The Road To Edinburgh Festival 2026: Friday 15 May
In which AI is inescapable even at the Fringe, Andy Burnham makes manoeuvres at The Stand, Frankie Thompson explains some Horrible Things, and much more
Inundation is the path to normalisation, relegating the shock of the new to a background hum. It’s what happens when you wretch at the latest Coldplay song, hear it 50 times on the radio, and later find yourself humming it in the car. It’s the sugar-rush advertising that constantly targets you, wearing you down until you purchase the latest fad. And, more recently, it’s the grinding repetition of the term ‘AI’ placed into seemingly every conversation around politics, health, the internet and (most importantly) arts and culture, until it becomes a fixture of day-to-day life that no one seems to actually want.
And so, for the second year in a row, AI has become a talking point at the Fringe, as our lead story shows. But plenty more has happened if you’re bored of incursions from our tech overlords. Below you’ll find show announcements, an eco-friendly food truck, a certain headline-hogging politician, and more.
Once again, AI becomes a major talking point at the Fringe…
… as a new paper titled AI And The Festivals does the rounds. The publication brings together academics and thinkers to examine how Edinburgh Festivals can respond to AI.
James McVeigh, head of innovation and marketing at Festivals Edinburgh, said: ‘This publication is not about jumping on an AI bandwagon. It’s about asking harder, more interesting questions about what kind of cultural futures we want and recognising that festivals have a real responsibility, and opportunity, to help shape that conversation.’
The publication was made possible with the support of VisitScotland, and Rebecca Edser, VisitScotland’s head of events, said: ‘AI presents real opportunities for the events sector, from improving accessibility and operations to supporting creative development but it must be applied in a way that reflects the values of our industry. This publication highlights the important role festivals can play as spaces to explore innovation responsibly, ensuring technology supports - rather than replaces - the human stories and connections that make our events so distinctive.’
Professor Hemment, one of the leading contributors to the paper, added: ‘Festivals can function as living laboratories; spaces where artists, technologists and audiences meet to explore what new technologies actually mean in lived, shared experience, not just in theory.’
In the same week, Venue 13 announced the return of AI Campfire, which explores the intersections between technology and folklore. Despite its title, the show isn’t written by AI but by Vanesa Kelly. It follows Symbiolene, a ‘personified AI database’ as they discuss folktales and attempt to make a human connection. You can catch AI Campfire at Venue 13 from Friday 7–Saturday 29 August. And you can read the AI And The Festivals publication here.
Venue 13 to launch Fringe’s first hydrogen and solar-powered vegan food trailer…
…. Building on its success last year as the Edinburgh Fringe’s first fully vegan multi-vendor venue. The van is part of the venue’s push towards net zero, and will host Soft Serve Cartel and Unity Doner, alongside a rotating menu which will feature chips from The Happy Fish and a new bubble tea pairing with Tempo Tea Bar.
Ian Garrett, co-director of Venue 13 said: ‘We’ve spent decades researching and advocating for sustainable practice in the arts. This trailer is a practical demonstration of what we’ve been working toward. If a 50-seat independent venue can serve fully vegan food from a renewably powered trailer, we believe larger venues and festivals can do the same. We want to prove the model and share it openly.’
The venue has opened a Kickstarter to help fund permits and set-up for the project. Contribute here.
Underbelly’s Circus Hub programme to include Palestinian celebration of hope and solidarity…
… in the Palestinian Circus’ new show A Step And A Half. The show will combine traditional circus performance with the traditional Palestinian celebratory dance of Dabke, which roughly translates to ‘stamping of the feet’.
A Step And A Half joins a teeming line-up at the Circus Hub, which will debut The Pieces, from contemporary circus company Aloft; Pace, a hand-to-hand duet exploring the power imbalances in modern relationships; the intense acrobatic spectacle Wolf; and the return of Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett.
Andy Burnham to be interviewed at The Stand…
…. Presuming he still has the time while he cuts a path towards the UK's most thankless job. The Manchester mayor, who’s currently attempting to re-enter Parliament via a by-election in a bid to become prime minister, will chat as part of The Stand’s In Conversation series, which invites politicos, comedians, writers and other people of interest for a genial conversation about their lives, careers and (rather pertinently, in this case) politics.
Other guests on the In Conversation strand include Vittorio Angelone, who recently gained notoriety for righteously mocking Penny Mordaunt on The Last Leg; Amanda Dwyer, this year’s winner of the Billy Connolly Spirit Of Glasgow Award; Rebus creator Ian Rankin; former Makar Jackie Kay; and John Davidson, the activist whose life story was recently adapted into BAFTA Award-winning feature, I Swear.
Four stars or more
Comedy experimentalist and performance artist Frankie Thompson is headed our way as part of Soho Theatre’s line-up, with her new show Horrible Things. As you’d expect from its title, this one’s about Thompson finding, doing and generally gloating about some pretty awful things: ‘Things from down the back of the sofa and floating in her soup, things from the bins of people in power. From x-raying your mum's daydreams and interviewing the walls of your dad's shed (you don't want to know), to things your uncle uploaded on YouTube in 2008 (you really don't want to know). Find out if something horrible you've done is included, and come to the formal presentation of all horrible things thus far. If you laugh it's comedy, if you don't it's performance art.’ Count us in.
We were taken by Thompson’s strange and unique show Catts when it hit the Fringe in 2022, calling it an ‘unhinged YouTube compilation come to life’ in a four-star review from Rachel Cronin. ‘Catts is a ridiculously funny comedy hour and a powerful comment on how we distract ourselves from our most hopeless thoughts.’ Read the full review.
Main picture: ‘Zizi & Me’ / Jake Elwes, Stelios Tzetzias and Onassi Stegi.