Edinburgh International Festival 2024: Top Picks

Please right back 
The Studio, 2-11 Aug, times vary

Award-winning company 1927 return to the EIF with a bold production that combines handcrafted animation and imaginative storytelling, to tell the wild adventures of the mysterious Mr E, inspired by the writer-director's own childhood.

 

Carmen
Festival Theatre, 4-8 Aug, times vary 

Opéra-Comique’s new production of Georges Bizet's classic tale of love, passion and jealousy. The international cast is joined by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Louis Langrée, Music Director of the Opéra-Comique.

 

Songs of Bulbul
The Lyceum, 9-11 Aug, times vary 

Renowned dancer Aakash Odedra returns to the International Festival with a new fusion, and nuanced dialogue, between the Indian classical dance form Sufi Kathak and Islamic poetry. Within this performance, the bulbul myth symbolises the fleeting nature of dance and existence itself. 

 

Youssou N’Dour 
Usher Hall, 13 Aug, 8pm

‘The undisputed king of Senegalese music’ arrives in Edinburgh for his second International Festival performance, mixing ancient traditions with eclectic world influences, as well as a combination of the languages of Wolof, French and English.

Hamlet
The Lyceum, 15-17 Aug, times vary

Peruvian theatre company Teatro La Plaza presents a re-imagined Hamlet, infusing Shakespeare's tragedy with joy and mystery. Departing from tradition, this production features a cast of eight actors with Down's Syndrome, incorporating personal anecdotes alongside Shakespearean dialogue. 

 

The Marriage of Figaro
Festival Theatre, 16-18 Aug, times vary 

Komische Oper Berlin and director Kirill Serebrennikov revamp Mozart’s satirical opera under the musical direction of James Gaffigan. Set within a single tumultuous day – the eve of Figaro and Susanna's wedding – Count Almaviva's philandering threatens to disrupt their marital bliss. 

 

Balimaya Project
The Queen's Hall, 20 Aug, 8.30pm

The Mandé jazz superband, founded by percussionist and virtuoso djembe player Yahael Camara Onono, are known for their unique style, which combines the history and tradition of Mandé culture with the energy of London. Their second album When The Dust Settles, places emphasis on bandleader Camara Onono’s lived experience of grief and fatherhood.

 

Fire in My Mouth 
Usher Hall, 21 Aug, 8pm

Conductor Marin Alsop, the Philharmonia Orchestra and the female voices of the National Youth Choir of Scotland come together for the first UK performance of Julia Wolfe’s impassioned elegy for the victims of New York’s 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, which stole the lives of 146 garment workers.

 

After the Silence 
The Studio, 21-24 Aug, 8pm

Director Christiane Jatahy combines the cinematic and theatrical to search into the enduring impact of structural racism and the historical scars of slavery in Brazil, her native country. After the Silence, making its UK debut, chronicles the trials of three Afro-Brazilian women as they defend their community, reclaim their land, and advocate for their people. 

 

Assembly Hall
Festival Theatre, 22-24 Aug, 7.30pm

Presenting its Scottish premiere, Crystal Pite and Jonathan Young’s latest creation merges Arthurian-inspired cosplay with contemporary dance. Within a dilapidated community hall, a gathering of mediaeval re-enactors convene for their Annual General Meeting amid dire circumstances. 

 

Bat for Lashes
The Queen's Hall, 23 Aug, 8.30pm

Natasha Khan – better known as Bat for Lashes – brings her brand-new conceptual project to the EIF. New album The Dream of Delphi, named after her young daughter, explores her experience of motherhood during the Covid-19 pandemic, weaving together ten song poems.