Joe GallopThe Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) will return this August as one of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe’s main venues, with 14 shows across theatre, music and comedy as part of an ongoing partnership with local venue and charity, Pleasance Theatre Trust.
EICC CEO Marshall Dallas said this year’s Fringe lineup is its most diverse ever. It follows the Pleasance’s Charlie Hartill Development Fund that it launched last year to support UK artists of colour through financing, mentorship and programming opportunities.
The shows include Fringe First award-winner Apphia Campbell’s solo show Black is the Color of My Voice, inspired by the life of Nina Simone and taking place 6-14 August, American civil rights production Woke (7-15 August), Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest? (10-15 August), and Jeremy Sassoon’s MOJO (16-22 August) that celebrates hits written by Jewish artists including Gershwin, to Bob Dylan, Burt Bacharach, and Amy Winehouse.
The festival comes after EICC has been operating as Edinburgh’s main vaccination centre since February, working in partnership with NHS Lothian.
Dallas said, “The team and I can’t wait to get back to doing what we do best – hosting large events and conferences. 2021 has been another tough year, and we all look forward to a return to being a fully functional conference centre over the next few weeks and months.
“We have a hard-hitting mix of shows that touch on issues like race and abuse, productions of the highest level which have received considerable critical acclaim.”
Pleasance Theatre Trust director Anthony Alderson said, “We’ll be presenting 14 shows in their venue during August including our fantastic Charlie Hartill Fund recipients and we really look forward to welcoming audiences back for live work.”