Shows at Underbelly, Cowgate

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RUM by Joe Mallalieu
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RUM by Joe Mallalieu

The exposed brick of a top-floor cavern at Underbelly Cowgate is the ideal setting for actor/writer Joe Mallalieu’s premiere of Rum, a solo play rooted in his experience of growi… 

Selena Mersey: Madonna/Whore

Selena Mersey: Madonna/Whore

Award-winning musical comedian and professional overthinker Selena Mersey is in a long-term relationship for the first time in her life. 

Naughty Cabaret

Naughty Cabaret

An award-winning, queer feminist cabaret full of drag, circus, clowning and comedy. 

DRUM

DRUM

‘A civilization flourishes when men plant trees under which they themselves never sit. 

Troll

Troll

An ‘irresistibly silly’ **** (Guardian) two-troll clown comedy about connection, scape(goat)ing and being misunderstood. 

You're SO F**king Croydon!

You're SO F**king Croydon!

‘It was my nemesis, I hated Croydon with a real vengeance. 

The Duncan Brothers: Blood Sword

The Duncan Brothers: Blood Sword

The Duncan Brothers find themselves burdened with a legacy they never asked for. 

Chris Turner: Childish

Chris Turner: Childish

As a child, Chris wanted to be two things: a comedian and a rock star. 

Thank You So Much for Coming

Thank You So Much for Coming

Hello and welcome to Cynthia’s fabulous party! Meet our generous host as she greets each and every audience member with a chocolaty hors d'oeuvre. 

BI-TOPIA

BI-TOPIA

Join Sam, a self-confessed people-pleaser, on the battlefield as he embarks on his biggest mission yet. 

Turbo Town

Turbo Town

Whatever you have planned, sack it off. 

Experiment Human

Experiment Human

‘One of the most unique and unusual stories being told on stage’ (LostInTheatreland. 

DIVA: Live From Hell!

DIVA: Live From Hell!

Following a critically acclaimed, sell-out run at the Turbine Theatre, Luke Bayer gives a tour-de-force performance in this blood-stained love letter to Broadway – a solo musical… 

Bill's 44th

Bill's 44th

Brought to expressive life by the puppeteering skills of Andy Manjuck and Dorothy James, Bill is set to celebrate his 44th birthday by making some of the punchiest punch ever mixed… 

Bishops: Farewell Bruce Porcelain

Bishops: Farewell Bruce Porcelain

Returning to Edinburgh after their award-nominated debut, join sketch-duo Bishops on a journey through the life of their late, great mentor. 

House of Life

House of Life

House of Life is a place of worship with one goal: happiness for all, at any cost. 

Identities

Identities

Happy boobs. 

Furiozo: Man Looking for Trouble

Furiozo: Man Looking for Trouble

The name Furiozo murmurs through the festival as a ‘must-see' show and usually when this happens, it’s cause to be cautious. 

Edge of Time

Edge of Time

Two women, two different decades, both on the edge. 

#1 Son – Natasha Mercado

#1 Son – Natasha Mercado

LA clown Natasha Mercado invites you to a mass that’s equal parts holy and horny – hosted by God’s sexiest son, Father Greg Orian. 

Jamie Finn: Nobody's Talking About Jamie (Taylor's Version)

Jamie Finn: Nobody's Talking About Jamie (Taylor's Version)

After a sell-out run, Nobody’s Talking About Jamie returns with “Taylor’s Version”. 

Tom Lawrinson: Buried Alive and Loving it

Tom Lawrinson: Buried Alive and Loving it

Tom Lawrinson has a manic energy that can barely be contained by an Underbelly stage. 

Michael Kunze: Infinity Mirror

Michael Kunze: Infinity Mirror

Michael Kunze is actor Mitch Coony in this Hollywood odyssey, where you’re only ever one hit away from a Tom Hanks sex party. 

Rosalie Minnitt: Clementine

Rosalie Minnitt: Clementine

The critically acclaimed sell-out hit of the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe returns for a limited run. 

Jeromaia Detto: MUSH

Jeromaia Detto: MUSH

Winner: Best Comedy Weekly Award Adelaide Fringe 2024. 

The Mosinee Project

The Mosinee Project

Mosinee, Wisconsin, 1950. 

Dr Dolittle Kills a Man (and Reads Extracts From His New Book)

Dr Dolittle Kills a Man (and Reads Extracts From His New Book)

Dr. 

BATSU!

BATSU!

Edinburgh, are you ready? Warriors, are you ready? Created in New York and Chicago, BATSU! returns to the Fringe after a riotous, sell-out 2023. 

Is This Thing On?

Is This Thing On?

So La Flair and MissMatch’s Is This Thing On? follows flatmates Liz, a musician (Megan Keaveny) and Mary, a poet, (Ellie Campbell) through their tumultuous relationship navigatin… 

Really Good Exposure

Really Good Exposure

Skins actress Megan Prescott – aka Katie F*cking Fitch – writes and stars in her debut solo show. 

Josh Baulf: Banger

Josh Baulf: Banger

After last year’s five-star, award-nominated debut, Josh Baulf returns to Edinburgh with a show about relationships, childhood and turning 30. 

The Sun, the Mountain, and Me

The Sun, the Mountain, and Me

As artfully dishevelled studios go, Arthur’s is on the more organised side of shambolic. 

My Last Two Brain Cells

My Last Two Brain Cells

The award-winning, 7th highest rated comedy of the Edinburgh Fringe 2023 returns! When disaster strikes in Gary’s brain, it’s up to his brain cells to try and fix everything. 

Girls Really Listen To Me

Girls Really Listen To Me

Madeleine is pretty much the worst sixteen year old you can meet. 

Alex Franklin: Gurl Code

Alex Franklin: Gurl Code

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is about Alex Franklin’s Gurl Code, but this show is an example of really great comedy, constantly shifting from one gag to another, as Fr… 

Ugly Sisters

Ugly Sisters

On the day The Female Eunuch is issued in America, a transgender woman in flapping draperies rushes up to Germaine Greer and says: thank you - thank you so much for all you’ve done… 

Out of Woodstock

Out of Woodstock

Whatever the mention of Woodstock conjures up in your mind it's probably represented in this ‘99-inspired show by Tom Foreman Productions, written, directed and produced by T… 

Is the WiFi Good in Hell?

Is the WiFi Good in Hell?

Lyndon Chapman’s debut play directed by Will Armstrong, Is The Wifi Good in Hell? is an evocative coming of age play where identity and environmental displacement collide. 

KAREN

KAREN

Sarah Cameron-West’s Karen is an electrifying explosion of female rage and comedic prowess that follows a loveable underdog who faces off with her arch nemesis in the aftermath o… 

Diary of a Gay Disaster

Diary of a Gay Disaster

Ellis wakes up in a turbulent fever dream created by the Gods of Sapphic Desire. 

Pear

Pear

Which is which? Meet six-foot-seven identical twins, Patrick and Hugo. 

The Durham Revue: Mid-Laugh Crisis

The Durham Revue: Mid-Laugh Crisis

Durham University’s premier sketch comedy troupe is turning 50 – cue the mid-laugh crisis! With the big birthday bash looming, will the troupe conquer their 50th fears, or will t… 

Drag Queens vs Zombies

Drag Queens vs Zombies

Haus of Dench’s monstrous Fringe hit rises from the grave for two nights only! Drag superstars Kate Butch and Crudi Dench have their cabaret show crashed by brain-hungry zombies. 

Paul Foot: Dissolve

Paul Foot: Dissolve

Life is a stress: full of rushed breakfasts, angry people, internal conflict, and Jacob Rees-Mogg. 

Healing King Herod

Healing King Herod

King Herod, famed for his Massacre of the Innocents, now leads a self-development pyramid scheme. 

Charlotte Fox: Ouroboros the Return

Charlotte Fox: Ouroboros the Return

To loathe one’s very being and yet to hold it fast, to fondle the snake that devours us until it has eaten our hearts away. 

Declan

Declan

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

Without

Without

Ben Tomalin, Maisie Fawcett and Sophie Holmes’ Without is an interesting contender at this year’s Fringe Festival in that it has a very strong cast that handles an equally stro… 

The Society for New Cuisine

The Society for New Cuisine

Are you truly satisfied with how you are living, or do things feel. 

Joe Sutherland Is Cancelled

Joe Sutherland Is Cancelled

Fresh from a TV appearance two years ago, Joe Sutherland returns with a brand-new PR strategy. 

Adam Riches is The Guys Who...

Adam Riches is The Guys Who...

In 2018, Adam Riches was The Guy Who You Meet Right After You Come Out Of A Long-Term Relationship. 

Foxdog Studios: Robo Bingo

Foxdog Studios: Robo Bingo

Two IT consultants, Lloyd and Pete, plugged computers into a bingobot and the only way to stop them is to play along on your phone (but in a fun way). 

Pear: But Braver

Pear: But Braver

Winner – Critic’s Choice Award, Perth Fringe 2023. 

A Lovely Day to Be Online

A Lovely Day to Be Online

Singer-songwriter and self-obsessed internet addict Connor Morel fronts a live three-piece band in this original gig-theatre show that asks: are we doing the internet right? Is the… 

Looking for Giants

Looking for Giants

‘It’s the familiarity of herself, somehow, that she sees reflected in his eyes. 

AAA Stand-Up Late

AAA Stand-Up Late

The total sell-out show 2005-2022 returns with a brand-new line-up. 

House of Life

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… 

Manbo

Manbo

Step aside Stallone! Sam Dugmore is locked and loaded as the greatest action hero of all time, unearthing his ruthless man skills to confront his worst nemesis. 

Drag Queens vs Vampires

Drag Queens vs Vampires

There is nothing campier than flying to Transylvania to perform in the Eurovision Song Contest. 

PLEASE LEAVE (a message)

PLEASE LEAVE (a message)

A karaoke bar. 

The Retreat

The Retreat

A campy variety show that mimics an overenthusiastic kick-off event for a corporate retreat for the fictional company Men-ses Period Panties. 

Fall and Flow

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�… 

Life with Oscar

Life with Oscar

Life With Oscar is Nicholas Cohen's brutally honest first person (and occasionally third person) account, detailing his own personal heroes journey from Lewisham, South-east Lo… 

The Way Way Deep

The Way Way Deep

Following the award-winning, sell-out festival hits, The Man and Colossal, Patrick McPherson’s new play The Way Way Deep debuts in Edinburgh. 

Max Norman: A Pirate's Life For Me

Max Norman: A Pirate's Life For Me

Join the crew of a saucy ship and unleash your inner pirate in the most ridiculously playful adventure comedy you’ve never had. 

We'll Have Nun of It

We'll Have Nun of It

A unique new musical with a fully actor-muso cast, this Charlie Hartill Award finalist blends contemporary pop, soul, and folk music in a dynamic story of convent school life. 

Charlie Vero-Martin: Picnic

Charlie Vero-Martin: Picnic

The planet is melting and life’s spinning out of control. 

Dugsi Dayz

Dugsi Dayz

Four students find themselves stuck in dugsi detention – what did they do to end up here? And is there any chance of them getting on? Salma, Yasmin, Munira, and Hani each see the… 

BATSU!

BATSU!

Long, long ago, in the Land of the Rising Sun, four Warriors used the power of laughter to capture Batsu no Akuma, the Spirit of Punishment, within a sacred gong. 

Josh Baulf: Bulldog

Josh Baulf: Bulldog

Josh Baulf has appeared on ITV and BBC Three, but you may know him as “that guy from TikTok”, with his online sketches amassing millions of views worldwide. 

My Dad Wears a Dress

My Dad Wears a Dress

A one-woman show about growing up with a trans female parent, written and performed by Maria Telnikoff. 

Ruby McCollister: Tragedy

Ruby McCollister: Tragedy

‘New York downtown legend’ (Time Out) Ruby McCollister (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Search Party) presents Tragedy, her one-woman show exploring her life-long addiction to making her lif… 

Coffee Kid

Coffee Kid

Meet Beanie: the love child of George Clooney and a Nespresso machine. 

Nobody's Talking About Jamie

Nobody's Talking About Jamie

‘Who are you Jamie!?’ ‘I’m that bitch!’ Jamie is not in fact, that bitch. 

The Durham Revue: Death on the Mile

The Durham Revue: Death on the Mile

The Durham Revue presents: Death on the Mile. 

The Death of Molly Miller

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. 

International House of Vape: Redefining Theatre Experience

International House of Vape: Redefining Theatre Experience

It’s time. 

Frigid

Frigid

Niamh O’Reilly is a Frigid, meaning she’s never been kissed. 

Tomorrow Is Not Promised

Tomorrow Is Not Promised

A captivating new theatre piece about a Black British woman who finds herself homeless and alone after an earthquake. 

Paul Foot: Dissolve

Paul Foot: Dissolve

Life is a stress: full of rushed breakfasts, angry people, internal conflict, and Jacob Rees-Mogg. 

Failed by Design

Failed by Design

Help award-winning comedians build a new invention to save the world in this chaotic, hilarious show where you are in control. 

Molly

Molly

Molly works at Greggs. 

Elliot Steel: Love and Hate Speech

Elliot Steel: Love and Hate Speech

Comedy’s best nepo baby (and there’s a lot) returns. 

Jeromaia Detto: MUSH

Jeromaia Detto: MUSH

MUSH is an all-out journey of absurdity for anyone who loves playfulness, silliness and delightful whimsy! Jeromaia Detto (Aus) is an improvisor and Gaulier-trained clown who once … 

Troll

Troll

A two-troll clown show about friendship, scape(goat)ing and being misunderstood. 

24, 23, 22

24, 23, 22

Meet Fran. 

Boy Out The City

Boy Out The City

Surviving the streets of Coventry in his NAF NAF jacket, discovering the gay scene in 90s Soho, exploring the lonely aisles of Hobbycraft, Declan Bennett’s electric, funny and raw … 

BUTCHERED

BUTCHERED

Not for the faint of heart or light of stomach, Butchered takes its audience into an absurdist descent of meat and madness. 

Alex Franklin: I Must Reach the Summit, Please God I Must Reach the Summit

Alex Franklin: I Must Reach the Summit, Please God I Must Reach the Summit

‘I shall drag myself through the flames of hell; and from the ashes I shall be born anew. 

A Terrible Show for Terrible People

A Terrible Show for Terrible People

Winner: Best Comedy, 2022 (Hollywood Fringe). 

One Way Out

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… 

Rosalie Minnitt: Clementine

Rosalie Minnitt: Clementine

Lady Clementine has until her 27th birthday to find The One. 

Pleasure Little Treasure

Pleasure Little Treasure

It’s the year 1991; the Soviet Union has collapsed and everyone is ready for a new start. 

Bill's 44th

Bill's 44th

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

AAA Stand-Up at Underbelly

AAA Stand-Up at Underbelly

The total sell-out show 2005-2022 returns with a brand-new line-up. 

Definitely Maybe Actually Nevermind

Definitely Maybe Actually Nevermind

‘What do Jamie, Mark, and Fitzwilliam Darcy all have in common? They’re white, problematic, and played by Colin Firth. 

Troy Story

Troy Story

10 years of war have ended. 

Murder Ballads

Murder Ballads

After a sold-out run, The B Collective returns with their exhilarating high-octane show Murder Ballads, adapted from the album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. 

Isabelle Farah: Ellipsis

Isabelle Farah: Ellipsis

Returning for a limited run following a sell-out Fringe in 2021! Stand-up is the outlet that keeps you sane. 

Happy Place

Happy Place

Everybody needs a break. 

Creepy Boys

Creepy Boys

Twin orphans The Creepy Boys are throwing their very first birthday party. 

Spank!

Spank!

For regular Fringegoers who aim to tick all the most talked-about and cultest shows off your list, I’m going to make a prediction: you’ve seen Spank! before. 

The Ugly Animal Preservation Society

The Ugly Animal Preservation Society

Comedy with a conservation twist. 

This is Not a Show About Hong Kong

This is Not a Show About Hong Kong

Winner of Underbelly, New Diorama and Methuen Drama’s hit-making Untapped Award 2022. 

Swell

Swell

In 2014, residents of Fairbourne were watching their local news when they found out they were to be Britain’s first climate refugees, with their town set to be decommissioned and d… 

Destiny

Destiny

Destiny dreams big. 

The Endling

The Endling

‘What if it was you, you were the last individual of the species, The Endling?’ Visually beautiful and laugh-out-loud funny, Strange Futures use their ‘powerful physicality’ (Scots… 

Tamar Broadbent Presents... Stacey Solo

Tamar Broadbent Presents... Stacey Solo

A strong female lead (detective) faces the toughest case of her career in this comedy crime show by Tamar Broadbent (BBC Radio 4, Boom Chicago). 

Ganesh and Cydney's Clinic

Ganesh and Cydney's Clinic

Imagine if Prince and Mae West were best friends. 

Gulliver

Gulliver

Oooh, tell me stories. 

AAA Stand-Up at Underbelly

AAA Stand-Up at Underbelly

Total sell-out 2005-2019 returns with a brand-new line-up. 

Paul Foot: Swan Power

Paul Foot: Swan Power

Tired of the goose? Swan Power is here. 

Mudfish: Might as Well

Mudfish: Might as Well

Have you ever thought you were making a genuine difference in a broken world, when really you were just stuck down a well in an unspecified location with your bothersome twin? Us n… 

Thom Tuck and Tim FitzHigham: Macbeth

Thom Tuck and Tim FitzHigham: Macbeth

416 years ago, Macbeth was first performed. 

Good Grief

Good Grief

Winner of Underbelly, New Diorama and Methuen Drama’s hit-making Untapped Award 2022. 

Blanket Ban

Blanket Ban

Winner of Underbelly, New Diorama and Methuen Drama’s hit-making Untapped Award, 2022. 

In PurSUEt

In PurSUEt

Woman is sat in a therapist’s office. 

Colossal

Colossal

Following his sold-out, five-star debut show, The Man, Patrick McPherson makes his anticipated return with Colossal. 

Ellie MacPherson: Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

Ellie MacPherson: Happy Birthday, Mr. President!

Ellie MacPherson is oddly obsessed with the Presidents of the United States. 

Coming Out of My Cage (And I've Been Doing Just Fine)

Coming Out of My Cage (And I've Been Doing Just Fine)

Mr Brightside hasn’t left the UK charts in 18 years. 

Sami Abu Wardeh: Bedu

Sami Abu Wardeh: Bedu

Prepare for an hour of dazzling character clowning that feels dangerous but is actually safe as milk. 

Richard David-Caine: Tall, Dark and Anxious

Richard David-Caine: Tall, Dark and Anxious

High-octane character comedy from one of the UK’s foremost TV sketch comedians, as seen in the BAFTA-winning series Horrible Histories, Class Dismissed and People Just Do Nothing… 

The Durham Revue: Déjà Revue

The Durham Revue: Déjà Revue

After three years away, the group that brought you Ed Gamble, Nish Kumar, Ambika Mod, Jeremy Vine and many more, are finally back with a new troupe and 100% new material. 

Garry Starr: Greece Lightning

Garry Starr: Greece Lightning

Despite the hyper atmosphere and start of Garry Starr’s Greece Lightning, there is something vaguely unsettling about the manic nature of the way that Starr approaches this show. 

Love Them to Death

Love Them to Death

A mother keeps pulling her ill son out of school. 

Raves R Us

Raves R Us

Naughty Corner Productions’ eighth show promises to be the immersive event of the year. 

This Moment in America

This Moment in America

This Moment in America: America beyond the news. 

Mother: Colleagues

Mother: Colleagues

Camp cult favourites Mother are back with an unapologetic hour – sorry, closer to 55 minutes really – of deranged characters and unhinged sketches in a live mockumentary so clo… 

Horseplay: Bareback

Horseplay: Bareback

Absurd character comedy. 

Foundations

Foundations

Unassuming at the start, A V Brodrenkova and Aimee Dickinson’s Foundations quickly breaks all boundaries and assumptions. 

The Sian Clarke Experience

The Sian Clarke Experience

An ode to every man who has belittled her, made her feel unsafe, objectified her, told her she can’t be funny, called her a slut, told her to smile more. 

How to Keep Up With the Kardashians

How to Keep Up With the Kardashians

Following their sell-out shows in Manchester and London So La Flair make their Edinburgh debut with their cabaret campaign against keeping up culture. 

Cassie and the Lights

Cassie and the Lights

Can kids be parents? When Cassie’s mother disappears, the teenager wants to care for her sisters on her own. 

Paul McCaffrey: We Go Again

Paul McCaffrey: We Go Again

A hilarious new stand-up show from the star of Live at the Apollo, Russell Howard’s Good News, Impractical Jokers UK and Stand Up Central. 

Steve and Tobias Versus Death

Steve and Tobias Versus Death

Tobias hates mash and Steve hates Tobias, but when they discover their mom to be patient zero in a world of flesh-eating zombies, the torn apart brothers get pieced back together, … 

The Failure Cabaret

The Failure Cabaret

The Fremonts have been married ten years and have the therapy bills to prove it. 

Living a Little

Living a Little

With not a zombie in sight, we are taken into a sanctuary of “normality” while the outside world rots. 

Pear

Pear

You have a one in 250 chance of being an identical twin, so for Hugo and Patrick McPherson, they started life by being a bit unusual. 

Caligari

Caligari

Winner of Underbelly, New Diorama and Methuen Drama’s hit-making Untapped 2022. 

Found Footage Festival: Volume 9

Found Footage Festival: Volume 9

In a world where we see some form of video footage every day – on small and big screens, down on our phones, around us on animated billboards – and where we can tumble headfirs… 

HOTTER

HOTTER

Making a show with your ex must be awkward, right? Maybe. 

F. Off

F. Off

The National Youth Theatre have put Mark Zuckerberg on trial. 

Tokyo Rose

Tokyo Rose

Tokyo Rose is a complex story, told phenomenally well by a company quickly proving itself to be one of the hottest theatre groups in the country. 

Fix Us

Fix Us

Fix Us, presented by the BareFace Collective playing at the Underbelly Cowgate, is a defiant and inspiring look at how theatre and role play can help all of us to find our true sel… 

America Is Hard to See

America Is Hard to See

The Edinburgh Fringe is awash with shows designed to shock and push our buttons. 

A Table Tennis Play

A Table Tennis Play

Albert Einstein used to work in a patent office, reportedly because the mundanity and ease of the job allowed his mind to wander to more complicated concepts. 

SK Shlomo: Surrender

SK Shlomo: Surrender

Very few of Edinburgh Fringe’s 4,000+ shows this year are able to boast being incomparable to all others. 

James Barr: Thirst Trap

James Barr: Thirst Trap

James Barr is single. 

Lucy Farrett: Lois

Lucy Farrett: Lois

Character comedy is a difficult discipline at the best of times and, with a trope as thoroughly picked-over as the oblivious action-hero, it asks at lot from a performer to find so… 

Harry and Chris: This One's for the Aliens

Harry and Chris: This One's for the Aliens

There are worse ways to start a show than with free sweets, and no better way to end it than with a singalong. 

Harry Baker: I Am 10,000

Harry Baker: I Am 10,000

If a show combining maths, poetry, comedy and rap sounds like it may be up your street, then boy, oh boy, do I have a show for you?! The youngest ever World Slam Poetry champion, H… 

She Sells Sea Shells

She Sells Sea Shells

Searching through the Fringe guide for a show worth seeing is a job that could perhaps be likened to archaeology – you spend hours carefully probing, sorting the dross from the d… 

Superstar

Superstar

A one-handed show about making a one-handed show might be becoming a little passé at the Fringe but there is at least one final offering you should devour before you write the gen… 

Just Desserts

Just Desserts

A cabaret with desserts could have been light, fluffy fare but Michelle Pearson isn’t afraid to get into the more bitter ingredients in life. 

Art Heist

Art Heist

Heist films are great, aren’t they? Whether it’s the effortless style of the The Italian Job or the precision of an Ocean’s film, heist movies amaze by tricking the audience … 

Garry Starr Conquers Troy

Garry Starr Conquers Troy

Selfless to a fault, Garry Starr is ready to share the lessons he’s learned about the actors’ craft, the art of pretending. 

Monsoon Season

Monsoon Season

You've probably heard plenty of stories about lucky couples who fall in love, get married and live happily-ever-after. 

M.E.H

M.E.H

As recently as the early 20th century it was not uncommon for women to be medically diagnosed with “hysteria”. 

When the Birds Come

When the Birds Come

As might be expected, the environment – specifically, the “environmental emergency” we currently face – is one of the more notable themes running through this year’s Frin… 

Son of Dyke

Son of Dyke

I have a slight confession of bias. 

Gobby

Gobby

How did the first person to watch Phoebe Waller-Bridge perform Fleabag feel; confused, enlightened, so profoundly altered they could barely put words to it? Jodie Irvine’s origin… 

Courtney Pauroso: Gutterplum

Courtney Pauroso: Gutterplum

An intense, enthralling and fascinatingly uncomfortable exploration of the ageing of an American woman, played with a perfected bleak clowning approach that toys with the crowd and… 

Unexpected Item in the Bagging Area

Unexpected Item in the Bagging Area

Have you ever been to a supermarket and thought, “Hey, I really wish the staff would sing more?" Well, Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society are here to make that wis… 

CONSPIRACY

CONSPIRACY

You are watching three actors sat at a table. 

Electric

Electric

Two young women from different sides of Dublin city attending the same festival meet in the girls' toilets (always the best place to make new friends) and strike up a connectio… 

Fulfilment

Fulfilment

In our modern world, convenience is king and Amazon wears the crown. 

Sex Shells

Sex Shells

Sex Shells is a rampant and rambunctious hour of reverie, a camp cabaret that’s exceptionally remarkable in style. 

Hyde and Seek

Hyde and Seek

Late 1800s: there’s a heavy fog surrounding London. 

Do Our Best

Do Our Best

The Girl Guide Promise, an oath taken by all Guides and Brownies, highlights how a girl guide member must always do their best, be true to themselves and develop their beliefs. 

Bismillah! An ISIS Tragicomedy

Bismillah! An ISIS Tragicomedy

The premise of Bismillah! An Isis Tragicomedy, in the Fringe guide, "a story of radicalisation, disenfranchisment and the rock band Queen" was compelling enough to want t… 

Two Hearts: The Comeback Tour

Two Hearts: The Comeback Tour

What an honour to have New Zealand’s self-proclaimed ‘only popstars’ at our humble festival. 

Ripped

Ripped

Ripped, by Alex Gwyther is a heroic confrontation with the aftermath of a male sexual assault. 

Like a Sturgeon

Like a Sturgeon

Edinburgh-raised drag queen Ripley makes his Fringe debut this year with Like A Sturgeon. 

Bad Luck

Bad Luck

Billed as part cabaret, part wannabe warehouse rave, my expectations were prepared. 

Jericho

Jericho

Jericho is a show about internet journalism, liberal hot takes, and professional wrestling, which is to say that it's managed to be about a lot of my niche interests. 

Garry Starr Performs Everything

Garry Starr Performs Everything

Starr is a bag of nervous insecurity, wrapped up in a paper thin façade of theatrical overconfidence. 

The Turn of the Screw

The Turn of the Screw

In Underbelly’s Big Belly, the slow dripping from a leak in the roof onto the stage has never been a more apt presence in a production. 

Mistero Buffo

Mistero Buffo

Go and see this show right now. 

Harpy

Harpy

Harpy is an intricate portrayal of a nuisance neighbour, with more nuances than one would expect to squeeze into a one hour show. 

dressed.

dressed.

For most of us, our clothes are a major part of our identity. 

Karaoke Saved My Life

Karaoke Saved My Life

All month I have spotted Scott Swinton, star of Karaoke Saved My Life, on the streets of Edinburgh, flyering for his show. 

Pickle Jar

Pickle Jar

Pickle Jar takes us on the journey of an egocentrically flawed central character as she struggles to find her place in the world. 

The Cat's Mother

The Cat's Mother

One of the most valuable functions of theatre is to offer us a way to explore difficult issues without fear of blame without fear of censure. 

Paul Williams: Santa Fe

Paul Williams: Santa Fe

The jig is up! Paul Williams is a quadruple threat – song, dance, comedy and opinion. 

It's True, It's True, It's True

It's True, It's True, It's True

What does the transcript of a 17th century Italian rape trial reveal about the state of the world nowadays? That, despite 400 years of supposed social progress, the impulse to blam… 

Dangerous Giant Animals

Dangerous Giant Animals

Dangerous Giant Animals is a one-person show about growing up with a disabled sibling, based on writer/performer Christina Murdock's real life experiences. 

Paul Foot: Image Conscious

Paul Foot: Image Conscious

There are going to be two kinds of people who read this review: fans of Paul Foot, and people who are curious about Paul Foot. 

Angry Alan by Penelope Skinner

Angry Alan by Penelope Skinner

Walking into the dark depths of the Big Belly at Underbelly, my expectations are low as I take my seat and note there’s a leak in the roof above my chair. 

Ami and Tami

Ami and Tami

Ami and Tami is a reimagined Hansel & Gretel for the modern day. 

Boondocks

Boondocks

Set in a bush, this play gets quickly into its own stride, with a persistent odd humour which flips on its head anything you thought you knew about a conversation between three you… 

Spank!

Spank!

I spent last night from the hours of midnight to 2am being belittled, insulted and berated in every way I could imagine. 

Paul Foot: 'Tis a Pity She's a Piglet

Paul Foot: 'Tis a Pity She's a Piglet

Culminating in an audience member punching a stuffed monkey named Jonnie whilst Paul Foot shouts ridiculous syncopated mottos about equality for all mankind, this show provides alm… 

Frankie Vah by Luke Wright

Frankie Vah by Luke Wright

Luke Wright has been performing spoken word on the Fringe circuit for years, winning a dedicated following for his catalogue of smart, catchy polemics. 

Jack Rooke: Happy Hour

Jack Rooke: Happy Hour

Jack Rooke won a scholarship to attend Westminster University to study Journalism. 

Otto & Astrid: Eurosmash! (Die Roten Punkte)

Otto & Astrid: Eurosmash! (Die Roten Punkte)

Sibling duo Otto & Astrid have abandoned their punk roots in search of commercial success. 

Julio Torres: My Favourite Shapes

Julio Torres: My Favourite Shapes

What connects plastic penguins and the floundering middle class? Straight men and empty bottles of Gatorade? Melania Trump and the crumpled foil of a Ferrero Rocher? Julio Torres i… 

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland

Not Cricket’s new production of Alice in Wonderland is a charming and whimsical piece that delights audiences both young and old with its blend of live music, puppetry and dance. 

Dust

Dust

Dust is not for the faint-hearted. 

John Robertson: The Dark Room

John Robertson: The Dark Room

There are many different kinds of video games: roleplaying, shoot-em-up, strategy, the list is endless. 

Diane Chorley: Rhythm of Live

Diane Chorley: Rhythm of Live

Meet Diane Chorley, legendary 80s superstar, part-time piccalilli representative and full-time diva. 

Zach & Viggo

Zach & Viggo

Meet Zach & Viggo; Zach is a roguish American oozing with boyish charm. 

Fag/Stag

Fag/Stag

Fag/Stag written and performed by Aussie duo Jeffrey Jay Fowler and Chris Isaacs, explores what it means to have your best mate by your side when you’re stuck being your worst se… 

Laughing Stock

Laughing Stock

Laughing Stock are a sketch comedy foursome who incorporate live music, dance and mime to create a narrative-driven show with hysterical characters and a quick, witty script. 

Viggo Venn – The Life of Pepito

Viggo Venn – The Life of Pepito

Viggo Venn’s act is a hard one to categorise. 

Losers

Losers

These four friends are absolutely obsessed with reality TV. 

The Canon: A Literary Sketch Show

The Canon: A Literary Sketch Show

This is a very silly comedy about some very serious books (and poems and plays). 

Trashed

Trashed

This dark one-man play is full of energy and intensity as David William Bryan perfectly encapsulates the abject isolation of binman Keith Goodman, known to all as Goody. 

Daniel Piper's Day Off

Daniel Piper's Day Off

Daniel Piper’s Day Off is a one man comedy show that goes through the different anxieties one feels when calling in sick to work. 

Above the Mealy-mouthed Sea

Above the Mealy-mouthed Sea

Delightful and expressionistic one-woman show; Above the Mealy-Mouthed Sea is spoken-word theatre play about the self we present to the world and the self we try to hide. 

Abigoliah Schamaun: Namaste, Bitches

Abigoliah Schamaun: Namaste, Bitches

Enlightenment is an unusual concept. 

The Starship Osiris

The Starship Osiris

Looking for a star-spangled adventure into science-fiction? The Starship Osiris is certainly not that: it’s much, much better. 

Steen Raskopoulos – The Coolest Kid in Competitive Chess

Steen Raskopoulos – The Coolest Kid in Competitive Chess

Steen Raskopoulos makes no effort to be cool on stage. 

Quarter Life Crisis

Quarter Life Crisis

If you are looking for an unpretentious, heart-warming comedy show at the festival, Quarter Life Crisis is where you will find it. 

The Prophetic Visions of Bethany Lewis

The Prophetic Visions of Bethany Lewis

It’s very easy to write a story that grabs someone’s attention. 

The Black Cat

The Black Cat

In The Black Cat Edgar Allan Poe’s macabre classic is made ironically self-aware. 

Prom Kween

Prom Kween

From the producers of bold, subversive and wonderfully camp comedy musicals: Margaret Thatcher: Queen of Soho and How to Win Against History, Prom Kween certainly has a lot going f… 

The Last Queen of Scotland

The Last Queen of Scotland

The Last Queen of Scotland is a bold and original new piece of writing by Jaimini Jethwa, commissioned by the National Theatre of Scotland and Dundee Rep, and produced by Stellar Q… 

Cow

Cow

One Devonshire lass and her cow in search for a tractor may not sound the most captivating plot premise you’ve ever heard, but Cow delivers brilliantly on it. 

Matt Abbott: Two Little Ducks

Matt Abbott: Two Little Ducks

Wakefield’s poet son may have a self-confessed tendency for lewd social observation but Matt Abbott is also an unpretentious recorder of life in the raw, with a talent for coming… 

Rupture

Rupture

Take the premise of George Orwell’s 1984 and lighten it up with a few jokes and some pop culture references and you’ll already be halfway towards the dystopian future seen in R… 

Fix

Fix

Worklight Theatre return to Edinburgh with their brand new show Fix; a fusion of song, science and soliloquy investigating addiction in the UK today. 

Abi Roberts: Anglichanka

Abi Roberts: Anglichanka

Abi Roberts adorns her ushanka hat and jovially welcomes her audience into Anglichanka her cavernous theatre space at Underbelly Colgate with a thick Russian accent. 

Zach Zucker – Human Person

Zach Zucker – Human Person

If I could bottle some of Zack Zucker’s confidence, enthusiasm and energy I could create a cure for depression and low self-esteem. 

Just William's Luck

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… 

Bruce

Bruce

Imagine a blockbuster movie: now imagine that movie where all the characters are played by an unassuming yellow sponge. 

This Really Is Too Much

This Really Is Too Much

Gracefool Collective’s This Really Is Too Much blends dance, spoken word and physical comedy in a devised expressionistic theatre piece; revealing the absurd realities of life fr… 

Demi Lardner: Look What You Made Me Do

Demi Lardner: Look What You Made Me Do

Despite the title, it’s quite clear from this hour of absurdist comedy that nobody is making Australian cult comic star Demi Lardner do anything. 

Tumble Tuck

Tumble Tuck

Though not the most affecting one-woman show of the festival, Tumble Tuck, written and performed by Sarah Milton, still definitely manages to make a splash. 

Wolf Meat

Wolf Meat

Grandma is a drug dealer. 

And For My Next Trick

And For My Next Trick

It’s a fair statement to make that there are both straight-up sceptics and those who actively try to believe when it comes to magic, but the fact still remains that an audience f… 

The B*easts

The B*easts

Even those of us who strive to find nothing inherently embarrassing about mammary glands feel a bit awkward at the box office, and this is part of The B*easts message. 

UCL Graters: Smashing

UCL Graters: Smashing

In UCL Graters’ return to Edinburgh, even the refreshments are violent. 

The Man on the Moor

The Man on the Moor

The tricky thing with a show like The Man On The Moor is balancing the personal, fictional story being told with the larger, true-life event it is connected to. 

Found Footage Festival

Found Footage Festival

Curating a collection of the most bizarre instances of human behaviour recorded on esoteric VHS tapes, Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher do little more throughout the evening than brief… 

The Picture of Dorian Gray

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�… 

Denim: World Tour

Denim: World Tour

Denim, a drag Haus come girl band, are on tour and they’ve finally reached Wembley Arena (actually, the Belly Laugh at Underbelly). 

Tense Vagina: an actual diagnosis

Tense Vagina: an actual diagnosis

Sara Juli’s Tense Vagina: An Actual Diagnosis does an excellent job of pushing the boundaries of the relationship between the audience and performer. 

Christeene: Trigger

Christeene: Trigger

In Christeene’s second visit to Edinburgh she performs her latest show – Trigger. 

The Hours Before We Wake

The Hours Before We Wake

The Hours Before We Wake presents us with a world where you can customise your dreams and upload them to DreamShare when you wake up. 

Northanger Abbey

Northanger Abbey

Jane Austen’s satirical novel, itself a pastiche of recognisable and well-worn tropes of the Gothic literary genre, is here given new life by company Box Tale Soup, consisting of… 

Dolly Wants to Die

Dolly Wants to Die

To say Dolly Wants to Die is a dark comedy is like saying water is wet: the irreverent jokes come left, right and centre, but only a few of them properly hit their target. 

A Good Clean Heart

A Good Clean Heart

It may be difficult to believe that something as uncommon as bilingual theatre could work. 

Blush

Blush

Nowadays, stories of celebrity nudes abound, attracting much unwanted media attention and accusations of who’s to blame flying in every direction. 

Perfidious Lion

Perfidious Lion

Some shows stick in your head even if they are flawed. 

Fabric

Fabric

“I so wanted to please him. 

Zero

Zero

Dark humour can be a bit hit-or-miss. 

In Our Hands

In Our Hands

In Our Hands tells the story of Alf — trawler fisherman, boat captain, father — as he struggles with a changing industry, big business rivals, and his estranged son. 

Growing Pains

Growing Pains

Standing ovations are rare, but the house rose as one at the at the end of Tom Gill’s Growing Pains in tribute to a remarkable performer and a stunning show. 

James Wilson-Taylor: Ginger is the New Black

James Wilson-Taylor: Ginger is the New Black

James Wilson-Taylor has been discriminated against and enough is enough. 

My World has Exploded a Little Bit

My World has Exploded a Little Bit

At the end of this show, our two performers, Bella and Eva, tell us that they are available for hugs if any are needed. 

Nicole Henriksen is Makin it Rain

Nicole Henriksen is Makin it Rain

Nicole Henriksen is an Aussie comedian and stripper and in this show, which harnesses skills from both professions, she gives the audience a clear rundown of what they’re going t… 

John Robertson: The Dark Room

John Robertson: The Dark Room

“You awaken to find yourself in a dark room”, it’s a phrase shouted many times during The Dark Room. 

Zach & Viggo: Thunderflop

Zach & Viggo: Thunderflop

In their homemade red and black jumpsuits (emblazoned with an enormous Z and V respectively), Zach Zucker and Viggo Venn are an odd pair — even at the Fringe, the spiritual home … 

Grumble: Sex Clown Saves the World

Grumble: Sex Clown Saves the World

Kate Bush may well have adopted a new receptacle in the form of a skimpy harlequin from down under. 

Fat Girls Don't Dance

Fat Girls Don't Dance

Moving and funny, Maria Ferguson’s one-woman show, Fat Girls Don’t Dance, deals with issues relevant to today’s young women. 

Lucy McCormick: Triple Threat

Lucy McCormick: Triple Threat

Triple Threat is a gloriously transgressive flurry of punky, feminist mayhem. 

Life by the Throat

Life by the Throat

Life By The Throat tells the life story of James Joseph Patrick Keogh. 

Agent of Influence: The Secret Life of Pamela More

Agent of Influence: The Secret Life of Pamela More

Given the popularity of the monarchy these days, one forgets about some of the more unsavoury types who’ve reigned (however briefly) in the last century. 

Paul Foot: 'Tis a Pity She's a Piglet

Paul Foot: 'Tis a Pity She's a Piglet

For a comedian with such a cult following, renowned for surrealist originality, I was very excited about my first encounter with Paul Foot’s comedy. 

Jonas Müller Regrets Writing This F*cking Masterpiece

Jonas Müller Regrets Writing This F*cking Masterpiece

Have you ever met someone so beautiful that you didn’t know what to say? And then have you ever found yourself just saying ‘Yeah’ to everything that they say because you’re… 

Zoë Coombs Marr: Trigger Warning

Zoë Coombs Marr: Trigger Warning

Zoe Coombs Marr attracted attention at last year’s Fringe with her debut show Dave, performing in drag as a sexist stand-up with a severe distaste for political correctness who i… 

Pond Wife

Pond Wife

“So tell me what you want, what you really, really want. 

Steen Raskopoulos – You Know the Drill

Steen Raskopoulos – You Know the Drill

While acknowledging his immense talent, some reviewers have accused Steen Raskopoulos of going through the motions, trotting out the same tired routines he’s been spinning for… 

Bourgeois & Maurice: How to Save the World Without Really Trying

Bourgeois & Maurice: How to Save the World Without Really Trying

2016’s been a bit of a bumpy year to say the least so, it was only a matter of time before we started receiving advice from extra-terrestrials. 

Made Up

Made Up

Using poetry, physical theatre, music and a limited amount of props, The Fast Food Collective’s new show is a thrilling romp through a night on the town. 

Torch

Torch

A solo piece of feminist writing from theatre company Flipping the Bird, Torch looked right up my street. 

Lunch

Lunch

Lunch. 

Laughing Stock

Laughing Stock

A varied sketch comedy, Laughing Stock lives up to its name, parading numerous situations of self-deprecation before us providing much hilarity. 

Grimm: An Untold Tale

Grimm: An Untold Tale

For those who don’t know, the Grimm brothers are the authors of the famous book Grimm’s Fairy Tales, a huge source of inspiration for all kinds of modern myths and fables. 

Captured

Captured

Forsaken love. 

Mr Incredible

Mr Incredible

There are plenty of plays at this year’s Fringe which criticise gender norms and take on patriarchal systems, but Mr Incredible truly gets to the heart of the kind of beliefs tha… 

Rhys Nicholson – Bona Fide

Rhys Nicholson – Bona Fide

Back again for his fourth time at the Edinburgh Fringe, Australian Rhys Nicholson’s fast-paced, intelligent wit has his audience engaged from the get go. 

Ruby and the Vinyl

Ruby and the Vinyl

There something quite exciting about the prospect of a new musical running at an hour without a big stage or fancy lighting or even a band and only three performers. 

Bricking It

Bricking It

Several years ago, a couple of wannabe stand-ups decided to do a Free Fringe show based around some of the odd things their respective fathers had said and done down the years. 

Liz Miele: Mind Over Melee

Liz Miele: Mind Over Melee

Liz Miele is a smart, sardonic firecracker from New Jersey who’s been on the comedy circuit since the tender age of 16. 

2 Become 1

2 Become 1

I attribute quite a lot of my adult personality to my love affair with girl power and how swept away I got in all things noughties. 

Be Prepared

Be Prepared

Settling into my seat, I glance at the leaflet which had occupied it moments before. 

Spencer Jones is The Herbert in Proper Job

Spencer Jones is The Herbert in Proper Job

Almost every review of Spencer Jones takes the lazy route of saying he’s like Mr Bean meets something/someone wacky. 

Exactly Like You

Exactly Like You

Nina Simone is one of the greatest music icons of the last century, producing songs as soulful as her voice. 

Yuri

Yuri

Patrick and Adele dream of having children of their own, yet their biological clock is ticking and here comes her solution: she picks up a homeless boy in Lidl (of all places) a… 

JOAN

JOAN

Too often Joan of Arc is depicted as a very quiet, very pure young woman who keeps her gaze firmly on her feet or to the Heavens: not very fun at all. 

Predrinks | Afterparty

Predrinks | Afterparty

Deadpan Theatre return to the Fringe after their sell-out success Get Your Sh*t Together, premiered at the Fringe in 2015. 

Rhymes with Orange

Rhymes with Orange

Every successful show needs a Unique Selling Point – or, put simply, a gimmick. 

Jessie Cave: I Loved Her

Jessie Cave: I Loved Her

Imagine a one-night stand you had resulted in a pregnancy and four months later you started a relationship off the back of it. 

Trygve Wakenshaw: KRAKEN

Trygve Wakenshaw: KRAKEN

Kraken, devised and performed by Trygve Wakenshaw, is a physically charged one man mime show. 

Some Big Some Bang

Some Big Some Bang

Some Big Some Bang is set at the memorial of a mother’s death. 

Keith Farnan: Anonymous

Keith Farnan: Anonymous

Keith Farnan recently became father to a baby girl. 

Stuart Bowden: Wilting in Reverse

Stuart Bowden: Wilting in Reverse

Stuart Bowden’s voice emerges behind a curtain. 

Scaramouche Jones

Scaramouche Jones

‘God, what a day’ is the first thing said to us by Scaramouche Jones, the red-nosed, white-faced clown who – sensing the ghosts of an audience in his dressing room – decide… 

Marny Godden: Flap ‘em on the Gate

Marny Godden: Flap ‘em on the Gate

From the moment Marny Godden’s first character walks onto the stage to a decidedly creepy soundtrack it’s clear that the comedian will be leading the audience down an unusual p… 

Acts of Redemption

Acts of Redemption

Thrown into the lives of five characters, Ken Jaworoski’s Acts of Redemption reveals moments of loss, regret, realisation and confession, where a snippet of life is captured in a… 

Much Further Out Than You Thought

Much Further Out Than You Thought

Lance Corporal James Randall is sitting in a living room strewn with desert sand and an abandoned maroon beret by the television. 

Get Your Shit Together

Get Your Shit Together

Job losses, painful break ups and junk food - set to music! Get Your Shit Together is the perfect pick me up for 20-somethings in a similar situation, or just a nice dose of Schade… 

Chaos Theory

Chaos Theory

Three performers and twenty five sketches, presented in a random order each night. 

The Lost Art of Lost Art

The Lost Art of Lost Art

Amid a cluttered set that looks like a dirty old flat sits Edvard Munch’s The Scream. 

The Durham Revue: Cirque du Sillý

The Durham Revue: Cirque du Sillý

The Durham Revue has a lot going for it this year – the group are all on top form. 

John Robertson – The Dark Room: Symphony of a Floating Head

John Robertson – The Dark Room: Symphony of a Floating Head

John Robertson’s send up of classic text based video games succeeds in being an hilarious evening of retro fun. 

If I Were Me

If I Were Me

Antler’s If I Were Me is a visual treat. 

Dead Man's Cell Phone

Dead Man's Cell Phone

Jean is sitting in a cafe enjoying a lobster bisque when a phone nearby starts to rings. 

Brute

Brute

Poppy must make a rather rapid readjustment to Year 11 after being abruptly relocated from Spain to a girls’ school in a remote British town. 

Penny Arcade: Longing Lasts Longer

Penny Arcade: Longing Lasts Longer

With her bright red hair and black-lined eyes, Penny Arcade looks like some sort of cartoon superhero – and she has the commanding stage presence you’d expect of one too. 

CELL

CELL

There is something inherently heartbreaking about the small metal-framed chair standing centre-stage as the audience comes in, but no more so than when one of the show’s co-devis… 

Billy Through the Window

Billy Through the Window

Billy (Hector Dyer) and Joe (Joseph O’Toole) have gone on a ‘holiday’. 

Tether

Tether

It’s less than a year to go until TV screens will be fixed on the Olympics and Paralympics in Rio. 

Jack Rooke: Good Grief

Jack Rooke: Good Grief

Jack Rooke: Good Grief could probably win a prize for ‘comedy show with the least likely to be funny subject matter ever that actually turns out to be absolutely hilarious�… 

Paul Foot

Paul Foot

Surrealist comedian Paul Foot is an Edinburgh Fringe institution. 

Gary Busey's One-Man Hamlet as Performed by David Carl

Gary Busey's One-Man Hamlet as Performed by David Carl

Every serious actor wants to do his Hamlet. 

The Eulogy of Toby Peach

The Eulogy of Toby Peach

Toby begins by racing through a history of his life in numbers - how many days he’s been alive (9424), how many minutes he has spent kissing (not enough), and how long it’s bee… 

Night + Daze

Night + Daze

Sheffy is a lad on a mission. 

John McKeever: Multifarious

John McKeever: Multifarious

On top of talent and comic-timing, McKeever has charm by the bucket-load. 

Gay Furnish Flirt Coach

Gay Furnish Flirt Coach

Outrageously over-the-top characters, a raucous Edinburgh Fringe audience and lashings of inappropriate advice from a self-styled flirt coach, sexologist and dating guru. 

64 Squares

64 Squares

‘Welcome to my mind. 

Sing for Your Life

Sing for Your Life

For those of a squeamish nature, this may not be the best review to read over your breakfast. 

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Family

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Family

“He is my father… somehow,” says Ben Norris, cutting to the heart of a feeling many people have at some point in their lives. 

Rebounding Hail

Rebounding Hail

Written by Avital Lvova and George Vere, Rebounding Hail is set in a 13 year old girl’s room surrounded by her books. 

Ivy Paige: Filthy Rich

Ivy Paige: Filthy Rich

Hips, tits and glamour galore. 

Bruce

Bruce

Best word to describe Bruce, a show built entirely around a block of yellow sponge: Absorbing. 

Blake Remixed

Blake Remixed

“In hip hop, we create our own mythology”. 

Where Do Little Birds Go?

Where Do Little Birds Go?

Where Do Little Birds Go? follows the story of Lucy Fuller in the heat of London’s swinging sixties, where she has hopes of landing her dream job as a West End star (or a barmaid… 

Checkpoint 22

Checkpoint 22

In a field on the outskirts of Glastonbury sit Joel and Dave, recent university graduates, taking any work they can find. 

Islands

Islands

From Fine Mess Theatre comes Kyle Ross’ play Islands, an insight into upper-middle class marriage which typifies the lifestyle of the ‘rah’. 

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

In her khaki jumpsuit and ponytail, writer-actor Rebecca Crookshank looks like a cute suburban 30-something. 

My Beautiful Black Dog

My Beautiful Black Dog

Billed as both musical theatre and performance art, the audience for Brigitte Aphrodite’s My Beautiful Black Dog, her autobiographical account of depression, is likely to bring v… 

Weekend Rockstars

Weekend Rockstars

“This is the story of the best week of my life”. 

Thünderbards: Chapter III

Thünderbards: Chapter III

From the sweaty depths of their library on Cowgate, Matt Stevens and Glenn Moore give an entertaining hour of sketch comedy. 

Luke Wright: Stay-at-Home Dandy

Luke Wright: Stay-at-Home Dandy

Luke Wright is a veteran Fringe performer and one of the UK’s leading spoken-word artists. 

The Secret Wives of Andy Williams

The Secret Wives of Andy Williams

The Secret Wives of Andy Williams is an enjoyable hour of theatre that is occasionally funny and often moving, with plenty of eccentricity to keep things interesting. 

Jana and Heidi

Jana and Heidi

Jana and Heidi starts with the blasé observation that Heidi Stransky had seen a comedian at last year’s Fringe Festival and thought “I could do that”, deciding to put toge… 

The Tarzan Monologues

The Tarzan Monologues

If The Vagina Monologues was all about empowering women and reclaiming the C-word, it is fair to say that The Tarzan Monologues is the antithesis. 

Lead Pencil: In Full HB

Lead Pencil: In Full HB

The Lead Pencil sketch show is colourful, unabashedly silly and highly hyper. 

The Durham Revue: Shenanigans

The Durham Revue: Shenanigans

On the day that I saw it, The Durham Revue was a victim of its own small audience. 

Nougat for Kings

Nougat for Kings

This raucous romp with a proclivity for puns and a lot of alliterative ardour flails ferociously to amuse. 

WOMANz

WOMANz

Tessa Waters is back this festival with the new solo show, Womanz. 

Sex with Animals

Sex with Animals

For the second year running, Sex With Animals hits the Fringe in an outrageously hilarious fashion with solo star Ryan Good taking to the stage in a lion onesie. 

Spine

Spine

Meet Amy. 

Bloom

Bloom

It’s a habit of some shows to tell true and tragic stories in a good way. 

Winky

Winky

“This is the time for you to win. 

Jamie MacDowell and Tom Thum

Jamie MacDowell and Tom Thum

What sounds can you make with just your body? Most us can manage the usual: speaking, shouting, applause. 

Foil, Arms and Hog: Loch'd

Foil, Arms and Hog: Loch'd

Foil, Arms and Hog are a group of stylish Irish lads with an old-school, vintage look. 

Bonenkai

Bonenkai

Bonenkai is a Japanese term meaning “forget the year gathering. 

Manuelita

Manuelita

Manuelita uses physical theatre, music, storytelling and comedy to tell the story of the lover and co-strategist of Latin America’s 19th century revolutionary Simon Bolivar, Man… 

Lucy Ayrton: The Splitting of the Mermaid

Lucy Ayrton: The Splitting of the Mermaid

In this feminist retelling of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid, the desire to be human is not borne out of desire to find a Prince, but a desire to experience motherh… 

Mush and Me

Mush and Me

Mush and Me is a fresh retelling of an old story, one in which faith catalyses what seems a painfully unnecessary conflict between lovers. 

Le Flop

Le Flop

There are quite a few shows every year which can’t be categorised in the traditional sense of the Fringe programme. 

Christeene: The Christeene Machine

Christeene: The Christeene Machine

The queue for this show was in itself an experience. 

Ryan Coffey Live and Loud

Ryan Coffey Live and Loud

Ned Kelly look-alike Ryan Coffey arrives in the burgh with vocal looping and a Fender Stratocaster to deliver some songs about relationships. 

The Bastard Children of Remington Steele

The Bastard Children of Remington Steele

What is The Bastard Children of Remington Steele? It has enough energy to be many things and enough intelligence to do them well. 

Bears in Space

Bears in Space

Puppetry. 

Paul Foot: Hovercraft Symphony in Gammon # Major

Paul Foot: Hovercraft Symphony in Gammon # Major

Paul Foot’s offstage microphone isn’t working, so the pre-show announcement of Paul Foot - Hovercraft Symphony in Gammon # Major is apparently ruined. 

zazU

zazU

At the opening of the show, we are invited to “follow the bee” and head to the bizarre land of zazU - a futuristic dreamworld where singing is outlawed and, when someone dies, the … 

GIRAFFE: Let's Talk About Sketch Baby

GIRAFFE: Let's Talk About Sketch Baby

Ali James, George Kemp and John Oakes comprise Giraffe, a hysterical sketch comedy trio bent on filling an hour of your lives with their own brand of hilarious original comedy. 

We Have Fallen

We Have Fallen

There perhaps could not have been a more timely play than We Have Fallen. 

Chef

Chef

Sabrina Mahfouz’s talent as a poet shines through in her latest play, Chef, and Jade Anouka gives a stunning performance in the titular role of this one-woman piece. 

Awkward Conversations with Animals I've F*cked

Awkward Conversations with Animals I've F*cked

Awkward Conversations with Animals I’ve F*cked is f*cking great. 

Kraken

Kraken

Billed as ‘Comedy (mime, physical theatre)’ I was a little unsure about what to expect from Kraken, but whatever it was that I had been expected was soon proven to be way out. 

Vikki Stone: Instrumental

Vikki Stone: Instrumental

Over the years Vikki Stone has accumulated a wide array of musical instruments - twenty to be exact. 

The Interview

The Interview

A quick glance into the Fringe brochure may lead an innocent punter to think The Interview is an intriguing show. 

Before Us

Before Us

Stuart Bowden has fashioned his costume out of a lime-green sleeping bag, which becomes baggy and puffy like an emptied out bean bag around his body. 

Hiraeth

Hiraeth

Bud wants to leave home, but when doing so breaks the tradition of four generations of farmers in rural West Wales, it is a tough decision for the aspiring artist. 

Will Adamsdale: Borders

Will Adamsdale: Borders

‘The problem with being white, male, and privileged’ states Adamsdale in the opening few minutes of his latest show Borders, ‘is that I have absolutely nothing to say’. 

Guilt & Shame: Going Straight

Guilt & Shame: Going Straight

With more raucous energy than a crate of Red Bull sprinkled with cocaine, Rob Cawsey and Gabe Bisset Smith under the collective guise Guilt & Shame bring their new show Going Strai… 

How to Achieve Redemption as a Scot Through the Medium of Braveheart

How to Achieve Redemption as a Scot Through the Medium of Braveheart

Rachael Clerke is Scot-ish (a category whose ambivalence, being Jew-ish, I totally get), as she demonstrates by wearing kilt hose with knackered trainers. 

How to Disappear Completely

How to Disappear Completely

The first impression I got of Itai Erdal was of a man far too self-absorbed, verging upon vanity instead of showmanship; a man who proclaims he has travelled far and wide to some o… 

Natasia Demetriou: You'll Never Have All of Me

Natasia Demetriou: You'll Never Have All of Me

Natasia Demetriou is new to solo shows. 

Signal Failure

Signal Failure

Under Peter Darney’s direction, Sasha Ellen’s Signal Failure is a romantic comedy that wanders happily between the serious and the downright silly. 

Little Jokes

Little Jokes

‘I see life as basically tragic and futile and the only thing that matters in life is making little jokes,’ wrote Edward Lear, a Victorian best known for his nonsense poetry an… 

So It Goes

So It Goes

“I’m not going to speak” writes Hannah Moss on a whiteboard, silently, before wiping it clean, “It’s easier”. 

John Robertson: The Dark Room

John Robertson: The Dark Room

Returning to the Fringe for the third year running, this text adventure game-gone-big seems to have more lives than it gives its players. 

Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall: Success Arms

Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall: Success Arms

At first glance, Alasdair Tremblay-Birchall appears a mild mannered, softly spoken young man, cutting an endearing figure as he gently chatted with the audience throughout the show… 

Pomme is French for Apple

Pomme is French for Apple

You can sense when an audience is tense even without turning around. 

Running Into Me

Running Into Me

There is a single chair on stage, opening music plays and a phone rings. 

Shame

Shame

Take one man’s story telling of events from his past about which he still feels guilt, remorse, shame and weave through a good helping of physical theatre-cum-breakdancing par ex… 

Low Tide in Glass Bay

Low Tide in Glass Bay

Deadpan theatre’s Edinburgh debut touches upon many areas of life, from the most mundane to the deeply moving. 

Ben Hart - The Vanishing Boy

Ben Hart - The Vanishing Boy

Ben Hart is the kind of magician that makes sceptics become believers. 

Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind

Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind

Too Much Light Makes The Baby Go Blind has been running in various iterations since 1988, with an ever-changing roster of extremely short “plays. 

Queens of Sheba

Queens of Sheba

Great theatre often takes deeply personal experiences and weaves them together into stories and sequences that tap into a universality and profundity that the experiences alone wou… 

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