Tag: Circus Hub on the Meadows

Underbelly announces ‘sensational lineup’ for Festival Fringe 2023

Underbelly are thrilled to announce a host of exciting shows for their Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023 programme. The stellar line-up includes the best of theatre, comedy, cabaret, circus, musicals, children’s shows and more.

Highlights include:

  • BATSU! the outrageous new late-night comedy experience will replace SPANK! after 20 years in Cowgate.
  • World leading circus company, The 7 Fingers, return to Edinburgh with the world premiere of Duel Reality.
  • Judith Kerr’s Mog the Forgetful Cat in McEwan Hall will be a treat for families as the book comes to life in a new adaptation by The Wardrobe Ensemble, Old Vic and Royal & Derngate, Northampton.
  • Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows returns with the 2022 sell-out La Clique, Peepshow (Club Remix) from CIRCA, the return of Circus Abyssinia’s Tulu and Fringe debuts Lucky Pigeons and Sophie’s Surprise 29th.
  • Direct from Las Vegas, Colin Cloud makes his highly anticipated return home to Scotland with five performances only in McEwan Hall.


Underbelly Cowgate’s new, late night comedy experience is BATSU! Currently a hot ticket in New York and Chicago, audiences join comedy warriors testing their wits to avoid electric shocks, paintballs, giant chickens and other jaw-dropping punishments.

Underbelly Cowgate’s iconic SPANK! finished its incredible 20-year Fringe run last year and now BATSU! will follow in its footsteps, entertaining the late-night Cowgate crowds all festival. Similar to past shows such as Stamptown, and Werewolf Live, BATSU! is unlike anything you’ve seen before. It promises to be the must-not-miss experience of the festival.

The Circus Hub programme is once again full of incredible circus from all over the world. La Clique returns to its spiritual home, the Fringe, after a sell-out 2022 season. Underbelly is proud to present the return of The 7 Fingers to the Fringe, after many years touring the world, with the world premiere of Duel Reality.

Last seen in Edinburgh with the phenomenal Passagers, ‘wondrous acrobatics from Cirque de Soleil spinoff’ (The Guardian), this is circus on a whole new level. Merging passion with danger, two teams compete, the stage becomes an arena and the audience must pick a side.

Also taking centre stage in the Lafayette are Fringe favourites CIRCA with a brand new show Peepshow (Club Remix). Promising an hour of big beats joined by live DJ, playful acts and thrilling acrobatics, Peepshow (Club Remix) is delightfully funny and razor-sharp featuring the best acrobatics on the planet, directed by Circus visionary Yaron Lifschitz.

Direct from Las Vegas, Scottish mentalist Colin Cloud makes his highly anticipated return to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for five nights only with brand-new show After Dark, promising to astound, delight and move you in equal measure.

Judith Kerr’s Mog the Forgetful Cat arrives in McEwan Hall to lead the line-up of family shows, adapted for the stage by The Wardrobe Ensemble, Old Vic and Royal & Derngate, Northampton. A proclaimed ‘miaow-vellus treat’ by The Guardian.

Fast becoming a Fringe home for musical hits such as Marlow and Moss’ Six, Fat Rascal’s Unfortunate and Rob Madge’s My Son’s A Queer, the upside-down purple cow, Udderbelly, will welcome the returning five-star musical Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder, in an expanded new version. A hilarious murder mystery musical from the Olivier Award-winning team behind Fleabag, Baby Reindeer and A Super Happy Story (About Feeling Super Sad).

Co-Directors of Underbelly, Charlie Wood and Ed Bartlam, said; “Underbelly was born at the Fringe 24 years ago and we’re so excited to return home for another year with a line-up of exceptional shows.

“We’re looking forward to inspiring audiences this summer and once again working collaboratively with leading international companies. See you in August!”

Underbelly will once again span across four fabulous performance hubs; Bristo Square, Cowgate, George Square and Circus Hub on the Meadows. Underbelly at the Edinburgh Fringe runs from 2nd – 28th August. Festival goers can purchase tickets via the Underbelly website – www.underbellyedinburgh.co.uk.

CIRCUS, CABARET & VARIETY

Joining The 7 Fingers: Duel Reality, La Clique and CIRCA’s Peepshow (Club Remix) at Circus Hub is Sophie’s Surprise 29thmaking its Fringe debut, with an interactive circus and cabaret night in the Spiegeltent. Featuring world-leading performers, it’s the nostalgic house party you’ll never forget.

For the whole family, Fringe debut Lucky Pigeons defies gravity to conjure a magical, surreal world where a flock of energetic, curious pigeons dwell. Returning after a smash-hit 2022 run, Tulu, from Circus Abyssinia is an unmissable showcase of superhuman strength blending breath-taking contortion, awe-inspiring acrobatics and mesmerising fire-juggling with a rocking, exuberant soundtrack.

Over in the Udderbelly, Throw Catch Collective, who have graced stages from Las Vegas to Circus Oz, arrive with a pioneering new show. Escalate pushes boundaries to challenge all preconceptions of the art of juggling and create an explosive hour of entertainment.

Over in Bristo Square alongside Colin Cloud, is Britain’s Got Talent’s finalist magician Magical Bones: Soulful Magic – Volume 2 with a limited run of the most awe-inspiring and high-energy magic show you’ll see and returning favourites The Thinking Drinkers Pub Quiz: Fancy Another Round? returning after last year’s sell-out run.

Rounding off the programme is Daniel Cainer’s Jewish Chronicles, an Edinburgh favourite telling stories through song.

THEATRE AND MUSICALS

Cowgate sees a thought-provoking and diverse line-up of debut and returning writing including The Society for New Cuisine which depicts an existential crisis confronting social taboos and questions how far we’ll go to find true satisfaction; Tomorrow is Not Promised, the story of a Black British woman who finds herself homeless and alone after an earthquake; Molly, delving into the night-time world of substance abuse; and Declan, a surreal, queer monologue with a hazy grasp on reality. 24, 23, 22 is a gig-theatre show set in the heat of a moment about scuzzy beats, stolen bags and reversing the flow of time.

George Square hosts 5-star Best Man, a dark comedy about relationships, regrets and a speech that goes off the rails. Bristo Square’s Jersey hosts Sad-Vents, an irreverent, tragicomedy using live-streaming and music in which audiences are encouraged to use their phones throughout! Audiences can also head to Bristo Square’s Box Office to embark on two immersive productions around the streets of Edinburgh, hosted by Agent November – Robyn Yew and Major X Ploe-Shun.

Joining Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder is: Without is an intimate, vibrant and authentic new contemporary musical, telling a story of unlikely friendship, the power of music, and what a ‘home’ truly is; singer-songwriter Connor Morel fronting a live three-piece band in an original gig-theatre show A Lovely Day To Be Online. Rounding out the programme is Fall and Flow, which will awe and inspire combining traditional Asian arts with western physical theatre training and Nobody’s Talking About Jamie, endorsed by the one-and-only Michael Palin as guaranteed to “make you feel better”.

COMEDY

Alongside BATSU! Underbelly’s comedy line-up is a wonderfully assorted collection of work worth celebrating, spanning from heart-warming stand-up to riotous improvisation including Joe Sutherland is Cancelled. Joe is returning to the stage to put the world to rights with a new PR strategy.

Who else to put in the iconic Udderbelly than iconic comedians? Edinburgh Comedy Allstars returns with a host of your favourite comedy names. Every Friday and Saturday join us for the biggest line-up of comedians, with previous names including Joanne McNally, John Bishop, Ahir Shah, Nina Conti, Phil Wang and Fern Brady.

More stand-up comedy can be found with Geoff Norcott (Have I Got News For You) and his new show Basic Bloke, in which he gives his thoughts on our wider society, as well as the return of Bilal Zafar with a show about how his housemate tried to get him arrested five times.

Dave’s Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer Emmanuel Sonubi is back with new show Curriculum Vitae, and 2022 sell-out Ange Lavoipierre is back with Your Mother Chucks Rocks and Shells, an absurd sketch show where it’s always 2am. Returning for limited runs are improv-favourites Austentatious and podcast-hit Drunk Women Solving Crime, and making the jump from online success to the Fringe stage are Tim Murray with a Wicked-ly queer comedy Witches, Joe McTernan: Live Advice that Won’t Change Your Life and Tom Lawrinson’s Hubba Hubba . Alongside this is a host of wonderful female-led comedy, including one-woman shows like Coffee Kid; Eme Essien: FINE PRINT; Sophie Sucks Face, a side-splitting musical comedy; Medico; Charlie Vero-Martin: Picnic; and five-star, sell-out one-woman show Bad Teacher; and a brand new hour from Sooz Kempner for everyone who remembers the year 2000 in Y2K Woman.

Ruby McCollister brings her gothic dark comedy Tragedy, about addiction, fame, obsession, and the ghosts of Shakespearian actors to Cowgate; fresh from Off-Broadway Six Chick Flicks… parodies your favourite movies in one hysterical, fast-paced show; in Bristo Square, Ashley Blaker: Normal Schmormal is a heart-warming stand-up show about the joys of raising children with special needs and award-winning Alice Fraser: Twist, is about the moment you think you’ve got a handle on things and life throws you a twist. Viral TikTok sensations Shoot From The Hip bring their unscripted and downright unforgettable improv comedy and Ireland’s favourite internet comedians make an appearance in An Evening With Michael Fry and Killian Sundermann.

The annual highlight of the Underbelly programme, Underbelly’s Big Brain Tumour Benefit is returning to McEwan Hall; a stupendous evening of comedy in which all Box Office income is doubled and donated to The Brain Tumour Charity.

Don’t miss the improvised murder mystery CSI: Crime Scene Improvisation; award-winning Haus of Dench with Drag Queens vs Vampires and Britain’s Got Talent winner Jon Courtenay with Mental Flavour. Grace Jarvis’ This Is The Last Goldfish That I Am Going To Eat For You; Anesti Danelis’ comedy concert This Show Will Change Your Life; Myq Kaplan’s advice to his past-self in ImPERFECT; award-winning Durham Revue with Death on the Mile; and a hilariously heart-warming show celebrating Guy’s and St Thomas’ Chemotherapy Ward Tom GK: Chemodian.

Also joining the comedy line-up are Mitch Benn: The Point; Alex Franklin: I Must Reach The Summit, Please God I Must Reach the Summit; Finlay and Joe: Past Our Bedtime; Aidan Greene: I Can’t Believe It’s Not Stutter!; Will BF: The Last Gun; Sigmund the Viking: Valhalla Calling; Elliot Steel: Love and Hate Speech; Failed By Design; Troll; Jazz or a Bucket of Blood; Paul Foot: Dissolve with more names to follow.

FAMILY SHOWS

Following a national tour and a summer at London’s Old Vic, stepping onto the McEwan Hall stage is The Wardrobe Ensemble, Old Vic and Royal & Derngate, Northampton’s adaptation of Judith Kerr’s Mog The Forgetful Cat, a ‘miaow-vellus’ musical treat for all.

Mog is a very forgetful cat. She forgets that she has a cat flap, she forgets that she’s already eaten her supper and she forgets that cats don’t have eggs for breakfast every day! But Mog’s forgetfulness might come in handy…

Following their aquatic adventure Splash Test Dummies, the Dummies will be back in town with their original family favourite, Trash Test Dummies. This side-splitting, slap-stick circus-comedy takes the household wheelie bin to new heights and delivers a dump-truck full of hilarity.

Brace yourself for an hour of award-winning, explosive, scientific chaos with The Alphabet of Awesome Science. Join professors Lexi Con and Noel Edge for a thrilling voyage, a tongue-twisting race from A-Z that is equal parts messy, fascinating and gross.

Newcomer to the festival, Who Stole My Hammer?, is sure to be a family favourite with Vikings, villains and mayhem in a journey of Norse mythology and mischievous tales for all ages.

Edinburgh Fringe favourite, Louis Pearl, is back for his fifteenth Fringe year with Amazing Bubble Man. Be amazed by the breathtaking dynamics of bubbles, combining comedy, science and fun to keep you mesmerised.

Underbelly announces shows added to it’s Fringe 2022 line-up

  • Underbelly at the Edinburgh Fringe reveals a further 47 shows joining it’s 2022 line-up
  • The additional shows go on sale today – Tuesday 05 April
  • Joining the 2022 Fringe herd are Fringe festival royalty, the original, trailblazing, genre-defining cabaret show, La Clique, hip-hop musical comedy sensation Abandoman and celebrated stand-up star, Rhys Nicholson
  • Circus Abyssinia and the Olivier Award-winning The Tiger Lillies are both set to return following world tours
  • A number of family friendly shows are joining the mix including The Gruffalo, the Giant and the Mermaid with Julia Donaldson and The Wonder Games with Maddie and Greg
  • Underbelly’s Big Brain Tumour Benefit is also set to return with a massive line-up of the biggest names at this year’s Fringe supporting The Brain Tumour Charity
  • Tickets for the latest line-up go on sale Tuesday 05 April from 10am today via www.underbellyedinburgh.co.uk

Underbelly has unveiled a further 47 shows joining this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe line-up. The 2022 list includes a range of performance royalty alongside up and coming talent set to take Edinburgh by storm. 

Festival-goers can purchase tickets via the Underbelly website – www.underbellyedinburgh.co.uk.

Underbelly at the Edinburgh Fringe runs from the 3 – 29 August 2022 across four sites: George Square, Circus Hub on the Meadows, Cowgate and Bristo Square. The line-up includes:

Cabaret and Variety highlights

Born at the Edinburgh Festival in 2004 and subsequently travelling the world to international acclaim, La Clique is widely regarded as the original Spiegeltent cabaret show that created a genre of its own. A decade on from winning the Best Entertainment Olivier Award and fresh from performances in London and Singapore, La Clique promises to be a night of laughs, gasps, naughtiness and the best in international cabaret.

The Tiger Lillies are back. After years away, touring the world, the Olivier Award-winning godfathers of alternative cabaret celebrate their 30th anniversary with a triumphant return to the Fringe. Based on the seminal 18th century ‘Beggar’s Opera’, the band presents a new song cycle One Penny Opera, a world of greed, crime, poverty, and inequality. Expect immense beauty and outrageous comedy from the Grammy-nominated, street opera trio.

Two of the world’s leading alcohol experts, The Thinking Drinkers, return with a hilarious quiz show that gets the rounds in – in more ways than one. With a pen and question sheet in one hand and several world-class drinks in the other, join them on a uniquely absurd, fact-filled journey through time in Pub Quiz. Following a sell-out show in 2018, magician Tom Brace takes a trip down memory lane to Cluedo, Roald Dahl and one film in particular from 1985…with a brand-new magic show for all ages, Embrace the impossible!

Circus highlights

A dazzling showcase of superhuman strength, speed, skill and flight, Circus Abyssinia blends together an unmissable performance of breath-taking contortion, awe-inspiring acrobatics and mesmerising fire-juggling with a rocking, exuberant soundtrack. After touring internationally, including a sell-out run in New York, they return to the Scottish capital with their greatly anticipated new show, Tulu.

Comedy highlights

Ireland’s finest hip hop musical comedian, is coming back to the Udderbelly with his biggest show yet. Using his trademark blend of audience interaction and razor-sharp improvisation, Abandoman will take you on a magical journey, transforming the audience’s likes, loathes and daydreams into hit songs and captivating tales.

Celebrated stand-up star, and now RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under judge, Rhys Nicholson is set to return with his unmissable Rhys! Rhys! Rhys!.

Edinburgh Fringe Best Newcomer nominee and new act of the year (NATYS) award winner Bilal Zafar returns with a brand-new show, CARE. Also joining the comedy line-up is Deirdre O’ Kane, there’s a point beyond burnout where all you can do is laugh, and shehas well and truly reached it. Don’t miss the star of Sky’s The Deirdre O’Kane Show and Moone Boy, and the voice of Gogglebox Ireland, as she returns to Fringe with Demented.

99 problems. 50 minutes. 1 woman. 1 spider suit. 30 seconds per problem. An insufficient number of solutions. If you currently have or have ever had problems, the new show from award-winning comedian and journalist Ange Lavoipierre: I’ve Got 99 Problems and Here’s an Exhaustive List of them is absolutely for you. This frantic yet beguiling display of self-pity is the holiday from your own problems you’ve been waiting for.

Jason Byrne is set to host a second show at this year’s Fringe. The Paddy Lama-Shed Talks is a one-man play where Jason Byrne brings the full life of Paddy Byrne to the stage playing his dad, keeping him alive in stories full of laughter and tears. Totally unlike anything we’ve seen before from the comedy legend.

Another award-winning Irish comedian, Aidan Greene, has stammered since he was four years old. He’s managed to make that funny. But what if he had never stammered at all? I Know What You Did Last Stammer questions how having a disability can shape a life by looking at a life without it.

Drunk Women Solving Crime is returning to the Fringe following a sell-out debut Fringe run in 2019, this is a true crime podcast with a twist…of lime. Each episode sees the boozed-up panel of hilarious hosts Hannah George, Catie Wilkins and Taylor Glenn welcome a top guest to test out their drunk detective skills and solve true crime cases.

Acclaimed stand-up Dan Cook returns with a brand-new show of high-energy, contemplative idiocy, Loud Bit, Quiet Bit, Loud Bit, Quiet Bit. Another comedy legend set to return this year is Garry Starr with Greece Lightning, where audiences and an overzealous idiot attempt to perform all of Greek Mythology in less than 60 minutes to save his Hellenic homeland from economic ruin.

Fringe favourite Paul Foot returns with Swan Power. Following appearances on ‘8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown’ on Channel 4 and ‘Breaking The News’ on BBC Radio Scotland, Paulis set to explore topics including Nanna on the rack, murdering Santas and interfering ambulance drivers (self-appointed busybodies!).

In its 4th year, Underbelly’s Big Brain Tumour Benefit returns for another stupendous evening of comedy to help fight against brain tumours. With previous year’s line-up including including Joel Dommett, Nina Conti, Russell Howard and Iain Stirling, this is the comedy event of the festival! Line-up announcements coming soon!

Theatre Highlights

Set to take the Fringe by storm is DESTINY. Following a teenage girl growing up on a Chippenham council estate: born below the breadline, desperate to see beyond the neighbourhood and find hope in hopelessness. Following sell-out Fringe runs in 2018 & 2019, Box Tale Soup returns with a new version of Swift’s incredible adventure: Gulliver tells tales of lands undiscovered and creatures unheard of, but is he really the same man who disappeared so long ago?

After a sold-out run, The B Collective returns with their exhilarating high-octane show Murder Ballads, adapted from the album by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Weaving Cave’s outrageous songs into a darkly comic narrative, the performers take you through stories of betrayals, bar brawls and blood baths. With an interactive investigation involving karaoke, lip syncing and absolute bangers, Coming Out Of My Cage (And I’ve Been Doing Just Fine) is a theatre show to add to the top of your list this year. ‘Mr Brightside’ hasn’t left the UK charts in 18 years. How did it end up like this?

Children’s Shows highlights

The Gruffalo, the Giant and the Mermaid with Julia Donaldson is set to be a firm family favourite this year. Following a sell-out show in 2018, UK’s best-selling author Julia Donaldson returns with a brand-new show based on her much-loved books. Packed full of songs, puppetry, and audience interaction and with book signings after each performance, join Harry and Betty at their scarecrows wedding and see if the grumpy Go-Away Bird would like a friend after all.

As seen on Cbeebies’ ‘Maddie’s Do You Know?’ and CBBC’s Blue Peter and following the huge success of their YouTube family science show ‘Let’s Go Live’, Maddie and Greg can’t wait to challenge each other (and the audience!) in a battle of curiosity, creativity and silliness. Join them for an interactive family show packed with fun, facts, and supersized games at The Wonder Games with Maddie and Greg!

Underbelly at the Edinburgh Fringe runs from the 3 – 29 August 2022 across 19 venues and 4 sites; George Square, Circus Hub on the Meadows, Cowgate and Bristo Square. Further exciting programme details will be revealed in the coming months.

Charlie Wood and Ed Bartlam, directors of Underbelly, said “After two scunnered years, we couldn’t be more delighted with our festival line-up which has something for everyone!

“The team have done a brilliant job in producing our most dynamic programme to date. With even more exciting acts still to come, watch this space for line-up announcements.”