Wed 22 Mar 2006

Peter Stein directs Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida

World premiere of Anthony Neilson’s Realism with the National Theatre of Scotland

UK debut of The New Theatre of Riga with Long Life

American Repertory Theatre presents Krystian Lupa’s staging of Three Sisters by Chekhov

Calixto Bieito directs an adaptation for stage of Michel Houellebecq’s novel Platform

Major international productions at Festival 2006 demonstrate some of the most exciting and innovative theatre being created anywhere in the world today; classic theatre with Troilus and Cressida and Three Sisters; sensational virtuoso acting in Long Life, a piece of theatre with no words; new writing with Anthony Neilson’s play Realism and Michel Houellebecq’s Platform adapted and directed by Calixto Bieito.

Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida is a forceful attack on politics, brutality, vanity, war and double standards. Peter Stein has directed some of the most memorable theatre of recent Festivals, including Blackbird in 2005 and The Seagull in 2003. He is famous for his epic yet minutely observed productions of classic plays. This Edinburgh International Festival production will transfer to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s year long celebration of Shakespeare’s complete works.

Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare; An Edinburgh International Festival production in association with the Royal Shakespeare Company. Directed by Peter Stein. Mon 14 – Sat 26 August 7.00pm (except Wed 16 & Tue 22), Matinees Tue 15, Sat 19, Thu 24 and Sat 26 August 1.00pm. King’s Theatre. Tickets from £7.00. Sponsored by Bank of Scotland.

The world premiere of Anthony Neilson’s new play, Realism marks the first co-production between the Edinburgh International Festival and the National Theatre of Scotland. Anthony Neilson’s previous Festival commission The Wonderful World of Dissocia was a huge critical success; both hilarious and deeply serious it affirmed Neilson’s status as one of the major voices in contemporary British theatre.

Realism; Written and directed by Anthony Neilson. National Theatre of Scotland in co-production with the Edinburgh International Festival. Mon 14 – Sat 19 August 7.30pm, Matinees Thu 17 & Sat 19 August 2.30pm. The performance on Friday 18 August will be sign language interpreted and audio described. Royal Lyceum Theatre. Tickets from £7.50. Sponsored by First ScotRail.

Long Life, performed by the New Riga Theatre is an extraordinary demonstration of virtuoso acting. The tender and absorbing play follows one day in the lives of elderly retired people living in a communal block in Riga, Latvia. Not one word is used to tell the story. Long Life is directed by Alvis Hermanis who won the Young Directors Project Award at the Salzburg Festival in 2003.

Long Life; The New Riga Theatre. Wed 23 August – Sat 2 September 7.30pm (except Tue 29 August). The Hub. Tickets £15. Sponsored by The List.

Director Krystian Lupa and American Repertory Theatre bring a fresh vigour to Chekhov’s Three Sisters. Lupa is one of Europe’s most renowned and influential theatre directors and has received the highest honours given in recognition of theatrical work in France, Austria and Poland. He previously directed the three-part first world war epic The Sleepwalkers at the 1999 Edinburgh International Festival.

Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov; American Repertory Theatre. Directed by Krystian Lupa. Tue 29 August – Sat 2 September 7.00pm, Matinees Thu 31 August & Sat 2 September 1.00pm. The performance on Friday 1 September will be sign language interpreted and audio described. King’s Theatre. Tickets from £7. Supported by the Edinburgh International Festival Patrons and Muses.

The world premiere of one of the most controversial and successful novels of the last decade adapted for the stage; Calixto Bieito directs Platform, his own adaptation of Michel Houellebecq’s novel in collaboration with the author. Hailed as a masterpiece, Platform charts a French civil servant’s voyage of self discovery as a tourist in Thailand and his ultimate realisation that sex is not necessarily the most consuming nor the most dangerous of human passions. Bieito’s work is well known to Festival audiences, previous productions at EIF include Celestina, Hamlet, Life is a Dream and the opera Il Trovatore.

Platform by Michel Houellebecq, adapted and directed by Calixto Bieito; Companyia Teatre Romea, Barcelona in co-production with the Edinburgh International Festival. Wed 30 August – Sat 2 September 7.30pm. Royal Lyceum Theatre. Performed in Spanish with English supertitles. Tickets from £7.50

ENDS