South Side – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Underbelly raises £20,000 for Brain Cancer Research through Big Brain Tumour Benefit

The eighth annual Big Brain Tumour Benefit has raised £20,000 for groundbreaking research into new treatments for brain tumours.
Eight acts performed for this year’s benefit: Nish Kumar, Rosie Jones, Rhys James, Larry Dean, Catherine Bohart, Emmanuel Sonubi, Felicity Ward and Justin Moorhouse.

Underbelly announces the 8th Annual Big Brain Tumour Benefit has raised £20,000 for Professor Richard Gilbertson’s lab at The Cancer Research Centre in Cambridge, helping to fund new treatments for the most aggressive forms of brain tumours in children.

This year’s star-studded lineup included performances from Nish Kumar, Rhys James, Rosie Jones, Larry Dean, Catherine Bohart, Emmanuel Sonubi, Felicity Ward and Justin Moorhouse.

Underbelly created the Big Brain Tumour Benefit in 2017 following co-founder Ed Bartlam’s son Alfie being diagnosed with Ependymoma, a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer. Alfie passed away two years later, at the age of seven. 100% of the profits from the Big Brain Tumour Benefit will be donated to Professor Richard Gilbertson’s lab to fund brain cancer research.

Ed Bartlam, Underbelly’s co-founder said: I am so grateful to everyone who attended Underbelly’s 8th annual Big Brain Tumour Benefit last night, and to the fantastic line up of comedians who gave their time and talent to make it such a success.

“It’s incredible that as a community we have raised more than £20,000, with all of the funds going to Professor Richard Gilbertson’s lab and directly funding cutting-edge tumour prevention and treatment.

“The Big Brain Tumour Benefit is always such a special night, and together we can continue to raise vital funds that save lives.”

Professor Richard Gilbertson said: “We are truly excited and humbled by the amazing partnership with Underbelly and Angel Child. Everyday, we work to end the devastation caused to children and their families by brain tumours.

“We will accept nothing less than total eradication of these devastating childhood cancers. Thanks to the support we have already received we are about to take a completely new therapy to the clinic.

“We could not have done this without Underbelly and Angel Child. Together with our collaborators, we have developed a number of other, completely new and kinder treatments, taking us even closer the day when no child will suffer or die from a brain tumour.

Brain tumours are the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in people under 40. They shorten life expectancy by an average of 27 years, the most of any cancer. Despite this, brain tumour research is underfunded compared to many other cancers.

The principal aim of Professor Richard Gilbertson’s Lab is to improve the accuracy of brain tumour classification and treatment, with a particular focus on children’s brain tumours.

Their research involves conducting genomic analyses of brain tumours to identify cancer-causing abnormalities, and using that knowledge to develop effective new cancer cures through clinical trials of molecular targeted therapies.

Underbelly’s Big Brain Tumour Benefit is a one-night-only show. For more information on the wider programme for the remainder of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, please visit the website here.

Communist candidates condemn city council and ask: What is a feminist vote?

The Communist Party of Britain (CPB) has spoken out on women’s rights and opportunities in its campaign for the September 3rd City of Edinburgh Council by-elections. They ask ‘What is a feminist vote?’, ‘How do council policies affect women and girls?’

They condemn the City of Edinburgh Council for opposing the updated Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Code of Practice on single-sex spaces, and for failing to implement it.

The party is standing candidates Richard Shillcock (Southside/Newington ward) and Peter Olech (Portobello/Craigmillar ward). They are offering distinct feminist policies within a socialist alternative to the mainstream parties.

They say the lives of girls and women in Scotland are under attack—from the widening gap between rich and poor, from cuts and underfunding and from an epidemic of male violence.

Women’s lives.

We need to rebuild women’s ‘social wage’ by investing in public services that lift the load from women in childcare and social care, and by increasing bargaining power and raising wages for the women who work in them.

Women’s rights.

We need to urgently implement the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of sex in the Equality Act 2010. Edinburgh City Council must fully uphold women’s rights and protections under the Act, including the right to single-sex services. The Scottish Government should require all public bodies to fully implement the Act.

Violence against women.

We need to strengthen domestic abuse and sexual assault services for women and children, with secure long term investment in prevention. We need to support women to exit prostitution, with zero tolerance towards the sexual exploitation of women by men.

The local by-elections were triggered following the resignation of two local SNP councillors who were recently elected as MSPs to Holyrood.

The Communist Party urges voters across Southside/Newington and Portobello/ Craigmillar to use their first vote and their numbered preference votes to opt for the policies they believe in—ones that will defend and extend the rights and the quality of life of working people.

Count Binface: Face of the Establishment

ONE NIGHT ONLY AT EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE

Following his success at the Clacton-on-Sea by-election, Count Binface is to perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for one night only at the Pleasance King Dome on Wednesday 26th August at 16:50.

The universe’s favourite novelty politician returns with COUNT BINFACE: FACE OF THE ESTABLISHMENT, a one-hour dose of political comedy and sci-fi satire.

Galactic phenomenon Count Binface comes back down to Earth for his Edinburgh Festival Fringe appearance. Join Binface for his unique take on Britain, his special brand of sci-fi satire and, of course, his unbeatable manifesto.

Cheaper 99 Flakes? Check. The nationalisation of Adele? Check. The return of Ceefax? Check. Water bosses to take a dip in UK rivers to see how they like it? CHECK! FACE OF THE ESTABLISHMENT brings Binface’s unique dose of political comedy to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for one night only.

Count Binface is the intergalactic space warrior and novelty politician who has delighted millions with his unlikely tilts at power in the United Kingdom.

After taking on Theresa May in the 2017 General Election, cunningly disguised as ‘Lord Buckethead’, and challenging Boris Johnson in 2019, he ran for Mayor of London in 2021, receiving a glorious 92,896 votes and soaring into ninth place.

He returned to the mayoral race in 2024, winning 24,260 votes, earning the endorsement of a national newspaper and beating Britain First.

Following his success at the Clacton-on-Sea by-election, where he won 9455 votes, Binface now returns to the stage with COUNT BINFACE: FACE OF THE ESTABLISHMENT.

Tickets from https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/count-binface-face-establishment

South Bridge assaults: Man arrested

A 33-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with a serious assault and an assault on South Bridge, on Saturday, 1 August, 2026.

Around 2.10am, a 42-year-old man was seriously assaulted and taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh for treatment.

Another man was assaulted on the same street and enquiries are continuing to trace the victim of that assault.

The 33-year-old man is due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court at a later date.

A report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.

From Gaza to Edinburgh in A Step and a Half!

The Palestinian Circus, a circus troupe who train and live in Gaza’s West Bank, are performing their show A Step and a Half at Underbelly Circus Hub on the Meadows throughout Edinburgh Fringe 2026.

Jess Fuchs: Feral

Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker Two: 5th – 30th August: 6:55pm

Sydney-based stand-up comedian Jess Fuchs brings her bold, high-energy new show Feral to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, marking her highly anticipated first full festival run following an Australian tour.

Jess Fuchs left home to avoid her problems and returned even more broken. Not all those who wander are lost. Sure… but some who wander are walking slowly because they’ve shattered their coccyx on the Cliffs of Moher. Sometimes it takes literally breaking your ass on the Cliffs of Moher to realise you were fine all along…and it was the trying to change that was the problem.

In Feral, Fuchs explores what happens when you meticulously plan, rehearse, and overthink your way through life… only for everything to unravel anyway. At its core, Feral is about pressure: where it comes from, how it builds, what it forces you to hide – and what happens when you can’t release it.

Tackling everything from body image, shame, and what it means to be ‘different’, to unsolicited advice, healthcare, and the myths of change and self-improvement, she dissects the contradictions of modern existence with wit, warmth, and unflinching honesty.

After overidentifying with the Titanic, a boat scrutinised for her size, loaded with impossible expectations, and sunk in the middle of nowhere, Fuchs turns her attention to the pressures women face. Especially loud, big women. Get married. Have kids. Be skinny. Feral is about her complete inability, or rather refusal to do any of that, and choosing to return to a feral state instead.

Feral is a show bursting at the seams with a lively off-the-cuff energy. It’s big, bold, high-energy storytelling – highly relatable, personal, but not trauma-dumpy – weaving anecdotes, observations and stories throughout a central narrative of a girls trip to Ireland gone wrong.

With a fast-growing international profile and over 100,000 followers across TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, Fuchs has built a loyal digital audience who connect with her sharply observed, effortlessly funny takes on everyday life. Translating that same magnetic energy to the stage, Feral sees her blend incisive stand-up with electric crowd work and deeply personal storytelling.

“When you’re a big, playful, extroverted woman, people feel comfortable telling you how you should be, rather than celebrating who you are,” says Jess. “This show is about pushing back, but also about human contradictions… being confident and vulnerable at the same time, even when people don’t want you to be.”

A Sydney-based stand-up comedian, writer, and actor, Fuchs is known for her razor-sharp crowd work and dynamic storytelling style. She has performed across Australia, Europe, the UK, and the United States, and is a regular host at The Comedy Store in Sydney, Comedy Republic in Melbourne, and Top Secret Comedy Club in London. She has opened for major international comedians including Fortune Feimster, Gianmarco Soresi, Morgan Jay, Craig Conant, and Rafi Bastos.

Her comedy centres women’s experiences, social behaviour, and the unspoken rules people are expected to follow, delivered with a playful irreverence and fearless perspective. In 2025, she independently released her debut stand-up special Thick & Thin on YouTube, further cementing her reputation as a rising global voice in comedy.

The Edinburgh Fringe run of Feral follows her biggest Australian festival circuit tour to date, with a show designed for audiences who enjoy intelligent, feminist, self-aware comedy that moves seamlessly between big laughs, audience interaction, and bold storytelling.

Instagram: @jessfuchs

What the press have said about Jess

“At her finest, she can unleash a flurry of withering, impudent gags worthy of Joan Rivers.” – Chortle

“Uproarious and raunchy show had the audience continuously laughing” – Sydney Arts Guide

“…finding a new comic that hits every note is a rare treat” – Theatre Thoughts

Listings Information

Show: Jess Fuchs: Feral

Dates: 5th – 30th August (not 18th)

Time: 6:55pm

Venue: Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker Two

Address: 60 Pleasance, Edinburgh, EH8 9TJ

Price: £9 – £14

Box Office: https://www.edfringe.com/ / https://www.pleasance.co.uk/

Ian Murray opens new permanent home for the Fringe

THE Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society officially opened Fringe Central on Infirmary Street in the heart of the Old Town at the weekend.

The new permanent home for the Fringe Society was opened by Culture Minister Ian Murray, City of Edinburgh Council Culture & Communities Committee Convener Cllr Margaret Graham, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, Tony Lankester, City of Edinburgh Council Leader, Cllr Jane Meagher and Chair of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, Benny Higgins.

Fringe Central will be an inclusive, year-round hub for the Fringe community, providing support to artists in preparing and delivering their Edinburgh Festival Fringe experience. They will be able to access services which include guidance on developing their show, support in achieving their future career ambitions and industry engagement, and advice on how to market and promote their work.

Throughout August, Fringe Central will be open daily, providing a friendly hub for artists and industry to connect and build relationships within the Fringe community. The 2026 Fringe Central programme includes a range of networking and industry events, helping performers build relationships with industry professionals from theatre, film and television to aid onward touring opportunities.

Practical, in-person support from the Fringe Society team will be available to participants through one-to-one advice and artists will be able to access wellbeing services from local mental health partner Health in Mind.

Throughout the project, the Fringe Society has engaged with co-tenants Canongate Youth, who support young people in Edinburgh aged between 5 and 18, as well as other local community schools and groups, such as Royal Mile Primary School, Sciennes Primary School, James Gillespie’s High School and LGBT Youth Scotland, to ensure a space for local cultural expression and development was co-designed.

The project was made possible due to support from a range of partners, including the UK Government via the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, The Foyle Foundation, SP Energy Networks Transmission Net Zero Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation, and Changing Places Toilets Scotland Fund.

The Fringe Society would also like to thank the City of Edinburgh Council for supporting this project with the signing of a 99-year building lease.

Ian Murray, Culture Minister said: ‘It was an honour to open the Fringe Society’s official new permanent home today. It’s been a long time coming and I am so pleased that we have been able to support this project with £7 million from the government.

“I know from my experience working at the Fringe when I was young just how transformational it can be, both for aspiring artists, comedians and producers, but also for the entire creative and cultural ecosystem of the UK.

“I hope this permanent new home will enable the Fringe Society to keep Edinburgh on the map as a world cultural hub and deliver more and more for our up and coming artists, as well as their international audiences and local communities, for decades to come.’

Cllr Margaret Graham, Culture and Communities Convener, said: ‘I’m so pleased that the new home for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is now officially open. This fantastic year-round city centre hub will provide a welcoming space for everyone involved in the Fringe, while also creating valuable opportunities for local cultural organisations to connect, collaborate and thrive.

“This is an important and significant investment by the Council in the future of the Fringe and in Edinburgh’s cultural life, ensuring that the world’s greatest arts festival has a permanent home at the heart of the city it belongs to and that Canongate Youth will be returning to their familiar home too.’

Tony Lankester, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society said: ‘Opening Fringe Central today marks the realisation of nearly a decade of work for the Fringe Society, and we are incredibly proud to be opening this physical hub for performers and industry.

From today, Fringe Central is a welcome space to the Fringe community with artists able to access practical in-person support to deliver their work at the Festival Fringe. Year-round, Fringe Central will be open to Edinburgh’s residents, stakeholders, and our local arts community through support services and bookable rehearsal spaces.

“We are grateful for the support from the UK Government, the City of Edinburgh Council, and our wider funders and supporters in achieving this ambition.

“We look forward to welcoming the Fringe community into Fringe Central this August, and we encourage them to make the most of the opportunities available this month and beyond.’

Nicola Benedetti turns off audiences’ phones ahead of Edinburgh International Festival concert

Edinburgh International Festival initiates ‘Lights Down, Phones Off’, with Festival Director Nicola Benedetti helping to turn off phones at pre-concert ‘Sound Check’ desk

Edinburgh International Festival Director Nicola Benedetti was at Queen’s Hall yesterday for the first chamber performance of the 2026 Edinburgh International Festival, where she joined staff at a new ‘Sound Check’ desk helping audience members turn off their phones ahead of the concert.

The desk marks the launch of Lights Down, Phones Off, a Festival-wide initiative encouraging audiences to switch off phones, notifications and alarms for the duration of performances.

This initiative follows feedback from audiences and artists, with phones interrupting every concert in the 2025 Queen’s Hall chamber series, and invites a deeper connection with the performances themselves.

Nicola Benedetti, Festival Director, said: “Live performance is unlike anything else, and the Edinburgh International Festival is here to protect the rarity of this experience.

“The power of our programme is intensified by the tangible, collective presence of everyone in the room, and we want you to be with us fully.

“When the lights go down and the performance starts, we would like phones to disappear from our hands, minds and ears. Views on this have been widely and boldly expressed in recent months and we are acting in communion with our beloved audiences, and extraordinary artists.

“The late, great Alfred Brendel, whom we pay tribute to in our Queen’s Hall series this year, said it best: ‘The audience’s contribution is concentration and silence – it’s an electricity the musician can charge from.’ That electricity is real, I’ve felt it from the stage my whole life. We encourage our audiences to switch off their phones, and let the art do the rest.

“We believe that live performance is most powerful when artists and audiences are in real communion with one another. On or off the stage, we all have a role to play. We’re asking for your full attention so we can give you something unforgettable.”

The 2026 edition of the Edinburgh International Festival takes place from 7 – 30th August. Programme information and tickets are available at www.eif.co.uk.

Communist candidates make Gaza City twinning central to Edinburgh by-election campaigns

Richard Shillcock and Peter Olech are launching a campaign featuring Palestinian flag leaflets to challenge UK complicity in the Gaza genocide and the involvement of local arms manufacturers.

Richard Shillcock, the Communist Party of Britain candidate for the Southside/Newington council by-election, has declared that the formal twinning of Edinburgh with Gaza City will be a key issue in the party’s campaign.

Speaking ahead of the 3 September 2026 council by-elections, Shillcock condemned the ongoing humanitarian crisis, uniting with fellow Communist candidate Peter Olech (standing in Portobello/Craigmillar ward) to call on all candidates to join a cross-party pledge supporting this international friendship move.

The Communist Party campaign features a unique election leaflet that folds out into the Palestinian flag for window display.

“As a father myself, it breaks my heart to have been protesting against the genocide in Gaza for nearly three years and to have been unable to prevent the murder of some 20,000 children there by the US-backed Israeli state, and the damaging and wounding of untold more children,” said Shillcock.

“I don’t need to describe this further—we’ve seen it on our screens every day.”

The move deliberately revives a contentious local political debate. In 2022, a citizen-led petition and a subsequent motion brought by Green councillors to explore twinning options were rejected by the City of Edinburgh Council following legal objections and administrative delays.

Richard Shillcock and Peter Olech are asking voters to use these elections to overturn that precedent.

In a joint statement, the candidates said: “We welcome other candidates and parties joining the pledge to pursue the twinning issue, whether or not elected to the council. Let’s see a majority of voters choosing candidates who support twinning Edinburgh with Gaza City.”

Richard Shillcock made three points linking Palestine directly to the Scottish capital:

Universal Humanity: The crisis is the defining moral issue of our generation.
State Complicity: The UK government continues to provide extensive military, economic, diplomatic, logistical, and intelligence support to the Israeli state.
Local Financial and Military Links: Corporate entities operating within Edinburgh connect the city directly to the Israeli state and military apparatus: the Leonardo UK arms company and Barclays Bank, a primary trader in Israeli government bonds.

The Communist Party of Britain is urging Southside/Newington and Portobello/Craigmillar voters to send a clear message against domestic complicity in overseas conflicts.

GATHER Community Arts Exhibition

Gather Exhibition

A Creative Community Hubs Network Event

We are hugely excited for Gather, a new exhibition showcasing work by artists and community members from across Edinburgh for the very first time.

This is a very special exhibition, and we’d love you to join us for it!

Gather Exhibition

Private View: 11th September 2026, from 4:30pm