Shanghai Express

Jonathan meets Prince Zi Dan

Just in town for a day we made the most of our time in Shanghai. There were meetings with the Shanghai Cultural Bureau, the Ministry of Culture, and we got to know the British Council representatives in Shanghai. All of this took place around and about our press conference in the afternoon.

The conference was at a gorgeous little hotel in the French Concession called Le Sun Chine and was well attended with many local Shanghai and national media print media, as well as online and broadcast crews turning out to hear from Jonathan and Mr Sun (the Director of the Shanghai Peking Opera Troupe, or SPOT as we affectionately call them).

Jonathan and Mr Sun signed a letter of agreement and the event culminated in a short performance by Prince Zi Dan, the equivalent character to Hamlet in Shanghai Peking Opera Troupe’s retelling of Shakespeare’s famous tale. Prince Zi Dan was fabulous. A wonderful costume, particularly expressive feathers and the envy inspiring platform boots. However it was his muscle control that stole the show with a stunning, sculptural physical feat. It has certainly left me wanting to see more!

Now we have the job of evaluating and translating all the coverage. The circulations of some of these outlets are mind-blowing, but that is the nature of the scale of China in numbers. It certainly has the wow factor.

- Susie Burnet

At home in China - Festival 2011 theme launched in Beijing and Shanghai

Pudong from the Bund, Shanghai

Beijing is wonderfully stylish and eclectic, teeming with life, has absolutely bags of character, and is very, very welcoming. Since arriving on Sunday we have met so many people keen to engage with the Festival and Scotland and it is at times like this that you have to be convinced you have the best job in the world. Jonathan met with a string of media over Sunday and Monday all of whom asked interesting questions throwing up all sorts of avenues of conversation. Then there was a buzzing reception last night that the British Ambassador and British Council here threw in honour of the Festival and its developing relationship with China with more media, representatives of the Chinese Ministry of Culture, artists and various interested businesses in attendance. It has been an intense couple of days and I am sure Jonathan is very happy to have a couple of hours off from the media mayhem this morning.

Today it is Jackie, our Marketing and Communications Director’s turn as she steels herself to speed date 60 tour operators this afternoon as part of VisitBritain’s delegation at the China International Travel Mart. No mean feat and just the first of several days here and in Shanghai which will offer lots of opportunities to shout about the Festival to those who can help boost Chinese visitor numbers into the future.

Meanwhile I’m put the finishing touches to our media event in Shanghai tomorrow where we’ll do it all again!

Tomorrow afternoon Jonathan and Mr Sun of the Shanghai Peking Opera Troupe will sign a letter of agreement before posing for photos with the ornately dressed performers in their full glittering get-up. I wonder if there’ll be a spare pair of their fabulous platform shoes kicking around… just to help me get a better photo!

- Susie Burnet

Off with a Bang

Festival Director Jonathan Mills in a Festival 09 themed taxi. Photo: Peter Sandground.

After finalising our extensive programme and putting the finishing touches on our striking brochure, Festival 09 launched with a bang last week. Here is a summary of what the press had to say about the line-up for this summer.

The Herald stated that “Peter Pan and St Kilda, Scottish Ballet and Scotland's last witch are all part of the potent brew unveiled yesterday … The Enlightenment, the development of thought, science and the arts in the 18th century, is at the heart of Mills's third festival.” Read more here.

As published by The Times, “a Faustian orgy staged in an agricultural hall near the airport, a Plasticine figure of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and a staging of a Monteverdi opera featuring giant puppets are among the 180 productions that will seek to conjure up the Age of Enlightenment.” Read more and view The Times Festival Highlights here.

The Financial Times noted: “The Enlightenment – a time of technological developments, philosophical provocations and scientific discoveries – inspired this year’s programme.” Read more here.

According to The Guardian,“The city's intellectual and philosophical history influences this year's programme, including a fiery Faust and a dance piece based on the songs of Bowie, Iggy and Lou Reed.” Read more here and listen to Director Jonathan Mills discuss the programme here.

Charlotte Higgins from The Guardian also commented: “The Scottish Enlightenment is the starting point for an opera-rich 2009 festival … I'm fascinated by the idea of Actus Tragicus from Staatsoper Stuttgart – which uses six Bach cantatas as the basis for a theatrical production.” Read more here.

STV pronounced: “This year's Edinburgh international Festival will celebrate the flowering of intellectual and cultural achievement that took place in the city in the late 18th century.” Read more here.

In Thom Dibdin’s opinion (Edinburgh Evening News), “There's a season of Brian Friel plays from Dublin's Gate Theatre to be looked forward to, however, the most exciting production is the EIF/Traverse co-production The Last Witch … I also imagine that Faust will be the big spectacle." Read more here.

Edinburgh Evening News also stated that “a soundtrack from the Holy Trinity of late-1970s rock will provide one of the biggest attractions of the 2009 Edinburgh International Festival.” Read more, including the Evening News Hot Festival Tickets, here.

According to The Scotsman,“The world premiere of a new play based on the story of Scotland's last executed witch tops the theatre bill … A recital by baritone Bryn Terfel, one of the greatest names in opera, will also be a huge favourite.” Read more here.

The Scotsman concluded:“It is homegrown productions – including a new play by a top Scottish writer and director about the last witch to be executed in this country – which are among the most prominent this year.” Read more here.

According to The Stage, “World premieres of new works from the Traverse Theatre and Scottish Ballet are among the highlights of the programme.” Read more here.

And finally, in the words of Scotland on Sunday, “In three years [Mills] has shown that the one thing we can expect from his programming is the unexpected.” Read more here.

We hope you enjoy browsing through our programme and discovering the marvels of Festival 09. Don’t forget that our box office opens at 10.00am this Saturday 4 April.

eif.co.uk
+44 (0)131 473 2000
The Hub, Castlehill
Edinburgh UK EH1 2NE

Not long now...

We're excited! Its just over one week until we launch the 2009 programme for the Edinburgh International Festival. In case you don't know, this year's Festival highlights Scotland's influence on some of the world's great artists and artistic endeavours and reflects on that extraordinary moment in Scottish history now considered the foundation of much of modern things - the Scottish Enlightenment.

The programme for 2009 embraces the Scottish Enlightenment and sets it in contemporary and often surprising contexts.

Full programme details available on Wednesday 25 March. Our website goes live from 10.30am. Tickets go on sale to the public on Saturday 4 April, 10.00am.

eif.co.uk
+44 (0) 131 473 2000
The Hub, Castlehill
Edinburgh UK EH1 2NE