Edinburgh International Festival: The 2023 programme

“Where do we go from here?”

This is surely a question that comes to mind daily for anyone with an eye on the arts in Scotland, which seems to be constantly under the cosh thanks to thirteen years of precarious funding under Tory rule and ever-spiralling costs for venues, artists and audiences thanks to the cost of living crisis. It's also the question Edinburgh International Festival’s new director, Nicola Benedetti, is asking as she launches her inaugural edition centred around this theme.

So as the 76th Edinburgh International Festival programme is announced today, where is the festival headed? Benedetti has described her vision for the 2023 event as being to deliver the “deepest possible experience, with the highest possible performances, to the broadest possible audience”. Certainly there is no doubt about the second claim. As ever, the International Festival will be bringing some of the most exciting names in theatre, opera, dance and classical music to Edinburgh this August, with artists from 48 nations and six continents represented in the programme.

Theatre at EIF

The Threepenny Opera. Photo: EIF

First to catch the eye from this year’s theatre crop is Dusk from Brazilian director Christiane Jatahy. Described as a merging of theatre with cinema, Dusk is inspired by Dogville, Lars von Trier’s 2003 film – itself inspired by theatre and taking place on a black box soundstage. The play follows a young Brazilian woman fleeing her quasi-fascist country and finding refuge in a community of theatre artists putting on a stage version of von Trier's movie.

We also love the sound of Thrown, a collaboration between movement specialist Nat McCleary and ‘king of post-modern panto’ Johnny McKnight. This National Theatre of Scotland show follows five wildly different women as they prepare to take part in the obscure art of Scottish backhold wrestling at the Highland Games. “It will be funny, it will be loud, it will be brutal,” promises McKnight.

Thrown runs for the whole of the Festival, as does The Lost Lending Library, a site-specific, immersive show for young audiences with big imaginations from the always inventive theatre company Punchdrunk Enrichment. The show involves the young audience helping find new stories for a giant travelling library. Older fans of immersive theatre should head to FOOD, the new piece from renowned clown Geoff Sobelle. The show takes the form of a dinner party and explores how and why we eat.

Expect some more clowning – ​​as well as puppetry, mime and video – in Dimanche, which takes an absurdist look at humanity’s stubborn refusal to face up to the ongoing climate crisis. Cheek by Jowl return to the Festival with their first Spanish-language production: their take on Spanish classic Life is a Dream from Basque dramatist Pedro Calderón de la Barca.

Opera and Dance at EIF

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater © Dario Calmese

In terms of musical theatre, The Berliner Ensemble present their take on The Threepenny Opera by the company's founder, Bertolt Brecht. Theatre of Sound look to have a fresh approach to on Béla Bartók’s classic Bluebeard’s Castle: they imagine Bluebeard and Judith as an aging couple dealing with the spectre of dementia. Mozart’s evergreen The Magic Flute is brought to life again by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Chorus, and a highlight of the opera offerings looks to be Trojan Women, a new work from the National Changgeuk Company of Korea and Singaporean director Ong Keng Sen blending Greek tragedy with pansori, an ancient Korean form of musical storytelling.

The Festival’s dance programme is also overflowing. Highlights look to be the arrival of the hugely popular Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, who bring two programmes: one with classic pieces choreographed by their founder, Ailey, and one showcasing newer choreographers; both will feature the troupe’s signature piece, Revelations. Pina Bausch’s take on Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring was first performed at the Festival in 1978 – it’ll be resurrected this year with a company of dancers assembled from 14 African countries and paired in a double bill with new performance common ground[s].

Classical Music

As ever, classical music makes up a huge chunk of the Festival. Three headline orchestras come to town for mini-residencies designed to allow Benedetti’s vision of the Festival's deeper engagement within Edinburgh’s community, with the added bonus of reducing the environmental impact per performance. The Budapest Festival Orchestra will respond to the theme “community over chaos” and a highlight of their stint in Edinburgh looks to be their laidback presentation of Dvořák’s Eighth Symphony, which will be performed in the round and will see audience members scattered among the musicians on beanbags.

The London Symphony Orchestra's residency draws on the theme of “hope in the face of adversity” and the Simón Bólivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela also comes to town with their young team ensemble, made up of musicians aged 18 to 25; their theme is “a perspective that’s not one’s own”.

The Oslo Philharmonic and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra are also in town, and the orchestral series kicks off with the Scottish premiere of Tan Dun’s Buddha Passion. Dun, the Oscar-winning composer of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero, will conduct. Beyond these showstopping symphonic concerts, there are more intimate recitals planned as part of the ever-popular Queen’s Hall series.

Contemporary Music at EIF

Cecile McLorin Salvant. Photo: courtesy of the artist

On a first glance at the Festival’s 2023 lineup, the one area that looks reduced (especially compared to the riches of recent editions) is the contemporary music programme. The Festival's loss of Leith Theatre – easily among the best venues for live music in Edinburgh – also diminishes the gig offerings. A night of the dreamy electronic pop from the brilliant Alison Goldfrapp, for example, will feel slightly more sedate (and significantly less danceable) in The Playhouse.

The contemporary lineup is nothing but eclectic, with artists from all over the world on the bill. Highlights include electronic producer Matthew Herbert, bringing his curious new project Horse, which is performed on an instrument crafted from a horse’s skeleton. There's a visit from the great sitar musician Anouska Shankar, while Japanese folk singer-songwriter Ichiko Aoba makes her Scottish debut, playing with a local string quartet at Queen’s Hall. There’s also more inventive folk in the form of the Irish group Lankum.

Detroit-born bassist Endea Owens takes a break from being part of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s house band to present two vibrant shows of jazz standards and original compositions, including a new work specially commissioned by the Festival taking inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr’s final speech, ‘I’ve Been to the Mountain’. Lady Blackbird has emerged as a hugely exciting talent following her debut album Black Acid Soul, which takes influence from greats like Billie Holiday, Gladys Knight and Chaka Khan; she'll be lighting up Festival Theatre.

Velvet Underground legend John Cale will also be in Edinburgh, as will the popular singer-songwriter Jake Bugg and the multi-Grammy winning jazz vocalist Cécile McLorin Salvant. The latter will perform two shows, including the Festival’s opening night with Ogresse, a song cycle about the titular monster who “falls in love, eats the guy, and dies”. Colour us intrigued.

The Festival’s bookend celebrations seem to be more low-key affairs this year. Taking place in Princes Street Gardens, the opening is described as "a celebration of professional and community music-making" featuring a mix of live music from professional and amateur musicians. The closing sees the Festival take over Charlotte Square, which will be filled with a soundscape of classical music recorded at various concerts across the Festival. There will also be a whole host of events, films, concerts and talks taking place throughout August at The Hub, the Festival’s HQ on the Royal Mile. Benedetti describes the space as “the Festival’s green room that’s open to all of us”.

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Edinburgh International Festival takes place 4-27 August, at venues across Edinburgh. For the full Edinburgh International Festival lineup and to purchase tickets, head to eif.co.uk