What’s On

Edinburgh People’s Festival are proud to announce a benefit night being held at The Stand Comedy Club on Tuesday 11th June with Vladimir Mactavish and an all star line up.

Doors open from  7.30pm with the show starting at 8pm.

Tickets are £8 waged and £5 unwaged and are available via the Edinburgh People’s Festival website, The Stand box office directly (0844 335 8879) or through their website: www.thestand.co.uk.

Well its been a busy week, and we are sorry to inform you good people that are no more tickets available for the Burns Supper Event For those who have been lucky enough to grab some tickets, we look forward to seeing you there

Well, that time of the year has come around again and we are celebrating Burns Supper Night for 2013, and this year the line up consists of;

The proceedings kick off on Friday 25th January, 7:30pm at The Canon’s Gait Edinburgh. Tickets are £10, £6 unwaged and includes a traditional dinner of haggis (meat or vegetarian), neeps and tatties and the evening is being very kindly sponsored by our great friends over at Unite the Union


So, just who are these stars, willing to give their free time to ensure that you, the good people, have an enjoyable Burns Evening ?? – well read on to find out.

Alan Bissett

In 2011 Alan was named Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Writer of the Year and his play Turbo Folk was shortlisted for Best New Play at the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland in 2010. His novels include Boyracers (2001), The Incredible Adam Spark (2005), and Death of a Ladies’ Man (2009), which was shortlisted for a Scottish Arts Council Fiction of the Year prize. His most recent book, Pack Men (2011) was called a “landmark in Scottish fiction” by Irvine Welsh. Alan also wrote and performed his own ‘one-woman show’, The Moira Monologues, which toured Scotland to great acclaim and is now in development with the BBC. The short film which he wrote and narrated, The Shutdown, has won awards at several major international film festivals and was shortlisted for a Scottish BAFTA.

Keir McAllister

Keir started stand up in April 2004 when he entered the Dundee heatof the Jongleurs J20 Last Laugh Competition. Despite it being his first ever gig, he won and went on to win the Scottish final and found himself doing his third ever gig to over 1000 people in London’s Criterion Theatre, Piccadilly Circus. He came runner up. Keir went on to have a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe 2004 with a show called “Rehab’s for Quitter’s” “where he teamed up with comedy partner Paul Pirie. The following year he was part of the sell out show “Scotland 4 Australia 1” in the Glasgow Comedy Festival which went on to have a further very successful run in the Edinburgh Fringe 2005. He and Paul Pirie also hosted their own late night comedy show. Keir has gigged all over Scotland and the UK and can be seen regularly working for people like The Stand, HaHa Comedy and The Last Laugh Comedy Clubs.

Gallo Rojo

Gallo Rojo is a collective of Spanish and Scottish musicians all living in Edinburgh, Scotland. We play songs from the fight against fascism in Spain, in Scotland, and across the world. We believe in solidarity and freedom – music has no borders. ¡NO PASARAN!

The Edinburgh People’s Festival AGM will take place on Wednesday 17th October 2012, at 6.30pm in Word Power bookshop on West Nicholson Street.

The Agenda of the meeting will be as follows:
 

 
I do hope you are able to attend.
 
Members please note that the £10 annual membership is also due and payable that night.

The Edinburgh People’s Festival brings the curtain down as it has done for almost a decade with this not to be missed comedy night spectacular.  This sell out feature of the People’s Festival programme for several years promises to be the best yet. Stars from TV and the British comedy circuit gather together in the BMC Club in Gorgie straight from Edinburgh’s Stand Comedy Club.

* KATIE MULGREW *
* SILKY *
* SIMON MUNNERY *
* LLOYD LANGFORD *

To mark the People’s Festivals 10^th anniversary this years show is absolutely free. Yes FREE!

With the Independence Referendum now set and Scotland focused as never before on whether or not to end its 300 year old link with the British state we present a debate in the best ‘flying’ traditions between two articulate and outspoken advocates from each side of this critically important debate.  With Kevin Williamson from the Scottish Independence Convention and Lothians MSP Neil Findlay.

FREE SHOW

Hamish Henderson the famous Scots polymath-poet, author, folk singer, song writer, musician, political activist, linguist, intellectual and founder of the Edinburgh People’s Festival – died in 2002.  He was an inspirational and outspoken advocate of Independence favouring a modern, democratic, socialist republic for Scotland.  Delivering this years memorial lecture will be Colin Fox.

FREE SHOW

Colin Brown is a world renowned Rebus expert and actor. Here he introduces us to Ian Rankin’s famous Edinburgh detective John Rebus and takes us on a magical literary journey complete with excerpts from the stories by visiting those locations made famous in the best selling novels.

FREE SHOW

Local historian Allan Armstrong leads us on this walk through the Edinburgh that never makes it into the official guide books.  This is the people’s history of ‘Auld Reekie’ shaped by those who lived here and built it.

FREE SHOW

A Forum Theatre Project in Leith creating a space to explore the causes of and alternatives to the public sector cuts.  The UK Coalition Government is embarking on a series of huge Public Sector Cuts to save £95 billion and reduce the deficit. Although they like to say that “we are all in this together” the reality is that these cuts are hitting the most vulnerable in society the hardest. How have we got into this mess? Are these cuts necessary or ideological? What can we do to protect our public services?

 
The day is open to all Leith residents, visitors, elected officials and those that are interested in the issue.

 
Download a flyer here.

Edinburgh People’s Festival will be celebrating ‘the worlds worst poet’ William Topaz McGonagall.  On May 24 at 6.30pm, we will be walking from his grave in Greyfriars cemetery, and ending up in the Scottish Poetry Library at Crichton’s close.

William, a poet and tragedian of Dundee, has been widely hailed as the writer of the worst poetry in the English language. A self-educated hand loom weaver from Dundee, he discovered his discordant muse in 1877 and embarked upon a 25 year career as a working poet, delighting and appalling audiences across Scotland and beyond.Born and died in Edinburgh, McGonagal is traditionally associated with Dundee where he tried to make his living first as an actor and then as a poet.  The legendary debate is whether McGonagal wrote poetry that was bad by accident or design, whatever you think, he is, no-doubt, the undisputed champion of the world at bad poetry.

Our event starts at Greyfriars Kirkyard where local actor and historian Colin Brown will say a few words at the great man’s graveside. Thereafter the party is guided to the nearby Scottish Poetry Library in the company of the Colin Brown who acts as our host in this unque celebration of McGonagall’s contribution to world literature.

Meet Thursday 24th May at 6.30pm in Greyfriars Kirkyard and afterwards at the Scottish Poetry Library in Crichton’s Close [off the Canongate] 7.30pm where tea and Dundee cake will be served as patrons are invited to mimic the poetic style of McGonagall himself.

Last year the People’s Festival inaugurated a McGonagal event marking his place in Edinburgh’s historic arts culture.