Royal Highland Centre Prepares for Edinburgh Festival's 2008: MACBETH and More, Beg. July 26

Three shows impossible to stage in conventional theatres are waiting in the wings as the 2012 Royal Highland Show draws to a close at the Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston.

An expert 80 strong team will transform the 4,500 square metres of Lowland Hall into a theatre space for Edinburgh International Festival 2012. Over 50 tonnes of set will also be put in place for three productions by a roll call of world-leading directors.

In an epic undertaking, all three sets will be built alongside each other, beginning on July 26 ready in just 16 days for the first performance on August 11 – 2008: Macbeth.

An enormous three-storey construction with multimedia screens is the set for a stunning multi-media take on the Scottish play. 2008: Macbeth relocates Shakespeare’s work to a contemporary and brutal Middle East in a production from Warsaw-based director Grzegorz Jarzyna and TR Warszawa.

In the year The Artist has taken cinemas by storm, a spectacular fantasy about the early days of silent movies and an amateur’s attempts to shoot a film is just the beginning of Les Naufragés du Fol Espoir (Aurores). This complex, beautifully designed show is brought to the Scottish capital by Théâtre du Soleiland Ariane Mnouchkine, the legendary French director whose work has not been seen in the UK for more than 20 years.

Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison it’s not. With a soundtrack that includes Bryan Adams, George Michael and Wagner, a hilarious and surreal version of My Fair Lady, Meine faire Dame – ein Sprachlabor opens at Lowland Hall on 14 August and is the UK debut for director Christoph Marthaler. Fife-born actor Graham Valentine – a star of musical theatre in mainland Europe – plays both Eliza Doolittle and Professor Higgins in a rare UK appearance.

Over 3000 artists from 47 nations will gather in the Scottish capital this year for Edinburgh International Festival 2012 (Thursday 9 August to Sunday 2 September) to share the live experience of theatre, dance, opera and music with audiences from approximately a third of the world’s nations.

The three plays are also part of the London 2012 Festival, a UK wide festival from 21 June – 9 September 2012 featuring leading artists from around the world.

Hub Tickets: +44 (0)131 473 2000. Book online and for more information, visit eif.co.uk.

2008: Macbeth
TR Warszawa
Saturday 11– Monday 13 August, Thursday 16 – 18 August 7.30pm
Wednesday 15 August 2.00pm
Lowland Hall, Royal Highland Centre
eif.co.uk/macbeth

2008: Macbeth is part of the London 2012 Festival, a UK wide festival from 21 June – 9 September 2012 featuring leading artists from around the world. 2008: Macbeth is part of the World Shakespeare Festival which opens 23 April 2012.

Meine faire Dame – ein Sprachlabor
(My Fair Lady – a language laboratory)
Theater Basel
Tuesday 14, Wednesday 15 & Sunday 19 August 7.30pm
Friday 17 & Saturday 18 August 2.00pm
Lowland Hall, Royal Highland Centre
eif.co.uk/fairedame

Meine faire Dame – ein Sprachlabor is part of the London 2012 Festival, a UK wide festival from 21 June – 9 September 2012 featuring leading artists from around the world.

Les Naufragés du Fol Espoir (Aurores)
(The Castaways of the Fol Espoir (Sunrises))
Théâtre du Soleil
Thursday 23 – Saturday 25, Monday 27 & Tuesday 28 August 6.00pm
Lowland Hall, Royal Highland Centre
eif.co.uk/folespoir

Les Naufragés du Fol Espoir (Aurores) is part of the London 2012 Festival, a UK wide festival from 21 June – 9 September 2012 featuring leading artists from around the world.

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The London 2012 Cultural Olympiad is the largest cultural celebration in the history of the modern Olympic and Paralympic Movements. Spread over four years, it is designed to give everyone in the UK a chance to be part of London 2012 and inspire creativity across all forms of culture, especially among young people.

The culmination of the Cultural Olympiad will be the London 2012 Festival, a spectacular 12-week nationwide celebration bringing together leading artists from across the world with the very best from the UK, from Midsummers Day on 21 June and running until the final day of the Paralympic Games on 9 September 2012.The London 2012 Festival will celebrate the huge range, quality and accessibility of the UK’s world-class culture including dance, music, theatre, the visual arts, fashion, film and digital innovation, giving the opportunity for people across the UK to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. For more details on the programme and to sign up for information, visit www.london2012.com/festival.

The World Shakespeare Festival is a celebration of Shakespeare as the world's playwright, produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in an unprecedented collaboration with leading UK and international arts organisations. Thousands of artists from around the world will take part in almost 70 productions, events and exhibitions across the UK, in locations including Stratford-upon-Avon, London, Newcastle, Gateshead, Wales and Scotland as well as online.

It runs from 23 April to November 2012 and forms part of London 2012 Festival, which is the culmination of the Cultural Olympiad, bringing leading artists from all over the world together in a UK-wide festival in the summer of 2012. For more info, visit www.worldshakespearefestival.org.uk.

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