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Festivities in the Shadow of a Castle
Immerse yourself in Edinburgh’s annual performing arts festival
Actus Tragicus from Staatsoper Stuttgart
At the base of Edinburgh Castle, which is built atop the rocky crags of an extinct volcano, Edinburgh’s Old Town has preserved its medieval layout and Reformation-era architecture. One of these, a gothic revivalist building now called simply The Hub, serves as the center of the Edinburgh International Festival. The EIF caters to lovers of classical music, theater, opera and dance, with an annual attendance of over 300,000. The EIF is one of ten summer events that run simultaneously in the Scottish capital, known collectively as the Edinburgh Festival. Offering the opportunity to escape into one’s passions, festivals attract the best and brightest of an industry. And no other performing arts festival offers such a magnificent backdrop and array of events like the EIF.
The theme of this year’s festival, running from August 14 to September 6, is the Age of Enlightenment. The Enlightenment brought about recognition of individual liberty, human rights and reason, moving away from religious rule and caste systems. EIF Director Jonathan Mills says, “It was a period of technological developments, philosophical provocations and scientific discoveries. A visit to Edinburgh in the 18th century brought one to the source of the ideas and inventions that laid the foundations for so much of the modern world.” Expect these themes to arise throughout the program.
Theater Program Highlights
- Optimism, an Australian version of Voltaire’s Candide from Malthouse Melbourne
- Romanian director Silviu Purcărete offers his version of Faust
- The Last Witch, based on the story of Scotland’s last execution for the crime of witchcraft, from Traverse Theatre Company
- International avant-garde theater company Mabou Mines produces Peter and Wendy, a darker and later version of Peter Pan from Scottish author J.M. Barrie
- From Singapore’s TheatreWorks, Diaspora explores themes of migration and assimilation
- Dublin’s Gate Theater presents three works by Ireland’s most popular living playwright, Brian Friel
Dance Highlights
- The Royal Ballet of Flanders performing The Return of Ulysses
- Catalan company Gelabert Azzopardi Companyia de Dansa present Sense Fi and Conquassabit
- Scottish performer Michael Clark and his company perform a new work based on the seventies rock of David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed
- The Scottish Ballet performs works from Frederick Ashton, William Forsythe and the world premiere of Ian Spink’s Petrushka.
Opera in Performance Highlights
- St Kilda Island of the Birdmen, an opera partly in Gaelic about one of Scotland’s most dangerous professions of the past
- The Handsping Puppet Company performs Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
- From the Göttingen International Handel Festival comes a reimagining of Handel’s Admeto, King of Thessaly in the world of the samurai
- A theatrical vision of six Bach cantatas, Actus Tragicus from Staatsoper Stuttgart, stages stories within a glorious set, a cross-section of a four-story building
There are also numerous offerings of opera in concert and musical performances. Other events include the visual arts program, entitled The Enlightenments. Talks and workshops include artists involved in the EIF. Visit the festival’s website for the complete cornucopia of over 120 event offerings. Even without the sufficient charms of the sights in Edinburgh, the performances at the Edinburgh International Festival are sure to dazzle and entertain.