Made in Scotland programme for Fringe '16

Published: 5 June 2016
Reporter: David Chadderton

Richard Medrington of Puppet State Theatre in Leaf By Niggle

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, has announced the companies and artists selected for the 8th year of Made in Scotland, a curated showcase of music, theatre and dance performed during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Made in Scotland, a partnership between the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, Creative Scotland, the Federation of Scottish Theatre and the Scottish Music Centre, has received £590,000 of Scottish Government funding to present the showcase, part of which is to enable Scottish companies, ensembles and artists to take up international touring opportunities from contacts made during the Fringe.

The 2016 line-up of artists includes Barrowland Ballet, Janis Claxton Dance, Kieran Hurley, Puppet State Theatre, Andy Manley, Starcatchers, Moishe’s Bagel, Simon Thacker and Justyna Jablonska, Kai Fischer, Sam Rowe, Graeme Stephen, Cryptic, Adura Onashile, Will Pickvance, Sita Pieraccini, Mairi Campbell, Gary Gardiner and Ian Johnston.

Playwrights’ Studio Scotland will return with TalkFest 2016, featuring sessions led and chaired by leading Scottish playwrights and theatre-makers such as Kieran Hurley, Rob Drummond, Kai Fischer, Adura Onashile, Clare Duffy, Deb Jones and Kathy McKean, David Greig and Lewis Hetherington.

Hyslop said, "over the past eight years, the Made in Scotland 2016 programme has built a strong track record of showcasing high quality productions which push boundaries, flare imagination and examine the intricacies of real life. The opportunity that the showcase offers is invaluable and continues to create international opportunities for Scottish performers and companies.

"The Scottish Government is proud to support Made in Scotland via the Expo Fund to bring this innovative piece of work to life and to continue raising Scotland’s cultural profile on the international stage."

Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive, Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society said that the showcase, "opens up an array of opportunities both during the Fringe, when thousands of industry professionals and media are in town, and after by way of the onward touring fund," with Head of Theatre, Creative Scotland Laura Mackenzie-Stuart adding that it, "puts talented artists from Scotland at the heart of the world’s largest art festival, the Fringe."

Richard Medrington, Artistic Director, Puppet State Theatre said, "as a result of appearing in the very first Made in Scotland showcase in 2009 with The Man Who Planted Trees, Puppet State's international touring has included two tours to Australia and New Zealand. In 2013 we took part in the Sydney Opera House’s first live stream of a performance to multiple remote audiences, some over 700 miles away.

"I am looking forward to performing our new show, Leaf by Niggle, in this year’s Made in Scotland showcase and seeing where this unique opportunity will lead us."

*Some links, including Amazon, Stageplays.com, ATG Tickets, LOVEtheatre, BTG Tickets, Ticketmaster, The Ticket Factory, LW Theatres and QuayTickets, are affiliate links for which BTG may earn a small fee at no extra cost to the purchaser.

Are you sure?