Listings Mon 6 – Sun 12 April 2026
What’s on Edinburgh’s stages this week?
It’s chocks away for a big musical theatre week. For your pleasure we have two new musicals created in Scotland, a pair of high-hitting staples from local amateur companies, and an interloping rocker.
Oh dearie me! The NTS tour of The High Life at the Festival Theatre (ends Sat: tickets) is all but sold out. This “★★★★★ Flying” comedy is, quite simply, as much fun as you could possibly want. If you can, squeeze into the back of the upper circle. If not, hop over to the Glasgow King’s where it lands in May (Tue 12 – Sat 23: tickets).
Then of course the “★★★★☆ Accomplished” One Day, The Musical, continues at the Lyceum (ends Sun 19 April: tickets). There are plenty of good seats available, except tonight and Tue 14th.
The consistently reliable Forth Children’s Theatre have Sister Act at Broughton High School (ends Sat: tickets). Expect good things in the feel-amazing musical comedy smash, based on the hit 1992 film.
MAMA, the Musselburgh Amateur Musical Association, stay true to the Honest Toun for their Easter offering. Their production of The Wedding Singer is at the Loretto School Theatre (ends Sat: tickets). Based on the 1998 film this should be a proper piece of community drama.
Your final musical offering is Fife-based Beldon Haigh with Dystopia The Rock Opera at Assembly Roxy (Sat: tickets). Not based on any film, this crazy rock-out for an unhinged world gets more realistic by the minute.
There is some straight theatre on offer. The Traverse’s Spring production GUSH previews on Fri/Sat ahead of next Tuesday’s opening (ends 25 April: tickets).
But once again, it is the EUTC students at the Bedlam who call the shots with The Pillowman (Thurs – Sat: tickets). Martin McDonagh’s 2003 play is as stark a piece as you might expect, set in a totalitarian state where a writer is interrogated about the similarity between his short stories and real life killings in a local town.
A couple of very different one-night stands on Friday are worth your attention too. Turan Ali has his Queer Folks Tales at the Storytelling Centre (tickets) with Michael Johnson, Lake Montgomery and Conor O’Dwyer.
And Hip hop takes centre stage in THREE60’s World’s Evolution at the Studio (tickets), as the street dance collective travels from the origins of humanity to the complexities of the modern world.
Listings for the week Mon 6 to Sun 12 April 2026
Click on the name of the show or the Book here link to go to its ticketing site.
Assembly Roxy
2 Roxburgh Place, EH8 9SU.
Dystopia The Rock Opera (Beldon Haigh)
Sat 11 Apr 2026
One performance: 8pm.
Step into Dystopia, where a renegade prison-band of traitors, tyrants and delusional demagogues – including Touchy Trump, Polonium Putin and the ineffably sequinned and quiffed Kim Jong Elvis – drag us on a gloriously unhinged journey from darkness into blinding floodlights, from austerity to imaginary abundance, and from fear-ridden obedience to something dangerously resembling hope. Book here.
Augustine United Church
41 George IV Bridge, EH1 1EL.
Cock (Kitty Milk Theatre)
Sat 4/Sun 5, Tue 7 April 2026
Sat/Sat, Tue: 7.30pm. Mat Tue: 2.30pm.
Kitty Milk make their company debut with Mike Bartlett’s metrosexual play about love and longing. When John takes a break from his boyfriend, he accidentally meets the girl of his dreams. Filled with guilt and indecision, he decides there is only one way to straighten this out… Book here.
Bedlam Theatre
11B Bristo Place, EH1 1EZ.
The Pillowman (EUTC)
Thur 9 – Sat 11 Apr 2026
Evenings: 7.30pm.
Martin McDonagh’s 2003 play sees Katurian, a fiction writer living in a police state, interrogated about the gruesome content of his short stories and their similarities to a number of bizarre child murders occurring in his town. Book here.
Broughton High School
29 E Fettes Ave, EH4 1EG.
Sister Act (Forth Children’s Theatre)
Wed 8 – Sat 11 Apr 2026
Evenings: 7pm; Sat mat: 2pm.
When disco diva Deloris Van Cartier witnesses a murder, she is put in protective custody in one place the cops are sure she won’t be a found: a convent… FCT with the feel-amazing musical comedy smash, based on the hit 1992 film, that has audiences jumping to their feet! Book here.
The Brunton @ Loretto School
Loretto School Theatre, Millhill, Musselburgh. Phone booking: 0131 653 5245.
The Wedding Singer (MAMA)
Wed 8 – Sat 11 Apr 2026
Evenings: 7.30pm; Sat mat: 2pm.
It’s 1985, and rock star wannabe, Robbie Hart, is New Jersey’s favorite wedding singer. He’s the life of the party until his own fiancée leaves him at the altar. Shot through the heart, Robbie makes every wedding as disastrous as his own – until winsome waitress Julia wins his affection. Book here.
Festival Theatre
13/29 Nicolson Street EH8 9FT. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000.
The High Life (NTS)
Tue 7 – Sat 11 April 2026
Tue – Sat: 7.30pm; Thurs, Sat: 2.30pm.
The High Life returns in a new musical spectacular featuring all four original cast members – Alan Cumming, Forbes Masson, Siobhan Redmond and Patrick Ryecart. Oh deary me! Air Scotia has been sold, and unless our intrepid cabin crew can prove they’re still fit for purpose it looks like the future destination for Air Scotia is the scrap heap. Book here.
Lyceum Theatre
Grindlay Street EH3 9AX. Phone booking: 0131 248 4848.
One Day – The Musical (25/26 Season)
Book by David Greig. Lyceum production.
Run ends: Sun 19 April 2026.
Tue – Sat: 7.30pm; Mats Wed, Sat: 2.30pm; Sun: 5pm.
Æ review: ★★★★☆ Accomplished.
Emma and Dexter first meet on the night of their graduation, 15th July 1988 – St. Swithin’s Day. Over the next twenty years we return to them on the same day each year, and through joy and heartbreak, missed opportunities and second chances, they navigate love, ambition, and the unpredictable twists of life. Book here.
Playhouse
18 – 22 Greenside Place, EH1 3AA. Phone booking: 0844 871 3014.
Gabby’s Dollhouse Live!
Wed 8 Apr 2026
Two perfs: 2pm & 5pm.
In this a-MEOW-zing musical show, Gabby unboxes a special acorn that needs the magical touch of a rainbow to grow. But when CatRat causes a colour cat-astrophe and breaks the rainbow, Gabby and the Gabby Cats must find the colours again to set things right. Book here.
The Rock Orchestra by Candlelight
Thur 9 Apr 2026
One perfoermance: 7.30pm.
In ethereal candlelit settings, this band of 14 classical musicians unleash effortlessly enchanting melodies alongside powerful walls of distortion. Witness the unexpected union of Classical music and Metal. Book here.
Russell Howard – Don’t Tell The Algorithm
Sat 11 April 2026
Evening: 7.30pm
After breaking records with sold-out shows across the globe, Russell Howard is back with a brand-new stand-up tour in 2026. He invites you back into the room: no phones, no distractions, just humans and jokes. Book here.
Scottish Storytelling Centre
43-45 High St, EH1 1SR. Phone booking: 0131 556 9579.
Queer Folks Tales (Turan Ali)
Fri 10 April 2026.
One performance: 7.30pm
Æ Review from EdFringe 2025: ★★★★★ Triumphant
LGBTQ+ storytellers share stories of queer lives, past, present and future. Sometimes hilarious, often moving, occasionally shocking, the mix of true and fictional stories is as varied as the range of invited performers. Tonight, Turan is joined by Jo Gilbert, stand-up Eliott Simpson and poet-writer-singer Mia Suhaimi. Book here.
Studio Theatre
The Studio, 22 Potterrow, EH8 9BL. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000.
World’s Evolution (Three60)
Fri 10 Apr 2026
Evening: 7.30pm.
World’s Evolution is more than a dance show — it’s a journey. From our roots to the rush and rhythm of today’s world, it follows the story of humanity — our growth, our struggles, and our shared future. Fusing street dance styles like Hip-Hop, Krump, Popping and the deep grooves of African and Caribbean dance, it goes on a movement journey that is bold, experimental, and emotionally engaging. Book here.
Traverse
10 Cambridge Street, EH1 2ED. Phone booking: 0131 228 1404.
Acting and Performance Showcase (QMU)
Tue 7/Wed 8 Apr 2026
Tue: 7.30pm; Wed: 1.30pm. (Trav 1).
QMU’s 4th year BA(Hons) Acting and Performance company showcase their talents. The performances promise a delight of two hander scenes, songs and snippets of the graduate digital showcase. All of these will be costumed by QMU’s Costume Design and Construction students. On the Tuesday only, the 3rd year company will also showcase their work. Book here.
Gush (Traverse Theatre Company)
By Jess Brodie, directed by Becky Hope-Palmer.
Previews: Fri 10/Sat 11. Run: Tue 14 – Sat 25 Apr 2026
Tue – Sat: 7pm; Sat mats 18 & 25: 2.30pm (Trav 2).
Ally’s ready to be a mum. She’s done the antenatal classes, cleaned up her diet, and even forgone her beloved tea to avoid the caffeine. So why does something inside her still feel off? Exploring self-identity, sexuality and the tension between compromise and sacrifice, GUSH considers what it means to discover what we want and dare to ask for it. Book here.
*NB: This is intended to be a complete listing of all public theatrical productions on in Edinburgh. If you are staging a show which is not listed, or a listing is inaccurate, please get in touch through the contact page, here.
