THEATER, dance and music from the Far East are on show in East Scotland at the Edinburgh International Festival which began Aug. 12.

Festival director Jonathan Mills said he was trying to build an “exquisite bridge” between the cultures.

Mills said: “Asia’s culture should be every bit as important to us as its economies.”

He said it was important to understand the attitudes and philosophies of Asia.

Now in its 65th year, the international festival presents a rich program of classical music, theater, opera and dance in six major theaters and concert halls and a number of smaller venues.

“We have set a very big challenge to audiences but it is one they are responding to magnificently, with excitement.” Mills said. “Because I think people recognize that this year’s festival is a theme for our times.

“It is a real, important, relevant part of the lives we will all be leading in the next 20 to 30 years.

“Our future is not only in our own communities but it is also inextricably linked with communities across the Asian region.”

Among the highlights of the festival’s three-week run is “The Peony Pavilion,” based on a love story by one of China’s greatest writers Tang Xianzu, who died in the same year as William Shakespeare.

Mills said there was no one from Europe who had a more enduring influence on the East than Shakespeare.

The festival also features a Chinese version of “Hamlet,” a Korean take on “The Tempest” and a Taiwanese production of “King Lear.”

“The Revenge of Prince Zi Dan” is a Chinese translation of “Hamlet” but Mills said it was in the style of the martial arts films of Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan, both of whom studied traditional Beijing opera.

Wu Hsing-kuo’s “King Lear” is a one-man show, which Mills described as a “tour de force.”

The festival director also highlighted “Drought and Rain” from the Vietnamese choreographer Ea Sola.

It includes a group of women, now in their 70s, who sang to soldiers during the Vietnam war.

Another highlight is Stephen Earnhart’s adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s “The Wind-up Bird Chronicle,” which uses video and puppetry to bring to life the Japanese novelist’s work. (SD-Agencies)