The following list of Edinburgh’s cultural highlights throughout April is intimidatingly large, we’ll admit – but you should’ve seen it when we didn’t have all the Science Festival stuff grouped under one handy heading, because the programme for that one is a beast. Elsewhere this month, you’ll also find a clutch of visiting authors, a pyrotechnic celebration of spring's arrival and the UK's longest running festival of horror cinema.
Things to do
Game Masters, National Museum of Scotland, until Mon Apr 20
The exhibition/installation/arcade we’ve been banging on about for months finally comes to an end in April, but not before joining forces with the Edinburgh International Science Festival for a series of game-themed special events. Check out the EISF website for more details.
Easter, Fri Apr 3-Mon Apr 6
There’s a whole lot going on across the capital during the Easter weekend – navigate your way around it all (plus schedule in a couple of nice places to eat out) with our Easter in Edinburgh feature.
Edinburgh International Science Festival, various venues, Thu Apr 2-Sun Apr 19
It’s just too mammoth a programme to boil down for you, so we’ll just pick out our top three highlights: the foodie-friendly Gastrofest is as fascinatingly delicious this year as it was before; the Dinosaur Day special is a prehistoric treat for aspiring paleontologists; and the headline chat with Mary Higgins addresses the balance between scientism and philosophy we feel the debate has been sorely lacking. We highly recommend giving the fest’s full programme a scan through yourself – there’s bound to be loads more that tickles your scientific fancy.
Jo Nesbo, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Thu Apr 9
The Nordic noir kingpin visits Edinburgh to promote the latest mystery featuring unorthodox detective Harry Hole, ‘Blood on Snow’.
AL Kennedy and Jenni Fagen, Looking Glass Books, Thu Apr 9
Two of Scottish literature’s shining lights get together for a reading and a chat at one of our favourite Edinburgh book nooks.
Edinburgh Comic Con, Potterrow, Sat Apr 11 & Sun Apr 12
A host of graphic novel heroes – including Batman artist Peter Nguyen, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' inker Gerardo Sandoval and artist/animator Tanya Roberts – descend on Edinburgh’s student union for a weekend of comical excitement.
Hollie McNish, The Pleasance, Wed Apr 15
Spoken word from one of the brightest young stars of the genre, who made her name talking frankly about motherhood and breastfeeding on YouTube.
Stuart David: In the All Night Café, Waterstones West End, Thu Apr 16
Belle & Sebastian co-founder David talks to Scottish music champion and radio DJ Vic Galloway about his memoir charting his time with the band.
Rally & Broad, The Bongo Club, Fri Apr 17
The ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ edition of the impeccable poetry & performance night features Billy Letford, Bella Hardy, Emma Jane Unsworth, Freddie Alexander and Faith Elliot.
Irvine Welsh, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Sun Apr 19
Scottish lit’s enfant terrible (well, once upon a time, anyway) revives beloved cabbie creation Terry Lawson (‘Juice’) for new novel ‘A Decent Ride’.
Historical Fiction Festival, Summerhall, Fri Apr 24-Sun Apr 26
Rob Newman, Sarah Sheridan and Lucy Ribchester are among the speakers at this celebration of historical fiction, with topics covering Rome, WWI, suffragettes and the place of queer voices in the genre.
Pedal on Parliament, The Meadows, Sat Apr 25
Attach your stabilisers and join in the mass biking procession to raise the profile of cycling in Scotland, with the aim of improving the country’s infrastructure to better accommodate cyclists.
Beltane Fire Festival, Calton Hill, Thu Apr 30
The end of winter is here at last – so say the Beltane Fire Society, who herald the arrival of spring with pyrotechnics, processions and masses of body paint. Head up Calton Hill to observe them casting off the shackles of winter the old old fashioned way.
Comedy
Aisling Bea at Gilded Balloon Comedy, The Studio at Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Sat Apr 4
One of the fastest rising stars of the Irish comedy scene, Ms Bea comes to the Gilded Balloon’s Saturday night residency with a So You Think You're Funny award to her name.
Alan Carr: Yap Yap Yap, Edinburgh Playhouse, Fri Apr 17 & Sat Apr 18
The chatty man extraordinaire comes to Edinburgh’s grandest theatre space with his latest stand-up show.
Romesh Ranganathan & Suzi Ruffell, Assembly Roxy, Fri Apr 24
A double header of Fringe favourites head up from That London to show us they’ve got the comedy chops all year round.
Art
Erich Salomon & Barbara Klemm: A Leap in Time, Stills, until Sun Apr 5
This month presents your last chance to catch this exhibition by two German photojournalists whose work spans the 20th century: Salomon documented the politicians and celebrities of pre-WWII Germany before he died in Auschwitz in 1944; Klemm was born five years later and lived through the Cold War era.
RSA New Contemporaries, RSA, until Wed Apr 8
The Royal Scottish Academy showcases the cream of the recent graduate crop in this group exhibition, giving us a glimpse of the art stars of tomorrow who are only just making a name for themselves. Be quick, though, it ends soon.
Raoul De Keyser: Paintings 1967 to 2012, Inverleith House, until 12 Apr
The nature-inspired Dutch painter gets the full retrospective treatment at the Botanics-based gallery, marking his first major UK solo exhibition in over a decade.
BP Portrait Award, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, until Wed Apr 15
Prestigious international portraiture exhibition, showcasing selected entries in addition Thomas Ganter’s winning painting of a homeless German man. Proof, if needed, the portraiture remains a fascinating and vital artform.
Georgia Horgan: Machine Room, Collective, until Sun Apr 19
Examining the seemingly unconnected worlds of Scottish textiles and witch-hunting in the 17th century, this research installation combines writing, images and artifacts to muse on the disciplining of women’s bodies.
Ponte City, Scottish National Portrait Gallery, until Sun Apr 26
Mikhael Subotzky and Patrick Waterhouse's startling photography exhibition documents the history and current state of Ponte City: a skyscraper in Johannesburg that was originally marketed as a luxury living space for white South Africans but, post-apartheid, has become a residence for refugees from neighbouring nations.
Dark Matters, Edinburgh Printmakers, until Sat May 23
Artists, astronomers and space engineers collaborate in this art project exploring the topic of deep space, with an additional series of site-specific installations across Edinburgh planned for the coming 12 months.
Possibilities of the Object, Fruitmarket, until Mon May 25
This special group exhibition examines the pioneering role Brazilian artists played in the innovative international art scene of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s, be it recognisable names like Hélio Oiticica and Mira Schendel or their lesser-known contemporaries.
Film
While We’re Young, general release from Fri Apr 3
Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts play a middle-aged couple grappling with their lost youth in this touching dramedy from Noah Baumbach (‘The Squid and the Whale’).
Cobain: Montage of Heck, general release from Fri Apr 10
With daughter Frances Bean Cobain on board as a producer and loads of never-seen-before home movies and archive footage, this is the Kurt biopic Nirvana fans have been waiting for.
Dead By Dawn, The Filmhouse, Thu Apr 23-Sun Apr 26
The UK’s longest-running horror festival returns to the Filmhouse for a weekend of chills, thrills and spills from around the world. This year’s programme features stylish-looking demon flick ‘Ava’s Possessions’, Dutch survival shocker ‘The Pool’ and Spanish fable ‘Shrew’s Nest’ alongside 35mm classics like ‘Dagon’, ‘Manhunter’ and ‘The Vanishing’.
Avengers: Age of Ultron, general release from Fri Apr 24
Yeah, you know all about this one.
Theatre
Hedda Gabler, Royal Lyceum Theatre, until Sat Apr 11
Lyceum Associate Artist Amanda Gaughan helms Richard Eyre’s new Ibsen adaptation, in which the titular heroine sets out to make a name for herself, consequences be damned.
The Woman in Black, King’s Theatre, Tue Apr 14-Sat Apr 18
Susan Hill's spook story, recently adapted for film with Daniel Radcliffe in the lead role, tells the story of a lawyer obsessed with a curse he believes has befallen his family.
Mark Thomas: Cuckooed, Traverse Theatre, Wed Apr 15-Sat Apr 18
Comedian and activist Mark Thomas follows up his superb 'Bravo Figaro' with another autobiographical theatre show, this one about the time he discovered a close friend of his was spying on him for Britain's biggest arms dealer.
Birdsong, King’s Theatre, Tue Apr 21-Sat Apr 25
Hot on the heels of the First World War centenary, this adaptation of the world-famous novel by Sebastian Faulks comes to the King’s. Can a young English officer lead his men through the carnage of the Somme, and return to his beautiful French lover?
The Venetian Twins, Royal Lyceum Theatre, Fri Apr 24
Lyceum associate artist Tony Cownie directs this take on Carlo Goldoni’s timeless comedy of mayhem-inducing mistaken identity, adding a witty Scottish twist.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Mon Apr 27-Sat May 9
Mark Haddon's best-selling novel about 'a mathematician with some behavioural difficulties' hits the live stage courtesy of National Theatre, touring the production following a rapturous reception in the West End.
A View from the Bridge, King’s Theatre, Tue Apr 28-Sat May 2
Arthur Miller's seminal drama about love, honour and the American Dream in a 1950s Italian-American neighbourhood is revived to celebrate the centenary of the playwright's birth.
Music & Nightlife
Stanley Odd, Sneaky Pete’s, Wed Apr 1
One of Scotland’s most promising hip hop groups is visiting some of the country's most intimate gig spaces in their appropriately-named ‘Sweatbox Tour’ – if you can somehow find a way to squeeze yourself into the sold out Sneaky Pete’s on this night, we recommend you do it.
Ghostpoet, Electric Circus, Thu Apr 2
Exemplary Mercury Award-nominated rhyme-spitter whose third album, ‘Shedding Skin’, came out at the beginning of March.
Paws, Summerhall, Thu Apr 2
The rowdy Glasgow noisemakers pitch up at Summerhall as part of the venue’s Nothing Ever Happens Here gig strand, with support from Algernon Doll and Le Thug.
Nightvision presents Loco Dice, Liquid Room, Fri Apr 4
The penultimate Nightvision session from their current season features the Edinburgh debut of German-born producer Loco Dice, performing a special three hour set.
Simple Minds, Usher Hall, Tue Apr 7
Jim Kerr and his (somewhat altered) crew of new wave pop titans return to ensure their homeland hasn't forgotten about them. No no no no, don't you... etc etc.
SLVR, The Mash House, Fri Apr 10
Techno promoters SLVR join forces with kindred spirits Pulse to celebrate their first year in action, with a headline set from homegrown Tiga-touted techno tykes Clouds (Turbo/Soma).
In Deep, Sneaky Petes, Fri Apr 10 & Fri Apr 17
Sneaky’s regular Friday nighter welcomes back two stars of its widely rotating residents roster this month: Deep Shit (aka Jack Savidge of Friendly Fires and Edwin Congreave of Foals) on Fri Apr 10 and global house experience Highlife on Fri Apr 17.
Duke Special, Electric Circus, Fri Apr 17
AKA Peter Wilson from Belfast, who has won fans in the White Stripes and The Hives with his jaunty vaudevillian piano pop over the years.
Full Spectrum, Summerhall, Fri Apr 17
The Edinburgh International Science Festival presents a sound-and-light clubbing experience, with Crazy P Soundsystem, Davie Miller (Finitribe - DJ set), Yoko Pwno (live) and the Chapel Perilous Tetrasonic Soundsystem providing visually augmented beats.
Substance x Pulse: DVS1, The Bongo Club, Fri Apr 17
The Bongo’s resident house and techno night joins forces with similarly-minded Pulse for their second coproduction of the year, this time featuring US DJ and Panorama Bar resident DVS1.
Éclair Fifi, Sneaky Pete’s, Sun Apr 19
One of the rising stars of the LuckyMe stable heads out on tour, with special guests Nina Las Vegas and Joseph Marinetti in tow.
Låpsley, Sneaky Pete’s, Sun Apr 19
Up-and-coming new electronic pop singer-songwriter, who may sound like she’s Scandinavian with a mononym like Låpsley, but in fact hails from Southport, Merseyside. She signed to XL Records last year, and ranked highly on the BBC Sound of 2015 poll, so expect big things soon.
James Yorkston, Summerhall, Thu Apr 23
The aforementioned Nothing Ever Happens Here gig series takes on a folky vibe with skilled storyteller and singer-songwriter Yorkston on headline duties, with support from multi-instrumentalist Pip Dylan and folk-popper Matt Norris.
Electrikal: Tumble Audio Takeover, Bongo Club, Fri Apr 24
A fifth birthday special, with special guests across two rooms including Deadbeat, Nativ, Hadean (all Tumble Audio), plus Electrikal regulars Taz (Numbers / Rwina), J Bostron (Yard Rock / Run Tingz), Noface (Rubadub) and Ziggy Gee (Bootyshake Records).
Marc Almond, The Queen’s Hall, Mon Apr 27
One of the defining voices of synth-pop and the 1980s at large, former Soft Cell singer Marc Almond is still going strong, as he will prove by bringing his latest solo album ‘The Velvet Trail’ to Edinburgh.
Villagers, The Pleasance, Mon Apr 27
Two-time Mercury Prize shortlisted indie band from Dublin, who make moody, complex music in a distinctly Radiohead-esque vein. They’ll introduce material from the new album ‘Darling Arithmetic’, the much-anticipated follow-up album to 2013’s ‘{Awayland}’.
Nick Cave, The Edinburgh Playhouse, Tue Apr 28
The gothic prince plays a special stripped-down show, accompanied by only a handful of his most trusted Bad Seeds.
Ugly Duckling, The Voodoo Room, Tue Apr 28
Enjoyable old school hip hop from the same scene that spawned Jurassic 5, Dilated Peoples and, er, Black Eyed Peas.
Juice: Daniel Avery, Sneaky Pete’s, Thu Apr 30
The talented young techno producer makes a return to Sneaky’s, the scene of previous victories, to promote his new ‘Drone Logic’ remix album.