Drama at the Edinburgh International Festival: history and repertoire, 1967–1976

Drama was an increasingly important part of the Edinburgh International Festival during its third decade. There were a total of 85 productions that were put on stage.

There were a total of 42 theatrical companies that appeared during the decade, of which the most prolific were the Prospect Theatre Company formerly Prospect Productions, Royal Lyceum Theatre Company based in Edinburgh's Royal Lyceum Theatre, and the Actors Company, founded by Edward Petherbridge and others in 1972. Other important companies included Glasgow Citizens Theatre, Nottingham Playhouse Company, The National Theatre of Great Britain and La MaMa Company of New York.

Visiting companies came from the US, Ireland, Japan, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Poland and Bulgaria.

Many performances were at the same venues used in earlier years, notably the Royal Lyceum Theatre, The Assembly Hall, and the former Gateway Theatre, but new venues came into use such as Church Hill Theatre, Haymarket Ice Rink and the Moray House College.

List

Date	Company	Drama	Venue	Director	Principal actors	Notes and sources
1967	Haizlip-Stoiber Productions New York	The Emperor Jones (Eugene O'Neill)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Gene Frankel	James Earl Jones	^[1]
1967	Prospect Productions	The Cherry Orchard (Anton Chekhov)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Richard Cottrell	Lila Kedrova, Stephanie Bidmead, James Cairncross, Patrick Wymark, Terry Scully	^[1]
1967	Prospect Productions	A Room with a View (Lance Sieveking and Richard Cottrell after the novel by E. M. Forster)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Toby Robertson	Fiona Walker, Lawrence Carter, Timothy West, Jean Anderson	^[1]
1967	Pop Theatre	A Midsummer Night's Dream (William Shakespeare)	The Assembly Hall	Frank Dunlop	Robin Bailey, Cleo Laine, Hywel Bennett, Edward Jewesbury, Denise Coffey, Peter Gilmore, Bernard Bresslaw	^[1]
1967	Pop Theatre	The Tricks of Scapin (Molière)	The Assembly Hall	Frank Dunlop	Peter Gilmore, Bernard Bresslaw, Edward Jewesbury, Jim Dale	^[1]
1967	Close Theatre Club in association with Citizens Theatre Glasgow	Lunchtime Concert, The Inhabitants and Coda (Olwen Wymark)	Gateway Theatre	Michael Meacham	Zoe Hicks, Arthur Cox, Bernard Hopkins	^[1]
1967	Marionetteatern, Stockholm	The Wizard of Oz (adapted by Michael Meschke, from the story by L. Frank Baum)	Gateway Theatre	Michael Meschke		^[1]
1967	Marionetteatern, Stockholm	Ubu Roi (Alfred Jarry)	Gateway Theatre	Michael Meschke		^[1]
1967	Hampstead Theatre Club	Nathan and Tabileth and Oldenberg (Barry Bermange)	Church Hill Theatre	James Roose-Evans		^[1]
1967	Traverse Theatre Club	Tom Paine (Paul Foster)	Church Hill Theatre	Tom O'Horgan		^[1]
1967	Voyage Theatre	Macbeth in Camera (Harold Lang)	Church Hill Theatre	Harold Lang	Harold Lang	^[1]
1967	Voyage Theatre	Man Speaking (Harold Lang)	Church Hill Theatre	Harold Lang	Harold Lang	^[1]
1968	69 Theatre Company	Hamlet (William Shakespeare)	The Assembly Hall	Caspar Wrede	Glyn Owen, Dilys Hamlet, Tom Courtenay, Anna Calder-Marshall	^[2]
1968	69 Theatre Company	When We Dead Awaken (Henrik Ibsen)	The Assembly Hall	Michael Elliott	Alexander Knox, Irene Hamilton, Brian Cox, Wendy Hiller	^[2]
1968	Prospect Productions	The Beggar's Opera (John Gay)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Toby Robertson	Peter Gilmore, James Cossins, Jan Waters, Frances Cuka	^[2]
1968	Glasgow Citizens' Theatre	The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Bertolt Brecht)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Michael Blakemore	Leonard Rossiter, Steven Berkoff, Harold Innocent, Del Henney	^[2]
1968	Abbey Theatre Dublin	The Playboy of the Western World (J M Synge)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Thomas MacAnna	Vincent Dowling, Aideen O'Kelly	^[2]
1968	Trinity Square Repertory Company	Years of the Locust (Norman Holland)	Church Hill Theatre	Adrian Hall	Richard Kneeland	^[2]
1968	Traverse Theatre Club	Mourning Becomes Electra (Eugene O'Neill)	Traverse Theatre	Gordon McDougall	Judy Campbell, John Fraser, Valerie Saruff	^[2]
1968	Laboratory Theatre '13 Rows' Wroclaw	Acropolis (adapted by Jerzy Grotowski from the play by Stanisław Wyspiański))	11 Cambridge Street (former festival office)	Jerzy Grotowski		^[2]
1969	Prospect Theatre Company	Edward II (Christopher Marlowe)	The Assembly Hall	Toby Robertson	Ian McKellen, Timothy West, Diane Fletcher, James Laurenson	^[3]
1969	Prospect Theatre Company	King Richard the Second (William Shakespeare)	The Assembly Hall	Richard Cottrell	Ian McKellen, Timothy West, Paul Hardwick, Robert Eddison, Stephen Greif	^[3]
1969	Scottish Actors' Company	The Wild Duck (Henrik Ibsen)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Fulton MacKay	Robin Bailey, Brian Cox, Leonard Maguire, Una McLean, Anna Calder-Marshall	^[3]
1969	Bridge Productions Limited	ZOO ZOO Widdershins ZOO (Kevin Laffan)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Frank Dunlop	Lynn Redgrave	^[3]
1969	The Nottingham Playhouse Company	The Hero Rises Up (John Arden and Margaretta D'Arcy)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Bill Hays		^[3]
1969	The Nottingham Playhouse Company	Widowers' Houses (George Bernard Shaw)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Michael Blakemore	Robin Ellis, Nicola Pagett	^[3]
1969	Theatre on the Balustrade Prague	The Button and The Fools (Ladislav Fialka)	Church Hill Theatre	Ladislav Fialka		^[3]
1969	Stables Theatre Company	Would you look at them smashing all the windows (David Wright)	Church Hill Theatre	Barry Davis	John Fraser, André van Gyseghem	^[3]
1969	The Central Puppet Theatre Sofia	Prince Marko (Ivan Theofilov)	Church Hill Theatre	Ivan Theofilov, Ivan Tsonev		^[3]
1969	The Central Puppet Theatre Sofia	Pinocchio	Church Hill Theatre	Liliana Docheva		^[3]
1969	The Central Puppet Theatre Sofia	The Misanthrope (after Molière)	Church Hill Theatre	Liuben Grois		^[3]
1970	Prospect Theatre Company	Much Ado About Nothing (William Shakespeare)	The Assembly Hall	Toby Robertson	Timothy West, Julian Glover, John Castle, John Neville, Barbara Ewing, Sylvia Syms	^[4]
1970	Prospect Theatre Company	Boswell's Life of Johnson (Bill Dutton, Toby Robertson and Ian Thorne)	The Assembly Hall	Toby Robertson	Timothy West, Julian Glover, John Neville, Barbara Ewing, Sylvia Syms	^[4]
1970	Deutsches Theater und Kammerspiele (Staatstheater der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik)	Peace Die Frieden (Aristophanes)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Benno Besson	Klaus Piontek, Fred Düren, Elsa Grube-Deister	^[4]
1970	Royal Lyceum Theatre Company	Random Happenings in the Hebrides (John McGrath)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Richard Eyre	John Thaw, John Cairney	^[4]
1970	Royal Lyceum Theatre Company	The Changeling (Thomas Middleton and William Rowley)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Richard Eyre	Anna Calder-Marshall, David Burke, Arthur Cox, Bryan Stanyon	^[4]
1970	Teatro Libero Rome	Orlando Furioso (adapted from Ariosto by Edoardo Sanguineti)	Haymarket Ice Rink	Luca Ronconi		^[4]
1970	Leeds Playhouse Company	Henry IV (Luigi Pirandello translated by John Wardle)	Church Hill Theatre	Bill Hays		^[4]
1970	Royal Shakespeare Company	Pleasure and Repentance (Terry Hands)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Terry Hands	Janet Suzman, Martin Best, Barrie Ingham, Brewster Mason, Richard Pasco	^[4]
1971	Prospect Theatre Company	King Lear (William Shakespeare)	The Assembly Hall	Toby Robertson	Timothy West, Fiona Walker	^[5]
1971	National Theatre of Great Britain	The Comedy of Errors (William Shakespeare)	Haymarket Ice Rink	Frank Dunlop	Edward Jewesbury, Sam Kelly, Andrew Robertson, Gavin Reed, Joan Heal	^[5]
1971	Royal Lyceum Theatre Company	Confessions of a Justified Sinner (James Hogg adapted by Jack Ronder)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Richard Eyre	Russell Hunter	^[5]
1971	Bulandra Theatre Company, Bucharest, Romania	Carnival Scenes (I L Caragiale)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Lucian Pintilie		^[5]
1971	Bulandra Theatre Company, Bucharest, Romania	Leonce and Lena (Georg Büchner)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Liviu Ciulei	Ion Caramitru, Irina Petrescu	^[5]
1971	Long Wharf Theatre Company	You can't take it with you (Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Arvin Brown	Martha Schlamme, Joyce Ebert	^[5]
1971	Long Wharf Theatre Company	Solitaire and Double Solitaire (Robert Anderson)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Arvin Brown	Martha Schlamme, Joyce Ebert, Richard Venture, William Swetland	^[5]
1971	The Manhattan Project	Alice in Wonderland based on (Lewis Carroll)	11 Cambridge Street	André Gregory		^[5]
1972	The National Theatre of Great Britain present the Young Vic Productions	The Comedy of Errors (William Shakespeare)	Haymarket Ice Rink	Frank Dunlop	Andrew Robertson, Gary Bond, Denise Coffey, Joan Heal	^[6]
1972	The National Theatre of Great Britain present the Young Vic Productions	Bible One (Tim Rice with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber)	Haymarket Ice Rink	Frank Dunlop	Andrew Robertson, Gary Bond, Denise Coffey, Joan Heal	^[6]
1972	Citizens' Theatre Glasgow	Tamburlaine the Great (Christopher Marlowe)	The Assembly Hall	Keith Hack	Jeffery Kissoon, Mike Gwilym, Murray Salem, Paola Dionisotti	^[6]
1972	Citizens' Theatre Glasgow	Twelfth Night (William Shakespeare)	The Assembly Hall	Giles Havergal	Mike Gwilym, Ian McDiarmid, James Aubrey, Jonathan Kent	^[6]
1972	Hosho Noh Theatre	Sumidagawa, Kakiyamabushi, Hagoromo	Royal Lyceum Theatre			^[6]
1972	Hosho Noh Theatre	Kiyotsune, Boshibari, Ayanotsuzumi	Royal Lyceum Theatre			^[6]
1972	Cambridge Theatre Company with The Actors Company	Ruling the Roost (Georges Feydeau translated by Richard Cottrell)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Richard Cottrell	Moira Redmond, Tenniel Evans, Ronnie Stevens, Robin Ellis, Caroline Blakiston	^[6]
1972	Cambridge Theatre Company with The Actors Company	'Tis Pity She's a Whore (John Ford)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	David Giles	Ian McKellen, Felicity Kendall, Ronnie Stevens, Edward Petherbridge	^[6]
1972	Gruppo Sperimentazione Teatrale, Rome	Moby Dick (Mario Ricci after Herman Melville)	Church Hill Theatre	Mario Ricci		^[6]
1972	Théâtre Laboratoire Vicinal, Brussels	Tramp (Arthur Spilliaert)	The Gateway	Frédéric Flamand		^[6]
1972	Théâtre Laboratoire Vicinal, Brussels	Luna Park	The Gateway	Frédéric Flamand		^[6]
1973	The Royal Lyceum Theatre Company of Edinburgh	The Thrie Estaites (Sir David Lindsay)	The Assembly Hall	Bill Bryden	Roddy McMillan, Tom Fleming	^[7]
1973	The Royal Lyceum Theatre Company	The Knife (Ian Brown)	Lyceum Studio	John David		^[7]
1973	The Young Lyceum Company	Woyzeck (Georg Büchner)	The Assembly Hall	Radu Penciulescu		^[7]
1973	Prospect Theatre Company	Pericles (William Shakespeare)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Toby Robertson	Derek Jacobi, Marilyn Taylorson, Ronnie Stevens	^[7]
1973	The Actors Company	Flow (Gabriel Josipovici) and Knots (from the book by R. D. Laing)	Lyceum Studio	Edward Petherbridge		^[7]
1973	The Actors Company	The Wood Demon (Anton Chekhov translated by Ronald Hingley)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	David Giles	Robert Eddison, Tenniel Evans, Ian McKellen	^[7]
1973	The Actors Company	The Way of the World (William Congreve)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	David William	Edward Petherbridge, Tenniel Evans, Ian McKellen, Robert Eddison, Caroline Blakiston	^[7]
1973	Prospect Theatre Company	Don Juan in Love (devised by Kenny McBain)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Kenny McBain		^[7]
1974	The Actors Company	The Bacchae (Euripides)	The Assembly Hall	Edward Petherbridge	Mark McManus, Edward Petherbridge, Robert Eddison, Robin Ellis	^[8]
1974	The Actors Company	Tartuffe (Molière)	The Assembly Hall	Peter James	Windsor Davies, Edward Petherbridge, Charles Kay, Robert Eddison, Sheila Reid	^[8]
1974	Gothenburg City Theatre	Gustav III (August Strindberg)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Lennart Hjulström	Sven Wollter, Sten Ljunggren	^[8]
1974	Abbey Theatre Dublin	King Oedipus (Sophocles)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Michael Cacoyannis	Desmond Cave, Eamon Kelly, Gabrielle Reidy	^[8]
1974	The Mummenschanz Company		Church Hill Theatre		Andres Bossard, Bernie Schurch, Floriana Frasetto	^[8]
1974	The Performance Group	The Tooth of Crime (Sam Shepard)	Cambridge Street Studio	Richard Schechner	Spalding Gray	^[8]
1975	Prospect Theatre Company	Pilgrim (Jane McCulloch, adaptation and lyrics based on John Bunyan)	The Assembly Hall	Toby Robertson	Paul Jones	^[9]
1975	The Royal Lyceum Theatre Company of Edinburgh	How Mad Tulloch Was Taken Away (John Morris)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Bill Bryden	Roddy McMillan	^[9]
1975	Nottingham Playhouse Company	As you like it (William Shakespeare)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Peter Gill	John Price, Jane Lapotaire	^[9]
1975	Cooperativo Tiuscolano	Utopia (Aristophanes, adapted by Luca Ronconi)	Haymarket Ice Rink	Luca Ronconi		^[9]
1976	La Mama Company, New York	The Good Woman of Setzuan (Bertolt Brecht)	Moray House College	Andrei Serban	Priscilla Smith	^[10]
1976	La Mama Company, New York	Electra (Sophocles)	Moray House College	Andrei Serban	Priscilla Smith	^[10]
1976	La Mama Company, New York	Trojan Women (Euripides)	Moray House College	Andrei Serban	Priscilla Smith, Natalie Gray, Valois Mickens, Onni Johnson	^[10]
1976	Birmingham Repertory Company	Measure for Measure (William Shakespeare)	The Assembly Hall	Stuart Burge	Anna Calder-Marshall, David Burke, Bernard Lloyd, Peter Vaughan, Russell Hunter	^[10]
1976	Birmingham Repertory Company	The Devil is an Ass (Ben Jonson adapted by Peter Barnes)	The Assembly Hall	Stuart Burge	Anna Calder-Marshall, David Burke, Bernard Lloyd, Peter Vaughan, Russell Hunter	^[10]
1976	Oxford Playhouse Company	Pal Joey (music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart after the book by John O'Hara)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Philip Hedley	Bob Sherman, Pat Kirkwood	^[10]
1976	Bunraku, The National Puppet Theatre of Japan	Heike Nyogo no Shima (The Priest in Exile) and Sonezaki Shinju (The Double Suicide at Sonezaki)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Nanba Haruo		^[10]
1976	Bunraku, The National Puppet Theatre of Japan	Ehon Taikoki (The Exploits of the Tycoon) and Shimpan Utazaimon (The Triangular Love)	Royal Lyceum Theatre	Nanba Haruo		^[10]
1976	Gruppo Teatro Libero Rome	Masaniello (Elvio Porta and Armando Pugliese)	Moray House College	Armando Pugliese		^[10]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Edinburgh International Festival 1967. 1967.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Edinburgh International Festival 1968. 1968.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Edinburgh International Festival 1969. 1969.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Edinburgh International Festival 1970. 1970.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Edinburgh International Festival 1971. 1971.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Edinburgh International Festival 1972. 1972.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Edinburgh International Festival 1973. 1973.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Edinburgh International Festival 1974. 1974.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Edinburgh International Festival 1975. 1975.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Edinburgh International Festival 1976. 1976.

[Ed1967-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Edinburgh International Festival 1967. 1967.

[Ed1968-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Edinburgh International Festival 1968. 1968.

[Ed1969-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Edinburgh International Festival 1969. 1969.

[Ed1970-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Edinburgh International Festival 1970. 1970.

[Ed1971-5] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Edinburgh International Festival 1971. 1971.

[Ed1972-6] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Edinburgh International Festival 1972. 1972.

[Ed1973-7] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Edinburgh International Festival 1973. 1973.

[Ed1974-8] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Edinburgh International Festival 1974. 1974.

[Ed1975-9] Edinburgh International Festival 1975. 1975.

[Ed1976-10] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Edinburgh International Festival 1976. 1976.

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See also

References