THE Royal Lyceum Theatre is to once again collaborate with the Edinburgh International Book Festival this summer.

Three books are to be adapted by the theatre, as part of its new season, and be staged at the festival on 10, 17 and 24 August.

This year’s titles are This is Memorial Device by David Keenan and adapted by Graham Eatough with music from The Pastels, Under Another Sky by Charlotte Higgins and adapted by David Greig, and Women Talking by Miriam Toews and adapted by Linda McLean.

Keenan’s This is Memorial Device, is set in a former mining village just east of Airdrie in 1980s Scotland, is a fictional history of local post-punk band Memorial Device.

Under Another Sky was written after the author set out to explore the Roman occupation of Britain in her VW camper van.

After the 45-minute performance, the actors, musician and director are joined on stage by Higgins to discuss – among other things – how the Caledonians viewed the Roman invaders.

Miriam Toews’s story of oppression and resistance in a Bolivian Mennonite community, Women Talking, will be presented as the final instalment of the Playing with Books programme.

After the show the creative team will be joined on stage by Toews herself for a discussion about the ideas in the book.

www.lyceum.org.uk

BYRE Opera, the University of St Andrews opera company, is to perform at the University’s biomass plant.

The £25m plant on the east side of the former paper mill site houses a biomass boiler which uses sustainable fuel from sources across Scotland to produce hot water. This water is then pumped four miles underground to St Andrews where it heats University buildings.

The company will perform Vaughan Williams tragic operatic tale Riders to the Sea and the European premier of Madeleine Dring’s dark comic opera Cupboard Love. A cast made up of students and recent graduates will perform the operas, both to be sung in English, in the large open space of the plant on June 18-20.

Michael Downes, director of music at the university, said: "We hope the experience of performing close to audiences in an unusual context will draw a new intimacy and level of detail in performance from our singers, while also encouraging new people to attend our productions."

Byre Opera was formed in 2008 to provide stage experience for students, with guidance from performing arts professionals.

The company performs in St Andrews every summer, before touring.

www.st-andrews.ac.uk

THE Glasgow Filmmakers Alliance has announced that Chris Quick will take over as director of the organisation in July.

Quick, who currently serves as the deputy director, will take over the role from Andrew O'Donnell who announced last month he was standing down after nearly eight years in the position.

The Glasgow Filmmakers Alliance is an online database of film and TV professionals based in and around the city of Glasgow.

Mr Quick said: "It is a great privilege to be taking over from Andrew at the Glasgow Filmmakers Alliance. Whilst I don't anticipate being in the role for as long as Andrew has, in my time as director I will strive to make sure that the GFA continues to be a useful tool for independent filmmakers and that we continue to support our emerging talent."

Quick studied television production at the Glasgow Metropolitan College and ran the post production branch of Quick Off The Mark Productions from 2009 to 2016. His editing credits include In Search of La Che, The Greyness of Autumn, Electric Faces and Mountain which he won the Best Editor accolade for at the Dublin Independent Film Festival in 2018.

www.glasgowfilm.co.uk