The award ceremony was hosted by Ayo Adenekan, whose show Black Mediocrity is at Monkey Barrel, and we were treated to a performance from Creepy Boys: SLUGS playing at Summerhall this Fringe. 

The Besties award, designed by artist Camillo Feuchter a recent graduate of Interior & Environmental Design at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design in Dundee, uses recyclable plastics gathered by the partners and leftover wood sourced locally.  

Reflecting the broad and diverse coverage both magazines produce every summer and celebrating the breadth of Edinburgh’s Festivals, The Besties span all the festival activity taking place in the city over the month of August, including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh Art Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival and the Edinburgh International Film Festival starting next week.  

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. We are looking forward to two more award ceremonies on Saturday 16th and Saturday 23rd August.

What our Judges had to say:

The Super Power Award

chosen by the young critics of The Super Power Agency’s summer school 

Connor McKenna – Seltzer Boy 

The group selected Seltzer Boy because they thought it was a clever and funny approach to an interesting, emotional and relatable topic: how we feel about our bodies in a world that teaches us more about how to hate them than love them. They thought the show flowed really well, had plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and that the ‘hook’ of ranking seltzers was a funny and silly way to get into a more serious topic. They really enjoyed the way that performer Connor McKenna told the story of his childhood struggles with body dysmorphia and diet culture, and felt that his performance will go from strength to strength as the Fringe goes on. 
Seltzer Boy, Paradise Green, until 16 Aug, 11.20am 

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 9, 16, 19, 20), 2.20pm 

The Radgie Award

for radgeness 

In Bed with my Brother – PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD 

A few years ago, Fest referred to theatre makers In Bed With My Brother as “might be brilliant, or might be shit.” But to quote from this year’s review: “in this algorithmically curated hellscape, isn’t encountering something you’re not [immediately] sure about an immensely powerful and increasingly rare experience?” With Philosophy of the World, In Bed with my Brother take that sentiment and celebrate it to profound effect. Their tribute to the world’s best-worst band The Shaggs is pure, must-see punk theatre.
PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD, until 25 Aug (not 11, 18), 10.45pm 

The Debut Award

Toussaint Douglass – Accessible Pigeon Material 

Our cover star for the first review issue of Fest, Toussaint Douglass’s debut hour has truly lived up to the hype. It is, to quote Fest editor Arusa Qureshi’s review, “fundamentally a show about pigeons – an animal, by the end, we can all agree has been overlooked for far too long – but it’s also about grief, masculinity and unconditional love.” It’s a charmingly odd debut, which packs a real punch when it matters.
Toussaint Douglass: Accessible Pigeon Material, Pleasance Courtyard, until 24 Aug (not 11), 7.25pm 

The One to Watch Award

Saaniyaa Abbas – Hellarious 

The team wanted to celebrate Saaniyaa Abbas’s Hellarious, her deeply personal show exploring the theme of hell and a particularly noteworthy David Attenborough impression. Fest’s review said “Abbas is an incredibly talented comedian, and one can only hope to see more of her in the future.”
Saaniya Abbas – Hellarious, Gilded Balloon Patter House, until 25 Aug, 8pm 

The Dame Good Show Award

Johnny McKnight – She’s Behind You 

Writer of more than 30 of the most intelligent and entertaining pantos to ever grace a Scottish stage, Johnny McKnight’s She’s Behind You, directed by the legendary John Tiffany, began as a lecture at the University of Glasgow. The Skinny’s reviewer describes it as “a fierce love letter and peer review of a culture that has not always been kind or politically correct,” and writes of McKnight that he’s “a force of nature – funny, self-aware and refreshing; it is a privilege to watch someone so immensely talented do what they do best.”
She’s Behind You, Traverse Theatre, until 24 Aug (not 11, 18), 9.30pm (7-9 Aug), 9.45pm (10-24 Aug) 

The Breakthrough Award

Kate Dolan – The Critic 

Nominated by The Skinny’s comedy editor and described by Fest’s former editor as “A wild assault of jokes, voices, act outs and asides,” The Critic may not be Kate Dolan’s first Fringe show but it’s the one where we felt she has truly come into her own. Her approach defies easy definition – to quote the Fest review, “To describe Dolan’s approach is a bit like trying to ascribe Queensbury technique to the vicious frenzy of a street brawler.”
Kate Dolan: The Critic, Assembly George Square, until 24 Aug, 6.25pm