SOLD OUT EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL SHOW GOES ON TOUR

Fri 27 Jul 2007

For the first time, this August Edinburgh International Festival takes a Festival show on a short tour around Scotland as part of an initiative from new Edinburgh International Festival artistic director Jonathan Mills.

The Edinburgh International Festival hit Beowulf – the medieval epic story told by vocalist and performer Benjamin Bagby - will tour to Banchory on Friday 10 August and Orkney on Monday 13 August (full details below).

‘I am absolutely delighted that the Festival in my first year is able to extend one of its sell out shows, Beowulf, to Banchory and Orkney,’ said Festival Director Jonathan Mills. ‘It is a sincere gesture in terms of Sharing the Festival and one on which I hope to build in the future. Beowulf is a particularly magical show and I am certain that it will charm audiences here in Scotland as it has around the world.’

Benjamin Bagby’s dramatic tenor voice and six-string lyre masterfully revive the chilling and bloodthirsty tale Beowulf. He uses a brilliant array of dramatic techniques to create a fiercely uninhibited interpretation of this century old text that continues to spellbind audiences worldwide.

Since 1990, Bagby has growled and rasped this epic story in Old English to major festivals and venues around the world. From synagogues in Poland and medieval museums in Cologne to the Lincoln Centre Festival in New York (1997 & 2006) and a warehouse in L.A., he has transported audiences back to a medieval time when pre-literate audiences were terrified by the unknown.

Rave reviews promise this engrossing vivid telling of Beowulf – the thrilling story of King Hrothgar, the monster Grendel and the hero Beowulf – continues to be as enchanting today as it was to audiences some thousand years ago.

This performance will speak to many: lovers of Beowulf and oral epic, early music enthusiasts, Tolkien fans, medievalists, and anyone searching for virtuoso storytelling, great theatre or a glimpse into the fascinating beginnings of the English language.

‘Mr. Bagby comes as close to holding hundreds of people in a spell as ever a man has...’ THE NEW YORK TIMES

‘Old English has rarely seemed so alive...’ - THE TIMES

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

Hub Tickets: + 44 (0)131 473 2000

Online booking and information www.eif.co.uk

Beowulf is on a short tour as part of the Festival’s commitment to reach a wide audience by taking the Festival experience to other areas of Scotland.

Benjamin Bagby’s Beowulf can be seen in the following venues.

Friday 10 August Woodend Barn, Banchory Tel 01330 825431

Monday 13 August Woodwick House, Evie, Orkney Tel 01856 751330

BEOWULF

Performed in Old English with English supertitles

Benjamin Bagby’s Edinburgh International Festival season:

Saturday 18 - Wednesday 22 August 8.00pm (except Monday 20 August)

The Hub

Running time approx 1 hours 40 minutes

The Edinburgh International Festival is one of the most exciting places in the world to experience the arts. The chance to see and hear some of the world’s greatest companies and performers, to experience something out of the ordinary, the informal festive atmosphere, and the sense that anything can happen all combine to offer an intensity of experience for both artists and audiences which is as thrilling for loyal fans as it is for newcomers.

The Edinburgh International Festival was established in 1947. Long ranked as one of the most important cultural celebrations in the world, from the beginning the Festival has presented programmes of classical music, opera, theatre and dance of the highest possible standard, involving the best artists in the world. Founders of the Festival include Rudolf Bing, then the General Manager of Glyndebourne Opera, Henry Harvey Wood the Head of the British Council in Scotland, and a group of civic leaders from the City of Edinburgh. They believed that the Festival should enliven and enrich the cultural life of Europe, Britain and Scotland and ‘provide a platform for the flowering of the human spirit’. They also recognised that, if the Festival succeeded in its artistic ambitions, it would create a major new source of tourism revenue for Edinburgh and for Scotland. These founding principles are as relevant today as they were nearly 60 years ago.

2007 marks the first Edinburgh International Festival under Artistic Director, Jonathan Mills. Artists perform at the Festival at the Director's invitation, with the Festival administration being responsible for all aspects of the promotion and management of its events.

For further information please contact Sophie Hodges or Susie Burnet in the EIF press office on 0131 473 2020 or press@eif.co.uk

The Edinburgh International Festival is supported by The City of Edinburgh Council, the Scottish Arts Council, and the National Lottery through the Scottish Arts Council.