Latest Reviews

Mess Maker

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…

Sorry We Didn't Die at Sea

The traditional direction of migrants seeking a better life is turned on its head in Emanuele Aldrovandi’s Sorry We Didn’t Die At Sea (translated by Marco Young) at the Park Th…

The Lady With a Dog

Publicity for Lady With a Dog, written and directed by Mark Giesser, at Upstairs at the Gatehouse, promises a version in which ‘Chekhov’s famous short story of romance and infi…

Strategic Love Play

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.

One Under Par

Was she or was she not fully aware of what she was doing? He certainly was, and for that reason should he have stopped before taking Birdie’s virginity? There’s a suggestion th…

God of Carnage

Who has not experienced a situation in which a surmountable incident escalates out of all proportion? Then, on the way to resolving it, further baggage accumulates around the subje…

Mamoun Elagab: Why I Love White People

Comedian Mamoun Elagab will not kiss your ass.

Tea & Toast Present: The Museum of Relationships

Review
★★★
Susanne Crosby
Brighton
The Actors
10th Sep, 2023

Improvising a whole rom com style comedy show around audience suggestions is not for the faint hearted, and this group’s approach is relaxed and confident.

Choo Choo! (Or... Have You Ever Thought About ** *? (Cos I Have))

CHOO CHOO! (Or.

Yippee Ki Yay the Die Hard Parody

Die Hard has long been a pop culture and Christmas movie stalwart, garnering a large swath of fans across generations.

Tartan Tabletop in a Dungeons & Dragons Comedy: The Never-Ending Quest (Ends Aug 27th)

Tartan Tabletop: The Neverending Quest is not your average improv show.

Louise Atkinson: Mates

It’s very common to leave a comedy show with a new perspective or having learnt something.

Jacob Storms' Tennessee Rising: The Dawn of Tennessee Williams

We all know Tennessee Williams the playwright, but the man behind the plays has faded somewhat into the background.

Colleen Lavin: Do the Robots Think I'm Funny?

Whilst Colleen Lavin’s Do The Robots Think I'm Funny? is an interesting experiment and indicative of our fascination with AI, it’s not a particularly well-structured or fun…

Daniel Foxx: Villain

The simple ‘good vs bad’ narrative is present in just about every aspect of our culture and society.

Stuntman

Stuntman is a high-action piece of physical theatre mixed with reflective storytelling and real heart.

Palindrome: The Musical

Palindrome is Cambridge University Musical Theatres Society’s latest Edinburgh Fringe offering.

Group Portrait in a Summer Landscape

In his new work, playwright Peter Arnott takes the audience back to those pre-Brexit, pre-Covid days when Scots were on the verge of voting in the independence referendum.

On Your Bike

This returning musical is an exceptionally joyful and tremendously funny look into the lives of food delivery drivers.

Mr & Mrs Love

Mr and Mrs Love is a jukebox-esque musical that would work a lot better if it relied more on the strength of its actors as singers rather than force a plot on them.

A Teacher's Lament

A Teacher’s Lament is not the revolutionary political statement that we would expect a show of this nature to be.

Public – The Musical

Public looks like it could be the next big musical phenomenon to have passed through the Fringe.

Junk Monkey

Have you ever had an all-consuming infatuation? Have you ever lied to a crush? Have you ever betrayed your boyfriend for a woman?Junk Monkey’s Olivia Mcleod has.

Ivo Graham: Organised Fun

Organised fun is one of those phrases that can evoke different emotional responses from people.

Irrepressible

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…

Emotionally Unreasonable

Review
★★★★
Katerina Partolina Schwartz
Edinburgh Fringe
Laughing Horse @ Eastside / Laughing Horse @ Home Bar
29th Aug, 2023

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…

Declan

Vulnerability and sexual awakening go hand in hand in Declan, an unnerving one-man play set in rural Wiltshire.

Artist/Muse

Transfixing, she’s staring at us through a doorframe – or is it a painting? We’re invited to draw, then bid…Created by Diana Feng, Tegan Verheul and Clarisse Zamba of the W…

Temporarily Yours

Italian actress and writer, Greta Zampi has created an incredibly engaging show in Temporarily Yours that is thought-provoking and emotional theatre at its best.

Lies All The Way Down: A New Chamber Musical

This completely original chamber musical by Shaye Poulton Richards is a darkly charming piece of new writing.

how to live a jellicle life: life lessons from the 2019 hit musical 'cats'

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…

Mister Shakespeare

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.

Tom Ballard: It is I

Tom Ballard’s It Is I is a bubbly and smugly riotous hour full of puns and political commentary.

Antonio!

Our first impression when seeing Antonio! is that it’s chaotic and hedonistic, a impression that is quickly proven to be correct, but in a gloriously celebratory way.

Actually, Love

Goya Theatre’s new musical Actually, Love manages to find the sweet spot between being softly tender and incredibly rousing, as it pokes fun at and dismantles various rom-com tro…

The Portable Dorothy Parker

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…

Shoot From The Hip

The improvisational sketch group Shoot From The Hip bring their spontaneous hour of games and tomfoolery to the Fringe this year.

My Life Online

My Life Online is an incredibly well performed piece of modern opera, with an unfortunately lacklustre story.

I Wish My Life Were Like a Musical

This is the definitive piece of musical theatre for musical theatre lovers.

Edges

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…

Siblings and Family Friends

These girls are batshit crazy and I love it.

The Town Cryer

Brooke Finegold is masterful in her hour of live poetry, spoken word and stand up comedy.

The Death of Molly Miller

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.

Fall and Flow

Telling five short tales from the mystical fictional world of Jianghu, Fall and Flow showcases the beauty and physicality of Hong Kong theatrical traditions in combination with Th�…

Death Suits You

This is a refreshingly new and interesting take on death through the medium of a musical.

Sherlock Holmes The Last Act

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.

House of Life

In what could be crowned the most uplifting show of the Fringe, The House of Life aka Ben Welch and Laurence Cole from Sheep Soup combine preaching, live music, comedy and all roun…

Julius Caesar Must Die

Julius Caesar Must Die is a little misleading, as initially it appears to be an absurdist original dramatisation of the assassination of Julius Caesar.

Habitat

The thing on the floor as you walk into Dance Base’s Studio One – this year under the Assembly umbrella – is not paper.

John Robertson's The Dark Room

Returning for its eleventh year at the Edinburgh Fringe, this cult favorite show has lost none of its energy and atmosphere.

Brave Space

Seeing the stars spangling Chicago based company Aloft Circus Arts’ posters for Brave Space, last year’s hit, you might wonder – is it as good as all that? The answer is yes,…

An Afternoon with Anton Du Beke and Friends

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.

Wet

When you think of cabaret you might think of bawdy strip teases, caricatures of femininity, and lewd jokes.

Oggie! Oggie! Oggie!

This show’s title summons up many associations except, perhaps, the one that forms the foundation of the play.

Life is a Dream

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.

BOBBY WINNER

A Manchester Anthem

Making its Fringe debut after winning VAULT Festival ‘Show Of The Week Award’ and Pleasance ‘Pick of the VAULT Award’, Manchester Anthem has been restaged from the linear L…

The Great Ruckus

Award-winning writer Izzy Tennyson returns to the Edinburgh Fringe in the shadow of her previous show Brute to tell the story of two dissimilar sisters who must navigate strained r…

Jingle Street

This new Chordstruck Theatre production is a feel-good, comedy musical cram packed with hilarious original jingles, as well as a message for a better world.

Flamenco Fiesta

Alba Flamenca presents Flamenco Fiesta, a fierce dancer and amazing musicians team up to bring Spanish flare to Edinburgh’s Southside.

The Leeds Tealights: A Very Special Birthday Party

The Leeds Tealights bring joy and mirth to the Fringe this year in A Very Special Birthday Party.

Tandava

Tandava – the cosmic dance of Shiva – symbolising time; existence; non-existence and so much more.

Sunshine on Leith

Using the back catalogue of The Proclaimers, this jukebox musical follows Davy (Lewis Kerr) and Ally (Kerr McKinley) as they navigate life after serving in the army.

Simon Brodkin: Xavier

Simon Brodkin’s Xavier follows the rule that you should never judge a book by its cover.

Pieces of Us

Snippets of newsreels fill the Haldane theatre as we take our seats.

Bluebeard's Castle

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.

The Disney Delusion

The Disney Delusion is an off-beat stand-up hour from Leif Oleson-Cormack about a less than magical trip to Disneyland, that explores identity, the nature of love and parasocial re…

Adults Only Magic Show

The vibe is wild as I sit down for Adults Only Magic Show.

Photon StarBlaster and the Suicidal Spaceship

This show is light-speed FAST.

Harriet Dyer: Mother

Review
★★★★
Laura Tucker
Edinburgh Fringe
Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive) / Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron)
24th Aug, 2023

Keeping stand-up weird since 2013, Harriet Dyer is everything I love about the Fringe.

Dusk: A Bite-Size Love Story

If you still chuckle at those Twilight memes making fun of Kristen Stewart’s awkward portrayal of Bella Stark, or harbour some nostalgia for the immortal (and problematic) YA ser…

Ceilidhs (Scottish Dancing)

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…

Guru Dudu's Silent Disco Walking Tours

Review
★★★★
Jasmine Arden-Brown
Edinburgh Fringe
Meeting point at Appleton Tower, Crichton St
24th Aug, 2023

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…

I'm Muslamic – Don't Panik

Bobak dances, clowns and flings himself about the stage for an hour as he tells the audience about his Iranian heritage and growing up in Bristol in the 90s where Islamophobia and …

Summer Camp for Broken People

Emily’s life is falling apart.

Sing, River

The magic and mystery of midsummer combine with things past and present in Sing, River, written and performed by Nathaniel Jones of Love Song Productions at the Pleasance Courtyard…

Pippin (2013 Broadway Revival Musical)

An exceptionally enthusiastic and talented youth theatre put on a revival of the 2013 version of Pippin.

Helios

Helios is a solo show written and performed by Alexander Wright of Wright and Grainger.

Forests

Gripping and emotionally charged, Forests is an experimental Fringe performance not to be missed.

Bill's 44th

If there’s one 44th birthday party you want to be going to this year, it’s Bill’s.

Beyond Boundaries

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.

Magical AF!

Review
★★★★
Frodo Allan
Edinburgh Fringe
PBH’s Free Fringe @ Liquid Room Annexe/Warehouse
24th Aug, 2023

Sam Hurst leaps onto the stage in a black sequin suit and skull-covered tie ensemble that screams “entertainer”.

Why I Stuck a Flare Up My Arse for England

The play follows Billy, a young man whose love of football is the dominant feature in his life, religiously attending every match day without fail.

BOBBY WINNER

Poof!

There is wonder here in Edinburgh, and it is being ignored.

Winging It

Lydia Whitbread’s Winging It is a vague yet very intense coming of age musical.

Sophie's Surprise 29th

If you’ve ever been to a surprise party, you know the awkward anticipation of waiting for the guest of honour to arrive.

One Way Out

Winner of the 2023 Edinburgh Untapped Award, One Way Out is a powerful exploration of the injustices suffered by the Windrush generation, through the lens of four boys from South L…

Max & Ivan: Life, Choices

This wholehearted and heartwarming family orientated show, from the creators of Commitment, The Wrestling, and Deep Heat is the classic story of a life-long friendship and quirky f…

Come Die with Me: The Murder Mystery Musical Parody

Review
★★★
Katerina Partolina Schwartz
Edinburgh Fringe
Just the Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre
23rd Aug, 2023

It’s Come Dine With Me with a twist, and that twist is murder because apparently that’s what it takes to spice up a dinner party these days.

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