Boyhood is all about spit-shakes, rope swings and playing soldiers.
A celebration of the enduring friendship between the brilliant and tragic composer and war poet, Ivor Gurney, and Marion Scott, writer and trailblazer of women musicians, written a…
Join comedian, crash mat and winner of Drag Race UK Ginger Johnson as she swaps her stilettos for safety goggles and takes a death-defying leap from the runway to the real world.
Amy Johnson had her ambitions and she flew at them.
Composer, cellist and singer Ayanna Witter-Johnson joins forces with the LSO Percussion Ensemble for a jazz-infused performance.
After a slow and rocky start, Ontroerend Goed’s Funeral becomes an emotionally resonant space for processing a person’s grief.
People You Know Productions are going for a cross between Posh, and an Agatha Christie novel, except that nobody here actually wants to work out who the killer is.
The show is performed by a brilliant pair of queer, tumbling, absurdist clowns.
Report To An Academy is not Franz Kafka’s best work, but Robert McNamara brings the elusive central character with precision and animal rage that is very watchable.
Push, Mrs.
After co-directing Edinburgh Fringe-favourite turned international sensation Six The Musical, Jamie Armatige's latest creative project is writing and directing a promising and …
Lucy McCormick may think she's the diva of her feral, budget cabaret of brazen filth but the real joy is taking part in the push and pull of being in an audience under her spel…
Whilst the cat's away, the mice will play.
In A Spectacle Of Herself Laura Murphy slides the serious and the silly up against each other as she successfully weaves the philosophical, the personal and the political together …
Rose Johnson is 37 and all she’s got to show for it is nine chin hairs, a Love Island addiction, and a world-class talent for over-thinking (plus jokes re: all the above).
What do you do when Ms Alzheimer’s – a hideous and befanged monster – comes to live with you? Local author and journalist, Susan Elkin, talks about her new book, …
A mixed-bill comedy, cabaret and variety show to celebrate the life of maverick producer David Johnson who died in 2020.
What if your favourite characters didn’t quite like the way they were written? What if they decided enough was enough? When an unnamed author is found dead, his characters are br…
My Dad is the most important man in the country* but this isn’t about him.
Older & Wiser is a show about life and everything it can throw at you, from the perspective of two different comics.
Ivor B Gurney and Marion M Scott had a very special friendship.
A celebration of the friendship between the First World War poet and composer, Ivor Gurney, and violinist, musicologist and champion of women musicians, Marion Scott.
A show to make you think: “maybe I’m not doing so badly after all.
A show to make you think: “maybe I’m not doing so badly after all.
Romancero Books with the support of the Office for Cultural and Scientific Affairs of the Spanish Embassy in London presents the Festival of Queer Spanish Literature in London…
Romancero Books with the support of the Office for Cultural and Scientific Affairs of the Spanish Embassy in London presents the Festival of Queer Spanish Literature in London…
The Tale of Maggoty Johnson is a theatrical performance that blurs the line between a biography and a fantasy fable, following the life of the last working jester in Britain, Samue…
M6 Theatre Company have put together a heartwarming show filled with the Christmas spirit, with some truly charming use of puppetry, storytelling and stage magic It is exactly the …
It is a complete delight to watch these two actors practice their craft.
If you were invited to a 50th birthday party in Ibiza, would you go? Are you a party animal? Can you get a sitter for the kids? Can you get the time off work? Have you got £1k for…
An hour of gorgeous stand-up from two gorgeous comedians.
After last year’s sell-out smash hit Mum’s Going to Ibiza, Sarah returned home to her two wonderful children and noticed they were losing the art of play due to excessive technolog…
Brett Johnson’s Poly-Theist is a charming and quirky peek into the world of polyamory.
Ginger Johnsons’ Happy Place playing at Pleasance Dome is undefinable in an utterly enjoyable way: It is a mash-up of Mr.
Sigmund Freud meets Salvador Dali, and the result is comedy chaos.
Tickets: £23Duration: approx 2hrs with an intervalSuitable for: ages 16+.
When joining Gerda Stevenson for a performance of extracts from her poetry book Quines, you might be expecting an afternoon of her simply reading her excellent poetry.
Laura Careless’ solo show, inspired by the book and BBC series of the same name by Helen Castor, is an intricate, forceful and nuanced production examining the life of five diffe…
The National Theatre of China have brought their visually stunning production of Life On The Silk Road to Zoo Southside.
If you were invited to a 50th birthday party in Ibiza, would you go? To help you decide, Sarah takes you on her journey and it’s one you’ll never forget.
Alexander Wright, our poet for the evening, tells us that this piece was written in The Meadows – the park not very far from Summerhall where they are performing now.
Katie Reddin-Clancy’s solo show has the potential to be fantastic – with a delicious, sharply observed script that is slickly performed.
Thor and Loki is a wildly silly parody adaptation of the Ragnarok myth that is heaps of fun – even if it does go on a bit.
Chris Thorpe's solo show for this year is about grappling with national identity as a white british man.
Celebrating the friendship between composer and war poet, Ivor Gurney, and musician and first woman music critic, Marion Scott; written and performed by Jan Carey.
Through the thick haze and wash lights, the three piece band of performers that make up Valerie can just be seen, shimmering like figures from the past.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if figures from Greek myth were around today? Well, Zoo Co Theatre Company have got you covered.
Le Gateau Chocolat has brought his background in drag to this kids show, which is a solo act loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen's The Ugly Duckling.
Darkfield – creators of last years Séance – have brought their shipping container back to Summerhall for their latest aeronautically themed immersive audio performance, Flight…
Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens is the plastic-and-glitter-wearing spiritual sister of shows such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Gritty Theatre is living up to its name with their current performance of Anna Jordan’s Yen.
Samuels and Johnson are two of Jamaican theater’s giants.
Jane Johnson for the Stay at Home Shopper takes place over the span of one hour during which Jane and her partner Pam Weldon sell their accessories on the Stay at Home Shopper netw…
This Victoriana adaptation of a gothic adaptation of a children’s fairy tale figure is not exactly breaking new ground.
I Love you, You’re Perfect, Now Change is earnestly performed by a youthful and small cast – the reason for scraping the second star – but the uninspired script and the overa…
It is really reassuring to see an honest piece about the hard work of being a teacher, whilst also avoiding a bland generic sanctifying of all teachers.
Our Carnal Hearts is a wicked and totally absorbing cathartic purging experience, exalting the darker shades of humanity that dwell within us all.
Red Button is a quirky and peculiar piece of science fiction theatre that doesn’t quite find its feet.
Emily Dickinson is flitting about the meeting room in the Quaker Meeting House.
Traverse Theatre is currently hosting rehearsed readings of pieces from graduates at the University of Edinburgh’s Playwriting Masters course.
This is an insight into a piece of work in its infancy, and it does have a long way to go before it stands on its own two feet.
The Intimate Strangers: Mister Bond is one of those shows made up from two guys (most of the time), a collection of wigs, cloaks, scarves and, guns that are mixed together with a w…
Anathema is a promising first piece of work from Bearded Dog Theatre, starting strong with difficult topics not often discussed on stage – specifically the issue of male rape.
In A Different Way Home we hear from two estranged members of the same family as they share their sides of a complex family story with us – chiefly how they manage grief after lo…
If you feel sceptical about the idea of Macbeth as a comedy for children, let me put your mind at rest.
This slick performance of Robin Hood by Manhattan Children’s Theatre (Edinburgh) will leave you laughing, humming the songs, and with a strange desire to shout ‘Hail King Richa…
C Theatre’s production of Robin’s Hood is a silly pantomime style show featuring the classic characters.
There is more to Mavis Sparkle than meets the eye.
Trumpageddon has a strong premise – a facile Q and A with the man of the hour.
The Lulu Show: Life on the Never-Never is exactly what you want from a cabaret.
An unashamedly silly retelling of the story of behind St.
Brighton’s Storyland Press is a place where the story comes first, regardless of genre or where it sits on the commercial/literary spectrum.
A risk when putting any historical figure on stage—let alone a writer and thinker of the calibre of Dr Samuel Johnson—is that using their own words makes them appear less a …
This is a show that had so much potential in its material and utilised none of it.
Grace and Laurie are two friends who decide to become prophets, in order to disprove the dying words of their friend, Eve, who recently committed suicide.
Reefer Madness is an adaptation of a PSA film from 1936 of the same name – famous for being embarrassingly awful – that warned parents of the dangers of marijuana.
A short and well-formed chamber opera, which shows lots of potential, but needs to pick up on the details.
A splendidly constructed World War Two piece, that struggles to be heard.
Sherlock Holmes meets a theatrical farce in this intelligently written double act that sparkles like the Blue Carbuncle.
A Spaniard, a Frenchman, an Englishwoman and an Italian get on a train and treat us to a series of energetic and amusing clowning sketches that weave together the stories of the in…
Hot Coals Theatre have put together a slick physical comedy, full of beat-perfect gags leaving you laughing out loud at the flick of an eyebrow, whilst some of the more grotesqu…
A documentary style piece of storytelling which merges fact and fiction, past and present in an interesting tale, that sadly fails to curdle the blood.
I you are looking for a bombastically visual hip hop dance show, and you don’t mind a nonsensical and cliché plot, this is the show for you.
Comedian Paul Johnson guides his two sons through first loves, playground fights, youth sports and the timeless longing to fit in and be one of the cool kids – an urge Paul still…
As Yet Undecided is an intriguing piece of ‘nonfiction’ with a cast of characters including Doubt, Time and Procrastination.
Hurricane Michael is the kind of production I come to Fringe to see: a very specific, niche show, seemingly outside of my interests, that is found to be a surprisingly charming hou…
Timelines blur as Queen Mary Tudor stands reading the Financial Times in this capable performance that draws parallels between the purging reign of Bloody Mary and the policies of …
“We have a reviewer in tonight” crows a tall, stunning, grotesquely padded and malformed white-painted clown.
This is a wonderfully complex piece; part intertwining story, part vocalised ruminations of Jack Klaff, a Fringe veteran who gives a stunning performance.
Ghost Dance, or Dawns Ysbrydion as is the Welsh title, uses three female dancers to explore the parallels between the displacement of Native Americans and the Ghost Dance of 1890 �…
A surprisingly funny show made up of a series of bizarre vignettes including film, speeches, dance (there is some dancing in clogs, but nowhere near as you expect from the title), …
Professor Chris Carter talks to the Rt Hon Alan Johnson about his career in the trade unions, Labour party politics, and his time as a government minister and author.
An entertaining pantomime-esque show that is great fun for both adults and children.
A slow burn performance, which builds to a surprisingly hard hitting climax, using a dance and self-aware comedy.
This is a show I really wanted to enjoy; each part of the production tries very hard to achieve an ambitious vision, but don’t quite make it.
The American High School Theatre Festival brings a sliver of Tolkien’s Middle Earth to an Edinburgh stage in their very ambitious fantasy adaptation of The Hobbit, performed usin…
Let England Shake is a dark and funny performance full of good ideas and performed by a great all-female ensemble.
This is a mesmerising, funny and well-crafted example of modern choreography, which explores what you can achieve when you are put under restrictions.
Come and join Mr Cooper Sullivan as he tells the tale of how he became embroiled in a murder which takes him on a wild adventure that will have you giggling the whole way though.
This is a lewd, ridiculous and over the top show that will leave you stunned and cackling.
This Much (or An Act of Violence Towards the Institution of Marriage), despite its lengthy title, is a fast-paced, intense and powerful piece of new writing, filled with intriguing…
We are invited into the supposedly idyllic lives of an average suburban family, where absolutely nothing is amiss.
A solid production of Rent that will entertain you for an evening but won’t remain with you.
Fourth Monkey are back with another stellar ensemble piece, providing late night gothic horror - even more frightening, as it is based on a real-life horror story.
Performed by a superb cast, this is a painful and tragic exploration of Alan Turing’s life and the many attempts to break him as a person.
A solid and entertaining piece of Shakespeare that’s well handled by its young cast.
This is a sweet and imaginative show that really draws you into the story that the delightful characters wish to tell.
This is a haunting and powerful solo show that lingers with you long after leaving the theatre, sticking closely to Oscar Wilde’s signature style: simultaneously intellectual and…
Learning difficulties, the truth in conspiracy theories and politics are the topics of a brave stand up.
Flight is an incredibly impressive example of acrobatic theatre, if not a particularly interesting take on the story of The Little PrinceThe storyline follows the original as close…
Science and panto combine in this energetic family romp that means well, but ultimately fails to stick together as a whole.
In a piece that is at times frightening, at times energising and constantly absorbing, solo-performer Vangeline is our white-collared conductor, guiding us through a piece which ab…
Hypnotist Theatre have a story they wish to yell at you, loudly, while writhing in semi-darkness so we cannot actually see whose story it is.
The Park family screening of Jurassic Park goes awry due to a missing video tape.
I have never before been moved from laughing to tears pouring down my face – in the space of one sentence – until I saw this piece.
A slow-burn comic piece of theatre about theatre, To She or Not to She will have you chuckling all the way though, and absorbing the deeply felt feminist message without notice.
Splitfoot by Piper Theatre tells the tale of the Fox sisters “Devil Daughters” who, in post-civil war New York, convinced the public that they could communicate with the dead.
A really specific, niche or academic inspiration for a show, adapted in a completely unexpected style that still absolutely suits the material with high levels of audience interact…
Mum and Dad are out and it is time for a bedtime story with a twist.
Most choreographers interested in social connection try to spur their audiences into action.
In a new adaptation of Luigi Pirandello’s disturbing masterpiece, Cambridge ADC chop, change and miss the point entirely.
Entering the theatre in the midst of a party it was clear that this was going to be an energetic play.
An author, two actors and an audience member discuss Tim Crouchs last play, an unnamed and violence-filled two-person production whose effects on the actors and writer are slowly…
Having spent the majority of my life in school (both as a student and a teacher) this was a play that I was sure I‘d be able to relate to and one that I was looking forward to.
From the moment Mike Sheer appeared it was clear we were in for an energetic show.
The challenge with a one-woman show is that, not only is it your sole task to keep the audience fully engaged and entertained, but there’s nowhere to hide.
Pete De-Graft Johnson, also known as The Repeat Beat Poet, is a poet and organiser of The PAD, a studio and events space in London.