fbpx

Storytelling PR

Miriam Attwood

Winter 2022/23 Update

by

Author: Ambrose Kelly

After a busy and brilliant 2022 Festival Fringe here in Edinburgh, we’re back! 

We’ve re-charged out batteries and can’t wait to tell you about our current winter season and early 2023 plans. From the Lyceum Theatre’s much-anticipated upcoming programme to new immersive performance, multiple festivals and a UK/Ireland book tour, the Storytelling team has been hard at work with some brilliant creatives to support their latest projects and creative vision. 
Having worked with some much-loved friends this autumn (such as Wonder Fools and their Scottish theatre tour of 549: Scots of the Spanish Civil War; Stellar Quines’ beautiful new play on migration, loneliness and siblings, Sister Radio; Dropped Tea Theatre’s performance and culture promenade weekend, Knock Down – Brixton; Jordan & Skinner and their lively feminist re-imagining H.G.Wells, Time Machine – and much more), the remainder of the year, through to early 2023, is set to be just as exciting.

Actress Melanie stands next to a red wall staring intently at something the audience cannot see. She wears a blue and pink paisley shirt with grey jeans, and has a flower tattoo on her left arm.
Copy of Melanie Jordan in Jordan and Skinner’s The Time Machine, 2022. Image Credit – Tommy Ga-Ken Wan.
Actresses Lanna and Nalân embrace each other on a floral blue sofa, their foreheads touching. Lanna has curly dark brown hair and is wearing a dark blue cardigan; Nalân also has curly dark brown hair and is wearing a paisley blue dress with a blue under-shirt.
Lanna Joffrey and Nalân Burgess in Sister Radio, 2022.
Image credit – Fraser Band.
Tim and Matt of Pianodrome sit side-by-side in their amphitheatre made of recycled pianos. Antique lights sit on either side of the men, illuminating them in a warm light. Matt looks across to his right at Tim, who looks behind his right shoulder at the wall. On the wall behind their heads reads, 'Throw Caution to the Wind.'
Tim Vincent-Smith and Matthew Wright of Pianodrome sitting in their world-first amphitheatre venue.
Image Credit – Elliot Caunce Photography

An ongoing project that started in late-October, 2023 will see the team close out theatre-maker, slam poet, screenwriter – and now, Scottish BAFTA nominee! – Leyla Josephine’s current UK/Ireland book tour in celebration of her debut poetry collection: In Public/In Private, published by Burning Eye Books. We’re excited to be assisting Leyla in her shift from stage to page, and can’t wait to see how In Public/In Private is received across Scotland, England and beyond. As a deeply introspective examination into the personal and the private, Leyla’s debut work has already grabbed the cultural scene’s attention; PR highlights so far include a fantastic interview with The National, a brilliant first review from The Scotsman, selection by The Times for her King Tut’s set as a must-see for Scottish end-of-year events, and a live interview with BBC Scotland’s Afternoon Show on her artistic journey so far. 

Book cover for Leyla Josephine's debut novel, 'In Public/In Private'. The cover is mostly black and white, an orange rip effect across the centre. Behind the centre rip effect is a black and white photo of Leyla looking to her right, her face obscured by the rip effect. In larger light pink writing reads, 'In Public/In Private', with 'Leyla Josephine' written underneath in smaller white text in a scratchy, handwritten font.
In Public/In Private cover. Image Credit – Emily Wylde, 2022.
Black and white photograph of author Leyla Josephine. Leyla wears a silk dressing gown and looks off to her left with a calm expression. She has long brown hair, long eyelashes and is wearing two small necklaces.
Leyla Josephine. Image Credit – Marilena Vlachopoulou, 2022.

In festivals, the new year will see our team work with a variety of brilliant large-scale events, including the iconic visual theatre and animated film festival MANIPULATE, and Scotland’s longest-running greenfield festival, Knockengorroch, celebrating its 25th year. Returning for its 16th iteration, MANIPULATE Festival will bring an ambitious line up of existing and new work – enjoyed online, inside and outside – to Edinburgh this February 2-12, 2023. We look forward to supporting the MANIPULATE team as the festival untangles themes of human resilience, migration, memory, life, death and climate change via an impressive group of performers and creatives, including Katherina Radeva, Long Green Jaws, Kasia Zawadzka, Gavin Glover, VOX Muziektheater, and many more. 

Long Green Jaws male actor sits in the middle of a black stage with an abstract orange and light blue pattern background. He is wearing a light blue linen shirt with light brown trousers, and has short wavy brown hair. His right leg is bent towards his chest as he pours water from one fish bowl into another. A glass vase half-full of water sits next to his right foot.
Long Green Jaw by Fergus Hall & Sarah McWhinney. MANIPULATE Festival 2023. Image Credit – Long Green Jaws

The firmly-rooted Knockengorroch Festival will return to the Carsphairn Hills, bringing a vast spread of local and international music to some of Scotland’s most beautiful natural scenery. Running 25-28 May 2023, Knockengorroch will see Mungo’s Hi Fi, Zentone Chapter 2, The Drystones, The Langan Band, and many more perform on their iconic – and eco-friendly – stages. 2023 will see a continued focus on environmentalism within the festival, including banning single-use-plastic, encouraging the use of local transport for ticket buyers, and using local materials to craft the festival’s structures. 

We’re also excited to work with our friends Swamp Motel on their latest theatre project, Saint Jude – showing from 24 January to 11 March 2023. Mysterious and wonderfully dark, Saint Jude blends expert performance, AI technology and storylines of a mysterious government building to form a unique, vivid audience interaction that inspires as it puzzles – a futuristic deep-dive into secret organisations, morality and medical technology. Also running from 31 March – 15 April 2023 is contemporary Gaelic theatre company Theatre Gu Leòr’s new Gàidhlig Western, Stornoway, Quebec – on tour across Scotland. A performance filled with everything we love – creativity, mystery, excellent writing and the Gaelic language – Stornoway, Quebec will bring audiences a drama based on the life of Canadian outlaw Dòmhnall Morrison, Canada’s most-wanted man, who emigrated from Lewis; and the Barra woman and bounty hunter, Màiri MacNeil, who pursues Morrison to a Quebec saloon, where they and three others become snowed in by an ominous blizzard.

Swamp Motel male actor sits behind a panel of green-tinted warped glass with a menacing stare. His face is partially obscured by the glass, and he is wearing a green jumper to match the tint. He sits on a partially-obscured blue chair.
Swamp Motel’s Saint Jude. Image Credit – Guy Sanders.

Similarly, we can’t wait to work on Surrogate Production’s brilliant theatre show, Who Killed My Father? – returning after a sell-out run as part of Mayfesto at Glasgow’s Tron Theatre from 27 – 30 May 2023. Exploring a series of important social themes, we meet Édouard – a gay man who has endured years of violence and homophobia from his alcoholic, right-wing father – and witness his courageous decision to unravel years of social brutality, political decisions and anger. We will also work with the fantastic Adrenalism Theatre in April on their upcoming family-friendly ‘Chicken Western’ – The Good, The Bad and The Poultry – which will tour across Scotland from 18 April – 7 May 2023. We absolutely love working with touring theatre, and can’t wait to see this joyful piece of work flourish. 

As long-standing friends of Storytelling, our team will continue to work with the Lyceum Theatre on their upcoming spring season and brilliant array of talented theatre-makers in 2023. The coming year is set to be an exciting one for the Lyceum, with productions from both well established and up-and-coming theatre makers set to share their work on the Lyceum’s iconic main stage between February and May. 

In February, Shakespeare’s most iconic female character takes centre stage in Zinnie Harris’ brilliant new work – Macbeth (An Undoing), showing 4 – 25. Intertwining the Bard’s original text with Harris’ new material, the play explores the dark ambitions of Lady Macbeth and her twisted desperation to make them a reality. 

Running 7 – 18 March 2023 is You Bury Me – an explosive, political play from Ahlam that tells the story of six young Egyptians navigating loss, friendship and forbidden love. Created by Linda McLean is the deeply introspective Castle Lennox – an examination into the trials of Annis, a young girl with autism, who finds herself trapped in the brutal Lennox Castle Hospital in East Dunbartonshire, known for its notorious treatment of its residents between the 1930s and 1990s, showing 30 March – 1 April 2023. 

Writer and director Zinnie stands next to actress Nicole. Zinnie stands slightly in front of Nicole's right side with her arms crossed. She is wearing a dark purple and red shirt with a large stripe pattern. She wears large circular glasses with a thin black frame, and has short blonde cropped hair. Nicole stands slightly behind Zinnie and is wearing a pink leopard print dress with 3/4 sleeves. She has short cropped brown curly hair with a slightly long fringe. Her right hand is on her hip. Both women are smiling and looking directly at the camera.
Zinnie Harris (writer and director) and Nicole Cooper (Lady Macbeth in Macbeth (an undoing). Image Credit – Stuart Armitt.

In April, the Lyceum will show Kidnapped – a National Theatre of Scotland production and eclectic reimagining of Robert Louis Stevenson’s historic novel, adapted by Isobel McArthur with John McCarthy. Showing 11 – 22 April 2023, Kidnapped reframes the relationship between Stevenson’s original characters – Davie and Alan – as a romance, set in a Scotland still reeling from the 1745 Jacobite rebellion. In May, Russian-born director Polina Kalinina and Scottish playwright Lesley Hart’s world premiere of Tolstoy’s classic masterpiece – Anna Karenina – will debut from 13 May – 3 June 2023. With a new Scottish text and a strong feminist perspective, this production is firmly focused on womanhood -examining Anna’s attempts to avoid a family scandal by embarking on a risky course of action set to tear her life apart – joining scores of other women throughout time who are punished for not being ‘just so’. 

Storytelling PR's wonderful office dog Polar - owned by Director Miriam Attwood - sits next to a Christmas tree with gold lights in the Royal Lyceum Theatre reception area. Polar has dark brown eyes, a black nose and white wavy fur with a long tail. He is wearing a blue collar and orange walking harness whilst looking to his right with a calm expression.
Storytelling PR’s resident Chief Publicity Sniffer and Gravy Bone Connoisseur
Polar approving The Lyceum festive programme

We can’t wait for the upcoming year – exciting times await us all! If you’d like to work with us on your upcoming venture, please do get in touch via our CONTACT page. Whether it be theatre, music, books, touring shows, festivals, experimental performance, visual art, or anything in between, we’re always on the lookout to expand our scope and work with new creatives to achieve their creative visions and milestones. 

From all of us here at Storytelling PR – stay creative, have a lovely festive season, and we’ll see you next year! 

Join the Storytelling PR team

by

Storytelling PR is looking for a new Publicist / Comms Expert.

This post will start in May 2022 and is not a new role, but one that we are looking for someone brilliant to make their own. Interviews will be held on Wednesday 13 April and applications close on Friday 08 April at 5pm. If you have an access requirement please do not hesitate to contact us.

Storytelling PR Ltd is a PR and Comms company based in Edinburgh. We work between Scotland’s capital, Glasgow and London. We often work with international arts companies selling mostly to British audiences and with touring work – which can range from large cities through to tiny villages. Storytelling PR has a huge focus on theatre and performance that has an interest in social change or activism. We love good stories and good storytellers. We define our work by feminist / equalitist ethics and we feel it’s important our work and our services are available to both up-and-coming and established artists and companies – this has always been key to our practice and we actively ensure our client / company list is diverse. We are intersectional feminists, Queer-positive and actively anti-racist. We seek to collaborate with artists of all identities and we take the time to do the learning and work to support our artists and staff.

Storytelling PR Ltd is an equal opportunities employer and we welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, gender, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation or age. We strongly believe that diversity in the workplace is an asset both to our organisation and our ability to deliver for our diverse client and company base.

This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who enjoys working within a fast-paced environment as part of a small and dynamic team.


Main purpose of role:

  • To be an integral member of the Storytelling Team working across Publicity and with a genuine interest and perspective on other areas of the business (marketing, digital). 
  • To collaborate with artists, companies, and live event makers. 
  • To work across many varied campaigns leading on some, supporting on others. 
  • To (essentially) be a representative to the media of some of the UK’s best theatre and live performance creatives in a way that the companies feel matches their own vibe and work. 

What you will be doing:

  • Delivering or supporting PR campaigns for all of Storytelling PR’s many and varied theatre, performance, and activism companies and clients across the UK. PR and Digital campaigns will include writing excellent fully finished press releases, issuing and pitching, logging all on a project WIP, keeping good records of who is engaged and interested in the work, looking for new contacts and matches for the work across a broad range of media. 
  • Engaging closely with a network of press media and with our companies to sell their work to audiences. 
  • Actively listening. As we work with Minoritised, Ethnically Diverse and Disability led companies there are often new conversations and considerations that need thought – from access, to the restraints of structurally problematic industries on all sides. You will hear often about Racism, Homophobia and Ableism. As you will be the intermediary between our brilliant companies and our colleagues in the press you’ll be expected to be aware of what support companies need. 
  • Working on our world-class Edinburgh Festival Fringe portfolio of leading performance art, dance, theatre, circus, cabaret and international theatre work. 
  • Running media calls and photoshoots for both news press and magazine coverage. 

Essential

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
  • A strategic and creative thinker.
  • An ability to interpret creative practice for paper or pitching in a way that is clear and concise. 
  • Demonstrable knowledge of, and interest in, issues surrounding diversity and inclusion in the arts.
  • A keen interest in culture – be that music, theatre, performance, pop culture or anything else.
  • Excellent interpersonal skills, and proven ability to collaborate with team-mates on projects.
  • Ability to be based in Edinburgh for work from April/May 2022.
  • Press contacts and a keen interest in culture, media and reportage. 
  • Highly organised, with a demonstrable ability to keep track of tasks, prioritise work under pressure and deliver against set targets to agreed deadlines. 
  • Someone who thrives in a busy environment – you can decide what resources you wish to rely on (be that a trusty notebook, a gsheet or trello) but you’ll need to be across your work and feel comfortable multitasking on busy days.
  • Five years experience in the media world (be that as a journalist / PR / communications specialist) and experience working in a busy comms office or working within a press outlet. 
  • Active listening skills

Desirable

  • Social media and marketing know-how / interest. 
  • A keen interest and enthusiasm in seeing work live (when we can) and engaging with the Scottish and British theatre and performance art scene.
  • An interest in activism and changing the world. 
  • Experience leading on content creation ideas through to execution and in close collaboration with colleagues. 

Storytelling PR Publicist 

Salary – salary will fit the applicant and will be offered based on experience between £25,000 – £28,000 annually. Storytelling staff receive an annual payrise and there is opportunity for staff to have a contribution towards counselling or therapy, because we think it’s very important to have good mental health! 

We work from a light, buzzy (and often busy) office in Summerhall, Edinburgh. 

We welcome applicants to send a cover letter and CV to finance@storytellingpr.com. The deadline for applications is Friday 08 April and applications are welcome any time before then. 

Have a look at our equal opps doc here. 

This role will be based in Edinburgh. We are currently working a mixed set up of home and office work, with an expectation of in person work weekly. There is opportunity for travel work across the UK through the year as required, for meetings with companies and media and to see work.

For further information please contact finance@storytellingpr.com. 

DAVID MICHAEL PRODUCTIONS present QUEENZ – the show with BALLS

by

Starring chart-topping Union J’s Jaymi Hensley – the Queenz are heading to Edinburgh LIVE.

For the night out we’ve all been missing – Queenz are ready to, (like a prayer,) take you there. Five vocal powerhouses armed with songs, sass and plenty to say. This unapologetic, dance party night out with five incredible vocalists in their realest drag is landing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to bring some much-needed pride and joy. 

From backstreet bars to West End stars, the Queenz cast represents a mix of undeniable artists who have been waiting their whole lives for this moment in the spotlight. The cast comprises pop star turned drag star Jaymi Hensley (UK Chart top ten selling member of Union J) as Mis Dia Montay the White Queen; Grant Jackson, who recently went viral on TikTok with a Celine Dion vocal some accused him of lip syncing – it was entirely his vocal – joins the band as Gold Queen; Louis Wallond as the Rock Queen aka Billie Eyelash; Lew Ray as the Blue Queen – Mr Van Cartier; and last but not least Josh Hanson takes to the stage for their first leading professional role as Pink Queen – Candy Caned. Welcome to the circus Josh!

The Queenz cast represent a mixed background of experience, all professional singers and dancers at various stages of their career – in and out of drag – including Jaymi, fulfilling a life-long career ambition, professionally putting on a pair heels for the first time – but still relying on the voice that got him to the final of X-Factor and into the UK Chart Top Five. 

Expect an all-singing, all-dancing hour of live vocals and chat with the Queenz as they guide you through an eclectic party playlist, featuring remixed and reimagined pop anthems from The Spice Girls, Shakira, GaGa, Britney, Whitney and everything in between.

Together let’s smash down social boundaries and invite the world in all its sequined glory to a non-apologetic pop party, celebrating unity, unicorns, divas and death drops.

Ends.

Swamp Motel’s Original Mystery Thriller IP, The Isklander Trilogy optioned by Gaumont UK

by

– Interactive Game Series Set for TV adaptation –

London-based immersive entertainment company Swamp Motel has secured a deal with Gaumont UK to option the film and TV rights to their sleuthing alternate reality adventure series Isklander trilogy. 

The three-part interactive game series comprising Plymouth Point, The Mermaid’s Tongue and The Kindling Hour invites players to unleash their inner online detective as they enter a world of corporate deceit, occult horrors, and shadowy cabals to uncover the twists and turns of a murky underworld deep within high society. The trilogy, which stars actor Dominic Monaghan (Lord of the Rings trilogy), has amassed legions of fans with over 60,000 people across the UK and the US having played the games since the first instalment, Plymouth Point, launched in April 2020.

Whilst the Isklander trilogy in its current form has been designed as an at home, online experience for two – six players, plans to adapt the story for a multi-part drama series for TV are now underway with Gaumont UK – the British arm of the French studio behind Lupin and Narcos. The drama development is led by executive producer Alison Jackson (Tin Star, Ashes to Ashes, Hunted), who also helms Gaumont’s UK growing London-based division, and Gaumont UK’s Senior Development Exec Jamie Jackson.  

Employing a blend of inventive storytelling and cutting-edge technology, this dark, digital story world was created by Swamp Motel writers, co-founders and creative directors Ollie Jones and Clem Garritty. Both creative associates of Punchdrunk and co-founders of the critically acclaimed comedy theatre company Kill the Beast, they created Plymouth Point initially in response to the closures of entertainment and theatre spaces across the world last year. It has since grown into a permanent fixture in the online entertainment space internationally and now an entirely new arm of the company’s creative output.

Interactive, multi-media and episodic, Isklander is a transmedia franchise intended to be explored across multiple formats. 

Swamp Motel co-founders and creative directors Ollie Jones and Clem Garritty

Gaumont UK CEO and executive producer Alison Jackson said: “From the moment our senior development executive Jamie Jackson played the first of the Iskander trilogy and recommended it to the team, we could see it’s potential for adaptation. A breathtakingly paced thriller, with a fascinating conspiracy and heart stopping twists at its centre. It feels exactly the sort of show we’re all desperate to watch at the moment, we’re thrilled to be partnering with such an exciting, forward thinking company as Swamp Motel.”

The Isklander series follows a secret society with ties to big money and an international network who will go to any lengths to protect their supremacy. The stories blur fiction and reality, with the very real London Stone at the centre of the race against the clock. Hunting for ancient artefacts linked to this underworld, players work with various characters across the Isklander series to bring down the organisation from the inside. 

Swamp Motel’s Clem Garritty and Ollie Jones commented: “We’re so excited to collaborate with Gaumont UK. Our online experiences – Plymouth Point, The Mermaid’s Tongue and The Kindling Hour – were always more than just a trilogy. Together they’re a storyworld. There is so much scope to delve deeper into the world we’ve created and its characters. Adapting Isklander for film and tv purposes provides the perfect opportunity to do just that.

“We see transmedia narratives as the really exciting future of original IPs and we’re passionate about their development and the impact of storytelling on each platform. We’re thrilled Gaumont UK has spotted the same potential.” 

Gaumont UK was launched to produce exceptional original British drama for the global market. Led by Executive Producer and CEO Alison Jackson, whose credits include Tin Star, M.I High and Ashes to Ashes, Gaumont UK has several projects in development for terrestrial channels and the streaming market.  Gaumont UK recently produced the third series of Sky Atlantic’s hugely successful Tim Roth drama Tin Star, which Jackson executive produced, alongside Kudos. 

Further details regarding the TV adaptation are still to come. In the meantime, the Isklander trilogy is available to be played online now – visit isklander.com for more details. 

Gaumont UK CEO and executive producer Alison Jackson

What critics are saying about Isklander trilogy game series:
 “Swamp Motel’s escape room/scavenger hunt mashup is the most fun I’ve had in a year“ – CNet

“Swamp Motel knows how to put on a show” – Wired

“Inventive, gorgeously designed and technically dazzling”
★★★★  The Guardian

“Fiendishly good fun”
★★★★  Metro

“It left us feeling invigorated”
★★★★  Daily Mail


Ends. 

Facing Racism in Fringe PR & Media

by

In July 2020 Storytelling PR Director, Miriam Attwood sent a rambling email to Black, Asian, Migrant, Indigenous and Ethnically Diverse artists and colleagues in the industry (that Storytelling have worked with) saying Storytelling was keen to use the rare time we now had in lieu of the August Festival season to hold a formal awareness raising moment about Racism in Fringe PR and Comms. As an industry leader it felt possible to get people within the industry to really face and work towards making long term change – but of course – inappropriate for Miriam A to hold that space. 

In doing this work we sought invaluable advice, accepting constant suggestions, amendments and corrections along the way. Three points specifically we would like to underline about this work are; one change can only happen when the industry welcomes Ethnically Diverse Talent to take up positions of power, and fosters that talent with real awareness and two as a white team we cannot take up room in this space, but we feel we can support with providing a platform, carrying out admin, and asking for funding. three we are a small cog in a huge space of change and we would like to thank the leaders in this space who have taught us so much. 

Manifesting from this were two forums where Tigho Feldman held the space as facilitator. Tigho is currently Head of Operations for Rambert London, and through her impressive career held senior roles within the Festival Fringe Society.

Leading on both format and content were Arusa Qureshi (Edinburgh based, Freelance Culture and Music writer) and Clarcia Parinussa (dancer, choreographer, race equalities work as ID.Y and D/ecology)

With Arusa, Claricia and Tigho’s leadership we came to a conclusion a closed forum with a group of creatives would begin the event, providing a safe space for comment and honest reflection, (Storytelling PR did not attend). Then a second industry facing forum with conclusions shared and an ask of a commitment to change with an open sign up sheet.  There was a third forum – a breakout space – for industry – namely PRs, media and marketers – to meet and reflect. We would like to fully recognise this was very much a ‘change, amend, update’ process, and we are greatly appreciative for all the honest feedback we received. 

The contributing creatives* include: 

Annie George – Artist and Writer 
Shivani Saini – Director Atelier Culturati 
Christian Graham – Writer and actor
Apphia Campbell – Writer and Actor 
Katherina Radeva – Co-Director Two Destination Language
Sage Nokomis-Wright (Producer)
Mandla Rae (Performance Artist) 
Natalie Chan (Producer) 
Arusa Qureshi (Culture and Music journalist)
Claricia Parinussa (Dancer, Choreographer and race inequalities facilitator and industry leader)

Artists and writers in the first forum were welcome to attend the second. Many of those contributors have also fed back to us specifically with suggestions and ideas that were taken on board, and shared. We are looking at how we continue to build and share on these responses and to safely make these public. 

*we have invited artists to keep their name anonymous as in the closed forum facilitated by Tigho Feldman. 

Footage of the second session will soon be available for media and PRs to engage with. We would ask anyone joining this space to commit to making at least one change in their working practice to make spaces safer for Ethnically Diverse Artists and Industry. 

Breakdown of funding:

Festival Fringe Society £240
Storytelling PR LTD £715
Industry attendees were asked to contribute £10
Artists and facilitator payments £850 
Donations in lieu of fees to Ethically Diverse led companies £150 

NEXT STEPS: Storytelling will seek to apply for funding to continue this work and then hand over the space to Ethnically Diverse Talent to own and hold the space and continue the work with the resources Storytelling can offer. 

Storytelling PR Ltd will be looking to hire a new PR in 2021 to diversify our permanent team and will be advertising with the Taylor Bennet Foundation https://www.taylorbennettfoundation.org/ and Black-led British publications and job sites. 

We will continue to publish comments from contributors and commitments from industry in this space.