It’s Festival time, and, like many people, I’ll be decamping to the capital for the next couple of weeks to work there - presenting daily editions of BBC Radio Scotland’s Culture Studio in front of an audience live from the BBC’s pop-up (or “temporary” in old money) village at Potterrow.
That was a shameless plug, but, only in the spirit of the Fringe, which canny participants prepare for by doing advance workshops in leaflet-thrusting and self-promotion.
Fringe veterans know that there are rituals which must be enacted annually - the eastern European theatre company whose visas are delayed, thus strangely maximising pre-publicity, before making it to Scotland in time for the first performance; the controversial play that’s in danger of being banned; the “resting” soap star who’s suddenly discovered Shakespeare; Stephen Berkoff sounding off about the state of theatre/the UK/TV/life in general.
And there’s a mantra that’s recited every year - “More Scots should attend the Fringe.” So now there’s a box office at Glasgow’s Queen Street station, and rumour has it that we may not have to stand all the way through on the train - I’ll report back on that. But unless you’ve scouted out free performances, it can be an expensive business. You’re probably prepared for that, though, and, what the heck, it’s only once a year and you can enjoy the atmosphere and the performances on the Royal Mile for nothing.
But here’s the rub - the ticket prices of many shows increase at the weekend. That’s capitalism for you, but what irks me is that Scottish state school pupils go back to school in a week or so, while the Fringe is in full swing. And that means that Scottish families will only be able to attend shows at the weekend - thus having to pay more for tickets than their English counterparts whose we’ans are still on holiday. How unfair is that? A Scottish festival which penalises local audiences. The only solution is to bring the dates forward in line with Scottish holidays - until that happens, many local families will stay away.
Meanwhile, I’d recommend forking out the price of an Edinburgh Festival cappuccino for something much more stimulating, without the nasty caffeine - an astonishing exhibition which is on as part of the International Festival - Leonardo da Vinci: The Mechanics of Man, which has just opened at The Queen's Gallery at the Palace of Holyroodhouse.
We all know that Leonardo was a great artist and extraordinary inventor, but it turns out that, in the latter part of his life, he became a visionary scientist - one of the world’s leading anatomists. Indeed, had his astonishing research and detailed, accurate drawings been published, they would have transformed European knowledge of the subject.
It’s awesome stuff - his early 16th century anatomical studies are there alongside the latest technology including CT and MRI scans, computer simulations and 3D film of the body, revealing the modern relevance of his anatomical research. Oh, and the ticket prices don’t increase at the weekend.
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