August 2022: Third Week in 12 Pics
This week saw the return of our full compliment of six festivals and we've picked a further twelve pictures from across our festival city that give a taste of the sweet offering on the streets.
The Edinburgh Interntional Book Festival opened it's doors this week which once again this year was in the grounds of the Edinburgh College of Art, a charming, leafy courtyard with lovely old listed buildings which house festival venues, cafes, bars, bookshop and broadcast studios. The Book Festival Village is free to visit and everyone is welcome, You can see a favourite author, enjoy a cuppa in the café, a beer in the bar, or simply park yourself on the grass (with or without a book) and soak up the atmosphere. And if that wasn't enough, a selection of Book Festival events are live-streamed onto the large outdoor screen in the courtyard, every day during the Festival.
Following a hugely successful run at the Edinburgh Internatinal Festival, the cast of Counting and Cracking said a fond farewel to the Royal Lyceum Theatre. This epic play follows the journey of one Sri Lankan-Australian family over four generations, telling the tale of two countries: Sri Lanka post-independence and Australia as an immigrant nation. Featuring nineteen performers from six different countries - Australia, Sri Lanka, India, Malaysia, New Zealand and France - and performed in English, Tamil and Sinhalese, with live translation into English, this theatrical highlight was a 'stage epic' according to The Time which described it as 'novelistic in its scope and ambition'.
Making a welcome return to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe were the world renowned Fringe First Awards, sponsored by the Scotsman newspaper in partnership with the University of Edinburgh. Established in 1973, the Fringe Firsts are recognised all over the world and are the most prestigious theatre awards at the festival, presented once a week during the festival to outstanding new writing premiered at the Fringe. One of the winners in week one was And Then The Rodeo Burns Down which, according to the Scotsman, 'Rice and Roland’s double-act [pictured] is pure Fringe spirit: joyful, rebellious, and dashingly rough around the edges.
Banda Monumental de Mexico lit up the stage with a dramatic new ‘Day of the Dead’ vision at The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. The 120 strong band from Mexico swapped their iconic masks from previous performances for traditional Day of the Dead Catrina (skull) makeup. The Banda Monumental de Mexico was formed exclusively for the 2018 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo by the Organizacion Cultural de Intercambios Internacionales México which brough together performers from Jaguares Marching Band, Compañía de Danza Tenochtitlan and Mariachi Juvenil Oro de Mexico. Alongside some incredible visual projections on to Edinburgh Castle, the Tattoo crowds were given a feats for eyes and ears.
World, European and UK premieres plus a sprinkling of red carpet stardust ran across the Edinburgh International Film Festival this week. One of the starring aking an Edinburgh appearnace was the Charlotte Rampling, in town for the UK premiere of the New Zealand produced Juniper in which she plays Ruth, a troubled grandmother at the heart of a double-edged examination of grief. Returning to Edinburgh fort he first time since the UK premiere of 45 Years, for whch she received an Oscar nomination, Charlotte was joined on the red carpet by Matthew J Saville, the first-time director, both of whom also met audiences in a post creening Q&A.
As part of the Edinburgh Art Festival, Stills photography gallery presented a solo exhibition by Ishiuchi Miyako – an influential post-war Japanese photographer - her first exhibition in Scotland. The show consists of a selection of work from some of her most celebrated series including, Mother’s, the series with which she represented Japan at the Venice Biennale in 2005; work documenting the belongings of victims of the atomic bomb which are kept at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum; and photographs from the series Frida, made at The Frida Kahlo Museum in Mexico City where Miyako photographed Kahlo’s garments such as corsets, cosmetics and shoes.
Although most of the Edinburgh International Book Festival took place in the grounds of the Edinburgh College of Art, this year saw the addition of the biggest new venue, Central Hall, located just off Lothian Road, a five-minute walk away from the main festival site. A sometime concert, exhibition, or entertainment venue in a church building, with hundred-year-old stained glass in the art nouveau style and a great acoustic, the Central Hall plays host this year to some of the Festival's marquee guests including Colm Toibin, Serhii Plokhy, Kevin Bridges, Armando Iannucci, Ian Rankin and Martha Wainwright.
Beloved classical ballet Coppélia was reimagined for the digital age in Scottish Ballet's new production exploring the search for reality in an artificial world, as part of the Edinburgh International Festival. Scottish Ballet tested the boundaries of dance, theatre and film in this distinctive new version of the classic ballet, blending location and real-time filming with projection and live performance in a world premiere. This innovative new production is choreographed and directed by UK-based duo Jess and Morgs, and according to the Guardian, 'this Coppélia is a successful stride into ballet’s future'.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society announced the return of sensory backpacks at Fringe 2022, the festival's 75th anniversary year.. Started in 2018, the Fringe Society has a number of sensory backpacks which are available to borrow free of charges for autistic children and adults, to help make your Fringe experience as enjoyable as possible. Backpacks come in two sizes - one for children and one for adults - and each one contains a fidget toy, earplugs, water bottle, stress reliever, ear defenders and a list of relaxed performances at the Fringe. These items are designed to help users relax and overcome stressful or intense situations.
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo Dancers and performers from the New Zealand Army Band gathered for an impromptu rehearsal, bringing together Maori and Highland cultures, at Edinburgh’s Calton Hill. Demonstrating the ceremonial traditions of the Haka and showcasing the athleticism of Highland Dancing, the Tattoo Dancers and New Zealand Army Band thrilled both locals and tourists who can usually find them performing on the Edinburgh Castle Esplanade in August.
Having a moment in the spotlight at the Ediburgh International Film Festival, were some of the members of EIFF Youth - the Festival's dedicated youth programme, created by and for 15–25-year-olds with a passion for film. During the week, the EIFF Youth team partly programmed outdoor screenings during Film Festival in the City and also nominated the shortlist for the New Visions programme, with those 8 films then passed to three film industry professionals to decide the winners.
The remarkable story of how Scotland became home to one of the world’s greatest collections of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist art is explored in te Ntioal Galleries of Scotland big summer exhibition, as part of Edinburgh Art Festival. World famous paintings by a stellar cast including Van Gogh, Degas, Monet and Gauguin feature throughout, offering visitors a rare chance to delve into this little-known aspect of Scotland’s cultural history - plus, for the first time, the full set of Matisse’s vibrant Jazz prints. As the Observer said: "Nobody needs to go abroad to see so many French masterpieces. They are all here in one building in Edinburgh."