First winners of The Skinny-Fest Festival Awards announced

The Besties is a new series of awards celebrating the best across Edinburgh’s August Festivals. The Award is a partnership between The Skinny & Fest, Capital Theatres and Premier Scotland

The Skinny and Fest, Capital Theatres and Premier Scotland are delighted to announce the winners of the first of the weekly new Festival Awards, The Besties, in the following categories: 

The Outwith Award (for best international artist/production) for Lou Wall’s The Bisexual Lament at Pleasance Courtyard (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)

Radgie of the Festivals (for boldest performance/behaviour) for Joe Kent-Walters is Frankie Monroe: LIVE!!! at The Monkey Barrel Comedy (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)

The Sexy Award for Sexiness to Internationaal Theater Amsterdam’s Penthesilea, Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh (Edinburgh International Festival)

Night Owl (for a late night show) to John Norris for Mr Chonkers / Mr Chonkers Presents…Piggy Time at Monkey Barrel Comedy (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)

Best Kids Show for Garry Starr’s Monkeys Everywhere at The Pleasance (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)

Next Big Thing Award for Emergent Talent for Kim Blyth’s Might As Well at Gilded Balloon (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)

New Writing Award for The Chaos That Has Been and Will No Doubt Return at Summerhall (Edinburgh Festival Fringe) 

The award ceremony took place on Saturday 10th August at the Festival Theatre in Edinburgh, hosted by Australian comedian Michelle Brasier whose show Legacy is at the Gilded Balloon, with performances from the cast of A History of Paper, a Dundee Rep and Traverse Theatre co-production being staged at the Traverse. 

The Besties award, designed by artist Camillo Feuchter who has recently graduated from Interior & Environmental Design at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee, uses recyclable plastics gathered at the Festival Theatre Café and leftover wood sourced locally.  

Reflecting the broad and diverse coverage both magazines produce every summer and responding to the need for a pan-festivals award, The Besties span all the festival activity taking place in the city over the month of August, including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh Art Festival which started on the 9th, Edinburgh International Book Festival which opens today and the Edinburgh International Film Festival starting next week, and others, making them the only awards to celebrate the full spectrum of culture in the city.  

Winners of The Besties are chosen each week by the editorial teams of The Skinny and Fest, drawing on their cross-festival expertise to celebrate the best work happening anywhere in the festivals. The categories will reflect the diversity of the magazines’ coverage and might be different every week.

Next two ceremonies will take place on Saturday 17th and 24th August.