The Fringe is in full swing and here at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, the great reviews, audience feedback and even award nominations are pouring in!
O is for Hoolet, Ishbel McFarlane’s one-woman exploration of the Scots language, joined the line-up on Friday 12 August and got off to a fantastic start, including a ★★★★ review from TVBomb: “powerful and brilliant and shows how delicate and heart-warming the Scots language is.” Yaldi!
Also making its 2016 Fringe debut on Friday was Cradle King, a tale of Shakespeare’s patron performed in surely one of the most historic settings of the festival: John Knox House.
There was good news for Robert Burns: Rough Cut, which has been shortlisted for the Scottish Arts Club Theatre Awards! We were also treated to more of the Bard’s genius in Burns for Beginners on Monday – see the final of just two performances next week, 22 August, at 7pm.
Speaking of awards, Modest Predicament’s Erin, Errol & the Earth Creatures – which received a ★★★★ review from Fest Magazine this week – has been shortlisted for Creative Carbon Scotland’s 2016 Edinburgh Fringe Sustainable Practice Award. Catch its final two shows this weekend, Saturday and Sunday at 11.30am.
Also finishing up this week is Nzinga Warrior Queen, which gained a ★★★★ review from Edinburgh Spotlight this week: “[Mara] Menzies brings Nzinga to life as a warm and witty woman, making excellent use of different vocal qualities to portray her at different ages.” Don’t miss this stirring tale of a 17th century Angolan woman who became ruler of her country at the age of 50 – on until Friday 19 August!
Richard Medrington from Puppet State Theatre and Karine Polwart celebrated the release of the new edition of JRR Tolkien’s Leaf by Niggle, recently published for the first time in its own volume by HarperCollins, on Friday 12 August. Their show, based on the short story, has impressed Tolkien fans and theatre lovers alike:
Children’s shows Celeste’s Circus and Anatomy of the Piano (for Beginners) keep on delighting little ones (and their big people) with their enchanting performances.
Finally, Loud Poets continue to impress with their powerful, hilarious and emotional wordplay. This week’s special guests include Atilla the Stockbroker (Thu 18), Tanya Evanson (Sat 20) and Sara Hirsch (Sun 21) – see our listing for the full line-up.
All hands on deck
It’s all hands on deck during the Fringe, as marketing staff member Morag discovered when she became assistant to Celeste’s Circus on Tuesday!
Meanwhile, our General Manager Ásta has matched more fabulous outfits to our equally fabulous shows – follow her progress on Facebook and Twitter at #astawears
Coming up in Week 3
Got nae plans for next week? Fill in the blanks at Nae Plans, three totally spontaneous gigs from musicians Hamish Napier and Adam Sutherland, performing here at 9.15pm on Mon 22 and at 1pm on Tue 23 & Wed 24 Aug.
There’s also our second Fringe Cafe Voices tomorrow, and we welcome Moira Bell – single mum, cleaner, hardest woman in Falkirk and alter ego of writer/performer Alan Bissett – back to the Fringe for The Moira Monologues on Saturday. The first show is sold out but there are still tickets available for the rest of the run, until Mon 29 Aug. Hope to see you there!
