Xinhua 20 August Edinburgh (Reporter Guo Chunju), Chinese adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tragedy of Coriolanus premiered in the Playhouse in Edinburgh, Scotland on the night of 20th August. The perfect combination of classic dialogue, stage performance and modern heavy metal rock gave a visual and auditory feast to an audience of about 3,000 people.

      The drama was directed by the Beijing People's Art Theatre with a plot centering on a Roman noble, Martius, the main character starred by Pu Cunxin. This is the first play staged in the hometown of Shakespeare among the various Shakespeare's plays directed by Lin Zhaohua. The three-hour performance was in Mandarin with English supertitles, and the cast included many Chinese people working and studying in the UK.

      Edinburgh International Festival Director Jonathan Mills told Xinhua that the performance was spectacular, and that he was glad to bring productions of this scale across continents to the audience.[C1] It has been said that Mr. Mills visited Beijing four times to discuss details of the play concerning its staging in the UK.

      Lord Provost of the City of Edinburgh Donald Wilson recognized the good combination of Shakespeare's works with the heavy metal bands. Principal of University of Edinburgh Timothy O'Shea also lauded the performance as amazing.

      Deputy Speaker of the Scottish Parliament, John Scott, Chinese Ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming and Consul General to Edinburgh, Li Ruiyou watched the performance.

      Invited by the Edinburgh International Festival, which took place from 9 August to 1 September, the Tragedy of Coriolanus participated in the Festival and was scheduled to give a second performance on the night of the 21st. Established in 1947, the Edinburgh International Festival is continually ranked as one of the most important cultural celebrations in the world. Its annual programs are known to be featured with classical music, opera, theatre and dance of the highest standard.

      Ambassador Liu was talking with Deputy Speaker of the Scottish Parliament John Scott on the sidelines of the Premiere.