I loved Emma Rice Productions' Tristan & Yseult @lyceumedinburgh.bsky.social this evening. A bit chaotic at times, but great fun throughout, with lots of direct engagement with the audience, including balloons!

I'm at @traversetheatre.bsky.social this evening, looking forward to Balisong by Strange Town theatre.

A couple of images from this evening's sky over Dunbar

Finally getting round to a summary of my experience of this year's August Festivals: - I went to 44 Fringe shows; 5 productions in the International Festival and 6 talks at the Book Festival

I managed to see two excellent shows at Shedinburgh, this evening, starting with Josie Dale Jones' A Little Inquest Into What We Are All Doing Here, for which she was joined by Sam Ward from @yesyesnonoprod.bsky.social, script-in-hand, for the final section.

In case anybody is interested, tomorrow I'll be @summerhallarts.bsky.social for 'Nesting' by Trolley Problem, 'We Had Fun' by Emmeline Hartley & Jack Mullings, and 'The Plot' by theatregoose.

Apologies to anybody awaiting my latest scintillating thoughts on performances in this year's various festival programmes, but after falling a little behind and struggling to catch up, I'm abandoning the task. I'll still go to the planned shows, but won't post, unless something really catches my eye

Today's @edfringe.bsky.social journey will take me to Shedinburgh for Echo Echo Beach by Biscuit and Mothersole, @pleasance.co.uk for Lubna Kerr's 'A Better Memory' and @scotstorycentre.bsky.social for Marjolein Robertson: Shetland Folklore. I'll also be @edbookfest.bsky.social for Oliver Bullough.

I'll be returning to @edintfest.bsky.social with a visit to @lyceumedinburgh.bsky.social to see Zora Howard's 'subversive and moving play', 'Hang Time', providing a 'gut-wrenching, subversive perspective on the legacy of racialised violence in America.'

I'll be @edbookfest.bsky.social today for Lewis Goodall & Fergus McIntosh on 'Bias, Impartiality and the Future of News' at 17.00, followed by Holly McNish at 20.30.

Storyteller Dan Serridge and musician Heather Cartwright's 'The Corpse Road' was perfect for a timeslot as day slowly turned to night. Lovely Cumbrian tales and songs with a focus on the final journeys made by spirits, told with humour and engagement.

I really enjoyed Jenni Fagan's chat @edbookfest.bsky.social, yesterday in which she described the FOUR books she has been working on recently, not to mention directing a proposed film of 'The Panopticon'. The books all sound AMAZING! I'll definitely be getting 'The Delusions' in the next few days!

National Theatre of Scotland’s 'Through the Shortbread Tin' @scotstorycentre.bsky.social, is a lovely look back at James MacPherson's historical alleged(?) Ossian hoax. Written & performed by Martin O'Connor with wit, verse & a talented mini-choir of Gaelic singers it is engrossing & entertaining.

I really enjoyed Althea Young's 'The Dreaming' @summerhallarts.bsky.social yesterday. The winner of this year's Autopsy Award (which I support) focused on a young woman who has been obsessed by babies for as long as she can remember, though she doesn't want one. A very expressive performance.

I enjoyed @steverichards.bsky.social's show at TheSpace - Symposium, yesterday, with a focus on recent UK by-election results in the UK and what they might suggest. The audience's 'unreliable' prediction was that Tories would play no part in the next Govt, which means they could be worth a bet.

Tomorrow I'll be @edbookfest.bsky.social for Jenni Fagan and @edfringe.bsky.social for - @steverichards.bsky.social @thespacearts.bsky.social; - The Dreaming @summerhallarts.bsky.social; - Through the Shortbread Tin @scotstorycentre.bsky.social; - Corpse Road @scotstorycentre.bsky.social.

Loved the writing and performance of International Theatre Amsterdam's production of Tony Kushner's 'Angels in America' @kingstheatre.bsky.social this afternoon. Set in 1980s USA, it cleverly pulled together themes of Racism, the AIDS Pandemic and Religion, all set to a soundtrack of Bowie songs.

I only have one performance lined up for tomorrow, but International Theater Amsterdam's production of Tony Kushner's 'Angels in America' is a LONG one at just under 5 hours! I'm looking forward to making my first visit to @kingstheatre.bsky.social since the completion of its major refurbishment.

Sadly, today's performance of @lubnakerr.bsky.social's 'A Better Memory' @pleasance.co.uk was cancelled due to flooding, following a storm 15 minutes before it was due to start. I'm hoping to make another attempt to see it next week.

Today's second show was 'Motorway' by Daniel Cuckow & Abigail Sinclair at @zoovenues.bsky.social Playground. It is an engrossing story of two young women, working night shifts at a spooky motorway café. The atmosphere was enhanced by a sudden thunderstorm which soaked actors when they went offstage.

Three Belfast teenagers, brother and sister, Robbie and Melissa and Deren become involved in the battle over the future of a football ground, mirroring a referendum campaign on Ireland's future. This lovely, beautifully written play was deservedly presented with a Broadway Baby award at the end.

Tomorrow, I'll be taking in a couple of plays @pleasance.co.uk Courtyard, starting with 'The Pitch' by Moya Jane Productions and Lyric Belfast, followed by Lubna Kerr's latest play, 'A Better Memory'. There's a bit of a gap between them, so I may try to find something to fill the time slot.

I dipped into the Book Festival for a fascinating account of our varying relationships with the North Sea, ranging from Pegwell Bay (where early boats from Europe always seemed to end up) to the Bell Rock Lighthouse, with a worrying diversion into Anglo-Saxon exceptionalism (i.e. blatant racism).

I enjoyed Summerhall Arts Surgery, but mainly for the brief conversations with friends, old and new. The four 15 minute extracts were all interesting, covering various degrees of trauma. Sadly, I don't remember any of the titles or the artists, as we were using supplied sheets for notes.

Coming back to the Festivals after two days off meant I felt slightly refreshed. The Fringe Society AGM was vaguely interesting, but questions were dominated by a couple about personal grievances - refusal of accreditation and the state of the Mound, with performance space limited by development.

I'm having a couple of days off now, but I should be back on Tuesday with my thoughts on Wikipedia's legendary founder, Jimmy Wales on 'The Seven Rules of Trust', a Summerhall Arts Surgery, and maybe even the AGM of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, which will be held on Tuesday.

Enjoyed SH!T Theatre's EVITA TOO @zoovenues.bsky.social, today, in which they combine a pretty accurate account of the life of Isabel Perón, who became first woman president of a nation in the world, on the death of her husband, Juan Perón, with their regular humour, including naked roller skating.

Tomorrow, I'll be @edbookfest.bsky.social for Gavin Francis on 'The Unfragile Mind', and Peter Apps & Lena Khatib on 'The Next World War'. I'll also be seeing Sh!t Theatre's Evita Too @zoovenues.bsky.social @edfringe.bsky.social.

Hannah Maxwell's Turn Your F*cking Phones Off @summerhallarts.bsky.social is a brilliant & compelling exposé of security threats facing the UK. Using her experience of working with a UK disinformation unit and her theatrical skills Maxwell may have created the most significant show of the Fringe.

Tamsin Shasha's 'Forgive Me' is an autobiographical piece describing how she only began to understand her neurodivergent, gaming-obsessed son when she received an ADHD diagnosis in her 50s and began to work on new strategies to help support him.