Science Festival's new theatre experiment

Edinburgh International Science Festival comes to the home of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival to present six specially selected pieces of new theatre work. 

• Festival info, including ticketing and programme links

The Science Festival's first Scratch Theatre night takes place from 6pm on Wednesday 14 September at the Scottish Storytelling Centre as part of their Science in the Spotlight project, a partnership with Imaginate. 

The excerpts from the six new pieces of drama aim to show how science, technology and theatre can come together, and include: 

• 10,000 Mistakes - Two Detectives focus on why it's good to get things wrong
• Eaten - Mamoru Iriguchi presents a food focused performance which travels from nature to our dining tables
• Space Ape - The Story of Yorik - Andy Cannon, with Red Bridge Arts, takes a journey away from Earth with a piece inspired by the work of artist Kenny Hunter
• Towers of Babel - Urban Fox Theatre Company considers our responsibility to make ourselves heard
• After Words - Turnt explores how social media technologies have become integrated with the modern day grieving process
• Blue Cow - Alice Cooper looks at the hidden costs of contamination in a story that’s both humorous and dark.

Amanda Tyndall, Creative Director of the Science Festival said:

Edinburgh International Science Festival has long championed the value of linking science with the arts and we’re absolutely thrilled to be holding our first scratch theatre night as part of Science in the Spotlight. The response to our call for performers earlier this year was fantastic, and we are now able to present an exciting eclectic programme of performances across a range of topics.

This is not the first time the Festival has used drama as part of their work, with two very successful shows in March. Lost at Sea from Catherine Wheels Theatre Company was shortlisted for Best Production for Children and Young People in the Critics’ Awards for Theatre in Scotland (CATS), while Rob Drummond's Uncanny Valley went on to win the award.

Ms Tyndall continued: 

We know there’s a real appetite for this science-theatre crossover from our audiences and from critics, both of whom provided positive feedback on the two original Science in the Spotlight shows, which premiered at our 2016 Festival. By creating an opportunity for artists, theatre makers, scientists and science communicators to come together, we are aiming to set the stage for the development of some truly exceptional theatre pieces which have science at their heart.

The Science in the Spotlight Scratch Theatre Night takes place on Wednesday 14 September at the Scottish Storytelling Centre from 6pm (first performance starts 6.30pm). 

The next Edinburgh International Science Festival will run from 1–16 April 2017. The Festival’s established shows and performances programme will include a partnership with The Lyceum to present the Scottish premiere of Caryl Churchill’s A Number, directed by Zinnie Harris, at The Royal Lyceum Theatre from 6–15 April 2017.

Full details of the 2017 Science Festival programme will be available in February 2017.

Find out more about the Edinburgh International Science Festival here. Or let us help you start planning your 2017 visit.

Want news and features about Edinburgh's major festivals delivered straight to your inbox? 
Sign up for our regular enewsletters!