Shows at Zoo Southside

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Un Poyo Rojo

Un Poyo Rojo

Argentinian dance music greets us as we enter the space for two-man physical theatre experience Un Poyo Rojo, but the vast majority of the show takes place in silence. 

Too Pretty to Punch

Too Pretty to Punch

There are 36 shows at the Fringe by trans performers, according to the TransFringe hashtag on Twitter, and Edalia Day’s Too Pretty to Punch might be the only one that’s both ce… 

Apocalypse How?

Apocalypse How?

Zkeletonz are ‘one of the UK’s most innovative and independent bands’ (DestinationNative.com). Join them as they debut a brand-new interactive show Apocalypse How? The trio have been featured by BBC Introducing, Channel 4’s Sunday Brunch, Radio X, Amazing Radio, Chilean national TV, the Birmingham Mail and the front cover of the Irish Post… 

Looping: Scotland Overdub

Looping: Scotland Overdub

Billed as part Brazilian street dance and part Scottish ceilidhe with everyone invited to share the dance floor and a whisky, this suggested a rather more joyful, carnivalesque exp… 

Staged

Staged

Circus is inherently exciting to watch – the whole point of it is to see human bodies interact with the world in a way you didn’t think was possible. 

Black Holes

Black Holes

An Afrofuturist history of the universe from the Big Bang to dreamshout death. Propelling lived experiences onto a cosmic scale, Chimutengwende and Hemsley shapeshift through poetic text and movement… 

Ritualia

Ritualia

Scottish Dance Theatre’s Ritualia shakes tradition to its core in this bold re-imagining of Nijinska’s 1920s ballet, Les Noces. An ensemble of other-beings vogue through a wedding ceremony, donning queer wigs in a visual feast of wearable art and lush lighting set to Stravinsky’s original modernist score… 

Not Today's Yesterday

Not Today's Yesterday

Not Today’s Yesterday. ‘Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past’ (George Orwell). Not Today’s Yesterday is an international collaboration between UK award-winning Bharatanatyam artist Seeta Patel and Australian choreographer Lina Limosani… 

Are we not drawn onward to new erA – Ontroerend Goed

Are we not drawn onward to new erA – Ontroerend Goed

What’s done is done. 

Nightshifter

Nightshifter

Flo and Kai are family; siblings raised together who find themselves living in very different worlds… Inspired by conversations with junior nurses and paramedics, Nightshifter reflects on our epic capacity to care… 

Inka

Inka

When two scientists struggle to parent their youngest son, they create Inka. Inka provides human companionship, without human commitment – and she remembers everything… both good and bad… 

Happiness for All

Happiness for All

Be a passenger on our cliche-free poem/song journey tonight: relationships, nature, places and much more! It’s alternative. Allow fab singer Mr Brian to light up your festival, alongside narrator Mr Lee who reminds us never to forget biology and rhythm, plus the magic in life. 

STYX

STYX

A mixture of mythology, memory and music. 

it will come later

it will come later

A stripped back, thrilling and edgy contemporary dance work. Performed and watched around a revolving set that’s flooded in light like the shifting light of day, six bodies push against each other in a constant flow of transformation… 

Apollo: Take 111

Apollo: Take 111

James Stuart – or Stuart James – is passed out at his desk as the audience file into the space. 

How to Use a Washing Machine

How to Use a Washing Machine

How To Use A Washing Machine is a charming two-hander from emerging company Slam Theatre. 

I Swallowed a Moon Made of Iron

I Swallowed a Moon Made of Iron

A requiem for our digital age from Toronto/Macau composer Njo Kong Kie (winner, 2018 Toronto Theatre Critics Award, Best New Musical). This concert experience sets the poetry of Chinese poet and factory worker Xu Lizhi to song… 

Raiders of the Grey Gold

Raiders of the Grey Gold

The dream of old age and the fear of reaching it! In a battle against time, the Danish theatre company Don Gnu throw themselves into a physical and blazing acrobatic quest for the grey gold and to find the beauty in the decay of time… 

Put Your Best Face On

Put Your Best Face On

Lola’s funny, confident, and always striving for perfection. She has everything a fifteen year old could want – friends, followers, approval… so what’s missing? Praised by her virtual friends, and celebrated in her online life, Lola’s moving away from the people closest to her, and she’s not sure she even recognises herself… 

SHINE

SHINE

Your daughter is missing. You are the only one who has not given up the search. You hear voices. They guide you. They also haunt you. Will you surrender to them? Or will you shine? Hippana Theatre invites you to the distant recesses of the mind to meet the stranger inside you… 

Muse 90401

Muse 90401

Muse 90401 is a one-woman show written by, and starring, internationally acclaimed actress Fadik Sevin Atasoy. Ingenious, humorous and bold, this non-stop tour de force re-envisions the lives of famous women from art and literature through the perspective of a rebellious Muse… 

Super Human

Super Human

Super Human explores and pushes the limits of the human body. In a unique and mind-awakening performance the super physical team redefine the human being in new optimised versions. Both supernatural and superhuman behaviour is in the spotlight as the performance gathers inspiration from science-fiction movies, superheroes and real-life scientific experiments… 

Conversations With Van Gogh

Conversations With Van Gogh

Conversations With Van Gogh – Hannah has lost faith in everything and everyone, except maybe Vincent van Gogh; but if all life is creation, then surely she can find the meaning of life in an art gallery… 

Intolerable Side Effects

Intolerable Side Effects

Millennial-female-clown rabbit Diane wants to find love but she’s having some serious problems with her contraception. She finds herself in the GUM clinic being advised to take celery as a form of “vegetation separation”… 

Lovely Girls

Lovely Girls

Chess and Cristina are multi award-winning duo, The Hiccup Project, often introduced as ‘the lovely hiccup girls’. At first, they didn’t react, because women are supposed to be lovely… 

A Rock'n'Roll Suicide!

A Rock'n'Roll Suicide!

Ziggy Stardust takes us on a Tragical Mystery Tour through the life of a nearly-was rock star! Drama, tragedy and hilarity ensue to a live rocking backdrop. Does this poignant inner struggle lead to damnation or salvation? We shed light on some of the more bizarre choices of our would-be hero, all whilst hurtling through this life of crazed adventure… 

The Creation Myths of China

The Creation Myths of China

The shows are based on Chinese classical myths of the very beginning of the world. Like ancient myths from Greece of the very beginning of the world, China also owns their own explanation of how the world was born... 

The Fun Club Presents...

The Fun Club Presents...

I’m not sure how to explain The Fun Club Presents… Three performers – Sara Page, Franny Anne Rafferty and Alistair McPhail – in a room, all in animal face-paint, talk obliquely about themselves... 

A Life on the Silk Road

A Life on the Silk Road

The National Theatre of China have brought their visually stunning production of Life On The Silk Road to Zoo Southside. It is a physical theatre feast, beautifully performed with mesmerising choreography and it is worth making the time for its slightly longer run time of 80 minutes... 

Holy $#!% It's Music and Comedy With Matt Griffo

Holy $#!% It's Music and Comedy With Matt Griffo

Matt Griffo from Chicago is an internationally touring musical comedian, combining music with comedic lyrics. Griffo’s show is what you get if Ben Folds and Flight of the Conchords had a love child... 

Autóctonos II

Autóctonos II

A quintet between pianist/composer and four dancers, Autóctonos II questions belonging to a group, in this society of endurance, indifference and productivity. Both abstract and mathematical at first sight, the piece bases its writing on the physical tenacity and commitment of its performers... 

Distinction

Distinction

ZOO Venues in conjunction with DanceXchange and Dance 4 present a showcase of outstanding emerging companies. Don't miss out on a chance to see the very cutting edge of British dance... 

There She Is

There She Is

When a whale beaches on the London Underground, all hell breaks loose and communication abruptly ceases. A humorous one woman\\\'s surreal trip through the unintelligible babble of London... 

There She Is

There She Is

A humorous one-woman show, a journey to get there: to a better place, a better word, anything better. However, a whale has jumped in front of a train in central London and all paths must change... 

Dep

Dep

ĐẸP is a Vietnamese word that translates as ‘beautiful’, and is also the starting point for Dam Van Huynh’s dance work that explores the nature of the human condition, taking inspiration from his Southeast Asian heritage... 

Pie Equals Square

Pie Equals Square

A mad inventor applies logic to the absurd and abstract. Distant memories, ideas and images smash together. Surreal scenes and characters push, prod and taunt. We ask: what is irony? Where is sincerity? Who can I believe? Our inventor finds himself in a world where rules have changed and irreverence abounds... 

All These Things

All These Things

For one day only! Live Art Bistro take on ZOO Southside, doing what they do best: presenting 12 hours of transgressive and experimental performance by world-renowned artists. All These Things is for the brave and the curious... 

What The Moon Saw

What The Moon Saw

A magical journey around the world... A dance and circus performance for little ones and their families. Scared of the dark, young Jack opens his bedroom window to find a familiar friendly face, The Moon... 

She Taught Me How to Breathe Again

She Taught Me How to Breathe Again

A one-to-one performance for a group of individuals. Put on your headphones, listen in and imagine yourself in the place of another... Premiering at this year's Fringe, She Taught Me How to Breathe Again combines new writing and live performance in a show which examines human relationships, differences in perspective and asks how we might change when we think someone's watching... 

How to Drink Wine Like a Wanker

How to Drink Wine Like a Wanker

We've all encountered the wine wankers' insufferable diatribe. We endure it because we have no f*cking idea what they're talking about. Follow one woman's accidental journey over 12 months from shallow wine novice to full-blown wine wanker... 

Century Song

Century Song

A woman stands downstage right, a spotlight illuminating her from one side. She starts playing with her voice. No actual words come out but there is beauty and pain, and there are jazz phrases and buzzing lips... 

Zugunruhe

Zugunruhe

Zugunruhe (zoo-gun-rue): an ornithology term for ‘migratory restlessness in birds’. This show explores the incredible flight of a marsh warbler, the world’s only bird whose song echoes its migration route... 

The Half Moon Shania

The Half Moon Shania

Punk and theatre aren't the strangest of bedfellows, but there is something that often feels false when collectives of art school graduates and professionally-trained actors attempt to go rock 'n' roll for the evening... 

Step Into Africa IV 

Step Into Africa IV 

Back at the festival for the fourth time, 34/18 Youth Dance Company perform Step Into Africa IV. 14 dancers, six young fresh choreographers and the experience of the artistic director, Wendi Abrahams, makes for a reboot of modern dance... 

Bluff

Bluff

'Our world is in order, a world in which there are unchangable truths that are valid to everybody.' Or maybe not? Maybe one starts to shiver at the thought that it could also be quite different... 

It's Alright, Everything's Okay

It's Alright, Everything's Okay

Sometimes we feel sad. Sometimes we feel lonely. Sometimes we look at the world and wonder if we're causing its problems. But it'll be alright in the end... right? Featuring questionable life advice, harsh noise, and references to whales, Anorak presents its first show, an intimate and surreal look at happiness, selfishness and whether we can – or should – change the world. 

The Welcome Revolution

The Welcome Revolution

\"There is something about the UK, you do not welcome people.\" One woman goes on a mission to make a change. She hosts tea parties around the country, inviting her guests to enjoy a cuppa and share their thoughts on the act of welcoming... 

Stoel (Chair)

Stoel (Chair)

Choreographic duet from three years ago. Recipient of the Minister for Children and Media award during the Rencontres Théâtre Jeune Public de Huy in 2015 and Critics' Prize for Best Young Audience Play 2015-2016... 

Istanbul: You'll Never Walk Alone

Istanbul: You'll Never Walk Alone

It's 2005 and somehow Liverpool are back in the European Cup Final. From the Mersey to Turkey, the Reds will their team to glory. But can this ragtag Liverpool side topple giants AC Milan? Drawn from accounts all over the world, Istanbul is about Scousers, football, class and gender... 

Kidding

Kidding

When did you last speak to your Mum? Last week? Last year? We've been asking everyone from grandparents to schoolkids. The stories they've told us unfold the parent/child relationship in all its beauty and bathos, silliness and sadness... 

Elsie Thatchwick

Elsie Thatchwick

'Dearest Elsie, if you're reading this, I'm dead. I hope you're sitting comfortably. Below is the address of your father. He's alive... I know you're probably thinking I'm a right old fanny for naw telling you sooner... 

Last Hive

Last Hive

Award-winning Gaulier duo David Tann and Karen Houge take you on an epic journey of a honeybee trying to save his world. See the world through the eyes of a bee as he meets machines and a radicalised bee-fighting people... 

As Far as We Are

As Far as We Are

If the impression of an accelerated overall situation ending in a crash is manifested, the mutation to the crash-test dummy has begun. Welcome to the laboratory test: life and society... 

Re: Production

Re: Production

Karen and Tom met and married when they were really young. They're grown-ups now. Their friends are painting the spare room sunset yellow. Flexible working hours, baby yoga, PTA meetings... 

Violet

Violet

Violet is starting to forget. But she's got a long life to remember before she does. There are rights to wrong and ends to tie up; a life well lived is never neat. Generations younger, Bertie is at the beginning with no idea what lies ahead... 

Dreamland

Dreamland

'Dreamland tackles pressing social and political issues with bracing theatricality' (Jesse Briton, Bear Trap Theatre). London. Canary Wharf. September 2008. Following the collapse of the US sub-prime mortgage market, the world economy is in free fall... 

We Need to Talk About Bobby (Off EastEnders)

We Need to Talk About Bobby (Off EastEnders)

EastEnders fans will remember experiencing shock and upheaval at the revelation that the culprit of a long-running murder whodunnit was 10 year old Bobby Beale. Prepare to relive those feelings again in Paperback Theatre’s We Need To Talk About Bobby (Off EastEnders), written by George Attwell Gerhards and directed by Lucy Bird... 

Profundis

Profundis

Profundis choreographed by Israeli-born Roy Assaf, is amusingly and slickly performed by the National Dance Company Wales but is more of a ‘five-finger exercise’ for dance students; a mind-game with much mime and posing with very little dance... 

Edison

Edison

Static Assembly attempt to give us an insight into the lives and rivalry of Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla but really just leaves the audience confused. While they claim they are presenting an ‘experimental’ and ‘divine’ insight to this true story, the term ‘unique’ to mean an attempt to be bizarre in every sense... 

Process Day

Process Day

A sensory experience transforming dancers into sleek, androgynous, nocturnal beings guided through shadows by a futuristic techno soundtrack. Pulsating movements capture the universal drive of striving for fulfilment and release... 

Folk

Folk

Folk is Caroline Finn’s first piece for the Cardiff-based National Dance Company Wales since becoming its Artistic Director two years ago. It is a hugely exciting, surreal if somewhat incoherent show but that is probably the point since it aims to explore social dynamics which, in this show, appear to be largely dysfunctional... 

Action at a Distance

Action at a Distance

Confronting head-on complex ethical dilemmas that co-exist with modern Western imperialism, this new play written by Rory Horne is urgent, engaging and also deeply entertaining. Based around the experiences and motivations of out-of-work plumber Chris in Nevada, desperate to support her ill and emotionally cold mother, the narrative develops from a life-changing meeting over the internet with vigilante data analyst Josh... 

The Lucky Durhams: The First Day of the Somme

The Lucky Durhams: The First Day of the Somme

This play, set against the historically accurate backdrop of the first day of the Somme, features fictitious soldiers from the Durham Pals regiment, preparing for the big push. Extensive research of the Durham Light Infantry and local events have shaped the script, with reference to actual newspaper articles... 

Mine

Mine

They say a mother’s love is unconditional, but can you truly still love your child after they commit the most heinous of crimes? Put The Book Down’s Mine brings to light the experience of one mother dealing with shame, neglect, and ruin after the horror of her son committing a crime on a night out so unforgivable he has been sent to prison... 

On One Condition

On One Condition

On One Condition draws on stories from Dan Daw's lived experiences, asking us to question our own perceptions of normal while offering a stripped back look at the world we live in. We invite you into Dan's childhood home and on an intimate whirlwind through belonging, struggle, comfort and need... 

Fagin's Twist

Fagin's Twist

'High energy, precision crafted choreography creates a dark twist on a classic tale' **** (Stage). 'Daring, dynamic and hugely enjoyable rethink of a much loved Victorian tale' **** (Times)... 

Edgar and Me

Edgar and Me

Charlotte has a pen pal, but he sends her his letters from death row. Her mum thought she'd be murdered. Her friends thought it was bizarre. But Charlotte and Edgar have been writing to each other for the last six years... 

One Step Before the Fall

One Step Before the Fall

'Theatrical knock-out' (Times). In this award-winning show that's captivated audiences from Stockholm to Beijing, dancer and singer fight in the boxing ring for their destiny. 'A gut-wrenching tour-de-force' ***** (Herald)... 

TuTuMucky

TuTuMucky

Powerful and complex, TuTuMucky explores how we’re shaped by the world around us, searches for peace in chaos, and celebrates revolt against the regiments of modern daily life. Blurring the boundaries between ballet, contemporary and hip hop technique, this new work challenges traditional convention to offer a distinctively innovative form of dance... 

#JeSuis

#JeSuis

#JeSuis is an edgy new choreographic work by renowned British dancer Aakash Odedra. With dancers from Turkey, Aakash explores the strangulation of freedom of speech, the rise of xenophobic attitudes and the displacement of people through conflict... 

The Narrator

The Narrator

A story about secrets, about the unspeakable truth, about being a woman. Told in the only way possible. Cécile Da Costa dances, sings and undergoes extreme physical strain in order to tell her intimate story... 

Yu Kyung-hwa and E-Do

Yu Kyung-hwa and E-Do

E-Do is an ensemble of six incredibly talented musicians who combine traditional and contemporary rhythms with consummate ease. The group is led by Kyung-Hwa Yu, one of the most acclaimed artists in Korea... 

A Great Fear of Shallow Living

A Great Fear of Shallow Living

A good storytelling piece is lovely. We evolved by telling stories. It is the oldest form of theatre. A Great Fear of Shallow Living is set up in a classic storytelling way. The performance is ideally located in a small and intimate venue and accompanied live music... 

You Are Not the One Who Shall Live Long

You Are Not the One Who Shall Live Long

You are asked to explain a purpose, statement of intention and concept. But there is nothing. There is nothing to explain. Except for acceptance that what we do, and who we are, is in flux... 

After 4 – Over the Moon

After 4 – Over the Moon

In Korea when somebody dies, people say they have gone ‘over the moon’ or ‘crossed the river’. Yoo Sun-Hoo, the choreographer and dancer of After 4: Over The Moon has used these metaphors to inspire a beautifully poetic and sensitive dance meditation on death accompanied by four live musicians on stage playing a variety of traditional and electronic instruments and composed by the contra-bass player, JC Curve... 

Wanna Dance With Somebody! Or, A Guide To Managing Social Anxiety Using Theoretical Physics

Wanna Dance With Somebody! Or, A Guide To Managing Social Anxiety Using Theoretical Physics

With one of the longest titles you’ll come across it feels as though this show will have a lot to unpack. But at its heart this is a very simple show, sweet and lovingly made, it's an exploration of one man going through a hard time and how he tries to handle that... 

Aladdin

Aladdin

This 'professional ballet company in microcosm' (Scotsman) tells the tangled tale of Aladdin and his famous lamp condensed into a delightful hour. Aladdin encounters a genie, jewels and snakes while seeking the love and approval of the princess... 

Wind-Up

Wind-Up

Czech dance in its ultimate form. Inspired by energy’s accumulation and explosion, Prague’s 420PEOPLE deliver a dynamic sextet made of ferocious energy, finest movement and original music... 

The Bearpit

The Bearpit

Glimpses of a toxic relationship. Snapshots of a dying planet. Dark vignettes of love as the end draws near. The Bearpit, from new theatre company Kopfkino, combines these ingredients into a relentless interrogation of generational cynicism and the human connection in a physical, deeply atmospheric piece of theatre... 

Tribe

Tribe

Temper Theatre once again return to Edinburgh to gift audiences with a performance well worth three times the ticket price. Gripping the question of human origins, not a single second is wasted in this fast-paced, breathtaking exploration of genesis... 

Beam

Beam

This is one of Granny's stories. A true story of 10 pairs of knickers, a leap, a waft of lavender, a blue suit, and true love. True love? Does that even exist anymore? Times are hard, put on your slipper socks and join Granny – she has something sweet to share... 

Space Rocket Oddity Man

Space Rocket Oddity Man

Floating in deep space, an astronaut pleads with his lover to let him back in the airlock. She feels the relationship is going nowhere, and as the ship's navigational computer, this is a problem... 

Gossip

Gossip

Gossip, blather, misinformation and rumours are a cross-cultural phenomenon of humanity. The power and punch sound of the word uttered in the form of slander is often more powerful than the gun... 

Last of Their Generation

Last of Their Generation

'The more I try to remember her, the more I've forgotten her.' Bhumi Collective returns to Edinburgh with the world premiere of Last of Their Generation – a solo-show by Singapore-UK theatre-maker Mohamad Shaifulbahri about the encounters we have with the people, places and things in our lives... 

Batacchio

Batacchio

Award-winning contemporary circus company mixes breathtaking acrobatics, original music, magic tricks and unexpected illusions in a fantastical journey to the spectacular comedies of the 19th century... 

Bang! To the Heart

Bang! To the Heart

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.In a futuristic dystopia – looking like a vertical oil rig crossed with a shanty town, on the projection, and looking like a concrete jungle according to the set – two gangs, the Angels and the Zombies battle, for unclear reasons, then join together members mixing forming the Brothers, causing a love triangle plot to form... 

Smother

Smother

Hip Hop is a strange medium with which to tackle the homosexual experience. It’s a genre that’s steeped in anti-gay rhetoric and misogyny with ‘gayness’ being viewed as something to be disrespected and even destroyed... 

Luna Park

Luna Park

When reading the marketing blurb for Luna Park, I must confess I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. Billed as “a coming of age reverie presented in the style of magical realism through physical theatre”, I was intrigued (... 

And Now…

And Now…

‘Thought-provoking, visually beautiful and totally engaging’ **** (EdinburghGuide.com). Reflecting on the sea change in Scotland in 2014, a tribe of lost souls enter an ethereal Neverland, where present generations glimpse the promise waiting when we finally grow up – if, indeed, this is desirable at all... 

Terra Incognita

Terra Incognita

Lightning-fast, cinematic style sequences skilfully bound together with fluid, muscular movement, vivid lighting and soul-shaking soundscapes. Through ensemble movement and fragmented imagery, Temper unleash the storm which will bring about the end of days... 

My Month of Mother's Ruin

My Month of Mother's Ruin

When adult life isn't going to plan sometimes you have to take charge and do something about it. So I took a month... a month for me... my month of mother’s ruin. This show is for people who love gin... 

Scorched

Scorched

The setting is intimate, and encroaching on the personal space of a frail man, in a battered armchair listening to the television (news of the Gulf War is on – the year is 1991) feels a little intrusive... 

Generation Zero

Generation Zero

The difficult relationship between political and personal affairs are addressed in the devastating drama Generation Zero. Through an interesting balance between dialogue and narration, Becky Owen Fisher’s play tells the story of an unnamed man and woman living happily until her involvement in an environmental activist group puts an unbearable strain on their relationship... 

The Murderer

The Murderer

Through innovative movement and a thought-provoking script, Clown Funeral’s dark yet comedic The Murderer comments intelligently on society's inability to forgive and forget, by documenting the ‘progress’ of a murderer undergoing a rehabilitation programme... 

MOONFACE

MOONFACE

Adulthood. Womanhood. Motherhood. Oh, and the aphrodisiac properties of grass. All are explored with equal parts insight and absurdity in Moonface, a playful piece of new writing by Guttersnipe Theatre Company... 

Taiwan Season: Sounds of Taiwan

Taiwan Season: Sounds of Taiwan

Three expert musicians from France, Japan and Taiwan blend the sounds of three of the world’s most distinctive string instruments: erhu, sitar and cello. Those who embark upon this unique musical journey will sample the enticing aural flavours of several cultures... 

Rubber

Rubber

Pentire Street Productions are proud to debut their unique two-person immersive drama at the Edinburgh Fringe.. A modern tragedy exploring sex work in the UK and manipulation in abusive relationship, you are invited to become a fly on the wall for an hour in the life of Jess and Tom as they drive to clients around Edinburgh... 

Whiteout

Whiteout

‘Bringing a thrillingly muscular energy... this is a take on life with genuine strength of conviction in a natural, vivid style. We’re entranced’ **** (Guardian). A heartfelt dance theatre piece that gives resonance to the complexities of bi-racial relationships... 

Operation Love Story

Operation Love Story

Mission accepted. Plot: greatest love story ever. Gadgets: flowers, chocolates and a balaclava. An anti-romcom, satirising the dreams Richard Curtis sells us. Poignant and imaginative storytelling set in a make-believe landscape of tall buildings and lonely people... 

Stamp

Stamp

Hosted by the love child of Sandi Toksvig and Frank N Furter, Stamp is a cheeky, challenging game show where you make the rules. A man and a woman must pit their wits against your choices to fight it out in a never-ending battle for ultimate supremacy... 

The Blind Date Project

The Blind Date Project

Desperate and looking for love, Anna (AFI award-winner Bojana Novakovic, star of Rake and Shameless) is a woman at a karaoke bar waiting for a date. Each night, her date is a different performer whose identity is unknown to her until the moment of performance... 

Wunderbar

Wunderbar

The two performers could be anyone; strangers or siblings, friends or lovers. They invite you in to decide for yourself. Teasingly, they start dark, quiet and intimate, building up a feeling that something’s gotta give... 

Moscow Boys

Moscow Boys

Combining clownesque joy with jaw-dropping skill, a quartet of multi-talented virtuosos escapes the critical eye of their instructor and embarks on a musical journey from Tchaikovsky to Justin Timberlake, from waltz to latino... 

Feel-Link

Feel-Link

Airida Gudaite and Laurynas Žakevicius represent a new generation of Lithuanian dancers and choreographers. In this piece they bring a fresh approach to a timeless topic: a pair of dancers explore the feelings and insights evoked by a couple’s experience of love past, present and future... 

Dawns Ysbrydion / Ghost Dance

Dawns Ysbrydion / Ghost Dance

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 religious movement that became incorporated into multiple Native American belief systems – and the destruction of a Welsh village in order to allow the construction of the Tryweryn reservoir... 

Artificial Things

Artificial Things

This is the first year of the ‘iF Platform’ – a new showcase featuring the UK's top disabled artists and integrated arts companies. Artificial Things, brought to us by Stopgap Dance Company, is part of this innovative programmeThis contemporary dance piece sets out to challenge our perceptions of how humans co-exist, through the story of five individuals... 

Hula House

Hula House

Hula House, created by Permanently Visible Productions, is an immersive, semi-interactive look at the life of sex workers. It is a bold, uncompromising piece of theatre based on interviews with sex workers and explores the issues that affect them... 

Last Man Standing

Last Man Standing

For those who like their dance without frills, Last Man Standing provides an hour of unrelenting raw movement. This work is another gem from James Wilton’s increasingly impressive repertoire of exhilarating dances... 

YAMA

YAMA

There is dance and there is Scottish Dance Theatre. Last year there was Fleur Darkin. This year there is Damien Jalet. We have have been transported from the Callanish Stones of the Outer Hebrides which inspired Miann to the volcanoes of Tohoku, Japan, the setting for YAMA... 

The Ted Bundy Project

The Ted Bundy Project

Killing most of an hour, and murder to sit through, The Ted Bundy Project does bait-and-switch on its audience. Anyone who shows up expecting that this solo piece will in some way explore the string of homicides committed by the title figure, one of America’s most notorious serial killers, will instead get something else... 

Rowan James: Easy for You to Say

Rowan James: Easy for You to Say

Rowan is a hip hop and punk-inspired poet diagnosed with a specific learning difficulty and speech impediment, often disabled by other people’s perceptions. Marv Radio is a beatboxer with dexterous lips and an arsenal of sounds... 

Quiet Violence

Quiet Violence

The room smells of Deep Heat. The reason, Sophie Rose explains to us, is because the big physical show upstairs warm up in her studio space. Quiet Violence, she assures us, is not a big physical show... 

Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons

Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons, Lemons

123,205,750. The average number of words spoken by an average person over an average lifetime. In Sam Steiner’s play, which is anything but average, the government has limited the daily number of words per person to 140... 

For Now, I Am

For Now, I Am

Following on from Brew's acclaimed Remember When which recalled his past an elite ballet dancer, For Now I am engages directly with his body as it is now, 18 years on since his life-changing car accident, investigating and exposing his changed form... 

Tribe

Tribe

I was slightly apprehensive when going to review Tribe, having seen a lot of pretentious, uninspiring, or just simply bad physical theatre and dance pieces this Fringe. However Temper Theatre have produced a truly extraordinary show, which has been the highlight of this year’s festival for me so far... 

Correction

Correction

This is a mesmerising, funny and well-crafted example of modern choreography, which explores what you can achieve when you are put under restrictions.The dancers are unable to move their feet; they are tied into one spot on the stage, and placed in a line... 

The American Soldier

The American Soldier

We must be nearly at saturation point with plays and particularly monologues about war veterans. There can’t be much more left to be said on the subject and it’s very difficult to find a new angle on this almost exhausted theme... 

Dreaming in Code

Dreaming in Code

Award-winning choreographer Tamsin Fitzgerald and Eddie Kay for Frantic Assembly present Dreaming in Code, an explosive, visceral, brand new double bill performed by one of the UK’s most innovative male dance companies... 

Far Far Away

Far Far Away

Prince Charming is down in the dumps, Cinderella can’t find her fairy godmother, Little Red Riding Hood has wandered out of the forest, and the Wolf seems more interested in doing Elvis impressions! As if that wasn’t bad enough…The Seven Dwarves are in jail! Can the wicked Writer be stopped? Can the Fairy Godmother (trainee) help to save the day?! From the 2013 sell-out (The Twits) Incognito Theatre Company! 

Transit Cabaret

Transit Cabaret

Transit Cabaret by Six Faux Nez is described as 'A silent show, like a silent movie, a clever, poetic and festive mix of music, gesture and underground cabaret-theatre. Or a tragic-comical hymn to life performed by five rather witty, buffoonish clowns' – part of which is true... 

A Sudden Burst of Blinding Light

A Sudden Burst of Blinding Light

This piece of new writing from Ben Maier is the latest addition to the succession of plays at this year’s Fringe which in some way seek to deal with issues of mental health. On this occasion, the framework of a television gameshow is established from the outset and sets up an illusion of structure which, along with our reading of the characters, grows less certain as the work progresses... 

Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland

‘Choreographed by Robert Royce and Joanne Whitehill, this Alice captures the zany adventure in Lewis Carroll's original story in a package that appeals to even the youngest audience members’ (CriticalDance... 

Joan, Babs & Shelagh too

Joan, Babs & Shelagh too

Joan, Babs & Shelagh too is a difficult play. Attempting to explore the life and career of director Joan Littlewood – who served in large part as the leader and driving force behind Theatre Workshop, actress and writer Gemskii takes her audience with her on a journey through the rapidly changing theatrical landscape of 20th century Britain... 

A Study on the Stillness of Love

A Study on the Stillness of Love

This is a show with an ambitious script, which shows real emotional intelligence. The language is consistently beautiful, rhythmic and sensuous, using the art of spoken word in interesting ways... 

The Communist Threat

The Communist Threat

A hotel room in Vienna, 1950. A member of the British secret service, Nightingale, sits with a gun, waiting for his superior for whom he has instructions. When he arrives, apparently on holiday, a tense and engaging dialogue starts, about espionage, loyalty and cricket... 

Discoteque Machine

Discoteque Machine

Discoteque Machine, brought to us by Gianmarco Pozzoli and Alice Magione is a morphsuits show. I've never really seen the humour in wearing top to toe lycra to do anything, let alone dance, but to say that my mind has been changed is putting it enormously lightly... 

Police Cops

Police Cops

Present day (1976) straight-laced rookie Police Cop Jimmy Johnson is out to avenge his brother’s death, and he's got to go it alone. With the help of his new partner, a disgraced, retired renegade named Harrison, the pair begin to unearth the soily secrets that the case holds... 

Liberation

Liberation

Paint is thrown onto the naked body, as art and theatre combine in an explosion of colour and movement. Liberation is a theatrical dissection of modern life, an exploration into what it means to be liberated... 

How to Be Fat

How to Be Fat

A solo comedy show for anybody, ideally a fat one. Not how to get fat (no one knows how to do that), how to be fat. How to have a fat body. I have a fat body. And being fat is difficult... 

Tristissimo

Tristissimo

Nothing can take a turn for the worse as quickly as a perfect day. What’s the shape of the sadness left behind? What effect does it have on our bodies? Do we live in the land of perpetual Blue Mondays ? No real tragedy has a happy ending... 

Taiwan Season: Self and Others

Taiwan Season: Self and Others

Formosa Circus Art company blends circus, dance and theatre skills. Self and Others explores the complexity of the relationship between things being built from nothing to something, and from something to nothing again... 

Beyond the Body

Beyond the Body

Takibox’s Beyond the Body is an intriguing exploration of physicality, a performance that promises to look towards an extension, a transcending of state. Devoid of any apparent cohesive structure, the entire dance shifts in and out of differing scenarios with little guidance, the only real connecting force the very bodies of the performers who rigorously stretch themselves to attempt to reach ‘beyond’ their own forms... 

Beans On Toast

Beans On Toast

Patch of Blue return to the Edinburgh Fringe with their scrumptious offering of Beans on Toast: a triumph of simplicity which still captures the imagination and the heart. Forget your knockoff supermarket brand stuff; this is high-quality Heinz material – not the fancy Five Beanz stuff either, but good old normal beans, maybe with sausage... 

SPIN

SPIN

This show by Wales-based company Harnisch-Lacey Dance’s show mixes contemporary dance with breakdancing and elements of parkour. The premise is exciting – who doesn’t like a bit of parkour? And the revealing of two ramps on stage as the lights go up creates rather high expectations... 

La Loba

La Loba

La Loba is a mythological woman who wanders the Earth collecting animal bones, bringing dead creatures back to life with her singing, and occasionally laughing at humans. This dance piece by the Czech Lenka Vagnerová & Company dramatises the existence of La Loba and her encounter with a mortal woman... 

Last Chance Romance

Last Chance Romance

Entering into a world of 1950s dating, Last Chance Romance is a fun hour for any adult. Centred on a dating agency, the three performers each play advisers trying to find those perfect matches... 

An Invitation

An Invitation

Jo Fong’s An Invitation is about as elusive and complex as a performance at the Fringe is likely to get. This surreal ‘alive and evolving’ production presents itself to us as a framing of life itself, as we are openly invited to study and appreciate those individuals that make up the audience, our fellow strangers... 

Pss Pss

Pss Pss

‘Pss’ is one of those sounds that extends beyond itself. It’s so brief at times it hardly seems a sound at all, a motion, not a noise but an extension of the lips, an exciting new extrapolation of the body... 

Harry the King

Harry the King

This is a solid performance of a classic play which, while it doesn't amount to a re-telling in anything but the literal sense, does a creditable job of rendering the whole thing with two actors and and a minimal set... 

The Warriors: A Love Story

The Warriors: A Love Story

Arcos describe themselves as a ‘multimedia dance company’ and they certainly deliver. At times more a multimedia mayhem than a dance, this enthralling performance almost obscures the very bodies of its performers: bodies interact with shadows and projections in equal measure; it’s a blur of movement, captivating from the first note... 

Super Tramp

Super Tramp

Super Tramp is based on the real life of Shane Fox who, at the age of fifteen, was told a piece of information that changed his life forever. Shane must handle living on the streets, loss and the alcoholism that plagued his family... 

Pioneer

Pioneer

Curious Directive have hit the Fringe this year with epic sci-fi drama Pioneer, a space-exploration thriller of stunning proportions. With a set which morphs and moulds around the action, an ingenious mix of video, projection and subtle underscoring throughout, the show is an aesthetic wonder... 

Mmm Hmmm

Mmm Hmmm

The lights go down and, from out of the dark, a sound comes...three female voices, singing together, creating a gorgeous melody . As the singing builds, a white box of light appears and three women run into the light... 

Riders

Riders

Lenka Vagnerová and Company have two shows on at this year’s Fringe, Riders and La Loba. Choreographed by Vagnerová and performed by five dancers, Riders is smart, urgent, and a pleasure to watch... 

The Curious Incident of the Frog in My Sightline

The Curious Incident of the Frog in My Sightline

The Curious Incident Of The Frog In My Sightline is curious indeed. It tells the story of Otkas, who awakes to find himself in a world purely made out of frog. Yes, that's correct, everything is slimy, gooey, croaking frog... 

Bitesize Chekhov

Bitesize Chekhov

Taking a bite into Chekhov is no mean feat at the best of times. D’Animate’s vivid retelling of three Chekhov plays, which claims to ‘catapult’ Chekhov into the 21st century, certainly takes on what should be more than they can chew with a cast of three... 

The Enchanted Forest Adventure

The Enchanted Forest Adventure

The simple pleasure of play is at the heart of Brooke Laing’s enchanting storytelling. Prepare for an elaborate hour of adventure within an enchanted forest performed by your own child, as they travel to undo the mischievous work of a shoe-stealing witch... 

Café Ruse

Café Ruse

Café Ruse is a kooky, energetic piece of theatre that’s quite unlike anything else I’ve seen on the Fringe. It’s surreal and very over-the-top and could have become false or clichéd, yet it somehow manages to find a cartoonish, inventive style instead... 

re:Fujisan

re:Fujisan

Japanese dance company LaN-T003 have been to the Fringe several times before, bringing with them an eccentric blend of video art, physical theatre and quirky slapstick. Unfortunately, this year’s offering was not quite as fresh nor as coherent as previous efforts... 

Tabularasa

Tabularasa

Combining contemporary and African dance, four dancers put on an impressive physical display in Kaneish Dance Theatre’s Tabula Rasa. There’s a great athleticism here, conveyed with strength and precision... 

God's Own Country

God's Own Country

“Gossip,” we’re told, “travels fast in a valley.” There’s certainly plenty of gossip about lanky farmer’s son Sam Marsdyke, as he’s the first to admit to us. It’s only as his tale progresses that we, as an audience, begin to realise that some of that local chit-chat might well be justified... 

Please Don't Cry (At My Funeral)

Please Don't Cry (At My Funeral)

Please Don't Cry (At My Funeral) isn't exactly the show advertised. After submitting their application to the Fringe (so the story goes) Josie Dale-Jones and Isabel Della-Porta decided they would have to drop out... 

The Exchange

The Exchange

In a deserted bar in a dusty town somewhere in the Australian outback, a barman prepares himself for the drudgery of a long day. After a brief phone call, where nothing much is said, two dishevelled characters enter, irritated at having already missed three minutes’ drinking time... 

Chlorine

Chlorine

From a cool, air-conditioned distance, the 3 Reasonable Women’s Chlorine is a thematically jam-packed, A-Level drama-mare of a show. Jumping between drug abuse, mental health issues and festival chic, for an hour the young cast throw themselves into both telling the story of Biddy (an unhinged 20-something enduring the mother of all comedowns) and a raft of theatre cliches... 

You, Me and the World

You, Me and the World

You know that scene in every crime show ever, when the police finally show up at the serial killer’s lair to find a treasure trove of strange, coded messages pinned to the walls? Well, the venue for You, Me and the World is very reminiscent of that... 

Reach for the Stars

Reach for the Stars

Three talentless directors try to find new performers for their TV company. In the audition studio hopefuls are brought in to perform their stuff, unfortunately directed and joined by the hapless directors... 

Ctrl+Alt+Delete

Ctrl+Alt+Delete

Why can’t people, for once, not act the clichés they are? Meet Amy Jones, 25 from Brixton. A diamond in the rough with a passion for politics, The Spice Girls and Bruce Forsyth! This is a no holds barred one-woman show... 

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