--- title: "Arcana | Assembly Festival" meta: "og:description": "Arcana is a poetic, music-led journey about finding your voice and the courage to truly listen to yourself. We follow Arcana, an apprentice court composer trapped in a world of fear and obligation, as her search for “music for all” becomes a deeper quest for identity and freedom. Blending Western classical music with African musical traditions, the show weaves live violin, rich soundscapes, movement, and multilingual storytelling into an immersive, visually striking experience. A bold, cross-cultural performance, Arcana invites audiences into a space of reflection, wonder, and shared humanity. MadeInScotlandShowcase.com" "og:title": Arcana "twitter:description": "Arcana is a poetic, music-led journey about finding your voice and the courage to truly listen to yourself. We follow Arcana, an apprentice court composer trapped in a world of fear and obligation, as her search for “music for all” becomes a deeper quest for identity and freedom. Blending Western classical music with African musical traditions, the show weaves live violin, rich soundscapes, movement, and multilingual storytelling into an immersive, visually striking experience. A bold, cross-cultural performance, Arcana invites audiences into a space of reflection, wonder, and shared humanity. MadeInScotlandShowcase.com" "twitter:title": Arcana description: "Arcana is a poetic, music-led journey about finding your voice and the courage to truly listen to yourself. We follow Arcana, an apprentice court composer trapped in a world of fear and obligation, as her search for “music for all” becomes a deeper quest for identity and freedom. Blending Western classical music with African musical traditions, the show weaves live violin, rich soundscapes, movement, and multilingual storytelling into an immersive, visually striking experience. A bold, cross-cultural performance, Arcana invites audiences into a space of reflection, wonder, and shared humanity. MadeInScotlandShowcase.com" --- # Arcana [**← **Back to What's On](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on) [ ![Arcana](https://assemblyfestival.com/_vercel/image?url=https:%2F%2Fassemblyfestival.pazaz.studio%2Fassets%2F91ea56ef-fbbf-4507-bf0a-9e18abc2e331?width=360%26height=360%26format=webp&w=1536&q=100) # Arcana Arcana is a poetic music theatre show that takes us to the crossroads of Afrofuturism and Afrofantasy. Caught between the rigid expectations of her Emperor father and her own compelling desire to find her true voice, apprentice composer Arcana must decide who she wants to become before the might of the imperial regime silences every last voice for good. An immersive, visually stunning production combining movement, cinematic music, and live virtuoso violin performance, Arcana is brought to life through an original score by writer-composer Fay Guiffo. At its heart is a story about finding your voice, following your path, and the rise of hope in the face of relentless adversity. ## Arcana Accessibility Information The show contains live music with the performer playing violin, alongside playback music and sound effects. The performer has a microphone, and voice and violin are amplified to a consistent level throughout. Some of the lighting states are quite dark. The plot is narrated throughout, and auditory elements are key to the show meaning the show may be accessible and enjoyable for blind and/or visually impaired audience members. The script is multilingual (English, French and Ghomala’) with the majority of the text in English or spoken in both English and French. There is no captioning. There is some audience participation, where audience members are encouraged to hum/vocalise as a group. This is short section & individual audience members are not singled out. ## Show Trailer [![Video thumbnail](https://img.youtube.com/vi/erNUK2GpVrI/sddefault.jpg)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erNUK2GpVrI) ##### Show Trailer [ ## You may also like [](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/shotgunned) Theatre Comedy Drama #### **Shotgunned** 30 Aug 2026 15:10 **Assembly George Square Studios** [Book Now](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/shotgunned/performances) [ [](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/noted) Theatre Physical Theatre Family-friendly #### **Noted** 31 Aug 2026 10:15 **Assembly Roxy** [Book Now](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/noted/performances) [ [](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/tale-of-the-firebird) Dance Physical Theatre and Circus Circus Family-friendly #### **Tale of the Firebird – Concerto for Violin, Fire & Acrobatic Orchestra** 30 Aug 2026 18:15 **Assembly Roxy** [Book Now](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/tale-of-the-firebird/performances) [ [](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/ludwig-unfinished-business) Theatre Comedy Live Music #### **Ludwig: Unfinished Business** 30 Aug 2026 12:35 **Assembly @ St Andrew Square** [Book Now](https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/ludwig-unfinished-business/performances) [ ### **Follow Us** ### **Sign up to our newsletter** ## **THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS, SPONSORS AND PARTNERS** [![The City of Edinburgh Council](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/d379ddbf-66cc-4bb3-909e-c524a9e673ac?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit The City of Edinburgh Council website](https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/) [![The Church of Scotland](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/49185c32-3f2d-4eda-ae62-d01a3e04c659?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit The Church of Scotland website](https://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/) [![Essential Edinburgh](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/bbd576d2-3705-41b9-94af-7dfe6f96b6b2?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit Essential Edinburgh website](https://www.essentialedinburgh.co.uk/) [![The University of Edinburgh](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/56257592-6b16-4180-9c7c-562de7a6cc0e?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit The University of Edinburgh website](https://www.ed.ac.uk/) [![Inchs](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/fb42cf05-8f22-4aea-8e08-24e008e57457?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit Inchs website](https://www.inchscider.co.uk/) [![encore](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/d961c754-dd20-40c1-b476-5369a4076745?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit encore website](https://www.encore-emea.com/) [![Deltalive](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/1ca2a489-690b-4b55-b16a-cd6d2e539d7c?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit Deltalive website](https://deltalive.net/) [![Robe](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/b21f6feb-a965-4482-b78a-4466a153d45b?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit Robe website](https://www.robe.cz/) [![Matthew Clark](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/1a437a3c-6fa6-4078-a071-17d0e0b860d0?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit Matthew Clark website](https://www.matthewclark.co.uk/) [![The List](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/86335248-6c14-4676-bcb8-291543a4c604?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit The List website](https://list.co.uk/) [![Capital Radio](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/71f29d18-debc-4592-8ae7-0aa4f5163117?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit Capital Radio website](https://www.capitalfm.com/) ![Forth 1](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/dc387b7e-8339-4d99-b9be-b1a256439563?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png) [![Deputy](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/7e02ca85-c474-41c6-bd00-beb95ab98ece?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit Deputy website](https://www.deputy.com/gb) [![Lothian](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/c55784eb-57f5-464e-8f82-ad0e480d3b30?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit Lothian website](https://www.lothianbuses.com/) [![Edinburgh International Film Festival](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/bf554013-50b4-4eb8-91df-aeaa7ef890ac?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit Edinburgh International Film Festival website](https://www.edfilmfest.org/) [![Street Assist Edinburgh](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/d64fb877-77c5-4c98-bd42-15db5069750c?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit Street Assist Edinburgh website](https://www.streetassist.co.uk/) [![Aubin](https://assemblyfestival.pazaz.studio/assets/6d6f2f34-9950-4446-a250-30961edc5105?width=400&height=200&fit=inside&format=png)Visit Aubin website](https://aubinandwills.com/)