Theatre News

Traverse dominates first round of Edinburgh Fringe Firsts

The Traverse has dominated the first round of Fringe Firsts in Edinburgh, picking up four of the eight awards.

The Traverse Theatre
The Traverse Theatre

The awards, given annually by The Scotsman newspaper, are now in their 40th year, while the Traverse is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Traverse winners include David Greig‘s The Events, an examination of a community choir ripped apart by an atrocity, and David Harrower‘s one-woman play Ciara.

The other Traverse winners were George Brant’s Grounded and Owen McCafferty’s Quietly.

Elsewhere, Ferral at Summerhall, Fionnuala at Hill Street, Kiss Me Honey, Honey! at Gilded Balloon and Nirbhaya at Assembly Hall also picked up Fringe Firsts.

Fringe First chair Joyce McMillan told The Stage: “We’re delighted to present a first Fringe First list of 2013… Some of this week’s shows are profoundly serious and moving, dealing with vital issues of war and peace, violence and sexual abuse, disempowerment and exploitation; others bring a real touch of comedy and storytelling magic to what are still substantial dramas.”