Shows at Sweet Grassmarket

I'm Coming

Molly Brenner’s one-woman show about her pursuit of an orgasm is an endearingly-performed trundle through her long search for sexual fulfilment.

Shattered

As a reviewer, there are several situations that I normally hope to avoid while covering the Fringe: it may surprise you, given that essentially I’m here to force my opinion on you…

Year Without Summer

Cast Iron Theatre have rocked a minimalist set – an intimate three chairs and floor space surrounded by a ring of audience members – and have stretched it expertly to the peak …

One Woman Alien

Heather-Rose Andrews skilfully acts out this minimalist stage version of cult classic Alien.

Warhol: Bullet Karma

Warhol: Bullet Karma invites you to meet everyone’s favourite eccentric pop artist.

Dean Friedman – Songs for Grownups

Dean Friedman is currently playing his fourth year running in the Apex Hotel in Grassmarket, although he has been performing at the Edinburgh Fringe for years before that.

Tinder Rehab

A friend of mine and I were recently chatting about how – even today – sexism is still very much in existence.

Glasgow Central

Glasgow Central is a play based on true events, written and directed by Lauren Dowie.

Any Suggestions, Doctor? An Improvised Adventure in Space and Time

I remember when Doctor Who was a practically forgotten, long cancelled show that was only the domain of nerds (like me).

The Recovery Version

A hidden gem of the fringe, this authentically Scottish play has fantastically realist, understated acting throughout, and it offers an emotional portrayal of the familial tensions…

Reformed Whores: Grand Ole C*ntry

Two beaming faces burst onto stage, accompanied by a guitar, a ukulele and a gloriously shiny accordion.

Lovecraft’s Monsters

David Crawford’s one man show about the great granddaddy of weird fiction, the one and only H.

SiX

Cambridge University Musical society hits Edinburgh to redefine the stories of Henry VIII’s six wives through a contemporary pop girl-band SiX.

Nerdf*cker: a solo play with bad boundaries

Cameryn Moore has made a name for herself as one of the Fringe’s great taboo busters, especially on the subject of sex.

One-Man Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now, with its 153 minute running time, multi-million dollar production costs and jungle location, might not seem like the most obvious contender for adaptation into a on…

Auditions

The premise of this musical is that four professional actors share their insights into the scary world of auditions.

Hella Granger – Superstar

Hella Granger – Superstar recounts the life story of singer Hella Granger, the first white musician to be signed to Motown.

Poe's Last Night

On October third, 1849, Edgar Allen Poe was found delirious on the streets of Baltimore, Maryland.

In Defence of Hitler!

This is a time-traveller’s lark in which the two protagonists, Johan and Stefan, travel back in time to 1933 Germany after having had a debate over whether or not they would kill…

Beryl

Beryl takes place in a cluttered bedsit, where the vivacious titular character runs a service that allows curious potential crossdressers to experiment with different looks.

Drink! The Musical

It didn’t take me long into this show to realise two things: that this as clearly a piece of community theatre and should be recognised as such and that there is clearly somethin…

Irrelevant

In a sitcom-esque black comedy, three bohemian students lazily speculate about the end of the world, until they begin to suspect that one of them might have taken drastic action ag…

Vivaldi for Breakfast!

Vivaldi for Breakfast is an interesting attempt to dramatise the enigmatic life of notorious Baroque composer, Antonio Vivaldi, as he worked in the famous Pietà orphanage for youn…

F*ckboys for Freedom

Perhaps you aren’t aware of fuckboys.

Milkshake!

Milkshake! is the latest serving of magi-comic madness for the under-tens from master of mayhem Seska, who bounds onto the stage in a white suit, aviators and furry ushanka hat.

The Man Who Knows Everything

It’s pretty clear what kind of show we’re about to see when – as it becomes obvious that there isn’t actually a sufficient number of seats for all of the audience that’s …

Imaginary Porno Charades

Imagine taking seven of the most gratingly hyperactive and sexually frustrated boys you were at school with aged fourteen.

Coup de Grâce

Coup De Grâce follows the supposed mental rehabilitation (through advanced experimental therapy) of Emma, a young woman haunted by her past.

After the Flood

Science fiction is a rare thing to find at the Fringe; even rarer is finding it done well, but the Sundial Theatre company has little to fear with their latest offering, After the …

Airswimming

Charlotte Jones’ debut play, Airswimming, is a poignant, one-act portrayal of the lives of two women in St Dymphna’s Hospital for the Criminally Insane.

The Gorgon Girl

Lip Theatre Company’s offering at the Fringe this year presents an interesting take on the classic Greek myth of Medusa: one that is unfortunately plagued with tonal shifts and a…

Twonkey's Mumbo Jumbo Hotel

In a tiny room at Sweet Grassmarket a man has placed a wide array of props, toys, figurines, dolls and detritus in an apparently haphazard way.

Tomás Ford’s Craptacular!

Tucked away in Grassmarket, the Sweet is an innocuous venue which this year plays host to one of the most random, madcap events I have ever seen at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Every Day I Wake Up Hopeful

Filled with humour and sorrow, Every Day I Wake Up Hopeful is a play about a man who is considering throwing in the towel.

Trumpageddon

This is a one-man show in which comedian Simon Jay, armed with orange makeup and Trump-like mannerisms, attempts to satirise one of the most mystifying political phenomenons of our…

Jody Kamali is The Incredible Man of Mystery

The Man of Mystery comes on stage looking like something out of a classic James Bond film: strong jawline, handsome stubble and a black turtleneck — topped off with an orange shi…

Nosferatu's Shadow

The image of a twisted spindly shadow with long crooked fingers, along with pointy ears and even pointier fangs ascending the stairs, is one that is burned into the imaginations an…

Aidan Goatley: Mr Blue Sky

Aidan Goatley’s stand-up show isn’t, despite its title, about ELO; indeed, there’s no obvious guarantee that he will get round to telling us why he chose one of that band’s…

Subsist

Someone turns off the lights.

Splitting

This is possibly one of the most depressing shows I have seen at the Fringe this year.

Matt Abbott is Skint and Demoralised

Matt Abbott admits that poetry is a hard sell on the Fringe, impossible to talk about without coming across as pretentious – which may well explain why one of his bespoke marketi…

The Daily Tribunal

Within five minutes of entering the space, The Daily Tribunal cast have sat me down in the front row and appropriated my pen for the purpose of the show – an examination of the m…

Eurydice

From Shakespeare to Sarah Kane, retellings of classical myths have proved ample sources for new, distinct creations.

The Selkie and the River God

Celtic myth and legend have provided a huge array of inspiration for painting, music, film and theatre.

The Wild Man of Orford

If you give a quick ﬂick through the Fringe programme, it will be fairly obvious that puppetry is on the rise in the theatre section this year.

Beowulf

‘Puppet Beowulf?’ my flatmate asked me with a raised eyebrow and quizzical expression as I left the flat to review Atomic Force Production’s new show.

Murder, She Didn't Write

A remarkably intricate and engaging murder mystery is created from scratch every night.

Thief

Sailor – he had a real name once, but he believes “Sailor” suits him now – is a street hustler, thief and raconteur; the illegitimate son of a prostitute who has taken up h…

25 Stories

The premise of 25 Stories is simple enough; Alex Watts is bored at work and so comes up with short stories to keep himself entertained.

Peter Antoniou – Happy Medium

The show is called Happy Medium, and Peter Antoniou introduces himself early into it as a ‘Comedium’, but these excellent puns are far from the best part of this show.

Phone Whore (A One Act Play With Frequent Interruptions)

Phone Whore is a show that is equal parts witty, sexually frank and dripping with cynicism.

A Life With The Beatles

For some of us among ‘the olds,’ the Beatles provided the lush soundtrack of our lives.

slut (r)evolution (no one gets there overnight)

In this fun one-woman show, a self-described bi-dyke shares with us stories of her sexual evolution, from Mormon adolescent scanning second-hand books for smut, to monogamous domes…

Heartlands

A new play by Dave Fargholi, Heartlands is a taut tangle of ethics and emotion for the modern age.

Nell Gwyn: An Epilogue

This one-woman show presents Nell Gwyn, mistress of King Charles II, as she regales the audience with her lot in life – actor, lover and whore.

101 Reasons Why I #@%$ Katie Hopkins

Though billed as theatre, 101 Reasons Why I #@%$ Katie Hopkins is essentially a lecture on odious media figure Katie Hopkins, complete with biography and PowerPoint presentation, b…

The Effects of Solitude

Written and performed by Noni Townshend, The Effects of Solitude unfolds with a disarming serenity.

(Un)tied

Georg Büchner’s fragmented masterpiece Woyzeck has always attracted experimentation, from one-man shows to Punchdrunk’s latest, The Drowned Man.

The Villains, the Vote and the Black, Black Oil

The show uses a mixture of devised and traditional songs, short sketches, narration, and pantomime versions of figures from recent history to recount some of the most important e…

Out of the Lens

Joseph is wiling away his days in a tea shop looking for inspiration.

The Universal Recipe

A trio of friends, our plucky heroes, stand before us.

The Selkie and the River God

This play explores the enduring Celtic mythology of Selkies – mythical seal-like creatures who, once ashore, can shed their skin, appear as beautiful women and have their hearts …

Real Fake White Dirt

Real Fake White Dirt is both the spoken word tirade of New Zealander Jess Holly Bates and an paradox she alludes to that encompasses her life as a post-colonial white girl.

Dean Friedman In Concert

Dean Friedman shot to fame in the late 70’s with the American hit Ariel in ‘77 and then Lucky Stars which made it to no.

So What If I Dance?

We are in a small room where one can breathe an air of intimacy.

Dracula

In a small, dark room on a sparingly set stage, four figures stand frozen, their eyes wide and their mouths stretched into clown-like smiles, their bodies tense and hands splayed…

Mysteries of the Unknown

The big issue with Bristol Improv’s horror-comedy offering is sadly a brutal one: the show simply wasn’t funny enough.

Riptide: The Slasher Musical

Fringe musicals are often incredibly hard to get right but with a score as sizzling as the sun on the beach and some incredibly skilled performers, Riptide: The Slasher Musical hit…

Love. Guts. High School.

We can all remember the name of our first crush, can’t we? That’s the question Love.

Playdough Face

Scheduling is an often overlooked aspect of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, not least by venues attempting to squeeze in as many popular shows as possible.

A World Beyond Man

In 1912, Captain Georgy Brusilov sailed to the Arctic.

Peter Antoniou - Happy Medium

Peter Antoniou is a small guy in a small venue with a big mind blowing show.

The Last Motel

The Last Motel by Sheepish Productions is a dark two-hander with a neo-noir style akin to the works of cult film directors Tarantino and Lynch.

No Belles

Of 566 scientists to win the Nobel Prize, only 15 have been women.

3,000 Trees: The Death of Mr William MacRae

Sometimes, we can miss what’s important.

Murder, She Didn't Write

A delightfully eccentric murder mystery is created within the hour as audience members choose the title, location, victim and murderer.

Phone Whore: A One Act Play With Frequent Interruptions

If you wander the streets of the Edinburgh Fringe, you might run into Cameryn Moore.

21 Things You Should Know About Toronto's Crack-Smoking Mayor

The idea of a comedy play that’s centred around something we are all really familiar with at the moment - ‘listicles’ - is quite intriguing.

Scandimania: Gods of Ice and Fire

In Scandimania: Gods of Ice and Fire, the stage is crammed with seven young actors, all dressed in white, who leap into action and unfold a fast-paced enactment of Norse mythology.

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