Irish Artists Shine at Edinburgh Festivals

Irish artists are among thousands from across the world who are packing their bags and heading off to Edinburgh in Scotland, for the annual internationally renowned arts festivals.

From the international Fringe festival to headlining comedy events, opera performances, book fairs, and everything in between, Edinburgh has become a one name title that is a key date in the artistic calendar.

This year, over 40,000 artists will appear in over 3,000 shows there, so there is noise, action, glamour, fun, networking and important career conversations to be had throughout the month.

David Bolger is the artistic director of the acclaimed 'CoisCéim Dance theatre company, which is bringing its show 'DanceHall Blues' to the Scottish city.

He said: \"This will be our sixth year, our sixth production to bring to Edinburgh over the last 20 years.\"

Agents on the look out for 'something special'

He said the festival is attended by a wide range of audiences from enthusiastic fans, the most influential booking agents and touring producers, all on the look out for \"something special\" that they can develop beyond the Scottish festival.

He said having a successful run at Edinburgh can have a \"significant impact\" on a performer's career.

Around 1,500 festival directors and programmers from across the world will be in attendance, so Mr Bolger said it is \"hugely important\" to connect with international audiences, and the international media and producers to \"hopefully gain some international touring opportunities\".

CoisCéim is one of eight shows which has been selected for the Irish showcase at the Fringe festival, which is being supported by 'Culture Ireland', the national body for promoting Irish arts internationally.

The aim of the showcase is to offer international audiences a snapshot of the talent here.

Associate Director at Culture Ireland Ciarán Walsh is the director of the showcasing.

He said Culture Ireland is marking its 20th anniversary this year and described the organisation's role as promoting the arts by \"providing travel supports for artists\" from across all the art forms, not just theatre and dance, but also to support them to present at festivals, at galleries, at exhibitions, and film festivals.

Budget increase for Culture Ireland

Culture Ireland, which is funded by the Department of Culture, has had its largest budget allocation this year in its 20-year history, with €7.6 million last year in 2024, rising to €8 million this year.

Mr Walsh said that like any other organisation \"we would hope for more, but it will depend on how budget negotiations pan out\".

Mr Walsh outlined that Culture Ireland has supported over 800 projects to present in about 42 countries that reached live audiences of over five million, \"so it's a win win for us, and a real tribute to the artists\".

For the artists themselves, it is a hectic but valuable month of performing and seeing other productions too.

Venetia Bowe is an actor from Dublin who plays 'Joy' in playwright Dan Colley's show 'Lost Lear', which is one of the other eight shows selected for the showcase.

'Lost Lear' tells the story of a woman, Joy, who was an actor in her youth and performed in King Lear.

She slips into dementia in her later years and has become obsessive about the Shakespearean play.

It is one of the shows that has been selected to travel as part of the showcase.

Ms Bowe has packed her bags ahead of taking to the stage for their first performance this coming Sunday.

She said it is a hectic schedule where \"one evening we might have a show at 9.30pm and then the following morning is 10am, so it'll be interesting to find a rhythm within it all\".

She is also looking forward to getting to see other shows, adding: \"I can't wait to see others in action and to watch other performances\".

For Ms Bowe, this visit to Edinburgh has particular significance for her, and she explained that although she had been \"several times,\" it was only ever \"as a punter and I also worked in the box office\".

She added that she has \"always dreamed of bringing a show there, so it's incredibly special coming now with a show and getting to be on the Traverse theatre stage is really amazing\".