🪩 Edinburgh Culture Minute: 19 - 25 Feb 2025
Fringe By The Sea line-up, Stills School exhibition, One Act Festival, Johannes Radebe at the Playhouse + new Filmhouse jobs
Welcome to the 78th weekly edition of the Culture Minute: a round-up of Edinburgh’s local creative news, events, jobs and opportunities.
As always, if I’ve missed anything please get in touch.
The most-viewed links from the last Edinburgh Culture Minute:
- 🎨 This year’s programme of adult craft workshops at Lauriston Castle.
- 📚 Fern Brady to join Michael Pedersen to talk creativity, comedy and books.
- 🎤 Comedians Daniel Sloss, Craig Hill & Connor Burns team up.
News:
🎪 Fringe By The Sea has announced the first wave of acts performing for its 17th edition in August. In a coup for the North Berwick-based festival, French duo Air will mark 25 years of their album Moon Safari on Saturday 2 August. Also appearing: Bob Geldof’s The Boomtown Rats, ‘Young at Heart’ hitmakers The Bluebells, politician-turned-podcast-chart-topper Rory Stewart and eco-conscious telly architect George Clarke. - More details from Kevin Fullerton in The List.
🍿 Work began last week on a revamp of the Filmhouse cinema on Lothian Road. Local construction firm Clark Contracts is working on creating a new fourth screen, adding new seating, renovating the toilets and refurbishing of the cafe-bar and foyer areas. The Filmhouse team said:
“The building is now teeming with men in hi-vis jackets (yes, they are all men), the sound of drills is echoing though the corridors, and Cinema 3 is (intentionally!) full of the wreckage of the old box office desk. After all this time, it is genuinely exciting for us to see so much activity happening – actual physical steps towards getting Filmhouse’s doors re-opened to a transformed cinema.” - More details here. New Filmhouse jobs are in the listings at the end of this newsletter.
🎨 Wasps Studios is promote 80 new studio spaces within the Riverside House building on Gorgie Road. - More details about the studios here.
⮑ Local artist Martha Duncan created the flyer design.
⮑ Last year the Wasps charity promised to ‘reinvest’ money generated from the sale of its West Park Place studios in Dalry.
📚 Originating as a pop-up inside the police box down Leith Walk, Typewronger has grown into one of Edinburgh’s most beloved independent booksellers. - Founder Tee Hodges talks to Megan Merino in The List.
🔊 This year’s Off The Record festival is on Saturday. Learn about how promoters and venues work with artists, securing funding for your work and how to pitch your music and more. - Tickets are £5 here.
🍿 There’s an outdoor adventure theme linking many of this week’s screenings around town. Storm-chasing at the Grassmarket Community Picturehouse, a surfing double bill screening at the Finisterre shop and Banff Mountain Film Festival at the Festival Theatre. - It’s all in this week’s edition of the Cinetopia newsletter.
📸 Award-winning photographer Andrea Thomson has been announced as the speaker at the next Creative Mornings Edinburgh event on 28 February at Stills on Cockburn Street. - Tickets will go live on Friday at 10am.
⮑ The Stills School annual exhibition is now open, with a celebratory event on Friday 6-8pm. Stills School is for photography students aged between 16 and 25. The exhibition invites anyone of any age to create collages in the studio, interact with art and meet the alumni. - Free entry.
📆 There are SO MANY MORE local creative events listed in the latest Good Egg Project newsletter:
🎭 What's on Edinburgh's stages this week?
Here’s All Edinburgh Theatre’s Thom Dibdin:
It's quiet on those stages this week, with only two notable events taking place. But talk about noteable!
First up Strictly’s Johannes Radebe is giving his Lola in Kinky Boots at the Playhouse (ends Sat: tickets). Jojo fans without a ticket should note he doesn't do weekday matinees!
Then, for three nights only, it is Edinburgh & Lothians round of the SCDA's One Act Festival at the Church Hill (Thurs - Sat: tickets).
This is the local round of the national competition, which sees amateur and youth companies compete, performing one act plays.
The festival opens on Thursday with St Serfs Players and the comedy A Dummy Run, then Queen Margaret University Team 1 have the drama èisd ri glaodh na feannag (listen to the crow's cry) and the night finishes with Edinburgh People’s Theatre’s comedy, The Holiday.
Friday opens with the Edinburgh Makars and the comedy Fool's Errand, then QMU Team 2 with And There He Was, Like Another - One of the Fishes and finishes with the EGTG and the drama Being Norweigan.
Saturday is judging & prizes evening, with just two productions, QMU Team 3 with the drama The Waiting Room and finishing with St. Kentigern’s Academy Youth Theatre and the comedy Career Day.
And that's your lot! For future weeks and more detail, do check Æ's various listings pages, all linked here.
📌 Edinburgh Culture Minute Community Noticeboard:
⮑ Get in touch using this form.
📌 “Local amateur drama group, Leitheatre, are holding an Open Night on Monday 24th February, 19:30 at their clubrooms at 20 Sunnyside, EH7 5RA. A chance to meet some of the members, find out how to get involved in amateur dramatics and take part in a play reading. Please email ' info@leitheatre.com' if you want to attend.” - Thanks to Marion for sharing this.
🎨 Award-winning artist Elaine Speirs - who is a regular exhibitor at the RSA, with VSA, and at the SSA - is due to host a two day workshop of still life floral painting at Wasps Patriothall Studios in March. - More details here. - Thanks to subscriber Francesca for sharing this.
📌 “The North Edinburgh Film Festival returns to West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre for its third edition this Saturday. Curated by members of regular North Edinburgh Arts group AFG, the event is presented in collaboration with Screen Education Edinburgh. Expect a wide range of films from home and abroad, there'll be something for everyone!” - Thanks to Morvern, Local Cinema Coordinator, for sharing this.
📌 “Desire Paths: Reading Queer Edinburgh is an exhibition by Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive which maps Edinburgh's LGBTQ+ history. 19th-25th February 2025, 11am-4pm, Edinburgh Palette/St Margaret's House. The events programme also includes evening events with Harry Josephine Giles (19th Feb) and Jo Clifford (20th Feb).” - Thanks to Anna for sharing this.
📌 THIS SATURDAY: “boom saloon is gathering with friends for an in-person pop-up shop to raise funds for the finale of their work to rewrite the story of dementia. 22nd February, Round the World Studios, Leith, 10-4pm. Sign up to their newsletter for 10% off on the day.” - Thanks to the Boom Saloon team for sharing this.
⮑ There are some incredible local artists participating, including: Alex of Diabetes By Design, Anna Gormezano Marks, Kenneth Gray, Antony Sojka and more.