Episode 280: Edinburgh Festival Series - The King of all Birds and Julius Caesar Variety show

WE’RE BACK!!! It’s the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026 series Elaine chats with performer Martha Knight about her show The King of All Birds. Joining Martha is her director Joy Nisbett who chats about The King of All Birds as well as Julius Ceasar Variety show which she has written and directed. Both shows run for the whole festival at Summerhall. The King of All Birds Summerhall, Former Gent’s Locker Room Dates: 6 - 31 August (not 17, 24) Time: 13:40 (60 mins) The King of All Birds I’m going to do a few songs today. In about 60 minutes, we’re going to crown a new king. And then, I’m going to fly. Award-winning Irish theatre-maker, sound designer and composer Martha Knight brings her critically acclaimed theatre show to Summerhall for its UK premiere. The King of All Birds blends sound, history and imagination to trace humanity’s ever-evolving relationship with the sky - from a time when it lay untouched, through the earliest daring attempts to reach it, to today’s relentless ascent up and up. Inspired by the societal phenomenon of aerial photographs displayed in homes across Ireland since the 1960s, The King of All Birds is a playful, tongue-in-cheek one-woman piece of gig theatre which expands this story, tracing Ireland’s history from the great birds of Celtic folklore to our modern world of aeroplanes, satellites, and drones. Tracking this journey with the help of classic Irish folk song, Wild Mountain Thyme, performed via voice, musical instrument, and live electronics; Martha Knight tells a radically gentle story of Ireland, identity, and belonging. TICKET LINK Julius Caesar Variety Show Summerhall, Red Lecture Theatre Dates: 6 - 31 August (not 17, 24) Time: 16:45 (60 mins) Julius Caesar Variety Show A Black actor, a woman actor, and a straight white male actor walk into a Shakespeare audition… Acclaimed emerging writer-director Joy Nesbitt premieres her multi-award-nominated play, JULIUS CAESAR VARIETY SHOW, at Summerhall this August. This bold new play puts on the worst audition you’ve ever seen, asking: what happens when identity, ambition, and artistic authority collide under pressure? During the 2023 Dublin riot, a Black actor, a woman actor, and a straight white male actor audition for a part in Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Julius Caesar. The three auditionees attempt to impress a revered director set on reinventing the play in "unorthodox" styles - and as the audition unfolds, the actors' identities are called into the audition room and exploited for better performances. What begins as an audition quickly transforms into a battleground. As the director, aided by an ever-present accompanist, pushes the actors to their limits, questions of identity, authorship, and representation come sharply into focus. Performers and audiences alike must confront how their lived experience shapes not only their interpretation of the roles, but also the meaning of the play itself. TICKET LINK OUR WEBSITE - www.persistentandnasty.co.uk IPA GUIDES: HIPA GUIDES Equity Toolkit: Link Stellar Quines: Link Persistent Pal & Nasty Hero - Pals and Hero Membership Email – [email protected] Instagram - @persistentandnasty Twitter - @PersistentNasty Coffee Morning Eventbrite - Coffee Morning Tickets LINKTREE - LINKTR.EE Resources Samaritans - Rape Crisis Scotland - Rape Crisis UK ArtsMinds - BAPAM Freelancers Make Theatre Work Stonewall UK - Trevor Project - Mermaids UK Switchboard LGBT+ - GATE PLANNED PARENTHOOD DONATE - DONATE ABORTION SUPPORT NETWORK UK - ASN.COM- DONATE