Charlie Ellis

This piece might have contained a review of Phil Wang's new show, UH OH . As will become evident, however, that was not to be the case.

One of the pleasures of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is taking a chance on something you know almost nothing about. That’s particularly true of the Free Fringe, where voluntary donations mean you can experiment without having to worry about wasting your money. So, having stopped for a post-show pint in Captain’s Bar, I was leafing […]

While the UK has been engaged in its own kind of culture war, this event at the Edinburgh International Book Festival addressed something more consequential: the role of culture in a country actually at war. In this case, Ukraine, now in the fifth year of Russia’s full-scale invasion. A podcast for deeper discussion The event […]

In the cramped entrance area of St Columba’s by the Castle, with the queue for the next session already forming, Richard Demarco, CBE, is in full flow when someone tells him, ‘Keep your voice down!’ Newly turned 96, Demarco had already overrun his slot at ScotlandsFest, discussing Demarco’s Europe, his third book with writer Roddy […]

Mariana Mazzucato’s performance was, as her ‘discussant’, Benny Higgins, put it, a tour de force. In about 25 minutes at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, promoting her book The Common Good Economy, she raced through the key elements of her ‘mission’ approach to economics. Near the end she admitted she could ‘talk for an hour’, […]

Philippe Sands, the international human rights lawyer, academic and author, has a gift for making complex subjects accessible without losing sight of the people behind them. At Saturday’s Edinburgh International Book Festival event, he moved between international law, family history and the politics of the present day. Stephen Gethins, the Scottish Government’s Minister for Europe, […]

That an author appearing at a book festival has written something worth reading is usually taken for granted. Whether they can hold a large audience is another question. Anthony Seldon, the historian, commentator and educator, gave a consummate performance built around his new edited collection, The Brexit Effect, 2016-2026, which brings together essays from a […]

Most coffee events involve tasting notes, a few technical terms and a hot drink at the end. Author and philosopher Julian Baggini’s session at this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival was aiming at something rather different: using coffee to think about how we live. Baggini shared the Spiegeltent stage with Washington Vieira and Erin Newby […]

By Charlie Ellis Lesley Hinds ended almost six years as Chair of North Edinburgh Arts (NEA) at its AGM on Wednesday, saying it was “time to move on”.

A talk by historian Ewan Gibbs explored Edinburgh's role in the General Strike of 1926 and the working-class history that is often overlooked in accounts of the city.