I have been lucky enough to have been taken under the wing here of one David O'Doherty. He has made this festival for me, filling it with enormous whimsy and sass. Oh my god the sass! It hurts so good. David has been up for anything, including a cardiovascular enhancing jog, which doesn't seem to be a popular form of exercise in Edinburgh. I am basing this on the looks of disbelief and distain shot at me as I jogged up the hill towa...]]> 2007-08-20T21:26:40+01:00 Evan Beswick (evan@festmag.co.uk) http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/25 http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/24 I’m in the Pleasance Dome. It’s quite odd here, but there’s an ok cafe. I’ve got a cup of tea and a berry muffin. The weather’s not very good today. It’s my day off from doing the show and I thought that I might go cycling out of town. But it looks like it’s going to rain, and I haven’t got any weatherproof stuff, so I’ve changed my mind. Not really sure what to do with my day really. I cou...]]> 2007-08-19T17:19:02+01:00 Julian Fox (JFox@barbican.org.uk) http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/24 http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/23

As if it were not embarrassing enough to leave a sizeable Fringe show whilst punching your mate, revealing a subconscious hatred of his Scottish origins and enjoying a nice little orgasm every time he touches your left hand, worse is to come when you step outside, burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter and suddenly grasp the enormity of the last hour and a half’s events. All this, I mo...]]> 2007-08-15T16:14:34+01:00 Chris Williams (chris@festmag.co.uk) http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/23 http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/22

"Since I got here to Edinburgh a week ago, I have not been able to stop showing off in front of new people. Not on stage, in real life. You see, I keep meeting brilliant and funny new people here and I get panicky that they won’t want to be friends. So I start showing off. This is out of character for me, I cannot explain it. Maybe it’s because I’m not used to making new friends: stand up is pretty solitary and also I...]]> 2007-08-15T09:44:19+01:00 Evan Beswick (evan@festmag.co.uk) http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/22 http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/21

Fest's street correspondent and all-round good egg, Tom Hackett is on the Pro-Plus, bringing you all the up-to-the-mintue action from Mark Watson's 24 Hour Jamboree to Save the Planet. Keep checking back throughout the day for updates and news from the streets of Edinburgh and beyond. Can Watson and a bunch of sleep-deprived tourists reverse the impact of Global warmi...]]> 2007-08-14T14:24:44+01:00 Tom Hackett (tomjameshackett@googlemail.com) http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/21 http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/20

This guide is designed to pluck you from obscurity and offer a foolproof guide to becoming the big hit of the Edinburgh Festival in your first year. It will take you through every step of the way. Starting at the beginning, if you're at still at school, become as weak as you possibly can. Over-eat, don't do sport and get some unfortunate distinguishing features. Hopefully, this should result in you receiving a healthy amount of bul...]]> 2007-08-11T00:13:10+01:00 Dan Atkinson () http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/20 http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/19

Thursday 9th August. 8.05pm, Pleasance Courtyard. 

I'm sitting in the courtyard at the Pleasance and I'm writing this on my new phone. It's amazing, all this new technology, what it allows. It's a Nokia N-something. I’ve just been upgraded. My old phone was about 6 years old and could only do calls and texts. I did like the simplicity of it, but this phon...]]> 2007-08-09T20:50:53+01:00 Julian Fox (JFox@barbican.org.uk) http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/19 http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/18

Friday 3rd August. 4.16pm. Elephant House, Edinburgh

I'm feeling really tired and it's only half three in the afternoon. Day five, and I'm back in the Elephant House. I like it here. It's where Harry Potter was written (supposedly). I haven't read any of them, so I'm not sure if the books mention this place. Why do I feel so tired? I didn't get...]]> 2007-08-04T10:46:54+01:00 Julian Fox (JFox@barbican.org.uk) http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/18 http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/17

With the opening previews kicking off and the review season beginning, 1 August represents the beginning of the arts-journo's festival. It is the gentle warm up that tests whether your June/July preparations were well made... or not.

Our opening review of the day began at 11.10am. Unfortunately, our reviewer didn't know which venue it was being held in until 10.57am, and due to a mix up at the office hadn't collected her...]]> 2007-08-02T18:16:13+01:00 Ben Judge (ben@festmag.co.uk) http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/17 http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/16

11.30am Tuesday 31st July: Embo, Leith Walk.

Well I’m here. And can’t believe it. It’s really sunny. One of the things that I wasn’t looking forward to was the Scottish weather and the haar. But it’s almost balmy up here today. I’ve got a day off before 2007, is set to be the busiest year for the arts in Edinburgh. The four-year-old Edinburgh Arts Festival, which runs from 26th July to 2nd September is much younger than its fellow Book and Film Festivals. However, each year the Festival has grown and developed, and this year, a director, Joanne Brown, has been appointed: ensuring that the visual arts can continue its rapid evolution, reaching the widest audiences, on the international platfo...]]> 2007-07-30T14:06:23+01:00 Jenny Richards (jenny@festmag.co.uk) http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/15 http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/14

If comedy at Edinburgh's Fringe can't lay claim to having the lion's share of programming – theatre folk, again, proving slightly more enthusiastic – it more than certainly chomps it's way through advertising budgets like nothing else at the festival. One needn't be a telly-addict to fast recognise dozens of the faces adorning posters and flyers around Edinburgh this August and, certainly, those who have subm...]]> 2007-07-29T17:23:26+01:00 Evan Beswick (evan@festmag.co.uk) http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/14 http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/13

The cinematographic calendar notes periods in the year when quaint seaside towns transform into hyperreal playgrounds for punters and peddlers, and others when concert halls teem with ruby breasts and alabaster bums. The Edinbu...]]> 2007-07-26T15:38:14+01:00 Junta Sekimori (junta@festmag.co.uk) http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/13 http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/11 The Edinburgh Book Festival, which runs from August 11-27, is the largest literary festival in the world. Founded over 20 years ago, it's ongoing success can be put down to a willingness to mix and match: Among the headliners featured this year are a coterie of names such as local heroes Iain Rankin, Alexander McCall Smith and Iain Banks, who stand side by side with international names such as that legendary literary magus, Norman Mailer.<...]]> 2007-07-23T15:11:01+01:00 Nick Garrard (nick@festmag.co.uk) http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/11 http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/8

The 2007 Fringe Programme is a formidable beast. This year’s Fringe is set to become the largest yet, with 31,000 performances of 2,050 shows taking place throughout the month of August. 18,600 actors, comedians, musicians and street performers are set to descend upon Edinburgh, in addition to ...]]> 2007-07-13T17:34:34+01:00 Ben Judge (ben@festmag.co.uk) http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/8 http://www.festmag.co.uk/blog/show/7

Welcome to the brand-spanking new Fest website. Welcome, also, to the brand-spanking new Fest Blog, where you will be able to find all the latest information on the world’s largest and most exciting arts festival. Our web monkey has been hard at work preparing the website and we’d love to hear any feedback you may have.