🪩 Edinburgh Culture Minute: 17 - 23 September 2025
Abbeyhill artists open doors for Gaza, new National Galleries exhibits, comedy from Elis & John, Thundercat at the Usher Hall, Take One Action Film Festival + much more!
Welcome to the 100th(!) weekly Culture Minute: a round-up of Edinburgh’s local creative news, events, jobs and opportunities.
If I’ve missed anything please get in touch. Thanks to everyone who contributes!
I really do mean that. Without your support, this would never have got to 100 weekly editions. Big, big thanks.
👀 The most-viewed links from last week’s Edinburgh Culture Minute:
- 🎬 IberoDocs documentary film festival.
- 🎭 Art Walk Porty Festival (a couple of events still left).
- 🖼️ Edinburgh Art Fair preview (on this weekend).
News:
🏠 More than 115 artists are throwing open their homes and gardens in the Abbeyhill Colonies this weekend for the 20th annual Colony of Artists event.
⮑ Among the events is a fundraiser for charities sending aid to those in need in Gaza. - Saturday from 11am.
🎭 Three members of the Lyceum Theatre’s stage door staff are facing redundancy due to budget cuts. - Following on from last week’s Minute exclusive (edition 727) Fergus Morgan has more details in The Stage.
🖼️ The National Galleries of Scotland has announced its 2026 programme of exhibitions across its three Edinburgh venues. - Jody Harrison previews in The Herald.
⮑ The National, Portrait and Modern galleries will host a year-long programme including four major exhibitions spotlighting work by Catherine Opie, Wendy McMurdo, Gwen John and Joan Eardley.
📝 Award-winning local author Mary Paulson-Ellis is the new Writer in Residence at Edinburgh University. Taking over from Makar Michael Pedersen, Mary says she ‘looks forward to introducing students to the eclectic delights of our literary city, while hosting visiting authors for us all to share’. - More details from the uni here.
- ⮑ What next for Michael Pedersen? Well, the events continue with an appearance at Porty Town Hall on 23 October at the launch of Hollie McNish’s new book. - Keep up (if you can) with Michael here.
🇵🇸 Next week the New Town’s Saint Vincent's Chapel will host a concert fundraising for people in Palestine who are facing starvation and genocide. The event is due to feature performances by local classical and folk musicians including: 'Sketches of Memory' oud and voice duo Marco Sollazzo & Dilek Özcan Sollazzo, Kirsty Law, Sharon Hassan and more. It’s on Friday 26 September. - More details in this Instagram post and tickets are on Eventbrite. All profits will be sent to the Medical Aid for Palestinians and Gaza Soup Kitchen charities.
🎵 Out Of The Blue drill hall in Leith is hosting a free songwriting workshop on Monday 22 September. It’s being led by some impressive tutors: Songwriting legend Boo Hewerdine along with Michele Stodart of The Magic Numbers. - More details and free booking via Moniack Mhor here.
🎟️ Big tickets this week:
🎸 Double Grammy Award winner Thundercat has just announced a concert at the Usher Hall on 1 April next year. - Tickets go on sale on Friday at 10am. Not aware of Thundercat? Here’s his new song:
🔊 Tickets for Dizzee Rascal at the Corn Exchange on 24 November go on sale on Friday 19 September.
🎭 Eddie Izzard - Hamlet, Friday 19 September at The Queen’s Hall. Eddie will perform all 32 characters solo, in a show nominated for New York Drama League’s Distinguished Performance Award and the Outer Critic’s Circle Outstanding Solo Performance Award. - Tickets. (sold out but get on the returns list)
🎤 Comedian Chris McCausland is at The Queen’s Hall on Saturday. His show is called ‘Yonks!’ because he’s been called an ‘overnight success’ despite having done stand-up for years. He recently appeared on TV shows including 'Strictly Come Dancing', 'Would I Lie to You', 'Have I Got News for You', 'The Royal Variety Show', 'QI', 'Blankety Blank' and 'The Last Leg'. - Tickets are here.
🎤 More comedy at The Queen’s Hall: Elis James and John Robins are in town on 3 October. - Tickets here.
🎤 Stand up sensation and social media star Kae Kurd returns to Edinburgh next month with his new tour: ‘What’s O’Kurd’ at Monkey Barrel Comedy on 2 October. - It will sell out. - Tickets here.
🎸 Four indie icons have got gigs coming up in Edinburgh:
- ‘Staying Out for the Summer’ hitmakers Dodgy play The Liquid Room on 2 October. - Tickets here.
- Idlewild have an album launch show for Assai Records customers on 8 October. - Full details here.
- Ash also have an album launch show for Assai Records customers on 10 October. - Full details here.
- Inspiral Carpets have announced a Liquid Room gig on 27 November. - Tickets.
🎸 There are limited four-day tickets available for Frank Turner’s Lost Evenings shows at the Corn Exchange next week. - Find them here.
📚 A busy week of evening events at The Portobello Bookshop next week including appearances from Natalie Haynes, Carlo Rovelli and Len Pennie. - Details here.
🎵 Traveling troubadour Laura Silverstone plays The Mash House on Saturday 27 September. - Tickets are here.
🎟️ A batch of shows have just been announced for the Usher Hall:
- Blazin' Fiddles with Julie Fowlis, 30 November.
- Robert Plant's Saving Grace Featuring Suzi Dian, 18 December.
- Elephant Sessions plus special guests Beluga Lagoon (solo) and Alice Faye, 23 December.
- Echo & The Bunnymen, 3 April 2026.
- The Divine Comedy, 3 July 2026.
👀 If this edition is too long and gets cut off in your inbox, read it online here.
🎭 What's on Edinburgh's stages this week?
- Here’s All Edinburgh Theatre editor Thom Dibdin with the shows of the week…
A relatively quiet week, but still plenty to see. Although not all the offerings support the promises of their premise...
That said: top tip is one-act psychological drama Breaking Point (Two perfs Sat: tickets) at the Bedlam. Headfirst examine the place where young men’s mental health collides with flawed, misunderstood attempts to reject toxic culture.
The Talented Mr Ripley at the Festival (ends Sat: tickets) can hardly have a better provenance than Patricia Highsmith's novel and its film adaptation. However, our critic's first note (for "a one-note" show) is that Ripley’s repeated complaint ‘it’s all so boring’ is not out of place.
A better (but not great) note for Our Brother (ends Sat: tickets), this week's lunchtime theatre at the Traverse. "Well acted", our critic says, but the structure of Jack MacGregor's script about a Scottish academic visiting Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot "occasionally lets it down".
The Lyceum seems to be filling in well as a one-nighter alternative to the Kings for smaller touring acts. Best of them is Buffy Revamped, (Thurs: tickets) - all 144 eps of Buffy in 70 minutes.
Finally to the Queens Hall, where Eddie Izzard is giving her solo Hamlet (Fri: tickets). Long sold-out, there is a list for returns, so you might be lucky.
The rest is silence, for this week at least. Check Æ's various listings pages for full listings, including the many shows opening on Tuesday.
📌 Edinburgh Culture Minute Community Noticeboard
📌 "Louise Bennetts is exhibiting a new collection of textile work at Mote 102, Leith. 'Hinterlands' tells two concurrent stories: a life lived behind Edinburgh's coastline and a journey of materials. Open 10am-5pm from the 19th to the 27th September." - Thanks to the organisers for sharing this.
📌 "Lyra / Artspace, Sat 20 Sept:- Beautiful Chaos 2.0 blends dance, film, and poetry. What happens when two artists from different backgrounds meet? Highlights the beauty, vulnerability, and connection that arise when differences are embraced and celebrated." - Thanks to Pirita for sharing this.
🎬 TAKE ONE ACTION FILM FESTIVAL - View this week’s programme here. Thanks to the festival organisers for sharing these:
📌 ""Every home a power station" is the infectious call at the heart of two artist-activists' campaign to power their street with solar energy one home at a time. Watch how it happened, hear from the filmmaker and local community energy experts, and leave uplifted and equipped!" - Power Station is showing at the Filmhouse on Thursday 18 September from 8.15pm.
📌 "Join us for a session with Dan Edelstyn, co-director and co-producer of Power Station to explore alternative models of political and independent filmmaking, working with and for communities, crowdfunding and side-stepping traditional gatekeepers to craft bold, radical documentaries." - Fri 19 September | 11:00am - 12:30pm, Grassmarket Community Project.
📌 "A film screening of How to Build a Library. Two women in Nairobi, Shiro and Wachuka, have set out on an ambitious mission: to transform the historically whites-only McMillan Memorial Library into a vibrant, accessible public space." - 5.45pm, Filmhouse, Friday 19 September.
📌 "Dismantling Tech Fantasies is a screening of 3 short films as part of Take One Action Film Festival at the Filmhouse. From eye-opening documentary to speculative sci-fi, this shorts programme prompts us to gaze past the false promises of AI." - Filmhouse, Saturday 20 September, 3pm.
📌 "Saturday 20 September: Union is a documentary following a group of Amazon workers taking the fight to the tech giant, becoming the first unionised Amazon workplace in the United States." - Filmhouse, Saturday, 5.45pm.
📌 "Screening of NIÑXS at the Filmhouse, a documentary part of Take One Action Film Festival. In this joyous documentary co-authored by its subject, fifteen-year-old Karla tells her coming-of-age story as a young trans girl in Tepoztlán, Mexico. Stay for a post-screening chat!" - Sunday 21 September, Filmhouse.
📌 "Sunday 21 Sep - Leith Kino's October programme has now been announced! Includes a UK premiere, Mexican horror and David Byrne weekender. Tickets still available for this Sunday's hard to find film Ping Pong (1986) at Leith Depot 7.30pm." - Thanks to Leith Kino team member Morvern for sharing this.
📌 "Saturday/Sunday 20/21 September: - Edinburgh Modern Quilt Guild presents an exhibition of outrage in fabric at Coburg House Art Studios. Quilters protesting what they feel most strongly about through the medium of quilts! Suggested donation of £5 in aid of the Scottish Air Ambulance Service." - Thanks to The Edinburgh Modern Quilt Guild for sharing this.
📌 "Friday 3rd October & Saturday 4th October: The Scottish Youth Film festival is back for a weekend full of films, fun, and fresh talent. This year, the event takes place at Dunfermline Learning Campus with a variety of activities, workshops aimed at young people from the ages of 12-26." - Thanks to Ambika for sharing this.
📌 "Tonic Arts presents "Four Seasons in One Day", a photography exhibition by local GP and photographer Pete Wands in the grounds of the Astley Ainsley Hospital. Featuring 28 Edinburgh street photos across four installations with a short walk in between. Perfect for a quiet wander with a coffee. Runs until 31 December." - Thanks to Pete Wands, Edinburgh GP and Photographer for sharing this.