A play in which an actor will read a script for the first time is part of the Edinburgh Festival season this year.
Nassim, by Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour, will see an actor opening a sealed envelope on stage and following its instructions, with no rehearsals or preparation, every night of its run at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh.
The play, part of the theatre's festival season which features eight world premieres and five Scottish premieres, will feature a different actor on stage every night, and conversation with the playwright after every performance of the show, which runs from August 4-27.
Nassim follows his show White Rabbit Red Rabbit, which was translated into 15 languages and performed more than 1000 times, including by Ken Loach and Whoopi Goldberg, which similarly involved a script not seen by an actor before.
The 2017 Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme is officially launched this week, on Wednesday morning.
The Traverse programme also includes Meet Me At Dawn, a play about loss by Zinnie Harris, The Whip Hand, a world premiere of a new play by Douglas Maxwell, a "blistering" family drama set in Glasgow, Letters to Morrissey by Gary McNair, as well as Locker Room Talk, also by McNair, inspired by President Donald Trump's leaked aggressive sexual comments to an interviewer.
The season also features Nina, a show about Nina Simone coming to Scotland after a sold-out run at London's Young Vic Theatre, Adam, directed by Cora Bissett, based on the true story of a young trans man living in Scotland after growing up in Egypt which will feature a 120-strong virtual choir.
The season also features Eve, written and performed by Jo Clifford as well as, among other shows, Party Game, which will be staged at the Edinburgh College of Art's Wee Red Bar.
In it, every audience member will be a party guest, and "no two audience experiences will be the same."
Orla O’Loughlin, Artistic Director of the Traverse, said: "We live in unpredictable times as the world pitches and shifts on a daily basis.
"An often frightening reality has become our new normal.
"We believe that at such times theatre has a crucial role to play in sounding a rallying cry for those who seek to resist the divisive and the unjust.
"This year’s carefully selected and proudly international line up represents a timely opportunity for our audience to gather and bear witness and feel part of a community that believes change is possible.
"Along the way there will be laughs a plenty, tears no doubt, surprises and provocation but overall this year’s programme speaks resolutely to the power of now and the responsibility we all have to come together even in times that seem to be hell bent on tearing us apart."
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