LIB DEMS PICK UP THREE of FOUR SEATS
Ward 1 Almond results: 4 elected
Kevin Lang (Lib Dem)
Norrie Work (SNP)
Louise Young (Lib Dem)
Lewis James Younie (Lib Dem)
The Lib-Dems GAIN one seat at the expenses of the Scottish Conservatives.
Turnout – 51.1%
A man responsible for a series of serious sexual offences against women and children in Edinburgh has been convicted.
Yesterday at Edinburgh High Court (5th May 2022), John O’Flaherty was found guilty of serious sexual offences, including rape committed against 4 females between the 1980s and 1990s.
The 65-year-old became the subject of a public protection investigation after the victims, who are now all adults, came forward to report the abuse they were subjected to.
The sexual abuse survivors were aged between 7 and 32, with the majority of attacks taking place within the North of the city. However, other addresses and locations within the South West were also identified during the inquiry.
Detectives from Edinburgh’s Public Protection Unit spent more than two years gathering evidence against O’Flaherty before he was initially arrested in June 2020, with further charges added over the following months.
He will now be sentenced at a later date.
Detective Inspector Jonny Wright said: “For more than two decades John O’Flaherty targeted young woman who lived within, or frequented, the North of Edinburgh and subjected them to horrific levels of sexual abuse.
“The impact of his offending had a significant and long-lasting effect on communities within the North and had it not been for the outstanding courage of these women in coming forward, then O’Flaherty would not have been brought to justice.
“I want to thank each survivor of O’Flaherty’s abuse for their strength during our investigation and I also wish to acknowledge the outstanding work of the detectives and criminal justice partners who worked so diligently to ensure this case reached a successful conclusion.
“Today’s conviction should serve as a reassuring reminder to the public that time is no barrier to our investigation and whenever reports of sexual assault are made, we will utilise all resources at our disposal to investigate thoroughly and provide those affected with all the relevant support they require.”
CafeLife, the popular community cafe on Cheyne Street, is set to officially reopen on Monday 9th May with a brand-new menu and revamped interiors following its forced closure through the pandemic.
Run by renowned local charity LifeCare Edinburgh, all proceeds from the cafe go towards supporting the delivery of the organisation’s vital care services for older people living across Edinburgh.
The charity, which turned 80 last year, helps over 1,000 local older people a year. Essential services such as registered outreach care and day centres, help at home, meals on wheels and support for carers enable local older people to remain living full and independent lives.
The pandemic forced the café to close its doors to their loyal sit-in customers in March 2020. The closure has been a real loss to the area as CafeLife is the only full-accessible community café around, offering good value food and drink appealing to all generations and with lots of space for buggies and wheelchairs.
Opened nearly ten years ago, the team took the opportunity to upgrade the café through the covid-closure. The charity secured emergency funding to revamp CafeLife’s interiors and the kitchen team have spent time creating a new and improved menu to appeal to all tastes and dietary needs.
The charity is today announcing that they will be joined by celebrated and best-selling Scottish crime writer Val McDermid for the official ribbon cutting event on Wednesday 11th May.
Val will sign copies of any of her books brought along on the day.
Jemima Hankins, Community Hub Co-ordinator at LifeCare said “We are absolutely delighted that we are reopening CafeLife at long last. There’s nothing else like us in the area and we know how much our regular customers have missed us.
“We’ve a huge bright space that appeals to all ages and stages; people pop in on their own or come with friends to enjoy good honest food and drink – with all proceeds going towards our vital care services for local people. We really are a cafe with a difference!
“Our loyal customers love to pop in to meet or make new friends, enjoy good value food and we’re relaunching with an exciting new menu designed by Chef Tony keeping our cafe staples such as soups, bacon rolls and paninis but we’ve added pancakes, smoothies and milkshakes. The blueberry pancakes are a must!
“We are thrilled to be marking our reopening with a guest appearance from Val McDermid on Wednesday 11th May and we will be running lots of promotions across the week – check our socials for full details or pop-in for more info.”
LifeCare Edinburgh is a registered charity and with no service fully-funded the organisation relies on the generosity of its funders.
Recent funding from the Scottish Government’s Adapt and Thrive fund covered the cost of the café upgrades and an award from The National Lottery Community Fund supports the new Community Hub Coordinator position created to help safely bring people back to the space after the pandemic.
For more information visit https://www.lifecare-edinburgh.org.uk/
Maggie Tookey, a 71 year old volunteer with Edinburgh Direct Aid (EDA), is currently in Ukraine.
She has just returned to Lviv, having teamed up with Norwegian and Ukrainian volunteers to make a long and difficult trip to Kremenchuk and Kharkiv in north east Ukraine.
In Kharkiv, they delivered thyroxin & wound dressings to a hospital in the west of the city; they were lucky as the heavy shelling at that time was in the north of the city. In Kremenchuk, they brought food to traumatised displaced people from Kharkiv.
Maggie says it is the stories of the elderly that she finds particularly distressing – just as she did when helping elderly victims of the Syrian conflict in recent years: “forced not only to witness death taking place in front of them but also knowing that the final years of their lives may never be spent in their own homes again”.
THE FIRST WEEK IN UKRAINE BEGINNING 24th APRIL 2022
So it’s one week since arriving in Ukraine to begin EDA’s third session in this embattled but extremely resiliant country.
The resistance goes on and just about the whole world is here trying to support that resistance. Still there is the belief from all the displaced Ukranians I meet through our EDA distribution programme, that Ukraine simply can’t lose this war. We can only hope that they’re right.
I’m now in Kremenchuk in Poltava region – central/eastern Ukraine and probably considered the first reasonably safe place reachable from the hell of Kharkiv, around 200km away. We arrived here – ‘we’ being Ira, our constant translator and ‘fixer’ and Knut, our big gentle Norwegian driver with his rusty but trusty Sprinter van, late on Friday night. The journey was long and took us 2 days of fairly non stop driving.
The van is like a Tardis. It just seems to keep holding more and more valuable aid so we just kept filling it until finally Knut said enough! It was overloaded but he thought it would be OK and it was. The last item we loaded as a special request was 150 civilian body bags to help with the numbers of dead in the badly hit city of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city. It was a sobering request but we had the space so we were able to help – why wouldn’t we? The bags would be taken onto Kharkiv from Kremenchuk.
The first portion of the journey was fine – fast on good roads and enough fuel stations to keep the tank topped up even though we were rationed to 20 litres.
The second part of the journey which was around a 1000km in total because of diversions for damaged roads etc, was far more challenging – some of it was ‘off road’ and the rest was over the most pot holed surfaces I’ve ever experienced.
It was so bad that we kept losing various fixtures and fittings off the van – the jarring was endless and exhausting but the main problem was the scarcity of diesel. We begged and pleaded but the little fuel available was reserved for emergency and military vehicles and not even to humble volunteer bringers of aid.
We had bought more fuel containers so could carry around 80 litres of diesel but these were the reserve. We needed to keep the tank reasonably full. On one occasion we were allowed up to the front of the queue but one time we sneaked in through the ‘no entry’ route on the advice of a local and came to a pump facing the queue. Smiling broadly and constantly and looking dim works wonders as does Ira our translator who probably sheltered us from much Ukranian swearing.
Kremenchuk is a small city of around 75,000 but 22,000 Internally Displaced people have arrived in the city since the beginning of this month. It’s a typical Soviet style place – mostly large blocks of flats and 70% of its population speak Russian. Most of the displaced have fled from Kharkiv and as ever, there are some terrible stories.
The distribution has taken two different pathways. We were supplying the increasing number of IDP shelters springing up out of necessity around the city – the pressure on the Municipality is great so every aid shipment is important.
We were able to unload into a big store room here and sort out what is needed for each shelter working with the local volunteer coordinator as our guide.
The second pathway involved working with the local priest who helps many individual families in his ‘parish’, listing their needs and passing these on to anyone who might be able to help. We were royally treated by the priest and his family – they were a delight. We were hugely over fed! Once again the admiration for these volunteers and the support they try to bring to their communities is admirable.
Food shortages cause problems for all in Ukraine and although these local volunteers are not enduring constant rocket attacks like Kharkiv and other places, the deprivations of war are suffered by all.
Once again the terrible stories are told when we visit the IDP’s in the shelters. Most here are from Kharkiv, some from Donetsk and the Donbas.
They are all distressing stories but perhaps none more so than by the elderly who are forced not only to witness death take place in front of them but know that the final years of their lives may never be spent in their own homes again. I find these the hardest to deal with.
One lady of 85, Varanella, from a rural village near Luhanske, came face to face with a Russian soldier when he entered her house as she was trying to escape.
He pointed his gun at her chest ready to shoot – terrified she turned and ran into the toilet but he opened fire on her fleeing back -somehow he missed and she bolted the door but he continued firing – the bullets only partially penetrated the metal door and thick walls – she cowered in terror and finally he seemed to get bored and went off to some other house but not before trashing the inside of hers.
She stayed there until dark and then managed to get help escaping from the village to a safer town and onto Kremenchuk. She cried constantly through the telling of this story, still reliving the horror of what happened. Many of her elderly neighbours were not so lucky. She was severely traumatised.
So now she has safety, warmth, support, companionship, and food – what she doesn’t have is her beloved home and this is the greatest wish for all those I met in Kremenchuk. We spent 4 days around the shelters and individual families distributing a lot of aid but mostly we talked.
I seemed to represent some symbol of hope to them but I felt a fraud. In the end what can I do – listen and hug!
UPDATE: THURSDAY 5th MAY
EDA is just back late last night from Kharkiv very close to the Russian border and a very dangerous place to be. There is constant shelling in some parts of the city and many have died there.
I was part of a larger food and medical aid delivery by the Ukraine Guardian Angels group – all volunteers just like us.
EDA was delivering much needed Thyroxin and eye medication and wound dressings. We were pleased to complete the job safely.
EDA and its team had also just completed a 4 day distribution of urgent food and hygiene goods in the small city of Kremenchuk, in Central/eastern Ukraine.
The city and its fantastic local Ukrainian teams of volunteers are now under huge pressure to offer shelter to over 22,000 displaced and traumatised people who have fled Kharkiv and other Eastern cities being flattened by constant Russian shelling.
Edinburgh Direct Aid does what it can but it can only do what the funding allows. We need delivery transport, food and medical supplies. These are the basics. If we get help with these we can DELIVER. We are now back in Lviv taking a breather!
The Edinburgh Direct Aid Ukraine Relief Fund, which supports Maggie’s work, can be found at:
https://www.peoplesfundraising.com/fundraising/help-for-ukraine
The UK Government yesterday announced a special one-off addition to the annual Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS), in honour of Her Majesty the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Her Majesty has displayed a life-long commitment to public service throughout her 70-year reign, and the annual QAVS is the highest award given to small volunteer groups across the UK. Awardees cover a wide range of activities such as dementia support clubs, community theatres and therapeutic garden projects.
The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Award for Volunteering will now shine a spotlight on 20 national charities working to empower young people aged 16-25. The number 20 has been chosen to reflect 20 years of QAVS.
A special judging panel has been convened for the award, comprising civil society sector experts and youth representatives including Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Fionnuala Jay O’Boyle and Ndidi Okezie.
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said: “Since The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service was set up 20 years ago to commemorate the Golden Jubilee, thousands of hard working local volunteer groups across the UK have been recognised for benefiting their communities.
“We’re delighted to be extending our recognition this year to some outstanding national charities through this special Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Award for Volunteering.
“We want to celebrate the important work done by national charities to empower young people with the skills they need to develop and grow. This is a fitting way to recognise the 70 years of selfless service Her Majesty has given to this country.”
Sir Martyn Lewis CBE, the QAVS Chair said: “Her Majesty’s faithful service to the nation over 70 years has been an inspiration to us all and is mirrored by countless acts of volunteering happening each day across the UK.
“For this special Jubilee Award we are looking forward to celebrating outstanding work with young people, helping them to flourish and be the best they can be. It’s a theme that’s important to all of us and is close to Her Majesty’s heart.”
The Platinum Jubilee Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service is now open for applications until 17 June. Nationally registered charities helping young people (aged 16-25), who have had a national impact either on a UK-wide, or England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland basis are invited to apply.
A judging panel including sector experts and young people will select 20 winners to be announced in The Gazette in October. Winners will be presented with this special award at a ceremony in November.
Recent QAVS winners include:
Small Acts of Kindness who provide practical gift bags to lonely and socially isolated older people in Hertfordshire and signpost them to support services.
Equation in Nottingham who deliver projects in schools and the community to help prevent domestic abuse and encourage healthy relationships.
Gurnos Men’s Project in Glamorgan who get disengaged young men involved in community volunteering and horticulture, as well as helping them improve core skills.
Second Wave Centre for Youth Arts in London who run creative projects with young people and work with them to explore key issues such as knife crime and grooming.
Friends of M.V. Freedom in Dorset who take disabled people out to sea on a specially adapted boat.
Via Wings in County Down who provide a wide range of support to those in need, including a food bank, teenage supper club, homework support, learning, and counselling.
Westhill & District Men’s Shed in Aberdeenshire where socially isolated men can share skills, make friends and work together on repairing/refurbishing projects for the community.
Nominations for the 2023 QAVS awards are now open until 15 September 2022.
More information and an application form
More information on the main QAVS award
The awardees for the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service 2022 will be announced on 2 June.
Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK
Thursday 28th of April 2022 was Britain’s ‘On Your Feet’ day. This is a national awareness day to promote the benefits of sitting less and moving more.
Cutting down on the amount of time we sit can help to reduce your risk of developing heart disease, becoming overweight or obese and developing diabetes.
Here are a few tips on how to reduce sitting time:
Small changes
Think of one or two small changes you could make to help you to move more throughout the day. For example, try taking regular breaks from your computer, use the stairs more often, or stand during phone calls and presentations. If you work at a desk, you may even consider improving your setup by investing in a standing desk!
Keeping children active
Only 20-23% of children meet the physical activity guidelines of one hour per day so we should try to encourage children to exercise daily. On days off, aim to get outside and play some games in the garden, visit the local park, or go for a family bike ride instead of spending too much time on the couch.
Walk for a Healthier Heart
Making walking a more important part of our everyday life means taking positive steps towards a healthier heart and body.
Walking is free, requires no specialised equipment, can be done by all ages and abilities and fits in any lifestyle. Compete with friends, family and colleagues by logging your steps, miles or walking routes over the week.
For more tips on how to stay healthy, sign up for our weekly healthy tips at www.heartresearch.org.uk/healthy-tips.
To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/.
Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers:
A business that specialises in matching players to the right musical instrument has increased sales by 400% after receiving support from DigitalBoost, Scotland’s national digital upskilling programme, delivered by Business Gateway.
Founded by Tim and Helen Wright, former professional musicians, in December 2015, Tim Wright Fine Violins is an independent violin dealership based in Edinburgh, selling violins, violas, cellos and their bows.
Helen approached Business Gateway for advice during the pandemic when she and Tim decided to adapt the business. Lockdown had presented challenges for customers who were unable to trial their instruments in person, a fundamental process when it came to purchasing their products.
Working closely with Business Gateway, Helen conducted a strategic review of the business and accessed specialist digital support through DigitalBoost. This helped her to develop their website into an online shop, enabling clients to ‘get to know’ the instruments before playing them for a trial period.
The business also accessed regular 1:1 support from a dedicated business adviser, as part of Business Gateway’s Growth Service, as well as advice on marketing practises.
This has resulted in significant growth for the business, and business enquiries have increased by 700%. They have also expanded their overall market reach to new clients across Scotland, beyond the Edinburgh market, with customers coming from the USA, Japan, Africa, and across Europe.
Tim Wright, Founder, Tim Wright Fine Violins said: “We were already thinking about ways to grow the business. When the pandemic hit, this became more important, so we approached Business Gateway for advice as about how we could find ways to raise the profile of our service and share our expertise and knowledge of our products virtually.
“Thanks to the support from our DigitalBoost consultant, our website has grown into a digital shop-front, which has not only seen us through the pandemic but also allowed us to grow and reach the global marketplace for fine string instruments.
“Working with Business Gateway has helped us to develop processes for making action plans and sticking to them. Our business was based around our love of violins as opposed to any more formal business planning, we needed support to learn how to make decisions for business growth. We had reached a point where success felt intimidating, we now feel as though we have a secure, manageable plan for our growth.”
Al Bryce, adviser, Business Gateway said: “Tim and Helen have a unique business and, with the support of Business Gateway specialists, they adapted their services to work for an online platform. In doing so, they reached a much wider market, achieving significant growth and success throughout the pandemic and beyond.
“Tim Wright Violins is a fantastic example the success that can be achieved by adapting your service and getting your business online. We would encourage all businesses to make use of the free DigitalBoost service if there are areas where support is needed.”
An inspirational competition to bring tomorrow’s world to life has relaunched after a two-year break forced by the pandemic – and is also marking Blackwood’s 50th year enabling people to live independently.
The Scottish-based challenge has previously delivered a host of life aids for people who are ageing or have disabilities, including an app that helps make living spaces safer for people with dementia and a “spill proof” spoon for those affected by conditions which cause them to shake.
Now the Blackwood Design Awards – which attracts entries from all over the world – are resuming bigger than before and hope to inspire a new army of inventors to get involved in the Dragon’s Den-style challenge with new designs, technologies and adaptations submitted.
Fanchea Kelly, CEO of Blackwood, one of Scotland’s most respected experts in specialist housing and care, said: “It feels incredible to have the design awards back – and we can’t wait to see the pent-up inventiveness that is about to be unleashed.
“Over the nine years since we created and launched the awards, it has always amazed us to see how varied the entries have been. From intricate, high-tech products to basic designs and ideas that simply haven’t been considered before.
“There is an entire world of untapped innovation out there. We’re delighted to be offering an outlet for that creativity and inventiveness again and feel certain we’ll be helping more transformative products to become a reality.”
The Scottish independent living specialist’s competition is open for inventions, designs and concepts that can boost independent living and enable people with disabilities to live life to the full.
The deadline for submissions in June 30.
This year’s competition will be judged the following distinct categories: Best Collaborative Project, Best New Concept and Best New Aids, Equipment or Accessible Technology.
The competition can be entered by groups or individuals and is open to both seasoned professionals and gifted amateurs, meaning that both technologically advanced and those simpler, yet often most successful designs, are equally welcome.
Fanchea added: “The main thing we look for is the innovation to make a huge difference in helping those living with disabilities or age-related conditions to live more independently.
“Many previous entrants have gone on to achieve great things so it’s a fantastic opportunity for all budding designers out there”.
For more information or to enter, please visit www.bespoken.me or e-mail bespoken@blackwoodgroup.org.uk.
Blackwood operates more than 1500 properties across 29 local authorities, and invests in innovation and technology to help people live life to the full. The charity has already built two developments of tech-smart ‘Blackwood Homes’ in Glasgow and Dundee which use a “CleverCogs” digital system to make life easier for older people and people with disabilities
People looking to join can find more information at:
www.blackwoodgroup.org.uk/peoplehood
or by messaging: getinvolved@blackwoodgroup.org.uk
For more information, please visit: https://www.blackwoodgroup.org.uk
Alice Gully and Kate Mactaggart, business women and mothers, both aged 46 from the Scottish Borders have been selected out of thousands of applicants to participate in the August 2022 Mongol Derby race.
Gully and Mactaggart (AKA Doddie’5 Dazzlers) are racing to raise £30,000 in aid of My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, set up by fellow Scot, Doddie Weir OBE. The Foundation is committed to helping improve the lives of those affected by Motor Neuron Disease.
With just 40 selected jockeys riding, this gruelling 1000km course takes up to 10 days and it is regarded as the longest and toughest horse race in the world. It is genuinely dangerous with a high chance of injury and typically only half the jockeys complete the race.
This is the greatest equine adventure in the world – high passes, huge valleys, wooded hills, river crossings, wetland, dunes and of course open steppe.
The jockeys live with the herders at night, eat local food (a diet of mutton and offal) and rely on their wits and skill during the day. Weather extremes are expected in the Mongol Derby with temperatures ranging from freezing to 38⁰C and anything from horizontal rain to scorching sun.
To prepare for this epic race, Alice and Kate are both currently undergoing an intense training and exercise regime, which includes cycling 100 miles and rowing 21,000 meters per week, as well as a weekly 5k run, 20,000 steps per day and over 7hrs in the saddle each week.
A huge commitment to undertake in addition to their businesses and family life, with 6 children between them!
To donate visit the Doddie’5 Dazzlers Just Giving Page
About the Mongol Derby:
In 1224 Genghis Khan set up the world’s first long-distance horse messenger system, which connected half of the planet.
Using a massive network of horse stations (‘morin urtuus’ in Mongolian) his hardy messengers could gallop from Kharkhorin to the Caspian Sea in a number of days.
Nearly 800 years later, for 10 days each August, the Mongol Derby recreates this legendary system, utilising a network of urtuus at 40km intervals along the entire 1000km course.
Today (Thursday 5 May), the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society is delighted to announce that tickets for a further 1,281 Edinburgh Festival Fringe shows are now available to browse and book at edfringe.com.
This is the third set of tickets to be released for 2022, with the first 283 shows revealed in March and 796 in April.
In total, there are 2,074 shows now available, with more set to be announced on Thursday 09 June. The official programme launch will take place on Thursday 07 July.
The 75th anniversary of the Fringe takes place from 05 – 29 August 2022 and will feature an exciting range of shows, with theatre, comedy, music, dance, circus, musicals, variety, cabaret, events and more all featured in the programme so far.
Below is a small representative sample of shows available to book from today. The full list of shows released so far can be found at edfringe.com.
Theatre
Paines Plough return to Summerhall this August with a programme of work, including Caste-ing, which explores “the experiences of three black actresses using beatboxing, rap, song and spoken word”, Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder is “a true-crime podcast reframed as ‘a hilarious murder-mystery musical’”; and Feeling Afraid as If Something Terrible Is Going to Happen is “a dark new comedy about vulnerability, intimacy, ego and truth” starring Samuel Barnett, written by Marcelo Dos Santos and directed by Matthew Xia.
Hamlet with Ian McKellen features McKellen alongside Danish ballet dancer Peter Schaufuss in a new performance concept adapted from William Shakespeare’s play. It takes place at Ashton Hall, Saint Stephens Stockbridge.
Black Sheep at Assembly follows Livia: an aspiring circus star who uses “poetry, music and performance to speak about the challenges a Black woman faces when daring to move into her power”.
A Hundred Words for Snow follows a teenage girl on “a comic, complex, epic, undulating story” as she journeys to the North Pole with her father’s ashes. That’s at Leith Arches, as is Bits N’ Pieces, “an access-all-areas approach to working-class life and what it’s like to come of age at the height of Scotland’s drug crisis” by Saltire Sky.
Something About Productions present two biographical music shows at Assembly: Something About George deals with Beatles star George Harrison, while Something About Simon tackles the life and work of Paul Simon.
At the French Institute in Scotland you’ll find S-ex-iety, exploring the impact pornography has on the lives of “three roommates on an intense journey through the adult industry”.
Online, Ben Hur: The Theatre Show follows ‘a young prince’ whose eventful life includes slavery, revenge and an encounter with a man from Nazareth; while Outside the Gate is a dramedy about two mums meeting at the school gates, featuring an Iranian and an American living in Middle England.
Tinted at Gilded Balloon, “originally written as a disabled response to #MeToo”, examines bodily autonomy and consent from a blind woman’s perspective. At the same venue is Angel by Henry Naylor: an award-winning story of a female anti-ISIS sniper who allegedly has more than 100 kills to her name. Fans of Naylor can also catch the European premiere of Afghanistan Is Not Funny by Henry Naylor, a description of the playwright’s experiences in the war-torn region performed by the man himself.
Tamara Al-Bassam makes her Fringe debut with Able(ish) (Greenside), ‘a lighthearted monologue about one woman’s uphill struggle applying for disability support while coming to terms with her own strengths and limitations’. Also at Greenside, I just like you | a gay myth is “an intimate two-hander about the messy complexities of the contemporary gay dating experience.”
At Hill Street Theatre is Hey That’s My Wife!, a pastiche of 1950s Americana that follows two advertising executives as they navigate a tale as old as time: who’s sleeping with whose wife? Hill Street Theatre is also where you’ll find OCD Me, a one-woman comedy about what it’s like living with OCD, written and directed by Aisling Smith.
Theatre Paradok, “Edinburgh’s premiere experimental theatre society”, present Paradok Platform at Just the Tonic: ‘more than ten brand new experimental pieces of theatre, ranging from comedy and drama to musicals and movement’.
At Laughing Horse, Horrible History for Adults (Or Those That Think They Are!) offers “a zany mix of stand-up and historical reportage. Fearless lives, fearlessly lived from Lord Byron to Quentin Crisp”. Plus, Apradhini – Women Without Men is by India-based Theatre Nisha. Apradhini is ‘a collection of stories about women who have been incarcerated for life for crimes including armed robbery’ and murder.
Return to the Hiding Place, ‘Corrie Ten Boom’s biographical tale of forgiveness and reconciliation in the shadows of WW2’, is being staged at Palmerston Place Church, and focuses on a Dutch family hiding Jews in their small clock shop. Also at Palmerston Place Church is The Liberator, in which ‘a strange man radiating love’ upends normality in a corrupt, cynical environment. “How long before the powers that be crack down on this subversive, this quiet revolutionary, this liberator?”
Emil Ferzola stars in Bathroom of a Bar on Bleecker (Paradise in The Vault), the “tragicomic final recording of America’s number one comedy podcast”. In the same venue is The Richard Osman Fan Club, “a farcical comedy based around a park bench, where we find an elderly lady and Richard Osman fan Greta, supposedly writing a novel, joined by young jogger and Granny killer Adam who ends up making various futile attempts to end Greta’s life.”
At theSpace on North Bridge, A Young Girl’s Guide to Madness “truly displays how draining it is to be a teenager in the 21st century”; while The Hound of the Baskervilles at the same venue is an adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s “side-splitting, bone-chilling mystery”.
PBH’s Free Fringe is hosting a pair of magic-themed theatrical shows: Reclaiming Harry, “a fabulously queer quest” from Rich Watkins (creator and star of Happily Ever Poofter), and Nightmare Magic: “a ghost story told using magic” by writer and magician David Alnwick.
Fringe regulars Pianodrome are occupying a new space at the Old Royal High this year. Among their shows are Clara: Sex, Love and Classical Music, “the story of 19th century piano star Clara Schumann”, and Some Other Mirror, “a solo show about a gender identity crisis, in the high-pressure isolation of lockdown”, written and performed by Laurence Owen and produced by Chronic Insanity.
Rapsody (Pleasance), is “a raw look at inner-city life in Britain today”, featuring four characters confronting “the realities of our modern-day class system through live rap, trap and drill”. No Place Like Home “is a tragic odyssey into gay club culture and the places we can call home”.
Captivate Theatre brings the comedy One Man Two Guvnors to the Rose Theatre this August, joining Francis Henshall in 1960s Brighton as he attempts to stop his two employers from meeting each other.
At the RSE Theatre, Hiding Anne Frank focuses on the story of Miep Gies, Otto Frank’s 32-year-old secretary who helped him and his family hide from the Nazis at great risk to her own life. RSE Theatre is also where you’ll find The Gay Train, “a vicious love letter to the middle-class horror that is weekday morning TV” by Yellow Mug Theatre that follows the events resulting from an attack of a non-binary student in a pub bathroom.
About Money at Summerhall is a Glasgow drama about family, love and friendship, “drawn from interviews with young kinship carers and inspired by the McDonald’s strikes of 2018”. Also at Summerhall, Isto é um Negro? (This is a Black?) describes itself as a performance essay investigating what is to be a black artist in Brazil today.
The Edinburgh Makars adapt Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park (The Royal Scots Club) this August. “Corrie, a romantic free spirit, decides to set up her conservative widowed mother with an eccentric, bohemian neighbour,” setting up conflict with her strait-laced new husband Paul. The Royal Scots Club also hosts Tay Bridge, “a homage to the victims of the Tay Bridge disaster of 1879 realised as a series of set pieces’ and an ‘insight into the ordinary people of Victorian Dundee”.
Pip Utton as Bacon is at The Stand’s New Town Theatre, depicting “the gutters, sleazy bars, rough sex and alcohol” of artist Francis Bacon’s life. Time’s Plague, also at The Stand’s New Town Theatre, sees David Hayman return as everyman Bob Cunninghame, who rants “about injustice and the state of the world… laughing at everything, including himself.” It’s written by Chris Dolan, and directed by David Hayman Jr.
Winston and David (Underbelly, Bristo Square) sees Winston Churchill and David Lloyd George “wrestle with love, ambition and friendship” as Britain goes to war in 1914.
Comedy
Edinburgh Comedy Award winner John Robins presents his Work In Progress / Progress In Work at Just the Tonic, “a heady mixture of ropey material and competent crowd work”. In the same venue, Taiwanese comic Kuan-wen curates Comedy with an Accent, a line-up of ‘comedians from all over the world who are not native English speakers’.
Shazia Mirza brings her show, Coconut, to Gilded Balloon, reflecting on the events of the past two years, while Rob Rouse (Bottom, BBC’s Upstart Crow) performs No Refunds. At the same venue, Tehran Von Ghasri (who was ‘named to honour the city of his birth’) is a “charismatic, sexy, no-holds-barred, Black, Iranian, Jewish, Baptist, Muslim, Zoroastrian, agnostic comedian” who promises he’s GONNA GET CANCELLED.
Phil Wang assures us he is The Real Hero in All This at Assembly this Fringe, with more material “about race, family and everything that’s been going on in his Philly little life”. At Assembly Rooms, Reginald D. Hunter tackles “climate change, mass unemployment, economic pandemics and the rise of global fascism” in Bombe Shuffleur. And musical comedy duo Flo & Joan “are climbing out of their pits, armed with a piano and percussion section to bring you a brand new show”: Sweet Release.
The Mash Report’s Rachel Parris performs at Underbelly this year, performing “stand-up and songs about sudden love, the highs and lows of relationships, family, weddings, kids, going viral, going mental, and the baffling state of play in society right now”. And Sudanese-Aussie comedian Emo Majok presents his European debut, Black Santa, with “stories of adjusting from a refugee camp in East Africa to gifting out jokes globally”.
Pleasance hosts the return of three Fringe regulars as part of its programme: Nick Mohammed Presents The Very Best and Worst of Mr Swallow, Tim Key: Mulberry and Tim Vine: Breeeep!
At Frankenstein Pub, impressionist Danny Posthill “has decided to put the world to rights with a brand-new show Stand Up for the People, where he takes you on a journey where comedians will be running our country”. At the same venue, This Is Your Trial returns to the Fringe: a “comedy courtroom show where audience members accuse friends of crimes” and comedians take on the roles of judge, prosecutor and defence lawyers.
Online, we have Mo-to-the-oncle, “a socially conscious solo comedy about a teen who must wear a monocle after his dad loses their insurance.” And Rob McLennan: Pool Shark offers ‘smorgasbord of pun-heavy one-liners, quickfire jokes and sight gags’ filmed on the go from various locations in New Zealand.
Potty Training With Joey Rinaldi is at Greenside, sharing “the outrageous and humiliating details of being the only kid at school who peed into a urine bag while battling the church and his tormented mom”. Horrible Herstories presents an opportunity for “the women of history to set the record straight”.
Laughing Horse is home to Thor and Freya: Norse as F*ck, an hour of stand-up from emerging comedians Freya Mallard and Thor Stenhaug; while Sameer Katz (‘three-quarters of a PhD from Cambridge’) presents Agnostic Economist.
Monkey Barrell is home to the debut show from English stand-up and actress Thanyia Moore, Just Being Funny, while All Killa No Filla co-host Rachel Fairburn performs Can I Be Awful?.
I Miss Amy Winehouse (Paradise Green) is the first solo hour from writer / comedian / journalist Suchandrika Chakrabarti, covering her love of the music icon who died 11 years ago. And Brexico is an hour of stand-up comedy that is “half Mexican, half British, full madness”, featuring “two comedy aliens, Andy Casper and Héctor Ayala, making light of their experiences of living as immigrants in Barcelona”.
Fringe regulars #Jollyboat return with two shows at PBH’s Free Fringe: Daft Puns, “a high-energy show of comedy songs,” and The Best of Jollyboat, “their best comedy songs from 10 years” at the festival. Plus, two Edinburgh Newcomer nominees try out new material in Huge Davies and Janine Harouni Do New Jokes (WIP).
At RSE Theatre, Vik Footring’s Blood and Sorbet “recounts the defining moments in growing up in a world where growing up happens later and later”, while Here Goes Nothing! joins New York comedian Brandon Barrera as he shares tales from his eventful life, from “cracking jokes with prostitutes in Amsterdam’s red light district to running with the bulls in Spain”.
I’m Not a Girlboss, Not Yet a Womanboss (The Chrisroads Redux) presents “humour, music and a reason to drink at midday” from Edinburgh locals Chris Weir and Chris Iskander (Scottish Comedy Festival). At the same venue, Jay Lafferty presents Club Sets by herself and guests, offering ‘undiluted, unadulterated’ material honed on the comedy circuit.
Poet, comedian and musician John Hegley returns to Summerhall with John Hegley’s Biscuit of Destiny, incorporating stories of John Keats’ romantic adventures alongside Hegley’s own life. Also at Summerhall, Edinburgh Deaf Festival Presents Perspectives with Gavin Lilley, “a deaf comedian who’s performed his signed shows to audiences across Europe. In his entertaining style, Gavin shares his experiences as a deaf person navigating a hearing world with hilarious consequences”.
The Edinburgh Yes Hub hosts Full Throttle OCD by Jim Dziobek and Kevin Turner: the former offering “fresh takes on life” to help you “forget about this cesspool of a world we are leaving our children’; the latter ‘the fourth of five kids, a military veteran in a divided country, and – as if things can’t get worse – he’s got Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.”
Mark Thomas is back at The Stand Comedy Club this August with Black and White, “about the simple act of being in a room together and toppling international capitalism.” A short distance away at The Stand’s New Town Theatre, “Edinburgh-born supermodel Eunice Olumide” presents AfroPolitiCool: “a hilarious exploration into the crazy and complicated world of the modern day political narcissists, sociopaths and psychopaths running the planet we live on today”.
Joffrey! The Pantomime is at theSpaceUK, retelling “the true story of Joffrey’s fight to secure his rightful place on the Iron Throne, untainted by certain Season Eight”. And Siobhan Argyle presents You’re on Mute! (A Musical Walk Down Lockdown Memory Lane). “Come experience the lighter, brighter, funny side of lockdown with songs to make you smile and laugh ranging from toilet roll shortages, online yoga, being on mute, work clothes for the lazy and many more!”
Music
The Nothing Ever Happens Here NEHH Presents… concert series returns to Summerhall this August with a programme including world music DJ Auntie Flo; musician and producer Cate Le Bon; experimental, electronic chamber-pop outfit Efterklang; shimmery, summery indie-pop duo Sacred Paws and off-kilter twosome Tune-Yards.
Mairi Campbell is at the Acoustic Music Centre, performing songs and stories with “deep bardic heritage and masterful Celtic courage.”. At the same venue, John Carnie and Spider Mackenzie explore the bluesier side of a music legend in Tangled Up in the Blues: The Blues of Bob Dylan.
When they’re not busy penning crime fiction novels, Mark Billingham, Val McDermid, Chris Brookmyre, Luca Veste, Doug Johnstone and Stuart Neville join forces as the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers, “happily murdering much-loved songs by The Clash, Elvis Costello, The Beatles” and more. You can catch them this year at The Stand’s New Town Theatre.
In “a rare intimate evening of dark and light songs”, Fringe stalwart Camille O’Sullivan will perform Dreaming at Underbelly, Bristo Square, incorporating songs by “Bowie, Cohen, Pulp, Radiohead and Rufus Wainwright”.
At Pianodrome at the Old Royal High, “Sean Logan presents funky and furious keyboard acrobatics with musings on life as a neurodiverse musician” with his show Full Spectrum, while harpist and vocalist Esther Swift “combines her love of folk, jazz, classical and all things in-between” in Sound Effects, a brand-new commission from Celtic Connections.
The Jennifer Ewan Band performs the Bonnie Bayou Blues at the Argyle Cellar Bar, bringing together “a mix of heartfelt original songs, Louisiana accordion blues and old-time Cajun dance music with a Celtic tint”. At the same venue, Los Chichanos bring to the Fringe “a live fiesta of psychedelic Latin vibes” with Tropical Jungle Cumbia Fiesta.
Dancing on the Edge of Blue and Green is a concert of new music for solo piano, performed at at theSpaceUK.
At Assembly, The Three Seas features “an international, cross-cultural ensemble fusing West Bengali Baul music and Himalayan folk song with contemporary sounds from Sydney and Kolkata”. Meanwhile, Stewart D’Arrietta shares “poetry, stories and insights” as part of My Leonard Cohen: Up Close and Personal.
Bannermans hosts a selection of music performances at this year’s Fringe, including Absolutely (Not) Free – An Evening of Zappa (performed by Pygmy Twylyte) and Beefheart – New Beef Dreams! by Orange Claw Hammer.
At the French Institute in Scotland, Christine Bovill explores ‘le yé-yé’ and the Americanisation of French music in Paris: From Piaf to Pop!, while French duo Fergessen ‘create a live synthetic-folk atmosphere’ using the words of Robert Louis Stevenson in Stevensongs.
Gilded Balloon hosts an Epic Film Music Concert, “featuring violin, piano, guitar and a superb light show”, and spanning soundtracks such as Pirates of the Caribbeans, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and more. Plus, The Oxford Alternotives offer creative choral takes on contemporary music.
Scottish troubadour Dean Owens performs songs and stories from his back catalogue in From Leith to Tucson (Pleasance), blending the ‘unfettered enthusiasm of a rock’n’roller and the sympathetic delivery of folk’s best storytellers. Plus The Sorries return to perform “a Corries-inspired hour of uplifting traditional music”.
Perfect Forth’s Athena (Rose Theatre) combines “original music inspired by Greek mythology and fresh arrangements of modern hits”.
Irish trad singer Cara Dillon will take to the stage at Musselburgh’s The Brunton this Fringe, performing old favourites as well as material from her new album, Wanderer. At the same venue you’ll find the Young Classical Artists Trust Showcase Concerts, as performed by Kronberg Academy musicians Irène Duval, Jean-Selim Abdelmoula and Maciej Kulakowski.
The Jazz Bar includes some tributes to musical greats among its Fringe 2022 programme, including Cat Stevens Reconstructed (as reinterpreted by New York vocalist Jess Abrams) and Riding With the King: The Music of Eric Clapton, from ‘up-and-coming Czech jazz fusion guitarist’ Honza Kourimsky.
At The Queen’s Hall, experimental composer Michael Begg’s Black Glass Ensemble ‘reveals new music from the borderlands of classical and experimental music’ in Black Glass in Pieces, while 70s folk-rock pioneers Lindisfarne return with ‘a classic five-piece line-up of long-time members, fronted by founding member Rod Clements’.
Stewart D’Arrietta heads to theSpaceUK to perform Tom Waits For No Man, tackling Waits’ back catalogue with ‘characteristic gravel-voiced sensitivity’. While WeMu “reimagines the traditional in a concert combining Western and Korean instruments, creating modern music based on ancient customs” in Six Stories.
Cabaret and Variety
With late-night cabaret line-ups, the Kaye Hole Hosted by Reuben Kaye returns to Assembly, while Briefs will be “manufacturing a conveyor belt of high-quality circus treats” with their show, Sweatshop.
Cab-arette Showtour, hosted in a taxi cab, offers an immersive experience as it takes an audience of five on a musical comedy tour.
At Underbelly, Definitely Maybe Actually Nevermind, sees drag artist Crystal Bollix in a ‘new cabaret extravaganza all about the pitfalls of chick-flicks and Colin Firth’. At Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows is “subversive break-out hit of the international cabaret and circus circuit” Blunderland, featuring “outrageous nightlife naughtiness, club-kid antics and a heady dose of arthouse weird”.
At Gilded Balloon, Jesus L’Oreal brings Nailed It!, as the “fabulous influencer” tells stories from his life in a “high-octane hour of song, dance and interactive Jehovah’s Fitness”. Meanwhile, A Secret Show by magician Cameron Young offers a show “filled with wonder, illusion and laughs”.
In Darren McGarvey’s The Social Distance Between Us – Live at The Stand’s New Town Theatre the Orwell prize-winning author and celebrated hip-hop artist Darren McGarvey asks: ‘If all the best people are in all the best jobs, why is Britain such f*cking bin fire?’ and more.
At Summerhall is Grandmother’s Closet, in which Luke Hereford (he/they) “stumbles along his journey of queer self-discovery through the glamorous spirit of his very own personal cheerleader – his Nan… all to the tune of Madonna, Kylie, Kate Bush and all of his favourite pop divas”. Also at Summerhall is Life Is Soft by Turner prize-winning artist, performer and composer Martin Creed.
Like Other Girls at theSpaceUK “is the sensible roast of musical theater’s finest historical women that you’ve been waiting for”. And Becoming Chavela “is a docu-cabaret performance of iconic Mexican singer Chavela Vargas Chavela’s life and music, set within the art world and social milieu of mid-century Mexico City”.
In Madame Chandelier’s Opera House Party at Greenside, you can join Madame Chandelier and ‘all her favourite opera characters for jokes, party games and lots of dramatic death scenes’. At the same venue, The Magic Show Starring Liam A Black as the Glittering Prince of Magic, is a “brand-new Las Vegas-style magic spectacular”.
Just the Tonic will host Sugarcoated Sisters: Bittersweet at the Caves as they “unleash their multi-million-hit TikTok personas onto the stage… Armed with original songs, guitar and double bass”. And ‘drag queen Vanity von Glow swaps the studio for the stage as she interviews the stars of the Fringe in this hour-long live podcast’, in The Vanity Project.
In Ask a Stripper at Laughing Horse, ‘Stacey ‘The Legs’ Clare aka the Ethical Stripper is back with her work wife, Morag, to impart stripper-style wisdom into your lives and deliver some no-holes-barred stories from the Pubic Triangle’. And the award-winning Life’s a Drag “takes you on a reality-shaking rollercoaster ride of what it really takes to be a queen” with ‘Australian vocal powerhouse’ Dean Misdale.
Mono Restaurant is playing host to Drag Queen Wine Tasting, in which you can join “drag queen, Vanity von Glow and wine expert, Beth Brickenden to taste through three wines and a snack, with a dash of mischief, a dollop of humour and a twist of glamour”.
At Outhouse, Little West End Theatre Cabaret will present an “evening of sizzling cabaret fun using songs from many well-known cabarets and musical shows”.
Absolute Burlesque Cabaret at Paradise Green is “Edinburgh’s only homegrown burlesque and cabaret show”, demonstrating that “regardless of age, gender, or belief system, everybody is a burlesque body”.
At PBH’s Free Fringe, 1 Hour Straitjacket Escape Magic Show promises “mind-melting magic, showstopping laughs and unexpected twists” from award-winning magician and entertainer Arron Jones. And Laurie Black will be “jump-starting musical comedy into the future with synths and sick beats”, with her show, Dystopiano.
In Fladam’s Musical Comedy Hootennany! at Pleasance, Florence Poskitt and Adam Sowter’s ‘heartfelt and humorous songs tackle the topical with witty wordplay, rollicking piano and a dash of the Carry On!’. And The Magic of Jim, is “resident close-up table magician” and annual courtyard fixture’s first indoor residency, promising an “jaw-dropping magic and true tales”.
At the Voodoo Rooms is Elliot Bibby and the Magical Beach Ball. In this show, the multi award-winning magician is supported by his faithful friend Barry the Beach Ball for “an evening of mind reading, illusions and feats of the impossible”. Also Viva GlasVegas Burlesque Showcase, in which GlasVegas Showgirl Roxy Stardust “presents an hour of burlesque performance featuring a host of homegrown heroes and traveling performers from far and wide”.
Dance, Physical Theatre and Circus
At Acoustic Music Centre, Kunfetaga and Talking to Mum is a dance piece which explores the question: ‘what’s the worst thing to happen to you?’, as it deals with a four-year-old’s painful death. At the same venue, N’zrama Show, presents “energetic and lively performances of traditional and contemporary dance from several regions of West Africa’s Ivory Coast.” The star of the show, Assiny Toé, will play the toéwu (which he invented).
At Assembly, DONUTS, is “inspired by classic sitcoms from the 90s and 00s” and follows three close friends as their friendship evolves over time, through “hypnotic and playful contemporary dance to jazz and funk”. Plus, JD: (Le) Pain, is a show about “breadmaking, physical heroics, growing up queer in a boulangerie in the south of France, endings and new beginnings.” It “involves circus, dance, storytelling, Béarnaise folklore, video, karaoke and laughter”.
Bamboozled at French Institute in Scotland sees artists Sonia Killmann and Constant Vigier invite you to their house-warming party. Expect “live piano and electronic music, dance and projections”.
Catch Ordinary via Fringe Online, “a modern pantomime solo show depicting all the parts of human life.”
At Greenside, A Death Has Occurred sees Kennedy Muntanga Dance Theatre return to the Fringe with their newest creation. This contemporary work tells the story of the miraculous journey of a young lion-hearted journalist. And Alice in Wonderland is an adaptation of the classic tale told through ballet.
Transhumance – winner of Best Weekly Award for Circus and Physical Theatre at Adelaide Fringe in 2020 – is at Laughing Horse. In this, “award-winning clown Ania Upstill playfully explores what it means to be a trans human.”
At Summerhall, Dance Body sees internationally acclaimed writer and performer Yolanda Mercy (Quarter Life Crisis) “challenge what being a plus-sized body means in the contemporary dance world”. And Taiwan Season: Tomato “is an absurdly funny expression of dancer-choreographer Chou Kuan-Jou’s ongoing interest in gender issues from a feminist perspective”.
At Underbelly, Havana Steet celebrates the street dance culture of Cuba; while Rebel is a live circus rock tribute to David Bowie, bringing to life a body of work spanning more then 50 years.
Spoken word
At Pleasance at EICC, LBC broadcaster Iain Dale will appear in conversation with several public figures, including Keir Starmer, Jeremy Corbyn, Mary Beard, Ruth Davidson and Nadine Dorries.
Tales from the City Below is at Arthur Conan Doyle Centre. In this, Edinburgh medium, Ewan Irvine, “tells the tales of this city where it is said many still reside despite their earthly demise” – including the likes of Burke and Hare.
Triggernometry, the” hit political and cultural podcast and YouTube phenomenon” is in town for two nights only at Gilded Balloon.
At Greenside, Pauline Holmes Goes to the Dogs, is a ”poetry show for dog lovers, celebrating the opportunistic thieves stealing the Sunday roast, the family dogs who vet boyfriends and the rebels running amok on the heath”. Plus, The Taste of Sweat and Sand is “a creative expedition through life after military service, exploring encounters with trauma and struggles with civilian adjustment.”
Guerilla Autistics Year 8 – Scenes From an Undiagnosed Life is at Laughing Horse. “For the eighth year of this universally unique, neurodiversifying, audience-participatory solo show, Paul Wady has changed the name to Guerilla Autistics and wants to take you all back in time.”
At Paradise Green, Poems on Gender is “a series of poems on gender, sex and revolution” by David Lee Morgan.
PBH’s Free Fringe has Attila the Stockbroker – 40 Years in Rhyme. “Celebrating his 40th anniversary earning his living as a poet/musician, Attila is using this year’s Fringe to launch Heart On My Sleeve, his collected works, and 40 Years in Rhyme, his new dub poetry album.” Plus, In This Is Not Therapy, “join Tina as she tackles her fifties with as much humour, grace and sensible footwear as she can muster.”
At Summerhall, Stop Trying to Be Fantastic is a new work from award-winning writer/performer Molly Naylor. It’s a “mostly true story about suffering, saviour complex, self acceptance and a magpie who refuses to quit.”
And at TheSpaceUK, The Church of the Fall is “one man’s award-winning celebration of the work of the late writer, musician and working-class genius that is Salford’s Mark E Smith and his group The Fall.”
Children’s shows
Roustabout adapts Dinosaurs and All That Rubbish, Michael Foreman’s rock-n-roll-fuelled environmental tale of dancing dinosaurs, at Assembly this August. At the same venue, Knuckle and Joint present The Adventures of Bo Peep, “a perfect theatre introduction for 2 to 6-year-olds with an interactive story and sensory learning”.
At Deaf Action HQ you can catch Once Upon a Raindrop, “a cheerful, funny, magic show for toddlers: a walk-through performance with sensory games and magic tricks”; and The Funny Punny Magic Show, “a riot of silly stunts and crazy magic” from Tricky Ricky. Both shows are accessible to deaf and hard of hearing audiences, presented in partnership with Edinburgh Deaf Festival.
Pirates and Princesses vs Sea Monsters is “a family show filled with singing, dancing and comedy” at Gilded Balloon. Meanwhile, Marcel Lucont presents Les Enfants Terribles – A Gameshow for Awful Children, “pitting children against adults and each other to try and find the most awful child”.
Stage Door Enigma Theatre Company presents Game On! at Greenside: “an unexpected adventure with characters from alternative gaming worlds”.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez‘s darkly comic tale, A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings, is at Summerhall. Two storytellers share a story “of magic realism… brought to the stage with beautiful, strange, emotional richness”.
Inside the Robot: Quick, I Need Your Help! is on at Just the Tonic, and features “stunning visual effects and immersive interactive technology” for kids aged 5 to 95. At the same venue, comedian Lee Kyle is An Actual Giant, presents “a family show for families who don’t think that kids are little angels”.
Performer Kat Placing devised Bubba-Licious (Laughing Horse) as “a sensory display of colour, sound, light and movement to spark joy and ignite wonder’ in babies and toddlers. For slightly older kids, Grumpy Pants is “a children’s show that entertains parents alongside kids with a mix of perfectly crafted juggling routines, clowning, physical comedy and fork throwing!”.
An ’enchanting’ new adaptation of Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny will be staged outdoors for families at Musselburgh Racecourse.
Betwixt-and-Between present The Princess and The Dragon (PBH’s Free Fringe). It’s described as a “music-full, modern fairy-tale about freedom, friendship and finding boundaries” for children aged 7-11 and their families. Plus, Return of the Maths with Kyle D Evans is a “fast-paced hour of inclusive maths-based family fun”.
I Piano is “an interactive kids show about music and love, told with a piano, shadow puppetry and everyone in the room.” It takes place within the Pianodrome.
At Pleasance, Blue Badge Bunch describes itself as “the disability Taskmaster” – a “game show with humour for all ages, where kids join in the games and learn about disability”. Also at Pleasance, Everything has Changed is “a joyful, kaleidoscopic new show for 5 to 12 year-olds about change, why change happens and how to deal with it”, created by theatre company Rhum + Clay and made in consultation with a child psychologist and children across London.
Physical storytelling specialists NYT bring The Lost Letters to Quaker Meeting House, “a magical portmanteau production of love, friendship and forgotten messages… a collection of heart-warming modern fables for older children and their families.”
At Rose Theatre, Captivate presents Smashing Shakespeare, a revolving selection of comic tales and musical tales adapting the Bard’s work for all ages.
Stockbridge Church is home to at least two “fun, interactive and educational show for babies and toddlers” by Recitals for Wrigglers: The Lion and the Mouse, featuring music inspired by animals, and the international sounds of Wriggle Around the World! (featuring the story of the Gingerbread Man). Both feature violin and cello music.
ETC presents Our Teacher’s a Troll (theSpaceUK, a “colourfully comic show” written by Dennis Kelly (Matilda the Musical). And the Adventure Bubble Show with Milkshake promises “shadow bubbles, light bubbles, square bubbles, smoke bubbles, spinning carousels, track bubbles, vortexes, bubble puppets, giant bubble tubes and a million-bubble finale”.
Underbelly is the home of A Bee Story: “a uniquely Australian physical theatre show for children and families incorporating a kaleidoscope of circus, acrobatics, dance and live music” that also incorporates an important message about the environment. At the same venue, Manual Cinema Presents: Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster is an adaption of the children’s books by Mo Willems ‘realised through puppets, paper cut-outs, DIY cinema and live original songs’.
Musicals and opera
Carpe Diem Productions continue “their tradition of bringing powerful new music to the Fringe” with The Last Judgement (theSpaceUK) featuring Peter D Robinson.
At Assembly Rooms, Friendsical is”‘a 60-minute celebration and loving parody” featuring characters called Ross and Rachel, but is “not to be confused with the Warner Bros Entertainment Inc series Friends”.
As part of the Fringe’s online offering this year, the jazz-flavoured Cooperstown is “an opera about one heart too big and one heart too small that plays out like a present-day Othello”. Also online is Lag: A Zoomsical Comedy, “the world’s first original musical created to be performed over video conferencing”, written and directed by Haddon Kime.
A pair of musicals form part of the programme at Gilded Balloon. I Wish My Life Were Like A Musical “lifts the lid on awful auditions, debilitating dance routines, mid-performance mishaps, and backstage backstabbing – plus those magical moments that make it all worthwhile”. RuneSical, on the other hand, is “an interactive parody musical” inspired by online game RuneScape.
Guilty: A Legal Musical Comedy is being staged at Greenside, giving “fiction’s greatest villains, from Hannibal Lecter to Cruella de Vil,” their day in court. And Dr Theatre uses songs from the likes of Cabaret, The Sound of Music, Blues Brothers, Wicked and more in Last Night a Musical Saved My Life!
Paradise Green is the venue for Gatsby: A New Musical, in which the team behind ‘Jekyll!’ recreate F Scott Fitzgerald’s famous jazz-age masterpiece.
Sex With Friends (and Other Tiny Catastrophes) is a new musical following “six friends as they fall in love and fall apart” – you can catch it at Pleasance.
Edinburgh’s Captivate Theatre has their own mini-season of work at the Rose Theatre – in addition to their own Sunshine on Leith, they’re also staging versions of Lionel Bart’s Oliver!, Shrek the Musical and The Addams Family – A New Musical, as well as an all-female staging of We Will Rock You: Young@part from the Captivate Theatre Summer School.
Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin is the subject of musical production The Mould that Changed the World at The Edinburgh Academy this August.
Seven and a Half Years (theSpaceUK) is a “unique one-man musical” that “tells an extraordinary true survivor’s story, touching on many issues including grief, love and mental health”. And Trial by Jury is “a one-act operatic satire of the British legal system” in the 1960s.
Fat Rascal Theatre’s Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch returns to Underbelly “in a tell-all tale of sex, sorcery and suckers”.
