Walk this way

Leith stages bigger than ever festival this summer

Words: Anna Millar

eith provided further evidence of its

status as one of the city's most

vibrant areas with the launch of its annual festival. Organisers revealed that the Leith Festival would showcase its trademark brew of home grown talent. alongside big name headliners. lleld over a week. the popular jamboree will boast over a hundred musical acts. 50 comedians and a dozen visual artists. This year's more expansive programme is responding. said organisers. to the unprecedented success of last year's festival.

Polish physical theatre troupe. (iappad Theatre Company. will make an appearance with their bi-lingual piece. {Is You Always Do. which was inspired by the story of a Poliin migrant who vanished in Glasgow two years ago. lilsewhere dance collective. the ()siligi Maasai Warriors. who impressed during their last Scottish performance at the Royal Highland Show. will showcase their impressive footwork.

Other highlights include the return of

10 THE LIST 8—22 May 2008

theatre hit. Heart/NI. about a Hibs fan who goes undercover as a Hearts supporter. Music is also set to feature heavily with Leith band St Jude's Infirmary and acclaimed indie—punk band lsa and the Filthy Tongues making an appearance alongside and Story About the Boy. The Leith Festival Sessions are also set to take place every night in local bar The Granary. featuring signed and unsigned bands from lidinburgh and further afield.

A vibrant programme of visual art and photography. as well as a slew of Scottish comedians. complete the mix. Leith Festival Manager. Rowan Campbell. said: 'We are all very excited about this year's festival. We are expecting this year to be bigger and better than anything we have done before. We are looking to take the festival to a new level. while keeping its roots firmly in Leith.‘

Leith Festival runs from 20 May-8 Jun; see www.|eithfestival.com for full listings.

GFF SALES SOAR

I Glasgow Film Festival has announced a 35% increase in box office admissions, in comparison with last year. GFT director, Jaki McDougall, said of the boom: ‘The most effective way for us to satisfy audience demand was to concentrate on a 'long-tail' approach whereby we play a bigger number of specialist or niche films to small but rapidly growing audiences.’

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THE LINE-UP for this year's Wickerman Festival has been announced with KT Tunstall and The Fall among the star attractions, with Gary Numan, De Rosa, and Dean Friedman also appearing. The Festival takes place at the Solway Firth from 25-26 Jul.

ONE OF SCOTLAND“ busiest train stations could treble in size under £190m plans. Proposals have been unveiled for Haymarket in Edinburgh, which could see up to nine million passengers use the category A- listed station by 2031.

FREE COMMUNITY EVENT The Meadows Festival in Edinburgh is seeking volunteers to help in the run up to the event as well as assisting on the day of the festival itself. Interested parties should contact Toni on 07870 621086 or email mariposablackthe rapy@yahoo.com. This year's festival will be held 7-8 Jun.

VINE DINING restaurant The Scotch Malt Whisky Society has opened the doors of the Dining Room at 28 Queen Street to non-members, with food courtesy of chef James Freeman.

T IN THE PARK

has received the first ever Green'n'Clean award in Scotland. The award, presented by Yourope, the European Festival Association, was given for sustainable management, transportation, waste management, energy efficiency, power

and catering.

ARTS COUNCIL FUNDING WINNERS & LOSERS

I A reorganisation of Scottish Arts Council funding was announced to a mixed response last week, with many of the less fortunate fearing for their future. Those benefiting from the shake-up include Arika, who run experimental music festivals lnstal and Kill Your Timid Notion; Shadow Spaces, who perform site-specific theatre works around Edinburgh, and Birds of Paradise and Sense Scotland, who both work with disabled artists and audiences. Other groups which received cash injections include The Common Guild and Glasgow International Art Festival, and dance companies Company Chordelia and David Hughes Dance Productions. Each organisation has received grants of between £50,000 and £110,000.

Less fortunate were theatre companies Suspect Culture, Borderline and 7:84, and Edinburgh International Jazz and Blues Festival, North Edinburgh Arts Centre, Out of the Blue, the Queen's Hall and Pitlochry Festival Theatre.