TRUE SPIRIT . . . members of Le Haggis are celebrating after scooping a Spirit of the Fringe Award at The Edinburgh Fringe
Le Haggis was developed by the Electric Theatre Workshop and featured in the last two The Big Burns Supper festivals in Dumfries, but has now scooped a coveted Spirit of the Fringe Award in Edinburgh.
The awards are made by comedian Mervyn Stutter, who said: “Le Haggis is a great show and the band is just fabulous.
“The whole experience is like having a night out on the town with Rabbie Burns and a Scottish version of the Pogues.”
Mervyn’s teams of art industry experts scour the Fringe to find top-quality shows that they believe deserve to be celebrated.
And the comedian said: “Something we really value about Le Haggis is that it’s a community-based event.
“It mixes excellent national and international acts with some highly talented emerging musicians and singers who have come up through community choirs. Long may it continue. Onwards and upwards with Le Haggis.”
Le Haggis has enjoyed a month-long run at the Assembly George Square Gardens in Edinburgh, and is billed as a pulsating combination of old and the new, traditional and edgy.
Band members include Dumfries and Galloway musicians Grant Dinwoodie, from Dumfries, while Tom Cuddihy is a maths and physics teacher and his wife Lynn a mental health nurse, and Jo Blain is a classroom support worker from Lockerbie.
Drummer, Mike Uphill, a 30-year-old Dumfries bricklayer, said: “This award means a huge amount to everyone. The show and the Fringe have been brilliant.
“We are all really proud to have come here and put Dumfries on the map by performing in front of audiences from all over the world.”
Graham Main is artistic director of Electric Theatre Workshop.
He said: “A Spirit of the Fringe Award is the icing on the cake for a small, community-based company like ours.
“It’s a tremendous way to put a spotlight on the huge amount of talent that there is in Dumfries and Galloway.”
