International Festival Review: Ustatshakirt Ensemble

Megan Amato’s first experience with Kyrgyz music doesn’t disappoint. ★★★★★ My first experience with Kyrgyz music did not disappoint. Ustatshakirt Ensemble, a group of musicians reviving traditional Kyrgyzstan music with the Ustatshakirt Centre and the support of the Aga Khan Music Programme. Not only does the centre inspire a new generation of musicians but it…

Read More

International Festival Review: Grupo Corpo

Megan Amato enjoys this rhythmic dance performance by Brazilian Grupo Corpo. ★★★★ Brazilian Grupo Corpo are a magnetic dance force, their rhythmic and fluid fusion style an optical illusion that pulls you to its centre. Their doubled-billed International Festival dance promised to bring the flair and flavour of the diverse Brazilian people. Named after one…

Read More

Edinburgh International Festival: August 2024 programme announced

Nicola Benedetti’s second programme as director of the Edinburgh International Festival has been unveiled. With more than 160 performances in the city this August, we take a look at some of the 2024 highlights.   The Opening Event The EIF will open with a large-scale outdoor opening event for 10,000 people evoking the mythology and…

Read More

Detail announced for 2024 Edinburgh International Festival

The Edinburgh International Festival has announced details of next year’s programme. The theme for the 2024 festival, the second one under director Nicola Benedetti, will follow the theme of the “Rituals That Unite Us”. Five opera productions will feature in the programme, including a new version of Carmen created by the French company that first…

Read More

International Festival Review: The Rite of Spring

Megan Amato reviews The Rite of Spring at the Edinburgh International Festival. PINA BAUSCH’S The Rite of Spring returned to Edinburgh on 17 August with pan-African dance company École des Sable, The Pina Bausch Foundation and Sadler’s Wells. Composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1913, Bausch transformed the pagan Russian performance into the stark battle between…

Read More

International Festival Review: Trojan Women

 Megan Amato reviews Trojan Women at the Edinburgh International Festival. As someone who usually keeps the media consumed to happy – or at least bittersweet – endings,  a retelling of Euripides’ epic tragedy may seem like an odd choice. However, I was immediately drawn to this women-forward production combining Korean pansori with a famous Greek…

Read More

Culinary escapades in a trendy restaurant bar

L’escapade, formerly Glass & Thompson, is ideally located right in the heart of Edinburgh city centre. We arrived a rainy night the last Friday of the Edinburgh International Festival to a super trendy restaurant bar. We received a warm welcome sat down and were dying to try one of Dillon’s bespoke cocktail which didn’t disappoint…

Read More

Scottish Opera premier will be all Greek in New York

Opera fans will have the chance to see Scottish Opera and Opera Ventures’ co-production of Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Greek in the Big Apple this December when it makes its US debut. Following the success of the production at the 2017 Edinburgh International Festival, the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Howard Gilman Opera House will host four…

Read More

Never judge a whisky by its label

Peter Ranscombe samples Loch Lomond distillery’s range of single malts at the Edinburgh International Festival. Trying something new is the best part of the Fringe. Going to see a show that you would never normally watch is half the fun of the world’s largest arts festival. And so it should be for Scotch too. I’ve…

Read More