The Assembly’s 37th Festival gets going this year with previews starting from today.
This year’s programme of over 200 shows offers world-class theatre, indigenous dance, quick fire comedy, breath-taking circus skills, cabaret, accapella choirs and a huge range of the very best in world music.
The Festival is spread across the city, including the Assembly Hall at the top of the Mound, Assembly Roxy, Assembly Checkpoint and a return to the Assembly Rooms on George Street, which was the first major multi-venue run by Assembly in 1981.
This year FuturePlay – the digital entertainment festival where art meets technology, will take place on George Street in front of the Rooms, and both the Ballroom and the Music Hall with enjoy a full programme of shows including the return of Baxter Theatre’s award winning Mies Julie and Alex Salmond’s debut Fringe Show –Unleashed which opens on 13 August.
William Burdett-Coutts, Director of Assembly Festival said:
“I am delighted and excited by this year’s festival programme and it is wonderful to be back at the Assembly Rooms. Ten years ago, I would never have thought an ex- First Minister would have his own show with us, or that audiences would be wearing VR headsets and hearing how new technology can be an integral part of live theatre.
Each year, for me it’s not about the number of incredible shows we have at the Festival, it’s about the breadth of performance, and working to ensure that Edinburgh maintains its reputation as a world-class destination for the arts. This means we need to keep developing new ideas, building new relationships and thinking constantly about the shape of the Festival 10 years from now. Here’s to a fantastic August”
The Assembly Festival runs from 2 – 28 August 2017. The full programme is available on our website www.assemblyfestival.com
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