What's on in Edinburgh today? 11 things to do, from author events to an open mic night in a nuclear bunker
With the Edinburgh International Festival just around the corner, there will be a preview of Make It Happen on tonight at the Festival Theatre. Starring Brian Cox - who returns to the stage in Scotland for the first time in a decade - as 18th century economist and philosopher Adam Smith, the play charts the downfall of Royal Bank of Scotland boss Fred Goodwin. | David Viniter Photo: David Viniter
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Scotsman
2 hours ago
- Scotsman
Festivals diary: Why Make it Happen gave me flashbacks and who is the Fringe's comedy audience legend?
Make It Happen gave me flashbacks to the credit crunch Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... I'm a bit late to the party, but I finally saw the Edinburgh International Festival's brilliant Make It Happen, starring Brian Cox as an hilarious ghostly incarnation of economist Adam Smith who loves John Lewis. I'm happy to be corrected if I am wrong in this, but I would stick my neck out to claim that I am probably the only Scottish arts correspondent who, at the time of the credit crunch, was working in business journalism in Edinburgh. James Graham's play gave me flashbacks, actually recreating on stage an RBS shareholders' meeting proposing the notorious rights' issue that I attended - and covered - as a junior business reporter back in 2008. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad I can vividly recall that particular meeting, because it was terrifying. I was in my 20s, having accidentally fallen into business journalism, with no first clue what a rights' issue actually was. I just knew that this was very significant - and if I messed it up, I'd be in trouble. It turned out to be one of the most iconic moments of the entire financial crash, as proved by Graham's decision to feature it in the play. There were elements of the play that hit very close to home, not just because of the major impact the situation had - and is still having - on everybody's financial situation. One of those was when Gordon Brown introduced his senior Treasury adviser, now known as Baroness Shriti Vadera, to chief executive Fred Goodwin's predecessor, George Mathewson, only to have him look through her as if she was invisible and speak to Brown himself. As one of only a couple of female business reporters - and later business editor - to cover financial journalism in Scotland at the time, I was used to that look, not specifically from Mathewson himself, but from many other financial men in grey suits. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Actor Brian Cox appears in a scene from National Theatre of Scotland play Make It Happen. | Lisa Ferguson/The Scotsman The play perfectly captured the zeitgeist of Edinburgh's financial world at the time: the permanently sloshing champagne, the private jets and the priceless works of art hanging in the hallowed halls of Gogarburn. I'm glad it's a world to which I don't have to return. Comedy audience legend Hands up if you've been in a show with a man waving a prosthetic leg recently? I'm not sure if it's the same person, or if there's more than one of him, but two separate performers have now told me about an audience member who has taken off his leg during their show. Comedian Craig Hill has a history of leg-related incidents in his shows, with one woman who broke her leg just before his show refusing to go to hospital until after she'd watched it. But this week, one man in the front row took it to a new level when during Craig's dance off at the end, he took off his prosthetic leg and waved it wildly in the air in time to the music. Separately, a man also took off and waved his leg at improv rapper Chris Turner during his show, when he asked for suggestions of topics to base his rap on.
Daily Record
4 hours ago
- Daily Record
Edinburgh's 'Disneyland' overcrowding set to get worse as locals are hit with fresh issue
The Edinburgh International Festival has been a mainstay on the city's calendar since 1947, but not everyone is a fan of the city being overrun by tourists in the summer For nearly 80 years, Edinburgh has been thrust into the global spotlight each August, as the world-famous Edinburgh International Festival draws crowds from every corner of the planet. However, those vast hordes arriving from France, America and Germany can occasionally overlook the fact that Edinburgh remains a functioning city rather than a tourist attraction, according to locals. One Edinburgh local, called Julie, revealed to the Daily Telegraph that festival season leaves her utterly frustrated. "It's like living in Disneyland," she said, explaining: "The tourists seem to forget that people actually live and work here." The Scottish capital boasts just over half a million residents, yet the city can welcome up to three million punters for the Fringe festival alone. "In the last 20 years it has become a money-making racket, it's horrendous," Julie said. She added that with multiple spin-off events, including the book festival and the film festival, contributing to the tourist invasion, the streets are "hoaching" with visitors. She believes that simply commuting to and from her city centre workplace becomes maddening: "Tourists walk about outside with a drink in their hand. "You see people urinating behind bins, and not just the men. I try to visit a friend in Fife as much as possible during August to avoid it all." Yet this summer might be particularly vexing for Julie with three sold-out Oasis reunion gigs planned at Murrayfield. Edinburgh council chiefs have sparked controversy with a briefing document suggesting that the upcoming reunion gigs on August 8, 9 and 12 will attract a "rowdy" crowd of "middle-aged men" in a state of "medium to high intoxication", who are likely to be overweight and thus "take up more room." Liam Gallagher, the band's frontman, didn't take kindly to these comments, firing back on social media: "To the Edinburgh council I've heard what you said about OASIS fans and quite frankly your attitude f*****g stinks. I'd leave town that day if I was any of you lot." He also took issue with the council's description of his fans as being overweight, retorting: "I'd love to see a picture of all the people on the Edinburgh council bet there's some real STUNING [ sic ] individuals." Margaret Graham, the convener for culture and communities at Edinburgh council, defended the city's record in hosting major events to the Scottish Sun: "We're very proud to host the biggest and best events in Edinburgh throughout the year, which bring in hundreds of millions of pounds to the local economy and provide unparalleled entertainment for our residents and visitors." She continued: "As with any major event which takes place in the city, we prepare extensively alongside our partners to ensure the safety and best possible experience of everyone involved – and Oasis are no different." She concluded by expressing her excitement for the upcoming concerts: "We're all looking forward to seeing Oasis take to the stage this August and I'm sure that they'll 'live forever' as some of the most memorable concerts ever performed at Murrayfield."
Scotsman
9 hours ago
- Scotsman
Extra funding underlines value we place on the arts in Scotland
International Festival director Nicola Benedetti with Culture Secretary Angus Robertson Scotland's festivals are at the heart of our culture sector and national life. They are an invaluable platform for our artists and performers to develop and support their ambition and creativity by providing focal points for activity and opportunities to showcase their work. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Edinburgh is currently the undisputed centre of the cultural world. With both the Edinburgh International Festival and the Festival Fringe now in full swing, the Scottish Capital hosts the best attended annual arts festival in the world. Edinburgh Festivals attract over 3000 events, 25,000 performers, 4.5 million attendances from 70 countries worldwide. Only the Olympics and the Football World Cup exceed the number of tickets sold for Edinburgh's festival events. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Critics have been wowed by the EIF opener and world premiere of Make it Happen, which is a new commission produced by three major Scottish institutions; Edinburgh International Festival, National Theatre of Scotland and Dundee Rep Theatre about the rise, fall and fail of the biggest bank in the world – The Royal Bank of Scotland. The outstanding piece stars Brian Cox and Sandy Grierson, was written by the extraordinarily talented James Graham and directed by the award-winning Andrew Panton. It was a joy to see the premiere and I can't recommend it too highly. At every stage of their planning and their delivery, Scotland's Festivals are renowned for ambition, creativity and excellence at home and overseas. As well as their outstanding work on stage, festivals provide hundreds of millions of pounds to the Scottish and local economies, supporting a pipeline of jobs and businesses. Festivals, like the entirety of the culture sector, have been hit hard in recent years by a series of challenges. Recovery from the pandemic and addressing the challenges brought by Brexit have been made more difficult by increased costs and inflation, together with a challenging public funding environment. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The 2025/26 Scottish Government Budget has provided an important foundation for the work of festivals, recognising the importance of stability and certainty through long term sustained multi-annual funding to support Festival's ambitions for the future. Increasing investment in festivals, as part of the biggest ever increase in funding for culture, underlines the value the Scottish Government places on the arts. Through this increased investment we want to drive up opportunities for participation in creative pursuits, support the festivals commissions and collaborations on new and exciting works, ensuring Scotland's cultural output have platforms at home and abroad. While increased funding has provided greater long term stability, festivals continue to face challenges around transport, accommodation, connectivity and long term sustainability beyond funding to areas like workforce planning and skills development. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad We are committed to working with festivals in Edinburgh, as well as across Scotland through a Strategic Partnership to address these challenges If you haven't already taken time to plan what to see at the Edinburgh International Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe you really should, just as you should look into all of the other amazing festivals taking place in the World's Capital City of Festivals. You should also check out: the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Edinburgh TV Festival, Edinburgh Art Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival and many others. Edinburgh's festivals are a jewel in Scotland's cultural crown and are world class events in the global arts calendar. Let's make the most of them.
