Edinburgh International Festival to put America in spotlight for 2026
The ‘All Rise’ theme will feature the largest-ever representation of American artists ever seen at Edinburgh’s prestigious festival
Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) has announced its full programme for 2026, with the theme ‘All Rise’ aiming to examine the ideas and impact of the US. Inspired by the 250th anniversary of American independence, festival director Nicola Benedetti described a goal to ‘remythologise’ a US story that reaches beyond American exceptionalism towards contradictory narratives of freedom, ingenuity, prejudice and hypocrisy.
Across 24 days of performance, the festival will mount 147 performances from across the globe, including its largest-ever representation of American artists. At a time when American hegemony is being interrogated, the festival’s theatre programme will offer perhaps the most incisive dialogue with US culture. The King’s Theatre (which will reopen as EIF begins) will mount two productions on America: a five-hour staging of Tony Kushner’s Angels In America from International Theatre Amsterdam, with direction from Ivo Van Hove; and Geoff Sobelle’s Clown Show, a new satire about a travelling circus which promises to skewer the modern American Dream.
In music, EIF will host its first-ever jazz residency from the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra, when its founding artistic director, Wynton Marsalis, plans to step down after four decades in the job. They’ll lead the opening concert with more than 200 performers onstage for a performance of Duke Ellington’s pioneering Black, Brown And Beige, as well as an exclusive collaboration with famed pianist Yuja Wang, who’ll perform new arrangements by the orchestra and Marsalis.
The wider music programme will include work from the Dunedin Consort; Scottish pipes player Brìghde Chaimbeul; the National Youth Orchestra Of The United States Of America; the Sinfonia Of London; and Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, who’ll perform two concerts with conductor and music director, Rafael Payare, Jordi Savall, Hespèrion XXI, La Capella Reial de Catalunya and Tembembe Ensamble Continuo to honour the millions of victims of the transatlantic slave trade.
In dance, the San Francisco Ballet will mount the European premiere of Mere Mortals, a reimagining of the Greek myth of Pandora’s Box that will comment on humanity's relationship with AI. Renowned electronic musician Floating Points will perform his score for the piece live, alongside the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Also on the bill is Ihsane, from double Olivier Award-winning choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui; When Prophecy Fails, which explores collective belief through the psychology of a 1954 UFO doomsday cult; and Dan Daw’s EXXY, a reclaiming of space for disabled artists.
Other highlights from the programme include talks and exhibits on the legacy of slavery; brand-new opera The Galloping Cure, which reflects on the US opioid crisis; Palestinian theatre company Khashabi Theatre’s Al-Sirah Al-Hilaliyyah (The Epic Of Bani Hilal), which reimagines an epic poem through physical theatre and live music; a reimagining of Bertolt Brecht’s The Seagull performed in Flemish Sign Language; a suite of classical concerts, with 23 concerts at Usher Hall and 21 intimate recitals at The Queen’s Hall; and a contemporary music programme which includes corto.alto, Camilla George, and an all-female group collaboration presented by the Aga Khan master Music Programme.
Nicola Benedetti, festival director, Edinburgh International Festival said: ‘Our 2026 Edinburgh International Festival is an invitation to All Rise. It’s a rallying cry to artists and audiences to stand with us, in our belief that through artistic endeavour we will see each other more truthfully and more tolerantly. Marking 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, we put America firmly in the spotlight.
‘A nation whose ideals of freedom sit alongside deep hypocrisy, we are all drawn to its extreme possibilities because they reflect the aspirations and shortcomings, we recognise in ourselves. The American story is filled with innovation and ingenuity, perseverance and prejudice – tensions that have fuelled some of the most extraordinary artistic achievements in history.
‘This year’s programme brings together over 2,000 artists across opera, music, theatre and dance and through their voices we will confront complexity with curiosity and openness. At moments of uncertainty, the arts offer a space to gather, to question and to imagine differently. Join us this August as we rise together – through the dark, the dazzling, the challenging and the transformative. In doing so, we celebrate not only artistic excellence, but the resilience and flourishing of the human spirit.’
Edinburgh International Festival, various venues, Friday 7–Sunday 30 August; main picture: Maria Baranova.