There aren’t many trickier gigs than curating theatre for children. Lean too hard into the primary colours and you lose the teenagers; pivot too sharply towards adolescent angst and the primary schoolers will run for the hills. It’s a tightrope the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival has walked rather beautifully for decades.
This year, the 36th edition takes over the capital from Saturday, 30 May to Sunday, 7 June 2026. With 15 productions spanning nine countries, the ambition of the operation is undeniable.
The festival has a long history of trading in proper, uncompromising storytelling, and the 2026 lineup shows no signs of softening its edges. New Festival Director Adjjima Na Patalung steps into the role with a programme that certainly isn’t out to patronise its audience. Anyone familiar with her past work alongside the UK’s boundary-pushing Theatre-Rites will spot that influence immediately. There is a distinct, welcome lean towards deft object manipulation and highly visual theatre, proving that youth programming deserves and demands the same calibre of professionalism as the adult fringe.
“I’m very excited to be launching this 36th edition,” Na Patalung notes of her inaugural slate. “By presenting work that is deeply engaging, innovative and inspiring, the Festival upholds that it is every child’s right to develop their creativity.”
The 2026 Festival at a Glance
- The Dates: Saturday 30 May to Sunday 7 June 2026.
- The Launch: A Free Family Day at the National Museum of Scotland on Saturday 30 May, featuring pop-up performances and new, locally-produced commissions.
- The Global Reach: 15 productions from nine countries, including a dedicated focus on Wallonia (French-speaking Belgium) that brings object manipulation and bilingual storytelling to the Scottish stage.
- The Box Office: Tickets are on sale now. For the full programme and booking information, visit http://www.imaginate.org.uk/festival or call 0131 226 0019.
Putting Disabled-Led Work Front and Centre
A central pillar of this year’s offer is a fierce focus on disabled-led creations. It’s an ambitious marker to set down early. We are getting a new, Expo-funded commission from the perpetually excellent Marc Brew. His dance-theatre piece, Boys Don’t Dance, unpacks a young boy’s defiance of societal expectations to pursue his passion for ballet.
On the theatrical front, disabled writer and theatre maker Ross MacKay brings us Cringe, a frank look at the unadulterated horrors of growing up and facing down bullies. Neither show promises an easy ride, but then, the best youth theatre doesn’t have to. Audiences with complex additional support needs are also explicitly catered for via Brrr, a bespoke inflatable dome hosting a multi-sensory winter wonderland of dance, sound, and video from Scottish choreographer Hayley Earlem.
“I’m very excited to be launching this 36th edition,” Na Patalung notes of her inaugural slate. “By presenting work that is deeply engaging, innovative and inspiring, the Festival upholds that it is every child’s right to develop their creativity.”
It is such quality programming that justifies its public backing. Ben Torrie, Head of Theatre at Creative Scotland, hits the mark regarding the necessity of this work. “The quality and diversity of the programme… offers children and young people a range of inspiring and enriching artistic experiences at an early age,” he says, defining it as “a crucial time for sustaining engagement in culture and creativity throughout their lives.”
Tentacles, Tents, and Proper Circus
Long-term readers will know my affection for Sadiq Ali and Vee Smith’s The Unlikely Friendship of Feather Boy and Tentacle Girl. After an injury forced a heartbreaking cancellation at last year’s Children’s Festival, this gorgeous, oddball circus piece found its feet at the Edinburgh Fringe. I caught it then, and its breathtaking aerial work and exploration of outsider kinship remains one of the finest things I saw last August. Its return to the main programme this year is an absolute must-book.
Circus features heavily across the board. Company Lamento and L’ Académie Fratellini are bringing The Fabulous Tale of BasarKus, a high-energy juggling and acrobatic exploration of identity for younger children. Meanwhile, Italian outfit Quattrox4’s Gretel promises to blend contemporary circus and object manipulation to explore themes of migration and the desperate search for home.
Binaural Audio and Absurdist Teenage Angst
If there is a demographic notoriously difficult to coax into a theatre seat, it is young teenagers. The 2026 festival attempts to crack this via two highly innovative works.
First up, Tim Crouch who rarely misses. A theatre-maker who refuses to talk down to his audiences, he brings Toto Kerblammo! to Auld Reekie. This immersive piece uses 3D binaural audio to plunge headphone-wearing punters into a story of a girl, a smuggled dog, and finding hope in the darkest of corners. Alongside it sits It would be such a shame if you missed out, an absurdist take on teenage FOMO from Theater Artemis & Theater Basel. Expect a giant party box, downhearted characters, and involuntary audience participation.
Even the youngest theatregoers are treated with artistic respect. Starcatchers, Scotland’s arts and early years specialists, present Island, a gentle, intimate movement piece designed specifically for babies under twelve months. Furthermore, a dedicated focus on the French-speaking Belgian region of Wallonia brings a trio of shows to the city, including Modo Grosso’s Everything/Nothing, which turns mundane items like chains and sand into moments of pure, gravity-defying wonder.
The Scale of the Ambition
The festival kicks off with a gorgeously accessible Free Family Day at the National Museum of Scotland on Saturday 30 May, featuring pop-up performances and new, locally-produced commissions in partnership with Aberdeen Performing Arts, Merchant City Festival, and OneRen.
If there is a demographic notoriously difficult to coax into a theatre seat, it is young teenagers. The 2026 festival attempts to crack this via two highly innovative works.
Arts funding is perpetually under the microscope these days, so the Scottish Government’s continued support through the Festival EXPO Fund remains a vital lifeline. Angus Robertson, Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, notes that this investment recognises the festival’s “unique ability to provide an abundance of opportunities for young people to engage with live arts through world-class theatre, dance and circus.”
“The national and international interest the festival creates year on year,” Robertson adds, “also underlines the value placed upon their annual programme.”
In the end, with 15 productions drawn from nine countries—ranging from delicate sensory experiences for newborns to full-throated absurdist comedy for teenagers—the sheer scale of the 2026 programme is a proper statement of intent. Na Patalung has inherited a Scottish cultural jewel and immediately pushed its boundaries. The Edinburgh International Children’s Festival isn’t just surviving the current economic headwinds; it’s expanding its artistic horizons, confirming its status as a vital, uncompromising arena where young minds can untangle the complexities of a rather messy world….and have lots and lots of fun!
Featured Image: © Tom Duffin: New Festival Director Adjjima Na Patalung celebrates the launch of this year’s Edinburgh International Children’s Festival programme, with young people from Forthview Primary School.
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