A team of former Scotland internationals and Glasgow Warriors rugby stars will be donning lycra this summer as they take on the ‘Break the Cycle’ challenge for homelessness charity Social Bite.
The team, led by ex-Scotland captain and current Warriors Managing Director, Al Kellock, and including the likes of Gregor Townsend, Sean Longstaff, Ryan Grant, Callum Forrester, and John Manson, as well as Glasgow Warriors staff, will be pedalling the 60-mile route on Sunday 4th September from Scotstoun Stadium through to BT Murrayfield in Edinburgh.
They’ll be joined on the day by Olympic legend Sir Chris Hoy, comedian Elaine C Smith and an estimated 1,000 fellow fundraising cyclists taking on either the 60, 20 or three-mile routes with the aim of raising £1m to fund vital projects to end homelessness.
The Warriors team is called ‘Team Tom Smith’ in memory of the former Scotland international who tragically passed away from colorectal cancer earlier this year. Ten per cent of all fundraising will be donated to a trust that has been set up by the Scottish rugby community in aid of Tom Smith’s family.
As well as the physical event, the Break the Cycle campaign is also open to all through virtual challenges – with individuals, workplace teams and schools all encouraged to take on their own challenges to raise money to end homelessness.
There’s something for all the family as well with the shorter cycling routes on offer and a host of live performances, and food and drink vendors at the finish site within BT Murrayfield.
Al Kellock, Glasgow Warriors Managing Director, said: “I’m so proud that as a club we’re able to support Social Bite’s incredible work and play a small part in helping to break the cycle of homelessness while also helping to support Tom Smith’s family after the incredibly tough time they’ve been through.
“I would encourage Scottish rugby fans to join me in setting off from Scotstoun all the way to BT Murrayfield and help us raise as much as possible.
“It’s been a wee while since some of us in the team have trained like we did when we were playing so we’d be very grateful for the support!”
Josh Littlejohn MBE, CEO and Co-Founder of Social Bite, said: “Break the Cycle is back this year, bigger and better and we’re thrilled to have Al and the rest of the Warriors on board to help us raise much-needed funds.
“The funds raised at Break the Cycle will help us support people across the country who have experienced homelessness, whether that’s through assisting people to find a safe place to call home, empowering people to get a job, or by providing free, fresh food to people who are homeless or suffering from food poverty.
“With our new routes this year, the support of our famous faces getting involved, and what promises to be a real festival feel at the finish line at BT Murrayfield, we’re in for a really exciting event. I’d encourage everyone to sign-up or donate if they can and come along to enjoy what’s set to be an incredible day.”
Since launching in October 2021, Social Bite’s Jobs First employment programme has already supported 17 people from a background of homelessness in to mainstream employment.
The barriers to work for people who have experienced homelessness are vast, and by partnering with some of the UK’s largest employers to ensure meaningful employment with wrap-around support, Social Bite is well on its way to surpassing its year one target of 20 people in jobs.
The Capital is once again searching for a worthy recipient of the coveted Edinburgh Award, with nominations for the 2022 award now open.
Since 2007, the Edinburgh Award has celebrated individuals who have made a truly unique contribution to the city and brought our Capital to national and international attention.
Previous recipients include bestselling authors, ground-breaking scientists and exemplary sportspeople. The recipient of the last award in 2021 was Fergus Linehan, for his contribution to the arts and Edinburgh’s cultural heritage as Director of the Edinburgh International Festival.
The Edinburgh Award allows its citizens to recognise those individuals who have made a real and lasting impact on the city.
Edinburgh has three weeks to submit nominations for the 2022 award, before a recipient is selected by a panel chaired by the Lord Provost.
Calling on individuals and businesses to nominate someone for the Award, the Lord Provost, Robert Aldridge said: “Edinburgh continues to be a leading light in many fields, both nationally and internationally, and this is down to the character and achievement of our citizens.
“The Edinburgh Award represents an opportunity to celebrate the people who make Edinburgh the fantastic city we see today. By nominating someone you can help us showcase these people and give them the recognition and praise they deserve.
“The past two years has been one of the most difficult and unprecedented periods in the history of our great city, yet I am inspired by the ways in which the citizens of Edinburgh have calmly persevered and cared for one another. This speaks to the very heart of our Capital city and is a source of huge personal pride. If this reminds you of someone, I urge you to put forward a nomination.
“Now in our 16th year of the Edinburgh Award, we need the help of our communities, citizens and businesses to come together and find a worthy recipient.”
Having temporarily put down their pens and picked up guitars, this crime-writing super-group – Mark Billingham, Val McDermid, Chris Brookmyre, Luca Veste, Doug Johnstone and Stuart Neville – happily murder much-loved songs by The Clash, Elvis Costello, The Beatles, Talking Heads, The Jam, The Pretenders, Johnny Cash and many others who are currently considering legal action.
Between them, they have sold over 20 million books worldwide and won every major crime-writing award, but now they’re rocking out on the stage instead of the page and performing killer tunes in a series of killer shows at major festivals and venues, including this first ever run at the Edinburgh Fringe.
The band have rocked the stage at Glastonbury, blown the roof off The Queen’s Hall, and performed to international audiences from Reykjavik to Toronto. The unlikely band formed at the House of Blues in New Orleans in 2016, when an open mic night at a crime-writing festival got out of hand.
Fuelled by whisky, beer and distinctly murderous tendencies, the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers deliver the most rocking night out this side of a library. Murder on the dancefloor is guaranteed!
A well-known Edinburgh company will celebrate its 75th year in businesses by sponsoring Musselburgh Racecourse’s popular Friday Night at the Races.
Long term racecourse supporter Bernard Hunter was founded in 1946 and is synonymous with mobile crane hire and metal recycling, employing around 60 staff in Leith, Danderhall and at its Gilmerton headquarters.
One of the firm’s new 60-ton cranes will be on display at the East Lothian track on Friday (29 July) as the family-run business, led by chairman Jim Rafferty and managing director Mark Rafferty, welcome guests to celebrate the landmark birthday.
Mark Rafferty said: “We have been corporate sponsors at Musselburgh since 2007 where we have sponsored certain races and its always a great day out, and we were delighted to sponsor the popular Friday Night at the Races to mark this special occasion.”
The competitive six race meeting includes the Bernard Hunter Mobile Crane’s nursery handicap five furlong dash and the seven furlong Bernard Hunter 75th Anniversary Race, with gates open at 4.30pm and first race off at 6.10pm.
Musselburgh Racecourse marketing manager, Aisling Johnston, said: “With the weather forecast looking like it will be a warm sunny evening what better way to kick star the weekend out in the open air and enjoying the thrill of Flat racing on the coast.
“Bernard Hunter have been a great supporter of Musselburgh Racecourse and we are delighted they have chosen to celebrate a special birthday here on Friday. With Radio Forth’s Boogie in the Morning and Funkwagen providing the entertainment after racing, we are sure it will be a night to remember.”
Racegoers with valid concession ID can take advantage of a special £15 gate admission ticket, and anyone booking in advance can save £5 on the raceday £25 admission price.
As with all Musselburgh race meetings, children aged 17 and under are admitted free when accompanied by a paying adult.
New report calls on Government to update its energy bills support to help the most exposed households and consider introducing a social tariff.
Negligent energy regulator Ofgem enabled now bankrupt energy firms and inexperienced CEOs to increase energy bills further.
A national homes insulation programme is the permanent solution to bringing down bills and should be launched urgently.
The Government should immediately update its package of support to help households with soaring energy bills before the cost-of-living crisis grips even harder following October’s energy price cap increase, according to a new report by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee.
It comes as people are feeling the squeeze of 40-year high inflation of 9.4% – to which the cost of energy is a big contributor – as wage increases struggle to keep up.
Support package out of date
The Government’s Energy Bills Support Scheme provides a £400 discount on energy bills in October for every household, a £650 means-tested one-off payment to eight million low-income households, £150 for those on disability benefits and £300 for pensioners. This was designed when the forecast for the October price cap was £2,800.
With wholesale energy prices continuing to rise industry experts now estimate that the price cap could increase to £3,244 in October, when the NEA forecast one in three (8.2 million) households face fuel poverty. A further rise is expected in January and MPs on the Committee warn that the size of the package has been ‘eclipsed by the scale of the crisis’.
Social tariff and support for vulnerable people
They also raise concerns that the current scheme does not sufficiently target low-income households and those in vulnerable circumstances, with the £400 discount going to some bill payers who don’t need it and repeatedly to people who own multiple homes. The Committee urges the Government to ensure that any update to its support scheme is better targeted at customers who need it the most.
As low-income households struggle to pay their energy bills and get deeper into debt, MPs call on the Government to work with energy suppliers to develop a scheme to help households pay off debts over a longer period.
In the longer-term, the report calls out the injustice of vulnerable people, who are unable to pay their energy bills, being moved on to more expensive prepayment meters.
The report labels this as “unacceptable” and urges the Government to consider replacing the market-wide price cap with a discounted social tariff for vulnerable customers, and a relative tariff for the rest of the market – that caps the difference between the cheapest and most expensive tariffs a supplier offers.
Committee Chair Darren Jones said, “Once again, the energy crisis is racing ahead of the Government. To prevent millions from dropping into unmanageable debt it’s imperative that the support package is updated and implemented before October, when the squeeze will become a full-on throttling of household finances and further tip the economy towards recession.
“We were told by a number of witnesses, ‘if you think things are bad now, you’ve not seen anything yet’. This Winter is going to be extremely difficult for family finances and it’s therefore critical that public funds are better targeted to those who need it the most.
“It’s an injustice that the poorest households continue to pay higher energy costs because they’re on prepayment meters. This must end and a social tariff should be brought forward.
“Ultimately, Ministers know that the long-term solution is to reduce our need for energy through insulation works that keep our homes warm in winter and cool in summer. If the Government is really taking this energy crisis and the country’s net zero targets seriously it will come forward with a bold, fully funded, national home insulation program before the end of the year.”
This could increase if the Government is unable to recover the cost of running the special administration of Bulb through its sale and decides that billpayers must pick up the costs, something the report says should be paid for through general taxation.
Ofgem’s incompetence over many years enabled inadequately resourced and inexperienced founders to start energy companies. It failed to supervise regulated companies, which in turn took high risk decisions including not hedging properly and using customers money to offer unsustainable prices that undercut well run energy companies. Ofgem failed to use its existing powers and didn’t bring action against energy suppliers even when it was clear that they should have done.
Ministers and regulators believed deregulation would drive competition, but it instead left an over- exposed and unregulated market which ultimately crashed, costing taxpayers billions of pounds. This market failure is only comparable to the banking crisis of 2008, according to MPs.
Ofgem is pressing ahead with a major package of regulatory reform to reverse its previous shortcomings and shore up the financial resilience of the market, but the Committee remains sceptical of Ofgem’s ability to undertake this task. If measures are poorly designed and executed, they risk further destabilising the market and distorting competition.
Insulating homes to permanently reduce demand
Helping customers pay their energy bills is not a sustainable position for Government and volatile gas prices are expected to be a longer-term concern for the country. It is therefore urgent and essential that Ministers bring forward a fully funded, national campaign to insulate people’s homes – street by street, community by community – in order to reduce the country’s demand for energy.
This report urges the Government to stop announcing short-term policies and moving existing budgets around and instead fully fund a national retrofit programme that businesses, homeowners, and tenants can invest and take part in.
Such a programme is required not just to reduce the cost of energy in winter but to also keep homes cool in extreme heat, reduce the cost of cooling as well as heating, and help the country hit its net zero targets as set out in the Committees previous report on Decarbonising heating in homes
With COVID restrictions easing, a care home in Giffnock has opened its very own pub, bringing joy to the residents and the staff.
The team at Eastwood Court Care Home, on the outskirts of Glasgow, worked with an occupational therapist to look at ways of improving residents’ quality of life and provide a sense of purpose for those living in the facility.
The ‘Staying Inn’ pub opened in April and the bar has proven to be a huge success, with residents enjoying the odd sweet sherry, a quick half or even just some sparking water, improving both the mental and physical health of the bar’s patrons along the way.
Fiona Gibson, Care Home Liaison Occupational Therapist at East Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership, said that since working with the home to increase resident engagement, they have been able to reduce patients’ medication, stress and distress in residents with dementia and increase their food and fluid intake.
She said: “The opening day was brilliant and one of the staff said it was the best day they had experienced since COVID and lockdown. Residents can put their nice clothes on, have a drink, enjoy a pub quiz and during things like the Euros or the Platinum Jubilee, we had the bunting up.
“More than that, when loved ones come to visit, they can visit a place that has some meaning for residents and not just be in a room with a bed.
“They can choose if they want a beer, or a wee sherry or some chips and pub grub. Living life to the fullest doesn’t end because you’re in a care home and what we know is that when we can provide an occupation focused service for people, the overall mental health and wellbeing outcomes for residents improve. Everything that occupies your time is so important to your continued wellbeing and prevention of mental and physical health decline.”
Fiona worked with the Elizabeth Casson Trust to secure a grant to establish the bar, with donations from local businesses helping to kit it out, creating a purposeful space that residents value and enjoy.
Eastwood Court’s Activity Co-ordinator, Catherine McAllister, said: “We have regular pub quizzes, domino and musical afternoons, as well as the odd darts tournament. We’ve made mocktails and held a “forget-me-not” fundraiser in aid of the Alzheimer’s Society.
Catherine and activity co-ordinator colleagues, Lesley Brown and Jennifer Duffy, worked hard to bring the bar to life.
She added: “We have a TV in our bar which allows residents to an alternative programme to our lounge, offering choice. The Staying Inn provides a relaxing and calm environment for our residents.
It’s a perfect environment for everyone, with a wide choice of drinks to choose from our dementia friendly menu, which are served with snacks. Our residents are really enjoying our new pub and we hope they will continue to do so.”
Fiona also paid tribute to the care home staff. She added: “The team have brought the Staying Inn to life, working really hard to turn it into a reality and with our guidance and support, it really is a place that brings joy to everyone who uses it.”
The bar brings additional health benefits, combatting loneliness and isolation and, in some cases, bringing a renewed sense of purpose.
Emma Walker, Lead Occupational Therapist for Mental Health and Recovery Services in East Renfrewhire added: “It’s about improving quality of life and making sure people are functioning and engaging at their best.
“When you are in a care home, people’s functions can deteriorate quite quickly because other people are doing things for them, which can mean people lose all sense of purpose. That can lead to an increase in stress and distress and it can become a vicious cycle where physical and mental health decline.
“We’re trying to reverse some of that through tailored, holistic interventions to help people to reach their potential, even if that’s just basic things like getting their own shoes on to go to our wee pub.
“One resident was telling me about what she liked when going to the pub and her favourite tipple was a wee Babycham mixed with all sorts. There’s a lot of life to be had in a care home, no-one is calling last orders yet!”
Pictured: Residents and staff enjoy some time together at the Staying Inn pub.
Bird Bingo National Museum of Rural Life, Philipshill Road, East Kilbride, G76 9HR Until 31 Aug 2022 10:00-17:00 A trail around the museum Free with museum admission and Annual Pass
Come and play Bird Bingo at the National Museum of Rural Life!
Can you find all the birds hiding around the museum? Using the clues on our family trail sheet, see if you can spot different birds in our museum galleries and learn fun facts about them on your journey.
This family event is supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery
Nature Track Packs National Museum of Rural Life, Philipshill Road, East Kilbride, G76 9HR 27 Jun – 19 Aug 2022 10:00 – 17:00 Borrow from the ticket desk Free with museum admission and Annual Pass
Explore more at the National Museum of Rural Life this summer with our new Nature Track Packs.
Each pack contains fun ideas and activities to encourage children to engage all their senses to explore the countryside on a walk up to the farm.
Nature Track Packs are available to borrow on a first come, first served basis over the summer – just ask on arrival at our ticket desk, then return the pack to the desk once your Track Pack adventure is complete.
Summer Satchels National Museum of Flight, East Fortune Airfield, East Lothian, EH39 5LF 2 Jul – 4 Sep 2022 10:00 – 17:00 Free with museum admission Just ask at the desk in the Concorde Hangar
See the National Museum of Flight in a different way this summer with our new family activity satchels.
Each satchel contains all the equipment and simple instructions for five playful activities to help children explore the museum from a different perspective. The activities are designed to use outside on our spacious site.
Magic Carpet Free Pilot Sessions National Museum of Scotland 26 Jul – 5 Aug 2022 Booking required
We are redeveloping our Magic Carpet sessions for children aged 0-18 months and their adults. In July and August, we are asking families to take part in one of 16 free pilot sessions to help us test new content and provide feedback. Visit nms.ac.uk/magic-carpet
Exhibitions & Displays
National Museum of Scotland Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF Open 10:00–17:00 daily
The Silver Casket Until 1 Aug 2022 Hawthornden Court Free entry
See an iconic piece of Scotland’s national heritage, the silver casket believed to have been owned by Mary, Queen of Scots. Made in Paris, probably between 1493 and 1510, the casket is a superb and extremely rare work of early French silver. It is likely that its long-standing association with Mary and her downfall has kept it preserved for over 450 years.
Book of Hours Until 3 Aug 2022 Kingdom of the Scots gallery (Level 1) Free entry
Explore the pages of an illustrated prayer book featuring a handwritten poem by a young Mary, Queen of Scots in this display.
Written in Latin on vellum, the Book of Hours contains 40 exquisite illuminations by a 16th century Master artist. Used for private worship, it belonged to Mary’s great aunt Louise de Bourbon, Abbess of Fontevraud, who is believed to have gifted this precious volume to the young queen.
The Book of Hours is on loan to National Museums Scotland from The Pininski Foundation, Liechtenstein.
E.Coli by Luke Jerram 3 Aug – 31 Aug 2022 Grand Gallery Free entry
Part of the Edinburgh Art Festival programme, this 90ft long inflatable sculpture by Bristol-based Luke Jerram will be suspended from the ceiling of the National Museum of Scotland’s Grand Gallery. The E.coli is 5 million times bigger than the real bacteria. When standing next to it, does the bacteria alter our personal sense of scale? Does it look scary, beautiful, comical or alien? Will people be attracted or repelled by it?
From striking statement jewellery to prints and porcelain vases, this new free display considers how Japanese contemporary makers have combined innovative and traditional art, craft and design elements over the past five decades.
The star object is Hitomi Hosono’s A Large Pine Tree Pool, a sculptural porcelain bowl with complex hand-carving made and acquired in 2019. Further highlights include Junko Mori’s intricate New Pinecone Silver Organism, and colourful body adornments by jeweller Suō Emiko’s adapted from metalworking and engraving techniques traditionally used in the making of Japanese sword fittings.
The Typewriter Revolution Until 11 Sep 2022 Exhibition Gallery 2, Level 3 Free entry
The typewriter’s social and technological influence is revealed in this exhibition and looks at its role in society, arts, and popular culture. It traces the effect and evolution of typewriters across more than 100 years, from weighty early machines to modern style icons.
The impact of the typewriter has been much wider than simply speeding up the way we write. It helped revolutionise the world of work and change the lives of working women in particular. Typewriters helped them launch their own businesses at a time when female employers were rare and became a vital weapon in the fight for the vote.
Inspiring Walter Scott Until 8 Jan 2023 Exhibition Gallery 4, Level 1 Free entry
Following the 250th anniversary of Sir Walter Scott’s birth, experience his novels through objects that inspired him. In this small exhibition we show how Scott drew upon real historical objects for inspiration, placing objects alongside Scott’s words, and the stories in which they feature. While you view these fascinating objects, you can listen to an actor reading extracts from these tales.
In association with Walter Scott 250: Celebrating 250 Years of Scotland’s Greatest Storyteller and supporting Year of Stories 2022.
Bernat Klein: Design in Colour 5 Nov 2022 – 23 Apr 2023 Exhibition Gallery 2, Level 3 Free entry
Marking the centenary of his birth, Bernat Klein: Design in Colour will celebrate the work of the influential émigré textile designer.
Visitors will be able to explore Klein’s creative process and varied career, from providing couture fabrics for fashion designers to his influence on modernist architecture and interior design in the UK and Scandinavia
National Museum of Scotland Chambers Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1JF Open 10:00–17:00 daily
Gilded Balloon at the National Museum of Scotland 3 Aug – 28 Aug 2022 Ticketed
Gilded Balloon are back: bringing Festival fun to the National Museum of Scotland throughout August!
Brining a colourful line-up: from science for kids to satire for grown-ups, from chat shows to live podcasts. There’s an influencer, a ventriloquist, assorted Fringe favourites and of course a couple of Britain’s Got Talent winners.
Performers include Scottish treasures Fred MacAulay, Lynn Ferguson and Jack Docherty, alongside Paul Zerdin and assorted puppet pals, Lost Voice Guy, the one and only Chesney Hawkes and even Boris Johnson?! Plus, our own favourite – Comedy Night at the Museum where top comedians improvise a humorous look at our amazing collection.
Museum Socials 19 Aug 2022 Third Friday of the month, 10:30–12:00 Free
Our Museum Socials events are created for anyone affected by Dementia and their relatives, friends and supporters.
Museum Socials create a friendly environment where everyone is welcome and all contributions are valued. They are suitable for first-time visitors and for those who might not regularly come to the museum, as well as people who have always loved visiting.
Supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.
Death and the City: Edinburgh, Anatomy and the Case of Burke and Hare 30 Aug 2022 Doors open 18:30, 19:00 – 21:30 £20 Adult, £18 Over 60, £16 concession and Members, £12.50 student Age 14+
Experience an exclusive evening in The University of Edinburgh’s historic Anatomy Lecture Theatre and the National Museum of Scotland’s latest exhibition, as you discover the city’s unique role in the story of anatomy.
Take a journey through time to discover Edinburgh’s relationship with the search for understanding of the human body. Soak up the atmosphere of The University of Edinburgh’s Anatomy Lecture Theatre before enjoying a welcome drink in the Discoveries gallery at the National Museum of Scotland, just five minutes’ walk away. Complete your evening with a visit to the Anatomy: A Matter of Death and Life exhibition.
Silent Teachers: The Story of Modern Body Donation 13 Sep 2022 19:30 – 20:30 Free, with optional donation Online event
Inspired by our current exhibition, Anatomy: A Matter of Death and Life, our expert panel will discuss the modern approach to anatomical study and body donation in this online event.
In the 18th century, Edinburgh was Britain’s leading centre for medical teaching. As anatomists sought to understand the human body, the demand for bodies to dissect and study vastly outstripped legitimate supply. As a result, grave robbing became common practice. Since then legislation has ensured bodies used today are acquired, with proper consent, through donation.
From their perspectives as exhibition curator, professor, medical student and living donor, our expert panel will discuss the modern approach to body donation and contrast the ethics, practices and beliefs of today with those from two centuries ago.
National Museum of Flight East Fortune Airfield, East Lothian, EH39 5LF Open daily 10:00 – 16:00
Behind the Scenes Tours 25 May – 26 Oct 2022 11:00–12:00 & 14:00–15:00 Object Store Free with museum admission Booking required
Find out about our collection of aero-engines and propellers on a curator-led tour of our Object Store. Join Aviation Curator Ian Brown for one of our regular guided tours of the museum’s Object Store. Explore some of the collections not normally on public view and discover the fascinating stories behind them.
Operation Sabotage 5 Aug – 14 Aug (except 9 Aug) Age 14+ event Ticketed
The year is 1942 and you are stationed at the RAF base at East Fortune. There has been an act of sabotage and one of the aircraft is unknowingly carrying live ordnance with instructions to bomb the town. Solve a series of fiendish puzzles to call off the flight and save North Berwick! Operation Sabotage is an escape room experience for 4-8 people that lasts up to an hour. Working together as a team, you must race against the clock in two Second World War-themed rooms to decipher the identity of the saboteur before it’s too late.
Audience favourite, James Ley’s riotous Wilf triumphantly runs to Traverse 1
This is Paradise, Michael John O’Neill’s award-winning play, enjoys a full Traverse 2 production
Programme also includes the world premieres of Uma Nada-Rajah’s Exodus and Tabby Lamb’s Happy Meal, Liz Kingsman’s smash-hit One-Woman Show, plus a brand-new spoken word performance from the iconic ALOK
£1 tickets available across all performances for those under 25 or in receipt of low-income benefits
Traverse celebrates new stories for a new era ahead of its 60th anniversary in 2023
The Traverse has announced our TravFest22 programme, celebrating a return to full strength across our performance spaces, Traverse 1 and Traverse 2. We are delighted to be welcoming audiences back to a full-scale TravFest through a programme of vibrant and brilliant new work spanning a spectrum of stories and perspectives, from queer rom-coms to the dark heart of show business.
Marking the beginning of a bright new era for the Traverse as we build momentum for our 60th anniversary in 2023, TravFest22 is a celebration of togetherness, and of the incredible resilience and creativity t that theatre, the arts more widely, and every one of us collectively have displayed over the last two years. We are thrilled to offer such a dynamic and varied range of shows for TravFest22, made possible by the determination, ingenuity and passion of everyone involved.
We are especially overjoyed that James Ley’s riotous joyride of a show, Wilf, will be speeding back into Traverse 1, offering audiences a wild tour around Scotland, which, once taken, will never be forgotten … And Michael John O’Neill’s Popcorn Award-winning This is Paradise will justly receive a full-scale Traverse 2 production following a limited staging during TravFest21.
Each of these important and resonant shows have been under further development throughout the past two years, and we are both proud and ecstatic to finally bring them both to full-scale audiences this August.
Making a celebratory return to the streets of Edinburgh is the location-based audio experience Eavesdropping: Walk This Play® by Hannah Lavery and Sarah MacGillivray (ThickSkin in association with Traverse Theatre), which takes audiences on a journey of imagination throughout the festival city, and beyond.
Elsewhere in the programme audiences will be able to enjoy the world premieres of Uma Nada-Rajah’s satirical Exodus(National Theatre of Scotland), Sonya Kelly’s comedic The Last Return (Druid), and Tabby Lamb’s queer rom-com Happy Meal (Roots/Theatre Royal Plymouth with ETT and Oxford Playhouse). Scottish premieres include Liz Kingsman’s universally acclaimed One-Woman Show (Country Mile Productions), ALOK’s new comedy and poetry show ALOK (Soho Theatre), Lauryn Redding’s gig musical Bloody Elle (Cloudrise Productions and Royal Exchange Theatre), Matt Wilkinson’s thrilling Psychodrama (Psycho Productions & Cusack Projects Limited) and the moving Blood Harmony featuring the music of the Staves, co-created by Matthew Bulgo, Jonnie Riordan and Jess Williams (Commissioned and produced by ThickSkin and Lawrence Batley Theatre, in co-production with Watford Palace Theatre and Wales Millennium Centre and supported by the Lowry).
With the generous support of our Festival Companies, we are delighted that a limited number of £1 tickets will be available for each performance in the programme, for those under the age of 25 or in receipt of low-income government benefits, subject to availability.
Further additions to the TravFest22 programme will be announced in the coming weeks.
Linda Crooks, Executive Producer, said:“TravFest22 marks a bold and brave new beginning for the Traverse, ahead of our sixtieth anniversary in 2023. The last two years have undoubtedly been challenging, but we have continued to bring artists and audiences together online, outdoors and when possible, within our spaces to generate new ideas and keep telling new stories.
“Now we are delighted to again be able to present a full-scale, in-person festival programme and welcome our partners, friends and audiences back to a space where they can connect, imagine, plan and get back to those post show debates we’ve all missed so much.
“We are pleased to welcome friends old and new across the programme and cannot wait to share these vital and vibrant pieces of work with the audiences that’s needed to make them complete.“
Gareth Nicholls, Artistic Director, said:“We couldn’t be more thrilled to be worked with so many amazing artists this August – some we know well and others who we are incredibly excited to get to know better.
“The variety and imagination of work on offer this year especially is a testament to everyone who has kept creating throughout these difficult times, and have been unwavering in their determination to keep speaking truth to power, and use their art to confront, comfort and change.
“We are honoured to have them as part of our programme. And it’s especially meaningful for us to be able to bring both James Ley’s ‘Wilf’ and Michael John O’Neill’s ‘This is Paradise’ to full theatres this year, with both pieces sure to offer delight and reflection to audiences. Our hearts are open – and so is the bar – and we can’t wait to see you all here soon!”
TRAVFEST22 PRODUCTIONS
WILF by James Ley
Traverse Theatre Company
Calvin is going to completely revolutionise his life. Escape his abusive boyfriend, detonate his inner sex bomb, see (and shag) the world!
Now he’s found his partner in crime in Wilf, a rusty Volkswagen Polo which, like Calvin, has seen better days. Together they hit the road on a wild and bumpy ride of greasy takeaways, graveyard orgies and banging 80s power ballads – ending up somewhere they never imagined they’d go.
This riotous and heartfelt play from James Ley (Love Song to Lavender Menace), directed by the Traverse’s Artistic Director Gareth Nicholls (Ulster American), takes audiences on a hilarious and unapologetic ride through Scotland as Calvin and Wilf attempt to escape loneliness, cope with mental illness and learn to love themselves, with the help of one another.
THIS IS PARADISE by Michael John O’Neill
Traverse Theatre Company
10 April 1998, Belfast. The Good Friday Agreement is signed, promising peace to Northern Ireland.
Away from all that pageantry, a river is rising in Kate. When a phone call from a desperate young woman compels Kate to return to a relationship she hoped was left in another life, she embarks on a journey which risks breaking the uneasy peace she has since made for herself.
A powerful, intimate and dream-like monologue shot through with the vibrancy of living, Michael John O’Neill’s Popcorn Award-winning This is Paradise, directed by Katherine Nesbitt, explores the ramifications of what happens when one woman is asked to rescue the man who promised to destroy her – and what it takes from any of us to decide to begin again.
Co-created by Matthew Bulgo, Jonnie Riordan and Jess Williams with music by The Staves
Commissioned and produced by ThickSkin and Lawrence Batley Theatre, in co-production with Watford Palace Theatre and Wales Millennium Centre and supported by the Lowry
Soaring music by Atlantic Records artists, The Staves, combines with bold new writing and dynamic physicality in Blood Harmony, an uplifting and powerful new play with songs about love, loss and legacy.
A fractured trio of sisters are pulled back together with news that turns their worlds upside down. When it feels like your world has come to a stop, how do you find a way to keep moving forward?
Award-winning theatre company, ThickSkin makes a thrilling return to the stage with this highly visual and musically charged production. Created by the company behind the five star hit show How Not To Drown (‘Truly stunning’ ★★★★★ The Scotsman).
BLOODY ELLE
by Lauryn Redding
A Cloudrise Productions and Royal Exchange Theatre Production
This heart-warming and belly-achingly funny story is stuffed full of those stomach-flipping-time-stopping moments, a touch, a glance, a kiss, that everyone will recognise.
Bloody Elle is set to an original score, building loops and layers of sound that make you feel like there is a ten-piece band on stage, transporting the audience to a sweaty, packed out gig in the back of a pub or a 10,000 seat arena.
EXODUS by Uma Nada-Rajah
National Theatre of Scotland
How far will a politician go?
In her bid to become the country’s leader, Home Secretary Asiya Rao prepares to make a major policy announcement that will establish her as the front-runner of the political race. Alongside her calculating advisor Phoebe, she embarks on a publicity stunt starting with a photo shoot by the white cliffs of Dover. But rather than the tide washing her reputation clean, something else washes up … An omen or an opportunity? The women are determined to keep their eyes on the prize, no matter the cost, even if it’s a human one.
One final night. One last chance. Five people queue for a ticket to the hottest show in town. All they must do is simply wait in line. But what in life is ever simple?
Who will triumph, who will fail, and who will walk away with… The Last Return?
A new play by acclaimed playwright Sonya Kelly (Once Upon a Bridge, Furniture), The Last Return is a thrilling comedy about conflict, peace and the pursuit of territory at any cost.
HAPPY MEAL by Tabby Lamb (she/they)
Roots / Theatre Royal Plymouth with ETT and Oxford Playhouse
Join us for an online show irl. Travel back to the quaint days of dial up and MSN, where you’ll follow two strangers on their journeys to become who they always were.
A funny, moving and nostalgic story of transition.
The world premiere of Happy Meal is a joyful queer rom-com where Millennial meets Gen Z and change is all around. Exhilaratingly staged by Jamie Fletcher (she/her), fresh from her acclaimed production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
ALOK
by ALOK
Soho Theatre
ALOK (they/them) is an internationally acclaimed writer, performer and public speaker. This is their new comedy and poetry show.
A mixed-media artist, ALOK’s work explores themes of trauma, belonging and the human condition. They are also the author of Femme in Public (2017), Beyond the Gender Binary (2020) and Your Wound/My Garden (2021), and have been honoured as one of HuffPo’s Culture Shifters and NBC’s Pride 50.
ONE-WOMAN SHOW by Liz Kingsman
Country Mile Productions
The Guardian’s #1 Comedy Show of 2021 comes to the Fringe for a limited run.
A bold, irreverent, raw, moving and triumphant celebration of adjectives, this blurb will nail down nothing.
Times’ Top 5 Comedy Shows of 2021. Telegraph’s Best Cultural Events of 2021. “The hands-down funniest live comedy show of 2021.. A tour de force” (Guardian) “Do everything legal you can to get a ticket” (Evening Standard) “Fight for a ticket” (Telegraph) “Superbly funny” (Times)
PSYCHODRAMA by Matt Wilkinson
Psycho Productions & Cusack Projects Limited
A gripping, at times hilarious revenge tale about an actress in her 40’s under investigation for the murder of an auteur theatre director.
Set against the backdrop of a stage production of Hitchcock’s Psycho, Emily Bruni (Peep Show) plunges us into the dark heart of show business.
ThickSkin in association with the Traverse Theatre
Don your headphones and get ready to eavesdrop in this latest solo audio experience from ThickSkin (How Not to Drown). Celebrating the stories and people who are the heartbeat and spirit of Edinburgh, Eavesdropping asks who gets to define a city, who gets to be its guide and whose story matters. Eavesdropping takes audiences on an adventure through familiar and unfamiliar streets in Scotland’s capital, revealing new sides to and stories of the people who (may) live here. This location-based walking audio play by Hannah Lavery (The Drift) and Sarah MacGillivray (Traverse Young Writer alumni), the latest in ThickSkin’s Walk This Play® series, will encourage audiences to look differently at the rich tapestry of people you may walk past every day, whether you notice them or not.
LISTINGS INFO
Traverse Festival 2022
Thursday 4 – Sun 28 Aug (previews from Sat 30 Jul)
Up to 25 July 2022, there were 2,367 confirmed and 65 highly probable monkeypox cases in the UK: 2,432 in total.
To expand the UK’s capability to detect monkeypox cases, some NHS laboratories are now testing suspected monkeypox samples with an orthopox polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test (orthopox is the group of viruses which monkeypox is part of).
Since 25 July 2022, the monkeypox case definition recognises those who are orthopox-positive as highly probable cases, and those who test positive on a monkeypox PCR test as confirmed cases.
Dr Sophia Makki, National Incident Director at UKHSA, said: “Monkeypox cases continue to rise, with the virus being passed on predominantly in interconnected sexual networks.
“Before you have sex, go to a party or event, check yourself for monkeypox symptoms, including rashes and blisters.
“If you have monkeypox symptoms, take a break from attending events or sex until you’ve called 111 or a sexual health service and been assessed by a clinician.
“Vaccination will further strengthen our monkeypox response and so we urge all those who are eligible for the vaccine to take it up when offered. It will help protect yourself and others you have had close contact with.
“While the infection is mild for many, it can cause severe symptoms and hospitalisation in some.
“Please remember that the vaccine may not provide complete protection against monkeypox, so it is still important to be alert for the symptoms of monkeypox and call 111 or a sexual health clinic if you develop any.”
The NHS will provide the vaccine to those eligible, so please wait until you are contacted.
While anyone can catch monkeypox, the majority of monkeypox cases in the UK continue to be in gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (MSM), with the infection being passed on mainly through close contact between people in interconnected sexual networks.
Before you go to a party or event, check yourself for monkeypox symptoms, including rashes and blisters.
If you have monkeypox symptoms, take a break from attending events or sex until you’ve called 111 or a sexual health service and been assessed by a clinician.
It can take up to 3 weeks for symptoms to appear after being in contact with someone with monkeypox, so stay alert for symptoms after you have skin to skin or sexual contact with someone new
