The festivals were back once again and, for the first time in 5 years, I live in Edinburgh again! Between the Fringe, International, Book and Film festivals and various visitors, it’s been one hell of a busy month! As much as I wanted to stay chill and take my time, I inevitably got carried away and saw arguably too much. I feel very lucky to work in the industry and be able to access some complimentary tickets which made the expense of my festival much more do-able.

I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to engage in so much art over the past few weeks. It has been exhausting but it has also been so inspiring to see so many different and creative ways people have chosen to tell their stories. Coming from a small wee town where not a lot happens, I really revel in a month with thousands of entertainment options and I’ve loved sharing days out and about with the friends and family who came to visit me and catching up with people I hadn’t seen in ages. I am also so bloody proud of all my talented friends who I saw rocking it up on many of Edinburgh’s stages.

So here’s to the faves:

I loved Julia Grogan’s Playfight about three friends growing up together and the conversations they share at their tree hang-out spot. It was an intense, playful and authentic-feeling look at girlhood, sexual assault and coming of age told by three brilliant performers.

Wright and Grainger‘s Half Man Half Bull came highly recommended to me by a few trusted sources and I can absolutely see why. They use live music and spoken word to retell Greek myths and this two-parter covered Theseus and the Minotaur and Daedalus post-losing his son Icarus. It was really captivating and I look forward to seeing and hearing more from this team.

My fave from the Book Festival was the Found in Translation panel with Anton Hur, R F Kuang and Emily Wilson, which was so fascinating. I really enjoyed hearing about what a translator brings to a text, the complexities of vernacular and interpretation and what parts of language gets them feeling nerdy excitement. They all seem like really cool and charismatic humans and it made me want to dive into reading more of their work.

About midway through the fest, some colleagues and I went to the House of Life which is the most wholesome and joyful thing you can do when you’re starting to feel a bit worn down. It’s a musical cult / 7 step program to make you happier with lots of human connection, silliness and glitter.

Since I started learning aerial this year, I was on a bit of a mission to see as much circus as possible and I had a great time seeing incredible performers doing things I dream to have the strength, bravery and stamina to do one day. My top circus pick, like everyone else’s I think, was Gravity and Other Myths‘ Ten Thousand Hours which celebrated the training it takes to get to the point where they are as acrobats. It actually made me quite emotional, as well as being really impressive, playful and beautiful.

Dylan Mulvaney‘s debut show FAGHAG was rightfully adored and she was dubbed the Princess of the Fringe for good reason. I didn’t really know anything about her before going to the show but I fell in love. Through storytelling, stand up and musical numbers she tells the story of her childhood, figuring out her trans identity and navigating the fame of being a content creator. She was so warm, funny, honest and deeply loveable and I both teared up and had a great time.

My fave from the International Festival was The Outrun, a new adaptation of Amy Liptrott’s memoir which I read and loved earlier this year. The story covers her growing up in Orkney and coming of age in London before becoming an alcoholic and working towards recovery after returning home and finding healing in nature. I think the stage adaptation was really well done, it honed in on the emotional core of the memoir and managed to communicate a fairly insular story while making it feel mostly like an ensemble piece. I felt really connected to it and it made me cry which is always a winning sign.

My comedy favourite (outwith my brilliant friend Sabina) was ALOK – an incredible non-binary performer who merges stand-up comedy and spoken word in a hilarious stream of consciousness that had me giggling throughout.

Always a staple and always a favourite, Reuben Kaye is incomparable. So flipping talented, charismatic and smart. I don’t even need to explain so I’ll just say if you haven’t seen him before, be sure to buy a ticket next year.

And my dance favourite was the fantastic Scottish Dance Theatre with their double bill of The Flock and Moving Cloud. I found the first piece hypnotic and mesmerising, the dancers move with so much apparent ease. The second piece has such a joyful energy it just makes you want to get up and join in. A beautiful and joy-filled double bill.

So yeah, it has been a whirlwind. I finished the festival seeing a piece called Show Pony where three female circus artists look back over their childhoods, training and adult careers and ask what it was all for and why they keep going. It felt like an appropriately pensive way to finish the festival considering the humans behind the awe-inspiring performances of the month.

Then towards the tail end of the festival, we hear the news that the Scottish Government are cutting arts funding which leads to the impending closure of Creative Scotland’s Open Fund for Individuals which has enraged the arts industry here in Scotland which is already so limited in available support. There are a million think pieces on the scale and sustainability of the festivals so I don’t need to add anything more to the conversation. It’s just so disappointing to see things get even harder for artists to create new work and exist in this capitalist world at the same time. So, please, arts worker or entertainment enjoyer, sign the petitions and write to your MPs. #NoArtWithoutArtists