For three weeks in August, Scotland’s capital becomes an unparalleled celebration of the performing arts and an annual meeting point for people of all nations. The International Festival presents a programme featuring the finest performers and ensembles from the worlds of dance, opera, music and theatre.
Our impact extends beyond the annual programme: our community learning and engagement and professional development programmes run throughout the year, reaching the widest possible audiences and contributing to the cultural and social life of Edinburgh and Scotland.
The 2025 Festival invites audiences to examine their relationship with truth through a curated programme of music, dance, theatre and opera. The pursuit of truth is an essential part of being human, but today this search for meaning is precarious, fractured and abused. Through the lens of this year’s theme The Truth We Seek, the International Festival presents contemporary reflections on the world alongside time-honoured tales, a place where fact meets faith and fiction.
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Come and enjoy an afternoon filled with Burlesque, Drag, and Cabaret at at The Lab in CC Blooms!
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Come and enjoy an afternoon filled with Burlesque, Drag, and Cabaret with Red Hot Kitty Burlesque and Cabaret in the fabulous atmosphere at The Lab in CC Blooms!
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Loud Poets invite poets to share their work at their regular open mic, taking place monthly at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.
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Dr Bonk, Scotland's silliest surgeon, presents the Macarbaret: a madcap hour of drag, burlesque, music, comedy, and medical mayhem!
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Join Madame Mabh for her haunted house party at the Banshee Labyrinth, featuring both classic cabaret acts and unusual happenings!
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Kevin Quantum invites you to an intimate and quite astonishing evening of magic, mystery and wonder in one of Edinburgh’s most historic and enchanting hotels - The Caledonian!
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Edinburgh's only all king show brings you a very exciting first - a competition at Leith Arches on 12th & 19th November!
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Scottish Opera presents L'heure espagnole & The Bear a new double bill of two comedies of infidelity directed by Jacopo Spirei!
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Improvised, macabre tales featuring (voluntary!) members of the audience as actor, writer and tour guide Alex Staniforth invents a horror story every night at Stand Up Horror!
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