The second annual Wigtown Fringe is opening the doors for singer songwriters and many other performers from south-west Scotland and beyond.
Among the musicians at the event, which takes place in parallel to Wigtown Book Festival from 27 September to 6 October, will be Stacey Joy from The Rhins and Norman Paterson from Ayr.
Then there’s Kroovan Wings – a visual poetry performance that’s a homage to trees – in particular two magnificent specimens that stand at the gateway to the Galloway Forest Park and at a meeting point on the Southern Upland Way below Culmark Hill.
Norman will perform a selection of his own songs based on St Kilda, The Iolaire Disaster, Crofting and The Herring industry as performed at Celtic Connection in January 2024.
In contrast, Stacey will take you on an unforgettable toe tapping journey to the dusty sun scorched lands of the Western USA and the mysterious jungles of South America.
Matt Kitson, festival director, said: “We’re really looking forward to welcoming people along to our celebration of music, theatre, poetry, storytelling and film.
“It’s relaxed, it’s fun and it’s got something for everyone – this year’s Wigtown Fringe is a great chance to see musicians and other performers from our region, and beyond.”
Lovers of mellow jazz will enjoy Take Two’s Jazz Afternoon Tea. The music will be from Jan Winder (piano) and Gaynor Barradell (tenor sax and vocals) and maybe a local guest or two.
The Clifford Movement will round off this year’s festival. They bring stories, songs, dialect prose and visual projections, celebrating the landscape and lives of characters from the past with music that ranges from melodies to soulful ballads with flavours of Americana, trad jazz, Balkan tunes.
There’s also theatre with I Believe in One Bach, which was critically acclaimed at the Edinburgh Fringe.
It’s a dark psychological drama from Two Foolish Productions exploring what happens when the world thinks we are no longer relevant, played out to the sublime music of Bach’s B Minor Mass.
For younger audiences Hazel Stevens will be reading from the Poppy story books, after which the audience can join her making paper flowers or decorating cakes.
Poppy is a rag doll and the book follows her adventures when left “home alone” by her owner Lucy.
Daiva Ivanauskaitė-Brown will also be at Wigtown Library with Dragon Tale in which a girl faces a dragon – songs and stories are her armour and weapons. The audience will be invited to draw and tell their stories that the dragon might like to hear.
Plus there are two documentary films:
- From the Darkness Into the Light: About the controversial life and career of the first ever Labour Prime Minister, James Ramsay MacDonald, Lossiemouth’s most famous son who was elected in 1924.
- Tim Stead: Magician with Wood: Explores the innovative creativity of wood sculptor and furniture designer Tim Stead and how he inspired the creation of the first community woodland in the UK at Wooplaw in the Borders.
Programme at a glance:
FRIDAY 27TH SEPTEMBER
14:00 – 15:00 LIVE MUSIC – WITH NORMAN PATERSON
16:00 – 17:00 WORKSHOP – HOW TO WRITE A PLAY
20:00 – 21:00 PLAY – I BELIEVE IN ONE BACH
SATURDAY 28TH SEPTEMBER
12:00 – 12:30 VISUAL POETRY – KROOVAN WINGS
14:00 – 15:00 PERFORMANCE – DRAGON TALE
16:00 – 16:30 VISUAL POETRY – KROOVAN WINGS
19:00 – 20:00 PERFORMANCE – FIRE FROM THE WOODS
SUNDAY 29TH SEPTEMBER
11:00 – 12:30 ACTIVITY – POPPY WANTS TO BAKE A CAKE AND CRAFTS
14:00 – 15:00 SOCIAL & LIVE MUSIC – JAZZ AFTERNOON TEA
19:00 – 21:00 FILM – FROM THE DARKNESS INTO THE LIGHT
TUESDAY 1ST OCTOBER
14:00 – 15:00 SOCIAL & LIVE MUSIC – JAZZ AFTERNOON TEA
WEDNESDAY 2ND OCTOBER
19:00 – 21:00 FILM – TIM STEAD: MAGICIAN WITH WOOD
THURSDAY 3RD OCTOBER
19:00 – 21:30 LIVE MUSIC – STACEY JOY
SATURDAY 5TH OCTOBER
16:00 – 17:30 ACTIVITY – POPPY IS LOST IN THE GARDEN & CRAFTS
19:00 – 21:00 LIVE MUSIC – THE CLIFFORD MOVEMENT
