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PRESS RELEASE
WORLD PREMIERE
The TEAM, the National Theatre of Scotland and Edinburgh International Festival
present
Anything That Gives Off Light
Written by Rachel Chavkin, Davey Anderson, Brian Ferguson, Sandy Grierson and Jessica Almasy
Directed by Rachel Chavkin with Associate Director Davey Anderson
Cast is Jessica Almasy, Brian Ferguson, Sandy Grierson and Martin Donaghy
Music and lyrics by The Bengsons, performed live by Annie Grace, Maya Sharpe and Cat Myers
Designed by Nick Vaughan, lighting design by Chahine Yavroyan, sound design by Mat Hubbs
From 18 - 26 August 2016 at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre
Press Performance on Thursday 18 August at 7.30pm
Every light casts a shadow...
Anything That Gives Off Light uses the Scottish Enlightenment as a lens through which to examine
the contrasting and overlapping national myths of Scotland and America. This co-production marks
the debut of the TEAM at the Edinburgh International Festival and reunites the TEAM with the
National Theatre of Scotland, who previously collaborated on the award-winning Architecting at the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2008.
Written collaboratively, Anything That Gives Off Light, is led by Rachel Chavkin, Artistic Director of
the TEAM, and Davey Anderson, whose work as Associate Director with the National Theatre of
Scotland includes Enquirer, To Begin, Black Watch and Home. The production features a transAtlantic and Scottish cast with Brian Ferguson, Sandy Grierson and Jessica Almasy. At selected
performances Martin Donaghy will feature in the ensemble.
Anything That Gives Off Light follows the story of a Scottish man who, after years of living in
London, catches the sleeper train north to the heart of Scotland for a homecoming he's been putting
off for years. In a pub, an American woman drinks alone, trying to remember who she is while
forgetting where she came from. When their paths collide they set off on a tour of the Highlands,
slipping through the cracks between present and past, waking and dreaming, the real and the
imagined. But as they shed the layers of their national identities, the ghosts of dead philosophers,
crofters, cowboys, myth-makers and soothsayers get ever closer.
The production features live music from the Scottish-American folk tradition, performed by
celebrated Scottish folk and rock musicians Annie Grace, Cat Myers and Maya Sharpe with original
music and lyrics composed by acclaimed musical US duo The Bengsons.
This foot-stomping collaboration is performed with the TEAM’s trademark athletic theatrical style
exploring the tension between self interest and sacrifice and the individual and the collective in the
pursuit of life, liberty and happiness.
The TEAM is a Brooklyn-based ensemble dedicated to creating new works about the experience of
living in America today, crashing American history and mythology into modern stories to illuminate
the current moment. Recent productions in the UK include RoosevElvis at the Royal Court Theatre,
London (2015) and Mission Drift at the National Theatre in London (2013).
The National Theatre of Scotland and the TEAM reunite, having previously collaborated on the
award-winning Architecting in 2008, which premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe before touring
to the Barbican Centre, London, and to Europe, the US, and Canada. Turning attention to the
relationship between Scotland and the USA, Anything That Gives Off Light brings a mix of
performance and live Scottish and American folk music to tell the tale of two nations reshaping,
rebuilding, and wrestling with their own identities and heritage. An early version of this production
was shared as a work in progress, billed as "The Scottish Enlightenment Project," at the Edinburgh
Festival Fringe in 2014. This is the TEAM’s first production at the Edinburgh International Festival,
having previously visited the Edinburgh Festival Fringe on five occasions, winning four
Scotsman Fringe First Awards, a Herald Angel, an Edinburgh Total Theatre Award, and the Edinburgh
International Festival Fringe Prize in 2011.
This is the eighth partnership between Edinburgh International Festival and the National Theatre of
Scotland. Previous productions at the Festival include Dragon, Paul Bright’s Confessions of a Justified
Sinner, The Bacchae, 365, Realism and Caledonia. The James Plays, premiered at the Festival in 2014
and completes a major UK and international tour in June 2016.
Rachel Chavkin, Artistic Director of the TEAM says
The TEAM has always been obsessed with the gap between inherited mythology and lived
experience. And the Enlightenment ideals of personal liberty and self-determination are responsible
for both the most utopian and most divisive American values today, embodied in our first and second
amendments, i.e. freedom of speech and the right to bear arms.
As our Scottish friends and their country were wrestling with the possibility of independence and the
question of what kind of democracy they wanted to be, it seemed like the perfect time to begin a
collaboration about parallel national and personal narratives.”
Join the conversation: #Anythingthatgivesofflight
Full ticket info available : www.nationaltheatrescotland.com www.eif.co.uk
Emma Schad - Press Manager – [email protected]
Tel: +44 (0)227 9016 M: +44 (0)7930 308018
Joe Blythe – Press Officer – [email protected]
Tel: +44 (0)227 9497 M: +44 (0) )7500 258 404
Edinburgh International Festival Press contact:
Liz Wallace, Media Relations Manager at Edinburgh International Festival
[email protected]: +44 (0)131 473 2020 M: +44 (0)7708 795 320
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Follow the National Theatre of Scotland’s press office on Twitter @NTS_press
Press Images: there is a selection of images for current productions available for download from
www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/press - please contact the press office for a password.
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NOTES TO EDITORS

The National Theatre of Scotland is dedicated to playing the great stages, arts centres,
village halls, schools and site-specific locations of Scotland, the UK and internationally. As
well creating ground-breaking productions and working with the most talented theatremakers, the National Theatre of Scotland produces significant community engagement
projects, innovates digitally and works constantly to develop new talent. Central to this is
finding pioneering ways to reach current and new audiences and to encourage people’s full
participation in the Company’s work. With no performance building of its own, the Company
works with existing and new venues and companies to create and tour theatre of the highest
quality. Founded in 2006, the Company, in its short life, has become a globally significant
theatrical player, with an extensive repertoire of award-winning work. The National
Theatre of Scotland is supported by the Scottish Government.
www.nationaltheatrescotland.com

About the Edinburgh International Festival - Every August, the world’s greatest artists
gather in the stunning city of Edinburgh for the International Festival. For three exhilarating
weeks the city becomes an international cultural epicentre with the finest creators and
performers from the worlds of classical music, theatre, opera and dance from around the
globe offering intense, personal and exciting experiences to those who come from Scotland,
the UK and overseas.

As a vibrant, innovative and energetic organisation, involved in commissioning and
producing new work from the very best artists working internationally, while also nurturing
grass roots arts engagement on its doorstep, the Festival contributes to many aspects of life,
be it culture, economy, education and society, and enhances the lives of people not just in
Edinburgh and Scotland, but around the world.

The Edinburgh International Festival runs from 5 – 29 August 2016. The full Festival
Programme will be announced on Wednesday 6 April 2016, with tickets on sale to priority
bookers from this date, and to the general public on 16 April.

The TEAM is a Brooklyn-based ensemble dedicated to making new work about the
experience of living in America today. Crashing American history and mythology into modern
stories to illuminate the current moment, the company combines aggressive athleticism
with emotional performances and intellectual rigor, keeping the brain, eyes and heart of the
audience constantly stimulated.
Founded in 2004, The TEAM has created and toured 9 works at venues throughout the
world, including London’s National Theatre, Edinburgh’s Traverse Theatre, the Public
Theater and PS122 in New York, Lisbon’s Culturgest, the Salzburg Festival, the Perth
International Arts Festival, Hong Kong Arts Festival, Minneapolis’ Walker Art Center, and
A.R.T. in Boston.
The TEAM are four-time winners of The Scotsman Fringe First Award, Winner 2011
Edinburgh International Festival Fringe Prize, 2011 Herald Angel, 2008 Edinburgh Total
Theatre Award, Best Production Dublin Fringe 2007, and were nominated for a 2012 Drama
League Award for Outstanding Musical. The TEAM was cited on “Best of 2013″ lists on 3
continents, and is a recipient of the American Theatre Wing’s 2014 National Theatre
Company Grant. www.theteamplays.org
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ARTIST BIOGRAPHIES 2016
Davey Anderson – Associate Director – Anything That Gives Off Light
Davey has previously worked for the National Theatre of Scotland on Enquirer, Architecting (as
Associate Director), Peter Pan and Be Near Me (as Musical Director), Black Watch (as Associate
Director – Music), Transform Orkney: Mixter Maxter (as Co-Director), Rupture and Snuff (as
Writer/Director). In 2006-07 he was the Company’s Director in Residence. As a writer, Davey’s plays
include Blackout, Scavengers, Playback, Clutter Keeps Company, Liar and Wired. In 2010-11 he was
Associate Playwright with the Playwrights’ Studio, Scotland. Davey has also worked as
Composer/Musical Director for the Donmar Warehouse, the Tron Theatre, Scottish Youth Theatre
and Lazzi. He was supported by the Arches Award for Stage Directors in 2005.
Rachel Chavkin –Director- Anything That Gives Off Light
Rachel Chavkin is a director, writer, dramaturg, and founding Artistic Director of Brooklyn-based
experimental ensemble the TEAM, with whom she has co-authored and directed 9 works, which
have been seen all over NYC (including the Public Theater and PS122), nationally (including the
Walker Art Center and A.R.T.), and internationally (including the National Theatre and Royal Court in
London, and festivals across Europe, Australia, and Asia). She collaborates regularly with writers and
composers on new work, including Dave Malloy’s Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 (Ars
Nova World Premiere, off-Broadway transfer, A.R.T., Broadway transfer upcoming; New York Times,
Time Out NY, and NY Post Critics' Pick), folk singer Anaïs Mitchell’s Hadestown (NYTW, Spring 2016),
Chris Thorpe's Confirmation (2014 Scotsman Fringe First, national and international tour), Bess
Wohl's Small Mouth Sounds (New York Times Top 10 2015), and Marco Ramirez's The Royale (Lincoln
Center, Old Globe).
Sandy Grierson – writer/performer - Anything that Gives Off Light
Sandy Grierson trained with David W.W. Johnstone of Lazzi and Zofia Kalinska of Ariel Teatr and is an
artistic associate with Vanishing Point.
Theatre credits include: Doctor Faustus (Royal Shakespeare Company); The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor
Cutler, Saturday Night, The Beggar’s Opera, Subway, Mancub, Lost Ones (Vanishing Point); Home,
Little Otik, Dunsinane (National Theatre of Scotland); Comedy of Errors, Twelfth Night,The Tempest,
The 13 Midnight Challenges of Angelus Diablo (RSC); My Arm, Tonight Sandy Grierson Will Lecture,
Dance and Box, Rhetoric (Greyscale); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Headlong); Cherry Blossom,
Zorro (Traverse); Gagarin Way (Theatre Royal Bath); Fergus Lamont (Communicado); The Soul of
Chien-nu Leaves Her Body (Young Vic); The Fourth Estate (Wildcat).
Writing credits include The Beautiful Cosmos of Ivor Cutler, Tenet, Tonight ___ ___ Will Lecture,
Dance and Box, Subway, Little Otik, and Oresteia . TV/Film credits: Outlander, The Ones Below, Night
People.
Jessica Almasy – writer/performer – Anything that Gives Off Light
Jessica Almasy is a cofounding member of the TEAM, for the past twelve years devising and
performing the roles of The Experiment / Richard Nixon (Give Up! Start Over!), Hamlet (a Thousand
Natural Shocks), Dorothy (Particularly in the Heartland), Margaret Mitchell (Architecting), Joan
(Mission Drift), and most recently a protest music cover band iteration of herself (Primer for a Failed
Superpower). She is also a writer and is a cofounding member of the wook taut majesty, a writing
cohort with playwrights Kate Benson, William Burke, and Cara Scarmack.
American theatre credits include Benson's A Beautiful Day in November on the Banks of the Greatest
of the Great Lakes; harunalee's WarLesbian and Dog Gone Day; Stephanie Ryan Johnstone and Josh
Gelb's Sometimes in Prague; PigIron and Toshiki Okada's Enjoy; Bess Wohl's Small Mouth Sounds;
and Built For Collapse's Red Wednesday.
As an audiobook narrator, Jessica has recorded the published titles of hundreds of authors and is the
honored recipient of two Audie Awards, several Golden Earphones, and a Golden Voice recognition
for her contributions to the field. TV: Law and Order: SVU; and the all American spokeswoman for
Friendly's Ice Cream. Film: Noise, with Tim Robbins; Unconscious, with Ben Walker and Peter
Friedman.
Martin Donaghy – Cast – Anything that Gives Off Light
Martin trained at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and is the 2016 winner of the Citizens Theatre
Christina Chalmers Award for most promising new actor. Theatre credits include Ring Road
(Traverse/Oran Mor), Macbeth (Southwark Playhouse), Feverdream: Southside, Rum and Vodka, A
Christmas Carol, Hamlet (Citizens, Glasgow) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bard in the Botanics).
Television credits include The Secret Agent (BBC).
Brian Ferguson – writer/performer– Anything that Gives Off Light
Brian trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. His previous work with the
National Theatre of Scotland includes Dunsinane (with the Royal Shakespeare Company), Black
Watch, Rupture and Snuff (with Arches, Glasgow). Other recent theatre work includes Brideshead
Revisited (English Touring Theatre/York Theatre Royal), The Broken Heart, The Changeling
(Shakespeare’s Globe), Hamlet (Citizens, Glasgow), Adler & Gibb (Royal Court, London), Threeway
(Edinburgh Festival Fringe / Invisible Dot), The Game Show (Bush Theatre), The Aztec Trilogy, Richard
III, Shakespeare in a Suitcase (Royal Shakespeare Company), Money (Arches, Glasgow), Earthquakes
in London (National Theatre of Great Britain), The Dark Things, The Guard (Traverse, Edinburgh) and
The Drawer Boy (Tron, Glasgow). His film work includes Imagine That King, Residue, Voices and The
Woods. His television work includes Line of Duty, Our World War, Taggart, River City, The Prayer,
Doctors and Field of Blood.
ENDS