Bargain preview tickets have been announced for one of the most hotly-anticipated shows of this year’s festival.

Special preview performances of The Bacchae will take place on Thursday 9th and Friday 10th August at 8pm. All seats are priced £10.

These are available from Hub Tickets, The Hub, Castlehill, Edinburgh, EH1 2NE, Scotland; telephone 0131 473 2000. Please note the preview tickets are not available online.

Edinburgh International Festival 2007 sees the world premiere of this new adaptation by David Greig and the National Theatre of Scotland of one of the greatest and most savage of all Greek Tragedies.

The Bacchae, directed by John Tiffany (Black Watch; Gagarin Way) opens at the Kings’ Theatre on Saturday 11th August.

Making a hugely anticipated return to the Scottish stage after sixteen years, Alan Cumming (Dionysus) is joined by a strong cast including, Tony Curran (Pentheus); Paola Dionisotti (Agave); Ewan Hooper (Cadmus) and Ralph Riach (Tiresias)

Savage, comic and intensely lyrical, The Bacchae powerfully dramatises the conflict between the emotional and rational sides of the human psyche. The magnetic young Dionysus returns home with his cult of female followers to exact his revenge, unleashing the full force of female sexuality on the city.

With a powerful all-female chorus and choreography by Frantic Assembly’s Steven Hoggett, The Bacchae is the second successive co-production between the Edinburgh International Festival and the National Theatre of Scotland following 2006’s popular Realism.

Alan Cumming’s most recent appearance on stage in the UK was in Bent at Trafalgar Studios, London, and on Broadway in The Threepenny Opera. He was seen on Broadway and at the Donmar Warehouse in his multi award winning role as Emcee in Cabaret.

In cinema his latest work includes producing and starring in Sweet Land. Other film roles include X Men 2, Eyes Wide Shut and Circle of Friends. His previous apperance on the Scottish stage was the Victor and Barry show In The Scud, which toured to the Tron Theatre, Glasgow; Cumbernauld Theatre; The Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh and the Kings Theatre, Glasgow.

Tony Curran was last seen on the Scottish stage in 1994 in a season at The Royal Lyceum, Edinburgh. He won Best Actor at the British Independent Film Awards for his role in Andrea Arnold ‘s Red Road. Recent films include: Shuttle, Miami Vice and The Good German.

Paola Dionisotti previous appearance in Scotland was in the role of Mrs Warren in Mrs Warren’s Profession at The Royal Lyceum. She won the Stage Award for Best Actress at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and Best Actress at the Evening Standard Awards for her role in Further Than The Furthest Thing.

Ralph Riach’s latest stage role was Talbot in the National Theatre of Scotland’s production of Mary Stuart. He has performed extensively on the Scottish stage including roles in Run for Your Wife, Lock Up Your Daughters, Dead Men and a Christmas Carol.

Ewan Hooper has recently finished playing in The Tempest at The Royal Exchange. Other theatre productions include: Stuff Happens (Royal National Theatre), Afore Night Come (Young Vic) and The Weir (Royal Court National Tour)