CREATIVE Peebles Festival is set to return next week.

And it will “celebrate the town and wider area’s cultural and artistic riches”.

Hosted and programmed by the Eastgate Theatre – and featuring a range of live contemporary theatre, films, exhibitions, talks and live music – the 10-day festival will run from August 27 through to September 5.

It will open with a private view of Coastal Connections, a new exhibition of work by acclaimed local artist Deborah Campbell at the Eastgate’s Anne Younger Studio (Friday, August 27).

Much of Deborah’s work is inspired by remote coastal locations around Scotland where she studies and records the landscape using mixed media.

And if ever a piece of work epitomised the talent of local creatives, it is the Age of Anxiety – a new piece of live contemporary theatre devised by some of the Eastgate’s own writers and performers.

The performance (Saturday, August 28) is the culmination of a collaborative process involving more than 30 participants (from teens to seniors), led by dance practitioner Sara Boles and theatre maker Clare Prenton.

It features original music performed by Nick Jenkins, Robbie Tatler and Mat Clements.

Other highlights of this year’s festival include the Tweeddale Society Festival Lecture (Tuesday, August 31), which this year’s sees local chocolatier Ruth Hinks tell the remarkable story of Cocoa Black – a journey that has taken her from the kitchen table to a royal opening, Chatsworth House and The Hairy Bikers’ Chocolate Challenge.

There is also plenty of live music, with performances by Simon and Garfunkel through the Years (Saturday, September 4) and a special Music in Peebles concert featuring pianist Clare Hammond (Sunday, September 5).

As well as this, there will be a performance by Northern Flyway, which sees a suite of music and songs that explore the ecology, folklore and mythology of birds and birdsong.

Composed and performed by musician and ornithologist Jenny Sturgeon and musician Inge Thomson, Northern Flyway also features singer and multi-instrumentalist Sarah Hayes and vocal sculptor Jason Singh.

The full programme for this year’s Creative Peebles Festival is available from the Eastgate Theatre box office or online at www.eastgatearts.com

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