My head is spinning. I’ve been on a literary and performance art trampoline for four days. It could be the coffee – or menopause, for that matter – but it’s the flood of explosive, mischievous, expansive, heartwarming, heartbreaking, heartfelt, humorous and visionary voices I’ve heard over the past four days, walking my way up and down, and around a city born of thinkers who not only challenge the status quo, but who thrive on the challenge of doing so.
This is a typical Edinburgh festival – and there are many – Art, Fringe, Book, and not forgetting the Tattoo – all on at the same time vying for your attention. August in Edinburgh is a celebration of provocative mind-play, showing imagination has no boundaries, and the value of art in all its forms and, for that reason – for want of a better word – the experience is healing. Experiencing the Festival is like going through therapy – but much more fun.
The largest ticketed event in the world (not considering the Olympics and World Cup), this multi-layered mind-fest is a steroid for the imagination. Jump starting the little grey cells on a hill worthy of any of the steepest Edinburgh slopes. Architecture, performance, the tall spires of the churches, and battlements of the castle with the flags flying, you expect a broomstick and Harry to come flying at you any moment, and the cobbled lanes, narrow and towering in over you, shadows as though Death Eaters linger in every corner (you can tell they’ve adopted the Potter connection quite liberally). Edinburgh is engorged with history but never loses its shape, soul and integrity even under the weight of millions of tourists who descend each August to share in the wealth of creative talent, while those who work on the festivals share the rallying cry ‘we will sleep in September, for today we fly’.
The first festival, held in 1947, was inspired to celebrate peace after the Second World War and give the residents something to look forward to, celebrating creativity in all its forms. And perhaps with all that’s going on in the world now, never more have we needed a celebration on this scale.
It is in the realms of Edinburgh’s festivals, you will find design thinkers and future-thinkers, the latter of which was the theme of the Edinburgh International Book Festival this year, led for the first time by newly appointed director and CEO, Jenny Niven, with an extensive, envious CV in the creative world. Previously at Creative Scotland, launching book festivals in Beijing and Melbourne, founder of the award-winning ‘Push the Boat Out’, a festival of poetry, spoken word and language. As Head of Literature, Jenny was named in The List’s ‘Hot 100’ people influencing Scotland’s arts and cultural landscape in 2022. Here, she’s hit the ground running with an inspired and visionary festival which looks to the future and asks questions about our perceptions of it.
To immerse myself and get the best of the fest, I based myself at the Futures Institute, which had a wealth of authors, including Roger McGough, Dolly Alderton, Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, James O’Brien, Marian Keyes, to name a few, and an appearance from Nicola Sturgeon (interviewing, funnily enough, rather than being interviewed). 
Whatever the event, they are imaginatively produced. They are not, simply, sit-and-listen to authors waffle on about maudlin and self-indulgent misery memoires, but are interactive; with workshops, panels, and loads of time given to Q and A.
If you want a break from books, the Fringe events neatly and appropriately perch beyond the Futures Institute, within easy reach – at venues across the city, principally run by four companies, Underbelly, Assembly, Gilded Balloon and Pleasance.
A massive blow-up purple cow looms overhead in Underbelly’s flagship in St George’s Square. Their other venues (at Bristo Square, Cowgate and Circus Hub) are dotted about, with variations on the Belly theme – Bellybutton, Belly Laugh, Belly Dancer, Delhi Belly et al – maximising to the nth degree of how far they can push the metaphor. Two shows I caught, Bills 44th, an adult puppet show on male loneliness and isolation, and Why I stuck a Flare Up My Arse for England, were not what you’d expect. Even looking through the guide, I found myself feeling the descriptions failed to manage expectations; these performances transcend words. They were, simply, brilliant.
Those predisposed to FOMO will have issues because of the level of choice. And you will be distracted between each event by street performers, crowds surrounding street performers, and posters advertising a show that sounds better than the one you are en route to.
Last time I visited was over a decade ago and all I can remember is the cold. This time, the warmth is striking, and the venues for the events, including the new Futures Institute, are perfectly fit for purpose. The venues I remember are still here; the Monkey Barrell and the Caves, which appear – even if they aren’t, thanks to the multi-layered nature of Edinburgh – subterranean. Descending down steps which circle in on each other, and up more steps, everyone is encouraged to take their best step forward.
That said, I did take the tram for two days as I stayed at The Fingal in the port of Leith, which looks as though its undergone successful regeneration, with polished cobbles, statues, boutique hotels formerly ships, harboured and glossy, and bijoux pubs, cafes and restaurants with outside eating (in that Scottish sun – something I never thought I would say), and making you realise how close you are to the sea. Always in the distance between the buildings, the hills and waterways remind you how close you are to nature.
The Suite at The House of Gods (photo courtesy of the hotel)
I later decamped to the House of Gods, within walking distance to the high street and Royal Mile, where the parade happens after the Tattoo. Adjacent to the Monkey Barrell events, near to the Caves and the UnderBelly Cowgate venues, it is in beating heart of the city. There’s a grungy boutique feel about it. Whereas The Fingal tapped into a Death on the Nile vibe, this is Murder on the Orient Express, as corridors are narrow, half lit, with long velvet curtains and mirrors everywhere, glass doors and staircases.
Edinburgh is a city of lateral thinkers wanting to share what they have learnt, and its addictive. As exhausting as it is addictive, however, I would give it a week. Any less and you will miss out; any more, and you will come down with some physical or emotional exhaustion which means you will need bedrest for a week when you return home. This place blows the mind and, with all those steps, potentially, the knees.
The Edinburgh International Book Festivals runs until Sunday 25th August. For more information, including details of the 2024 programme and participating authors, please visit www.edbookfest.co.uk.
The Edinburgh Fringe runs until Monday 26th August. For more information of the shows and performances (including those enigmatic descriptions), articles and the full programme, please visit www.edfringe.com.
Sarah Tucker is an author, broadcaster and travel writer. Sarah’s latest work, Love Laterally, looks into the life of Edward de Bono, who invented the concept of lateral thinking, and is published on 3rd September. To pre order, click here.
Photos by the author
