August Recap

‘Saw you out running yesterday’, growls a voicenote from my mate, ‘just thought I’d let you know you’re getting watched everywhere you go’.

He was, of course, joking - but if I’m honest I kinda wish he wasn’t. See, I’d forgot to press the start button on my Strava running app so the whole 10+ mile run (yes, very impressive, thank you) wasn’t recorded. I still went for the run - still moved my legs, nodded at strangers, enjoyed the soft flow of the canal and the resident wildlife - but now there was no evidence that it had ever happened. No opportunity for people to ‘like’ it, to comment on my prowess or just be silently awed by my commitment to spending a portion of my weekend in shorts.

In the arts, August without the fringe often feels like you’ve forgotten to press the record button on your career.

This year, like last, my name is credited on a show that I contributed a lot to over an extended period. One Hundred Voices is the culmination of the Caring Scotland project and three years of work. It’s an interactive installation that the audience moves through, listening to audio on their headphones as they do. They’ll hear a couple of excerpts of my poems in there alongside a script by Nicola McCartney and songs by Jo Mango.

Because of the nature of the piece, no performers are needed to make it work - it’s a self-contained experience. That also means that there was no need for me to be in Edinburgh for the month. A godsend for my sanity and bank balance, but a constant battle with the ravages of FOMO. See, the fringe is the shop window of the arts - a chance to show your wares to an international audience and level up your career. But with the rise of social media that shop window must be mirrored on instagram for yet another potential audience.

Watching pals sell out rooms, witnessing acquaintances scoop awards, seeing acts I’ve booked suddenly blast into the public consciousness - this is what the fringe looks like from afar. Of course I know the reality. Up close the fringe is fatigue, exorbitant costs, it’s the slow degradation of confidence. But these are not for the shop window, these are for the pub basement where artists allow themselves to admit a modicum of the jealousy that fuels August in Edinburgh.

As I get older, hopefully more mature, I attempt to combat these feelings of missing out with the knowledge that the work doesn’t just occur in one month, in one place. It’s a daily practice that pushes us forward, not towards a single goal but in the general direction of progress. Visitors to One Hundred Voices might enjoy my poetry but they won’t see me, they won’t applaud me and they certainly won’t follow me on social media. But the work that went into those pieces - the hundreds of hours of interviews, transcriptions and reflections - those still occurred. And they still mean something hugely important to me, even if no-one is looking.

Where can you find me in September?

2nd-12th Sept

The aforementioned One Hundred Voices will be at the iconic Citizens Theatre in Glasgow.

One Hundred Voices | Citizens Theatre | National Theatre of Scotland

For all Citizens Theatre slots, please arrive at least 10 minutes early and make yourself known to our team Looking for access bookings?For wheelchair book

4th Sept

Speakeasy Stirling returns with a line-up featuring Julia Sutherland, Callum McSorley, Liam Withnail and Raveloe.

26th Sept

I’ve been working with Creative Recovery Inverclyde to devise a new theatre show for the Beacon. The result is an unhinged boardgame of epic proportions. Come join us for The Great Game of Existence (TM).

1st Oct

I’ll be performing at Cumbernauld Theatre’s Big Variety Bash - a fundraiser for the pivotal local arts centre.

Cumbernauld's Big Variety Bash - Lanternhouse

Discover what’s on at Cumbernauld Theatre at Lanternhouse, your home for theatre, cinema, music comedy dance and more.

Work in Progress

Every month I aim to share a bit of work in progress. This could be a poem, a section of a play or just a snippet of writing I find interesting. This month I’m sharing ‘A Good Jacket’, a poem that features in One Hundred Voices both as an excerpt and a thematic motif throughout the piece.

From the Archive

As the new Glasgow Cross album approaches (check out my insta for the details), I invite you to re-listen or discover our 2024 album How I Won the Culture War.

Thanks for subscribing to my newsletter, please feel free to let me know if you enjoyed it and would like to see more/less of anything in particular. I’ll be back with another update next month but in the meantime you can follow me on social media @kevinpgilday - with instagram being where I’m most active nowadays.

‘The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.' - Albert Camus

Cheers,
Kev x