INNOVATIVE stage performers who use the country’s landscape as their own personal theatre are transforming an Edinburgh high school into the set for their newest Edinburgh International Festival production.

Grid Iron Theatre Company – which specialises site-specific and location theatre – will host immersive performances at Edinburgh’s Leith Academy for their new show, Muster Station: Leith.

The theatre company featured on the latest episode of the Scottish Land Commission’s ‘The Lay of the Land’ podcast. The podcast is part of the MyLand.Scot initiative which showcases prime examples of how land can be used in creative ways to make the most of Scotland’s buildings and landscape.

The performance will see the Leith school become a muster station amid an oncoming tsunami. The performers and audience will manoeuvre around the school throughout the show – including a scene in the school swimming pool.

Grid Iron utilises its surroundings in creative ways to help bring a concept or story to life, while challenging its audience to think about the land and its potential. Locations previously used to perform include Edinburgh Airport and the boat building islands of Norway.

Judith Doherty, Chief Executive at Grid Iron Theatre Company said: “To be able to transform spaces for major productions is incredibly exciting. Leith Academy has been a brilliant venue to work with and we’re looking forward to sharing this new show and concept with the festival audience.

“By using the resources Scotland has to offer, we’re able to create a unique production set that otherwise wouldn’t have been possible in your typical show setting. When you start to look closely, there is so much opportunity to maximise land and we can be guilty of taking this for granted.”

Returning to Edinburgh’s International Festival for a third year, Grid Iron’s production begins on Monday 15^th August at Leith Academy and runs until Friday 26^th August.

Founded in 1995, the theatre company has performed in woodland, playgrounds and derelict buildings.

Hamish Trench, Chief Executive of the Scottish Land Commission said: “Grid Iron Theatre Company is using creativity to make the most of Scotland’s land. By transforming settings around the country, it is encouraging its audience to experience land in completely new ways.

“Having featured on ‘The Lay of the Land’ podcast we are hoping that Grid Iron will inspire people, groups and communities to look differently at how land can be owned, managed and used and think creatively about the interesting and valuable ways to make the most of Scotland’s land.”

MyLand.Scot features a wide range of examples of how individuals and organisations have changed the land around them to transform their communities from social media savvy farmers to festival owners.

The Scottish Land Commission works to create a Scotland where everybody can benefit from the ownership and use of the nation’s land and buildings.

For more information on Muster Station: Leith, visit: https://www.eif.co.uk/events/muster-station-leith#dates-and-times

For more information on Grid Iron Theatre Company, visit: https://gridiron.org.uk/

For more information on MyLand.Scot, visit: https://myland.scot

Photography credits to Dunan McGlynn