Push the Boat Out(PTBO), Edinburgh’s International Poetry Festival, returns for its third year with a vibrant, exciting line-up featuring over 50 events and with over 80 performers, artists and speakers within the programme.
Tickets go on sale today, Thursday 5th October – International Poetry Day.
Running over the weekend of 24-26 November in Summerhall, Edinburgh, the third Push the Boat Out programme, supported by Creative Scotland, continues and expands the festival’s mission to change our perceptions of what poetry can be.
From poetry readings and discussions, to new commissions, singer-songwriter circles, music hybrid events, dance and hip hop, poetic cocktail-making classes, film screenings, beach walks, panels, workshops and development opportunities – this vibrant, multi-layered, polyphonic line-up is a true fiesta of the vernacular with something for everyone and anyone.
This year, we’re celebrating the poetry of songwriting. Join Hamish Hawk for a solo performance and an evening of lyrical enchantment with support from Iona Zajac. Hawk will also appear alongside Karine Polwart and Inua Ellams in a special Songwriting Circle event discussing what it means to create a song through poetry.
Continuing to wax lyrical, Bemz, Dave Hook and Queen of Harps will lift the lid on their songwriting process by sharing the backstory to their songs in a Song Exploder event, whilst multi-instrumentalist, Dizraeli will take an honest look at human creation and connection in their event, Animal Noises.
We’re also finding the drama in poetry, with a series of new commissions in association with the National Theatre of Scotland. We’re taking inspiration from our home, Summerhall, as Ever Dundas and Harry Josephine Giles celebrate the building’s history with a darkly gothic night of poetry and original music composed by David Paul Jones that promises to be ‘cinema for the ears’.
We’re interested in the politics of poetry, as Jeremy Corbyn and Len McCluskey posit that poetry is for the many, with Yvonne Reddick’s urgent climate poetry, Kim Moore’s feminist poetic, and the pulsing poem-stories of William Letford and Dawn Watson.
Our online programme includes international poetry stars Meena Kandasamy and Tishani Doshi, beamed into your home. We’re enjoying the sheer pleasure of poetry, as Cat Prince Michael Pedersen hangs out with his feline subjects in Maison de Moggy, Joelle Taylor and Kate Fox will help shake up a poetic cocktail or two, Sean Wai Keung leads us through a dumpling and poetry workshop, Inua Ellams throws open the doors with his audience-led Search Party show, and John Hegley runs an anarchic, joyous, hands-on creative session.
Emma Collins, Director of Push the Boat Out, said: “In this third year, Push the Boat Out is definitely poetry placed firmly in a current tide. This year’s programme is a true showcasing of contemporary excellence. Modern, charged, alive, joyful and celebratory with events that are also vehicles for important and vital discussions.
“We’ve brought together over eighty of the most exciting poets from Scotland, the UK and beyond and we’ve continued to expand our notion of what poetry is, with eclectic events that celebrate words and language in their many glorious forms and in conversation with other artistic disciplines.
“Poetry is everywhere, it’s the lyrics in songs, our conversations and dialogues, the rhythm of spoken word, scripts and sonnets, proclamations and points of view, the stories we tell and the history around us.
“That’s what Push the Boat Out is primarily about … words, how we use them, a celebration of them and what they mean to us. We’ve endeavoured to capture that in this year’s programming.
“We also strive to make Push the Boat Out as accessible for audiences as possible. BSL interpreted events are indicated within the programme and once again, in addition to our in person and online programme, we will have a programme of events free to listen to at home via our partners EHFM Radio as well as a selected live stream event that showcases newly commissioned work.
“We’ve been overjoyed by the response from the incredible artists and poets who’ve agreed to come on board the boat this year and cannot wait to bring them all together for audiences this November.”
Harriet MacMillan, Literature Officer at Creative Scotland, said:“In its third year, the Push the Boat Out programme is brighter and more dynamic than ever, capturing the many dimensions of Scotland’s rich poetry scene.
“Thanks to National Lottery players, this unique and varied international suite of events is testament to the vital role poetry plays in all of our lives.
“Their increasing range of collaborations and activities continues to show us how words can connect us with each other and ourselves – the power of poetry will be felt by all who take part in this brilliant celebration.”
What does a 70-year-old man pulling dead rats out of gutters have to do with becoming a better human? Chris Singleton has the answer in his spoken word comedy show ‘How to be a Better Human’ at Summerhall this month.
“I lost my dad to bowel cancer in 2019,” says Chris. “And a few months later my wife left me. So I did what anyone would do, and wrote a comedy about it.”
‘How to Be a Better Human’is a spoken word comedy about grief, loss and self-acceptance. Set up as a Ted Talk, it features powerpoint comedy, animation and original music.
“I wanted to explore the lightness and humour in death and divorce,” continues Chris. “How we can lose everything and still find the strength to rebuild. How it helped me become better at empathising, connecting and understanding.”
His debut show has received glowing reviews on tour across the North, with many comments about how the show shifts between laughter and sadness.
“Death is something we’re all going to experience – that’s one thing we can be absolutely sure of. So why don’t we talk about it more? I’m hoping this show will spark conversation and understanding around the subjects of death and grief.”
To find out how growing a beard can be the best decision of your life, and why some hedgehogs are absolute dickheads, catch How to be a Better Human this month.
How to be a Better Human is on every day at 6pm until Saturday 28th August (excluding Monday 15th & Monday 22nd)
EIGHT Edinburgh Festival Fringe producing venues – Assembly, Dance Base, Gilded Balloon, Just the Tonic, Pleasance, Summerhall, Underbelly and ZOO – are coming together for the first time to launch an updated show ticketing and reviews platform, edfest.com – providing audiences with a central hub for easy booking, information and reviews of ‘the best curated shows on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe’.
With tickets now on sale, edfest.com provides a centralised booking and reviews hub providing access to 1,159 shows across comedy, dance, theatre, and music at 140 venues, featuring performers from 32 different countries.
Some notable performers and shows in the 2022 edfest.com line up are:
Assembly: Choir of Man, Beats on Point, Friendsical, Love Loss & Chianti and Queenz
DanceBase: Ballet Ireland, Scottish Dance Theatre, Dan Daw Creative Projects
Gilded Balloon: Late’n Live, Maisie Adam, Leith Social, Henry Naylor, Jack Docherty
Just The Tonic: Jimeoin, Tom Stade, Aliya Kanani, Jack Gleadow, Anthony Deveto
Pleasance: Freedom Ballet of Ukraine, Sophie Duker, Ben Hart, Tim Vine, SK Shlomo
Summerhall: Learning to Fly, Life is Soft, Mama Love, Talisk, Efterkland
Underbelly: La Clique, Rhys Nicholson, Dragons & Mythical Beasts, Circa: Humans 2.0, Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch
ZOO: Night Dances, Runners, Rocky, Sad Book, Far Gone, Every word was once an animal
The new edfest.com website has been designed to give audiences a more bespoke experience, allowing them to search and find shows they will love.
Companies and venues will update information on a regular basis and the public will be encouraged to review shows and share with their friends. The new experience gives ticket buyers a more rounded view of what’s on offer, replacing what word of mouth and poster clippings have done in the past.
Speaking on behalf of the eight edfest.com venues, Jim Hollington, CEO of Dance Base, comments: “The last two years have been incredibly hard for everyone in the arts and entertainment sector. It’s therefore critical that this year’s Edinburgh Fringe is a success, to protect the future of our own organisations, of the performing artists who make the Fringe, and of our contribution to the city of Edinburgh overall.
“As producing venues, we invest a huge amount of time, energy and money curating and producing some of the best entertainment in the world and bringing that to Edinburgh. Whilst the pandemic created numerous challenges, it did allow us to stop and think about how we could collaborate and do things better.
“Across the eight edfest.com venues we share a similar vision and so it made sense for us to pool our sales and marketing resources to drive efficiencies across our own operations and ultimately make things easier for customers. Our box offices will also all be linked and audiences will be able to buy for multiple venues.
“Crucially this year we are going on sale earlier than usual to increase the sales window for bookings and generate much needed revenue.
“Putting the last two years behind us we would like to encourage everyone from Fringe loyalists who turn up every year, to Edinburgh locals and first timers to visit edfest.com, book some spectacular shows and once again enjoy the best possible Edinburgh Fringe experience this August. We can’t wait to get going!”
Taiwan Film Festival Edinburghreturns for its second edition between 25 and 31 October with a fantastic range of Taiwanese cinema gems, many of them UK premieres, dating from the 1930s up to 2020, presented through in-person screenings and digital talks at Glasgow Film Theatre and Summerhall in Edinburgh and a free digital programme of films.
With the theme of Disruptions and Transformations, inspired by the fast-changing and unsettling world in the past few years, the Festival explores both the monumental historic shifts the Taiwanese society experienced over the decades but also portrays the seemingly small disruptions of the everyday.
Featuring the work of legends such as Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Edward Yang, and exploring topics such as war, urban life and the struggles of the LGBTQ+ community, the free programme of digital screenings is now available to pre-book on the Festival’s digital platform. Access is limited to a specific number of viewers per film so audiences are advised to book early.
For the first time, the Festival also presents a range of in-person screenings. As part of their special climate-focused strand in the run up to COP26, Glasgow Film Theatre will host a screening of two environmental documentaries showing how Taiwanese filmmakers address environmental transformations caused by economic and industrial progress – after all, the climate emergency is the ultimate change and interruption we all must respond to together.
On 25 October, Sacred Forest (2019) will delve deep into the majestic cypress forest in Taiwan and on 30 October, Whale Island (2020) will explore how the ocean might become our home one day. Tickets on sale soon.
Sounds in Silence is a double bill of silent cinema gems offering an extraordinary glimpse into the everyday lives of Taiwanese people in the early and mid-20th century, presented at Summerhall on 27 October and featuring new score from acclaimed composer and musician Lim Giong and live music by Glasgow-based experimental musician Rory Green. With contemporary film scoring featuring on the archive films from decades ago, the event is going to take audience on a trip through time to Taiwan in the 1930s and 1960s.
Liu Kuan-Ping, Chief Curator at the Festival, said: “I am really excited that for the first time, Taiwan Film Festival Edinburgh is bringing three in-person screenings taking place at two fantastic arts institutions: Glasgow Film Theatre and Summerhall – all exploring Disruptions and Transformations on a macro and micro scale.
“I cannot wait to meet our audience face to face, with facial masks on of course. We are also pleased to be back with an inspired programme of free digital screenings this year available to nationwide audiences.
“We would like to thank the Ministry of Culture in Taiwan, our generous sponsor, as well as our partners Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute who have been instrumental in securing some of the cinematic gems we are now able to share with our UK audiences.”
Telling us the inspiration of the theme, one of theco-curators, Chiu Yi-Chieh said: “On 23 March 2020, all of our lives were interrupted in unimaginable ways by the global pandemic- it was precisely at that time that the Taiwan Film Festival Edinburgh was born.
“It made us reflect on how changes and interruptions are always present in our daily lives. When we were making the selection, we wanted to encourage audiences to look beyond the canons and fall in love with films that are overdue the world’s applause.
“We welcome audiences’ own interpretative grouping by putting all films under the theme of Disruptions and Transformations without the conventional curatorial classification.”
Head of Taipei Representative Office UK Cultural Division, Dr Chen Pin-Chuan said: “It is great to see Taiwan Film Festival Edinburgh continuing the great work. Through these wonderful films from Taiwan, we hope to establish connections with Scottish audiences, and will introduce more cultural and arts programs to Scotland in the near future.”
2021 TAIWAN FILM FESTIVAL EDINBURGH PROGRAMME
IN-PERSON SCREENINGS in Glasgow and Edinburgh
Sacred Forest 神殿| Ke Ching-Yuan| 2019 | 60 mins
In-person screening on 25 October at Glasgow Film Theatre; tickets on sale soon.
Sacred Forest takes an eco-philosophical approach to introduce the deeply unique nature of Taiwan’s cloud enveloped cypress forest ecosystems and to explore the nation’s oldest forests, tallest tree species, and priceless, multi-millennial stands of giant ‘sacred trees’. Sacred Forest follows six separate groups, each with different interests and field specialties, as they experience the raw majesty of the forest from multiple facets ranging from the analytically intellectual to the introspectively emotional and spiritually uplifting.
The screening will also feature a special introduction from the film director, Ke Ching-yuan.
Whale Island 男人與他的海 | Huang Jia Jun| 2020 | 108 mins | UK Premiere
In-person screening on 30 October at Glasgow Film Theatre; tickets on sale soon.
Taiwan is an island. Although it is surrounded by the sea, its people fear the sea since the history and the religious beliefs held on this island make people turn their backs to the sea. Oceanic literature author Liao Hung-chi and underwater photographer Ray Chin lead the audience out to the sea and into the water. They prompt us to understand the sea and to think about the possibility that the ocean might become our lives and the future of our living land.
The screening will also feature a special introduction from the film director, Huang Jia-jun
Sounds in Silence double bill at 6.30pm on 27 October in Summerhall, Edinburgh; also online 28-31 Oct on Festival website.
A Morning in Taipei 臺北之晨 | Pai Jing-jui | 1964 | 20 mins | UK Premiere
Director Pai Jing-jui’s 1964 short documentary depicts a modern, industrious Taipei full of diverse and determined individuals as they perform their morning routines. People begin their workday, actors prepare for a theatrical performance, and children play in the schoolyard; the day is full of wonder and possibility.
A pre-recorded conversation between Chen Chia-Huei (co-creator of the new score and sound for A Morning in Taipei and the art consultant and Head of Education at the Taiwan Sound Lab) and musician Rory Green will be screened after A Morning in Taipei.
Deng Nan-guang’s 8mm Movies 鄧南光8mm家庭電影| Deng Nan-guang| 1935-1941| 57 mins| UK Premiere
Deng Nan-Guang’s 57-minute collection of intimate home-style videos, filmed between 1935 and 1941, captures an overlooked side of Taiwanese life under Japanese occupation. The films serve as a well-preserved time portal to a bygone era, offering a glimpse of life in Taiwan under colonial rule in the lead up to the Second World War. Screened to a live music score from a Glasgow-based experimental musician Rory Green.
DIGITAL SCREENINGS on the Festival website between 25 and 31 October
The Best Secret Agent 天字第一號 | Chang Ying | 1964 | 102 mins
The first Taiwanese-language spy film produced in Taiwan; The Best Secret Agent is a remake of the 1945 movie of the same name that caused a sensation in Shanghai. During the Sino-Japanese War, Tsui-Ying flees with her father from the Japanese occupation. She meets a young man, Ling-Yun, and falls in love. In the meantime, Special Agent 001 leads the resistance against the Japanese.
Foolish Bride, Naive Bridegroom 三八新娘憨子婿| Hsin Chi | 1967 | 101 mins
The parents of two young lovers meet to discuss the possibility of their marriage, only to discover that they themselves were lovers 30 years ago.
Dangerous Youth 危險的青春 | Hsin Chi | 1969 | 95 mins
Khue-guan (Shi Ying), a penniless delivery boy for a cosmetics company, meets Tsing-bi (Zheng Xiao-fen), a young and charming waitress, in awkward circumstances just as his girlfriend leaves him for a wealthy suitor. Khue-guan is intrigued by Tsing-bi and tries to get her another job after meeting Giok-sian (Gao Xing-zhi), who runs a cabaret. Eventually, she finds out that her new job is as an escort to a lonely, elderly millionaire named Mr. Tshi.
The Homecoming Pilgrimage of Dajia Mazu 大甲媽祖回娘家| Huang Chun-ming | 1975 | 27 mins | UK Premiere
Viewers are transported back in time to 1974 to see the annual Taoist celebration of the Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage. Thousands of participants accompany a statue of the goddess Mazu on a 9-day, 8-night procession, stopping at several prominent temples along the way.
Taipei Story 青梅竹馬 | Edward Yang | 1985 | 115 mins
A headstrong and financially-secure woman, Chin (played by Chin Tsai), is anxious to move forward in life and escape from the dissatisfaction and pain caused by family troubles, urban alienation, a lack of job security, tumultuous friendships, and a distant past of baseball glory to which her boyfriend, Lung (Hou Hsiao-hsien), so desperately clings. Chin thinks moving to America may be the solution, but as time goes by, it becomes increasingly clear that may not fix all her problems.
Dust in the Wind 戀戀風塵 | Hou Hsiao-Hsien | 1986 | 109 mins
Dust in the Wind is a coming-of-age love story about two young individuals, Wan and Huen, from the Taiwanese mining village of Jio-fen. Their hope is to make enough money to be able to get married one day, believing like everyone else that they are meant for each other. Despite what fate may seem to have in store for them, they cannot help but care deeply for one another.
Peony Birds 牡丹鳥 | Huang Yu-shan| 1990 | 107 mins | UK Premiere
A multi-generational story about the troubled relationship between a mother and a daughter: from when she was a young child to adulthood and her joining her mother in the busy Taipei of the 80s and 90s and pursuing a career of her own.
Also available on the Festival’s digital platform will be a Q&A session with director Huang Yu-shan.
Hill of no Return 無言的山丘 | Wang Tung | 1992 | 175 mins
This 1992 drama, set in 1927, tells the tale of two brothers, Chu and Wei, who leave home following the death of their parents to work at a Japanese-occupied gold mine in the remote, poverty-stricken town of Jiou-fen in the northeast of Taiwan. The brothers dream of one day becoming rich and owning their own land and, taken in by the gold rush, they endure back-breaking labour for little reward. They then both fall deeply in love with partners that risk to complicate their lives even further.
Also available on the Festival’s digital platform will be a Q&A session with director Wang Tung.
The Personals 徵婚啓事 | Chen Kuo-Fu | 1998 | 105 mins
Du Jia-zhen is a 29-year-old eye doctor at a hospital, who decides to quit her job and find a husband. She places a personal ad in the newspaper, searching for a potential match to distract herself from recent heartbreak. The film depicts the urban dating scene of Taipei in the 1990s in all of its absurdity and hideousness, conveying humour through humiliation and evoking sympathy for the strangest people.
Splendid Float 豔光四射歌舞團 | Zero Zhou | 2004 | 73 mins
An aesthetically stunning, lightly humorous, and dramatic film that confronts traditional gender roles and explores the themes of conformity, grief, acceptance, personal struggle, and identity. A Taoist priest named Xiao Qiang-wei (James Chen) doubles as a drag queen by the name of Rose that performs at various nightlife venues.
Closing Time 打烊時刻 | Nicole Vogele | 2018 | 116 mins
Swiss filmmaker Nicole Vogele’s documentary Closing Time captures the calm after the storm of midnight living. The film draws attention to the quiet, fatigued period that follows the hustle and bustle of Taipei’s vibrant city life and the night shift workers that keep the city awake well into the early hours of the next day.
Push The Boat Out(PTBO) Scotland’s newest and most boundary-bending poetry festival, launches its online and hybrid offer today, October 1st in Edinburgh.
Taking place from the 15 – 17 October 2021 within the creative hub of Summerhall, Push The Boat Out will be the second poetry festival ever to be held in Scotland and has already been making waves for its mission to change perceptions of poetry.
Named after the poem “At Eighty” by the first Scottish makar Edwin Morgan, PTBO is inspired by the vibrancy and range of contemporary poetry, hip hop and spoken word and creates an environment where all variations of this vital artform are encouraged to grow, evolve and even collide.
The festival is directed by Jenny Niven (Former head of literature Creative Scotland and Acting Director Edinburgh International Book Festival), and was co founded by Jenny Niven and Kevin Williamson (Rebel Inc, Neu Reekie!).
The flagship project of the hybrid offer from PTBO is ‘A Poetry Mile’ an unique project which saw 23 leading poets commissioned to produce more than 70 brand new poems relating to locations within a square mile of Summerhall.
The poems have been built into an app which custom generates walking tours of some of Edinburgh’s most iconic locations, from the Scottish Parliament (where users hear spoken word poet Leyla Josephine’s devastating response to the Alex Salmond allegations) to the Sheep Heid Inn (where Michael Pederson recounts his time there as a skittle boy).
Users determine the type of experience they’d like to have, from ‘melancholy’ to ‘historical’ to ‘queer poetry’ and are served a bespoke audio map to follow. Each poem is read by the poet themselves, creating hundreds of possible individual audio tours.
The project, supported by James and Morag Anderson, and the Futures Institute at Edinburgh University, offers an original, contemporary take on a modern, complex city and features poets such as Edwin Morgan prize winner Alycia Pirmohamed, spoken word icon Hollie McNish and three Edinburgh city makars, Christine de Luca, Alan Spence and recently anointed Hannah Lavery.
Totally covid safe, the app can be enjoyed on foot, promoting the mental health benefits of walking, or from anywhere, online (an idea which appealed to the Futures Institute for students planning to come to Edinburgh).
The project is Push the Boat Out’s innovative imagining of what a truly hybrid festival, born in covid times, might look like and proudly supported poets to create new work during difficult times.
Poetry rabble rouser Michael Pederson will host a bespoke Poetry Mile walk, lunch and game of skittles at Scotland’s oldest surviving public house, The Sheep Heid Inn, as part of the festival.
Michael Pederson says: ‘Edinburgh is a city buoyed by poetry – poetic sentiment is the cement that clasps together its ancient rock; is what marbles the sea haar, and propels the gelid the wind that pummels our bodies, spilling down a deep fissure for a quick getaway; it’s the butt of the joke brewing in its underbelly.
“Of course, the only real way to map this City is by poetry, by voices, by visitants, by denizens. Ordnance Survey is over, The Poetry Mile is here – tread careful & trust no-one (but us).’
Julia Sorensen, PTBO comms manager and poet laureate of St Albert, Edmonton, Canada said: ‘A Poetry Mile feels like a collection of secrets. It’s not that poems are things we should’ve kept to ourselves – it’s the opposite – it’s just that there’s been no space to tell them yet.
“A Poetry Miles gives poets a place to share personal and specifically-located stories through their work, and the poems help users discover – or re-discover – the city afresh.
Dr Patricia Erskine, Culture & Community Director, Edinburgh Futures Institute said: “Nothing conjures up a sense of place quite like a poem. The wonderful new poems in A Poetry Mile will evoke warm feelings, engage your senses, draw out hidden memories and create some new ones.
“At the Edinburgh Futures Institute, we challenge, create and make change happen. So it has been incredibly exciting to support Push The Boat Out as they created this extraordinary digital project. The poems and walks may chime with us or they may change how we think about the city, its buildings and its green spaces.
“Whether it’s your first time or you’ve walked the routes many times before, the poems are sure to inspire anyone who wants to walk A Poetry Mile in Edinburgh, in person or online.”
Today PTBO also announce our wider online offer, with a range of events streamed live, offered on catch up, or developed into podcasts which will be released immediately following the festival.
These include partner events with leading Scottish literary organisations Scottish BAME Writers Network, Gutter Magazine, Shoreline of Infinity and Stewed Rhubarb press. A one of kind bespoke sign language poetry workshop is offered by Chinese filmmaker and poet Yi Ru.
All online events are free.
Completing the festival’s accessibility offer is a series of free events, including Artists’ talks with Alec Findlay, Sean Wai Keung and Pip Thornton, and sessions showcasing the work developed in partnership with leading reading charity, Open Book Reading.
Jenny Niven, director of Push The Boat Out, said:“With the festival born during, and in some ways in response to, covid times, we’ve been thinking since the beginning about how to keep innovating and creating, and make vibrant contemporary poetry as accessible as we can in these unusual circumstances.
“We’re really pleased to be able to offer such a wide selection of our events available to anyone who can’t physically come to Summerhall – as well as our lovely Poetry Mile app which you can use from absolutely anywhere.
Push The Boat Out(PTBO) Scotland’s newest and most boundary-bending poetry festival, launches its inaugural programme today, Wednesday 8 September in Edinburgh.
Taking place from the 15 – 17 October 2021 within the creative hub of Summerhall, Push The Boat Out will be the second poetry festival ever to be held in Scotland and its aims to do what it says on the tin, by challenging perceptions of what poetry is and how it can be enjoyed.
Named after the poem “At Eighty” by the first Glasgow poet laureate Edwin Morgan, PTBO is inspired by the vibrancy and range of contemporary poetry, hip hop and spoken word coming out of Scotland, the UK and indeed the world. The aim of the festival is to not only give poetry a new platform, but to create an environment where all variations of this vital artform are encouraged to grow, evolve and even collide.
Taking place within the creative spaces of Summerhall in Edinburgh, the PTBO programme will seep into every nook and cranny of this established arts venue through multiple means, including film, imagery, song, music, dance, singing, debate and other forms of poetry performance.
Underpinning the festival are four key themes; social justice and representation; healing and recovery; climate crisis and ecopoetics; and virtual and other realities.
Audiences can expect first-class performances from around 60 poets, emerging and established, including the newly appointed Scots Makar Kathleen Jamie.
Images: Alicia Pirmohamed and Roddy Woomble
Other key programme highlights include performances by Scottish hip hop legend Solareye / Dave Hook of Stanley Odd, celebrated Caribbean poet Lorna Goodison, and the author the first-ever poetry collection to win The Guardian First Book Award, Andrew McMillan. Joining them on the many and varied Summerhall ‘stages’ are Roseanne Watt, Hannah Lavery, Nova Scotia the Truth, Harry Josephine Giles, Ray Antrobus, Clare Pollard, Caroline Bird, Salena Godden and many more.
Another key element to the PTBO programme is the Poetry Mile initiative which, through a dedicated web app, allows users to experience Edinburgh differently, filtered through the eyes and ears of some of the country’s finest poets.
Featuring over 50 specifically commissioned poems from over 25 poets, all locations featured are within a square mile of Summerhall. The app generates bespoke walking tours depending on the type of experience the user requests to have.
The brainchild of director Jenny Niven, former head of literature at Creative Scotland, and co-founder Kevin Williamson, writer, publisher and founder of the Edinburgh arts events collective Neu! Reekie!, PTBO is convinced of the need for poetry more now than ever before, particularly as we emerge from lengthy lockdowns and seek new ways to express ourselves.
Images: Founders Jenny Niven and Kevin Williamson
Jenny Niven, co-founder of Push The Boat Out, said:“We are so excited to be launching our inaugural Push The Boat Out programme after what has been a difficult year for everyone, not least those working within the arts.
“That said, poetry is all about using language in new ways, to express new experiences, so if ever there was a time to explore this vital and vibrant art form, it is now.
“We feel incredibly lucky to be hosting our inaugural festival in a city so full of talent, at a time when there is so much to say, and off the back of a summer festival season that saw performance take over more city spaces than ever before.
“With performers and artists spanning the full spectrum of this spectacular artform, from classical verse to hip hop, we can’t wait for audiences to come along and enjoy.”
Hot on the heels of a fringe festival that was soul food for a city starved of culture and live performances, Push The Boat Out founders and organisers hope to harness this sense of the city as a natural backdrop as the inaugural festival takes its first steps onto Scotland’s stage.
Push The Boat Out will go ahead in keeping with whatever Covid-19 regulations are in place on the 15 – 17 October in Scotland. Born out of a time of turbulence, the festival team, venue, founders and friends will continue to manage the festival in a safe and agile way.
After an extraordinary 25 days, the 2021 Edinburgh Festival Fringe has drawn to a close, having brought artists, arts industry, media and audiences together once again to celebrate the magic of live performance.
This year, the Fringe looked very different. For the first time, audiences were able to engage with work both online and in-person, with performers, creators and producers embracing new ways to keep performance in our hearts and minds.
Shows happened in car parks, racecourses, tents and forests. There were brave new works-in-progress; exciting revivals; reimagined classics; solo shows; family-friendly shows; international showcases; sketch shows; interactive digital works; outdoor site-specific shows; walking tours; immersive experiences and late-night, mixed-bill, laugh-a-minute shows.
Some performers took the stage for the first time in 18 months, while others used the festival as a way of reconnecting with fellow artists and industry professionals.
There was support for arts professionals in new ways – with Fringe Connect offering a professional development, workshop and networking space for artists and industry, and Fringe Marketplace providing a digital platform to showcase export ready professional work from across the Fringe to delegates from around the world.
Our Street Events programme looked different, but was just as joy-filled as always, with everything from magic to live music happening in safe, managed locations from West Parliament Square to the Mound.
Street performers also went into communities across Edinburgh, while the Fringe Society worked with over 30 charities and community groups to distribute Fringe vouchers and Lothian bus tickets to give people the opportunity to experience the Fringe either in person or online.
The Fringe Society continued its commitment to accessibility. There was BSL interpretation of the street events at West Parliament Square, and a bespoke access bookings service on offer for customers who require it.
This Fringe was also a big step forward for sustainability. More performers marketed their shows digitally, through QR codes, social media and more. Our online strand meant less travel and a reduced carbon footprint for some participating artists, audiences and industry, extending our global reach even further.
We also strengthened the Fringe’s place in our local community. This year, over a third of audiences were from Edinburgh, and a further 17% were from the rest of Scotland. 44% were from the wider United Kingdom. Artists and creatives local to Scotland also added their stories to stages and screens in greater proportions than we have seen in recent years.
But that didn’t happen at the expense of the festival’s founding open access principle. 38 countries were represented on the Fringe this year, with work from nine countries featured as part of international showcases taking place. There was also increased international representation in proportion to the overall programme.
Commenting on this year’s festival, Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: “Traditionally, this day in the Fringe calendar is all about statistics: how many shows took place, how many tickets were bought, and what that means.
“But this year, I’d like to stop defining success by scale. For me, that’s never been what makes the Fringe special. Success should be defined by the quality of experience we’ve all had – and what we’re hearing from performers and audiences alike is that this year’s Fringe has been hugely successful indeed.
“When registration opened in May, we had no way of knowing for sure what this summer would look like. Today, we celebrate every single show that has been brought to life. I’d like to personally thank and congratulate everyone that made it happen, as well as our audiences, sponsors and supporters who have cheered us on and offered much-needed support through this wild and unexpected year.
“We’ve still got work to do to ensure the Fringe recovers – but recovery isn’t about growth in the statistical sense. It’s about growth as a Fringe community. As we move forward with our Save the Fringe campaign and continue to champion this festival and the wider arts, we’ll be calling on everyone to help us shape what the future of this fantastic festival holds.”
Benny Higgins, Chair, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: “I’d like to offer huge congratulations to everyone that made this festival happen in the most challenging of circumstances.
“I’ve been blown away by the commitment, creativity and talent of those that have worked tirelessly to bring the magic of the Fringe back to Edinburgh’s streets – and for the first time – to screens around the world.
“As we look to the Fringe’s 75th anniversary in 2022, I am looking forward to being part of a wider conversation about how we make this festival the very best version of itself. This year proved that a small amount of public sector investment can bring about positive change, and it’s crucial that investment in this hugely important festival continues. The Fringe has a big role to play in our recovery, and as we look to build a renaissance for the Fringe in the future, we’ll keep working to support those that make it happen.”
Barbara Smith, Managing Director of Johnnie Walker Princes Street, said: “It’s been a fantastic month, seeing the phased return of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and seeing Edinburgh locals and visitors get to enjoy what Edinburgh does best.
“As official whisky of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Johnnie Walker has celebrated the month with our residence ‘The Fringe Club’ on The Mound throughout the festival and gifting lucky festival-goers with exclusive prizes. We’ve our eyes firmly on the future, opening our doors to Johnnie Walker Princes Street on 6 September and joining in the celebrations once again in 2022.”
Next year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe will run from 05 – 29 August 2022. It will mark the 75th anniversary of the festival.
SPONSORS and SUPPORTERS
As a charity, the work of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society would not be possible without the valuable support of our partners, sponsors and funders.
We are delighted to be working with Johnnie Walker for the third year running as our official whisky partner.
We are proud to be partnering with the newly opened St James Quarter and are excited to be working with them this year and beyond.
We are excited to be partnering with Crowdfunder again through our FringeMakers fundraising platform, supporting Fringe artists and venues with vital fundraising efforts.
We have teamed up with Rare Birds Books to a create a limited-edition book bundle with books selected by the women behind three of the Fringe’s most iconic venues; Rowan Campbell, the General Manager of Summerhall, Dani Rae, the General Manager of Assembly and Katy Koren, who co-runs Gilded Balloon. Proceeds of the sale of this bundle will support go directly to supporting Fringe artists bring work to the Fringe.
We would also like to thank Lothian Buses for their continued support of our Fringe Days Out programme.
We’re thrilled to welcome Edinburgh Gin on board as Official Gin of the Fringe and look forward to working with them.
We are grateful for funding through the PLACE Programme, a partnership between the Scottish Government -through Creative Scotland -the City of Edinburgh Council and Festivals Edinburgh; Scottish Government for Made in Scotland through the Festivals Expo Fund – managed through Creative Scotland – and the continued support of the City of Edinburgh Council. Thanks also to Scottish Government for funds from their Get into Summer campaign.
We are grateful for funding from the Pivotal Event Business Fund, the SCVO Adapt and Thrive programme, the Foyle Foundation and the UK Government to enhance our digital capabilities.
Our thanks also to the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, the Pump House Trust and the Turtleton Charitable Trust.
With thanks to EventScotland and City of Edinburgh Council for supporting Street Events.
Thank you to Brightcove, our streaming partners, for their support in delivering the Fringe Player.
Our thanks also to our Fringe Angels, Patrons, Friends and supporters whose passion and generosity made a real difference this year.
Three brothers rowing across the Atlantic in the 2019 Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge at the end of this year are throwing a musical evening at Summerhall in Edinburgh tonight to raise money for their chosen charities.
In August, the team pillaged bottles of whisky from distilleries across the West Coast to help bring 3000 people in Madagascar clean water. The ‘whisky pirates’ captured this on film and will premier the mini-documentary at the event.
A unique blend of whisky will be created by Scotland’s leading whisky expert (and father of the boys) Charles MacLean. This ‘BROAR Blend’ will then be auctioned to fund life-saving freshwater boreholes, delivered by Argyll-based charity Feedback Madagascar.
Team BROAR , Edinburgh-based brothers Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan MacLean, hope to raise £250,000 for Children 1st and Feedback Madagascar by undertaking this gruelling row.
Pickering’s Tradlantic at Summerhall will be a celebration of Scottish music and two fantastic charities. Being musicians, the brothers know how music can bring people together like nothing else. Top acts will be performing including Edinburgh’s Samuel Nicholson, the Isle of Mull’s Sorren Maclean & Hannah Fisher and Tony McHugh from Belfast.
“Over the years, music has certainly been the thing that has brought us together as a trio – which maybe explains why we’ve opted to spend up to 60 days on a 28foot long raft together this Christmas.
“The plan is to take scaled-down versions of our instruments for the crossing and record a tune in the middle of the Atlantic – Christmas number one here we come … !
“To help reach our fundraising target of £250,000 we thought that a musical evening would be very fitting – come along to Summerhall to enjoy some gin and music for Pickerings Tradlantic this Saturday!”
Managing Director of Feedback Madagascar, Jamie Spencer, said: “We really appreciate the boys undertaking this challenge for Feedback. We will be building new boreholes with the funds they raise to transform the lives of over 3,000 people in Madagascar.
“Clean water is taken for granted but only 14% of the rural population of Madagascar has access to clean water, and as a result, hepatitis and typhoid are widespread. Diarrhoeal disease from dirty water causes 20% of deaths in children under five.”
Police are appealing for witnesses following a serious road collision in the Meadows area in the early hours of this morning. The incident happened around 3.15am near Summerhall in Hope Park Terrace.Continue reading Four injured as car overturns: two people sought
Flyering Fringe performer encounters homophobic abuse on the streets
Fringe performer Nick Cassenbaum has encountered some extreme reactions on the Edinburgh streets when promoting his show.
Nick’s show is about his childhood hero, a TV personality loved by millions and once the highest paid man on British television. His name: Michael Barrymore.
Barrymore fell from grace 17 years ago, enduring tabloid fury after a tragic incident at his home left a young man dead and the star came out about his bisexuality.
The show, My Kind of Michael, chronicles Cassenbaum’s childhood infatuation with the Strike it Lucky presenter and how he was inspired by Barrymore to take to the stage himself.
But flyering the show around Edinburgh has proved eventful.
“After all this time I thought people may be prepared to accept him as a brilliant “working class boy made good” entertainer, but it’s become apparent that not only do some people hold strong views about him but that they are prepared to use blatantly homophobic language to make their point”, said Nick.
‘He’s as bent as a ten-bob note. He killed a man. He raped a man. He’s a pervert’ ‘He raped a man and drowned him’ ‘He’s alwight in the back hole’ ‘Get that murdering pervert away from me’ (referring to a cardboard cutout of Barrymore)
Others have accused Barrymore of being known for preying on young boys.
“I have been flyering for this show for two weeks now and this type of language has shocked and surprised me. Especially at a ‘liberal’ arts festival that is known for controversial and cutting edge productions’ said Cassenbaum.
“Barrymore has had to put up with this for nearly 20 years now. I want to make it clear that he was never charged for anything, yet people treat him as if he is a perverted murderer and child molester, tarring him with the same brush as those convicted following Operation Yewtree. It seems that old fashioned homophobia and trial by tabloid is alive and well at the Edinburgh Fringe.”
But not everyone shares these views. Recent audience members have included comedian Mark Thomas (above) and TV actor and musical theatre star Claire Sweeney.
Leaving the show Thomas described Barrymore as a ‘comedic hero in fact the last great working class hero to strut the boards.’
Sweeney said: ‘I Loved the show, it was so lovely about Michael and I’m glad about that as he was brilliant and such a nice man, I really enjoyed it.’
You can judge for the show yourself. My Kind of Michael runs at Summerhall to 26th August at 7.30pm (no show 20th).
