The Edinburgh Festival is the collective name given to the annual group of cultural festivals hosted by the city across August. From circus acts to ballet, it can often be difficult to plan your time at the festival. Not to fear, here are our top picks from this year’s acts.
- Tennessee William’s The Glass Menagerie
An innovative reimagining of Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, John Tiffany’s production has found international acclaim. Fresh from his co-creation of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in London’s West End, Tiffany brings his world-renowned play with an all-star cast to the Edinburgh Festival. Set in St Louis 1937, the play looks at the devastating reality of living life in a dream world.
Overbearing matriarch, Amanda Wingfield, looks to regale her failing family through her daughter Laura’s marriage. However, Laura’s crippling shyness inhibit’s her integration into the real world, instead she seeks solace and escape in her cherished glass animals.
This is a memory play which follows the thoughts and retelling of narrator Tom Wingfield, the oldest son of Amanda, and his guilt after the breakdown of his family. The show is boosted by its stellar cast which is headed by female lead, Cherry Jones. Jones has been handpicked from Hollywood success after starring in films such as 24, Ocean’s Twelve and The Perfect Storm. Making its European debut, the show will run from 7th-21st of August at the King’s Theatre, Edinburgh.
Tickets and bookings available at www.eif.co.uk
- Bricking It
Bricking It picks up on the emerging trend in the Edinburgh fringe of family comedy acts. This father daughter duo of, Pat (73) and Joanna Griffin (29) have pieced together a comedy show which looks at class, loss and the modern generational divide. The act came about after Pat, a typical Irish builder, swapped trades with his comedic daughter, and what emerges are their hilarious notes on how what we do more often than we would like, shapes who we are.
Bricking It runs from the Underbelly festival’s, Iron Belly between the 5th and 28th of August.
Tickets and booking available at www.underbellyedinburgh.co.uk
- Driftwood
In recent years, circus acts have found a new home at the Edinburgh Festival thanks to Underbelly’s circus hub on the Meadows. This year the reaches of circus have moved on with Casus’ new show Driftwood. The Australian group return after their hit 2014 show Knee Drop, bringing back their trademark style, skill and signature acrobatic shapes.
Driftwood considers the innate human need to intimacy through interpretive dance and acrobatics. It is an on-stage explosion of colour portraying a turbulent mix of joy and intimacy. On show between 4th and 28th of August, the circus show will be available at George Square as part of the Assembly Festival.
Tickets available at www.ssemblyfestival.com
- Faulty Towers; The Dining Experience
Hosted by the B’est Restaurant, Drummond Street, Faulty Towers; The Dining Experience returns to the Edinburgh Festival for the ninth consecutive year. A smash hit every year, the show has come to critical acclaim and has been branded, ‘An absolute hoot! A must-see event’ by the British Theatre Guide.
Produced by Interactive Theatre International, the show takes audience participation to a whole new level as the audience act as diners and are served a three course meal along with a taste of comedy genius. With only one third of the show scripted, expect the unexpected and let the cast take the comedy where it will.
Born in Brisbane in 1997, the show made its Festival debut back in 2008 and has become so popular it now holds a London West End residency. Performances will take place between the 4th and 29th of August, with two shows per day.
Tickets available at www.torquaysuitetheatre.com
- The Scottish Ballet
The Scottish Ballet presents some of the best home-grown talent and top the roster of dance performances at the Edinburgh Festival. This year they have produced a double bill showcasing some of their strongest dancers and choreographers. This first of the two shows is MC 14/22 (Ceci est mon corps), an interpretation of biblical scenes starting with the last supper and Christ’s declaration ‘Take it; this is my body.’
The show makes use of a 12 strong male line up and has been produced by Angelin Preljocaj. It is a glorification of the masculine whilst simultaneously condemning force. The second show, produced by choreographer of the moment Crystal Pite, is Emergence. This show makes use of the entire cast of 38 dancers in a combination of classical ballet hierarchies and contemporary movement.
Pite has chosen to replicate the movement and working of the beehive to explore the rapid pace of modern life alongside an electronic score by Owen Belton. The radical contrast of style produces an emotional and unsettling scene. The shows are limited to just two days, from the 18th to the 20th of August, and will be hosted by the festival theatre.
Tickets and booking available at www.eif.co.uk
With so much on offer at this year’s festival a visit to the city is a must. If you wish you lived nearer to the action, why not take a look at this great blog ‘what’s on Edinburgh festival edition’
