The Besties: Week Two Winners
Mele Broomes, Wet Mess, A Giant on the Bridge and Wonder Fools are among the winners in the second batch of The Besties, our new Edinburgh Festivals awards
As the Edinburgh Festivals head into their final lap, we’ve handed out the second batch of our new festivals awards, The Besties.
The new prizes – a collab between us, our siblings at Fest magazine, Capital Theatres, and Premier Scotland – are the only awards celebrating all of the Edinburgh Festivals. We're giving out delightful handmade awards to the best of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh Art Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival, and the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Here’s the rundown of the week two winners of The Besties, awarded at the Festival Theatre this morning (Sat 17 Aug).
The Movement Award for Mele Broomes’ performance through warm temperatures at Custom Lane (Edinburgh Art Festival)
Mele Broomes opened Edinburgh Art Festival with a mesmerising performance, working with collaborators including cellist Simone Seales. Thought-provoking and intimate, we wanted to recognise the work and its position within the Edinburgh Art Festival, as an opening event commissioned to set the stage for a rejuvenated programme of radical work.
The Narrative Award for Adania Shibli’s Against Forgetting event at Edinburgh Futures Institute (Edinburgh International Book Festival)
Palestinian author Adania Shibli’s event at Edinburgh International Book Festival, titled Against Forgetting, delved into her 2017 novel Minor Detail in conversation with Esa Aldegheri. Taking place across two timelines – one year after the events of the Nakba and the present day – Minor Detail explores hauntings of memory and narrative, and the stories we choose to record and forget. The sold-out event felt wholly necessary, a compelling insight covering writing as an act of love, the shifting meaning of language and the cartography of displacement.
The Radgie Award (for boldest performance/behaviour) to Piotr Sikora for Furiozo: Man Looking For Trouble at Underbelly Cowgate (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)
Polish clown Piotr Sikora plays the rowdy, mile-a-minute Furiozo with a mixture of harshness and tenderness. As Fest editor Arusa Qureshi wrote in her review, “his wordless physical comedy skilfully displays the internal dichotomy between love and hate; all-out aggression and softness.”
The Debut Award to Wonder Fools for Òran at Pleasance Courtyard (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)
Jack Nurse and Robbie Gordon pick up a Bestie for their first Fringe play, Òran. In the words of Fest editor Arusa Qureshi, "the show is a real feat of collaboration – Gordon is outstanding as Òran, emphasizing the urgency and power of Owen Sutcliffe’s lyricism, accompanied by an otherworldly score composed by Scottish duo VanIves." As well as their long-awaited Fringe debut, we also wanted to recognise Wonder Fools for their creative social engagement projects with communities around Scotland through their innovative youth theatre programme – Positive Stories for Negative Times.
The [gender euphoria award] to Wet Mess for TESTO at ZOO Southside (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)
Our Theatre editor Rho Chung described TESTO thus: “It confronts the estrangement thrown on trans people by a country that scapegoats and highlights our bodies as things that are unacceptable, but in a fun and sexy way!”
The Collaboration Award for A Giant on the Bridge at Assembly Roxy (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)
Devised by theatre maker Liam Hurley and songwriter Jo Mango, featuring Louis Abbott (Admiral Fallow), Kim Grant (Raveloe), Solareye and Louise McCraw (Goodnight Louisa), we wanted to celebrate this work of gig theatre for its collaborative approach and its real social impact. Working with the community and people who have been part of the criminal justice system, A Giant on the Bridge platforms an important discussion, beautifully framed through music.
The Solo award to Yolanda Mercy for Failure Project at Summerhall (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)
In Failure Project, Mercy plays Ade, a young woman navigating a writing career in a white dominated industry while juggling an opinionated family, a somewhat unsatisfying situationship, and a host of anxieties. Mercy’s performance is exacting, measured with a careful intimacy that doesn’t give too much. It’s a performance which demands our attention – the subtle set placing emphasis on Mercy’s power and grace as a performer and the impact of her writing.
Photo credits: Adania Shibli courtesy of Edinburgh International Book Festival; Furiozo by Alan Moyle; Yolanda Mercy by Yolanda Mercy; A Giant on the Bridge by Tommy Ga-Ken Wan; Wet Mess by Manuel Vason; Mele Broomes by Ruby Plahar
Winners of The Besties are chosen each week by the editorial teams of The Skinny and Fest, drawing on their cross-festival expertise to celebrate the best work happening anywhere in the festivals. The categories will reflect the diversity of the magazines’ coverage and may be different every week. The final 2024 ceremony will take place on Saturday 24 August.