The first ever co-production between Edinburgh International Festival (EIF), Festival d’Avignon and Holland Festival, Christiane Jatahy’s A Trial – after An Enemy of the People, marks the start of a historic three-year partnership to celebrate the joint 80th anniversaries of the three festivals in 2027.
A Trial – after An Enemy of the People will run at the Edinburgh International Festival from 7 to10 August 2026 at the Royal Lyceum and mark the first coming together of the Edinburgh, Avignon and Dutch festivals since their founding 79 years ago. It will also see the first collaboration between acclaimed theatre and film director Christiane Jatahy and award-winning actor Wagner Moura, best known for his Golden Globe nominated role as Pablo Escobar in Netflix’s Narcos.
The piece picks up on Henrik Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People, which was written almost 150 years ago, to take a timely look at current ecological and political issues through the setting of a public courtroom where the theatre audience becomes part of the jury.
Thematically, A Trial – after An Enemy of the People addresses urgent questions, deeply relevant today, of growing polarisation and division within societies. Staged by a Brazilian creative team, the production aims to remind that art can transcend borders, disciplines and audiences, offering a necessary place for dialogue with an important global perspective.
Jatahy returns to the Edinburgh International Festival stage, having previously presented several acclaimed productions there, including After the Silence in 2024, which explored structural racism and the legacy of slavery in her native Brazil.
She says, “For an artist to develop their research, the network of support from festivals and theatres is essential. Without it, ideas fail to take shape, time slips away, and creations never come to life. The support and partnership of Holland Festival, the Festival d’Avignon, and the Edinburgh International Festival have been, and continue to be, fundamental for my artistic dreams to materialise, to become theatre, and to meet the audience.”
Roy Luxford, creative director at the EIF, adds, ‘The Edinburgh International Festival was founded after the devastation of World War II, to bring together artists and audiences from different nations, promoting cultural unity and international cooperation in the aftermath of the war’s devastation. That same year, Holland Festival and Festival d’Avignon were born from the same hope. Nearly eight decades later, 2026 marks the first year of the International Festival’s historic three-year collaboration with our fellow European festivals, as we look towards our shared 80th anniversary in 2027.”
He continues, “This creative partnership represents a powerful statement of shared purpose – a belief that when festivals collaborate, we can amplify the voices of artists and connect with audiences on a truly global scale. The International Festival is well placed as an incubator for global talent, and collaborating with our peers allows us to be bigger and bolder, reaffirming Edinburgh’s place as a world-leading hub of the performing arts.”
Tiago Rodrigues, director of Festival d’Avignon, comments, ‘In 1947, three European summer festivals were born, driven by the same conviction: that art could help rebuild what war had shattered. Edinburgh, Amsterdam and Avignon asserted the idea that culture should serve as a tool for cohesion, mutual understanding, dialogue, and peace among peoples. This vision forms their shared identity and common history: to make creation a driving force for connection, exchange, and a shared future in Europe. Eighty years later, that common vision remains a living space, a place to come together, to question and to uphold artistic freedom as an essential force against authoritarianism, in order to keep imagining the world of tomorrow.”
Emily Ansenk, director of Holland Festival, concludes, “International festivals like Holland Festival, Festival d’Avignon and Edinburgh International Festival are living laboratories of artistic exchange. Artist driven and forward-looking, we co-produce new work that challenges convention and invites risk. Born from the belief that art can bridge what politics divides, these post-war performing arts festivals have evolved into platforms for new voices, challenging ideas, and artistic collaboration that knows no frontiers. Then and now, it reminds us that to cross borders through art is to rediscover our shared humanity.’
The 2026 edition of the Edinburgh International Festival takes place 7-30 August 2026. Full details of the 2026 programme will be revealed in March 2026.
Tickets here.
