Articles by Elliot Douglas

Un Poyo Rojo

Argentinian dance music greets us as we enter the space for two-man physical theatre experience Un Poyo Rojo, but the vast majority of the show takes place in silence.

Marrow

Another Fringe day, another single figure on a stage dissecting a “big issue of today”.

Parasites

Seesome Theatre’s new production Parasites is presented as an issue play, getting to the heart of problems with the welfare state, domestic abuse and teenager stuck in an unforgi…

Misfit Warrior

It would seem a contradiction in terms that an autobiographical show about one man’s experience with HIV, cancer and mental health issues could have an audience laughing quite so…

Monica: This Play Is Not About Monica Lewinsky

In order for theatre to be political, it certainly does not have to make any truly profound statement on the state of the world.

Ronni Ancona and Lewis MacLeod: Just Checking In

Celebrity impression shows have a Marmite-esque quality: whether they are a hit or a failure depends largely on their consumer and there is rarely an 'in between'.

You and I: A New Musical

Drawing the line between the exaggerated and the tender is no easy feat.

My Best Dead Friend

The black box space in Summerhall is perfectly suited to Zanetti Productions’ new one-woman show My Best Dead Friend, at once intimate and epic in its proportions.

Piano_Play

While watching Piano_Play it is easy to be taken in by the illusion which the show sets up.

The Archive of Educated Hearts

Casey Jay Andrews, resplendent in red dungarees in an intimate venue of her own creation, begins by reminding us pointedly that in her show she is not an actor but will “remain a…

Woolf

Many scholars and philistines alike think they have a good understanding of Virginia Woolf – a suicidal bisexual who used too many semicolons.

The Dolls of New Albion

Paul Shapera’s steampunk opera The Dolls of New Albion is a macabre four acts featuring four generations in a small town where the dead can come back to life as human-sized, unwo…

2016 the Musical

The idea of taking a serious topic and turning it into a musical is not a new to the Fringe.

Big Fat Gay

It was an inauspicious beginning for Martin J Dixon’s new stand-up show, with only 11 audience members, some of whom were loud and rowdy throughout the show.

Aaron Calvert: Awaken

Suave, debonair and immaculately presented, Aaron Calvert has the audience entranced from the opening seconds of his new show, Awaken.

Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum!

Sondheim’s fast-paced lyrics are hard to perform well, even for an experienced Broadway star, and it is rare that I have seen an amateur production that manages to do him justice…

[title of show]

The ambiguity and space for misunderstanding in [title of show]’s name and concept are such that it is entirely possible it could put audience members off, but the University of …

Priscilla Queen of the Desert

It’s impossible to miss the irony in the name of the production company behind Priscilla: Queen of the Desert – Car Crash Productions.

We All Have Songs

In any amateur production, the most significant moments are those where one forgets that the performers are not professional.

X The Musical

Robert S J Lucas’ new show, X The Musical is set in a vaguely sketched-out dystopian future where politics are the most important thing in the world and everyone is required to v…

Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons

This cleverly written piece by Sam Steiner may be back for a third year at the Fringe, but Walrus Theatre has still managed to create something fresh in this wonderful, captivating…

Gypsy Queen

Despite Hope Theatre Company’s name, this production did not leave me very hopeful about the issue it was raising – that of discrimination against LGBT people in sport.

Just William's Luck

Adapting well-loved source material can be a tricky art, but Shedload Theatre have managed to maintain the essence of Richmal Crompton’s Just William stories in this riotous hour…

The Picture of Dorian Gray

It’s always difficult to tell a story that audiences are familiar with and manage to find a new way to engage them in it, but in Box Tale Soup’s new adaptation of Oscar Wilde�…

The Time Machine

Many will be familiar with the big budget movies inspired by the works of HG Wells (The War of the Worlds and The Invisible Man) for example, but fewer might have actually read the…

The Great American Trailer Park Musical

This little-known musical is tremendous fun in its own right, but the extremely talented and energetic cast of The Great American Trailer Park Musical make it engaging for a full 9…

The Improv Musical

Within the last few years, the improvised musical has become a standard of the Fringe, with at least four in Edinburgh this summer.

The Iconoclasts

The Iconoclasts is a perfect example of why one should never go into a show with any expectations.

Sasquatch: The Opera

I’m not sure where to begin in dissecting Sasquatch: the Opera.

Tom Ballard: Problematic

If you’re looking for fresh stand-up comedy this Fringe, you could do much worse than Tom Ballard.

Our Man in Havana

Spies Like Us Theatre’s adaptation of Graham Greene’s classic novel is, quite simply, a joy.

Submission

Liver and Lung Productions have created something extraordinary in Submission, a new play about the conflict between religion and sexuality.

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