Edinburgh Culture Minute 🪩 7 - 13 January 2026
£10k residencies for artists, busy month of gigs including Fuzz Fest in Leith & Cowgate Block Party, Justin Hawkins Rides Again... Again + new year, loads of new creative jobs
Hello dear subscribers! Welcome to the 113th weekly Culture Minute: your 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!
👀 The most-viewed links from last week’s Edinburgh Culture Minute:
- 🍿 The Skinny's ten best films of the year.
- 🖼️ World class collection of surrealist art returns to Modern One.
- 🎭 King's Theatre reveals programme ahead of 2026 reopening.
🗞️ News:
💰 Two early career artists will get a total of £10,000 and 'the freedom and security to explore' as part of a new Edinburgh Art Festival residency programme 'developed to respond to the lack of long-term creative development opportunities available to artists in Scotland'. The PLATFORM scheme by Edinburgh Art Festival aims to allow artists to 'fit in flexibly alongside other commitments'. - More details here. (The application deadline is 11 January and there are FAQs here).
🎭 Tributes have been paid to the former Edinburgh International Festival director Frank Dunlop, who died on Sunday aged 97. - Martyn McLaughlin, The Scotsman.
- "Frank Dunlop was a theatrical visionary," writes Michael Billington in The Guardian, which also has an obituary here. Michael Coveney says: "He was a resilient, combative director, taking on critics and city councillors alike."
- "Among the actors he worked with throughout his career were Richard Burton, Miriam Miriam Margolyes, Jim Dale, Gary Bond, Spike Milligan, William Atherton and Clive Revill", writes Brian Ferguson in The Scotsman.
🎬 Submissions for the Edinburgh International Film Festival are now open. - More details here.
🎸 The line-up for this month's Cowgate Block Party is coming together. Held across three Cowgate venues (Sneaky Pete's, Legends and Bongo Club), the event is on 31 January. - Find the full line-up and tickets here.
📖 This month's local literary events including reading groups and writing workshops, are in another excellent round-up from Naomi Head of The Good Egg Project.
The Good Egg Project
🎭 What's on Edinburgh's stages this week?
Here's All Edinburgh Theatre Editor Thom Dibdin:
A Happy New Year to all the Minute's theatre-goers! We are heading into the mid-January theatre hiatus, when most stages are dark or given over to comedians, but we aren't there quite yet.
There is still the no little matter of the plot-free Jack and the Beanstalk (★★★★☆ In rude health), at the Festival Theatre (ends Sat: tickets), where the established team of Allan Stewart, Grant Stott and Jordan Young continue to keep the laughs rolling in, with welcome agency for the female performers: Clare Gray, Gail Watson and Amber Sylvia Edwards.
It's not panto, but there is plenty of audience interaction (and dressing up) in the Rocky Horror Show (★★★★☆ Naughty) at the Playhouse (ends Sat: tickets). Jackie Clune stars as the Narrator, and the cast and band are tip-top tight as a corset; although Jason Donovan's interpretation of Frank N Furter is more questionable. Still, it's a great night of Rock'n'Roll decadence.
Otherwise The McDougalls' Winter Wonderland is at the Church Hill on Saturday (tickets) for the young ones, and PASS’s BA Dance and Drama Ensemble Students at Edinburgh College are at the Traverse on Sunday (tickets) performing a Double Bill created with Dance Base.
And that's it. I'm off to tidy up Æ's listings for the year ahead, so if you are involved in a show this year do drop me an email, and you can find full details of shows yet to come, on our listings pages: all linked here.
- Thanks to Thom for this!
🎸 Big tickets this week:
🎸 Starting on Thursday, Fuzz Fest is a three-day festival at the Home Bar, Leith Depot and Leith Cricket Club. - The full line-up is here.
🎟️ There's a handful of tickets left for Callum Beatie's 5pm early show at The Liquid Room on Wednesday 28 January. The evening gig has sold out. - Tickets are here.
🎵 This month at The Usher Hall: Saturday 10th: The Rolling Stones Story, Monday 12th: Emerging Artists - The Stone Combo, Monday 12th: Get Organised - Music From Nordic Countries, Monday 19th: Emerging Artists - Adam Heron solo piano, Monday 19th: Get Organised - The American Connection, Monday 26th: Emerging Artists - Haver Quartet, Wednesday 28th: Defying Gravity - West End Women, Thursday 29th: SCO: Mozart's Last Three Symphonies, Friday 30th: RSNO: How to Train Your Dragon in Concert + Saturday 31st: The Drifters. Then on Monday 2 February it's the Transatlantic Sessions featuring Kathy Mattea, Darrell Scott and Karine Polwart.
🎵 This month at The Queen's Hall: Saturday 10th: Southside of the Tracks 2026, Thursday 15th: SCO 25/26: Haydn & Schubert Matinee, Saturday 17th: Scottish Ensemble: Musical Encounters, Sunday 18th: Tommy Emmanuel CGP - Living In The Light Tour, Saturday 24th: Justin Hawkins Rides Again... Again, Sunday 25th: Joanne Shaw Taylor + Friday 30th: Hayao Miyazaki's Dreams by Mystery Ensemble. The year's first AMPLIFI gig is on Wednesday 4 February with Angeline Morrison, Djana Gabrielle + Miwa Nagato-Apthorp.
🎵 This month at The Voodoo Rooms: Wednesday 7th: Scott Levi Jones, Wednesday 14th: Rose Cousins, Friday 16th: Madeline Tully + Pan Pan, Saturday 17th: After The Last Waltz, Thursday 22nd: Ashley Campbell, Friday 23rd: An Evening with Ivy Big Band + Tuesday 27th: Dylan LeBlanc.
🎵 This month at the Pianodrome in Bruntsfield: Sunday 11th: Build your own Piano Cafe, Saturday 17th: Con'tylia + Vinyl Listening Sessions Vol 3: Protest Music, Sunday 18th: Katie Cavera and the Scottish Stompers, Friday 23rd: Paper Sparrows | Other Dog | Amy Hill, Saturday 24th: Songs and Dances from the 100 Years War +Saturday 31st: Northern Light Singers and Sarah Irvine.
🍿 This week's local cinema round-up from Cinetopia includes the Frederick Wiseman series at the Filmhouse and Ingmar Bergman’s Persona at the Cameo. There's also news of a Bennets Bar film club.
Cinetopia
📌 Edinburgh Culture Minute Community Noticeboard
[Happy new year and thanks to everyone who contributes. Here's to another year of the noticeboard helping boost your numbers, ticket bookings, book club attendances, workshop turn-outs and the city's social life!] - Get in touch here.
📌 “Writing for Theatre Residency with the Hugo Burge Foundation and Summerhall Arts. Spend at 18 May–14 June 2026 on HBF campus with a private studio, accommodation, and £350 weekly stipend. Followed by funded development week at SHA (£1,000), with mentoring, sharings, and potential future programming.” - Thanks to Emma Aviet, Projects and Engagement Officer at the Hugo Burge Foundation, for sharing this.
📌 “Saturday 10th January - On the 10th anniversary of David Bowie's death, we will be screening Moonage Daydream at Duncan Place Community Hub. Join other Bowie fans as we celebrate his life and work, fabulous outfits encouraged! Doors at 1:30pm, film starts at 2pm.” - Thanks to Ot at the Duncan Place Community Hub for sharing this.
📌 “Tuesday 13 January: Writers: ever wondered how to adapt your prose for the screen? Author Niamh Hargan has adapted two of her three novels for film/TV and is developing a new idea for TV. She'll discuss the differences in novel planning vs episodic planning - 7pm at The Edinburgh Bookshop, price includes a drink.” - Thanks to Edinburgh Writers' Forum for sharing this.
📌 “Wednesday 14 February - “Underground Magic” is launching at the Gilded Saloon - Edinburgh's first magic-led comedy and variety night in years! Featuring the best magicians, comedians and variety acts from across the city and some big names from the rest of the U.K.!” - Thanks to Cameron Gibson from Insane Magic for sharing this.
