News

Star Appeal: A look at reviewing trends at Edinburgh Festivals 2012

Full raw data sets of aggregated reviews from 2012 Edinburgh Festival shows now available

The Fringe may be a distant memory but here at The List we’ve been doing some post-festival number crunching. For the last four years we’ve compiled an aggregate of reviews from all the major publications reviewing at the Festival. The result is our…

Andrew Dixon of Creative Scotland speaks to Parliament

Chief executive of Scottish arts body clarifies organisation’s policy

Andrew Dixon, Chief Executive of Creative Scotland, yesterday explained the organisation’s policies during a session at the Scottish Parliament’s culture committee. The meeting came after several high profile members of the Scottish arts community spoke…

Why has Creative Scotland been under sustained fire during 2012?

The questions surrounding the debate over Scotland's arts funding body

The appearance of Creative Scotland’s chief executive Andrew Dixon in front of the Scottish Parliament’s education and culture committee on Tuesday 18 September reflects the arts community’s deep concern about the competence of the national funding…

Emeli Sande and Plan B lead Mobo Awards race

Jay Z, Beyonce, Kanye West, Professor Green and Rihanna are also in the running

Scottish singer-songwriter Emeli Sande and London rapper Plan B lead the nominations for the 2012 Mobo awards which were announced Mon 17 Sep. The awards ceremony will take place on Sat 3 Nov in Liverpool’s Echo Arena. Nominated in the Best Female…

Robbie Williams returns to solo performing with a series of 'intimate' gigs

The pop star will play non-arena venues in Glasgow, Leeds and Southend on Sea

Take That member and solo act extraordinaire Robbie Williams will return to his roots this September on an exclusive three-gig tour around the UK. The 38-year-old award-winning artist will revisit the places that launched his solo career in 1997…

Jack White announces 2012 UK tour

The former White Stripes guitarist plays Edinburgh, London, Birmingham and more

Jack White has just announced his first full UK tour in support of his album Blunderbuss, released earlier this year through his own Third Man Records. Telling Rolling Stone: ‘I've put off making records under my own name for a long time but these songs…

Edinburgh Festival pre-sales increase in 2012 despite Olympic fever

Olympic TV viewing figures thought to have little effect on final ticket sales figure

With the 2012 London Olympics drawing sky-high television ratings – 10.7 million viewers tuned in to watch Andy Murray win gold in the Olympic tennis final last Sunday afternoon while a further 10.1 million watched Chris Hoy take his second gold on…

Scala Beyond festival

Celebrating alternative film with screenings across the UK

The rise of the sanitized multiplex will never fully erase the down and dirty charm of the cult cinema event. Scala Beyond, a festival celebrating independent cinema exhibition, embarks on a six-week nationwide tour this autumn taking inspiration from…

Glasgow's Theatre Royal to get £11.5m refit

The building, owned by Scottish Opera, is to be opened up as 'a social hub'

Glasgow’s Theatre Royal will receive a £11.5m refit in a bid to transform the historic theatre space into a world-class venue. The redevelopment of the 19th century building includes plans for a new entrance, foyer and roof garden, as well as new bars…

Pop up venue Checkpoint Charlie revives the spirit of the Forest Cafe

The vacant space on Bristo place is to host gigs, cabaret performances and more

Many miss the unpretentious vibes of the Forest Café, Edinburgh’s foremost independent arts and social hangout. Unfortunately the charity that owned the FC went bust in 2010 leading to it’s eventual closure and a gaping hole in Edinburgh’s cultural…

The science of creation: Scotland's sightseeing spoils

Dolly the Sheep, Falkirk Wheel and Forth Rail Bridge amongst the highlights

The word ‘creative’ doesn’t often conjure up a vision of science and technology, but Scotland has long been renowned for innovative ideas and what better year to shout about it than in the Year of Creative Scotland. Who created the world’s first…

Anonymously-created book sculptures to tour UK

Here at List HQ, we adored the anonymous pieces of book art being left at venues around Edinburgh over a nine-month spell last year. Left with the simple message ‘in support of libraries, books, words, ideas,’, the creator remains unknown but the…

Glasgow packs a punch with two piping hot cultural events

Piping Live! and World Pipe Band Championships coming in August 2012

Live Piping! Glasgow once again welcomes new and established artists from over ten countries to perform at 150 events across the city, including the John McSherry Band, Breabach and Rura. Look forward to master classes, ceilidhs, concerts…

Eddie Izzard to appear at Fringe 2012

The comedian will appear alongside international guests Trevor Noah and Michael Mittermeier

Comedian Eddie Izzard is set to return to the Fringe this year for one night only. The show will feature two international special guests, Germany's Michael Mittermeier and South Africa's Trevor Noah. English-born Izzard has a long history with the…

The Forest Fringe is still a part of the Edinburgh Festival 2012

Director Andy Field talks of how the mini-festival continues after the closure of the Forest Cafe

For the last five years you could always find Forest Fringe in the same place in Edinburgh. A beautiful old church hall above a vegetarian café. A set of stone steps. A sign above a door. However, as you may know, we are no longer able to use that…

National Theatre of Scotland & Bank of Scotland join forces to support emerging theatre-makers

The National Theatre of Scotland and Bank of Scotland announce today that four emerging artists and three emerging directors have been successful in their bid to join Scotland’s National Theatre company on a programme aimed at developing the talents of…

Some of the stranger places to watch a show this Festival

Unexpected venues to enjoy Edinburgh Festival 2012

Vine Trust Barge This floaty boat docked off Ocean Drive in Leith is home to an exhibition of contemporary Scottish painting.

Fringe 2012 Bribe of the Week: Clinton the Musical

Runners up include kids' poet Joshua Seigal and dance show Leo

Our inaugural 2012 Bribe of the Week was a close call, although the painstakingly-decorated cupcakes and branded pants from Clinton: The Musical eventually won out. Aside from ticking both the tasty and utilitarian boxes, the bribe showed an…

Piping Live! 2012 warms up with tour around Scotland

Pit stops for the pipers include Eilean Donan and Culzean Castle

To celebrate The Year of Creative Scotland 2012, Piping Live! Festival On Tour will bring piping to new audiences and locations across Scotland. The tour, which runs from 31 Jul to 4 Aug, will offer the opportunity to enjoy the best of Scotland’s…

Attention Fringe 2012 performers: we want your bribes

Buy yourself valuable exposure by sending us your promotional tat

The List is once again declaring itself susceptible to bribery for the duration of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2012. Effective immediately, we will be accepting whatever t-shirts toy tractors, confections, underpants, self-portraits, office…

Here, Then and One Mile Away honoured at EIFF 2012 awards

Penny Woolcock, Andrea Riseborough and Brid Brennan among the winners

The 66th EIFF awards took place at the Filmhouse cinema on Saturday, with Mao Mao’s Here, Then and Penny Woolcock‘s One Mile Away among the films honoured. Here, Then was declared Best International Feature Film by an illustrious jury, including…

The View to play T in the Park 2012

The Dundonian group will take to the Main Stage on Saturday under the name The Dryburgh Soul Band

After the somewhat inevitable news that Pete Doherty would yet again forego a stint at T in the Park, ticket holders have been mollified with better news: The View will perform a main stage set Saturday 7 July, under the sly pseudonym The Dryburgh Soul…

Obituary: Jan Fairley - Writer, broadcaster, academic and ethnomusicologist

World music writer and champion of human rights

Jan Fairley was an amazing woman. She was an exceptional writer, broadcaster, academic, festival director, champion and defender of human rights, maker-of-pilgrimages, loving mother and grandmother, devoted to her hens. Jan was an…

Bills Wells and Aidan Moffat win inaugural SAY Award

The duo rewarded £20 000 for 2011 album Everything's Getting Older

The inaugural Scottish Album of the Year Awards (SAY) ceremony took place at Glasgow’s Film City on Tue 19 Jun. Bill Wells and Aidan Moffatt were the recipients of the prestigious title and the beneficiaries of a far from paltry sum of £20,000 for their…

Dance and music take centre stage at the Edinburgh Mela

The multicultural arts festival announces part of its 2012 programme

Those familiar with the August festival scene would probably agree that the Edinburgh Mela has occasionally struggled for attention, too often carelessly over-looked for some of the bigger kids in the playground. Not so this year, with a new director…