Rape, homophobic bullying, knife crime and murder in a mental health/correctional institute, Mathew Bourne's Romeo+Juliet is probably the most shocking and bold of his re-imag…
We’re all familiar with mess in one form or another, but for most of us dealing with it is probably not an all-consuming activity in the way that it is for writer and performer Jen…
Strategic Love Play offers a tragic and often hilarious mirror to the fears and hopes of the vast majority of us who harbour a fear of dying alone.
An Afternoon with Anton Du Beke and Friends, and what an afternoon; Du Beke gives a hilarious and dazzling show filled with humour, dance and song.
Keeping stand-up weird since 2013, Harriet Dyer is everything I love about the Fringe.
There’s a great, restless energy in Director Declan Donnellan’s production of Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s seventeenth century Spanish classic Life is a Dream.
Director Daisy Evans draws the audience not only into the dark corridors of a mysterious castle in her revival of the Bela Bartok opera Bluebeard’s Castle.
Three distinct dance acts bring the unexpected to the stage for Beyond Boundaries, a show billed as a time-travelling showcase of Scottish hip-hop dance.
Gillian Lacey-Solymar, Carrie Penn and Toby Huelin’s Irrepressible, whilst a compelling story seems to rehash old messages without leaving us with a sense that we should do somet…
St Andrews University’s Gilbert and Sullivan Society is in sparkling form with their presentation of this little known show.
Another in the seemingly endless flow of musicals about unlikely subjects that prove successful.
An exceptionally enthusiastic and talented youth theatre put on a revival of the 2013 version of Pippin.
Tandava – the cosmic dance of Shiva – symbolising time; existence; non-existence and so much more.
Julius Caesar Must Die is a little misleading, as initially it appears to be an absurdist original dramatisation of the assassination of Julius Caesar.
How to live a jellicle life: life lessons from the 2019 hit musical ‘cats’ is as bonkers as it sounds, whilst still adding to the philosophical debate on how to live a good lif…
Sam Hurst leaps onto the stage in a black sequin suit and skull-covered tie ensemble that screams “entertainer”.
Do Rhinos Feel Their Horns or Can They Not See Them Like How We Can't See Our Noses may be in the running for the Fringe’s wackiest title and the show itself is an equally pl…
Edinburgh University’s Shakespeare Company present the chilling tale of Hekabe, a reimagined translation of Euripides’ original Greek tragedy.
The Night of the Musicals is a dazzlingly fun, exceptionally energetic hour of musical entertainment.
When you think of cabaret you might think of bawdy strip teases, caricatures of femininity, and lewd jokes.
Relating the most horrible experience a woman can go through portrayed in the most beautiful form, Amina Khayyam Dance Company return to the Fringe with a stage version sequel to t…
This double bill is a treat of depth of talent performing across a huge range of scope – all compressed within a single hour.
Don’t be put off by the topic - this dance show about death is far from gloomy.
In an era where anthropogenic climate change is not only an abstract global concern, but also becoming a lived reality for countless people, the joint production of Belgian puppetr…
The Stall by Jack Twelvetree is an abstract show that uses a childhood memory of flying as an extended metaphor to explore grief, loss, regret and mental health.
Expecting a retelling of the Greek myth, the office set is initially a little confusing.
Dazzling is a one-woman show following Alix, a quirky twenty-something living through the obligatory suffering which comes with discovering oneself, especially in the shadow of her…
2020 the musical follows main characters Emily Goodhand and Adam Pictor, two musical theatre performers who have faced a lot of rejection, finally get their big break in a show tha…
A Chorus Line - and what a chorus line! I was wowed by this performance of A Chorus Line presented by the Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group.
This completely original chamber musical by Shaye Poulton Richards is a darkly charming piece of new writing.
Snippets of newsreels fill the Haldane theatre as we take our seats.
No use crying over spilt milk is a very commonly used proverb, and its familiarity and any possible connection to it is at the forefront of our minds as we watch this show.
There’s something really unsettling about 1950s suburbia, and What If They Ate The Baby? really taps into that feeling as it plunges deeply into the aesthetic of a stereotypical …
This show is light-speed FAST.
If you’ve been handed a flyer for Watch List in the street, you might expect what’s written on it –a show about an insecure police officer on a journey to clean up the street…
Nicole Travolta is Doing Alright is Travolta’s debut show that tells the story of her crippling shopping addiction and how she manages to abscond a steadily increasing mountain o…
The premise of Attachment: The Leech Show is very simple: it’s a play devised and performed for the sole benefit of impressing a single specific audience member; a prominent thea…
We begin, as most trauma does, in the distant past.
A classic story for a modern age, Les Millénniables is a self-aware and uniting musical, because it satirizes the generational divide, and understands its own ridiculous nature.
The improvisational sketch group Shoot From The Hip bring their spontaneous hour of games and tomfoolery to the Fringe this year.
Brooke Finegold is masterful in her hour of live poetry, spoken word and stand up comedy.
Examining the clashing forces on climate change, from eco-activists to oil barons and airheaded celebrities trying to make a change, Crash and Burn not only delivers on a very funn…
On a sunny afternoon in the mid-90s, a young ginger-haired boy is making his way across town to reach his psychologist appointment.
I thought I knew what to expect from The Devil’s Passion.
Social media star Paul Black returns to the Fringe this year with his new stand-up show, Nostalgia, a look back into his childhood as a gay wee boy growing up in Glasgow as the son…
The best way to express what this show represents, is to say it is like a classic cabaret crossed with a night with Mr Rogers.
The show is derived from interviews with humanitarian aid workers about the Impossible.
Paul Merton’s infamous Impro Chums return to the Fringe after a four year hiatus and is warmly welcomed by the Pleasance Grand’s 750 seat capacity bursting at the seams.
These girls are batshit crazy and I love it.
It’s hard to imagine that any show called, in full, A Shark Ate My Penis: A History of Boys Like Me could be weirder or more fun than it sounds.
The 2006 musical Spring Awakening, based on the book of the same name, tells the story of teenagers at a strict religious school in late 19th century Germany, struggling as they di…
Hurly Burly’s Death by Shakespeare is a stylised ode to Shakespeare, that lifts and showcases his best-known characters in a tumultuous yet entrancing way.
How do you summarise a whole life? Is it in the knick knacks and curios we collect? Do the objects we surround ourselves with truly represent who we are inside? And even if you lov…
Students from Westcliff High School for Boys, Essex, have arrived in Edinburgh with 14-18 Cyrano de Bergerac, an exciting re-imagining of Edmund Rostand’s 1897 classic tale writt…
This circus, dance and music show accepts no boundaries.
It is genuinely difficult to keep track of all the wellness tips that you’re supposed to follow to have a healthy body and mind.
The students of Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s MA Musical Theatre programme are a staple at the Fringe, and they never let us down!Edges, a song cycle written by Benj Pasek an…
The room in the Brewdog Doghouse that Patrick Spicer occupies brings with it an air of informality that helps to set the tone for Spicer’s Yes Haha What.
I’m more of a casual Eva fan.
Aloft Circus Arts of Chicago (USA) burst onto the Fringe scene with their hit Brave Space last year.
Eddy Hare’s Leave It With Me is a great example of his dead-pan humour, flair for musical comedy, and joke writing ability.
Emotional balladry, lyrical wizardry, and musical husbandry are the cornerstones of Men With Coconuts, at PBH's Free Fringe @ Liquid Room Annexe/Warehouse.
A traditional dance class running from 9pm to 11pm daily, the Ceilidh is a sweaty fun-filled session in the extravagant grand hall of the Royal College of Physicians, featuring a l…
Ticking Clock Theatre brings to life the grim days of the Victorian hangman at the Space Triplex Studio in The Standard Short Long Drop, a fascinating play set in the cell of two p…
It is comparatively easy to portray conflict; showing the different forms of domestic love is much more difficult.
La codista / The queuer is a deceptively simple show about a woman who waits in line for other people.
Banana is a wacky hour of outside-the-box clown comedy that makes you smile from ear to ear.
A guitar, microphone and stool wait expectantly on an empty stage.
Away from the hurly-burly of the centre of the city, one of the Sisters Hope parades the silent streets, ringing the bell to call the initiates to the ritual.
This is a glorious experience from the opening theme tune, through commercial breaks, down to the 'traditional' preview of the next episode.
What a remarkable and fluid performance full of depth and charisma!Mister Shakespeare is a detailed tale penned by Michael Barry, that shows Shakespeare at work in his lodgings.
A chance meeting in an art gallery and a new flatmate moving in provide the simple framework for Be Home Soon, a beautifully crafted and sensitively performed debut play from By Th…
Not all circus is dance, but Na Djinang Circus’ Common Dissonance certainly is.
The year is 1943 and famed wit Dorothy Parker sits in her New York apartment, sifting through her works and deciding which will make it into the new anthology ‘The Portable Dorot…
La vie Bohème! I can’t believe it’s been nearly 30 years since the rock musical RENT hit the stage and almost 20 years from the film version.
The title, Dead Man’s Suitcase, doesn’t give much away and even at the end it’s a little unclear what the message of Felix Westcott’s musical is supposed to be.
The conceit of this podcast is that Clive Anderson invites a different member of the comedy circuit to share with him their own seven wonders of the world.
Puppetry arguably reached a new level of realism and sophistication with War Horse.
Alba Flamenca presents Flamenco Fiesta, a fierce dancer and amazing musicians team up to bring Spanish flare to Edinburgh’s Southside.
Can’t Wait To Leave is a deeply heartfelt and surprisingly humorous story by Stephen Leach and is performed exceptionally well by Zach Hawkins.
What would it be like for young people if national conscription were still part of growing up; to receive the letter giving you time and place to report for 547 days of duty and ha…
Bold, unapologetic, and certainly unique, Sad-Vents is a really terrific example of innovative theatre that invites its audience into a space which is as unsettling as it is empowe…
Hailing from Brisbane, Australia, CIRCA Contemporary Circus is pushing the boundaries of circus excellence, blending incredibly skilled circus performances with contemporary dance …
There’s been a mix-up in the weekly appointment with her Sanatorium psychiatrist.
With a plethora of Sherlock Holmes shows to catch at this year’s Fringe; our fascination with the super-sleuth showing no signs of abating.
Night Owl Shows delivers a worthy and memorable spectacle with The Billy Joel Story that sees the talented troupe of Angus Munro on piano and vocals, Daniel Watts on drums, Alex Be…
Okay, let’s start at the beginning.
Cleopatra Higgins gives a fierce performance in The Whitney Houston Story, along with her band, Higgins sings Whitney Houston’s most recognisable hits while exploring Whitney Hou…
For casual Blondie fans, it might be easy to forget how many hits the genre defying band have had over the decades.
In Frank Skinner's Thirty Years of Dirt (a clever pun I shamefully only just got this second), Skinner proves exactly what makes him such a dab hand at this comedy malarkey.
After a three year hiatus, Tom Skelton, Daniel Roberts, Chris Turner and Dougie Walker return to the Edinburgh Fringe with their critically-acclaimed improv show, Aaaand Now For So…
First featured as a radio drama on BBC Radio 4, The Death of Molly Miller now takes to the stage with its plucky hostage comedy that addresses pertinent social issues.
“The primary school teacher vibes don’t end here,” Sasha Ellen jokes lightheartedly at the start of When Life Gives You Ellens, Make Ellenade.
I don’t think you can ever go wrong watching a Guy Masterson production in the Assembly Rooms.
High on my list of must-see Fringe shows for this year’s festival, Tutu is an explosion of colour, grace, and humour.
After The Act (A Section 28 Musical) is an eye-opening performance about Section 28 a series of laws introduced to the UK in the 1980s that prohibited the “promotion of homosexua…
Award-winning performance artist and comedian of Fringes gone by, Ben Target, welcomes us with coffee on arrival into the Anatomy Lecture Theatre at Summerhall, a delightfully old-…
Maria DeCotis’ Emotionally Unreasonable is a mildly funny stand-up routine that breaks every so often into really sophisticated pieces of musical comedy that quickly become a tru…
Taking verbatim theatre into a new realm, 52 Monologues for Young Transsexuals is interested in how real life becomes performance and vice versa.
I’d been enjoying the Edinburgh Fringe for about two weeks, and had occasionally spotted these large groups wearing headphones being led around the city by a very colourful chara…