The Skinny and Fest, Capital Theatres and Premier Scotland celebrated the winners of week two’s The Besties at the Festival Theatre on Saturday in the following categories:
The Genre Chaos Award – Sam Kruger and S E Grummett: Creepy Boys SLUGS at Summerhall
The Emerging Talent Award – Ayo Adenekan: Black Mediocrity at Monkey Barrel
The Heart Award – Sami Abu Wardeh: Palestine Peace de Resistance at Pleasance Dome
The Collaboration Award – Opera Queensland and Circa: Orpheus and Eurydice at Edinburgh International Festival
The Nature Award – Karine Polwart: Windblown at The Queen’s Hall
The Kids Award – The Listies: Make Some Noise at Assembly George Square Studios
The awards ceremony was hosted by Michelle Brasier, whose show It’s a Shame we Won’t be Friends Next Year is at Gilded Balloon this Fringe with performances from rapidly rising singer-songwriter Pippa Blundell who played in Friday’s Wide Days’ Made in Scotland Gigs.
Our final award ceremony is on Saturday 23rd August.
What the judges thought:
The Kids Award
The Listies for Make Some Noise
The Listies pull off the incredibly rare feat of creating a comedy show aimed at children that will also make accompanying adults cry with laughter. We polled the Fest kids reviewers and their friends, and they resoundingly recommended ‘these silly guys’. This award is a thank you for bridging the gap between generations, and making a show that we can all laugh at together.
The Listies: Make Some Noise, Assembly George Square Studios, until 25 Aug, 11.30am
The Outwith Award
for international talent
Alaa Shehada – The Horse of Jenin
Comedian and theatre maker Alaa Shehada offers many deeply personal definitions of the Horse of Jenin, the five-metre tall sculpture built in 2003 by a German artist and 12 Palestinian teenagers, made from the rubble of houses and ambulances destroyed by the IDF during the second intifada. It felt essential to acknowledge the power and resonance of this work. In their review for Fest, Xuanlin Tham says “In grief, joy, and the restorative knife of humour well-sharpened, the horse lives on now, everywhere we look. Let us answer Shehada’s call to take care of it.”
The Horse of Jenin, Pleasance Dome, until 25 Aug (not 16, 19, 20), 2.20pm
The Genre Chaos Award
Sam Kruger and S E Grummett for Creepy Boys: SLUGS
Oozing with humanity and powered by sheer chaos, Sam Kruger and S. E. Grummett offer an impish and eccentric antidote to the horrors of modern life, as those of you who were at The Besties first awards show will have seen. The Skinny’s reviewer commended the duo’s delicious chemistry, and the down-to-earth poignancy of a show that constantly strives to be out-of-this-world.
Creepy Boys: SLUGS, Summerhall (Red Lecture Theatre), until 24 Aug, 9.15pm
The Heart Award
Sami Abu Wardeh for Palestine Peace de Resistance
Described by Fest reviewer Jay Richardson as “Passionate, epic and very funny,” Irish-Palestinian comic Sami Abu Wardeh’s Palestine Peace de Resistance is densely layered, drawing righteous energy from the current situation in Gaza and the spirit of intifada more generally. There were suggestions in the judging room to name the award the ‘Fuck the UK’ or ‘Fuck Empire,’ but the Heart seemed apt to mark Abu Wardeh’s hearfelt, impassioned performance and demand for recognition for himself, his homeland, and the suffering of his people beneath the boot of the IDF.
PALESTINE: PEACE DE RESISTANCE, Pleasance Dome, until 24 Aug (not 21), 9.45pm
The Emerging Talent Award
Ayo Adenekan for Black Mediocrity
The team wanted to award the great potential of local comic Ayo Adenekan, whose ‘incredibly impressive’ debut hour takes us through his experiences of growing up as a Black man in Scotland. The Fest reviewer said Black Mediocrity ‘solidifies himself as a star on the rise – but he doesn’t need our approval.’
Ayo Adenekan: Black Mediocrity, Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), until 24 Aug, 1.30pm
The Collaboration Award
Opera Queensland and Circa for Orpheus and Eurydice
Multiple world-renowned companies join forces for this spell-binding work of collaboration. Opera Australia, Opera Queensland, contemporary circus visionaries Circa work with Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Scottish Opera for this awesome staging of Orpheus and Eurydice. The last performance is tonight in Edinburgh Playhouse as part of the Edinburgh International Festival.
The Nature Award
Karine Polwart for Windblown
As Arthur’s Seat burns behind us, it seemed appropriate to celebrate Karine Polwart’s widely lauded Windblown, her homage to Edinburgh’s oldest sabal palm staged through a sublime mix of song, poetry and storytelling. Polwart follows the tree’s journey from the Port of Leith to the Botanics glasshouses and ultimate felling in 2021, weaving what The Skinny’s reviewer described as ‘a tender, glowing paean to nature, humanity and life itself.’ Presented by Raw Material.
The Venue Award
Edinburgh Art Festival Pavilion, 45 Leith Street
The hub and heart of this year’s Edinburgh Art Festival is a collaboration with Outer Spaces, a charity which works with artists and commercial property owners to provide free studios and activate disused spaces. The Pavilion includes residency space for artists, accessibility resources and a Welcome Space. Exhibitions include work by Lewis Hetherington and CJ Mahoney, JJ Fadaka and Ria Andrews, Alice Rekab, and Memory is Museum, part of the ongoing research project by Trans Masc Studies. We wanted to celebrate the Pavilion’s commitment to accessibility, and clear expression of the values of Edinburgh Art Festival’s 2025 programme as a whole.