TravFest25 marked one of the Traverse’s most ambitious and impactful Festival seasons to date, a vibrant, sold-out celebration of bold new writing, captivating performances, and the power of live storytelling.
Across four weeks in August, our stages were alive with world premieres, returning favourites, and fresh voices, creating a truly electric atmosphere in the heart of Edinburgh’s cultural quarter. With artists and audiences from across Scotland and around the world, TravFest25 once again proved that the Traverse is where stories start and conversations take flight.
We were honoured to present an exceptional line-up of productions that received major critical and industry recognition:
- Red Like Fruit, She’s Behind You, RIFT, and Lost Lear all received Scotsman Fringe First Awards, a prestigious accolade that celebrates outstanding new writing premiering at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
- She’s Behind You also scooped the Besties Award, cementing its status as an audience favourite thanks to its razor-sharp humour and powerful political bite.
- Big congratulations to Afreena Islam-Wright and Lucky Tonight! who won the Scottish Asian Art Award for Outstanding Female Performer.
- Standing in the Shadows of Giants was nominated for the Brighton Fringe Award for Excellence, in recognition of its bold storytelling and theatrical innovation.
Meanwhile, our Glimmers programme, created in partnership with Edinburgh Napier University, delivered a dazzling showcase of early-career talent. This year’s cohort presented a series of short, sharp and stirring performances that brought fresh perspectives and urgent questions to our stages. Glimmers has established itself as a supportive platform for new voices to be seen and heard during the Festival.
Audiences responded in kind, with sold-out performances across the programme, packed post-show discussions, and a vibrant online response that reflected the deep resonance of the stories being told. From political satire to lyrical solo work, epic reimaginings to intimate confessionals, TravFest25 offered a cross-section of what theatre does best: challenge, comfort, provoke and unite.
We are so grateful to all the artists, creatives, co-producers, partners, supporters and, most importantly, the audiences who made this year’s Festival such a success. Your enthusiasm, openness and passion remind us why we do what we do. Thank you for joining us, we can’t wait to do it all again next year.