Police seek man following city centre assault and robbery

cctv

Police have released CCTV images of a man they wish to trace in connection with an assault and robbery of a woman in the city centre. During the incident, a 32-year-old woman sustained injuries to her face and her property was stolen.

The incident took place around 8.20 pm on Tuesday 12 July, on the pass between Rutland Square and Festival Square.

Officers believe that the man shown in the image may be able to assist them with their inquiries and would ask that anyone who recognises him or has other information about the incident to contact police.

Detective Constable Alison Wyllie of Police Scotland’s Violence Reduction Unit based at Edinburgh’s Gayfield police station said: “This was a violent attack that left the victim shaken and we’re conducting inquiries in order to trace the person responsible.” Continue reading Police seek man following city centre assault and robbery

Being a Dad at Just Festival

BeingDad

Are you looking for a great show to see during the festival? Look no further!

As part of Year of the Dad, ‘Being a Dad’ is being shown as part of Just Festival on the 12, 13, 16, 17, 19 and 20 of August in St Johns Church, Edinburgh.

Written by Edinburgh based playwright Duncan Kidd and performed by Strange Town Theatre Company, ‘Being a Dad’ is a drama reflecting the lived experiences, hopes, fears and challenges faced by many fathers, especially disadvantaged young fathers, in Scotland today. Challenges that can be (and are) overcome with courage, knowledge and support. It celebrates the difference a great dad can make in the lives of their children, family and Scotland. Find out more here

To get your tickets – visit the Just Festival Box Office for tickets, or book online here

Leaf by Niggle: Tolkein at Storytelling Centre

PUPPET STATE THEATRE COMPANY presents

JRR Tolkien’s Leaf by Niggle

leafhead6116

At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2016 and part of the Made in Scotland Showcase 2016 

Scottish Storytelling Centre, Venue 30a

Aug 4 Preview 17:00; Aug 5-28 (not 10, 15, 22, 23) 17:00 (75mins)

Aug 17 17:00 BSL interpreted performance

Performed by Richard Medrington

Soundtrack composed by Karine Polwart and Michael John McCarthy

Directed by Andy Cannon; Lighting by Gerron Stewart; Design Support by Ailie Cohen; Movement support by Janice Parker; Stage Management by Elspeth Murray

Puppet State Theatre Company returns to the Scottish Storytelling Centre for this year’s Festival Fringe, as part of Made in Scotland, with its acclaimed new production of JRR Tolkien’s little-known short story, Leaf by Niggle.

“Exquisite … so beautifully told … completely seductive” ****The Scotsman

This solo storytelling show, created and performed by Richard Medrington, draws on Richard’s personal family history as an introduction to Tolkien’s original story. Surrounded by ladders, bicycles and heirlooms, Richard Medrington (Jean from The Man Who Planted Trees) recounts Tolkien’s miniature masterpiece with a beautiful soundtrack composed by Karine Polwart and Michael John McCarthy.

“Tolkien’s lord of small things…enchanting one-man show” ****The Guardian 

Leaf by Niggle is considered by some to be Tolkien’s most autobiographical work, springing from his fear of not finishing The Lord of the Rings. In 1939, as war clouds were darkening, he woke up one morning with the story almost complete in his mind and wrote it down.

Niggle is a struggling artist who is trying to complete his magnum opus, a painting of a curious tree. He isn’t sure when he will need to set out on his journey, but he is worried that he won’t be able to finish the painting before it’s time to leave.

Leaf by Niggle is often seen as an allegory of Tolkien’s own creative process, and, to an extent, of his life. It is a tale of transformation, which examines the relationship between an artist, his creation and his community.

Richard Medrington is the artistic director of Puppet State Theatre Company and for the past nine years the company has been touring the world with its much lauded production of Jean Giono’s The Man Who Planted Trees.

This new adaptation of Leaf by Niggle is a reflection of Richard’s long held ambition to perform a staged version of the story. In 1993, Richard gave an acclaimed one-off storytelling performance of the piece at the Carberry Festival and has nurtured hopes of performing it to a wider audience ever since.

“a salve on the soul” **** The List

26983299275_573f01c25a_b

As a result of appearing in the very first Made in Scotland showcase in 2009 with The Man Who Planted Trees, Puppet State’s international touring has included two tours to Australia and New Zealand. In 2013 we took part in the Sydney Opera House’s first live stream of a performance to multiple remote audiences, some over 700 miles away. I am looking forward to performing our new show, Leaf by Niggle, in this year’s Made in Scotland showcase and seeing where this unique opportunity will lead us.” Richard Medrington

“This is my first ever commission to compose for theatre and it’s a challenge and a joy to collaborate with such an accomplished creative posse. Niggle’s journey, and Richard Medrington’s beautifully personal and familial framing of it, feels quite close to the bone for me, and very relevant to our times. There are so many possible ways to receive it and get inside of it, as there are always with deep stories. But to me it’s about the fundamental human impulse to create and find meaning and beauty in life, and how duty, convention and the sheer necessity of toil can cut against this. The gap between the world as we imagine it and the world as it sometimes is – in all its reductive, mechanistic brutality – can be hard to hold in a single heart. But Niggle’s story feels hopeful nonetheless”. Karine Polwart 

With thanks to the Tolkien Trust and the Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Supported by Creative Scotland | Produced by Alice McGrath & Red Bridge Arts

Suitable for adults and young people aged 10 and over

LISTINGS:

Scottish Storytelling Centre Venue 30a

Aug 4 Preview 17:00 (75 mins) | £6

Aug 5-28 (not 10, 15, 22, 23) 17:00 (75 mins) | £10/£8 conc. /£32 Family (2 adults, 2 children)

Aug 17 17:00 (75 mins) BSL interpreted performance

Box Office: 0131 556 9579 www. scottishstorytellingcentre.co.uk

World Premiere: Mermalade

Manhattan Children’s Theatre presents

MERMALADE

World premiere

Based on the children’s book by Clare Cockburn-Martin
Illustrated by Anna Welsh
Directed and adapted for the stage by Laura Stevens

MERMALADE_Manhattan Children's Theatre_image1

A Little Mermaid she is not.

A fast paced, interactive comedy. A universal quest. A play for all ages

Left with a cryptic note, a pearl, and three annoying oysters for company, MERMALADE is determined to make sense of it all. She’s brave enough to approach the biggest forces in the universe. She’s strong enough to confront those that get in her way. But is she wise enough to find her answer? 

Add three life size Oysters as narrators, cameos from the Moon, Sun, Stars, Thor (God of Thunder), a beach setting, a splattering of pop music and one strong-willed 11-year-old girl that never quits and what do you get?

Unlike traditional fairy tales, MERMALADE’s story holds no moral decree. In the Socratic Spirit, the show offers more questions than answers with WHY? being at the top of the list.

Why does everyone tell me what to do and feel?

Why is a pearl so special?

Why do I have to keep asking “WHY?”

Mermalade_Manhattan Children's Theatre_image_credit Ben Linnell (1)

“If you’re tired of Once upon a time same old, same old, you should visit Manhattan Children’s Theatre for The Last of the Dragons.” – New York Times

“The idea of a damsel in distress being rescued by a handsome man has been around for so long, we hardly notice it’s there. Which is exactly why it’s so damaging as a stereotype. So hurrah for Manhattan Children’s Theatre for joining a burgeoning list of storytellers re-dressing the balance.”

wow24/7 **** review of The Last of the Dragons 

“This is a tale of bravery, intelligence and unexpected NEW traditions. Beautifully set for the stage and directed by Laura Stevens (…) with an all-Edinburgh cast, this show will delight young and old.”

Families Edinburgh on The Last of the Dragons

Manhattan Children’s Theatre offers complimentary tickets for local youth groups for the preview dates of MERMALADE (3-4 August). Also, on non-performance days the show will be visiting local Edinburgh schools.

Laura Stevens, who recently moved to Edinburgh from her native New York, co-founded Manhattan Children’s Theatre in 2002 and directed over 30 plays since, including theatrical productions for very young audiences (Little Tales, based on folk tales from around the world). Between 2002 and 2011, MCT welcomed over 250,000 audience members through its doors. Laura’s production of The Last of the Dragons debuted at Fringe in 2015 to rave reviews and toured to Biggar in Scotland and Warsaw in Poland to sold-out audiences.

Now Scotland-based, the mission of Manhattan Children’s Theatre is one of providing affordable, high quality theatre entertainment to audiences in Scotland, children in particular.

Mermalade

www.mermalade.org

Twitter / Facebook

 

Greens urge city residents to take part in World Heritage survey

edinburgh (8)

Lothian Green MSP Alison Johnstone is calling on constituents to make their feelings known on the future of Edinburgh’s Old and New Towns before a council survey closes on 25 July. 

Council chiefs are seeking people’s views to help create policies to preserve and enhance the World Heritage Site and Johnstone wants guarantees that the city’s large tourism numbers won’t mean that prospective hotel developers are given carte blanche.

Alison Johnstone MSP said: “People from the capital are all too aware of planning issues in the city and now we have an opportunity to give our views on Edinburgh as a place to live, work and visit in this survey before it closes at the end of the month.

“Given our World Heritage status, our growing population and increasing development pressures it’s important that people make clear their opposition to developments that may not be the most optimal or necessary use of precious city centre sites.

“We need to have an honest conversation about how many luxury hotels the city needs and where they should be situated. Tourism is vital to Edinburgh, but we need to ensure that Edinburgh caters for travellers on all budgets, and essentially, for those who live and work in the city.”

Access the consultation below:

https://consultationhub.edinburgh.gov.uk/sfc/edinburgh-oldandnewtowns-managementplan-review/consult_view

Read all about it – Doogie sells The Big Issue!

CEO Edinburgh Social Enterprise Network selling The Big Issue on Princes Street 130716 (1)

Edinburgh Social Enterprise Network’s (ESEN’s) mascot Doogie Goodstuff, who promotes great social enterprise products and services across the city with his Buy The Good Stuff campaign, took to the streets of Edinburgh yesterday  to sell The Big Issue. Continue reading Read all about it – Doogie sells The Big Issue!

A wise man knows his craft: new exhibition at the Museum of Edinburgh

“If pots are to have any character they must be made one by one, like a picture, a garden, or a love letter” – Henry Taylor Wyse

Holyrood Pottery Japanese influenced vase with leaping carp, on display at Museum of Edinburgh

A new exhibition exploring the life, art and legacy of an unsung hero of Scotland’s Arts and Crafts Movement has opened at the Museum of Edinburgh.

A Wise Man Knows His Craft: Henry Taylor Wyse and Holyrood Pottery’ brings together the most comprehensive collection of Henry Taylor Wyse pottery ever displayed, together with examples of his fine art, books and other works spanning the late 19th to early 20th centuries.

The exhibition features works from the Museum of Edinburgh’s own collection, complemented by important loans from Wyse’s descendants, public and private collectors.

Councillor Richard Lewis, Edinburgh’s Convener of Culture and Sport said: “The exhibition is going to shine a new light on an often overlooked figure in the history of Scottish arts and crafts. Visitors will be able to get up close to Wyse’s beautifully coloured wares, from tiny egg cups to showstopper vases, while also learning about his workshop and artistic ideals.

“We’re delighted to have the opportunity to work with Wyse’s descendants and important collectors to bring such a wide range of Holyrood Pottery to the public.”

Holyrood Pottery powder glaze vase with Celtic cross on base, on display at Museum of Edinburgh

An exhibition on Henry Taylor Wyse opened at the National Trust for Scotland’s Hill House, Helensburgh earlier this month. A book on Henry Taylor Wyse by art historians Elizabeth Cumming and Heather Jack is being published to coincide with the two exhibitions. It will be available from the Museum of Edinburgh shop.

A Wise Man Knows His Craft: Henry Taylor Wyse and Holyrood Pottery runs until 30 October 2016 and admission is free.  A series of family events and a lecture have been arranged to complement the exhibition this summer.  For opening times and further details visit the Council’s Museums & Galleries website.

Extract from Henry Taylor Wyse manuscript prepared in 1943, on loan from a private collection

Have your say on Edinburgh’s World Heritage Site

old toon (2)

Members of the public are invited to have their say in how the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh World Heritage Site should be run.  The consultation will gather feedback for the three organisations who manage the site – The City of Edinburgh Council, Edinburgh World Heritage, and Historic Environment Scotland, and closes at the end of July. Continue reading Have your say on Edinburgh’s World Heritage Site