NEWS
Festival Fever
The Edinburgh International Festival’s 71st year sees a typically packed classical lineup and a particularly exciting dance
programme, as Yasmin Sulaiman discovers
COMING UP
P H O T O :
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R E G N A B R O C K E
EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL The EIFF has already announced its retrospective programme for 2018 (see page 11). Look out for the full programme announcement on Wed 23 May. Various venues, Edinburgh, Wed 20 Jun–Sun 1 Jul. GLASGOW INTERNATIONAL The two-yearly art festival returns for its 2018 edition. See feature, page 110. Various venues, Glasgow, Fri 20 Apr–Mon 7 May.
HIDDEN DOOR The grassroots arts festival returns to Leith Theatre, but also takes up residence at the State Cinema on Great Junction Street. See feature, page 34. Leith, Fri 25 May–Sun 3 Jun.
RIP IT UP This new National Museum of Scotland exhibition tells telling the story of Scottish pop music. National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, Fri 22 Jun– Sun 25 Nov.
V&A DUNDEE It’s a few months away yet but we can’t wait – V&A Dundee will be opening its doors to the public on Sat 15 Sep. Get the date in your diary now. EDINBURGH FESTIVALS Yep, we know August is a long way away, but Festival announcements start earlier every year. The International Festival lineup is already out there (see left), as is the Art Festival’s exhibition programme. Plus, there’s loads of Fringe tickets on sale already. But look out for the main Fringe brochure release on Wed 6 Jun, and keep an eye on list. co.uk/festival for the latest announcements.
A nna Meredith, Akram Khan, Sir Simon Rattle and The West Wing’s Anna Deavere Smith are among some of the highlights of the 2018 Edinburgh International Festival programme,
which has just been announced.
Following grand opening events at the Usher Hall (2015), Edinburgh Castle (2016) and St Andrew Square (2016), this year’s EIF Opening Event will return to the Usher Hall on Fri 3 Aug and feature music by celebrated Scottish composer Anna Meredith. Co- commissioned with 14–18 NOW and BBC Proms, Five Telegrams will be an outdoor digital performance that rel ects on 100 years since the end of World War I, and will mark Scotland’s Year of Young People. Tickets will once again be free, and booking details will be announced on Mon 25 Jun. This year, the EIF’s now-feted contemporary music programme features Edinburgh Playhouse dates for John Grant (20 Aug) and St Vincent (26 Aug). But its main focus will be a new strand at the resurgent Leith Theatre: Light on the Shore is a collaboration with the National Museum of Scotland’s landmark exhibition Rip it Up: the Story of Scottish Pop, which opens in June. Tickets and more details will be released on Wed 2 May, but coni rmed acts include King Creosote, Django Django, Mogwai and Karine Polwart. Hidden Door, Celtic Connections and Neu! Reekie! will also have their own nights at Light on the Shore, and Anna Meredith will perform her SAY Award-winning album Varmints at Leith Theatre with the Southbank Sinfonia.
There’s some exciting theatre at the EIF this year
12 THE LIST 1 Apr–31 May 2018
too, with two productions from Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord; a reboot of David Greig’s charming two-hander Midsummer from the National Theatre of Scotland; immersive new show, Home, from American actor and illusionist Geoff Sobelle; and Notes from the Field, a documentary performance from Anna Deavere Smith (The West Wing’s Dr Nancy McNally) that takes a closer look at the US justice system and the so-called school-to-prison pipeline Some of the EIF’s most compelling offerings for 2018 come from its dance lineup. Akram Khan’s Xenos marks his i nal performance in a full-length production; Wayne McGregor’s Autobiography is inspired by his own genome sequence; and L-E-V Dance Company (pictured) present Love Cycle, a double bill about emotion and obsession.
In a typically busy classical programme, Dunedin Consort and John Butt will bring Handel’s Samson; Robin Ticciati and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra take on Brahms; Cardiff Singer of the World winner Catriona Morison sings Brahms, Schumann and Mahler; and a variety of youth choirs and youth orchestras perform to mark the Year of Young People. is celebrated the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle; Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marin Alsop; the Hebrides Ensemble; and at the closing Virgin Money Fireworks Concert on Mon 27 Aug. Plus, Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday
in performances
from
Edinburgh International Festival, Fri 3–Mon 27 Aug. Tickets for Light on the Shore go on sale in May.