TODAY we publish the first of this year’s student reviews submitted as part of The Herald Young Critics Project with the Edinburgh International Festival.
Towards the end of last term, Herald writers visited five Edinburgh schools to lead workshops with senior pupils about covering the Festival and writing criticism, and to introduce them to some of the productions and concerts that are in the EIF 2018 programme.
As they return to school, those young people are attending performances as the Festival’s guests and submitting reviews, in a designated format and to a strict deadline.
The Herald writers will pick the best one from each performance to appear in the print edition of the paper, while all of them will run online at heraldscotland.com.
Alongside our own writers, pupils from Portobello High School were at Akram Khan’s Xenos at the Festival Theatre and from Leith Academy at Karine Polwart’s Scottish Songbook at Leith Theatre on Thursday evening.
The selected reviews published today will join others of theatre, opera and music appearing this coming week to compete for The Herald Cherub award, presented at the final Herald Angels awards at the Festival Theatre a week today.
All those reviews and full coverage of the awards, presented in partnership with the Festival Theatre, will be in your Herald Arts.
www.heraldscotland.com
SIX shows at the Fringe have been short listed for a new award, the Sit-Up Awards, which aim to support theatre which will inspire social change.
David Graham, founder of awards said: "All of the shortlisted productions shine a light on different issues and show the power of theatre to achieve change through their audiences.
"And that was the idea in setting up these awards in the first place."
The shortlisted productions include Christina Murdoch: Dangerous Giant Animals at Underbelly, Strictly Arts: Freeman at Pleasance Courtyard, Smokescreen Productions: Mengele at Assembly George Square Theatre, Futures Theatre: Never Vera Blue at Summerhall.
Also short listed are Power Play: The Empty Chair, at a site specific venue in Broughton Street, Charades Musicals and BSAC: The Mould that changed the world at The Space at Surgeons Hall.
Celia Tennant, award judge, said: "It is really encouraging to see so many of the pressing social issues affecting our society today in the spotlight at this year's Edinburgh Fringe.
"As someone who works with charities that deal with consequences of many of these issues, which often disproportionately affect people who are already facing disadvantage, I am delighted to be on the judging panel for the Sit Up Awards. It is helpful to keep these important topics in conversation after the curtain falls."
A panel of experts will decide on the winner which will be announced next week.
The panel comprises Robert Iles, co-founder of the UK Theatre Web, Alice Millest, trustee of the charity theatre company Clean Break and youth-led initiative Art Against Knives, Jez Bond, Park Theatre Director, Ms Tennant, Chief Executive of Inspiring Scotland, Rhea Lewis, Creative Producer and Co-Founder of Project X and Adam Kashmiry, whose play Adam inspired Graham to set up the awards.
www.edfringe.com
THE Edinburgh-born double bassist Andrew Robb won 1st Prize at the 2018 European Society of Bassists earlier this month in Italy.
Robb, who won the Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year competition in 2009, was the only competitor from the UK chosen to appear at the event in Lucca, Tuscany before a panel of expert judges.
A graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, Robb currently plays with fellow former Young Scottish Jazz Musician of the Year, pianist Alan Benzie’s trio.
www.andrewrobbmusic.com
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