EDINBURGH INTERNATONAL SCIENCE FESTIVAL
From drone orchestras to geek songs, every corner of this year’s Edinburgh International Science Festival has a little bit of art going on. We’ve picked out some culture in among all the molecules
EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL
SCIENCE FESTIVAL
P H O T O © K U B A K O L N S K
I
COMEDY BOOKS
DANCE
CLUBS
I
LAB NOTES The rather fusty notion that science
THE SCIENCE OF STORYTELLING
and comedy are not in any way natural From science i ction to speculative
bedfellows has been blown well out of the cosmos in recent years. At the forefront of this pioneering development
worlds, science has been the catalyst for great stories for centuries. In this event, three local writers – all
in the i eld of entertainment is ‘geek songstress’ Helen Arney. With a degree
recipients of the Scottish Book Trust New Writer Award – talk about how
in physics and having attained grade eight in both piano and oboe, Arney has clearly forged a career combining
science has sparked their imagination: Bridget Khursheed, Martin MacInnes and Lucy Ribchester.
two of her passions. Her big sister Poet Khursheed works in software
BORN TO DANCE FULL SPECTRUM
We’ve known for many years that dancing is good for us, both physically and mentally, but it’s still nice to have validation from an actual member of
the medical profession. Dr Peter Lovatt,
a psychologist from the University of Hertfordshire, may look like a bone- dry academic touting a really stuffy PowerPoint presentation, yet his
appearances at the Edinburgh Fringe and now at the Science Festival have
For the very i rst time, the Edinburgh International Science Festival adds its own club night to the programme. Presented with the help of Edinburgh
DJ and promoter Chris Knight aka Astrojazz (straight out of the city’s
Departure Lounge) and the Adventures in Light team of VJs and projected animation specialists, Full Spectrum puts an emphasis on the EISF’s Light
and Enlightenment strand.
also just so happens to be the eminent natural science bofi n, Dr Kate Arney. For this EISF show, she’ll be joined by fellow Ini nite Monkey Cage Radio 4 types Jonny Berliner and Andrew
Pontzen. Among the japes and silliness, they make but one serious promise: Lab Notes will provide an hour of scientii cally accurate songs.
and is the founder of website
proved otherwise. The Summerhall Dissection Room
poetandgeek.com; MacInnes is a i ction, travel and science writer, and the winner of the 2014 Manchester Fiction Prize. And Ribchester’s i rst
novel – the Edwardian-set, suffragette thriller / romp The Hourglass Factory, published by Simon & Schuster – was released to critical acclaim in January.
Prepare to move your body and feel helplessly joyous as Lovatt and former- dancer-now-neuroscientist Dr Emily Cross explore and explain why dancing is a natural human expression, how it impacts upon the brain, can improve memory and generally makes us feel rather good in both mind and body.
bar will be turned into an ostentatious feast for the eyes as well as for the ears, with late-night action from the soundsystem branch of Nottingham funk outi t Crazy P, a DJ set by David
Miller of recently revived Edinburgh electronicists Finitribe and a live set
from the sublimely named Yoko Pwno.
(Brian Donaldson) (Yasmin Sulaiman)
(Kelly Apter)
■ Summerhall, Sun 12 Apr. ■ Summerhall, Wed 15 Apr.
■ Summerhall, Thu 16 Apr.
(David Pollock) ■ Summerhall, Fri 17 Apr.
2 Apr–4 Jun 2015 THE LIST 39