Lanark: A Life in Three Acts
A young man arrives in a dying city with seashells in his pockets. He doesn’t know who he is, or how he got here. He goes by the only name he can think of: Lanark.
Yearning to belong, he meets Rima at The Elite Café and together they are propelled into an epic journey through time, space and consciousness as Lanark tries, fails and tries again to find happiness.
Lanark is a portrait of the outsider artist as a young man, an exploded life story like no other. This theatrical re-imagining of Alasdair Gray’s classic novel will take us from the Dragon Chambers to the Cathedral of Unthank, from post-war Glasgow School of Art to the sinister underground Institute, from the heavenly city of Provan to the hellish Elite Café, combining science-fiction, realism, fantasy, and playful storytelling.
In the nearly 35 years since publication, the ideas, politics and ambitions of Lanark have inspired generations of artists in Scotland and beyond. This new co-production with Edinburgh International Festival celebrates Gray's 80th year and continues a collaboration between Greig and Eatough which began with experimental theatre company Suspect Culture.
Lanark: A Life in Three Acts is a co-production between The Citizens Theatre and the Edinburgh International Festival in association with Graham Eatough and Sorcha Dallas.
Lanark will be staged at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh from 22 - 31 August. For more information, visit the EIF website.
Recommended for 14+ (scenes of a sexual nature) This production contains flashing and strobe lights
Dates
Previews15 & 17 Aug
Audio Described: 16 Sep, 7pm
Signed: 18 Sep, 7pm
Captioned: 19 Sep, 1pm
Wheelchair Access
Guide Dogs welcome
Induction Loop
Lanark Curtain Raiser
Sat 12 Sep, 5.15pm - 6.15pm
Director Graham Eatough and guests discuss the inspiration behind this new production.
Brunch With Lanark
Sat 19 Sep, 11am - 12.30pm
Discover more about how this new production by writer David Greig and director Graham Eatough has been brought to the stage
Includes buffet brunch.
REVIEWS
‘astonishing’
The Scotsman ★★★★★
‘Mind-bending and brilliant’
Scottish Daily Mail ★★★★★
‘astounding piece of theatre produced on an operatic and highly physical scale.’
Edinburgh Guide★★★★★
‘visually and aurally arresting’
The Observer★★★★
‘superbly drilled and exhilaratingly confident piece of ensemble theatre.’
The Financial Times★★★★
‘this is Scottish theatre at its peak of ambition and class.’
TV Bomb★★★★
‘Lanark is loud, large and visually stunning.’
The List★★★★
‘as hypnotic as it is strange and refreshingly unusual.
What’s On Stage
★★★★
‘all of the excitement and weight of a capital-letter Theatre Event.’
All Edinburgh Theatre★★★★
‘like a heady, unsettling, unpredictable dream.’
The Guardian★★★★
‘undeniably modernist and quintessentially Scottish’
The Telegraph★★★★
‘Lanark on stage is a fine tribute to the novel…appreciated both by those who know the book and others who might be tempted to give it a try.
British Theatre Guide★★★★
‘a moving elegy for life and art.’
The Herald★★★★
‘A landmark event’.
The Stage ★★★★
‘rich in exhilarating set pieces’
The Times★★★
PRESS
‘Gray’s presence in Glasgow is persistent and mercurial’ Graham Eatough and David Greig speak to the New Yorker about Gray’s iconic work Lanark
The New Yorker
“It is appropriate in Alasdair’s 80th year that this great novel gets to shine on the world stage.” Graham Eatough talks about bringing Lanark to Edinburgh International Festival. The Times
‘It’s wild and heroic’ Writer David Greig and director Graham Eatough describe the challenges that come with staging Lanark. The Guardian
The Citizens seemed like an ideal home for it, partly to do with the scale of the piece, but also because of its history and the cultural role it has played in the city. Director Graham Eatough talks about bringing Lanark to the stage. The Herald
”(Lanark is) like a great door opening in my mind, onto a different possible creative future.” Writer David Greig reveals his first impressions of Lanark to The Scotsman
”(Alasdair Gray) is a figure who made it OK to stay in Glasgow and have an international career”
Sorcha Dallas, art agent for Alasdair Gray on his influence in The List
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Cast & Creative Team
CREATIVE TEAM Adapted from the novel by Alasdair Gray Writer - David Greig Director - Graham Eatough Designer - Laura Hopkins Lighting Designer - Nigel Edwards Composer - Nick Powell Video Artist - Simon Wainwright Choreographer/Movement Director - EJ Boyle
Andy Clark George Drennan Sandy Grierson Jessica Hardwick Paul Thomas Hickey Louise Ludgate Helen Mackay Gerry Mulgrew Camrie Palmer Ewan Somers