ACTOR John Hannah will make a return to Scottish theatre at this summer's Edinburgh Festival, which will be his first stage appearance in his home country for 25 years.
The Scottish star will appear in Bulgarian playwright Hristo Boytchev's play, The Titanic Orchestra, during it's UK debut.
Though he returned to the stage in London last year after a six-year hiatus, the star has not treaded the boards in his native Scotland since he first started making a name for himself.
Hannah, 53, first rose to prominence in films such as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Sliding Doors and The Mummy.
He has had a notable television career appearing in programmes such as Touch of Cloth, Atlantis, Spartacus and Cold Blood, as well as playing the first incarnation of Ian Rankin's titular Inspector Rebus ahead of Ken Stott.
He graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama -- now renamed the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland-- after a three-year acting course in 1985. His fellow alumni include James McAvoy and Robert Carlyle.
Speaking at the time of proposed cuts to the Conservatoire in 2008, Hannah said of the institution: "For me, the training at the academy was invaluable. I wouldn't have been able to go straight into the profession without it."
"The staff there are quite special in the sense that they have not necessarily gone through the establishment and gone on to study to become teachers. Most of them have been working in the profession and understand how it works."
During his early acting career, he made stage appearances in Scotland in the late 1980s and early 1990s in plays at the Citizens Theatre and The Tron.
But this role will be his first appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe since studying at the RSAMD.
The East-Kilbride born star will need to learn magic tricks and optical illusions for the new show, where he plays a Harry Houdini-type character who confronts four tramps at an abandoned railways station.
His appearance is expected to be one of the biggest draws to the festival in August, and he is one of the most high-profile Scottish stars to appear for many years.
Taking place at the Pleasance Courtyard from August 5 to August 31, tickets for the show will go on sale tomorrow, Monday May 11, via the Edinburgh Fringe website.
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