We are proud to announce the initial shows within an incredible programme for this year's Traverse Festival.
TravFest 2023 sees the iconic festival and fringe venue showcase an incredible programme of brilliant and bold theatre. In its place at the heart of the Edinburgh Festivals, the Traverse marks 60 years of evolution, innovation, and conversation. Celebrating the cultural voice of the nation by staging a home-grown programme of work, with the Traverse company name to appear across 8 shows in this dynamic and thrilling programme.
On the Traverse 1 stage is an ambitious world premiere from the Traverse Theatre Company, The Grand Old Opera House Hotel by Olivier-award winning sensation Isobel McArthur. Hot on the heels of touring two smash-hit shows across the UK, McArthur delivers an extraordinary, brand-new ensemble comedy exploring how art can bring us together in the most hopeless of circumstances. The Grand Old Opera House Hotel marks McArthur’s debut original play, which takes us into a sumptuous world filled with the joy and exuberance of her signature writing style. Directed by Traverse Artistic Director Gareth Nicholls, with Composition and Musical Supervision by Michael John McCarthy, The Grand Old Opera House Hotel is sure to be one of the most talked about productions in Edinburgh this August.
At the forefront of this year’s Festival is work that the Traverse has originated, supported and championed. After a critically acclaimed run in April, hit show Sean and Daro Flake It ‘Til They Make It by Laurie Motherwell, directed by Robert Softley Gale, will burst onto the festival scene, serving a generous helping of Scottish humour and a heart-warming story of friendship and flakes.
Groundbreaking, critically acclaimed new work After The Actfrom Breach Theatre, co-produced by New Diorama in association with Traverse Theatre, gets its first outing in Scotland after a recent box office breaking run in London.
Traverse Theatre will also present Northern Powerhouse representatives, the return of the sensational Bloody Elle from Lauryn Redding – for a limited run only - which will burst onto the stage after playing London’s Soho Theatre throughout July, and Things Hidden Since The Foundation Of The Worldfrom The Javaad Alipoor Company and HOME, Manchester.
We are delighted to be welcoming back NASSIMby Nassim Soleimanpour in the final week, which has been touring and connecting with audiences across the globe since it debuted at the Traverse Festival in 2017. Audiences can expect to see famous faces from stage and screen - including some Traverse stalwarts from our illustrious 60 years – as they join NASSIM to share in the telling of this illuminating story of connection.
Traverse 2 will present Scottish premieres of Culture Ireland supported work, Celtic compatriots Fishamble’s Heavenby Eugene O’Brien, directed by Jim Culleton, and Lie Low from Ciara Elizabeth Smyth & Prime Cut Productions, directed by Oisín Kearney. We are delighted to welcome the finest talent from Scotland, No Love Songs directed by Dundee Rep Artistic Director Andrew Panton, from Dundee Rep in association with Traverse Theatre Company, featuring songs by The View’s Kyle Falconer. And Edinburgh International Festival presents, as part of its programme, the National Theatre of Scotland production Thrownby Nat McCleary, directed by Jonny McKnight.
We are proud that in the rich mix of Traverse productions is Cora Bissett’s What Girls Are Made Of, co-produced by Raw Material, which will play at the Assembly Rooms for the full festival. Finally, Traverse 3 audiences can enjoy an array of innovative digital theatre through our Chronic Insanity Residency, with an anthology of 5 thrilling works to explore.