Erotic, brutal, witty and poetic, One Thousand and One Nights are the never-ending stories told by Shahrazad under sentence of death to King Shahrayer. These mesmerising tales tell of the real and the supernatural, love and marriage, power and punishment, wealth and poverty, and the endless trials and uncertainties of fate. Making its European premiere at this year’s Festival, Tim Supple’s compelling production comes from the pulsating heart of today’s Arabic speaking world and with rehearsals now in full swing, The Scotsman’s Mark Fisher visited Supple and his team in Fez to find out more.
'If you visit the medina – or old town – of Fez, you will stumble across every cliché of the One Thousand and One Nights. The market stalls in the narrow Moroccan streets sell carpets, lamps and urns, and even the Palais El Mokri, where Tim Supple is rehearsing his Edinburgh International Festival production, could be the home of Shahrazad. But clichés are the one thing the director is avoiding. His multi-national production is alive with tough adult themes. 'I want to cut a straight line through the clichés about the Arab world,' he says. 'There are some tough truths that make that whole exotic cliché ridiculous.'
Assistant director Sophie Austin, has also been posting updates about the rehearsal process on the company's own Dash Arts blog and get a sneak peak at the rehearsals in our Flickr gallery.
For more information on the Festival performances and to book tickets, see here.
Don't forget to get IN!
Remember, if you want to come to our free Festival 2011 IN Party on Thursday 2 June, 6pm then be sure and RSVP toINsider@eif.co.uk by Tuesday 31 May.
If you're in your 20s or 30s, love opera, music, theatre and dance, then IN is for you. Join us on Festival Theatre stage to find out more. Enjoy free drinks, get all the latest Festival lowdown and top tips from Director Jonathan Mills on what's hot this summer. Plus top DJ Brian d’Souza will be spinning tunes inspired by this year’s Festival theme. Free event, but places are limited.
To join IN or for more information visit here.
Grow your own
P7 pupils from Roseburn and Hillwood Primary schools had ‘planty’ to inspire them when they visited the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh this May as part of Edinburgh International Festival’s Education and Outreach programme.
Inspired by the displays, the children created colourful embroideries using the ancient Bengali stitching and patchwork skill of Kantha in workshops at The Hub. They were led by tapestry artist Deidre Nelson who’s work will be exhibited as part of ourHeirlooms exhibition at the Dovecot Gallery this August. You can see a selection of the pupil’s work in an exhibition in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh during Festival 2011.
The project, which is called Song of the Earth, is just one of a number of hands-on activities in a fascinating range of art forms for young people from across Edinburgh inspired by the programme for Festival 2011.
Have a look at our Flickr gallery of images from the children’s adventures at the Botanics.
More visual treats
We’ve got a stack of new videos on our website to give you a taste of what’s in store this August:
To see all of the clips and images we've posted of this year's performers so far, visit our multimedia galleries.
Win Scottish Chamber Orchestra CDs
 
The Scottish Chamber Orchestra is about to release a new albumSamaagam at the end of this month, which is a collaboration with another Festival 2011 performer, Amjad Ali Kahn. The orchestra perform at the Usher Hall this August with Magdalena Kožená and Simon Keenlyside, while Khan appears in a solo performance at the Queen’s Hall.
To get your hands on a copy of Samaagam, plus a copy of the SCO’s Mozart Symphonies CD, just tell us which of the pieces to be performed by the SCO this year is a world premiere? For a clue have a look here. Send your answer, name and address on an email marked ‘SCO CD Competition’ to competitions@eif.co.uk or by post to: Edinburgh International Festival, The Hub, Castlehill, Edinburgh, EH1 2NE by Monday 6 June.
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人活著就是要旅行 (2)