Victoria and Albert Museum, LondonA brutal score by Jerskin Fendrix is the driving force behind this bleakly topical reworking of Alfred Jarry's Ubu RoiSince its premiere in 1896, Alfred Jar…
Royal Lyceum, EdinburghA man sits outside a prison in self-imposed punishment, in this philosophically provocative but dramatically inert dramaThe set is not a million miles from Druid Theat…
The Studio, EdinburghStewart Laing sensitively takes Édouard Louis's groundbreaking coming-of-age story from page to stageWhen Édouard Louis was growing up in a poor working-class vi…
Assembly Checkpoint, EdinburghFrom corrupt cartels to 'snakehead' smugglers, the journalist-cum-author presents a plain-talking breakdown of complex global illsWhen Misha Glenny ventured int…
Roundabout at Summerhall, EdinburghDating apps and cute cat gifs are stifling a couple's ability to communicate in Eve Nicol's play for Middle ChildWhat's a monogamist to do in the age of th…
Summerhall, EdinburghShould Jon stay or should he go? That is the question in a drama of short sentences, questions and heavy sighsBig Aftermath of a Small Disclosure is a play. The play is …
Assembly George Square theatre, EdinburghKaren Cogan is compelling as a pleasure-seeking thirtysomething in this vivd solo show staged by Fishamble and Soho theatreYou can imagine another wr…
Summerhall, EdinburghA sobering examination of British children caught in media crossfireIn the spring of 2014, what was the Trojan horse? Was it the Islamist doctrine allegedly smuggled int…
The Edinburgh festival's Big in Belgium season features daft whimsy, a Eurovision anthem and a headlong charge into uncomfortable territoryWhen the Smiths released Paint a Vulgar Picture , t…
Roundabout @ Summerhall, EdinburghA desperate love story is set against a broader picture of government hostility in Ed Edwards' gritty two-handerAccording to this urgent two-hander, the nam…
Summerhall, EdinburghIn monologue and song, Chris Thorpe explores nationality, identity and not accepting the story you're given about BrexitChris Thorpe says his one-man show is not about B…
Traverse, EdinburghA history lesson on the American civil war becomes an exploration of race relations in the US today but soon stirs up ugly racist sentimentsMost arguments about inequality…
★★★☆☆/★★★★☆ Traverse/Underbelly Cowgate, EdinburghIn two new works, the playwright contrasts how the disenfranchised struggle to w…
Pleasance Dome, EdinburghSome signature sex gags raise the odd laugh and a late religious theme intrigues " but really, the end can't come too soonWhen Frank Skinner was on the way up as an …
Gilded Balloon Teviot, EdinburghThe IT Crowd actor turns playwright with this subtle monologue play in which three studio sitters bare their emotional woundsThe trick to writing a monologue …
Traverse, EdinburghThe activist-comedian takes the temperature of universal healthcare and delivers a grave diagnosisMark Thomas is standing centre stage, feet splayed, shoulders feeling the…
Unusual musicals abound at the fringe, from an F1 spin on Lin-Manuel Miranda's smash hit to a satire on 'inspiration porn'For a mainstream art form, the musical comes in many odd shapes. Kud…
Underbelly Cowgate, EdinburghThis gripping production revives 17th-century court transcripts " and thumbscrews " to show just how little society has changedBy rights, a verbatim report of a …
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghSerena Manteghi gives a high-voltage performance but the story feels far too familiar in Christopher York's play for the Stephen Joseph theatreIt's not only the…
Traverse, EdinburghIn David Ireland's brilliantly brutal satire, things get horribly out of hand when two men and a woman meet to discuss putting on a West End playTwo men are debating wheth…
Traverse, EdinburghJulie Hesmondhalgh's superb turn as narrator lights up these comic tales about the universal significance of loveIn festivals past, the Traverse has showcased a beguiling …
Traverse, EdinburghA parent-teacher meeting becomes a microcosm for privilege and exclusion in a subtle, well-acted three-handerThe entrance of Sarah Morris's Donna is delayed. "I thought I'…
Traverse, EdinburghPolly Frame's bereaved mother is consumed by thoughts of revenge as MartÃn Zimmerman's mesmerising tale of a school massacre hits homeIn the Alice in Wonderland logic o…
Part philosophical meditation, part fantasy, Marguerite Duras's 1982 novella La Maladie de la Mort comes to the stage in a hi-tech Edinburgh festival show There's something about Marguerite …
Williamson Park, LancasterLucy Jane Parkinson's D'Artagnan is equal parts swagger and vulnerability in a jolly, summery promenade productionBeing a horse, Christopher Bianchi's Planchet find…