The best EIF theatre shows - Scotsman critic Joyce McMillan previews the 2024 programme

Echoing The Outrun in theme, but radically different in style, The Fifth Step is the latest play from award-winning Glasgow-based playwright David Ireland, best known for bold and searing no-holds-barred dramas including Cyprus Avenue and Ulster American. Produced by the National Theatre of Scotland, and featuring rising Scottish star Jack Lowden – Nikolai Rostov in the recent television version of War And Peace – The Fifth Step deals with the fraught relationship between a man in recovery from alcohol addiction, and his 12-step sponsor; and will be directed by Finn Den Hertog, director of the recent Dundee Rep/Lyceum version of Sunset Song. Lyceum Theatre, 21-25 August

After the Silence

Award-winning Brazilian director Christiane Jatahy thrilled festival audiences last year with her wonderful Comédie de Geneve production Dusk, based on the Lars von Trier film Dogville; and now she returns to Edinburgh with a show about the struggles of three Afro-Brazilian women as they fight for their community. Blending documentary film and installation work with the story of a novel by Itamar Vieiro Junior, After The Silence is an intriguing and ground-breaking exploration of Brazil’s legacy of racism and colonialism, moving – in Jatahy’s words – “from slavery to Bolsonaro”. The Studio, 21-24 August

​Hamlet

Also from South America come festival newcomers Teatro La Plaza of Peru, in a production of Hamlet that places people with Down’s Syndrome centre stage. Directed and scripted by Chela de Ferrari, this Hamlet uses a free version of the text focussed on Hamlet’s great “to be or not to be” soliloquy, and weaves the story of the play together with personal reflections from the show’s cast of eight to create what has been acclaimed as a fresh and enchanting look at Shakespeare’s familiar tragedy, dealing powerfully with themes of exclusion, discrimination, and the search for community. Lyceum Theatre, 15-17 August

​Penthesilea

Hailed in the Netherlands as “a sexy and toxic gem”, Penthesilea is the latest Festival show from long-standing Edinburgh favourites International Theatre Amsterdam. First performed in 1808, and written by the turbulent German romantic playwright Heinrich von Kleist, Penthesilea tells the story of the Amazon queen who falls passionately in love with her great adversary Achilles, eventually bringing her people to ruin. Following her terrific production of The End Of Eddy, seen in Edinburgh in 2022, new artistic director Eline Arbo leads a superb ITA creative team and acting company, in a show described as frantic, thrilling and sensual. Lyceum Theatre, 3-6 August

​Please right back

Since their stunning Fringe debut in 2007 – when they picked up no fewer than five awards, including a Scotsman Fringe First, for their show Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea – 1927 have become stars of the international festival scene, famous for their fabulous combinations of animation, storytelling and brilliant visual magic. Their latest show tells the story of how two children survive their father’s sudden absence from their home through their relationship with his wonderful letters, which are staged using song, dance and absurd animations; in a show which celebrates the power of the imagination to help us transcend loss and sadness. The Studio, 2-11 August

For more information, and to book tickets, visit www.eif.co.uk