Director unveils festival line-up

Bieito's A Masked Ball in London came in for heavy criticism

The world premiere of a play based on a controversial novel about sex tourism in Thailand is to be staged at the Edinburgh International Festival.

Platform by novelist Michel Houellebecq is to be adapted by Catalan director Calixto Bieito.

It is part of the programme announced for this year's festival, the last with Sir Brian McMaster as director.

Other shows include Mozart's The Magic Flute, Chekov's The Three Sisters and Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida.

There will also be a ballet production of Don Quixote by choreographer George Balanchine.

Bieito is one of the great directors in the world today and he's going to be adapting a very popular book, which has made a huge impact so far Brian McMaster Edinburgh International Festival director

Joint productions are being staged with the National Theatre of Scotland, the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House.

Sir Brian said: "The Edinburgh International Festival is one of the most exciting places in the world to experience the performing arts, enabling us to present world class experiences to the widest possible audience.

"Bieito is one of the great directors in the world today and he's going to be adapting a very popular book, which has made a huge impact so far."

The director is renowned for his X-rated productions.

New experiences

This year's festival runs from Sunday 13 August to Sunday 3 September, with tickets going on sale on 8 April.

People aged under 26 will get the chance to snap up unsold tickets on the day of the performances for £6, while 50 tickets priced at £10 per head will be kept back until an hour before each show.

Sir Brian added: "The festival constantly evolves, re-imagining itself each year to bring new experiences to audiences and creating new initiatives such as the Lloyds TSB Scotland Concerts."

These will take place over nine evenings in August and consist of three hour-long performances each night at 1730 BST, 1930 BST and 2130 BST.