Podcast 13

Venue 13 is joining forces with Soft Serve Cartel and Renewable Energy Vendors to bring the Edinburgh Fringe's first carbon-conscious vegan food trailer to the festival this August 2026—and we are launching a crowdfunding campaign to make it happen!Stationed at the foot of the Royal Mile outside Venue 13 (Harry Younger Hall on Lochend Close), this trailblazing project will run for the full Fringe duration from August 7th to 29th. It stands as the Fringe’s first food trailer powered by a hybrid renewable setup: a combination of quiet, emission-free hydrogen fuel cells and solar panels, complete with electrical battery storage to support heavy-duty festival appliances.In this episode, Ian, Vanesa, and special guest Nico Barcella (founder of Soft Serve Cartel and co-founder of Unity Doner) unpack why this pilot project matters now. While most festival sustainability conversations stop at the lighting rig, food and beverage operations remain incredibly carbon-intensive, historically relying on loud, polluting diesel generators. This trailer serves as an open-source blueprint to prove that vendor cooking can run entirely on clean power at scale.Inside the Episode: The Clean Power Equation: Vanesa discusses her background with Hydrogen Vehicle Systems Ltd (HVS) and how hydrogen perfectly pairs with solar to absorb peak energy loads, drastically reducing both air and noise pollution for the local Lochend Close community. Solar in the Arts: Ian shares his history designing solar projects in performance contexts, including a massive 2010 lighting installation at the Coachella Music Festival and bringing off-grid theater to Toronto with Vox Lumen. The Food Line-up: Nico talks about the community-driven ethos behind Soft Serve Cartel and his Unity Doner collaboration with Edinburgh's own Considerit. He previews what's cooking on the trailer—including spit-cooked vegan kebabs, oat-based soft serve, and an upcoming bubble tea partnership with Tempo Tea Bar. Climate Change Theatre Action: The team concludes the episode with a dramatic reading of Undertow, a brilliant short play about environmental empathy and finding the middle ground by Métis playwright Keith Barker.Three Ways You Can Help Us Reach Our £6,800 Target:Share: Pass the announcement along to your favorite foodies, festival-goers, or climate enthusiasts!Donate: Support the live campaign directly on the Edinburgh Fringe’s crowdfunding platform to help cover council licensing and essential site infrastructure.Sponsor: Brands and organizations looking to put their name on a historic sustainability milestone can get in to

In this episode, Ian and Vanesa return from the Prague Quadrennial Symposium, Performing Exhibitions, Curating Scenographies, held at ARCHA+ in Prague from April 13–15, 2026. Gathering more than seventy speakers from around the world in the lead-up to PQ's 60th-anniversary edition in 2027, the symposium explored the rich interconnections between contemporary scenographic practice, curating and exhibition-making.Ian and Vanesa share their experience delivering a Flash Talk — The Venue as Scenographic Apparatus: Curating Infrastructure, Absence, and Performance — which drew on their work at Venue 13 to argue that venue-making is itself a scenographic practice shaped by the unseen. They reflect on Clémence Farrell's opening keynote, Immersion in the Exhibition Space, and the symposium's threads around immersive design, digital technologies and audience engagement.Beyond the symposium, they talk about a rather eventful side of the trip: an unplanned stop at Motol University Hospital after Ian came down with a nasty ear infection — a moment that turned into a genuine shout-out to the Czech public health system.The episode wraps with a round-up of theatre and performance happening in Edinburgh this April and May, and closes with a reading from the Climate Change Theatre Action anthology.

In this episode, Ian and Vanesa return from two international conferences held at opposite ends of the world, both exploring the rapidly evolving relationship between artificial intelligence and the arts.They both reflect on Vanishing Acts: AI, Performative Knowledge and Sustainable Memory at the University of Malta, where conversations centred on performance and the preservation of cultural knowledge in an age of technological change.They also share insights from the Creative AI Symposium hosted by the Creative AI Hub at Toronto Metropolitan University, where artists, technologists and researchers explored how AI is shaping creative practice across disciplines.Together, they reflect on what it means for theatre, for artists preparing work for the Fringe and for the future of Venue 13 and Future 13. The episode also touches on developments from the XR sector and highlights what’s on in Edinburgh this April, before closing with a Climate Change Theatre Action reading.

After a winter break, Podcast 13 returns with renewed energy as Ian and Vanesa reconnect with listeners and look ahead to the next phase of work at Venue 13.In this episode, they reflect on the early stirrings of the Edinburgh Fringe season as thousands of artists around the world begin preparing their productions. Ian and Vanesa discuss how Venue 13 is already shaping its 2026 programme and how upcoming podcast episodes will explore the process of bringing a Fringe season to life.The conversation also turns toward sustainability and the future of arts organisations. They discuss renewable energy possibilities at the Fringe and reflect on the rise and collapse of artistic non-profits such as the Centre for Contemporary Arts Glasgow. With the launch of Future 13, they share their hopes for building a sustainable support structure for artists developing work for Edinburgh.Finally, they take a look at what is happening across Edinburgh and Scotland this March, highlighting theatre performances and exhibitions you can still catch. The episode closes with a reading from the Climate Change Theatre Action anthology.

In this special end-of-year episode of Podcast 13, hosts Ian Garrett and Vanesa Kelly reflect on the revival of Venue 13 and the ideas shaping its future, using the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future as a guiding frame. The episode looks back on reopening an artist-led Fringe venue, explores standout projects from the season including Market 13 and AI Campfire, and considers what ethical, climate-focused practice looks like right now. Featuring a conversation with playwright and Climate Change Theatre Action founder Chantal Bilodeau, the episode also marks CCTA’s tenth anniversary and looks ahead to new models for climate storytelling, accessibility, and artist support through the launch of Future 13. A thoughtful and forward-looking close to the year.

In this episode, Vanesa and Ian focus on sustainable theatre practice after Vanesa’s visit to the National Theatre event on the 14th November in London, where the Theatre Green Book took centre stage in an incredible event. They unpack the discussions, the international perspectives, and the sense of collective responsibility that shaped the day.Ian reflects on his own past involvement with the Green Book and the broader questions it raises for productions, buildings and operations, as well as his experience with the CSPA in Canada. Together, they also explore what these ideas mean for Venue 13 as it develops, and how their upcoming non-profit Future 13 will put these principles into practice.They also bring you this week’s CCTA reading: SO BEAUTIFUL TODAY, SO SUNNY by Marcus Youssef with Seth Klein.

In this episode, Ian and Vanesa take you on the next stage of their UAE adventure! After World Stage Design 2025 in Sharjah, Ian delivered a talk at NYU Abu Dhabi, exploring “Somewhere in Time: Ghosts, People, Sites, and Signals.” Together they reflect on Ian's presentation, touring the university’s incredible Red Theater, Blue Hall, and Black Box, and engaging with the curiosity around sustainable, hybrid, and ecological design.Plus, they share their experience at TeamLab Phenomena Abu Dhabi, a 17,000 m² immersive art space where light, water, sound, and motion respond to your presence whilst sparking ideas about participation, performance, and the future of stage design.All this as well as bringing you the reading of their weekly CCTA play. This week you heard Earth Duet, by E.M. Lewis. 

In Episode 2 of Podcast 13, Ian and Vanesa take you inside World Stage Design 2025, an international gathering of scenographers, artists, and researchers shaping the future of performance.Ian shares his perspective as a seasoned participant, and reflects on how this year’s WSD compares to previous editions, while Vanesa brings her first impressions as a playwright and producer, discovering this global creative community.Together, they discuss new collaborations, inspirations from the Scenofest Research Symposium, and how events like WSD connect to the work happening at Venue 13.

In our very first episode, we celebrate the launch of Podcast 13 by completing the Climate Change Theatre Action 2025 project with the final three plays: SCARY-Scary by Klae Bainter, UNDERTOW by Keith Barker, and We’re Running Out of Chairs by Kirby Vicente. Alongside these readings, co-directors Ian Garrett and Vanesa Kelly reflect on the whirlwind of Venue 13’s debut season as the first fully vegan Fringe venue, the premiere of A.I. Campfire, and what it means to carry the spirit of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe into a year-round conversation on theatre, climate, and collaboration.

Podcast 13 launches with a special teaser episode, completing Venue 13’s ambitious presentation of all fifty plays from Climate Change Theatre Action 2025. Recorded at the Edinburgh Fringe, this debut captures the energy of a month filled with theatre, food, and conversations about sustainability and community. The series sets the stage for weekly play readings, artist interviews, and deep dives into how the arts can spark new ways of imagining our shared future.