They have played host to big names like music superstar Elton John, American rock icon Tina Turner and Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, as well as hundreds of lesser known actors, dancers and musicians.
Theatres are an essential part of the city's fabric and integral to the Capital's cultural scene.
Here are some fascinating black and white photos, selected from the Evening News archive, of shows, stars and staging from 40 years ago.
Scroll through the old pictures and get a flavour of what was happening on stage in the mid-1980s.
5. Livingston Players
The Livingston Players amateur dramatic society production of Walk Into My Parlour at the Mews Theatre, Howden Park Centre, in April 1983. | TSPL Photo: Bill Henry
6. Model theatre
Councillor Ralph Brereton and Frank Dunlop, director of the Edinburgh Festival, looking at a model of the theatre complex proposed for the Castle Terrace gap site in March 1984. | TSPL Photo: Hamish Campbell
7. From Its Beginning . . .
Leonard Fenton and Sylvester McCoy in a scene from Samuel Beckett's play 'From Its Beginning To Its End' at the Church Hill theatre during Edinburgh Festival 1984. | TSPL Photo: Alan Macdonald
8. Snow Queen and polar bears
Andrea Miller and two 'polar bears' take a break from rehearsals of the Snow Queen pantomime at the Lyceum theatre in Edinburgh, November 1984. | TSPL Photo: Ian Brand