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300 cheap seats for top opera. Words: Mark Fisher

ne show lasts all night. another is performed to an audience of

one. another still has a top ticket price of £7100. And in the first

concession in the long battle over dates. the Edinburgh International Festival has i.)rogrammed a week of low-cost late night concerts to coincide With the opening week of the Festival Fringe.

Although the published dates of the lntr—2rnational Festival are 1 1—31 August. the event WI” actually begin at 10.30pm on :3 August when pianist Joanna MacGregor Will play the first of a series of Royal Bank 535 Nights at the Usher Hall. It’s an attempt by the International Festival to reach a yetinger audience and WIN include Night Raga. a performance of Indian classical music that finishes at dawn. All seats cost Eff).

The Indian theme is picked up elsewhere in a long weekend of performances demonstrating all six of the key forms of Indian classical dance. And in the theatre programme. there's a monologue by Pritham Chakravarthy, a political activist who relates the stories of the subcontinent's most marginalised people.

The opera programme weighs in with a seriously big production of Pars/fat Wagner's five-hOur opera is conducted by Claudio Abbado. played by the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester. directed by Peter Stein and sung by three major choirs. Top ticket prices hit 9100. though there'll be 100 seats for each of the three performances for JUSI $35.

In a category all of its own. /l()<’ttTO-(}/(3VISIOI) is a dance performance shown on televiSion to one person at a time at hourly inten/aIs. It's created by Boris Charmatz who also curates a dance~film—installation called Statuts at the College of Art.

Scotland's Grid Iron premieres Variety by Douglas Maxwell. with complmnentary performances by Johnny Beattie. while David Harrower has translated The Girl On The Sofa by Norway's Jon Fosse.

Public booking opens on Saturday 0 April. Call 0131 473 2000.

I The Edinburgh Festival Fringe has announced that /ast year was its most successful, clocking up 873.887 ticket sales. /t said it WI// repeat

f its two for the price of one ticket offer at the start of this year's event

- Bi acs in e i e g M th B 9 Appl Live Scotland in New York. Words: Graeme McKay errier award Winner Arnold Brown is at the forefront of Scotland's artistic ‘oray into New York as plans for a three oay Scottish festival in the Big Apple were announced. Distilled. a programme of events that WI“ display ali types of Scottis'i art. including architecture. i:teratui‘e and Visual art. will also feature comedian Rhona Cameron, the ‘NlllllOT of the Iivoli I uropa (Biovaiii International Poetry pri/e. Keyin MacNeil and Il‘itlfSKL from Croft No 5) and Mull Historical Society. Als ) on show will be home grown comedy. Scottish ,a// music and various types of cabaret. Ihe VISUZII artists. who include Douglas (Bcidon. Dal/iel - Scullion and Stewart & SSiititii. wiil have white cube space to ei‘ab e them to show off their work The even? wiil take place from A 0 April and will t)(: hosted by Scottish celebrity Aléll‘: Cumming and actor Kyle tvfaclachia'i. the aim is to br1ng together the wlioie spectrum of Scottish arts talent. Unlike other such events. Distilled claints to be trying o si‘ow off oui talent from the gr; ss roots Et'itl not jtlSt the art that has been snout/n befoie. Hut 'f/fl‘,’ go all tl‘e way to Nev.’ York to strut oui stuff? to give Americans a taster of what SSfl’fllétl‘ti is like so as to boost to1ii'isiii o‘ course. Awww that way Just to pick up a chicken.

4 THE LIST 7?“, Ma' " A1! 3’7")?

which wr/l run 4—26 August. The programme is /aunched on (7‘ June.

If you can’t keep your gaff tidy, give thanks you’re not living in the Upside Down House, an installation in Glasgow’s St Enoch Square, Sat 30 March-Tue 16 April, Tue-Fri 1 1am-2pm, Sat 11am-3pm, Sun 12pm—3pm.

Taking time out from being cheeky to politicians is Ian Hislop. He's now busy writing a comedy series about the son of a fictional British PM which includes our eleven-year-old hero Dillon playing table tennis in the cabinet office . . . And in a totally separate project. Hugh Grant WI“ play Our beloved leader in a romantic comedy called Love Actual/y. with Emma Thompson turning up as the fictional PM's sister . . . Johnny Depp continues his love affair with all things from ye olde Albion iFast Show. Jack The Ripper) by taking on the role of Peter Pan creator J.M. Barrie in the forthcoming Never/and . . . The film is being directed by Marc Foster whose Monster 's Ball will be here soon. And that film's writer is Will Rokos who is scripting a remake of the ClaSSIC 608 British movie. Billy Liar . . . Ex-Shamen frontman Mr C is releasing his debut solo album in May . . . Not many Stephen King novels have been made into films (apart from all of theml but Spider-Man writer DaVid Koepp is adapting Secret l/i/indow for a movie. The story involves a writer Ii‘eally’Ri geing through a divorce and being stalked by a psychotic stranger . . . Good news for fans of Love. as they are ioined by leader Arthur Lee for a national tour in June which is set to kick off at King Tut's.