As one of the most influential world religions, Islam serves as a source of comfort for many. Dating back to the 7th century, the religion is practiced by an estimated two billion followers. Home to one of the UK’s largest Islamic communities, Birmingham celebrates the diversity of voices within this community. One of the five pillars of Islam; Salat – meaning the act of praying whilst facing the holy city of Mecca concerns itself with the five prayers that take place throughout the day, and delving deeper into this act, with a focus on the whispers/thoughts that may accompany this, Soul City Arts’ WASWASA – Whispers in Prayer respectfully showcases this in motion.

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The eight major producing venues behind EdFest.com– which comprise Assembly, Dance Base, Gilded Balloon, Just the Tonic, Pleasance, Summerhall, Underbellyand ZOO– collectively commented that soaring accommodation costs are the biggest risk to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe’s future. 1,965,961 tickets were collectively sold by the eight venues in 2019 while more than 1,486,746 are forecast to be sold this year.

A spokesperson for EdFest.com said: “It has been fantastic to be back at the first full Fringe since 2019 – to see the live performance industry come roaring back to life in this post-pandemic world. There has been a real appetite and energy for shared, live experiences in Edinburgh over the last few weeks and the quality of the programme has been incredible – yet, the forecast number of tickets we’ve collectively sold is down 25% compared to 2019 which is a major threat  for everyone involved in the festival.”

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Driven by the need to survive, avenues subversive to the norm may be sought in order to make ends meet, acting as that step closer to achieving whatever dream aspired to. An exploration of the world of sex work seen through the eyes of four women, hard-hitting drama Sold by Mama delves deeper into the lives and trials of these women seldom really listened to and often silenced.

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Dundee Rep and Scottish Dance Theatre, Leeds Playhouse and New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich have been unveiled as the shortlisted venues for this year’s UK’s Most Welcoming Theatre Award at the UK Theatre Awards, which returns on Sunday 23 October for the first time since 2019.

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Stage One and Perfect Pitch Musicals, are delighted to announce a partnership for the Bursary scheme, supporting emerging producers with a focus on developing new British musicals. In Autumn 2022, Stage One and Perfect Pitch are delighted to be working together to award outstanding emerging producers an increased level of financial support for both the producer and the project to allow meaningful development of new British musicals to take place.

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We’re at a time where the construct of gender has become a major focal point, an aspect societally quietly entrenched with in everything that we do, these fixed ideas and expectations defining who we are, or at least, attempt to. Exploring gender stereotypes and the feeling of not fitting in with these fixed descriptors, Scantily Glad Theatre present Something in the Water, a satirical, risqué, fun yet thought provoking look at ‘gender norms’.

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With the cost of living crisis a reality dominating the headlines and that many are confronted with, we’re in a time, post pandemic, where we’re examining societal structures and how communities have been impacted – previous conditions only exaggerated and brought to the fore within the past 2 years. Inspired by real life stories and very rightly highlighting working class voices of London in his work Block’dOff, Kieton Saunders-Browne presents a timely portrait of survival in increasingly tough times.

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Societally, it hasn’t been the norm for mothers to speak up about their experiences of motherhood, as if this life changing experience were not allowed to be discussed openly and challenge idealised visions as to what the perfect mother should look like. This incredibly unhelpful, and with it creating anxieties when experiences do not match up to these so called norms. Drawing for her own personal experience of motherhood, Hanna Vahtikari alongside her husband Marzi Nyman present Raging Mother, an authentic account of what bringing up children has looked like to them.

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Previously inhabited by the Taino and Arawak people before its colonisation by the Spanish in the late 15th to early 17th century and then by the French from the early 17th century to the late 18th century, the nation of Haiti would officially receive its independence in 1804 – the nation part of the Transatlantic Slave Trade which witnessed many from West African countries shipped away from their native lands and endure generations of pain and torture. Exploring the little known historical figures that have shaped the Caribbean island’s revolutionary history, writer Emily Aboud and Lagahoo Productions present Bogeyman.

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“A painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behaviour” sums up the feeling of ‘shame’, something we don’t openly discuss, but an emotion that is deeply felt. Three years in the making, Swiss/Russian duo Trixa Arnold and Ilja Komarov present the results of a series of interviews conducted in Switzerland, Russia and Pakistan in response to a time whereby interviewees felt shame. A powerful premise for a show and one that connects us all, Shame on You! allows this emotion to come out from the shadows and in doing so, is examined further.

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