Fellows at the Festivals
We are thrilled to announce that many current and former Fellows and friends of IASH will grace the stages of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and International Book Festival in 2026. With a diverse array of offerings, including theatre, film, music, poetry, storytelling, readings and talks, there's an abundance of experiences awaiting festivalgoers. Don’t miss out!
Prophets by Jack MacGregor
Assembly Roxy | 5-31 August | 17:45-18:45
A researcher from Scotland travels to Saint John, a remote British Overseas Territory in the South Pacific. Upon arrival, she finds the island is under the control of a growing religious cult. This discovery starts to shift her studies from the land to the people as the dangerous theology of the cult is revealed and the day of paradise approaches. Prophets is a brand-new drama from Fringe First-winning writer and current IASH Fellow Jack MacGregor that examines the intersection between faith and cult, an exploration of violent belief at the edge of the world. https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/prophets
Good With Faces by Oisín Kearney, supported by Culture Ireland
TechCube 0 at Summerhall | 6-31 August | 16:20-17:20
Winner Solas Nua New Voices Award 2025. Garrick has tidied her living room and put out the good biscuits. But social worker Hegarty is there to interrogate. Why has her son got a mysterious bruise? Is she fit to care for him? What is she hiding? As power shifts and facades drop it becomes clear Garrick and Hegarty desperately need each other. A taut thriller, a struggle for power between a worried mother and concerned social worker. But who is telling the truth? A complex interrogation of parenting, power and what it means to care, from Oisín Kearney (IASH-Traverse Creative Fellow 2022-23) https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/good-with-faces
We Will Hear The Angels by Magnetic North
Summerhall (Dissection Room) | 6-30 August | 16:30-17:30
Stunned by the revelation of her husband's infidelity, Bea feels heartbroken and alone. If only she knew that her neighbours, Sonia, Van and Ian, were each also trying to get over the pain in their hearts, unable to articulate how they feel. Maybe the mysterious Lou can help them? A poignant and uplifting celebration of the power of sad music: 'a subtle and intelligent combination of words, movement and music' (Stage). Performed by five actor-musicians including Apphia Campbell (IASH-Traverse Creative Fellow 2021), with the music of Hank Williams, Orange Juice, Etta James, JS Bach and more. https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/we-will-hear-the-angels
Mercurial by Rosaleen Cox, directed by Oisín Kearney
Shedinburgh @ Assembly Checkpoint | 16 & 17 August | 13:00-13:55
Cocaine. Crocodiles. Colin Farrell. Welcome to a one night stand gone full on rogue. MERCURIAL is a twisted dark comedy that pays homage to our most memorable worst dates. It asks the question: How far will we go for love? Winner of ‘Best Show’ at Riverside Studios’ Bitesize Festival and programmed as a Shed Original reading in 2025, MERCURIAL returns to the shed as a pressure cooker dialled up to 11. Directed by Oisín Kearney (IASH-Traverse Creative Fellow 2022-23)
https://bookings.shedinburgh.com/event/9854:62/
Our Many-Voiced Country
Spiegeltent | Sun 16 Aug | 18:00-19:00
Now in his second year as Makar, Peter Mackay brings together contemporary poets working in Scotland who showcase the range of languages being spoken and written across the country. From English, Catalan, Orcadian, Scots and Gaelic, to Tamil, Arabic, Persian, and Kutchi (and beyond!), this special event will weave together a tapestry of multi-language poetry, featuring performances from: Helena Fornells Nadal, Harry Josephine Giles, Marjorie Lotfi, Robbie Macleòid, Q Mannivanan, and Alycia Pirmohamed (IASH Junior Anniversary Fellow 2021-22).
https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/events/our-many-voiced-country
The Front List: Val McDermid & Jo Sharp: The Scottish Colony That Never Was
McEwan Hall | Mon 17 August | 15:00-16:00
Supported by the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities
Did you know that in the 17th century, Scotland tried to establish a colonial project in Panama? Hear acclaimed crime novelist Val McDermid and Geographer Royal for Scotland Jo Sharp chat with IASH Advisory Board member Allan Little about their fictional retelling of this surprising story from our country’s history. This Door of the Seas, framed through letters home, reveals Scotland’s colonial ambitions and how they ultimately failed, bankrupting the nation and setting Scotland on a path towards union with England.
https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/events/the-front-list-val-mcdermid-jo-sharp
Allan will also be chairing Charlotte Higgins: Ukrainian Lessons on Sat 22 Aug and Jason Burke: The Revolutionists on Mon 24 Aug.
Alexander McCall Smith: Perfectly Prolific
Venue T, Book Festival | Thu 20 Aug | 15:00-16:00
From the Georgian splendour of Edinburgh's New Town to the sunlit plains of Botswana, Alexander McCall Smith conjures incomparable worlds of warmth, humour, and humanity. This year, The Prime of Bertie Pollock brings fresh adventures to 44 Scotland Street, while The Big Cats Dance Party reunites us with the incomparable Mama Ramotswe. Join the knight of Scottish letters, and long-time friend to IASH, for a conversation full of generous-spirited storytelling. Chaired by Zinnie Harris.
https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/events/alexander-mccall-smith-perfectly-prolific
Foil by Jack MacGregor (a rehearsed reading)
Traverse Theatre | Mon 24 August | 16:00-17:00
Having worked with the Traverse and IASH since the beginning of 2026, Jack’s new play about two fencers who come from very different worlds explores truth, obsession, and the fine line between ambition and self-destruction. This rehearsed reading, directed by the Traverse’s Artistic Director Gareth Nicholls (So Young, The Grand Old Opera House Hotel, Ulster American), and written during Jack's IASH/Traverse Creative Fellowship, marks your first chance to experience this new work as it progresses in its development.
https://www.traverse.co.uk/whats-on/foil-reading
Hoda Barakat, Alycia Pirmohamed & Ece Temelkuran: Hope when Home is Lost
Courtyard Theatre | Thu 27 Aug | 17:30-18:30
How does our understanding of the ideas of ‘home’ and ‘belonging’ shift in a war-torn and warming world? Today’s event features a powerful conversation with three authors writing urgently about displacement and connection: Hoda Barakat (International Prize for Arabic Fiction-winning author of Voices of the Lost), Alycia Pirmohamed (IASH alumna, poet and winner of the Nan Shepherd Prize with non-fiction debut, Shorelines), and Ece Temelkuran (essayist and Women’s Prize for Nonfiction-shortlisted author of Nation of Strangers). Chaired by Mohamed Tonsy.
Zakia Sewell & Rebecca Tamás: The Rituals We Share
Speigeltent | Sun 30 Aug | 12:15-13:15
Ancient traditions and folk culture can offer up unique ways to craft our own forms of meaning and connection. Writer and NTS Radio host Zakia Sewell’s Finding Albion questions whether today's new folk revival could unite our increasingly divided country, while in The Book of Mysteries, Rebecca Tamás (Postdoctoral Fellow 2018-19) interrogates how traditional practices can transform our relationship to nature and time. In this enlightening conversation, both authors explore their meditations on the nation’s folklore.
https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/events/zakia-sewell-rebecca-tam%C3%A1s-the-rituals-we-share