Tricks and a Treat
EDINBURGH, Scotland — With Edinburgh's reputation as a rich live theater environment, we were not surprised to notice numerous theater venues on our way from the train station to our apartment when we arrived earlier this week. We definitely wanted to sample some of the offerings in a city that hosts not one but two annual performing arts festivals. After examining the productions scheduled during our six-day visit, we ended up with tickets to two performances. Both happened to be scheduled for today.Our afternoon matinee tickets were to a dark comedy called Pandas, which made its world premiere with this production at the Traverse Theatre. Set in Edinburgh in the spring, Pandas tells the story of three couples, whose lives become intertwined with each other and with various connections to pandas. James, a police detective, has hit the bottle and ignored his wife Julie once too often, and Julie is leaving him. Jie Hui, an enterprising entrepreneur, is regretting his partnership with shady dealer Andy to import panda-patterned rugs from China after customs officials begin breathing down their necks and Andy is shot.
Julie, Andy and James (photo by Traverse Theatre) |
Jie Hui and Lin Han (photo by Traverse Theatre) |
With just enough time for a nice dinner and stroll in between performances, we made our way to the elegant Festival Theatre on Nicolson Street for our evening event. The location is Edinburgh's longest continuous theatre site, dating back to 1830 when Dunedin Hall was constructed there.
Several reincarnations later, the Empire Palace Theatre opened at the location in 1892. Designed by a great British theater architect, the Empire was lavishly decorated and seated 3,000 people on four levels. For the next two decades, it hosted the top attractions of the period until a disastrous fire struck the theater on May 9, 1911.
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Beauty and Lafayette |
Tonight's production at the Festival Theatre was a performance by well-known British illusionist Paul Daniels in tribute to the Great Lafayette and the 100th anniversary of his untimely death. It was part of a weekend festival of magic and illusion in honor of the great master, who was the highest paid performer of his time. Daniels paid homage to Lafayette by performing some of his tricks and in retelling the story of his career and last performance. Like earlier in the day, we were thoroughly entertained and glad to have been in Edinburgh on the day that this very interesting man was honored.
For more information about the Great Lafayette and his beloved dog Beauty, who was a gift from Houdini, check out the Great Lafayette Festival site.