Artistic Explosion

ROSS GRAHAM / EPIC SCOTLAND
OOO-AAH!: The festivals' offerings include fireworks

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The International Festival, which runs from Aug. 15 to Sept. 5, appeals to the highbrow set. This year's 160 performances include everything from a new production of Gluck's opera Orfeo ed Euridice to Paul Claudel's Le Soulier de Satin, an 11-hour epic play set in 15th century Spain. Both the Hanover State Opera and Cleveland Orchestra will be in town. And there's a major retrospective of Antony Tudor's choreography.

International Festival participants are formally invited, but any performer can enter the Festival Fringe provided a venue is available. This year's Fringe catalog lists more than 25,000 performances of nearly 1,700 shows, including theater from Montenegro and Kosovo, electronic music from France and comedy from Japan. School groups, amateurs and even a few professionals conjure up some very creative venues. Among last year's hits were Ladies and Gents, a play set in cleaned-up public toilets, and hourly poetry readings, magic shows and even short filmsall done in an elevator.

And there's always the chance that you'll stumble upon an up-and-coming hit. Jerry Springer The Opera debuted here in 2002 before heading on to London's National Theater and West End. This summer Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson, brings her one-woman show, My Life as a 10 Year Old Boy, to the Fringe. And Guy Masterton, who directed last year's hit Twelve Angry Men with a cast of comics, is back this year casting comics in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

Most festival events are within 20 minutes' walk of one another, and cabs and buses are fairly easy to find if you don't feel like walking. Brochures for the International Festival and the Fringe provide show running times to make it easier to plan your schedule. The larger venues have bars and restaurants, but expect some waiting even at Edinburgh's seemingly limitless supply of places to eat and drink. Cafes offer everything from South African smoked ostrich to fish and chips, often to go, and the main street is lined with parks for alfresco dining.

There are also restaurants in and around the upscale Sheraton Grand and Caledonian Hilton hotels, both well situated for the film festival and key International Festival events. Moderately priced hotels, bed-and-breakfasts and other housing are available in Edinburgh and environs. As always, it's a good idea to book hotels and restaurants as soon as you know you will be attending the events.

Experienced visitors like Sefton recommend purchasing tickets for International Festival events from home. Give yourself plenty of time for on-the-spot Fringe bookings. The Scotsman newspaper publishes a daily guide to the festivals, beefing up its regular staff with 10 free-lance critics, who review more than 600 Fringe events and everything at the International Festival.

"Talk to everyone in every line you're waiting in," suggests retired businessman Robert Wetzel from Portland, Maine. "Ask them what they've seen and what they've liked, because that's where the best recommendations come from. And if you hear a consistent buzz on something, move fast, because it will sell out."