Culture
Two year waiting list to run Wigtown’s Open Book Airbnb as visitors from around the world flock to Scotland’s National Book Town
Since welcoming its first holidaymakers in August 2014, Wigtown’s charity-run Open Book Airbnb bookshop has become an international sensation. Over the years, nearly 450 guests have enjoyed the unusual experience of running their own bookshop in Scotland’s National Book Town, in the far west of rural Galloway. A map on the wall shows where Open…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Ali Millar: ‘I’ve tried and tried to get into Jane Austen, but I just can’t’
Ali Millar on her best books of the year, why she can’t get into Jane Austen and being inspired by Rachel Cusk. The first book I remember reading: I learnt to read very young, so I don’t remember reading specific books until I was about five. But I do remember my mother reading Jane…
Read MoreMore than 100,000 people attended this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival
More than 100,000 people attended this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival, with ticket and book sales significantly up on previous years. Future Tense, the first Book Festival programme to unfold under new Director Jenny Niven, tackled topics including AI, the climate crisis, capitalism to the war in the Middle East, and migration. Legendary authors including…
Read MoreFringe Review: Ananta, The Eternal
Ananta, The Eternal is a collection of lushly told tales illustrated by two very talented dancers, says Megan Amato. ★★★ The jingle of bells could be heard as dancers walked across the stage in darkness. After an introduction to the deity the work is inspired by, two women appear exquisitely adorned and dressed in jewel…
Read MoreFringe Review: Dracula
KCS Theatre Company’s Dracula remains an incredibly atmospheric production combining classical stage-acting with physical theatre, says Megan Amato. ★★★★ I have one rule and one rule only for a Dracula adaption, and that is the man – or beast – in question must make me question my own moral fibre. The rest is fair game,…
Read MoreReview: Diary of a Magician
A mesmerizing family-friendly magic show full of whimsy and wonder, says Megan Amato. ★★★★ A back top hat sits upside down on a small table. A classic mark of a magician to invoke the imagination. Our magician himself enters dressed in black with a bound book in hand and so our illusionary tale begins. Magician…
Read MoreFringe Review: Impasse
A well-executed narrative, precise movements and tight footwork make up this provocative rendering from Mufutau Yusuf and Lucas Katangila, says Megan Amato. ★★★★ A pile of colourful bags in the corner slowly moves, sways, and leaps to life with the dimming lights and percussion. A humanoid form emerges and the music shifts to something less…
Read MoreFringe Review: Reginald D Hunter, Fluffy Fluffy Beavers
Reginald D Hunter was not as polished as one might expect from a comedy veteran but in a good way, says Alister Tenneb. ★★★★ I was reading the news on my way up to the show and saw ‘Reginald D Hunter show cancelled’. Not an auspicious sign. However, it turns out it wasn’t his show…
Read MoreThe Good Books, Margaret McDonald: ‘Jackie Kay is my absolute idol’
Margaret McDonald on her love of The Hunger Games, her favourite books of the year so far, and falling in love with Jackie Kay. The first book I remember reading: Probably not the first books I ever read in my life, but it has to be Mates Dates by Cathy Hopkins. That entire series had me in…
Read MoreFringe Review: Arturo Brachetti
★★★★★ When I walked into this show with my two children, aged 11 and 13, I didn’t know what to expect. Then the lights went down, a little man walked on to the stage, and we listened to a story about a childhood house and how the many rooms held many memories. We were lured…
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