Edinburgh International Festival: 2016 line-up

Gigs from Sigur Rós and Godspeed You! Black Emperor and a digital art project at Edinburgh Castle soundtracked by Mogwai are among the highlights from this year's Edinburgh International Festival programme.

Icelandic post-rock outfit Sigur Rós will play a pair of shows at this year's International Festival, while Montreal collective Godspeed You! Black Emperor will perform their live score to dance piece monumental by The Holy Body Tattoo. GY!BE will also play a one-off gig at the Edinburgh Playhouse during this year's Festival, while Senegalese legend Youssou N’Dour and Amelie soundtrack composer Yann Tiersen also play rare Edinburgh shows, and Sam Beam of Iron & Wine is joined by Jesca Hoop for a show at The Hub.

Deep Time kicks off this year's EIF on 7 August – the digital artwork from 59 Productions, the team behind last year's Harmonium Project event, will feature projections cast against the side of Edinburgh Castle and Castle Rock, with a new soundtrack from Mogwai. The Glasgow band will also perform their soundtrack to Mark Cousins' Atomic alongside a screening of the film as part of a series of gigs showcasing contemporary Scottish music, with shows from Young Fathers, Emma Pollock, Yorkston/Thorne/Khan, Karine Polwart and Hopelessness, Antony and the Johnsons lead singer ANOHNI's collaboration with Hudson Mohawke and Oneohtrix Point Never. 

In theatre, National Theatre of Scotland premiere new work Anything That Gives Off Light, Vanishing Point present The Destroyed Room and Interiors, and the hit Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie plays at the King's Theatre. Elsewhere there is new work from Scottish Ballet and a trio of Shakespeare productions from across the globe to mark the 400th anniversary of The Bard's death, while actor and performer Alan Cumming will take up a cabaret residency at The Hub throughout the Festival. 

Announcing this year's programme, EIF director Fergus Linehan said: "The International Festival is an invitation from the people of Scotland to people from all over the world to join us in an unparalleled celebration of creativity, virtuosity and originality. The calibre, ambition and passion of the artists and ensembles in this year’s programme, combined with Edinburgh’s electric Festival atmosphere, will make for an unforgettable experience for newcomers and International Festival veterans alike."

Tickets for the 2016 Edinburgh International Festival go on sale on Sat 16 April at 10am.