s a great range of local beers too, plus live jazz and blues every Thursday and Sunday.
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During August, I’m either chained to the Old Town or running as fast as I can in the opposite direction. There really is no in-between. On a show-heavy day, I’ll head to Salt Horse on Blackfriars Street, a small craft beer shop, bar and kitchen that’s candlelit, cosy and serves delicious classic bar snacks as well as great beer. Even in the height of August, it remains calm and collected; something I’m in desperate need of a few weeks into the festival.
On a rare day off, you may find me just off Leith Walk in Newbarns Brewery and Taproom. This marvellous space is perfectly off the beaten track, has a selection of pub games and is often frequented by adorable canines. You may also see me stuffing my face with Razzo Pizza, which can be ordered directly to the taproom from its restaurant around the corner. It’s the best pizza in Edinburgh: there, I said it.
Aformer church, Assembly Roxy’s three performance spaces will see a packed programme of around 30 different Fringe shows in August, with comedy, drama and circus all represented. Sitting pretty much smack bang between The Pleasance and the Festival Theatre means its pocket-sized outside courtyard is a perfect place for people-watching: it’s super-handy for everywhere else that matters too.
That means food and drink choices abound. Drummond Street is home to two decent Indian restaurants, Tuk Tuk and Solti, both of which will send you back into the world feeling pleasantly buzzed with spice. Black Medicine Coffee on the corner is ideal for that mid-afternoon slump. When it comes to fast, cheap fill-ups, proximity to the university means the area around South Bridge and Nicolson Street offers great options without resorting to the fast-food chains. Pizza Posto is one of the few places where you can get a pizza and change from a tenner, while Bento’s fresh sushi, poké bowls and hot bento boxes don’t compromise on ingredients. The Mosque Kitchen simply can’t be beaten for a healthy, cheap and huge plate of food, while 10 To 10 In Delhi is a Bedouin throw-strewn riot of colour and curry. For a change of pace, Dovecot Studios is a gorgeous, calm space with a cute wee café (and their Scottish Art and Aperitivo nights sound amazing). Continuing over towards The Pleasance, BBL (it stands for breakfast, brunch and lunch) has kept generations of students alive by doing exactly what it says on the tin and their vegan deli counter is good to know about if you’re planning any self-catering. A final wander up to St Leonard’s Street will bring you to another much-loved student haunt, The Auld Hoose, the home of Edinburgh’s largest nachos (allegedly) and its best jukebox (almost definitely).
The Black Grape
240 Canongate, theblackgrape.co.uk
Those familiar with Mexican stalwart Pancho Villas might be forgiven for thinking they’ve taken a wrong turn; The Black Grape has transformed this once-familiar space with Scandi-chic and muted green and grey tones. There’s both a casual bar and more traditional seating area to enjoy an extensive choice of wines and aperitivo, with luscious small sharing plates.
Hope Omurisu
80 Nicolson Street, hope-omurisu.com
You won’t find raw fish or sushi on the menu at Hope Omurisu. Bowls of thick udon topped with jammy eggs and rice bowls with seared beef are proper stomach-liners. The signature is the omurisu, a weirdly satisfying amalgamation of fried rice and cheese, encased in an omelette and covered in sticky sauce.
Macau Kitchen
93 St Leonard’s Street, macaukitchen.uk
Portuguese-Chinese fusion is this place’s USP, inspired by the street food of Macau, spices of Goa and tropical climes of Malacca. The
duck glazed in plum wine is worth a detour from wherever you are, corkage is reasonable and there’s really nothing like it anywhere else in the city.
Mother India's Café
3–5 Infirmary Street, motherindia.co.uk
This tapas-style Indian restaurant has been here for years but is busy every night for good reason. The paneer dosa is light and crisp, the spiced haddock is oven-baked and tender, and the chana dhal is beautifully aromatic. Go with a group, or a big appetite, to maximise ordering opportunities.
The Pakora Bar
111 Holyrood Road, thepakorabar.co.uk
A big and bright restaurant with banging pakora. Flavours range from aubergine to haggis; all are crisp and fresh. Try the lamb samosa chaat with spicy onions, chickpeas and yoghurt. The covered terrace outside is gorgeous on a warm day (and when the weather doesn’t oblige, just order extra chilli sauce).
Soul Vegan
46 West Richmond Street, soulvegan.uk
With links to the beloved Kampong Ah Lee, this wee vegan Malaysian is picture-perfect, with attentive staff and a street-food slanted menu that leans towards deeply comforting, homely dishes. Popular with the city’s student population, essentially this is a place to fill up for a reasonable price, while receiving a cuddle in plant-based bowl form.
Wedgwood
267 Canongate, wedgwoodtherestaurant.co.uk
Smart seasonal dining with a focus on Scottish produce. Locally foraged ingredients are a cornerstone of Paul Wedgwood’s
precision cooking: expect to see seaweeds, sea vegetables and nettles enlivening dishes of local game, meat and fish. Wedgwood is à la carte in the evenings with a goodvalue set lunch.
The Banh Mi Bar
3 The Arches, East Market Street, instagram.com/ banhmibaredinburgh
Serving up well-packed Vietnamese-inspired sandwiches in an old railway arch. You can’t beat the classic Hanoi: black pepper chicken, pickled carrot and daikon, garlic mayo, sriracha, salad and fresh herbs, though the vegan version with tofu comes a close second. The summer rolls and salads are excellent too. Plus there’s another shop in Bruntsfield.
Edinburgh Larder
15 Blackfriars Street, edinburghlarder.co.uk
Many cafés stick to the same menu all year round: not Edinburgh Larder. Expect truly seasonal produce and the best local meat and fish, transformed into delicious big breakfasts, soups, salads and daily specials. If you don’t have time to eat your way around Scotland, a visit here is an excellent shortcut.
Korean Munchies
26 Nicolson Street, koreanmunchies.co.uk
This Korean comfort-food haven is great for a quick tasty lunch. Pick up a bibimbap bowl with rice, crisp carrots, bean sprouts and radishes, topped with your choice of protein and a generous serving of smoky sweet gochujang sauce. They also do kimbap, Korea’s answer to sushi, or a crunchy sausage corn dog.
THE LIST EAT & DRINK TEAM
Edinburgh in the summer is my favourite place to be; long, light evenings, cafés and bars spilling on to the pavements and, of course, the joyful explosion of music, theatre and art. Between shows I’ll be hanging out in the sunny courtyard outside The Royal Dick at Summerhall with a Barneys IPA, or joining the queue at Mary’s Milk Bar for a gelato. At least one night this August I’ll treat myself to dinner at LeftField on Bruntsfield Links and hope that lobster is on the menu. The view of the sun setting over Arthur’s Seat and the Meadows from this gorgeous family-run bistro is peak Edinburgh to me. And when the city centre gets too crowded, I’ll retreat to Leith; now with added trams. I’ll head for a glass of orange wine and half a dozen oysters at Mistral, then go around the corner to Razzo Pizza for a bite.
Moo Pie Gelato
26 St Mary's Street, instagram.com/moopiegelato
A hole-in-the-wall ice-cream bar that’s well worth the ever-present queue. The gelato and sorbets are
If you couldn’t afford the seventy squillion pounds a night for digs at the heart of the action, or if you simply need to escape the madding crowds, these re-set options are no more than a wee bus or train ride away
THE CANNY MAN’S
237 Morningside Road, cannymans.co.uk
Not exactly off-the-beaten track, yet The Canny Man’s transports you to a different time and place with its unique, huge smørrebrød menu (open sandwiches).
THE FISHMARKET
23a Pier Place, thefishmarketnewhaven.co.uk
The Fishmarket is a lovely restaurant, but locals prefer to join the queue, grab a fish supper and sit by the harbour at Newhaven, watching the sunset.
MILK AT EDINBURGH SCULPTURE WORKSHOP
21 Hawthornvale, cafemilk.co.uk
A wee walk or cycle along the Newhaven path brings you to Milk, where there’s a compact but interesting all-day menu. Or just grab a coffee and continue on your merry way.
MIRO’S ON THE PROM
25–25a Promenade, mirosportobello.co.uk
A cheery seaside spot that moves seamlessly between breakfast, afternoon coffee, small bites and more substantial meals, right by the beach in Portobello.
OSTERIA DEI SAPORI
2–4 Bridge Road, osteriadeisapori.co.uk
Colinton village is a rewarding place for a quiet bimble; pubs, parks and
street art abound. Reward yourself at this elegant Italian with their delicious seafood options.
PORTO & FI
47 Newhaven Main Street, portofi.com
A cute neighbourhood deli/café/ bistro in picturesque Newhaven, Porto & Fi attracts a fiercely loyal crowd of locals for their homely, delicious food. Later opening at weekends.
SMITH & GERTRUDE
254 Portobello High Street, smithandgertrude.com
Neighbourhood wine bar with a relaxed vibe, interesting wine and expert, approachable staff; the cheese and wine flights are a great way to wind-down.
THIRTY KNOTS
2 Newhalls Road, South Queensferry, thirtyknotssouthqueensferry.co.uk
A short train journey brings you to this crowd-pleasing bar-restaurant, with a huge outdoor terrace where you can see the sea and count the bridges across the Forth.
THE WEE RESTAURANT
17 Main Street, North Queensferry, theweerestaurant.co.uk
A 22-minute train ride brings you to the pretty village of North Queensferry, where The Wee Restaurant serves excellent local produce in a cosy restaurant.
made fresh daily in a changing array of flavours. Try a twist on a 99 with milk gelato, dulce de leche sauce and chunks of caramelised waffle, or the magically rich and creamy dark chocolate sorbet.
Noodles & Dumplings
23 South Clerk Street
The clue is in the name: you even know what to order. Dig in to hearty bowls of soup noodles and generous plates of boiled or fried dumplings at this authentic northern Chinese restaurant. You won’t go wrong with the garlic beef flank noodles; the meat is slow cooked and the noodles handmade.
Palmyra
22 Nicolson Street, palmyrapizza.co.uk
A student staple but still the best Mediterranean-style falafel wraps around. Go for a toasted khobz wrap with crisp falafel, fresh salad, creamy hummus, and if you’re greedy, extra baba ghanoush. The chicken and doner kebabs are also highly rated and saviours of many a late-night, slightly too-wellrefreshed outing.
Rocksalt Café
10 Jeffrey Street, instagram.com/ rocksaltcafe_edinburgh
It’s always brunch time at Rocksalt: flaky pastries, loaded eggs benedict, decadent stacks of pancakes and chilli avocado toast are the house specialities. Later in the day, tuck into big burgers or mac and cheese. A second branch on Constitution Street in Leith is also great for a sunny coffee stop.
Soul Sushi
126 Nicolson Street, soulsushi.co.uk
A simple sushi spot with a few tables to perch at and plenty to grab-and-go if you’re in a hurry. A blackboard details where the fish has come from, and the sushi is made fresh all day. Scottish salmon and avocado rolls are a favourite and the vegetarian selection is strong too.
Holyrood 9a
9a Holyrood Road, theholyrood.co.uk
If you need a burger and a beer, look no further. At Holyrood 9a they serve hearty ‘two-handed gourmet burgers’. Try the Scotsman; a steak burger with haggis, rocket and whisky peppercorn mayo. On tap you’ll find the best of Edinburgh’s breweries including Newbarns, Pilot and Vault City Brewing sours. It’s a busy, buzzy haunt.
Holyrood Distillery
19 St Leonard’s Lane, holyrooddistillery.co.uk
Handily placed for a pint after a stroll up Arthur’s Seat or a Pleasance show, the sunny courtyard bar at Holyrood Distillery is also
easy striking distance from the city centre. Find crisp Pilot beers on tap, Vault City Brewing sours by the can, and cocktails based on the distillery’s own award-winning Height Of Arrows gin.
Salt Horse
57–61 Blackfriars Street, salthorse.beer
With 12 beers on tap and over 200 by the bottle or can, Salt Horse is a beer lover’s dream. Knowledgeable staff will help you navigate the huge range of options and find something you’ll love. There’s a small, well-curated wine and spirits list, a burger-based bar menu and the cutest beer garden too.
Tipsy Midgie
67 St Leonard’s Hill, tipsymidgie.com
Colin Hinds’ whisky bar manages to convey all the romance of the water of life without the hokum. With suggested drams, tastings and latenight tutored whisky flights, this is a bar where they’ll take you by the hand and guide you through the myths to find a whisky you actually like. Gin, wine and cocktails also available.
Waverley Bar
3–5 St Mary's Street, waverleybar.co.uk
It’s creaky, it’s dark and there are only three taps: Tennent’s, Best and Guinness. The Waverley has watched every pub trend from gilded kitsch to Scandi-chic and said ‘no ta’. If there isn’t live folk music on upstairs, you’re nearly always guaranteed a seat and, don’t worry; these days there are bottled craft beers alongside a big whisky and gin selection.
From Pickering’s Social on the Square* to Champagne Brunch at the Brasserie, whether grabbing a drink with colleagues or catching up with friend at the weekend, there is something for everyone at One Square Bar + Brasserie.
Stylish and relaxed, enjoy signature menus, speciality cocktails and over 100 different gin varieties.
BOOK NOW AT WWW.ONESQUAREEDINBURGH.CO.UK
For a truly Scottish experience with a modern twist, come to Kyloe for lunch or dinner.
THE LIST EXCLUSIVE OFFER
Quote ‘FESTIVAL 2023’ when booking to include a bottle of wine with your meal.
T&Cs: Minumum of two people enjoying a main meal or famous Kyloe steak. Offer ends 31 August 2023. Sommelier’s choice of wine from our cellar.
1-3 Rutland Street . Edinburgh . EH1 2AE 0131 229 3402 . info@kyloerestaurant.com . kyloe.com
*Fortnightly on a Thursday 5pm – 8pm
The Queen’s Hall sits on a busy, and not exactly bonny, street but inside you’ll find a beautifully preserved Georgian church with stunning original features and excellent acoustics. Home year-round to intimate concerts, they’re gearing up for an eclectic August with a mix of International Festival music, drag . . . and Jerry Sadowitz. Summerhall is also nearby, a major Fringe venue programming some of the most interesting theatre around. As urban as the setting may be, The Queen’s Hall is practically sandwiched between two of Edinburgh’s most treasured green spaces, The Meadows and Holyrood Park, so there’s plenty to explore.
It’s close to Edinburgh Uni too, which means student-focused bargains for a cheap bite on the go or takeaway: Soi 38 is brilliant for spicy, filling and good-value Thai, while Sofia’s Lounge does a wide range of reliable Lebanese options. You’ll probably spot a Bonnie Burrito van as you move around the city; they also have a shop on South Clerk Street where they sling burritos that are bigger than your head, but much tastier. If Indian food hits your spot, Tanjore is a brilliant shout. Their dosas are possibly the best in town, the welcome is warm and the BYOB makes for a bargain. If you’re moving in a pack, Tapas3 does a familiar range of tapa that work particularly well for group ordering.
For a change of pace, take a walk through The Meadows and surrounding streets. Roseneath Street is home to the ever-reliable The Rabbit Hole, a cosy neighbourhood bistro that offers a seriously good value set lunch. Sugar Daddy’s Bakery is nearby (everything there is cute, yummy and 100% gluten free) and The Earl Of Marchmont is on the corner, a friendly wee bar where you’ll almost certainly encounter a pooch or two before heading back to the madness.
Café Andamiro
113 Buccleuch Street, cafe-andamiro.co.uk
This casual spot combines Korean and Japanese dining. There’s sushi on the menu, but it’s the hot, latenight dining dishes that this place does best: think simmering hot pots, okonomiyaki sprinkled with bonito flakes and sizzling bulgogi served on a griddle plate. Their sweet treats are a delight too.
Junk
58 South Clerk Street, wearejunk.co.uk
After winning a clutch of street food accolades, Junk has expanded
THE LIST EAT & DRINK TEAM
Mooching about between shows, often three pints of cider to the wind, I’m always looking for something fast, filling and full of flavour. Nothing beats a bowl of ramen for all three. If I’m down Leith way it’ll be Gulp Ramen for their handmade noodles and rich broth. If I’m up by the uni, Ikigai Ramen on West Crosscauseway has the hole-in-the-wall, latenight-Tokyo feel I love. I’ve also recently discovered Satoru, where soupy bowls of udon noodles are topped with their speciality light and crispy tempura.
For a pint between shows, I’ve been going to The Dagda Bar since I was a student. It’s properly cosy, unpretentious and has a big selection of single malts. If it’s a celebration or I want to be a bit fancy, I’ll always suggest BABA on George Street. The grilled whole seabass is a crowd-pleaser and I find myself thinking of their pomegranate-speckled labneh when I’m alone and hungry.
into this wine bar-like permanent spot. Pun-tastic dishes and artfully presented small plates populate the evening service, with a democratically priced fixed menu. The service is charming, the cocktails are banging and this is definitely not your average junk.
Kampong Ah Lee
28 Clerk Street, kampongahlee.co.uk
Kampong Ah Lee is always a busy little place where you can grab flavour-packed Malaysian food. The chicken satay is drowning in sauce and spicy bowls of laksa warm the back of the throat. You can order a cooling bottle of Tiger beer or BYOB. Fun, fast and casual.
Kim’s Mini Meals
5 Buccleuch Street, instagram.com/kimsminimeals
No bookings and no takeaway here; just show up, queue up and eat up some of the best bibimbap in town, served in sizzling stone bowls and topped with a raw egg, as it should be. This family-style joint makes you feel like you’re eating in someone’s front room and that’s very much part of the charm.
On Bap
57 Clerk Street
Bibimbap topped with a gooey fried egg, bubbling Korean curries and crisp dumplings are fast and filling at On Bap. It won’t win any awards for décor, but it’s ideal if you’re in a hurry. The meat is halal and there are plenty of vegan and veggie options.
Pomelo
21c Strathearn Road, instagram.com/cafe_pomelo
A tiny restaurant that’s big on flavour and well worth the table squeeze. Order as much of the menu as you can but don’t miss the handripped noodles: chewy, spicy and singing with Sichuan peppercorns, topped with either roast vegetables or braised pork. Pair with zingy cucumber salad and a mocktail (or BYOB).
Satoru
45 St Patrick Square, instagram.com/satoru.edinburgh
This is Japanese cuisine as it should be: a select menu specialising in one delicacy. In Satoru’s case, it’s tempura. Topping umami-rich bowls of udon and accompanying saucy rice bowls, light and crisp battered prawns and vegetables are the star of the show. The décor is simple yet effective, just like each perfectly presented dish.
Alby’s Southside
94 Buccleuch Street, albysleith.co.uk Big. Hot. Sandwiches. Huge wedges of fluffy focaccia with hot fillings like fried chicken caesar or halloumi with baba ghanoush make up the
Children are welcome in practically all restaurants in Edinburgh, but do check with individual bars before bringing the ankle-biters along. Here’s our pick of the places that do a lot more than tolerate the smallies
BERTIE’S RESTAURANT & BAR
9 Victoria Street, bertiesfishandchips.com
There’s a proud history of fish and chips here, but your kids won’t care. Instead, they’ll be tearing into a huge mound of proper chippy chips. And that’s OK.
CORO THE CHOCOLATE CAFÉ
13 Frederick Street, corochocolate.co.uk
Maybe one for when you’re entertaining someone else’s kids, Coro is a shrine to everything chocolatey from thick shakes to waffles to ice-cream to hot choccy.
DI GIORGIO CAFFÉ & BAR
1 Brandon Terrace, digiorgio.homesteadcloud.com
Handily placed between a park, the Botanics and the Water Of Leith, this friendly family-run café makes for a perfect refuelling stop.
FRANCO MANCA
1 Deanhaugh Street, francomanca.co.uk
This popular pizza chain hasn’t lost sight of its sourdough creds. There’s plenty of seating and it’s a great stop-off for teens plundering the excellent nearby charity shops.
THE GARDEN BISTRO
Saughton Rose Gardens, 60b Ford’s Road, thegardenbistro.co.uk
This peaceful café-bistro is a short bus ride from the centre of town. It’s next to a huge park with one of Scotland’s largest skateparks.
LUCA’S
16 Morningside Road, lucasicecream.co.uk
Yes, the ice-cream is famous but this cheery café also does a full Italian-slanted menu with plenty of crowd-pleasers and mini pastas and pizzas.
MCLARENS ON THE CORNER
8 Morningside Road, mclarensonthecorner.co.uk
There are lots of different seating areas in this crowd-pleasing venue but your kids will only want to sit in the ski gondolas: plan ahead.
THE SCRAN & SCALLIE
1 Comely Bank Road, scranandscallie.com
Tom Kitchin’s gastropub works hard to welcome younger diners; there’s a simple kids’ menu and they’ll adapt main menu items too.
THE STORYTELLING CAFÉ
Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43 – 45 High Street, scottishstorytellingcentre.com
As the name suggests, this is a tranquil, roomy stop-off on the busy Royal Mile, where you might also happen across a child-friendly performance or two.
precision menu at this small spot on Buccleuch Street (you’ll find the original in Leith). Dine in at the scattering of seats or take out and enjoy on The Meadows next door. Be warned: portions are massive.
August 21
89 Causewayside, instagram.com/august_21cafe
With a steady roster of events, dos and super-friendly staff, August 21 feels like a community café. The counter is laden with home-baked cakes, filled bagels and sandwiches to accompany coffees in cute teacups. The botanicadappled window seats are the best spots in the house.
Considerit
3–5a Sciennes, consideritchocolate.com
Offering a range of delicious vegan doughnuts, ice-cream and chocolate, Considerit is the perfect place for a plant-based pick-me-up. Topped with pretzels, fresh strawberries and gooey with rich fillings, the doughnuts are the highlight, but frothy coffees and indulgent frappuccino without the dairy are also worth a look in.
Cult Coffee
104 Buccleuch Street, cultcoffeeroasters.com
If the exposed brickwork and industrial-chic vibes don’t hint at
this coffee shop’s hipster status, the coffee paraphernalia for sale might offer another clue. It’s a wee warren of rooms inside, with laptop-friendly bars tucked away downstairs and the smell of freshly baked banana bread drifting from the kitchen.
Kate’s
116 Causewayside, instagram.com/kates_edinburgh
Kate’s is one of those places you’d rather stayed off the radar. Nearly everything at this bakery-café is
homemade, from the elderflower cordial used to soak sponges to the rhubarb jam that accompanies the scones. Cakes and bakes are seasonal, making the most of Scotland’s natural larder.
Lady And The Bear
1 Hope Park Terrace, ladyandthebear.co.uk
When the sun shines, it’s possible that this Meadows-adjacent café is the brightest spot in the city. The selection of hot chocolates
is positively sinful and the signature dirty chai latte is like a hot milkshake, but with caffeine. An array of Greek-style baking and lunch options are also available.
Victor Hugo Deli
26–27 Melville Terrace, victorhugodeli.com
It’s been here on The Meadows since 1969 (though there are now two newer locations in George Street and The Shore) and it’s retained its charm. Gleaming cabinets display sandwiches, cakes and pastries, with coffee roasted in-house. Sit in the sun and order the house special: pastrami on rye with sweet gherkins and emmental cheese.
The Dagda Bar
93–95 Buccleuch Street
Real ales that need a bit of muscle to pour and a shimmering collection of single malts mean this stalwart on Buccleuch Street still feels like a proper pub. Dark-wood features and big Dickensian-vibe windows set the tone. It’s a spot for an atmospheric pre-show drink (they don’t do food).
✤ Theatre and cinema workshops (coming soon)
love to bring to our customers the best products in the market, therefore our ingredients are carefully selected by the best producers in Scotland, the UK and abroad.
The Dog House
18–24 Clerk Street, instagram.com/ thedoghouseedinburgh
A friendly, quirky and lively bar that’s much frequented by Edinburgh’s students. There’s always an interesting food pop-up on the go here; right now it’s vegan-Mexican faves Antojitos.
The bric-a-brac décor makes it one of the funkiest spots for a pre-show pint in the area and there are lots of events too.
The Royal Dick 1 Summerhall, summerhall.co.uk Summerhall is a mighty Fringe venue, but don’t forget the charms
of The Royal Dick, its very own courtyard bar. Completely trafficfree and with ample seating, naturally Pickering’s Gin and Barney’s Beer (both produced onsite) feature heavily on the drinks list. The menu is straightforward and there are usually a few extra vans and pop-ups around in August.
The Urban Fox
19–21 Causewayside, the-urban-fox.com
If you’re dining at The Urban Fox, you’ll not leave hungry, whether that’s a towering burger at tea time or a stacked brunch to start the day. The vibe is laid-back neighbourhood pub with loads of craft beers to choose from. If you're lucky, you might just bag a seat outside to sip a cocktail or two amid the greenery.
Southpour
1–5 Newington Road, southpour.co.uk
Big brunches, big burgers and big windows draw folk to Southpour at this southern end of town. Evening meals are a little fancier than pub grub, with sea bass and pork belly on the menu. The fairy-lit interior makes this a delightful spot for a cocktail or craft beer.
18 South Clerk Street, zerozerowines.co.uk
Tunes via the record player and lights turned down low give this petit spot on South Clerk Street an intimate feel. The wine list is all natural, with a big selection of orange wine. Charcuterie boards of oozing brie and cured meats come courtesy of local heroes IJ Mellis and East Coast Cured.
For many Fringe-goers, the area around Gilded Balloon Teviot (or Teviot Row House) is the heart of the August experience. Home to Edinburgh University Students’ Association, it’s a rabbit warren of venues large and small with indoor bars and outdoor gardens aplenty. Underbelly, Pleasance and Assembly also take a slice of the various uni buildings clustered around this area. The International Book Festival’s new(ish) home is five minutes away at Edinburgh College Of Art; its courtyard makes a lovely spot for some downtime while you wait for your favourite author to appear.
Much of this area is pedestrianised, so in August the walk between Bristo Square and George Square is lined with street-food vendors and pop-up bars making it easy to grab, eat and head to your next show. But you’re also in the heart of the city; options abound. Heading out to Potterrow will bring you to the often-packed San Chuan, or go around the corner to Beirut for reliable Lebanese fare. If you’re serious about coffee, Union Brew Lab on South College Street is going to be home; their meticulous brews will put the ginger in your spice. And if you’re grabbing and going, soup café Union Of Genius is perfect for getting some nutrition in.
A five-minute walk brings you to atmospheric Victoria Street where you’ll find a clutch of stalwarts, including The Grain Store, Howies and Maison Bleue. If you’re simply after a pint and some standard pub grub, the broad pavements of Grassmarket are filled with tables spilling out of the bars that line the street. French restaurant Petit Paris is a standout though, particularly at lunch where their fixed price menu is bargainous, tasty and très Française. Finally, Mary’s Milk Bar is worthy of both the hype and the time you’ll spend standing in line for their always innovative, always smooth ice-cream.
Civerinos Slice
49 Forrest Road, civerinosslice.com
Inspired by New York’s slice joints, Civs usually has around 15 different pizzas on the pass, most available by the slice or pie. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’ll be short-changed by a slice though; the portions are as generous as the staff are good-natured. The original Civerinos is in nearby Hunter Square and an equally good call.
El Cartel Mexicana
15–16 Teviot Place, elcartelmexicana.co.uk
A regularly changing menu of around
MY PICKS
THE LIST EAT & DRINK TEAM
If I’m out and about early near Summerhall, Millers Sandwich
Bar is my first stop for a huge breakfast roll and the best tattie scone in town. I commute by train, so if I want an evening away from the crazy it’s dinner at The Palmerston followed by a pint at The Mad Hatter before heading home from Haymarket. In town, The Keller is the place I avoid writing about in case I can’t get a Saturday night table anymore, but it’s pretty much my perfect bar; fairy lights, great crowd, lovely staff and they brew their own beer.
But my August is usually defined by hopping about the Old Town: street food and cider in plastic glasses from a venue’s pop-up, coffee from the brilliant Coffee Saints at the Grassmarket Project, and a proper glass of something proper nice at Hotel du Vin’s courtyard bar when I just need a tiny minute to breathe.
half a dozen bright and breezy tacos, half a dozen antojitos, frozen margs on the chiller, ear-bleeding hip hop and perhaps the best guac in town has helped El Cartel steal a place in Edinburgh’s heart. A second, bigger, branch in Roxburgh Court has a kids’ menu, handy for spice-avoiding ankle-biters.
Eve Virgin Hotels, 1 India Buildings, Victoria Street, virginhotels.com
A show-stopping space for food, drinks and dancing within the shiny new Virgin hotel, Eve is working hard to find its place with an upfor-it crowd who are just as likely to be shaking their tailfeathers to a weekend DJ set as they are to settle in for good value lunches, small plates or weekend brunches.
Koyama
20 Forrest Road
In a city where Japanese food often means communal benches, manga murals and focusing on one type of dish, there’s something refreshingly peaceful about Koyama’s gold walls, red banquettes and menu covering a lot of the bases. The sushi is meltingly soft, the tempura pleasingly crispy: it all adds up to a pleasant, relaxing meal.
The Outsider
15–16 George IV Bridge, theoutsiderrestaurant.com
It’s not easy being an Edinburgh institution; The Outsider manages it with aplomb thanks to its cracking lunch deal, contemporary space, witty wine list and a menu that feels modern, without mistaking trends for flavour. When a flat iron steak and glass of wine is what you need, this is where you want to be.
Paolozzi Restaurant & Bar
59–61 Forrest Road, paolozzirestaurantandbar.co.uk
This partnership between Edinburgh Beer Factory and Gino Stornaiuolo (formerly of Nonna’s Kitchen) has got it all going on. Deceptively huge inside, there’s cracking art, small plates, gorgeous pasta and crisp pizza, all (naturally) accompanied by their own brews. The place goes like the clappers and the staff are unfailingly cheery. What’s not to love?
Saboteur
19–20 Teviot Place, saboteurrestaurant.com
Described as South East Asian on the menu (though with a heavy lean towards Vietnam), this studentfocused diner-style venue does a mean line in pho, while their sides and small boxes cover off some of the world’s most popular street-food faves. Always busy, always lively, the tunes bang and the servers are friendly.
Ting Thai Caravan
8–9 Teviot Place, tingthai-caravan.com
You’ll see the crowds before you spot the sign for the original branch of this funky, casual Thai street food restaurant. The queue moves briskly
though, and before you know it, you’ll be tucked up against the window enjoying a box or bowl of something delicious. A liberal hand with the spicing means Ting Thai is never dull.
Coffee Saints
The Grassmarket Centre, 86 Candlemaker Row, coffeesaints.co.uk
This vibrant social enterprise café within the equally brilliant Grassmarket Project can’t help but put a smile on your face with its sunshine-yellow branding. Breakfast runs all day, there’s a range of simple sandwiches at lunch and every penny supports some of Edinburgh’s most marginalised communities. Also at Little King Street.
Ikigai Ramen
13 West Crosscauseway, ikigairamen.co.uk
Just like the slurp-and-go ramen holes of Shinjuku, this tucked-away spot is tiny inside. There’s usually a queue and it’s not the kind of place for chatty, lingering meals. As in Tokyo, you grab your bowl of noodles soaked in the richest dashi (broth) you’re likely to taste, slurp up and move on, sated and happy.
The Milkman
7 & 52 Cockburn Street,
themilkman.coffee
Handily, there are two Milkman branches on Cockburn Street, one at the top and one at the bottom. Both are atmospheric Old Town beauties with nooks to coorie into while you dispatch your morning coffee and pastry. Some of Scotland’s best speciality roasters are on the grinder, but there’s no pretension from the knowledgeable staff.
Scran Bistro
7–9 North Bridge Arcade, scranbistro.com
Scran seem to have completely taken over the North Bridge Arcade with a warren of individual spaces to enjoy their near-legendary all-day breakfasts as well as hefty portions of burgers, nachos and loaded fries, plus cocktails. Tables spill out into the street and it’s a busy, buzzy place to hang out. Also at George IV Bridge.
Soderberg The Meadows
27 Simpson Loan, Quartermile, soderberg.uk
A familiar name as you meander around Edinburgh, Soderberg’s Swedish-themed cafés and bake shops all do a mean line in rocketfuel coffee and cardamom buns. This bright, glass box with plenty of outdoor seating is always popular; their Pavilion Café is just round the corner at Lister Square if you fancy an evening meal.
Thomas J Walls Coffee
35 Forrest Road
It’s not hard to see why this attractive coffee shop (a former
opticians; they kept the name) is a perennial student favourite. Excellent coffee, fresh juice and a simple brunch-focused menu (the sriracha benny is highly recommended) with a few sandwiches rounding things off makes for a high-quality pitstop.
The Wall Coffee And Design House
45 Cockburn Street, thewallcoffee.com
Cockburn Street is great for people watching, and The Wall thoughtfully provides tonnes of greenery inside to hide behind while you’re doing it. Or be blatant and grab a sunny table outside. Either way, this is a pretty place with a broad menu of toasties, salads and bagels and a pictureperfect display of cakes.
56 North
2 West Crosscauseway, fiftysixnorth.co.uk
There’s an enormous range of gins at this spacious bar with a generous outdoor terrace; they also distil their own. There’s an easy-going food menu, plenty of room for a crowd and a separate enclosed outdoor space called the Secret Garden during the Festival. Brunch (and the associated easy-drinking Mimosa and Spritz) runs all day.
The Bow Bar
80 West Bow, thebowbar.co.uk
Hip joints come and go, but The Bow Bar endures. You’ll find nothing trend-led here; just a well-kept cellar, huge array of whiskies and some Jarvis Pickle pies (if hungry, look out for the ‘nae pies left’ sign before you go in). A gorgeous traditional bar in one of Edinburgh’s bonniest streets.
Cold Town House
4 Grassmarket, coldtownhouse.co.uk
Pub views don’t come better than this. Perched high above Grassmarket (and practically next door to Dance Base), Cold Town House’s roof terrace offers cocktails, their own icy cold beer, hot pizza and loaded fries, with unfettered views of the castle. Incredibly popular when the sun shines, this is one to book ahead.
Paradise Palms
41 Lothian Street, theparadisepalms.com
A lively bar that doesn’t take itself too seriously, Paradise Palms is great fun. Food (by Lucky Pig) is all veggie, with tonnes of vegan options and they do a mean French Martini too (an underrated skill). One of those places where you can pop in for lunch and find yourself still there at last orders (true story).
Sandy Bell’s
25 Forrest Road, sandybells.com
During August when every man and their dog put on a show in their front room, remember bars like Sandy Bell’s who put on live folk music sessions every single day of the year, come rain, shine or tourists. A traditional bar much prized by locals, look out for their unbeatably priced malt of the month.
Under The Stairs
3a Merchant Street, underthestairs.org
It’s easy to miss the entrance to this homely, shabby-chic bar hidden in the shadows of George IV Bridge, but that would be a mistake. Under The Stairs somehow manages to pull off a neighbourhood bar feel in the middle of tourist-central, with good cocktails, a compact but thoughtful wine list, an interesting menu and some of the city’s friendliest staff.
EDINBURGH FOOD FESTIVAL
21–30 July
George Square Gardens, edfoodfest.com
George Square gears up for August with this food festival dedicated to all things delicious. You’ll find stalls from Caravan Of Courage, The Falafel Stop, Chick + Pea and Kebbabar, as well as sweet treats from Wholly Waffles and The Funnel Cake Co. Panther M*lk, Bellfield Brewery and Bacchus Sangria Bar will be keeping everyone refreshed, and there’s a producers’ market, with daily events in the Treehouse Kitchen rounding things off.
FOODIES FESTIVAL
4–6 August
Inverleith Park, foodiesfestival.com
There’s a big focus on chefs at Foodies, with a varied line-up featuring local heroes, TV stars and Masterchef finalists. Well-kent local faces include Gary McLean, Dean Banks, Dale Mailley, Rhiain Gordon and Paul Wedgwood, with Great British Bake Off stars promised for The Cake & Bake Theatre. Rounded off with live music, street food vans, bar pop-ups, a drinks theatre and kids’ cookery classes, there’s plenty to keep everyone well-fed and happy.
LUNARPALOOZA
28–30 July
6a Tower Street, moonwakebeer.com
The surge of small-scale breweries in the city has had a very pleasing side effect: more beer festivals. Moonwake’s Lunarpalooza will feature 24 taps pouring beers from the UK and further afield, supported by the Banh Mi Brothers and Guisados who’ll keep everyone fed over the course of a long weekend down by the Water Of Leith. Moonwake’s Taproom has been quietly building a bit of a buzz, so this is a perfect excuse to check it out for yourself.
THE NEIGHBOURGOOD MARKET
Until 23 July
Edinburgh Accies Ground (entry via Portgower Place), instagram. com/theneighbourgoodmarket
This pre-festival warm-up for some of Scotland’s best-loved street food vendors has become a bit of a tradition (not least because it’s usually actually sunny in July). Neighbourgood takes over this Stockbridge rugby ground with giant deckchairs, cool tunes and the occasional quiz night. They also rotate vendors; trucks for their final cycle were still under wraps as we went to press, but expect fierce flavours and familiar favourites.
Hurrah! Festival time extends to food too. Dig out the elasticated waistbands and enjoy our round-up of this summer’s prime food and drink festivalsIf Edinburgh can be said to have a theatreland, it’s based around the Usher Hall, with the Lyceum Theatre and Traverse Theatre forming a solid block of city culture. The Usher Hall’s near-perfect acoustics mean it’s a hub for orchestral performances for Edinburgh International Festival, while both the Trav and Lyceum will offer new writing and thought-provoking theatre for the Fringe, as well as their own International Festival highlights. Just over the road you’ll find Edinburgh International Conference Centre, going large on musicals.
So there’s plenty to tempt you to this corner of the world, but what about the grub? If you want a quick pitstop then Lothian Road is home to the familiar chains, with Wagamama, Topolabamba and German Doner Kebab all reliable, if predictable, choices for a quick feed. If what you’re longing for is peaceful air-conditioned splendour then the Sheraton Hotel and Waldorf Astoria are also close at hand. Both have airy spaces where it might be possible to forget you’re sharing the streets with a few million other people; The Waldorf Astoria (known to locals as The Caley) is also home to Mark Greenaway’s excellent eponymous restaurant. From there, cross the road to Queensferry Street and you’ll happen across Dulse, Dean Banks’ gorgeous seafood restaurant and bar.
Heading up Lothian Road will bring you to Hey Palu on Bread Street, a compact Italian bar with rather excellent Negronis and aperitivo. If that’s whetted your appetite, keep going; you’re nearly in Tollcross, a busy, traffic-noisy city corner with some excellent, and cheap, food options. Dumplings Of China and Street Of Beijing (beloved of the city’s Asian community) will both see you right, while Bennets Bar and Home are both great options for a pint.
BABA
130 George Street, baba.restaurant BABA is a great spot for big groups. There’s a selection of mezze plates you can’t stop picking at, as well as feasting dishes from the grill, including an entire seared sea bream dripping with flavour, or a rose-pink côte de boeuf. Dishes are laden with spices from the Levant and can be washed down with tasty craft cocktails.
Bentoya
13 Bread Street, bentoya-edinburgh.com
On busy Bread Street (handy for the Tattoo as well as venues around Lothian Road), Bentoya has had a facelift. Lightwood Japanese zen now successfully clashes with J-pop tunes while the food remains their fusion of classic sushi with experimental twists, plus ramen, udon and donburi. Reservations essential.
Chizuru Tei
278 Morrison Street, chizurutei.co.uk
Maybe it’s the unassuming décor that keeps this spot off-radar, but it’s undoubtedly a bonus that (probably) the best sushi in Edinburgh remains a bit of a secret. The fish is so fresh
it could have come from Tokyo’s famed Tsukiji market that morning, while bento boxes, variety platters and a small corkage for BYOB keeps the bill pleasingly low.
Harajuku Kitchen
10 Gillespie Place, harajukukitchen.co.uk
A funky interior and some of the sharpest staff in the city keep this place feeling on-trend despite its pedigree as a stalwart of Gillespie Place. The usual Californian-style sushi rolls (dragon, spider, rainbow) are served refreshingly chilled and the sashimi tastes as light as spring water. There’s a takeout truck at St James Quarter too.
Hope Izakaya
40–41 Queensferry Street, hopeomurisu-izakaya.com
The traditional Japanese cry of ‘irasshaimase!’ greets you as you step into this Queensferry Street joint styling itself on a Japanese izakaya. Fittingly, dishes mirror late-night dining in Tokyo; like rice bowls topped with eel, or slowcooked pork heavy on the sauce. Plus, there’s an array of beer snackstyle kushiyaki (everything grilled on a stick).
Kyloe
1–3 Rutland Square, kyloerestaurant.com
Proudly championing ethical Scottish beef, they know their way around the grill at this West End spot. It's an oasis of special occasion calm, where a well-drilled team will lead you through the different cuts and cooking temperatures of the meat to make sure your meal represents some of the best Scotland has to offer.
The Palmerston
1 Palmerston Place, thepalmerstonedinburgh.co.uk
The beautiful bones of a former bank, a daily changing menu, in-house baker and instinctive understanding of what people actually want to eat means The Palmerston is well worth a tenminute walk away from the action. Expect careful sourcing, simple plating and a really rather nice time (and if the sharing chop is on, don’t hesitate).
Sen Viet Vegan
23a Brougham Place, instagram.com/senvietvegan
Sen Viet Vegan shows plant-based doesn’t have to lack depth or flavour. Tingly, fresh papaya salads and hearty coconut curries served in stone bowls leave your tastebuds tickled, and if it wasn’t for the repetition of ‘wheat protein’ on the menu, carnivores probably wouldn't even notice this place is fully vegan.
Vesta
7–8 Queensferry Street, vestaedinburgh.co.uk
Paired with Social Bite, Vesta closes every Tuesday afternoon to serve a meal to locals experiencing
Edinburgh’s trams now run from the airport to Newhaven, so to celebrate we’re travelling from one end of the route to the other, jumping off for some of the best food and drink options that are just a wee stroll from a handy tram stop
Edinburgh Park Central PATINA
3 Airborne Place, 1 New Park Square, patinaedinburgh.com
If you’re staying out west, Patina is a brilliant place to bookend your journey; a roomy space, with its own bakery and restaurant and regular live music.
Murrayfield Stadium
DINE MURRAYFIELD
8 Murrayfield Place, murrayfield.scot
A five-minute walk brings you to Dine Murrayfield where chef Stuart Muir knows his audience: sophisticated contemporary Scottish cooking matched with some cracking cocktails.
Haymarket
PIZZA GEEKS
19 Dalry Road, pizzageeks.co.uk
Grabbing a takeaway before tramming home? You won’t go wrong with one of these Neapolitaninspired thin and crisp pies. There’s a handful of tables for sitting in too.
West End TEUCHTERS BAR AND BUNKER
26 William Street, teuchtersbar.co.uk
Choices widen as the tram hits town but it would be a shame to miss picturesque William Street and the equally lovely Teuchters, with its mug-based meals and huge whisky list.
Princes Street
THE SCOTTISH CAFÉ AND RESTAURANT
National Gallery Of Scotland, The Mound, contini.com
Hidden under the National Gallery
(enter through Princes Street Gardens) is an oasis of classic Scottish dishes done the right way; think Cullen skink, filled butteries and home-baking.
McDonald Road
ELEANORE
30–31 Albert Place, Leith Walk, eleanore.uk
On to Leith; here, you’re a block away from Eleanore, where Roberta HallMcCarron’s team focus on elegant yet casual small-plate dining in a pocket handkerchief of a dining room.
Balfour Street
STORRIES HOME BAKERY
279 Leith Walk
There are a million chain bakeries out there, but Storries is the OG. Open practically all night, their pies are miraculous: if contemplating bad decisions, stop and get a macaroni pie down you first.
Foot Of The Walk
THE LIONESS OF LEITH
21–25 Duke Street, thelionessofleith.co.uk
Burger bars come and go, but The Lioness endures. A fabby community pub with well-priced cocktails, a friendly crowd and two-handsneeded-unlock-your-jaws burgers. Plenty of meat-free options too.
Newhaven DREADNOUGHT
72 North Fort Street, dreadnoughtpub.com
You’ve reached the end of the line. You probably need a pint. Dreadnought have you covered. An inclusive and welcoming space, there’s a focus on real ale and good times.
homelessness, so spending a little of your festival budget here helps an amazing cause. The menu is seasonal, dishes perfectly plated and the focus is Scottish produce. It’s a top-notch spot for an evening cocktail or swift glass of wine too.
Vietnam House
3 Grove Street, vietnamhouserestaurant.co.uk
Spicy, soupy bowls of bún bò Huế and fresh summer rolls cover the spectrum of Vietnamese cuisine at this cosy restaurant. It’s a small spot (the toilet is right next to the dishwashing area) and booking a table is essential. BYOB or sip a hot lotus tea.
A Wee Taste
36 Leven Street, aweetaste.co.uk
Showcasing some of Edinburgh’s local produce on towering charcuterie boards, A Wee Taste is a dinky spot to while away an evening over a bottle of wine. Their everchanging list has some intriguing Hungarian numbers and the sharing platters taste as good as they look; and they look pretty damn good.
Don’t Tell Mama
64 Home Street, donttellmama.uk
This café is all about coffee, cocktails and art. Works by local artists are on rotation along with an excellent selection of independently roasted coffees, sleek americanos and sludgy Greek pick-me-ups.
Spanakopita and bougatsa help soak up the caffeine or try a more substantial tahini-kissed brunch.
Froth & Flame
192 Morrison Street, frothandflame.co.uk
This pizza joint is big and lofty
inside, with a wood-fired oven roaring away in the open kitchen. Watch your sourdough pizza slide into the flames while enjoying a pint of craft beer, or a pretty-as-a-picture cocktail. The signature pie is topped with flat iron steak and a mountain of parmesan; if you finish that off yourself, you get another pizza free.
KONJ Café
67 Home Street, konjcafe.com
KONJ’s breakfasts and brunches
lure folk in from afar. Persian breakfasts with fried eggs, feta and walnuts or sweet omelette flavoured with saffron whisk you to the streets of Tehran, while cakes soaked in honey and dusted with pistachios pair perfectly with perfumed tea. Look out for their supper clubs too.
Milk
232 Morrison Street, cafemilk.co.uk
Milk is an Edinburgh micro-chain (you’ll find them at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop and Inverleith Park) and the Morrison Street branch is the OG. Big brunches and lunches aren’t short of greenery and the coffees go down a treat. Plus, there’s a drool-worthy selection of home baking at the stylish subwaytiled counter.
1820 Rooftop Bar at Johnnie Walker Princes Street 145 Princes Street, johnniewalker.com
After you’ve perused the whiskies on the ground floor, or enjoyed the highly recommended Journey Of Flavour experience, taking the lift to this rooftop café-bar feels like discovering a secret. A wall of glass shows off an unparalleled view of Edinburgh Castle as you sip their malt of the moment, menus are matched to the whisky and there’s an outdoor terrace for sunny days.
Brauhaus
105 Lauriston Place, instagram.com/brauhaus_edinburgh
With its cracked-stone floor and mishmash of chairs and tables, there’s a thrown-together feel to Brauhaus. It’s got a fab selection of German and Belgian beers, from rich dunkel to light, cool kellerbier, plus some natural wines. Service is brisk but the candlelit atmosphere can’t be beaten for a pint.
The Hanging Bat
133 Lothian Road, thehangingbat.com
It’s a mecca for craft beer in Edinburgh, with around 20 draught beers and ales plus over 100 bottles. But don’t let that intimidate you; the staff here are friendly and will help you decipher the difference between a rich porter or zesty IPA. There are hearty burgers and hot dogs too.
Panda & Sons
79 Queen Street, pandaandsons.com
Often featuring on best bar lists, Panda & Sons masquerades as a barber’s shop and serves up cocktails crafted with the precision of a Michelin chef in a fun, secret speakeasy environment. Their recent experiments in freezing techniques are lauded by mixology geeks, but even the most casual cocktail drinker will find something delicious here.
The Wildcat
11–13 Tarvit Street, thewildcatbar.com
Low-lit and intimate, this tuckedaway cocktail bar on Tarvit Street still feels like a local secret. They’ll do you all the classics with finesse but the menu is all about their inventive signatures: a yuzu-flavoured gin number, and rum with apricot, pineapple and absinthe. Keeping it accessible, there’s usually something on the blackboard around the £5 mark.
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THE LIST ONLINE NEWS EDITOR
Festival season in Edinburgh is a cultural binge like no other, and cramming in as many shows as possible means you want a restaurant that’ll serve you within minutes. Such is the appeal of The Mosque Kitchen, a canteenstyle Indian offering phenomenal curries at bargain bhuna prices. It’s my go-to when I need nourishing food without frills.
Minutes from Mosque Kitchen is Brass Monkey, a hip hangout with long sofas and myriad nooks and crannies to shelter you from the Fringe madness. It’s crammed with students by night, but by day it’s a haven. I spotted Stewart Lee enjoying a pint there last year. He loves it, so you should too.
KAMPONG AH LEE AMPONG
A Malaysian restaurant had been established in Edinburgh on the 1st August 2007 by Mr Lee, a day that worth memories by all our customer who love what we do
“it been a pleasure to serve Edinburgh for over 15 years and still counting, thank you everyone for showing your love and support us along the way, we are looking forward to continue bringing you our beloved Malaysian cuisine and our creativity”
ADDRESS: 28 Clerk Street Edinburgh, EH8 9HX
TELEPHONE: 0131 281 6172
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Japanese singer-songwriter Ichiko Aoba is bringing her ethereal vocals and alternative folk-inspired compositions to Queen’s Hall (19 August, 8pm) as part of EIF’s contemporary music line-up. Expect dreamy outfits and transportative harmonies that may well generate some goosebumps.
Known for brilliantly observed French vs British culture sketches (which receive a lot of love on social media), Tatty Macleod zooms further into cultural adaptation in Fugue, her debut hour of stand-up at Monkey Barrel (2–27 August, 2.10pm).
Hard-hitting live art can sometimes get lost at the Fringe, but Rachel Mars’ FORGE (23–25 August, times vary) is one not to be missed. Over the course of three days at the Lyceum’s workshop on Roseburn Street, Mars will weld a replica of Dachau concentration camp’s ‘welcome’ gate that was stolen in 2014, to an original soundscape composed by Dinah Mullen.
