Dear Friends,
For those of us living near Edinburgh, August means mainly one thing: the Edinburgh International Festival and Festival Fringe. This is a month-long celebration of arts and culture, surpassed only by the Olympics and the World Cup in terms of global ticketed events. During its 24-day long run, 322 venues will host almost 60,000 performances of 4,000 shows. The city will be packed to the gunnels from dawn to long past dusk, with visitors and locals all enjoying the buzz, the street food and, of course, the shows. Every year, as a family, we go to see some of our enterprising nephews and nieces who manage to get involved with a variety of Fringe shows.
This summer we are going to see my niece, Rosie, in a performance of Into the Woods by Sondheim and Lapine – the moral of which urges us to choose our paths thoughtfully and carefully … and to understand that whatever we do, and wherever we go, ‘we are not alone’.
Phrases like this sound almost like the start of a sermon and they nudge me to think about the parallels and relationship between the performing arts and spirituality. Whatever show or performance we attend, it can often feel akin to coming to church and taking part in worship. For, although God may not be explicitly named, many shows gather us up into a narrative or musical score to experience laughter, love or some other deep emotion – all of which transports us beyond ourselves, beyond the physical and immediate. Through the different genres we encounter, we are often invited to wrestle with our humanity and experiences, sometimes going into those corners and shadows we would not usually go near. Even though each Fringe show usually only lasts an hour, we are often able to glimpse something of God’s universal truth and beauty in what we see and hear.
Our God has always been creative and innovative and I have no doubt that His Spirit is within all who create and imagine and envision. We who watch in awe can only join in with God’s voice of cheer and encouragement for every single dancer, entertainer, singer, artist who comes out on stage this August in Edinburgh.
So, enjoy the experience if you go to any of the shows, see any of the exhibitions, or listen to any of the talks. Admire the talent and flair which will be on display and thank God for God’s gift of creativity to us.
With love
Liz
