Brian Ferguson

Here are the best 10 shows I've seen at the Edinburgh festival so far There are some 3853 shows at the Fringe this year. And that’s before you factor in what’s on at the Edinburgh International Festival. How do you…

Confused by the seemingly endless choice at the Fringe? We can help (a bit). @teddyjamieson.bsky.social @brianjaffa.bsky.social @heraldscotland.bsky.social

I should really ignore these things, but I’ve now read four versions of the same woeful article on what folk living in Edinburgh supposedly think of the Fringe - all largely based on the views of someone simply called “Julie.” How on earth is this rubbish getting published?

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www.heraldscotland.com/news/2533980...

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Hope it all goes well and hope to make it along!!

Can you experience the best of the Edinburgh festivals away from the city centre?
Read on: www.heraldscotland.com/news/2534791...

Edinburgh Festival at odds with city council over charity discount for event permits Festival bosses say they should qualify for a discount for non-profit events, but the council disagreed after a formal request for a fee recuction.

This appalling penny-pinching tells you everything you need to know about the approach of cllrs & officials in Edinburgh towards events that are the envy of cities across the world. Don’t forget the same folk signed off £1.7m in Tour de France funding. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2533631...

Most of the vast cultural archive collected by Richard Demarco since the early 1960s is to leave Scotland for Poland.
Full details: www.heraldscotland.com/news/2529904...

Wee reminder: You can find my most recent work for The Herald right here: www.heraldscotland.com/author/profi... @heraldscotland.bsky.social

'I needed to find a way to like the guy': Sandy Grierson on playing Fred Goodwin The rise and fall of the Royal Bank of Scotland will be recalled in new National Theatre of Scotland production Make It Happen.

The name Fred Goodwin will go down in Edinburgh’s history books as the man who led the Royal Bank of Scotland to become the biggest bank in the world & then the brink of collapse. Now he is about to be portrayed on stage for the first time.
www.heraldscotland.com/life_style/2...

War of words escalates between pro-Palestine campaign and shut down arts centre A bid to create a 'liberated zone' at the Centre for Contemporary Arts was thwarted after the police were alerted.

One of the most-read articles on any subject on The Herald website today.
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2528596...

Historic theatre targets permanent reopening date as £10m vision takes shape Theatre, comedy and concerts are expected to be staged throughout the year when the venue is up and running again for the first time in more than 40…

🎟️ My latest long-read on the new £10m vision to reopen Leith Theatre permanently for the first time in more than 40 years & transform it into a “significant cultural destination” on Edinburgh’s waterfront by 2029. 🎟️
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2527993...

🏕️ Hi-di-hi campers! I’m in need of a new tent for the first time in a long time.
Key requirements: Must be relatively quick & easy to put up, but robust enough to survive strong winds.
Any recommendations? 🏕️

Behind-closed-doors talks were held this week over the need for additional funding for the revamp of the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh. Its owner, Edinburgh City Council, & operator, Capital Theatres, wouldn’t discuss the current cost, funding gap or planned completion date.

🎭 Exclusive: More public funding will be needed to finish the ongoing revamp of the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh - which is expected to cost more than double the original price tag & has already been delayed by three years. 🎭
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2527038...

ICYMI: Edinburgh Filmhouse launches final fundraising drive to finish revamp ahead of long-awaited reopening. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2526185...

Edinburgh’s Filmhouse cinema has revealed it is still trying to raise more than £100,000 to finish off a revamp ahead of its reopening this weekend. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2526185...

The Scottish Government’s support package for the Edinburgh International Book Festival is expected to see its funding rise by more than £1.5m by 2027-2028 compared to the last three years of Baillie Gifford’s involvement with the event.

EXCLUSIVE: The Scottish Government has stepped in to plug the Edinburgh International Book Festival budget gap created by the dropping of headline sponsor Baillie Gifford. Government funding has more than doubled in the last year.
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2526449... @heraldscotland.bsky.social

Edinburgh council chief admits Tour de France funding decision 'was inappropriate' Edinburgh Council’s chief executive has admitted that not giving councillors the opportunity to scrutinise Tour de France spending “was…

Not a penny of Edinburgh taxpayers money should be spent on this. Cllrs should be demanding the city is fully compensated by the UK & Scottish governments for the inevitable drain on resources & ensure the visitor levy actually supports home-grown events. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2526310...

BBC Alba expands into Gaelic feature films after success of island crime drama Gaelic broadcaster BBC Alba is to expand into feature film production on the back of international interest its first big-budget drama series.

🎥 BBC Alba reveals plans to expand into Gaelic film production on the back of the international success of its first big-budget drama - as it confirms a second season of An t-Eilean is in development. 🎥
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2525559... @heraldscotland.bsky.social

Has Glasgow changed for the better since the turn of the century?
A new drone photography book explores the transformation of the city over the last 25 years.
My latest @heraldscotland.bsky.social
work: www.heraldscotland.com/news/2525425...

Singer-songwriter Dougie MacLean will take centre stage on the opening weekend of the Edinburgh International Festival when he heads a “mass singalong” event in Princes St Gardens.
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2525063...

Exclusive: New marketing campaigns will be launched to promote Edinburgh Festival Fringe shows to local residents after venues blamed the staging of Oasis concerts in August for a slump in advance ticket sales & a surge in hotel prices. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2524661...

🚨 Exclusive: The BBC is cutting coverage of Edinburgh’s festivals - including scrapping its pop-up venue in the city - in a new spending squeeze. 🚨
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2523418...

🌱 A charity has donated £2.85m to a landscaping project which will create the first new public gardens in Edinburgh city centre for 200 years, in the grounds of a planned National Centre for Music. 🌱
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2523359... @heraldscotland.bsky.social

🌱 A charity has donated £2.85m to a landscaping project which will create the first new public gardens in Edinburgh city centre for 200 years, in the grounds of a planned National Centre for Music. 🌱
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2523359... @heraldscotland.bsky.social

Exclusive: I spoke to Edinburgh’s Hidden Door festival on the plans for its biggest site transformation yet and plea to supporters to help secure the event’s future after it was hit by the trend for slow advance ticket sales. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2522148...

✨ The winners of Scotland’s annual theatre awards are in. Shows recognised include Hedda Gabler, So Young, Wild Rose, A History of Paper, Confessions of a Shinagawa Monkey, Yellow Canary & Ayr Gaiety’s Mother Goose, the first panto to be honoured. ✨ www.heraldscotland.com/news/2522306...

You would maybe be surprised at the lack of support (esp financial) for many of Edinburgh’s bigger events, which attract a vast local audience. That’s partly why events like Fringe Sunday and the festival fireworks don’t exist any more.