SALTY IRINA Comes to Roundabout @ Summerhall in August

Shortlisted for the Bruntwood Prize 2019, Eve Leigh’s play is a queer coming-of-age love story inspired by true events. Anna and Eireni are in the throes of young love while studying at university. But following a series of racist murders in their town, they decide to turn detectives and infiltrate a far-right festival to find the culprits. But when the true nature of their relationship is uncovered, their safety is under threat and when events take a turn for the worse, they are shocked by what they find. Salty Irina examines fascism, fear and the power of collective action. 

Salty Irina draws from the rise of German far-right extremist groups and also from first-hand accounts of going undercover at a far-right events in Central Europe.  

Eve Leigh said, “I wrote Salty Irina because a friend of mine, living in the former East Germany, walked out of his apartment block one morning to find an enormous, fresh bloodstain on the pavement. It was rush hour and everyone stepped around the bloodstain. No one acknowledged it. This is what it feels like to live in a time of far-right ascendency - many of us are simply trying to be on our way and step around the blood. Some of us - among them people who shared their stories with me so I could write this play - make a different, braver choice. Salty Irina is about those of us who make that braver choice” 

Broccoli Arts Ltd. is a production company making work for the stage & page primarily for/by/about lesbian, bisexual and queer people who experience misogyny. They work with writers to develop scripts and manage productions, enabling longevity and sustainability in a precarious industry. Their work includes Before I Was A Bear (Soho Theatre). This is their debut Edinburgh Fringe as a production company, though both director Debbie Hannan (Exodus, Traverse Theatre, 2022) and producer Eve Allin (Civilisation, Underbelly 2019 and Zoo Venues for the Horizon Showcase 2022) have previously showcased work at the festival.  

Eve Leigh is an award-winning, internationally recognised writer for performance, creating work in collaboration with a range of leading performance and digital artists. Frequent subjects include the internet, Eastern Europe, disability, queer noir, immigrant memory, joy, stupidity, sex, and love. Plays include Midnight Movie (Royal Court); the dance play While You Are Here (The Place/Dance East); The Trick (Bush Theatre, national tour); The Curtain (Young Vic Taking Part). Awards include Jerwood/Royal Court New Playwright Award 2019 (with Jasmine Lee-Jones), Bruntwood Prize shortlist 2019, Berlin Theatertreffen Stueckemarkt selection 2020. 

Thistle and Rose Arts is a female-led, commercial theatre producing firm operating in London and across the UK and Ireland. They make small- to mid-scale plays and musicals by, for and about women and non-binary people. The stories we tell combine the personal with the political, exploring identity and advocating social change. They particularly love to make work set throughout history and which incorporates folk themes. In addition to their commercial producing work, they also offer mentorship and opportunities for people of any age interested in theatre producing and early career professional producers. 

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