Yes, no, still don’t know? Then maybe some live theatre can help you make up your mind with The Great Yes No Don’t Know Five Minute Theatre Show!
Craigroyston Community High School will be streaming a series of live five minute theatre plays made by everyone for an audience of everyone on Monday (23 June) from 5 – 7pm.
There’s tea, coffee, juice, bacon rolls – and if your not on the Electoral Register yet there’s an opportunity to register too!
Everyone welcome!
Edinburgh College’s dazzling creative students are about to light up the city with a two-month celebration of their luminous skills!
The Let’s Glow festival will give Edinburgh the chance to enjoy performances and exhibitions from students covering everything from music, theatre and dance to photography, sculpture, illustration and much more.
The programme (see below) shines a beaming light on the inspirational talent of the Edinburgh College students and is a glowing testimony to the outstanding work they have accomplished this year.
Let’s Glow runs from 15 May to 18 July, with events taking place at venues across Edinburgh and some students taking their work down to exhibit in London.
Citadel Arts Group, a Leith-based theatre and living memory company, are to perform ‘McScrooge’, a free family panto, at the Kirkgate Community Centre later this month …
We’re performing a pantomime, ‘McScrooge’on 20th December at 1.30pm in the Kirkgate Community Centre. It’s a free show for all the community and to mark the launch of a book of living memories, ‘You Never Forget the Stories’ – reminiscences of Leith and beyond’.
All the participants live locally or have strong Leith connections. The group includes a Newhaven celebrity, Ron Cattell, who directed the Gang Show and the ‘Children’s Hour’ shows in the Ross Bandstand for years. Some of his fascinating stories are in the book.
We’re also inviting members of the Leith Drama Team, our youth drama group, to the show to lead the shouts of ‘He’s behind you!’ – it’s a traditional panto lasting just half an hour.
It would be great to see you!
Liz Hare
I have attached (above) a copy of a leaflet publicising ‘We Will Be Free’, a new play by Townsend Theatre Productions, about the Tolpuddle Martyrs and their fight for justice (see blurb on back page). It’s being hosted by North Edinburgh Arts next Friday (25 October) as part of our Power to the People Autumn programme. Tickets are only £3 for local folk with good neighbour cards (free from the arts centre).
This is Townsend Theatre Productions second visit to North Edinburgh. Last year, they brought us ‘The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists’ which they performed brilliantly.
Hope to see you at the performance!
Lynn McCabe
Press Release – Couldn’t Care Less Sept 2013.
Couldn’t Care Less, a new play examining the ups and downs of caring for someone with dementia, is opening this Friday and Saturday at the North Edinburgh Arts Centre.
British superstar and Oscar award winning actress Emma Thompson has become the new face of Edinburgh College’s Performing Arts Studio of Scotland (PASS). 
The Nanny McPhee and Sense and Sensibility star (pictured above), who is also a screenwriter and well-known human rights activist, has shown her support towards the performing arts arm of Edinburgh College by accepting the honour of being its patron.
Emma Thompson said: “Edinburgh College’sPerforming Arts Studio of Scotlandis an exciting, high octane, cutting edge centre that will attract much of the wealth of talent in Scotland and beyond. I’m very proud to be patron.”
The much-admired British actress became familiar with PASS after meeting Edinburgh College acting and theatre performance lecturer John Naples-Campbell when he was training as a theatre student at the Scottish Youth Theatre in Glasgow.
John said: “I first met Emma when I was 18 years old at the Scottish Youth Theatre (SYT). She came along to the theatre to hold a Q&A session with SYT students and, after listening to her talk about her career in the industry, I felt driven to continue with my career in performing arts – which is why I am anacting and theatre performance lecturer today.”
“We are absolutely thrilled to have Emma Thompson as patron as this means that our training at Edinburgh College is truly recognised by the very best in the industry. We look forward to welcoming her to our productions in the college’s theatre wherever possible, and we hope to work around her schedule to hold workshops with our students.”
John added: “Emma is an inspirational person, not only because of her many Academy Awards, but also because of her work as a human rights ambassador. Her tremendous work on stage and screen gives hope to any young person wishing to pursue a career in the arts and I know that having her as our patron will motivate and inspire our students to reach their full creative potential.”
As one of the world’s most respected actresses, Emma Thompson is known for her versatility in acting as well as screenwriting and she most recently appeared in The Boat That Rocked, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and as the voice of Queen Elinor in the Pixar animation Brave. As well as her work on screen, Emma Thompson also works as an educational ambassador for a UK-based human rights organisation, the Helen Bamber Foundation, to help rebuild the lives of, and inspire a new self-esteem in, survivors of human rights violations.
Edinburgh College offers a selection of dance, acting, technical theatre, costume design, and make up artistry courses.Former graduates from performing arts courses include Scottish actress Karen Gillan, who starred in the BBC’s Doctor Who. Previous students from PASS have also performed live at the O2 Arena and collaborated with Jon Lord at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh, and have also performed live on stage with Lady Gaga.
Muirhouse is the place to be for culture vultures next Friday, with not one but two big arts events planned:
North Edinburgh Arts is hosting ‘Echoes’ on Friday 12 April at 7pm
A new version of Mamma Mia has been written by a community group fighting the city council’s plans to close Castlebrae secondary school.
The Abba track IT, will be sung by members of the Save the Brae campaign group during a performance of a play that they have written called Echoes, which will express their opposition to and frustration over the council’s proposals for the school next summer.
Among those taking part in the play is Kevin Finlay, chair of the Save the Brae group, who said: “I think if you go back in history, any local issues like this have been tackled by using arts to get points across.”
Around eight men and women, most of whom are members of Save the Brae will perform the 55-minute play at North Edinburgh Arts on Friday 12 April at 7pm.
Susan Heron, 54, plays Ina in the play – a fictional character who has lived in Craigmillar all her life and doesn’t want the school to close. Susan says the play was a “powerful statement of how Castlebrae school life was and is”.
Tickets are £3 or £2 Good Neighbours (GN) price. To book tickets please call Box Office on 0131 315 2151
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and in the afternoon …
Travelling Gallery visits Craigroyston High School on Friday 12 April 1 – 4pm
with ‘feel-good’ art exhibition
The Travelling Gallery will be visiting Craigroyston High School on Friday 12 April, with its latest exhibition ‘Turquoise Heid’ on board. This curiously named exhibition is a busy group show of established and emerging artists from both home and abroad.
Working in a broad range of media including drawing, animation, film, sculpture, photography, performance, collage and painting, the exhibition will include artists who use a playful, childlike, feel good essence in their work, sometimes hiding darker depths but more often making us smile. The simplicity and low-tech nature of many of the artworks disguises sometimes complex processes and skills but also makes the exhibition instantly accessible to audiences of all ages.
’Turquoise Heid’ includes work by artists Matthew Barnes, Olivia Bee, Yeodoo Jung, Peter McDonald, Alex Millar, Jock Mooney, Kim Rugg, Yukako Sakakura and David Shrigley.
Visitors can also look out for artist Ellie Harrison’s Early Warning Sign which the Travelling Gallery is hosting in 2013 and which will sit outside the vehicle. Utilising the brazen marketing techniques of capitalism, the sign attempts to grab the attention of passers-by: to remind them of the consequences of excessive consumption and to force climate change back on the agenda. The harder the wind blows, the faster they go! www.ellieharrison.com.
The Travelling Gallery is a custom-built, mobile, contemporary art space inside a big beautiful bus. Supported by Creative Scotland, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the Museums and Arts Division of the City of Edinburgh Council, the Travelling Gallery brings high quality contemporary art exhibitions and events to schools and communities throughout Scotland.
North Edinburgh Arts has arranged for the gallery to be open to the public on Friday afternoon at Craigroyston High School. The Travelling Gallery’s visit has been supported by the City of Edinburgh Council’s Children and Families Department.
See www.travellinggallery.com for all the details or ‘like’ on Facebook
The Scottish Community Drama Association (SCDA) Edinburgh District’s One Act Festival takes place at St Serf’s Church Hall on Clark Road from 14 – 16 February. Over three evenings, theatregoers will be entertained by:
Thursday 14 February
1. Leitheatre ( Kirkgate) with ‘Still Life’ by Noel Coward
2. Edinburgh People’s Theatre with ‘Ritual For Dolls’ by George MacEwan Greene
3. The Mercators with‘Cupboard Love’ by Jean McConnel
Friday 15 February
1. Edinburgh Makars with ‘Just Passing’ by Colin & Mary Crowther
2. St Serfs (Afton) with ‘Scent Of Honeysuckle’ by Jean Lennox Toddie
3. Leitheatre (Sunnyside) with ‘A Private Affair’ by Charles Emery
Saturday 16 February
1. Livingston Players with ‘The Donahue Sisters’ by Geraldine Aron
2. St Serfs (Bangholm) with ‘You Really Got Me’ by Neil Robertson
Tickets are priced £8 per evening, or a season tickets for all three nights is £21. Season ticket holders are eligible to vote for their favourite performance in the Best of the Fest Audience Award
Three winning teams will be selected to go forward to the SCDA East Division finals, which will take place in Larbert next month.
For further information and ticket availability visit www.scdaedinburgh.org.uk
A group of young people from North Edinburgh are set to become exponents for nature conservation when they perform a panto to highlight conservation issues at North Edinburgh Arts this weekend. The performance is the culmination of an innovative project involving The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh-based Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, the Lyceum Youth Theatre Discover Programme, North Edinburgh Arts and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.
The group – who are all aged between 9 and 12 and live in Muirhouse, Pilton and Granton – have been working with conservation experts to learn about the importance of saving endangered species and habitats. The project – which is unique in its involvement of Edinburgh’s leading academic, conservation, and performing arts organisations – will culminate with the young people informing their local communities about conservation issues, through the performance – on Saturday 26 January – of a pantomime they have developed with the support of North Edinburgh Arts.
The young people will also go to Edinburgh Zoo for a ‘behind the scenes’ visit as part of the project, to learn about endangered animals first hand.
Speaking in advance of Saturday’s conservation-themed pantomime, project coordinator Naomi Webster – who is currently a visiting research fellow at Edinburgh University’s ESRC Genomics Policy and Research Forum, and works as Education Officer for the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust , said: “Young people have a natural interest in animals and wildlife, but often don’t realise just how endangered many creatures are or how organisations like Durrell and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland are working to save them from extinction. This project has enabled us to work with children in an innovative way to help them appreciate the importance of nature conservation, and to allow them to show their families and communities what they have learnt, by producing and performing their own conservation-themed pantomime.”
Kate Wimpress, Director of North Edinburgh Arts, said: “North Edinburgh Arts works with young people throughout North Edinburgh, through creative initiatives such as drama workshops, to encourage them to explore issues and develop understanding. Collaborating with the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Zoo and the Lyceum Youth Theatre on this initiative has enabled us to help young people to gain a greater understanding of conservation in an engaging, yet fun way. I know our young performers are very excited about both their trip to the zoo, and producing and performing their own conservation-themed pantomime.”
