Edinburgh Festivals

Into The Hoods

1 Aug 2007

One of the undisputed hits of last year’s Fringe is making a welcome return to Edinburgh.

Naked Portrait

1 Aug 2007

In contrast with the ‘nude’ figure in western art history, the naked portrait still manages to present a sometimes shocking and raw view of the sitter’s personality that reaches beyond their public façade.

State of Matter

9 Aug 2007

The stark lighting and simple uniform of black tailcoats characterise the restraint that permeates this performance by Hereford’s 2FaCeD DaNcE Company. There is no narrative to this show, rather it is a collection of unrelated set pieces, the…

Man on Wire - James Marsh interview

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

Philippe Petit was the man who dared to walk a tightrope between the Twin Towers. Director James Marsh tells Kaleem Aftab how he made a film of this incredible feat

Rachel Whiteread

19 Jul 2007

Rachel Whiteread’s works are in a direct lineage with late 60s and early 70s minimalist sculpture, where the literal ‘objectness’ of art was emphasised. When some sculptors removed the plinth that was once used to present their work to the viewer – a…

Debbie Does Dallas - The Musical

23 Aug 2007

There’s a very fine line between a send-up of a ropey cultural item and something that’s just plain ropey. Almost from its shrill opening bars it becomes crystal clear that Debbie Does Dallas – The Musical has crossed the line. The fundamental…

5 Questions - Lucy Porter

1 Aug 2007

Fast becoming a Fringe staple, Lucy Porter will this year invite us into her Love-In. Here, she gets all intimate with our limp Q&A.

Picasso on Paper

Edinburgh International Art Festival

19 Jul 2007

Alexander Kennedy explores the enduring mass appeal of Pablo Picasso as two major new exhibitions of the great 20th century artist’s work come to Edinburgh

Robert Ryman

25 Jul 2006

Alexander Kennedy looks at the history of Minimalism in relation to an exhibition of Robert Ryman's white canvases from the early 1960s to the present day. Every minimalist painting is an uncompromising contradiction. The creative act appears to…

David Batchelor

Edinburgh International Art Festival

19 Jul 2007

Edinburgh International Art Festival Colour in David Batchelor thinks we live in a culture that’s scared of bright and vivid hues. That’s why he’s filling his own artistic world with waves of chromatic pleasure. Nick Barley looks at his work and…

ZooNation

27 Jul 2006

Kate Prince, choreographer and director of the UK hip hop dance-theatre company ZooNation, is a bit of an English rose. She has, however, been fascinated by hip hop since she was a child. ‘I was a massive Janet Jackson fan, and I love cheesy musical…

Ballerina Who Loves a B-Boy

16 Aug 2007

Although it’s been crammed into a hotel function room better suited to the cringey frugging of a wedding disco, this gleeful little production is the most assured and exuberant of the cluster of Korean breakdance shows infesting the Fringe this…

Different strokes

1 Aug 2007

Having written one of the UK’s finest ever sitcoms, Sean Lock is back pounding the beat on the stand-up stage. Brian Donaldson talks to the man who has finally left bitterness behind

The Big Ugly Monster and the Little Stone Rabbit

1 Aug 2007

There are lots of monsters appearing at this year’s Fringe, but none so ugly as this one.

Planet B-boy

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jul 2007

Think breakdancing died out in the 80s? Think again, says Mark Edmundson as he talks to Benson Lee, the writer-director of Planet B-boy which charts its epic resurgence

Meow Meow in Beyond Glamour: The Absinthe Tour

1 Aug 2007

‘It’s sequins and razors, my darling. That’s what my show’s about,’ explains Meow Meow, who deems her real name and place of origin ‘simply not necessary’ to the conversation. It is, she coos in a faint Aussie drawl, ‘all about the art.’. . .

Joyce Carol Oates

9 Aug 2007

The legendary French actress Jeanne Moreau once compared the versatility and precision of Oates’ writing to witchcraft. Oates once said of her own work, ‘I’m drawn to failure. I feel that I’m contending with it constantly in my own life’. This perhaps…

Tracey Moffat - Adventures

3 Aug 2006

Tracey Moffat says that if she weren’t making art she’d be running around slashing car tyres with a butcher’s knife. And, in renouncing her crude meat-cleaver aspirations, this Australian artist has developed an altogether more powerful arsenal: the…

Kids' events

23 Aug 2007

The last few days of the kids programme takes a walk on the dark side with scary-sounding events such as Night of the Living Horror (25 Aug, 6pm) which opens up a world of gothic terror for those aged ten plus, though Justin Somper and his Vampirates…

Hamlet Solo

16 Aug 2007

To do justice to Hamlet is no easy task, but to render the Danish play as a one man performance is almost laughable in its ambition. There is, of course, the obvious novelty value to witnessing Hamlet being performed by one man. But Hamlet Solo is far…

Scottish Ballet

16 Aug 2007

In 2005, when Scottish Ballet performed at the Edinburgh International Festival after an absence of 20 years, great excitement surrounded their return. Now that the company is back for the third year running, they almost seem old hat – yet there are a…

Seasick Steve

9 Aug 2007

Every now and then pop culture throws something into the public consciousness based solely on quality. It may not be fashionable, it’s not part of a new movement, it doesn’t fit into any scene, it’s just good. This year’s phenomenal anomaly is…

Frankie Boyle

9 Aug 2007

In some ways it would be difficult to imagine an encounter between Frankie Boyle and Jimmy Carr, what with them being, arguably, the two finest gag tellers in contemporary British stand-up comedy. How, you wonder, can they have a chat when they must be…

La Femme Est Morte or Why Should I Not Fuck My Son

9 Aug 2007

Britney is in a state of crisis. She split from her husband, shaved her head, drove with her son on her lap and allegedly tried to have his teeth whitened, and of course it’s all the media’s fault, just as they are held responsible for Phaedra’s demise…

Bigga Than Ben: A Russian's Guide to Ripping Off London

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

(SA Halewood, UK) 85min Allegedly based on the diary of a young Moscovite who came to London in the late 1990s, Bigga than Ben is, for the majority of its running time, a distracting black comedy. Cobakka (Ben Barnes) and Spiker (Andrei Chadov) are a…

School of Comedy

16 Aug 2007

In this age of Asbos, hoodies and teenage gang warfare it’s probably illegal to encourage youngsters to swear and be rude in front of adults, but this is exactly what the grown-ups behind School of Comedy plan to do. The show is billed as ‘an adult…

Andrew Marr

16 Aug 2007

Andrew Marr has always used his vast intellect with such wit and verve that he has always come across as a political pundit real people could enjoy. It’s hard to imagine David Frost interviewing Gordon Brown on a Sunday morning, as Marr did last month…

Macbeth: Who is That Bloodied Man?

Nicola Husband

16 Aug 2007

Macbeth, like most of Will’s plays, has suffered from many strange interpretations, including a film that transposes the action to a 90s rave and an American theatre version that quite literally strips the characters bare. These wacky interpretations…

Maximum Crew

9 Aug 2007

Korean breakdance has evolved away from the po-faced machismo that can pervade Western scenes, so while the dancers may still occasionally come across as cocky show-offs, they’re not afraid of self-parody or knowing camp. Over there the b-boy crews…

Matthew Bourne's Dorian Gray

Effective storytelling makes for an adaptation with impact

29 Aug 2008

In the closing moments of Dorian Gray, a bright light shines out into the audience, temporarily blinding us. Something most people aren't used to, but those who spend their life in the spotlight are all too familiar with. It's this -- the trappings of…

Kiddy-Fiddler on the Roof

edfest.tv - video

27 Aug 2008

At Townsville Comprehensive, teacher Arnold Finkler is falsely accused of molestation and chased by an enraged mob of parents.

Arirang Party

Mighty percussion and dance

27 Aug 2008

Arirang Party turns the volume up to a level that would definitely disturb the neighbours. It’s a shame that much of the mighty din comes from a recorded soundtrack, albeit an often beautiful and curvaceous one that emits Andean and Celtic vibes.

Barry & Stuart: Part-time Warlocks

Part-time warlocks, full-time fun

14 Aug 2008

It's hard to imagine Paul Daniels onstage with a joint that transforms into a gold chain, and there's no danger you'd have caught him magically turning a porn mag into a map of Iraq. Describing themselves as the 'anti-Paul Daniels of magic', these…

Kristin Hersh

After the flood

7 Aug 2008

To the casual observer, Kristin Hersh is a bundle of contradictions. Just seconds into our conversation she is gabbing away like an old friend, expounding on her one-woman show Paradoxical Undressing, the tale of a tumultuous teenage life when, in the…

Scottish Arts Council funding shift causes controversy

1 May 2008

A redistribution of Scottish Arts Council funding, announced today, has readjusted the balance of financial power within the Scottish arts. Among those to benefit under the new plans are: Arika , who run experimental music festivals Instal and Kill…

Happy Mondays

23 Aug 2007

‘Hola!’ Shaun Ryder is just back from Spain, and has clearly been learning the language. In between shows leading up to next week’s T on the Fringe gig, though, the surprisingly sharp and decidedly affable Happy Mondays frontman is at home, ‘catching up…

Michael McIntyre

23 Aug 2007

Michael McIntyre has the look of someone your mother would like. Unashamedly middle class in his dress, mannerisms and speech, it’s easy to see why he is being heralded as the latest thing in ‘posh comedy’. In terms of demeanour and delivery, McIntyre…

Russell Howard

Beat surrender

14 Aug 2008

Russell Howard can't resist a spot of testicular tomfoolery but, he tells Jay Richardson, his new act is less Buster Gonad than Jack Kerouac With his infectious, wide-eyed optimism currently offering a counterbalance to Frankie Boyle's unflinching…

State of Matter

Breakdance/contemporary fusion hits the spot

7 Aug 2008

Following last year’s pattern of hip hop informed acrobatics, ragged yet stunning male ensemble dancing and spectacular solos, 2FaCeD DaNcE Company has tightened up its structure and enhanced the showmanship. It remains a forceful display of masculine…

Ratatouille

16 Aug 2007

The adventures of an aspiring rodent chef whose gastronomic endeavours make him the toast of Paris is hardly a conventional dish to serve up to audiences. But Pixar’s attention to character and detail has already created such unlikely characters as…

The Voice of Things - Toilet Paper

16 Aug 2007

The solo performer waters her toilet rolls, wears a toilet paper skirt and crown, drapes toilet paper across the stage and generally loses herself, and the audience, in the slow and painful process. Are Underbelly trying to fill their rooms or just…

Simon Amstell

21 Aug 2006

Too many comedians blame their audience when gigs don’t dazzle and, while I genuinely sympathise, that doesn’t strike me as laudable professional conduct. But Simon Amstell really seems to have a problem with his punters. Because there’s quite a young…

Hitlist: Dance

21 Aug 2008

Deca Dance 2008 A stunning retrospective of works by choreographer, Ohad Naharin and his incredible Batsheva Dance Company. Take your non-dance loving friends and convert them. Edinburgh Playhouse, 473 2000, 28–30 Aug, 8pm, £8–£28. Matthew…

The Man Who Planted Trees

edfest.tv - video

11 Aug 2008

It is very, very rare to find something that appeals as effortlessly to children and adults as this magical show. (Scotsman).

Tim Minchin - Looney tunes

31 Jul 2008

Not one for being stuck in a pigeonhole, Tim Minchin is a musician, actor, comic and father. Anna Millar meets the man who looks like a scarecrow and is terrifying the world of traditional stand-up comedy

Golden years - Tracey Emin

Edinburgh International Art Festival

22 Jul 2008

As the leading female light of Britart, Tracey Emin has been revered and rejected in equal measure. Writer and broadcaster Bidisha has a few words of scorn for the detractors and reflects on the already profound legacy she will leave behind It’s been…

Hard times - Gladder to be Gay?

Festival of Politics

22 Jul 2008

Simon Callow is heading our way with both Stonewall and Dickens on his mind. Anna Millar chats to one of theatre’s hardest working men about his love of acting and support for gay rights Mere minutes out of London rehearsals for The Magic Flute and…

William Eggleston

5 Questions

23 Aug 2007

5 words to describe Eggleston’s show this year? Even William Eggleston loves it. 4 exhibitions you really want to see at the Art Festival? Richard Wright, the Andy Warhol films, Jock McFadyen and Amazing Rare Things. 3 things that you…

Punch Lines

1 Aug 2007

Jim Jeffries isn’t the only comic on the receiving end of trouble from their audience. Brian Donaldson compiles some tales of terror. At a late-night Spank! show, Andrew Lawrence (pictured) foolishly challenged a heckler to a duel. As Lawrence unpopped…

Debbie Does Dallas

1 Aug 2007

Turning films into musicals is nothing new, but not too many classic 70s porn flicks have undergone the same transition.

Hitlist: Festival Art

1 Aug 2007

The best exhibitions in the Edinburgh Festival

State of Matter

1 Aug 2007

When 2FaCeD DaNcE company first came to the Fringe in 2004, their young, energetic approach to breakdance won them a legion of fans.

Charlize Theron

25 Jul 2006

Model, actress, animal lover and now producer, Charlize Theron is heading for Edinburgh to spill the beans on two new films she is currently producing. Is this the beginning of something even more beautiful, asks Paul Dale. The rise of Charlize…

Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller

edfest.tv - video

28 Aug 2008

A rare chance to experience the work of one of the most internationally respected artist partnerships, Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller.

School of Comedy

edfest.tv - video

22 Aug 2008

Last year's sell out sensation is back with a brand new sketch show for adults performed by 12 to 16 year olds.

Feasting on Flesh

edfest.tv - video

18 Aug 2008

A decadent, deranged degustation of perverse provocative performance by purveyors of wanton weirdness. Quench your thirst with song, sate your eyes with visual delights and tease your libido with hot acrobatics, wrapped up in a variety package!

Hemingway's Havana

Buena Vista vibe heavy on Hemingway

14 Aug 2008

Featuring Cuban music legends, such as Papa Oviedo (master of the guitar-like tres), diva singer Siomara Valdes and nimble salsa legend Eric Turro, Hemingway's Havana puts up all the signs of being a sure-fire winner, and then takes the edge off with a…

5 Questions - Rosie Kay

7 Aug 2008

5 biggest influences as a choreographer: Charlie Chaplin and Fred Astaire films. Artist Otto Dix and the Weimar Republic period of German history. Merce Cunningham. Pina Bausch. My old history teacher, Philip MacKenzie, at the Royal High School. 4…

Fears of the Dark

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

(Various, France) 85min This episodic animation is destined for cult status. Five respected graphic novelists have each penned a story detailing what made them scared at night. Dogs, mad girls and silence all feature strongly. Each story has then been…

Romeo and Juliet

16 Aug 2007

Having finally got over Baz Luhrmann’s version, it feels like we can move on to a new approach to this popular, if flawed, old Shakespearean standby. If Peter Meineck’s version for Aquila doesn’t quite make for a new ‘standard’, it certainly…

A Conversation with Edith Head

9 Aug 2007

Hollywood costume designer Edith Head worked on almost 500 films in her 54-year career. She dressed Mae West, Dorothy Lamour and Barbara Stanwyck in their most iconic outfits. She played with the big boys at Paramount (and later Universal) and her onyx…

Silly Billy Bum Breath Strikes Back

9 Aug 2007

The bad girls of last year’s Fringe are back, and this time they’re even naughtier. As all those who saw Laura Black and Feri Tezcan’s 2006 show, Silly Billy Bum Breath will know, the eponymous hero is in fact invisible – well, to us anyway. Only Black…

Just an illusion

1 Aug 2007

Ask most people what they think of magic, and you’re likely to be greeted with snorts of derision. The British public’s perception of stage magic is still recovering from the glitter-festooned nightmare of spinning plates and disappearing rabbits that…

Free stuff

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

19 Jul 2007

This year’s Fringe programme includes a record 304 free shows. Kirstin Innes looks at why a lack of funds needn’t hinder your Festival experience

All the world’s a stage

15 Sep 2008

Merchant City Festival (25-28 Sep) www.merchantcityfestival.com Located in the heart of old Glasgow, this event locates a programme of film, theatre, comedy, visual arts, street theatre, live music, food and fashion within an area of real…

Barry Cryer

edfest.tv - video

26 Aug 2008

Welcome back the Sanatogen snorting comedy legend Cryer and his multi-talented musical carer Ronnie Golden.

Best shows for kids

edfest.tv - video

22 Aug 2008

Hear about the fun at this year's Festival including a low down on The Animal Olympics, The Gruffalo, Potted Pirates and The Amazing Bubble Man.

And the Devil May Drag You Under

21 Aug 2008

Diabolical cabaret in which the audience must vote each act into Heaven or Hell based on the purity of said act's soul. Host and hostess the Devil and Miss Mephisto are satanically delightful with their songs and skits, but some of the acts (which range…

The Musical of Musicals, The Musical!

Solidly performed Sondheim send-up a safe bet

18 Aug 2008

Essentially a send-up of musicals by Sondheim and Rodgers & Hammerstein among others, The Musical of Musicals is unlikely to be appreciated (or its references understood) by non-aficionados. This said, it is solidly performed and often amusing, the…

The Lady Boys of Bangkok

edfest.tv - video

12 Aug 2008

It's going to be a party night like no other! And you are at the top of the invitation list, so hurry!

5 Questions - Kittie Klaw

7 Aug 2008

5 words to describe the High Tease experience?: ‘Uproarious revue of subversive wit’ or ‘witty, subversive, glamorous, high comedy’. 4 things you love about the acts on the bill: The originality and diversity of the individual performers coupled with…

Damned Beautiful

Dorian Gray does discordancy

7 Aug 2008

One of many pieces pivoting on The Picture of Dorian Gray at this year’s Fringe, this duet pares down the complexities of Wilde’s novel to focus on the obsessive sexual relationship between Basil Hallward and his beautiful boy. There is some beautiful…

Best of the rest - Edinburgh Art Festival

Edinburgh International Art Festival

22 Jul 2008

Richard Hamilton One of the key figures of British Pop Art brings us Protest Pictures, a selection of paintings, installations and collages examining his often damning portrayal of politics, movements and leaders. Inverleith House, Inverleith…

WALL-E - Angus MacLane interview

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

Could you fall in love with a robot? Animation studio Pixar is betting that you will. The little metal critter with designs on your heart is called WALL-E, and this summer, he’ll be giving Indiana Jones and Carrie Bradshaw a run for their money at the…

Henry Rollins

16 Aug 2007

It’s a wonder Henry Rollins has time to sleep. When the Black Flag legend is not writing books, hosting his own television and radio shows, acting in Hollywood and hopping from gig to gig, he is performing his quick-witted spoken word pieces around the…

William Eggleston: Portraits 1974

16 Aug 2007

No matter what decade you were brought up in, the 1970s are absolutely dripping with glossy, honey-hued nostalgia. And it’s exactly this kitschy, colour-saturated era that William Eggleston has captured in his 1974 photographs on show at Inverleith…

Russel Howard

9 Aug 2007

Russell Howard shows a remarkable amount of restraint against what appears to be a natural inclination to gab with his audience. Other than to mock the odd crazy laugh, he concentrates on his material, which is an ability which the crowd requires in…

5 Questions - John Stezaker

1 Aug 2007

John Stezaker, who creates collages from images found in books, magazines and postcards, gives a brief insight into his Festival show

Show girl

1 Aug 2007

Ex-art student Candie Payne became the most promising young pop singer in the country ‘by happy accident’. The happiness, it transpires, is all ours. Her debut album, I Wish I Could Have Loved You More, is an immaculate, cohesive 21st century spin on…

One Small Step

edfest.tv - video

28 Aug 2008

Check your oxygen, adjust your spacesuit and buckle up for the biggest mission of your life…. to the moon.

Terry Saunders

26 Aug 2008

In the dank bowels of the ghost-ridden Baby Belly 3, where it rains indoors no matter what it’s doing outside (though, let's face it, chances are it’ll be raining there too), two shows from likeably nervy individuals addressed obsessions with varying…

Koko the Crocodile

A little touch of Africa

21 Aug 2008

Mara Menzies is fairly new to the storytelling game, but has taken to it like a duck to water. Or rather, like a crocodile to a riverbank – much like the wriggling, paw-waving one that appears in her charming new show. Based on Menzies’ recently…

Another Side of the Mirror

21 Aug 2008

Lynn Ruth Miller returns to the Fringe to perform another chapter in her fascinating life. Now nearly 75 years old, she presents her memories to us with joy and candour. From anecdotes about her Romanian grandmother to her long battles with illness…

Family

Martial arts and B-boy battles

21 Aug 2008

Head spins. Body spins. Spinning hand stands. Spinning kicks. Spinning on one hand. This energetic show from Korea makes outrageous martial arts and breakdance moves look so effortless that you begin to believe you could do it all yourself.

Foreskins Lament

21 Aug 2008

This dodgy production of New Zealand playwright Greg McGee's landmark 1980 play is played out in the locker room of a local rugby club changing room. A couple of really appalling performances and some less than inspired direction derail things. Still at…

Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller

14 Aug 2008

Over six pieces comprising kinetic sculpture, projections, visceral jokes, total immersion sensory works, whole room architectural installations and, with ‘Opera for a Small Room’ (pictured), an awe-inspiringly perfect sound sculpture, Cardiff and Bures…

Lucy Porter

A set down to its bare bones

14 Aug 2008

While it may have been slightly dispiriting for Lucy Porter to hop out on stage to a less than packed auditorium, there's little in her jovial demeanour to suggest crushed hopes. To spend an hour in Porter's company is akin to having a litre of Jelly…

Adventures of Butt Boy and Tigger

Polished insight into the joys of online dating

7 Aug 2008

Anyone who has dipped their toes in the choppy waters of internet dating will find this sparky, well-observed two-hander from Australia's Out Cast Theatre enjoyably close-to-the-knuckle. Butt Boy (Jamie) and Tigger (Matt) meet in a chatroom late one…

Flamenco, Flamenco!

Spanish flavour at the Fringe

7 Aug 2008

While they have a shared heritage, these two shows take radically different approaches to Spain’s national dance. Ricardo Garcia’s Flamenco, Flamenco! features four virtuosos, with the emphasis as much on music as on dancing. Ricardo’s acoustic…

The Judgment of Paris

Can Can, corsets and high camp

7 Aug 2008

With sculpted, Harlow-platinum wigs, gorgeously gilded corsetry and tongues in cheeks firmly set to ‘high camp’, this riotous piece of dance theatre by Company XIV merges Baroque dance forms, Can Can and contemporary ballet to music by Offenbach and…

Elite Squad (Tropa D'Elite)

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

(José Padilha, Brazil) 118min Based on Luiz Eduardo Soares’ bestseller, Elite Squad is a favela thriller from the director of 2002 documentary Bus 174. It’s 1997 in Rio de Janeiro, months before a visit from Pope John Paul II. The rundown housing…

Patti Smith: Dream of Life

Edinburgh International Film Festival

19 Jun 2008

(Steven Sebring, USA) 109min Patti Smith, the singer-poet and one-time ‘godmother of punk’, bares her soul in this intimate self-portrait, culled from over 11 years of filming with her friend, the photographer Steve Sebring. Beginning in 1995, the film…

Kiera Knightley and Sienna Miller set for Edinburgh premiere of The Edge of Love

9 Jun 2008

Edinburgh International Film Festival opening night film The Edge of Love will see the film's director John Maybury joined by headliners Keira Knightley, Sienna Miller and Matthew Rhys together with writer Sharman Macdonald on the red carpet.

Run Granny Run

23 Aug 2007

Don Ameche In the 20 or so years before his death in 1993, Ameche had become the über OAP in huge box office hits Trading Places and Cocoon. His best late great performance was as shoe shiner come ageing mafia don in David Mamet’s hugely enjoyable…

Trisha Brown Dance Company

23 Aug 2007

In 1962, one building in New York City became the centre of the modern dance world. Artists flocked to Judson Memorial Church to produce work, and when they left, went on to influence dancers and choreographers around the world. But when I ask Trisha…

In control

Samantha Morton

16 Aug 2007

Samantha Morton is in control. The critically lauded, hard working and in-demand British actress plays the long suffering wife of troubled singer of legendary Manchester band Joy Division in the Ian Curtis movie, Control. Fresh from winning the Best…

Desert Island Dances

16 Aug 2007

This year, a proportion of the Fringe dance programme seems to be backing away from huge, political themes, focusing instead on small, personal moments of introversion. Desert Island Dances by Wendy Houston, whose Haunted, Daunted and Flaunted triptych…

Red Shoes

5 Questions

16 Aug 2007

5 things which inspire you to dance? The same things that inspire me in general: music, love (in all its forms), optimism, a beautiful day, the feeling of physical well-being. 4 things you would like to see at this year’s Festival? I tend to…

Alice Munro

Canadian legend in LongPen revolution

9 Aug 2007

A standard piece of advice given to budding fiction writers eager for publication is to forget airy fairy, uncommercial notions of publishing short stories and dive headfirst into the novel.

Hitlist - the best Festival dance

9 Aug 2007

With four programmes and a kids show to pick from, you’ll be spoilt for choice at Scotland’s National Centre for Dance. Contemporary, Indian, hip hop, dance theatre – it’s all here and more.