Get the Barden Party to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival!
Help us raise funds to get our sassy sexy version of the Scottish Play to Scotland!
International
The Barden Party was created after COVID-19 led to a constant stream of cancellations in the performing arts industry for performers. The company was founded in Nelson by Laura Irish four years ago during the pandemic and has taken its musical twists on Shakespeare’s works to backyards, vineyards and theatres across New Zealand and Australia.
The Barden Party have been touring our sassy sexy Bluegrass version of Macbeth around Aotearoa and Australia since November 2024, to critical acclaim. We have decided this year, to take the biggest risk we've taken and take the Scottish Play to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Critics are calling the show:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Heartfelt, sexy, inspired.”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ “Exciting and brilliant theatre.”
WINNER Adelaide Fringe Best Theatre - Week 2, 2025.
We've secured ourselves a performance spot at the iconic ZOO VENUES, and are excited to show the world what we've got.
However, getting to the Edinburgh Fringe is expensive! We've managed to cover costs for accommodation and flights for seven actors, but need to raise a little more in order to rent a van to get us around in the initial part of our trip, and to feed the hungry mouths of seven actors.
Use of funds
The money will be spent on renting a van for transporting the cast of 7 around in Scotland and to support cast members with a small per diem for day-to-day costs. Any additional money raised will go towards marketing the show to our new Scottish audiences.
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Latest update
Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. 27 August 2025
Well. Edinburgh Fringe has finished, and the Barden Party have packed up our ropes and instruments and parted ways, some back to New Zealand, some going on to more adventures in Europe. We're so thrilled at the reception we got in Edinburgh; five star reviews, pages of positive audience reactions, sold out shows, and many, many requests to come back next year. We honestly couldn't have asked for a better experience, and we owe a huge thank you to a lot of people, but especially those people who supported us financially. Creating art in this economy is a real privilege, and we don't take that lightly. We consider ourselves incredibly luck to have had this experience. Some of you will know that usually, we do everything ourselves, from the creative side to the logistics, to marketing (although in Edinburgh we were lucky to be working with the incredible team at Chloe Nelkin Consulting for PR support). In saying that, it also takes a village. We couldn't have done this without our support networks, from partners, to parents, to friends, family, and our creative whanau. Thank you all for your support and love. We are so grateful. Thank you, ngā mihi nui kia koutou. Love, The Barden Party.
(Pictured: The cast at the ancient Birnam Oak; Criss Grueber, Wiremu Tuhiwai, Tara McEntee, Laura Irish, Kit Berry, Caleb James, and Ollie Howlett.)
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