A-Team Productions are producing a brand new show and touring it to three venues in Edinburgh next month. “Next Stop: Broadway” is a revue style production, showcasing songs from musicals old and new. Continue reading Next Stop Broadway for the A Team!
Muirhouse Shopping Centre Thursday 26 November 6 – 8pm
A weekend of fun activities for all the family coming up at The Madelvic
The UK’s body for championing participation in creative cultural activities, Voluntary Arts, has launched the Epic Awards
Thousands of people across the UK give up their time to share their passion for arts and creative activities. Leading groups of young and old, these people improve the lives of millions of people across the country.
The Epic Awards offer the opportunity to celebrate and reward these volunteers and groups and spread the word about the huge range of activities enriching our lives in all areas of Scotland.
https://youtu.be/Ncad5dgSv2U
Are you involved in an arts or crafts group that is doing something new and interesting? Have you struck up an interesting collaboration, inspired others or solved a problem in your home town?
From singing to knitting, amateur dramatics to painting, over 60,000 amateur arts groups across the UK and Republic of Ireland are making a difference to lives in their local areas. The Epic Awards shines a spotlight on their achievements.
You can nominate your group for an award by filling in the form on www.epicawards.co.uk and put them forward for national recognition and a range of prizes from financial support to advice, partnership and performance opportunities.
Winning groups have usually run initiatives or activities that involve interesting collaborations, or engage with their local community or beyond, undertake creative activity that inspires others or increases participation, or use new ideas in innovative ways.
Last year’s Scottish winner, Kirkcudbright Art and Crafts Trail (below), is a volunteer-led arts trail which has grown to include over 100 venues filled with work created by over 200 participants attracting audiences from far and wide.
Kirkcudbright Art and Crafts Trail’s Pauline Saul reflected on what winning the Epic Award meant for the group. She said: “We were delighted to be short listed for the Epic Award for Scotland. When the email came saying that we had won we were extremely proud of our achievement, wanting to run outside and tell everyone!
“The Epic Award has given the trail some good publicity through local papers and town folk have been really pleased both for us and for Kirkcudbright. Following the Epic Award we have grown in confidence, and become more forward thinking, planning a Christmas event and our theme for 2016.”
Last year’s runner-up in Scotland DD8 Music is a group run by volunteers in Kirriemuir, which provides free lessons, jams and recording equipment for young people. DD8 Music also picked up the UK wide award for exceptional work with young people.
The public have their chance to vote and award a prize to one of the shortlisted groups through The People’s Choice Award. Last year’s winners were Knitted Knockers UK, a group of over 650 people across the UK who co-ordinate online to create and send 100 per cent cotton breast prostheses to women who have had mastectomies.
Jemma Neville, director of Voluntary Arts Scotland, said: “The Epic Awards demonstrate the scale and diversity of self-led creative cultural activity in Scotland. From volunteer-led festivals to community radio stations, and poetry groups to choirs, there are creative people across the country with the passion and initiative to provide opportunities for people to take part in voluntary arts activity. I strongly encourage groups thinking of applying to do so.”
Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Europe and External Affairs, Fiona Hyslop, said: “The Voluntary Arts Epic Awards showcase excellent examples of inclusive and local participation in the arts and the initiative and drive of many dedicated volunteers across the country who set up and run thousands of arts and cultural groups.
“Voluntary arts contribute much to Scotland’s rich and varied cultural life and Voluntary Arts Scotland’s support helps enable more people to get involved in creative activities.
“These awards demonstrate an ongoing commitment to ensuring that communities across Scotland are supported to create and participate so that all the hard work and imagination that contribute to the cultural life of our communities, often undertaken by volunteers, is recognised.
“I’m looking forward to hearing more about the exciting work taking place the length and breadth of Scotland in the run up to this year’s awards and encourage Scottish nominations to be put forward.”
The Epic Awards are supported by Spirit of 2012, an independent trust created to sustain the spirit and opportunities from London 2012, and are themselves supporting BBC Get Creative. Spirit has also helped to create two new categories of Epic Award as well as the Epic Places project. Voluntary Arts also acknowledges funding from Arts Council England, Arts Council Wales, Creative Scotland and Arts Council Northern Ireland.
Debbie Lye, chief executive of Spirit of 2012, said: “We at Spirit are delighted to be supporting the Epic Awards again in 2016. I was blown away by the sheer breadth of high-quality award nominations last year – it’s clear we’ve got a voluntary arts scene to be proud of.
“The Epic Awards really do showcase the cream of the UK and Ireland’s amateur artistic and cultural crop, and I am eager to see who’s in the running in 2016. Best of luck!”
Remember that closing date for nominations: Monday 7 December
The fabulous Edinburgh Gang Show is back!
Over 250 young people from Scouting and Girlguiding will swap their camping gear and the outdoor life for the glitz and glamour of the theatre world when the annual Gang Show returns to the capital next week. Continue reading Gearing up for The Gang Show
Saturday 12 & Sunday 13 December
Dance Base are putting together a Youth Dance Company for young people aged 14-19 from across the Lothians (writes Heather Marshall). All welcome and the audition workshops look like they’ll be great fun!
BRIGHT NIGHTS WINTER ART EVENT
Muirhouse Shopping Centre
Thursday 26 November 6 – 8pm Continue reading See Muirhouse Shopping Centre in a whole new light!
Blackhall Library, Monday 16 November, 6.30-8.30pm
The next meeting of the Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership is focused on PERFORMANCE – why not come along and join us for a cuppa and hear how the Inverleith Neighbourhood and its key partners are doing?
Also, hear what you told us from the recent Edinburgh People’s Survey and what progress we are making towards the Community’s key priorities, as highlighted in our local community plan.
Please let us know if you require any assistance to attend or take part e.g. large print, disabled access requirements, travel arrangements, hearing loop etc.
Elaine Lennon, Partnership Development Officer
Tel: 0131 529 5270
Tonight at NEA: The Bridge and Remembering Tomorrow
We are delighted to be presenting not one but two fantastic events on Friday 23 October, from Annie George, and the North Edinburgh Theatre project:
7pm THE BRIDGE by Annie George
TICKETS: £8 full/£5 concession/£3.50 Good Neighbours
Box Office 0131 315 2151, admin@northedinburgharts.co.uk
Written and performed by Annie George
Directed by Sarah MacDonald
Composer, Niroshini Thambar
Design by Alice Wilson
The Bridge is a compelling and inspiring piece of visual theatre, which tells a remarkable story of the short life and lost work of PM John, a poet and author from Kerala India, living in the days running up to Independence from the British in 1947. His story is interwoven with that of his family, their struggles, and journeys they took across continents to new lives and opportunities.
8.30pm Remembering Tomorrow
A short film from the North Edinburgh Theatre project as part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts & Film Festival
Join us for the premiere of a short film devised and presented by the group who brought you the sell-out 1D Tenement Opera in January this year, The North Edinburgh Theatre group (above) have used film, scripted and devised pieces to reflect on their own and others’ experiences around wellbeing.
Director: Stephanie Knight
Filmmaker: Elliott Hatherley
Free – but contact the box office to book. The cafe will be open serving light refreshments, wines and beer so why not join us for the evening?
Showcase aims to raise £250,000 to aid Macmillan Cancer Support in anniversary year
Following the hugely successful Showcase 25, charity Showcase Musical Productions is now in rehearsals for its regular annual show-stopping performance.
From 22-26 September, Showcase returns to the Church Hill Theatre to continue celebrating its 25th anniversary raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support. This will be a double celebration as this year also marks the 50th anniversary of the Church Hill Theatre.
Director, Andy Johnston, describes the programme as: “An eclectic mix of old and new including songs from throughout the lengthy career of Sir Elton John and a tribute to the genius that was Jacques Brel.
“We celebrate the recent reunion of classic 1970’s megastars Fleetwood Mac and perform some of the most celebrated cover versions of all time, including songs from artists as diverse as Pet Shop Boys, Faith No More and J2.
“We even manage to squeeze in songs from classic shows such as Les Miserables, Priscilla – Queen of the Desert and Cabaret, alongside songs from current West End hits Gypsy, The Kinks Musical; Sunny Afternoon and Carole King’s Beautiful.”
Showcase is one of the biggest fundraisers for Macmillan Cancer Support in Scotland, having raised over £230,000 in the last 25 years. Showcase hopes to raise sufficient funds from this anniversary year to reach their £250,000 target.
This is a cause that is close to all Showcasers’ hearts, many of the company and supporters have first-hand experience of the tremendous work of Macmillan.
Jayne Forbes, Macmillan Fundraising Manager for Edinburgh, said: “The support of Showcase is pivotal to Macmillan’s presence in Scotland. We couldn’t have developed services in the way we have without them. And with more people living – and not dying – from cancer, the need for our support is greatly increasing.
“It’s great to work with Showcase. They are fantastic fundraisers but more than this they are truly passionate about, and dedicated to, Macmillan. We couldn’t wish for better advocates and supporters and we would like to thank each and every one of them for their commitment to us.”
Showcase 25 was a phenomenal success and it helped to kick off the 25th anniversary celebrations for Showcase. All Edinburgh Theatre’s Thom Dibdin felt that Showcase ‘rose to the challenges of staging a big choral show on the King’s stage with significant success.’
Showcase 2015 is already shaping up to be just as exciting and is a show not to be missed. Vice President Alan Hunter sums up why tickets should be bought for this performance: “By coming along and buying a ticket, you are genuinely making a difference to somebody’s life, and what could be better than that?”
