Edinburgh Culture Minute 🪩 17 - 23 December 2025
Hogmanay tickets update, Phil Cunningham's Christmas Songbook Hall, surrealists return to Modern One, how to AI-proof your artwork + new jobs with the Book Festival, Fringe and more
Welcome to the 112th weekly Culture Minute: a round-up of Edinburgh’s local creative news, events, jobs and opportunities. There are far more job vacancies just now than I expected there to be, including roles at the Fringe, Book Festival, Collective gallery on Calton Hill, Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop and more. If I’ve missed anything please get in touch. Thanks to everyone who contributes! You are, as always, the Culture to my Minute.
👀 The most-viewed links from last week’s Edinburgh Culture Minute:
- 🍿 The Skinny's ten best films of the year.
- 📆 All the festive pantos in one place: All Edinburgh Theatre.
- 🖼️ Visual Arts Scotland's 2025 exhibition opens at RSA on the Mound.
- 🎭 King's Theatre reveals programme ahead of 2026 reopening.
🗞️ News:
🎉 There's no point me doing an entire Hogmanay events guide when someone else has already done it! From the street party to the pubs, clubs, concerts and ceilidhs, check out Boom Edinburgh's Hogmanay events guide.
- However, here's a quick Minute-style Hogmanay tickets update:
- 🔥 As of midday today there are still 'limited' tickets available for the Torchlight Procession, which is on on Monday 29 December from 6.30pm. Starting in the Meadows, more than 15,000 torch bearers will illuminate the city. - Tickets are here and it's expected to sell out.
- 🎸 From 8.30pm on the 29th, there's a Torchlight Procession after-party at the Assembly Rooms hosted by Vic Galloway and Andy Wake. Performing at their Vitamin C club night: local alt-rockers Swim School, Americana inspired indie-rockers waverley., and a DJ set from Stuart Braithwaite of the mighty Mogwai. - Tickets are here.
- 🎸 7pm, Tuesday 30 December: Glasvegas perform an acoustic at the Assembly Rooms. - Tickets.
- 🎻 7.30pm on Tuesday 30 December at St. Giles’ Cathedral: Lau by Candlelight: Some of traditional music’s most celebrated innovators Kris Drever (guitar, vocals), Martin Green (accordion) and Aidan O’Rourke (fiddle) perform. - Tickets are here.
- 🎤 10pm, Tues 30 Dec: Ho-Ho-Hogmanay hosted by Susie McCabe, featuring: Christopher Macarthur-Boyd, Larry Dean & Ayo Adenekan at the Assembly Rooms. - Tickets.
- 🕯️ 31 December, 6pm: Candlelit Concert at St. Giles’ Cathedral. - Final tickets are here.
- 🎵 The Night Afore Concert at the Ross Bandstand with Scottish folk and Celtic punk act Peat & Diesel, plus support from RuMac and Levi Heron. - Tickets here.
- Hogmanay Street Party tickets are here.
- 🎆 Concert in the Gardens, headlined by Wet Leg + special guests Hamish Hawk and Lucia & The Best Boys. - Tickets are here.
📆 There's even more planned for the 1st of January. Full details on the Hogmanay site here and on the First Footin' Instagram page.
🖼️ Having been on tour for two years, a world class collection of surrealist art has re-opened today at the National Galleries' Modern One near Dean Village. It's free to visit and includes pieces by Salvador Dalí, Dorothea Tanning, Max Ernst, René Magritte and Toyen. - More details from the NGS here.
📘 Best-selling author Matt Haig has announced he'll return to Edinburgh for the Scottish launch of his next novel, The Midnight Train, which is out on 21 May. He'll be at the Freemasons' Hall on George Street on 25 May at an event hosted by The Portobello Bookshop. - Tickets are here.
👩💻 Artists and creative professionals are being offered places on a new course exploring how AI can help people working in the culture sector. Aimed at AI beginners, the Digital Skills Education course sets out to cover 'the ethical issues surrounding AI art, including safety, transparency, and the environmental impact of generative AI.' It also includes a section on 'What you can do to protect your work from being exploited'. The organisers say: "You’ll find it useful if your role involves a significant amount of creative work, even if you’d not call yourself an artist. For example marketing professionals, social media managers, and digital content creators." - It's on Friday 20 February and full details are here.
📚 The Edinburgh Literary Salon returns to its 'spiritual home' of the Wash Bar next week from 6.30pm on Tuesday. It's free as always and more details are here.
🎭 What's on Edinburgh's stages for the rest of the year? Here's Thom Dibdin of All Edinburgh Theatre:
The big pantos and Christmas shows are all open, the stars are strutting their stuff, and Æ's reviewers have been handing out their own star ratings. Nothing more than four, so far. Still, there is plenty to like on Edinburgh's stages between now and the New Year.
But wait, there are a few shows still to open. For the big kids, and one night only, the Gilded Saloon welcomes Half Trick's parody of Mr Albee, Who's Afraid of Santa Claus (Thurs: tickets) and, for wee kids, Macastory have their Cinder Ella at the Storytelling Centre (Sat - Tue 23: tickets) and EAS has The Elf that Wasn't Elfing at Summerhall (Sat - Mon 22: tickets).
For non Chrimbo shows, head to the Traverse for Dancing Shoes (★★★★☆ Moving), in which three men at an AA meeting discover another way to move (ends Sat 20: tickets). And there's no snow in Mamma Mia! (★★★★☆ Super Douper) at the Playhouse, just bundles of Abba (ends Sun 4 Jan: tickets)
Then of course there is MagicFest, with many magic shows at the Storytelling Centre (Sat 27/Sun 28: details) and Kevin Quantum's Christmas Special at the Church Hill Theatre (Mon 22 - Tue 30: tickets).
Okay, brace yourselves, here's those Pantos.
Jordan is great, Grant is vicious and Andy is as good as he has ever been in a rather emotion-free Jack and the Beanstalk at the Festival Theatre (ends Sun 11 Jan: tickets) plus the female performers have agency. At last!
There is more emotion and depth in Cinderella: A Fairytale (★★★★☆ Magical) at the Lyceum (ends Sat 3 Jan: tickets) and plenty of inclusion and warmth in EPT's hotly anticipated Sinbad the Sailor (★★★★☆ Inviting) at the Church Hill (ends Sun 21: tickets).
Out East, you find all the glory of locally written, professional shows. Stage Door have a ★★★★☆ Roar-some Beauty and the Beast the Pantomime at Porty Town Hall (ends Sun 28: tickets), while the Brunton bring a little sunshine to Loretto School Theatre with The Wizard of Oz (★★★★☆ Wicked games) (Fri 19 - Sat 27 Dec: tickets).
Full details are in Æ's listings pages: all linked here.
🎟️ Big tickets this week:
🎵 This week at The Queen's Hall: Today at 4pm: Dunedin Consort Children’s Messiah, tonight at 7pm: Dunedin Consort's Messiah, Thursday 18th: Scottish Chamber Orchestra Mozart Matinee with Peter Whelan, Saturday 20th: Badly Drawn Boy + across three dates: 19, 21 + 22 December, it's Phil Cunningham's Christmas Songbook.
🎵 It's a busy end to the year at The Usher Hall: Wednesday 17th: James Gillespie’s High School Christmas Concert, Thursday 18th: Robert Plant's Saving Grace Featuring Suzi Dian, Friday 19th: RSNO Season 25-26: Christmas Concert featuring The Snowman, Saturday 20th: The Holiday in Concert - Film with Live Orchestra, Monday 22nd: Del Amitri, Tuesday 23rd: Elephant Sessions plus special guests Beluga Lagoon (solo) and Alice Faye, Sunday 28th: G4 Christmas, Monday 29th: The Music of Zimmer vs Williams + Tuesday 30th: The Scottish Fiddle Orchestra.
🎼 James Gillespie’s High School Christmas Concert is tonight from 7pm at the Usher Hall. - Tickets here.
💃 There are three nights of ceilidhs at the Assembly Roxy as part of the venue's Countdown to Hogmanay. - Pick a date and get tickets here.
🍿 All the festive film classics are showing at the city's local cinemas just now. - Find listings for the Filmhouse, Cameo and more in the Cinetopia round-up.
Cinetopia
🏴 Dunfermline's very own Big Country are playing the Liquid Room on Saturday. - Tickets from the venue here.
🎸 Another group of Fife (cult) heroes: The Brothers Fife are playing live at Summerhall on Friday evening to celebrate their tenth annual Christmas song. There's also a raffle on the night. - Tickets via Summerhall.
🎸 Looking ahead to next year, Los Campesinos! are coming to the Liquid Room on Saturday 6 June (weekend indie night anyone?) for their 'Vicennial Cringe' tour. They say: "Putting the NO in nostalgia, we visit Edinburgh for the first time since 2012, to begin our third decade as a band in the way we intend to continue it: emoting, dancing, falling in love and sinking pints with fans old and new. No victory laps, just a winning streak." - Tickets are here.
📌 Edinburgh Culture Minute Community Noticeboard
📌 “For filmmaking enthusiasts: we are gauging interest in a brand new, unique filmmaking experience. If you are interested in making a feature film, and obtaining invaluable experience and exposure, please take a moment to fill out, or share, this short survey.” - Thanks to Archie Middleton, Producer, See It Off Productions Ltd. for sharing this.
📌 “Wednesday 17 December, St Vincent's Chapel: Sòlasan x Beethoven: Come and hear Sòlasan string quartet perform Beethoven's String Quartet No. 9, raise funds for Alzheimer Scotland and enjoy some Christmas treats!” - Thanks to Rebecca Minio-Paluello, violist in Sòlasan, for sharing this.
📌 “Thursday 6pm: Come to celebrate Ukrainian cinema with the screening of Roman Bondarchuk's "The Editorial Office" at the Institut français d'Écosse, in partnership with the Museum of Ukrainian Craft and Culture Scotland (★★★★ Berlinale 2024 review)” - Thanks to the Institut français d'Écosse for sharing this.
📌 “For our first outing after Christmas, and with a 5am license, EPiKA (at the Bongo Club) brings Lindsey Herbert, straight out of the epicentre of the US underground techno scene to make her UK debut.” - Thanks to EPiKA for sharing this.
📌 “Hogmany 2025: Join us and see the year out in style at the Reggae Got Soul Hogmany party at Leith Depot, Reggae and Soul on rotation throughout the night with the inimitable MC Ista on the mic. All welcome. Good Vibes Guaranteed.” - Thanks to George Reid for sharing this.
📌 “Thursday 1 January 2026, 3pm - The SCO’s Viennese New Year concert in the Usher Hall really is the most iconic way to see in the new year in Edinburgh. AND the best bit? You can bring the kids for FREE!” - Thanks to Derek Gilchrist of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra for sharing this.
