Citizens Theatre to Bring LANARK to Edinburgh International Festival

The Citizens Theatre returns to the Edinburgh International Festival for the first time in 17 years with a new adaptation by David Greig of Alasdair Gray's Lanark, directed by Graham Eatough.

In celebration of Gray's 80th year the Citizens Theatre is staging a major new adaptation of his most famous work, Lanark, at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh from 22 - 31 August 2015 as part of the Edinburgh International Festival. The production will preview at the Citizens Theatre on 14, 15 and 17 August and return to the Citizens Theatre from 3 - 19 September.

In the nearly 35 years since publication the ideas, politics and ambitions of Lanark have inspired generations of artists in Scotland and beyond. Its mix of science-fiction, realism, fantasy and playful storytelling combines a realist tale of Duncan Thaw, a student of Glasgow School of Art, with a surreal dystopian dream-like story of Lanark and the mythical city of Unthank.

Lanark continues a collaboration between Greig and Eatough which began with experimental theatre company Suspect Culture. Glasgow-based Suspect Culture was formed around a core group of associate artists and made a huge impact on the British theatre scene with its use of a wide range of media and ever-changing artistic style. Suspect Culture was active from 1993 - 2009.

Since their work together with Suspect Culture, Greig's work for theatre includes Dunsinane, The Events, a new version of The Bacchae which starred Alan Cumming, and the West End production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Eatough has directed work for 7:84, Tron Theatre Glasgow and National Theatre of Scotland and is currently working on the Nomanslanding project, a performance installation to be sited on Sydney Harbour, the River Clyde and the Ruhr in 2015.

Composer Nick Powell, who collaborated on some of Suspect Culture's earliest productions, will create the music for Lanark. Powell's recent work includes the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Wolf Hall/Bring Up The Bodies, Headlong's The Nether and Chichester Festival Theatre's adaptation of The King's Speech currently on tour. Designer Laura Hopkins, designer of National Theatre of Scotland productions Peter Pan and Black Watch, and Lighting Designer Nigel Edwards join the creative team.

The performances of Lanark at the Citizens Theatre coincide with the theatre's 70th anniversary in its Gorbals home, which was first opened in 1878. The very first performance by the company in the theatre on 11 September 1945 was a production of J. B. Priestly's Johnson Over Jordan.

The Citizens last appeared at Edinburgh International Festival in 1998 with an adaptation by Philip Prowse of Schiller's The Robbers, performed at the King's Theatre, Edinburgh.

Tickets for Lanark at the Citizens Theatre and at Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh go on sale on Saturday 28 March at 10am. Friends and Patrons of Edinburgh International Festival can purchase tickets for the performances at the Lyceum from Thursday 19 March. Tickets for performances at the Citizens Theatre are available from citz.co.uk / 0141 429 0022. Tickets for performances at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh are available from eif.co.uk/ 0131 473 2000.

This production of Lanark is supported through the Scottish Government's Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund.

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