Edinburgh Festival revival could not be more timely
When Fergus Linehan agreed to extend his tenure with the Edinburgh International Festival announcement seemed to set the event on a steady course for the run-up to its 75th anniversary.
The announcement, back in November 2017, that the Irishman would be overseeing another three festivals ensured a crucial period of stability. Or so it seemed. It is nearly two years to the day since the EIF and its sister festivals were forced to pull the plug on their 2020 programmes as the pandemic swept around the world.
It says a lot for Mr Linehan and his team, along with the reputation of the event, that the programme they have just announced is significantly more impressive than the one they were forced to abandon.
Last summer’s tentative revival for the EIF, the Fringe and some of the city’s other big events was a surreal experience for artists and audiences. There was huge relief at the return of live events, but much trepidation and caution. Edinburgh’s famous festival atmosphere was there in small pockets, but the city undoubtedly was lacking its usual electricity.
This year is the big comeback and all the indications are that Edinburgh will be largely back to its old self in August.
The EIF will start and finish in style, including a music, theatre and dance spectacular to kick off the festival inside Murrayfield Stadium and a huge free outdoor show from The Philadelphia Orchestra on the final weekend.
Elsewhere, there is plenty to fire the imagination, including a reinvention of The Jungle Book as a dance spectacular, Alan Cumming’s new Robert Burns-inspired show, a promenade theatre production being created with the help of staff and pupils at Leith Academy, a dazzling line-up to reopen Leith Theatre for gigs, and the festival’s biggest ever showcase of Australian culture.
But 75 years after the event was instigated to bring people together in the aftermath of the Second World War, the EIF’S significant strand of shows exploring issues around refugees, migration, internationalism and identity could not be more timely or welcome.