Edinburgh International Festival
Medea (EIF)
★★★★☆ Towering
Medea, Liz Lochhead’s triumphant retelling of Euripides has returned to Edinburgh. The new production, at the Hub as part of the International Festival, boasts a Medea from Adura Onashile that will surely be every bit as legendary as Maureen Beattie was first time round.
Burn (EIF)
★★★★☆ Fiery
Burn, Alan Cumming’s solo dance-theatre interpretation of Robert Burns in the International Festival at the King’s, has a definite spark of passion.
Benedetti to direct EIF
Violinist to take over from Linehan in October
The world-renowned Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti is the Festival Director designate of the Edinburgh International Festival and will take up the role in October this year.
EIF drops Russian conductor
Valery Gergiev dropped as Festival’s Honorary President
Leading Russian conductor Valery Gergiev has been removed as the Edinburgh International Festival’s Honorary president out of sympathy with the people of Kyiv.
Alan Cumming Is Not Acting His Age
★★★☆☆ Mixed bag
Given the honour of closing the Edinburgh International Festival that so nearly never happened, Alan Cumming responds with his trademark gusto and skill. Alan Cumming Is Not Acting His Age at the Old College Quad is, however, an odd combination of the delightful and the infuriating.
Medicine
★★★★★ Shattering
Medicine, Landmark Productions and Galway International Arts Festival’s production for the International Festival at the Traverse, is a troubling, funny, emotionally devastating and brilliantly realised piece of theatre.
Linehan to leave EIF
EIF announces hunt to successor
Fergus Linehan is to leave “the best job in the world” at the Edinburgh International Festival in September 2022 after completing eight years as its Festival Director.
Physical distancing lifted – official responses
Theatres and events respond to physical distancing news
The announcement in Holyrood on Tuesday that, if all goes according to plan, physical distancing will be completely lifted on Monday 9 August 2021 has been welcomed by Edinburgh’s theatres and events organisers.
EIF Indoors & Out
EIF 2021 programme announced
The Edinburgh International Festival has announced its full programme of events for 2021, which will include theatre at the Traverse and Lyceum, opera at the Festival Theatre and a free opening event at the Botanics.
EIF Returns
Live performance in outdoor venues for August 2021
The EIF has announced that it will definitely take place this August 2021, and that it will add three temporary outdoor pavilions to its existing venues.
