Festival Theatre Listings

Upcoming shows at the Festival Theatre

Festival Theatre
13/29 Nicolson Street EH8 9FT. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000
Website: www.capitaltheatres.com

Click on the name of the show to go to its ticketing site.

NB: The Festival Theatre has now re-opened in line with Scottish Government advice. Patrons will be asked to check in to Scotland Test and Protect on arrival and everyone over the age of 5 will have to wear a mask while in the theatre. Full details here: welcomeback.

Tickets for productions which were cancelled or re-scheduled because of Covid should have now been either refunded or re-allocated to the new performance. Patrons who have to cancel tickets due to Covid should call Box Office on 0131 529 6000 to arrange a refund. Details of how to do this are here: welcomeback.

2022

January 2022

Ballet Black
Friday 14 Jan 2022. Postponed due to latest Covid regulations.

Ross Noble: Humournoid
Saturday 15 January 2022. Postponed Sun 27 Feb due to latest Covid regulations.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Wed 19 – Sun 23 January 2022 Performances postponed to February 16 – 20.

The Addams Family
Tue 25 – Sat 29 January 2022. Production rescheduled to the 14 to 18 June 2022.

February 2022

Paul Carrack: GOOD and READY tour
Sunday 6 Feb 2022
Evening: 7.30pm.
Paul Carrack, one of the most revered voices in music and a figurehead of soulful pop for decades, will return to the delight his legions of admirers, performing 24 dates across the UK on the GOOD and READY tour 2022. Book here.

Dick & Angel: Dare to Do It ‘So much more to say’
Mon 7/Tue 8 Feb 2022
Evening: 7.30pm.
Dick & Angel Strawbridge, the stars of Channel 4’s Escape to the Chateau are on the road again on their ‘Dare to do it’ Tour with so much more to say. During this highly entertaining evening, the duo explains who they are, where they have come from, how they met and why they dared to do it! Book here.

Rambert: Aisha and Abhaya
Thurs 10 – Sat 12 February 2022
Evenings: 7.30pm.
An intense, intoxicating theatrical rush, fusing dance, film, sound and music. Rambert’s fearless dancers take centre stage performing Sharon Eyal’s fierce, pulsating choreography to an original soundtrack of driving techno from Ori Lichtik and GAIKA. Book here.

JIMEOIN Turn It Up
Sun 13 February 2022
Evening: 7.30pm.
An evening of world-class comedy from the Irishman internationally celebrated as one of live stand-up’s true masters. He’s a hugely loved and much respected comedian, with a wide appeal and a cheeky, no-gimmicks and superbly observed sense of humour that has his audiences in stitches across the UK, Europe, USA and of course Australia. Book here.

Bring It On The Musical
Tue 15 – Sat 19 February 2022 Tour Cancelled.

Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Wed 16 – Sun 20 February 2022
Eves Wed – Sat: 7.30pm; Mats Thur, Sat: 2.30pm; Sun: 1pm & 5pm.
Enter a world of magic and fantasy as Disney’s classic movie makes its world premiere as an exciting new musical with the original Sherman Brothers’ songs, new music and lyrics by Neil Bartram and abook by Brian Hill. Directed by Glasgow’s own Vox Motus: Candice Edmunds and Jamie Harrison. Book here.

Burn the Floor
Saturday 26 February 2022
Evening: 7.30pm.
Kevin Clifton and the sensational worldwide Ballroom dance company Burn the Floor return with a bang in 2022! This fiery, energetic and revolutionary Ballroom production will, once again, set stages alight and show audiences why it is still the world’s leading Ballroom show after more than two decades. Book here.

Northern Ballet’s Pinocchio
Sun 27 February 2022 – rescheduled to the King’s theatre.

Ross Noble: Humournoid
Sunday 27 February 2022
Evening: 8pm
What happens when pure comedy takes human form? What happens when a creature is created and bred to do stand up? Nobody knows because that isn’t a thing. What is a thing is Ross Noble doing a show. You can come and see it. This is it. Book here.

March 2022

Scottish Opera – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Tue 1 – Sat 5 Mar 2022
Tue, Thurs, Sat: 7.15pm.
Dominic Hill, Artistic Director of the Citizens Theatre, returns to Scottish Opera to bring his Shakespearean expertise to bear once more. Joined by designer Tom Piper, famed for the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red installation at the Tower of London, he promises to enchant and entertain with Britten’s beguiling work.  Book here.

Fat Friends – The Musical
Mon 7 – Sat 12 Mar 2022. Tour cancelled due to Covid.

Hannah Gadbsby – Body Of Work
Sun 13 March 2022
Evening: 7.30pm.
In 2018 the ground-breaking Netflix special, Nanette, changed things for Hannah, but she stuck with stand-up comedy, writing and touring the critically acclaimed Dougla – and recording it for Netflix just in time for well…the rest of 2020. Since then she’s been bunkered down in Oz, sheltering from a global pandemic and pondering what was next.
 That ponder is now a show… Book here.

Six
Tue 15 – Sun 26 March 2022
Tue- Thu: 8pm, Fri 6pm & 8.30pm; Sat 2.30pm & 8pm, Sun 2pm
From Tudor queens to pop princesses, the six wives of Henry VIII finally take to the mic to tell their tales, remixing five hundred years of historical heartbreak into a 80-minute celebration of 21st century girl power. These Queens may have green sleeves but their lipstick is rebellious red. Book here.

Oi Frog & Friends
Thurs 17 – Sun 20 March 2022
Thu 1pm & 4pm, Fri 10.30am, Sat 10am & 12noon, Sun 10am
It’s a new day at Sittingbottom school and FROG is looking for a place to sit, but CAT has other ideas and DOG is doing as he’s told. Little do any of them know that chaos is coming… Based on the bestselling books by Kes Gray and Jim Field.  Book here.

Remembering The Oscars
Sunday 27 March 2022
Evening: 7.30pm.
Aljaz and Janette will be returning with their brand new show. Celebrate the Oscar-winning songs in this exhilarating new dance spectacular with Strictly’s favourite couple and a cast of amazing dancers and musicians and stunning stage designs, costumes and huge LED screen. Book here.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
Tue 29 Mar – Sat 2 Apr 2022
Evenings 7.30pm Matinees Thu & Sat 2.30pm
Jamie New is sixteen and lives on a council estate in Sheffield. Jamie doesn’t quite fit in. Jamie is terrified about the future. Jamie is going to be a sensation. Supported by his brilliant loving mum and surrounded by his friends, Jamie overcomes prejudice, beats the bullies and steps out of the darkness, into the spotlight. Book here.

Balletboyz Deluxe
Sun 3 April 2022
Evening 7.30pm.
Bold, boisterous and beautiful: BalletBoyz are back. Meet the six extraordinary young dancers who feature in this explosion of mesmeric dance, fused with the witty and distinctive BalletBoyz trademark use of film and behind the scenes content. Book here.

April 2022

Beautiful – The Carole King Musical
Tue 5 – Sat 9 April 2022
Tue – Sat: 7.30pm; Weds, Thurs, Sat: 2.30pm.
The story of Carole King’s rise to stardom, from hawking her songs at 1650 Broadway, to creating hit songwriting team with Gerry Goffin, to becoming one of the most successful solo acts in popular music history. Book here.

Magic Goes Wrong
Wed 13 – Sat 16 April 2022
Evenings 7.30pm; Mats Thurs, Sat: 2.30pm.
Back with their biggest comedy catastrophe to date, multi award-winning Mischief (The Play That Goes Wrong, BBC One’s The Goes Wrong Show) return to the stage with their hilarious new show created with magic legends, Penn & Teller.. Book here.

Northern Ballet’s The Great Gatsby
Thurs 21 – Sat 23 April 2022
Evenings: 7.30pm; Mats Thurs, Sat: 2.30pm.
Mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby has a penchant for lavish parties and beautiful women. As the sparkling façade of his world begins to slip, the loneliness, obsession and tragedy that lies beneath is revealed in one of Northern Ballet’s most treasured productions.Book here.

Jimmy Carr: Terribly Funny
Sunday 24 April 2022
Evening: 8pm.
Mr Carr has some jokes about all kinds of terrible things. Terrible things that might have affected you or people you know and love. But they’re just jokes – they are not the terrible things. Having political correctness at a comedy show is like having health and safety at a rodeo. Book here.

Singin’ in the Rain
Tue 26 – Sat 30 April 2022
Evenings: 7.30pm; Mats Weds, Fri, Sat: 2.30pm.
A smash-hit at Chichester and in the West End, Jonathan Church’s acclaimed production is back to make a splash. Andrew Wright’s high-energy choreography and Simon Higlett’s sumptuous set design combine with the charm, romance and wit of one of the world’s best- loved films. Book here.

May 2022

Trixie Mattel
Sunday 1 May 2022
Evening: 8pm
Major pop culture figure, stand up comedian and musician with talents that defy classification. Trixie’s tour is an exciting electro-folk reinvention. Expect to feel that you’ve landed in a PeeWee Herman video, with some surf rock and a love for 60’s country music. Book here.

Ballet Black
Wednesday 4 May 2022
Evening: 7.30pm.
The professional ballet company for international dancers of black and Asian descent returns to Edinburgh following their hugely successful visit in June 2019 and mindblowing performance with Stormzy at Glastonbury. Book here.

NDT 2
Fri 6/Sat 7May 2022
Evening: 8pm
One of the world’s leading dance companies and huge favourites with UK audiences, Nederlands Dans Theater possess a winning combination of balletic grace and virtuosic skill with fearless athleticism, passion and personality. Book here.

Oti Mabuse – I Am Here
Sunday 8 May 2022
Evening: 7.30pm.
A a whirlwind celebration of the influences and inspirations that took Oti on a journey from growing up in South Africa to following her dream. From mesmerising Jives and pumping Sambas to South Africa’s exhilarating Kwaito, this is an explosive night of dance and music that will set your heart racing. Book here

Anything Goes
Wed 11 – Sat 21 May 2022
Evenings: Tues – Sat 7.30pm; Mats Thurs & Sat 2:30pm;
Sun 15 May: 3pm.
Featuring a 50 strong cast and an ensemble of the finest we have to offer on stage (including tap-dancing sailors) and a full-sized live orchestra in the pit, this uplifting production of Anything Goes is directed by the multi-award-winning Broadway director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall. Here be heart-warming romance, farcical fun and spectacular dance routines.. Book here

The Scandal at Mayerling
Thurs 25 – Sat 28 May 2022
Evenings: 7.30, Sat Mat: 2.30pm.
Scottish Ballet, re-imagine MacMillan’s iconic ballet. The year is 1889 and, in the woods outside Vienna, the Empire must hide a terrible secret. At the royal Mayerling hunting lodge, Crown Prince Rudolf is found shot dead alongside his teenage mistress. Book here.

Strictly Come Dancing – The Professionals
Sun 29 May 2022
Two shows: 2.30pm & 7.30pm.
Direct from BBC One’s award-winning prime time TV show Strictly Come Dancing, this glamorous production will bring together some of the much-loved Strictly Professional dancers as they take to the stage to dazzle with their dance prowess. Book here.

Simon & Garfunkel Through the Years 
Mon 30 May 2022
Evening: 7.30pm.
Critically-acclaimed tribute show fronted by Dan Haynes and Pete Richards collectively known as Bookends, exquisitely recreating the unmistakable sound of Simon & Garfunkel. Featuring all the iconic songs, including The Sound of Silence, Mrs Robinson, The Boxer and the smash hit Bridge Over Troubled Water. Book here.

Scottish Opera: Don Giovani
Sun 5 – Sat 11 June 2022
Sun Mat: 3pm; Tue, Thurs, Sat: 7.15pm.
Mozart’s masterpiece is one of the world’s most performed operas for good reason. Sir Thomas Allen – whose 2019 revival of The Magic Flute was a sell-out success – returns to direct his stunning production. Book here.

The Addams Family
Tue 14 – Sat 18 June 2022.
Evenings: 7.30pm; Mats Thurs, Sat: 2.30pm.
Everyone’s favourite kooky and spooky family are back in this spectacular and hilarious musical comedy from the writers of multi award-winning hit musical Jersey Boys, with music and lyrics by Tony-nominated Andrew Lippa, starring Samantha Womack as Morticia and Cameron Blakely as Gomez. Book here.

Stewart Lee: Snowflake/Tornado
Sun 19 June 2022
Evening: 7.30pm.
Tornado questions Stew’s position in the comedy marketplace; Snowflake questions Stew’s worth in a society demolishing the liberal values he has been keen to espouse in a fairy-tale landscape of winter wonder. Book here.

Fascinating Aïda
Mon 20 June 2022
Evening: 7.30pm.
With a selection of old favourites, songs you haven’t heard before and some you wish you’d never heard in the first place. The songs are hilarious and topical – the glamour is unstoppable. Book here.

In Conversation with the Sopranos
Tue 21 June 2022
Evening: 7.45
Get the real story behind what Vanity Fair called “the greatest pop-culture masterpiece of its day” when three of The Sopranos’ most iconic cast members sit down for a chat. With  Steven Schirripa (Bobby ‘Bacala’), Michael Imperioli (Christopher Moltisanti), and Vincent Pastore (‘Big Pussy’ Bonpensiero). Book here.

Al Murray The Pub Landlord: Gig for Victory
Thurs 23 June 2022
Evening: 7.30
As the dust settles and we emerge blinking into the dawn of a new era, the men and women of this great country will need answers. Answers to questions they never knew existed. And when that moment comes, who better to provide those answers, than the people’s man of the people, the Pub Landlord? Book here.

Sandi Toksvig Live! Next Slide Please
Mon 27 June 2022 
Evening: 7.30pm.
In an evening of warmth, love and laughter, Sandi will explore reasons to be cheerful after many long months of coronacoaster gloom. Expect fascinatingly funny facts, silly jokes, a quick-fire Q&A and possibly a game of Covid Lingo Bingo. (Don’t expect handstands, ministerial behaviour or impressions of Chris Whitty). Book here.

July 2022

Anton and Giovanni – Him & Me
Friday 1 July 2022
Evening: 7.30
Strictly Come Dancing professionals Anton Do Beke and Giovanni Pernice join forces. The Ballroom King and the two-time Guinness World Record holder will be joined by a world class cast of dancers and singers. Book here.

Sarah Millican: Bobby Dazzler
Sat 2/Sun 3 July 2022
Evenings: 8pm.
Sarah is back on tour with a new stand-up show. In this, her sixth international tour, you’ll learn about what happens when your mouth seals shut, how to throw poo over a wall, trying to lose weight but only losing the tip of your finger, a surprisingly funny smear test, and how truly awful a floatation tank can actually be. Book here.

Zog and the Flying Doctors
Sat 9 – Wed 13 July 2022
Sat 4.30pm, Sun 11am, 2pm & 4.30pm, Mon, Tue & Wed 11am & 2pm.
Zog, super keen student turned air-ambulance, still lands with a crash-bang-thump. Together with his Flying Doctor crew, Princess Pearl and Sir Gadabout, they tend to a sunburnt mermaid, a unicorn with one too many horns and a lion with the flu. Book here

Abba Mania
Sat 23 July 2022
Evening: 7.30pm.
A special concert presentation, which celebrates the music of ABBA “in a respectful and enjoyable way”, reviving special memories of when ABBA ruled the airwaves. If you’re looking for an excuse to party, reminisce or simply be entertained by the best music ever, then ABBA Mania is for you! Book here

September 2022

Rush: A Joyous Jamaican Journey
Saturday 3 Sept 2022
Evening: 7.30pm.
The story of Reggae music: the Windrush Generation and how their music took the world by storm. Narrated by comedian John Simmit the show features ska, rock steady, calypso, gospel, lovers rock, dancehall and Reggae played live by the JA Reggae Band. Book here.

Sister Act
Tue 6  – Sat 17 September 2022
Tue – Sat: 7.30pm; Mats: Thu & Sat 2.30pm, Sun: 3pm
Brace yourselves Sisters! The Broadway and UK smash-hit musical Sister Act is coming to Edinburgh immediately following its record-breaking London run, reimagined for the 21st century. Book here.

The Osmonds – A New Musical
Tue 20 – Sat 24 September 2022
Evenings: 7.30pm;
Matines Wed, Thurs, Sat: 2.30pm.
See news: Osmonds for Edinburgh.
Jukebox musical telling the official story by Jay Osmond about the five brothers from Utah who were pushed into the spotlight as children and went on with their younger siblings to create smash hits decade after decade.  Book here.

October 2022

James IV – Queen of the Fight
Fri 30 Sept – Sat 8 October 2022 
Tue – Sat 7.30pm; Thurs, Sat: 2.30pm.
Employing the same wit and theatricality of the first three James Plays, acclaimed playwright Rona Munro takes you back to a thrilling and uncharted period of Scottish history. Scotland, 1504, the dazzling, dangerous world of the Scottish Court of James IV. It’s a world where war is never far away, words of love and promises of peace are not what they seem and where poets might turn out to be more dangerous than any assassin.  Book here.

Harry Hill: Pedigree Fun!
Sun 9 October 2022
Evening: 7.30pm.
Harry is back with brand-new amazing jokes in an all-singing, all-dancing one-man spectacular. “I hadn’t realised how much I missed performing live until lockdown stopped me from doing it,” says Harry, “It’s great to be going back on stage and the good news is I am planning a very silly show.”  Book here.

The Cher Show
Tue 11 – Sat 15 October 2022
Evenings: 7.30pm; Matines Thurs, Sat: 2.30pm.
See news: Cher Show for Edinburgh.
From a young kid with big dreams, to the dizzying heights of global stardom, The Cher Show uses 35 of her hits to tell the incredible story of Cher’s meteoric rise to fame, flying in the face of convention at every turn. Directed by Arlene Phillips and choreographed by Oti Mabuse.  Book here.

Freedom starring Joe McElderry
Mon 17 Oct 2022
Evening: 7.30pm.
Freedom starring Joe McElderry pays homage to one of the world’s most iconic music legends. Celebrating George Michael’s immense catalogue of Grammy award-winning hits Freedom will have you on your feet and singing along with fast-paced classics and sensational ballads performed by Joe and a full live band. Book here.

Martin Bayfield’s Rugby Legends
Wed 19 Oct 2022
Evening: 7.30pm.
From the police beat to the Hollywood movie screen to a Five Nations Grand Slam and MasterChef final, Martin Bayfield has had a varied life! Join former England international and true giant of the game Martin Bayfield as he embarks on his ‘Rugby Legends’ UK tour. Book here.

Lost in Music
Sun 23 Oct 2022
Evening: 7.30pm.
Join us as we recreate the Magical 70’s! Let us take you on a musical journey straight to the heart of Disco! Relive some of the greatest songs of all time, from artists such as Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, Earth, Wind and Fire, Sister Sledge, and Chic. Book here.

South Pacific
Tue 25- Sat 29 October 2022 
Tue – Sat 7.30pm; Weds, Thurs, Sat: 2.30pm.
Chichester Festival Theatre’s critically acclaimed, landmark production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s powerful love story with a cast of over thirty and a full orchestra. Set on a South Pacific island during World War ll it features songs such as Some Enchanted Evening, I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair and Bali Ha’i.  Book here.

November 2022

Scottish Ballet – The Snow Queen
Sat 19 Nov – Sat 10 Dec 2022
Tue 6, Wed – Sat: 7.30pm,  Fri-Sun: 2.30pm.
Scottish Ballet’s spectacular production of The Snow Queen returns. Hans Christian Andersen’s tale – set to the music of Rimsky-Korsakov, choreographed by Christopher Hampson and designed by Lez Brotherston – travels from the bustle of a winter’s market to the shivers of a fairy tale forest and the icy fragments of an enchanted mirror in the Snow Queen’s castle. Book here.

December 2022

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Sat 17 Dec 2022 – Sun 22 Jan 2023
Times to be confirmed.
Mirror, Mirror on the wall – our Panto is the most magical of them all! With the King’s closed for a major redevelopment, the King’s Panto  is relocating to the Festival Theatre with confirmed casting of Allan Stewart as ‘Nurse May’, Grant Staff as ‘Henchman’ and Jordan Young as ‘Muddles’. Book here from Mon 21 Jan.

2023

February 2023

Peaky Blinders: The Redemption of Thomas Shelby
Tue 28 Feb – Sat 4 March 2023
Evenings: 7.30pm, Sat mat: 2.30pm.
Rambert Dance with a new dance theatre event, delving into the story of Tommy Shelby and the Peaky Blinders, written by the creator of the global hit television series Steven Knight and directed/choreographed by Benoit Swan Pouffer. Dazzling, athletic dance and stunning dramatisation with iconic eclectic Peaky soundtrack from a live on-stage band. Book here.

ENDS