Traverse Theatre announces Edinburgh Fringe line-up

The Traverse Theatre has announced its 2017 Edinburgh Fringe programme, which includes eight world premieres.

The theme for this year's programme, which runs in the 70th anniversary year of the festival, is for narratives which are often silenced or side-lined. A new play by Zinnie Harris – Meet Me at Dawn – will premiere, directed by the Traverse artistic director Orla O'Loughlin. The piece follows what happens when two women wash up on a distant shore after a boating accident and is inspired by the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.

Douglas Maxwell will also premiere his new play The Whip Hand at the Traverse, which is set in Glasgow during Dougie Bell's 50th birthday celebrations. The piece looks at power and privilege through the prism of a tense family thriller.

Letters to Morrissey is also one of the world premieres in this year's line-up. Running as part of the Made in Scotland Showcase and in association with Tron Theatre, the piece is the third in a trilogy of works by Gary McNair about growing up in working class Scotland.

McNair also runs Locker Room Talk at the Traverse, which is a two performance event happening over one day. Inspired by Donald Trump's leaked sexually aggressive comments, McNair will relay conversations between men and boys about women and relay them via headphones performed verbatim by women.

Josette Bushell-Mingo will perform her play Nina – A Story About Me and Nina Simone following the show's run at the Young Vic Theatre. Adam is the world premiere of a piece from National Theatre of Scotland, directed by Cora Bissett and written by Frances Poet. It is based on the performer Adam Kashmiry – the actual performer of the piece – and his true story of being a young trans man. The show features a 120-strong virtual choir.

Playwright Jo Clifford presents Eve, staged by the National Theatre of Scotland which looks at the trans experience from the 1950s to the present day, reflecting Clifford's own life journey.

Soho Theatre team up with Malthouse Theatre to bring Wild Bore to the Traverse, performed by Zoe Coombs Marr, Ursula Martinez and Adrienne Truscott. The political performance dissects critical reactions to their works.

Returning to the Fringe festival is Iranian theatre-maker Nassim Soleimanpour, whose White Rabbit Red Rabbit was performed by people including Whoopi Goldberg and Ken Loach. His new piece Nassim has a different actor taking to the stage with the playwright, and being presented with a sealed envelope.

Included in the line up is Jess and Joe Forever, which opened at the Orange Tree Theatre in 2016, Lilith: The Jungle Sister from Sisters Grimm, Bristol Old Vic's The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk, Inua Ellams' An Evening with an Immigrant and Dive Queer Party’s Rainbow Soapbox.

Off site, the Traverse will stage Frogman, from Curious Directive, which is a coming of age thriller weaving live theatre and film, and Party Game, an immersive audience experience where every audience member becomes a party guest.

Commenting on the season, Traverse boss O'Loughlin 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."