Latest news with #Summerhall
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Dawn Steele on the 'daunting' prospect of her Fringe debut
She is about to make her debut appearance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in a play which will also mark her return to the stage for the first time in more than a decade. Read more: The actress says the chance to appear in the play came at 'the right time,' ahead of her 50th birthday later this year, at a time when she was affected by the downturn in Britain's TV drama industry. It will also realise her growing ambitions to become part of the Fringe after attending numerous shows with friends in recent years and a desire to return to the stage. Dawn Steele will be appearing in the Fringe play Skye at Summerhall. (Image: Supplied) Steele is preparing to play a number of characters in Skye, a chilling family mystery, set on the Hebridean island of the same name 30 years ago. She will be taking centre stage in the debut play by award-winning author and Fringe producer Ellie Keel. Dawn Steele has been most recently seen on screen in the crime drama Granite Harbour. (Image: Newsquest) Steele will be starring opposite fellow Glaswegian James Robinson, who played the young William Wallace in Braveheart, in Skye, part of Summerhall's Fringe theatre programme. The play will be Steele's first stage work since she appeared in the comedy thriller A Perfect Murder, an adaptation of the best-selling Peter James novel, in 2014. Previous roles included the John Byrne plays Cuttin' a Rug and Tutti Frutti, the latter with the National Theatre of Scotland and David Harrower. Speaking to The Herald during a break in rehearsals, Steele said: 'I've not done any theatre for quite a long time. 'It's not really been a choice, but is just the way it's worked out. I'd love to do more theatre, but I just don't get asked. 'I was sent this play by my agent as Ellie, the writer, wanted to hear it read out loud before. She has produced a lot of theatre but this is her first play. 'When I read it, I did think: 'If they ask me to do this, I'm going to have to say yes.' 'In a way, I was scared. I thought 'I hope they don't ask me to do this. It's very wordy, it's a two-hander and I'll be on stage for a whole hour.' 'But I was just really compelled by the script. It felt quite magical to me.' Skye focuses on the main character of Annie and her siblings after they see a ghostly vision of their father on a beach four years after this death. Steele said: 'The play is about an incident that happened on Skye when the children were young, which changes the course of their lives. Annie retells the story with the help of her brother Brawn. 'I don't want to give too much away, but I would say it's a cross between a ghost story and a thriller. 'It's ultimately about memory, how it plays tricks on you, particularly in a family context, and what people hold onto. 'When I read the script I got a real feeling for it and I really loved the character of Annie. I thought she would be a real challenge to play. 'A big part of the appeal is that it's going to be on at the Fringe, which I've been to a lot with friends over the last few years. 'Everything we saw last year was really good. I do remember thinking: 'I would really like to do something here.' When you see really good theatre you want to be up there.' Keel is bringing Skye to the Fringe after producing a number of previous plays at the festival, including Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz and The Last Show Before We Die. She made her name as an author last year with debut novel The Four, about a group of boarding school students bound by a chilling secret. Steele said: 'It feels daunting doing this play because I've not done theatre for a while, but it's not like I've never done theatre before. I've done a lot. "The last two-hander I did was Blackbird, which was pretty daunting. With anything that is a two-hander or a solo show it is pretty exposing. It was also a very challenging play. I remember thinking: 'Oh my god, I'm never going to get through it.' Before I knew it we were touring it around the country. 'The thought of doing new writing at the festival really appealed to me. It's been really interesting and challenging. We've been changing stuff on a daily basis. It's been a bit like doing stuff with John Byrne. The play has changed quite a lot, but for the better. 'I'm so used to TV, where the script is the script, and that is it. Theatre is much more collaborative than TV. There's more of a process. It's not just a case of turning up and doing your lines. 'It feels like this has come into my life at the right time. I'm going to be 50 later this year. It's going to be a real challenge, but I want to be challenged and I'm really prepared to take this on, because I feel I can do it. I'm jumping in head first. 'Were doing the play in a room with 140 seats. I won't have played in front of such a small crowd since I was in my mum and dad's living room. 'All of those things are quite scary, but it's also why I want to do it. It's getting me back into the rehearsal room and doing what I really loved in the first place about acting before I got into TV. I obviously love working in TV, but it is very different. Theatre and TV are two very different beasts." Steele, who has previously starred in Hoby City, Wild at Heart and River City, has been seen on screen most recently in the crime dramas Shetland and Granite Harbour, with filming due to get underway on the next series of the latter shortly after the Fringe. However Steele admitted she jumped at the chance to return to the stage after her quietest ever spell for TV work recently. Steele said: 'I've worked my whole career. I've not stopped. I know I've been really lucky. 'But it's been really quiet recently. A lot of actors are not working at the moment. It is a bit of a buyer's market. People can pick and choose who they want. 'There is less money around. People are being very picky about what is getting made. There is just less getting made and there is less work. It just filters down. 'I'm not doing the play because I was desperate for work. I'm doing it because I really like the play. 'If there isn't a lot of work on the ground, when something comes along that makes me sit up and think 'this is really good' I'd be stupid not to do it.' To purchase tickets for the Fringe, please click here
The Herald Scotland
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
How discovering deaf culture can be an enriching experience
Something very striking is how enriching hearing people find it when they start to discover deaf culture. That can be the distinctiveness of its humour, the perspectives of people who experience the world differently, or the vitality of British Sign Language (BSL). There's also immense creative talent in the deaf community, something that's all too often squandered through lack of opportunity. Too many highly skilled deaf people are still being overlooked. In the arts world, there are signs of change. Last year Shakespeare's Globe in London staged a production of Antony and Cleopatra in which the Romans spoke English and the Egyptians performed in BSL. I was cast as Cleopatra and was impressed by the commitment of the theatre and the response of the audience. The use of BSL and English-speaking actors was a positive – powerfully emphasising Roman incomprehension of another culture. We need to get away from the situation where deaf people are limited by other people's perceptions of what we can or can't do. Deaf creatives and creativity should be woven into the fabric of the arts. That's exactly what events like the Edinburgh Deaf Festival are helping to do. It provides platforms for deaf drama, comedy, drag, film, music, poetry and discussion. This caters for the deaf community and welcomes hearing audiences as well. It's about deaf people having agency; taking control of our narrative and expressing it how we want to. It's about ownership, pride, and representation from within the deaf community. The festival is also working with the [[Edinburgh]] Fringe, the International Festival, the Book Festival, [[Edinburgh]] Art Festival and specific venues like Summerhall, both to stage deaf-led events and to make their programmes more accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing. It's a relief to write about the things we are doing. Last year, the future of the festival was at risk. Despite the festival's development, growth and success it faced a severe funding crisis. A vigorous campaign was mounted to point out that the loss of the [[Edinburgh]] Deaf Festival would be completely at odds with the Scottish Government's commitment to making Scotland the best place in the world for BSL users to live, work, visit and learn. We now have a three-year funding deal with Creative Scotland that's allowing us to be more bold and ambitious for the future. It's something that Scotland should be proud of. Edinburgh, and the whole country, have played a vital role in the emergence of deaf culture and the establishment of deaf rights. This is exemplified by the fact that festival organisers, the Edinburgh-based Deaf Action, is the oldest deaf-led charity in the world and this year celebrates 190 years of campaigning for our community. The festival is a powerful way to improve the lives of deaf people and celebrate deaf culture, giving hearing people greater access to our world. • The festival is from August 8-17. Nadia Nadarajah is the Creative Programmer of the 2025 Edinburgh Deaf Festival Agenda is a column for outside contributors. Contact: agenda@
Scotsman
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Edinburgh Fringe: ten hit shows returning to the world's biggest arts festival
The Scotsman will review hundreds of new Edinburgh Fringe shows this August but here are ten sure things to start with, writes Andrew Eaton-Lewis 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... Mairi Campbell: Pendulum Trilogy Singer and musician Mairi Campbell has been bringing her distinctive combination of storytelling, musicianship and theatrical magic to the Fringe for a decade now, beginning with her 2015 show Pulse, the story of how she found her musical voice in Cape Breton via a trip to Mexico. This year, to mark Pulse's tenth anniversary, Campbell revives all three shows in her and director Kath Burlinson's 'Pendulum Trilogy' – Pulse, plus Auld Lang Syne, about the history of Scotland's most famous song (and how Campbell's own version of it famously ended up in Sex and the City) and last year's Living Stone, a hypnotically beautiful show about her discovery of a 400 year-old mill stone. Scottish Storytelling Centre, various times, until 17 August Mairi Campbell PIC: Jula Faygruen Sam Kissajukian: 300 Paintings One of last year's great discoveries, Sam Kissajukian's show takes a familiar set-up – comedian pursuing a Dave Gorman-style mission gets into a series of quirky, unlikely capers along the way – and turns it into a compelling examination of the relationship between creativity, obsession and mental illness, as he shares the story of how he abandoned stand-up comedy to become a painter, ultimately creating 300 paintings in just five months in tandem with some increasingly bizarre business ideas. This behaviour, it turned out, was the result of an extended manic bipolar episode. Summerhall, 31 July to 25 August, 12.05pm Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Sam Blythe in Guy Masterson's production of Animal Farm | Guy Masterson Animal Farm Guy Masterson's adaptation of George Orwell's novel has long been a masterpiece of solo storytelling. This year's version is both a revival and a reinvention as performer Sam Blythe takes over the role, with Masterson remaining as director. Orwell's themes, of course, are as powerful as ever. And the timing of the show makes it an excellent start to a festival day. Assembly George Square, 30 July until 24 August, 10.40am A Gambler's Guide to Dying Gary McNair has, at the last count, won three Scotsman Fringe First awards and sold out entire Fringe runs seven times, with shows that combine cleverly chosen cultural reference points (from Morrissey to Billy Connolly) with thoughtful reflections on issues from toxic masculinity to Scottish identity. Here he revisits his 2015 breakthrough show for its tenth anniversary; it's the (true?) story of a man who, having placed a winning bet on England winning the 1966 World Cup, decides to place a bet that he will survive until the year 2000 following a cancer diagnosis. Traverse Theatre, 31 July until 24 August, various times Sunshine on Leith First staged by Dundee Rep in 2007 and later made into a 2013 movie, Sunshine on Leith has fittingly become an Edinburgh Fringe staple thanks to Captivate Theatre which is bringing it back again this year. A cut above most jukebox musicals thanks to a story rooted (mostly) in the grit of real life, it features two soldiers struggling to readjust to the home front, with The Proclaimers' music skilfully integrated into the story along the way (from misery to happiness) by its writer Stephen Greenhorn. The title track in particular is a tearjerker. Assembly Rooms, 31 July to 24 August, 5.30pm Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Trainspotting Like Sunshine on Leith – with which it makes a pretty good double bill, especially perhaps for first time visitors to Edinburgh looking for an insight into the culture of the city – Trainspotting has found a long-term home on the Fringe. Be warned: it's a more 'immersive' experience than Sunshine on Leith, including a visit to the worst toilet in Scotland. Cromdale Tunnel at Pleasance at EICC, 31 July to 24 August, various times Hit musical How To Win Against History will be performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 30 July to 24 August in the Udderbelly at George Square. It tells the story of the fifth Marquis of Anglesey, who blew his family's fortune on diamond frocks, lilac-dyed poodles and putting on plays. | How To Win Against History How to Win Against History Is there any producer with an Edinburgh Fringe track record as impressive as Francesca Moody? From Fleabag to last year's Weather Girl, via Baby Reindeer and Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder, Moody's production company is also responsible for Shedinburgh Fringe Festival (back this year) and this raucous show about Henry Cyril Paget, a rich man who threw it all away 'by being too damn fabulous'. How To Win Against History's revival is, we are promised, 'bigger and more sparkly than ever'. Udderbelly at Underbelly, 30 July until 24 August, 7.15pm Why I Stuck a Flare Up My Arse for England It would hardly be the Fringe without some provocatively vulgar show titles – this year's programme also includes a show called Hole! by a company called ASS (it stands for American Sing-Song but still, they clearly knew what they were doing). But you don't sell out twice and go international unless there's some substance too, and this tale of a football fan at Euro 2020 who goes viral after, well, you know, has charmed audiences worldwide. This will be its final Edinburgh Fringe run. Cowbarn at Underbelly, 30 July until 25 August, 2.15pm Tape Face From Edinburgh to Las Vegas and back again, Sam Wills' globally successful mime act is returning to his roots this year for a 20th anniversary celebration. For years The Boy With Tape On His Face - as he was formerly known - was as much a Fringe institution as the Ladyboys of Bangkok, La Clique or Puppetry of the Penis. It will be good to welcome him back. Pleasance Courtyard, 30 July to 10 August, 7.30pm Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Scotsman
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Wait, don't I know you? Five debuts from performers you already know this Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Miss Frisky Yes, it is Frisky of Frisky and Mannish fame and yes it is solo Frisky this year as the Queen of pop-mash-parodic-stereophonic-vaudevillian-infotainment returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with her own band. Better still, the band are all Scottish based performers at the top of their game – what's not to love. Frisky promises the same quick quips and amazing three octaves of talent but places control into the hands of the audience. Frisky's Reshuffle is just that, a new playlist each night decided by yours truly. While Mannish aka Matthew Floyd Jones popped off to compose and provide musical direction for such smashes as Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder!, Frisky has been one of the most in demand cabaret emcees across London, with residencies around Europe and gigs the world over. Barnie Duncan But not as you know him. Cut DJ and calypso and soca expert Juan Vesuvius built up a following in the 2010s with Calypso Nights; Juan, Two and I am your Deejay, and in 2025, the man hiding under the samba sleeves, Barnie Duncan, steps onto the stage for his debut stand-up show. In the comic's surreal and subversive style, Oooky Pooky takes down the manosphere with playful, physical comedy as performed for NZ Prime Minster Jacinda Arden. Michael Elsener If you're a fan of a late-night Edinburgh Fringe line-up show, or Russel Howard, you will already know Michael. But, despite having the nickname 'the Swiss John Oliver' – this may be your introduction to the political comedian who asks if his secret Swiss recipe can save the world. Fresh from supporting Russell Howard on his European Tour and Winner of Best Solo Show at the Swiss Comedy Awards 2024, Michael Elsener holds the keys to paradise. Will you join him there? Jonny Woo Legendary East End London performer Jonny Woo heads to arts venue Summerhall with a new show, Surbubia, about his life growing up, the stories of queer elders who weren't afforded the respect they deserved. A return to his spoken word, storytelling and performance art roots, Suburbia brings audiences on a heady journey from the Medway suburbs, through the streets of New York and. And not shying away from how we usually see Jonny Woo, in Night at the Musicals with Le Gateau Chocolat or in a drag line up show - of course, there's a musical number or two. Dangerous Goods Just shy of 10 years ago, a cohort of incredible women took the festival by storm, selling out show after show with audiences meeting them across the city in their recognisable tracksuits sharing 'smash the patriarchy' moments with fans. They were Hot Brown Honey. The creative team behind Hot Brown Honey, including co-creator, director and performer Lisa Fa'alafi are back with Dangerous Goods. Hot Brown Honey conquered Glastonbury, the Southbank Centre London, Freedom Festival Hull and Dublin Fringe all from the initial outpouring of love they experienced at the Edinburgh Fringe. The co-directors Fa'alafi and Leah Shelton say: 'Depending on who you ask, different voices throughout history have been seen as dangerous. The systems that govern our everyday lives are often the ones defining this notion and we see it still today molding our opinions of each other.' This new show claims to be empowering, unapologetic, hot-as-hell cabaret. All tickets available now from 1 . Contributed Miss Frisky returns to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with a new band and a her new Reshuffle show Photo: Submitted Photo Sales 2 . Contributed Jonny Woo returns to the Fringe, at arts venue Summerhall Photo: Submitted Photo Sales 3 . Contributed Michael Elsener is no stranger to the Fringe but this is his first one hour show How To Live In Paradise Photo: Submitted Photo Sales 4 . Contributed Miss Frisky is back at the Fringe and asks the audience to build a new show each night with her Photo: Submitted Photo Sales Related topics: QueenSummerhall
Scotsman
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Strange combinations take centre stage at Summerhall this festival
Out with strawberries and cream! Here are five strange combinations being explored in festival shows at Summerhall this August. 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... Shakespeare and classic Brazilian snacks: Cheese and Guava or Romeo and Juliet Summerhall - Main Hall, 31 July - 25 August (not 12, 19), 10:35 Cheese and Guava or Romeo and Juliet performs at Summerhall Created by Brazilian theatre collective Cênice, Cheese and Guava or Romeo and Juliet is a dashing and genuinely silly part of the São Paulo Showcase. This is Shakespeare's classic, but modernised, with text in Portuguese and English. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad In São Paulo, 'Romeo and Juliet' is a nickname for a famous national sweet and salty snack - Cheese and Guava - which will be provided to the audience while they watch a lively adaptation of the bard's classic. The Brazilian Elvis, Roberto Carlos' sweeping and deeply romantic songbook provides the tunes. Slugs and clowns: SLUGS Award winning theatremakers Scott Turnbull and Ed Gaughan team up to create a hilariously weird world in Surreally Good Summerhall - Red Lecture Theatre, 31 July - 25 August (not 11, 18), 21:15 From the creators of 2023 cult smash CREEPY BOYS comes a whole new show from Canadian, self-proclaimed 'little slime balls' S.E. Grummett and Sam Kruger. SLUGS is a comedy-music-clown-puppet show brought to audiences in the late night basement of a former vet school. Described as a frantic, infectious and deliriously funny show for everyone burnt out from scrolling, exhausted from headlines, and suspects their best days are behind them - we're not sure where the slugs come in! Overhead projectors and felt tip pens: S.E. Grummett and Sam Kruger perform SLUGS at Summerhall this August Scott Turnbull presents... Surreally Good Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Summerhall - Former Women's Locker Room, 31 July - 25 August (not 11, 18), 11:20 Surreally Good is 50 minutes of alternative comedy and interactive storytelling written, devised and performed by award winning theatre maker and self-proclaimed 'nincompoop' Scott Turnbull, and directed, devised and co-written by award garnering 'idiot' Ed Gaughan. Alongside elements of physical theatre and clowning, Scott Turnbull created strange and beautiful worlds using felt tip pens and an old overhead projector. Audiences can expect wonderfully weird comedy in this surreal, absurd performance.
