There are 3,649 shows at the fringe this year, but how many embody its spirit of radical experimentation? I took a journey through foam, lube and gore to find out ...Somewhere in Edinburgh, …
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghAn unlikely relationship blossoms in Abigail Weinstock’s compelling and touching solo dramaIt takes a brave writer/performer to make her character a sociopath…
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghEmotionally open and a little weirder than usual, the Glaswegian comic updates us on his recent marriageWhen SNL UK hit big earlier this year, it made stars of …
Three years ago, he won the Edinburgh comedy award with a work in progress. Now he’s back with a show inspired by Gerard Manley Hopkins and Friedrich Nietzsche. Isn’t this all a bit grow…
Festival theatre, EdinburghThe choreographer combines a homophobic killing from 2012 with a remembrance for his father in an often rapturous show about healingIn 2019 at the Edinburgh intern…
A play based on the writer’s dreamlike novel Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is touring the world, riding a wave of interest in Japanese culture. Its creators talk about ho…
Cathy Scott-Willars responds to an article about the secret lives of theatre workersI enjoyed your article (The secret lives of theatre workers: ‘People were having full sex in the stalls�…
With brute strength and beauty, party tricks and personal revelations, this year’s dance and circus programme has ambition and a spirit of togethernessIf you want to be wowed by technical …
Zoo Southside, EdinburghThe acrobats in this symphony of ins and outs build and break tension as they clamber over the set togetherFour performers enter the auditorium and walk among us but …
Assembly Rooms, EdinburghEmotional group dynamics and individual skills make One Fell Swoop stand out in the crowded circus genreYou cannot move at the Edinburgh fringe for circus shows. The…
How do you keep audiences gripped while cycling 27km per show? From the Australian recreating a Tour de France win to a ‘toxically positive’ spin queen, we meet the acts bringing Olympia…
Actor with a long career in theatre and on television who was known for the subtle quality of her workAlthough she was perhaps best known as the mother of two outstanding actors, Emma and So…
Summerhall, EdinburghWith physical and vocal agility, the tricksy clown duo trigger an avalanche of misinformation in this feverish treatHere is a show every bit as breathless as its title, …
Whether Elf Lyons’ high-concept Hollywood throwback, Kate Dehnert’s disorientating rave or Ele McKenzie’s Bob Dylan fantasy, heartbreak fuels fine humour at the festivalBreakups. We’…
From wacky versions of The ABC Song to Quentin Blake’s eccentric Mrs Armitage, these five shows offer fun for young audiencesUnderbelly until 31 August Continue reading...
With abs like Olympians and skin like hide, pole dancers are besieging the Edinburgh fringe. We meet four high-flying, physics-defying acts tackling everything from New York’s underbelly t…
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghBoth outrageous and tender, this stellar follow-up to Main Character Energy gives new meaning to body languageTemi Wilkey serenades us, asks if we fancy her and…
Summerhall, EdinburghConnor Dariol, AKA Australian clown Conk, does exactly what he claims – and with such skill and relentless pep we are helpless to resistWhen I saw the title to the Aus…
Monkey Barrel Comedy, EdinburghA show about maturing and learning to listen to life’s signals doesn’t stint on tomfoolery and has some great gagsWhat a rich and enjoyable show this is fr…
Monkey Barrel, EdinburghThere are shades of Vic and Bob as well as Frank Sidebottom when this embittered git with bloodshot eyes holds courtEvery room in Edinburgh has its ghosts, and its pa…
Summerhall, EdinburghLove stories ring across the generations in this charming fusion of traditional dance and music from two culturesConnections are found in surprising places. You can get …
Summerhall, EdinburghSeed Dance Company deliver a show that builds in intensity as it riffs on imprisonment and estrangementTaiwan’s Seed Dance Company visited the fringe in 2024 with a ra…
TheSpace Triplex, EdinburghNine college students fall out and make up as they dance to punk-pop and alt-rock in this lively showThis is such a festival show: uncategorisable, buzzing, slight…
Underbelly, George Square, EdinburghA real-life pub closure inspires a sensitive and subtle drama about friendship and community by John DinneenTwo years ago, it was reported that a pub in B…
Underbelly, Edinburgh The story of Henry ‘Box’ Brown, who succeeded in mailing himself out of bondage, is recounted rather than fully dramatisedHenry “Box” Brown is wrapped up in cha…