The BAFTA-nominated comedian is back on the road, bringing some of her favourite songs from the last fifteen years of her comedy career, alongside brand new stand-up. Whether you are a Speedy Boarder, a Girl With A Diamond Finger, a Gym go-er, or part of a Hen Doo On A Train, there is Something Profound for you in this Amazing show. *Come ready to sing along. A Capella may be included. Rachel Parris is best known for The Mash Report, and has appeared on Have I Got News For You, Mock The Week, Q.I, Would I Lie To You and Live at The Apollo. She is a regular on Radio 4's Just A Minute and I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue and she is also a cast-member and founder of award-winning improv show Austentatious.

Rediscover Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben, alongside new vocal works paying tribute to Canada’s Indigenous peoples and work by Gabriela Ortiz.In the second concert of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM), Rafael Payare invites audiences to a conversation across time with a powerful programme of music culminating in Richard Strauss’s sumptuous tone poem Ein Heldenleben. With a stirring battle episode, ardent love music and playful quotations from the composer’s earlier works, it is a musical self-portrait both mischievous and deeply moving that takes full advantage of the possibilities of a large orchestra.This monumental staple of the late Romantic period is paired with carefully selected contemporary pieces. Indigenous Canadian sopranos Emma Pennell and Elisabeth St-Gelais join the orchestra for two powerful new vocal works confronting history, memory and the lived experience of Indigenous communities in Canada today.Alongside these, Gabriela Ortiz’s cello concerto Dzonot summons an evocation of the subterranean rivers, caves and stunning wildlife of Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula. Ortiz, also featured in the LA Phil’s programme, described it as a ‘form of protest’ responding to our neglect of these valuable ecosystems. It was written for cello soloist Alisa Weilerstein, who plays with ‘directness and insight… technical prowess and depth of feeling’ (The Guardian).Together, they encourage audiences to approach Strauss anew, inviting questions on voice, identity, and our relationship to the natural world.Supported by Léan Scully Endowed Fund with additional support from The Québec Government Office in London

Roll up, roll up for theatre-maker Geoff Sobelle’s contemporary portrait of America as a falling-apart circus.Geoff Sobelle and his troupe of clowns have set up their 'beautiful big top' in the wreckage of America. The acrobats and the jugglers have long since left, leaving the clowns to run the show. Sobelle returns to the International Festival following his immersive, surprising productions, FOOD (2023) and HOME (2018).  Part-clown, part-magician, Sobelle creates hilarious and poignant work, whose impact can be ‘as disturbing as it is beautiful’ (The Scotsman). This time, Sobelle is joined by an army of clowns holding it together as best they can, performing the original score on questionable instruments.  Together, they invite you into a crumbling empire to witness the greatest show on earth before it disappears completely. It may be the USA’s 250th birthday this year, but Sobelle asks if the American Dream is better described as a deal with the devil. Supported by Sir Ewan and Lady BrownMostly non-verbal, with some spoken and sung English

Internationaal Theater Amsterdam reimagines Tony Kushner’s masterpiece in an epic performanceTony Kushner’s Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes is an epoch-defining work of American theatre. Set at the height of the AIDS crisis, yet enduringly relevant, we follow the story of two very different people grappling with their diagnoses – former drag queen Prior and vindictive lawyer Roy Cohn.Kushner has credited this radical reworking from director Ivo van Hove and Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA) as his favourite version of the play. Taking place on a minimal set accompanied by a David Bowie soundtrack, both parts of the play are combined into one epic performance.    Returning to the Festival after their innovative works, A Little Life (2022) and Penthesilea (2024), ITA presents another pioneering production showcasing their signature wit, stagecraft and incisive storytelling. Angels in America is a gripping and hilarious work reminding us that while change and death are inevitable, the choice to love can be transformative.   Supported by Sir Ewan and Lady Brown with additional support from Robin and Vivienne† Menzies and Performing Arts Fund NL Performed in Dutch with English surtitles 

Join us for an unconventional, dramatic, inquisitive and convivial conversation, inspired by our Festival theme.Edinburgh has long been a crucible for ideas. Two and a half centuries ago, pioneering thinkers like Adam Smith and David Hume mingled in coffeehouses, openly debated theories, and envisioned leaps forward in how we understand markets, morality, and the threads that bind human society.Today, the world faces challenges that demand the same combination of insight and imagination, and Edinburgh has become a festival city, spawning ideas and creativity that will shape our future.In collaboration with Professor Adam Dixon and Panmure House, the last home of Adam Smith, we are proud to present a bold new form of public discourse. Curated and hosted by Harvard University professor and award-winning author Sarah Lewis, alongside Festival Director Nicola Benedetti, the inaugural Global Ideas Stage will unite extraordinary thinkers and cultural leaders on stage at the newly refurbished King’s Theatre. Supported by James and Morag AndersonAdditional support for the Festival's return to the King's Theatre is provided by Sir Ewan and Lady BrownCreated in collaboration with Panmure House and Heriot Watt University.

Journey through music from Europe, Africa and the Americas, from the Baroque period and beyond.Jordi Savall has dedicated decades to the rediscovery and appreciation of early music, and his many accolades now include the 2026 Ernst von Siemens Music Prize (often called the Nobel Prize of Music), recognising a lifetime of outstanding contributions.  He returns to the Festival after previous performances with his versatile Hespèrion XXI ensemble.Hespèrion XXI is known for pioneering interpretations of repertoire from the medieval to the Baroque periods. They join Jordi Savall’s Catalan singers, La Capella Reial de Catalunya, and Mexican trio, Tembembe Ensamble Continuo, to connect musical languages and influences across Europe, Africa and the Americas.  The ‘sea of music’ honours the millions of victims of the global slave trade and speaks to the cultural legacy of migration and diaspora that shapes our world today. The programme explores Mexican and Spanish repertoire from the Baroque period and expands outwards to embrace music from the 15th to 19th centuries.Supported by the Embassy of Spain in London.

PART OF THE ANDERSON OPERA SERIESGreek tragedy meets modern psychology in Richard Strauss’s audacious opera. Elektra is determined to avenge the murder of her father Agamemnon by her mother Klytämnestra – but will Klytämnestra destroy her first?Strauss evokes his characters’ larger-than-life emotions through massive orchestral forces and daring harmonies. Wild, violent episodes such as the epic confrontation between Elektra and her mother contrast with moments of exquisite tenderness, as when Agamemnon’s son Orest returns to this most dysfunctional of family homes. Karina Canellakis – noted for her impressive ‘command of large-scale musical architecture’ (The Guardian) – conducts the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and an outstanding cast. Leading dramatic sopranos Iréne Theorin and Nina Stemme perform the virtuoso roles of Elektra and Klytämnestra.  The Anderson Opera Series, made possible by James and Morag Anderson, allows the Festival to bring internationally acclaimed opera to Edinburgh and ensures these unmissable performances remain accessible to the widest possible audience with additional support from the Embassy of Sweden in LondonSung in German with English surtitles

Cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and pianist Makoto Ozone join the Kleio Quartet for this unusual programme.The Kleio Quartet – BBC New Generation Artists and winners of the 2023 Carl Nielsen International Chamber Music Competition – made an ecstatically received Festival debut in 2024. Now the ensemble joins forces with star cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and genre-defying pianist Makoto Ozone to perform two great quintets. Franz Schubert’s String Quintet is one of the pinnacles of the chamber music repertoire. Completed just weeks before his death, it contains a world of emotions, from agitation to exuberance to serenity. Its poignant slow movement is especially beautiful. It is paired here with Béla Bartók’s rarely performed Piano Quintet. This early masterpiece blends the luscious melodies and textures of late Romanticism with elements of Hungarian folk music – especially in the rhapsodic finale. Supported by Niall and Carol Lothian with additional support from the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation

Join the LA Phil, conductor Gustavo Dudamel and singers from the Los Angeles Master Chorale for a feast of sonic beauty. The Grammy Award-winning partnership of Gustavo Dudamel, the LA Phil and singers from the ‘perennially superb’ (New Yorker) Los Angeles Master Chorale for the first concert of their International Festival residency, filled with rhythmic vitality and sonic beauty.Ludwig van Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony is irresistible, from the dignified and passionate theme of the second movement (a beloved choice for film soundtracks including The King’s Speech) to the sweep-you-off-your-feet melody of the finale.Dudamel has stated: ‘Gabriela Ortiz’s music speaks to both the body and the spirit, full of visceral primal rhythms and mysterious, soul-searching melodies’. Her glittering ballet score Revolución diamantina (Glitter Revolution) – inspired by Mexican feminist protests against state violence towards women – is a powerful and celebratory work. Ortiz, also featured in Voices of Canada, plays on repetition to evoke the tenacity and relentless pursuit needed to enact change. The LA Phil performs the UK/Scottish premiere of this piece, which they premiered in 2023.This is Dudamel’s 17th year as the LA Phil’s Music and Artistic Director – don’t miss the chance to experience their legendary partnership live.Supported by Dunard Fundwith additional support for this concert from Edinburgh Napier UniversitySung in Spanish with English surtitles 

Experience the first international exhibition from one of America’s premier cultural institutions, the Legacy Museum.Discover a comprehensive history of the legacy of slavery and racial injustice – from Scotland to America – in the first international exhibition from the Legacy Museum, based in Montgomery, Alabama.Tracking the tragic history of millions of enslaved Africans who were abducted and trafficked across the Atlantic to the Americas by European powers, the exhibition explores the myth of racial hierarchy that enabled slavery, lynching and segregation. This legacy continues to perpetuate racism today.The Legacy Museum is one of three national institutions created by human rights organisation, the Equal Justice Initiative. Founded by eminent civil rights lawyer, Bryan Stevenson, the Legacy Sites demonstrate that the power of history is in telling the truth.

We like to think vulnerability deepens empathy. From TED talks to philosophy, we celebrate it as the key to empathy and courage. Dr Adrianna Zabrzewska (Edinburgh Napier University) explores what happens when vulnerability isn’t gentle or liberating but exploited for political gain. Actively building your brain health or leaving it to chance? With growing evidence of the lifestyles and environments that are important, Professor Alan Gow (Heriot-Watt University) explores stacking the odds in favour of being brain healthy as we age.

Lew Fitz: Sweet Nothings (WIP) is a loose, unpredictable 50-minute work-in-progress where anything could happen and usually does. A Northern powerhouse with an engaging, reactive delivery, Fitz pulls apart the spirals, social glitches and self-inflicted nonsense that keeps life interesting. Winner of Amused Moose New Comedian of the Year, BBC New Comedy Award nominee, and voted in The Guardian and Dave TV's Top 5 Jokes of the Fringe, he brings writing that lands harder than it should at this stage. 'Quietly powerful storytelling... funny, frank and unexpectedly tender' (Chortle.co.uk). Chaos, craft and accidental honesty.