Various venues across Edinburgh
The Edinburgh International Children’s Festival celebrates the best of children’s theatre and dance from around the world, showcasing high quality Scottish and international performances to an audience of children, their schools and families each year.
Featuring a mix of circus, dance, storytelling and theatre and with an emphasis on striking visual productions, the international programme aims to inspire and engage children, from toddlers to teenagers.
As the place for the celebration of quality theatre and dance for young audiences, the 2024 Festival will once again push boundaries, exploring the highs and lows of the human condition, while always considering the perspective and viewpoint of the child.
Featuring 14 productions that represent work from 9 different countries, this year’s programme explores timely topics such as the environmental crisis, consumerism, war and racial discrimination, all in a way that make them accessible to children.
Highlights from this year’s festival include:
- The accessible free Family Encounters day at the National Museum of Scotland on Saturday 25 May 2024.
- Intimate sensory works for babies, Univers and Be Kind, will delight young audiences with their beautiful design and gentle interactions.
- Family pleasers By Trial and Error, features a couple of hapless acrobats, and is sure to have children roaring with laughter at their circus antics.
- With a focus on the environment, TRASHedy looks at freedom of choice and our consumerist behaviour; An-Ki is an immersive promenade experience exploring greed and deforestation, and Shō and the Demons of the Deep is the tale of a river poisoned by nightmares which explores the impact one generation can have on the next.
- Black is an emotional dance performance chronicling the freedom movement and reflecting on the violence of being Black today, providing teenagers food for thought and an opportunity to discuss and reflect. All school pupils attending the show will take part in workshops exploring African urban dance styles and explore some of the themes of the show including racism and its relevance to Scotland.
All venues are family-friendly and wheelchair accessible. BSL interpretated, relaxed, captioned and audio described performances are available for a number of shows. The festival brochure is available in various formats, and additional information such as set, sounds, lighting and audience experience can be found on each show page of the website.
Running from 25 May to 02 June 2024, tickets for all shows are on sale now. For more information, to view the full programme and to book tickets see Edinburgh International Children’s Festival.
