And so we enter the time of regret; that moment when you search for your favourite performer and find that their entire run has sold out. Now you’re left with the task of sifting through thousands of other acts that meet your cultural criteria. That’s in part why these Roads exist; we hammer you with interesting shows and newsy titbits that’ll make you a more informed, less culturally intimidated member of the Festival-attending public. 

In this week’s edition, Made In Scotland is reeling in music lovers, we eye up a library of literary adaptations, Elf Lyons spreads the love for Fringe techies, and Stevie Martin gives Clout a victory lap. 

Made In Scotland showcase to spotlight local music…

… as part of an initiative from Wide Days and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society. They promise to provide a snapshot of some of the best music on the scene right now, with an event on Friday 15 August at both La Belle Angele and Sneaky Pete’s. 

A few of the acts performing include brittle rock act Man Of Moon, indie pop rockers Bottle Rockets, folk singer-songwriter Pippa Blundell, Scottish/Egyptian instrumentalists and composers The Ayoub Sisters, and Glasgow duo KuleeAngee, amongst others. 

Olaf Furniss, founder of Wide Days and director of Wide Events CIC, said: ‘Made In Scotland Gigs allows us to provide a unique platform for some of the country’s most exciting new acts who are already attracting international interest. Thanks to the partnership with the Fringe, the artists are able to reach a wider audience of both public and industry professionals, and we have high hopes the event will lead to overseas bookings.’ 

It's not the only music show in town. Also in the city during August, Be United will be hosting two music nights with Eyve and Viv Latifa amongst the performers. That’ll take place on Thursday 14 and Friday 15 August at Leith Arches. Meanwhile, La Belle Angele will host Big Nights At The Fringe Festival, a month-long roster of acts including This Is The Kit, Peter Doherty, Mercury Rev and more. Finally, Siobhan Wilson’s record label Sufrecs will host Live Music And Chats at Leith Depot from Tuesday 12 – Sunday 17 August, with confirmed acts including Cloth, Broken Chanter, Adam Ross and Zara Gladman. 

The Fringe gets literary…

… with a trio of adaptations that draw from some of the greats in 20th century literature. Throughout this year’s Roads, we’ve been highlighting trends and topics as they emerge, but adapting literary giants to the stage is a mainstay of August. 

A few that have caught our eye include Monstrous Regiment, an adaptation of Terry Pratchett’s heftiest Discworld outing (come at me, Mort) staged by local theatre company Strawmoddie, who’ve grown increasingly ambitious in their production values in recent years. That’ll be performed from Monday 11 – Thursday 14 August at The Edinburgh Academy. 

Then there’s Kafka For Beginners, which uses the famously morose author as a launchpad to examine ‘prisoners of conscience’, questioning whether they can stay true to their ideals under extreme circumstances. You can catch that intriguing idea at Braw Venues from Friday 1 – Sunday 24 August. 

And for kids, You’ll See is a miniaturised adaptation of James Joyce’s modernist epic, Ulysses. It combines elements of live performance, paper cut-outs and an original score to make Joyce’s notoriously difficult book accessible to those aged eight and up. This charmer will take place at Pleasance Courtyard from Wednesday 30 July – Sunday 24 August. 

Our Edinburgh Festival Guide launches…

… and it’s out now across Edinburgh. We’re not going to plug this too much, but it’s a bumper issue featuring the all-singing, all-dancing Jordan Gray on the cover. Also between the sheets, we chatted to Irvine Welsh, James Graham, Sikisa and much more. Honestly, it’s massive. Grab your copy now etc. 

Elf Lyons honours techies with new award…

… giving a little love to the hardworking light and sound crews who work at the Fringe. The gong will be handed out as part of the ISH Awards which takes place at the Fringe every year, and comes with a £500 cash prize, which Lyons has fronted herself. It’ll be awarded to ‘an innovative technician and operator who creates for, and aids the vision of, performers through dynamic lighting and sound’.

Lyons said: ‘There are so many technicians and without them, the vision of performers wouldn't be possible. These creatives work so hard and often run from one show to another like mad things trying to aid the visions of everyone. 

‘I am thrilled that through the ISH Edinburgh Comedy Awards we can honour these brilliant people.’

New festival awards announced by Summerhall Arts… 

… to be presented weekly throughout Festival season, with a view to celebrating acts which embody creativity, experimentation and excellence within new writing and contemporary performance. The arts charity is dubbing its gongathon Bragi - The Shepherd And Wedderburn And Summerhall Arts Festival Awards, 

Winners of the Bragi awards will be selected by a diverse panel of industry experts and four awards will be given out each three full weeks of the Fringe. The award itself is yet to be designed, and call outs are currently underway to find an artist for the job. 

According to a press release from Summerhall, interested artists and makers should submit a brief proposal by 12pm on Wednesday 16  July to [email protected]. Proposals should include a brief paragraph about the intended work, a sketch if possible, and links to previous work. The awards can be crafted from any medium but must be able to pass through international borders due to the programme's global nature. The commission is for £2000 and must include all materials to produce 12 awards. These must be ready to pick up or be delivered by Friday 1 August. Think you're the person for the job? Then pop them an email. 

Sam Gough, chief executive of Summerhall Arts said: ‘I am delighted to be working with Shepherd and Wedderburn again via their support of artists and the arts. This funding will not only provide a new commission and press to a local maker, but also allow their work to travel with the winners and give it a truly global opportunity. While we appreciate the timing is very short and the turnaround is quick for the inaugural year of these awards, it was vital that this was an open call giving the chance for all artists working in all media to be able to apply. The process is simple.’

Four stars or more 

Stevie Martin has been on quite a ride for the past year with a star-making performance on Taskmaster alongside Fatiha El-Ghorri, Jason Mantzoukas, Mathew Baynton and Rosie Ramsey. Now she's capitalising on that success with a reprisal of last year’s Fringe show Clout, which offers a barrage of super-smart observations. We were more than impressed by Clout, awarding it four stars and writing, ‘And it is funny. Not because it’s actually full of jokes you understand. It’s full of brilliant, Russian-doll type skits where anecdotes and observations keep on folding in on each other in unexpected ways. Lots of this seems to owe a debt to the way jokes and memes become more and more precariously self-referential online. Suitably enough, the delivery relies on the performer playing a game of back-and-forth with a pair of screens that serve up punchlines or sidenotes to what’s happening at the mic.’ Read the full review here. 

Catch Clout at Monkey Barrel from Friday 1 – Friday 8 August. It’s almost sold out already (we told you she was popular), but a few tickets are left here or there.