OVER 130 SHOWS WILL OFFER £6 TICKETS TO RESIDENTS ACROSS EDINBURGH, FIFE AND MORE
Edinburgh Fringe’s iconic pink venue Gilded Balloon has launched a brand new Postcode Pals scheme, offering local residents thousands of discounted tickets for some of the Festival’s biggest and best shows.
Over 130 shows will offer £6 tickets for residents across Edinburgh and the Lothians, Fife and Falkirk with huge names like Jack Docherty, Michelle Brasier, Cameron Young, and classic Fringe shows like Late’n’Live and more on offer.
Whether planning a family day out, on the lookout for comedy’s rising stars, thrilling theatre or preparing for some showstopping magic, Gilded Balloon’s Postcode Pals will ensure local residents can experience the very best of the Fringe at shows from 31st July – 4th August.
Thousands of tickets across Gilded Balloon’s varied programme of comedy, theatre, magic, kids, musicals and more will be discounted for a limited time only. Locals have from now until 30th July to claim their Postcode Pals tickets, with a limited number of tickets available for each performance and subject to availability.
The brand new scheme will invite residents across Edinburgh and the Lothians, Fife and Falkirk to see some of the Fringe’s top shows in the very first few days of the world’s biggest arts festival.
Ts&Cs: £6 tickets (plus handling fees) for cards registered to addresses from EH, KY and FK postcodes via Gilded Balloon website only. Offer available to purchase from 15th July – 6pm 30th July. Discounted tickets for participating shows from 31st July – 4th August, subject to availability. Max 2 per show, max 6 per transaction. Log in and use PALS24 at checkout to unlock discount.
For the ultimate family day out, locals can enjoy an explosive all-ages comedy masterclass from Japan’s best silent comedian Ketch Sketch, a show jam packed with clowning, juggling and hilarious audience interaction. Or, take the kids to Funny Bones – a clowning show with heart that tells the tale of a stubborn soul refusing to cooperate with his broken body. Expect large-scale puppetry, high-energy physical comedy and lots of laughs!
There’s even shows for the littlest members of the family including Baby Shark and Tails of the Seven Seas, Lost in the Woods and more.
As the Fringe’s original home of comedy, Gilded Balloon is the place to see rising stars including debuts from Joshua Bethania, Kyle Dolan and Kathleen Hughes, Scot Squad regular Elaine Malcolmson, a mixed bill from Sophie Garrad and Leigh Douglas, and of course, The Chief himself Jack Docherty. Enjoy the Fringe’s original late night show Late’n’Live showcasing a mixed bill featuring the very best of the Festival where anything can happen, or check out comedy stars of the future at Best of So You Think You’re Funny?
Postcode Pals can bag discounted tickets for some of the UK’s top magicians including the award winning magician meets scientist Kevin Quantum, Scottish star Cameron Young or Danish magician Martin Brock. Enjoy thrilling theatre including an ode to female friendship in Knives and Forks, or join Pals for an adventure-comedy play embarking on a camping trip in the west of Scotland.
Katy and Karen Koren, Artistic Directors of Gilded Balloon said:, “It’s great to finally launch Postcode Pals and release thousands of discounted tickets for some of our very best shows to residents from the Festival’s surrounding areas.
“With the world’s largest arts festival on our doorstep and so many talented artists, comedians, actors, magicians and more ready to entertain us, Postcode Pals is a fantastic chance to secure discounted tickets for some of the Fringe’s most in-demand shows.
“We guarantee there’s something for every member of the family across both of our venues so don’t miss out!”
Gilded Balloon’s ‘Pals in Pink’ will welcome audiences from around the world as staff transform Patter House and the National Museum of Scotland into fabulously pink hubs of creativity with acts from every genre descending during the month of August.
Big name stars from Paul Black, Michelle Brasier and Jack Docherty will take to the stage alongside comedy’s very best newcomers from Nate Kitch to Stephanie Bradshaw, as well as an expertly-curated programme of theatre such as Chemo Savvy, a tribute to the late Andy Gray, The Steamie, Pop Off, Michelangelo and much more.
The Veterans Comedy Club is heading to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with a run of shows from sell-out stand-up comedians who are bonded by a unique camaraderie born from their past.
The Veterans Comedy Club, a newly formed community interest company (CIC), is a group of Armed Forces veterans who have completed the Royal British Legion’s ‘Recovery Through Comedy’ initiative. This programme sought to build resilience and confidence in Armed Forces veterans who had faced serious adversity, such as being physically injured through their service, or as sufferers of PTSD.
This was achieved through a stand-up comedy training programme, where the veterans, under the tutelage of comedy superstar Janice Connolly (also known for her award-winning comedy character Mrs Barbara Nice), morphed their personal experiences into stand-up comedy routines.
The culmination of the course was a three-day run of sell-out shows at last year’s Fringe at Lady Haig’s Poppy Factory, where disabled veterans make Remembrance symbols all year round.
Inspired by their personal transformation, the veterans founded The Veterans Comedy Club with the aim of producing more courses like the one that changed their lives. To raise awareness, they are returning to the Edinburgh Fringe for five more shows this year. From 13-15 August, they will once again be performing at Lady Haig’s Poppy Factory, which is situated on Logie Green Road in Edinburgh.
Commenting on this announcement, Director of The Veterans Comedy Club, Jane Britton, said:“We are thrilled to be returning to the Edinburgh Fringe this year for a string of performances. This is an opportunity for our comedians to continue their self-growth, and to raise awareness of the transformative qualities of stand-up comedy.
“The support from Fringe-goers last year was phenomenal, and we hope that by waiving any ticket cost, we can command similar audience sizes to last year. Through our great new show, we also aim to gain support for our aims as a CIC and raise funds through donations.
“But what’s most important is that we get the message out there, that stand-up comedy can have an inspirational impact on the mental and physical wellbeing of veterans, their families, and anyone else who may have experienced some level of trauma.
“We are a new and small organisation with the aim of making a big difference. We hope that the tremendous Scottish public will join us for an hour of laughter and camaraderie that we genuinely don’t believe you will find elsewhere.”
Charlie Pelling, Manager of Lady Haig’s Poppy Factory, and a former officer in the Royal Tank Regiment, commented:“We are delighted to be welcoming the newly formed Veterans Comedy Club to Lady Haig’s Poppy Factory. I was in awe of the wit and humour of last year’s shows, and we are excited to catch up with the comedians and hear their new material.
“At Lady Haig’s Poppy Factory, we work hard throughout the year to provide Scotland and large parts of the rest of the UK with Wreaths and other Remembrance symbols, and to manufacture all items for the Scottish Poppy Appeal come November. But we always enjoy hosting events for key partners, especially those who are on a journey to make a difference.
“We look forward to welcoming members of the public to these shows and to continuing our close relationship with The Veterans Comedy Club.”
Comedian Jake Donaldson is partially blind, or partially sighted, depending on your outlook on life, but what’s it really like to be a visually impaired comedian?
With tickets to his four-week stand-up show at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe now available, Jake is keen to dispel misunderstandings about sight loss. “Sometimes people come up to me and say, ‘You’re not actually blind though, are you? That’s just made up for your comedy’. Just because someone isn’t wearing dark glasses and accompanied by a guide dog, it doesn’t mean they’re not visually impaired” he says.
Jake (30) from Newcastle Upon Tyne has been writing and performing comedy since he was a teenager. Having performed previously at the Fringe and at comedy clubs across the UK, his work also includes his 2022 show, ‘Neurotica’ now streaming on Amazon Prime and NextUp.
“I always enjoyed comedy when I was little, and I spent all my pocket money on stand-up DVDs or tickets to see comedians rather than CDs and clothes like most of my friends,” he says. “I joined comedy groups at university, and we performed shows together, I got the bug then and ever since, I’ve been pursuing stand-up.”
This year’s show, ‘Spectacle’ will explore Jake’s sight loss journey. The show will feature a unique use of light and sound to create a sensory experience for audiences. “My eyesight is something that I’ve had to deal with my whole life,” says Jake.
“But it’s now in my 30s that I’m really facing the reality of being visually impaired and what that means for my future. Spectacle feels like a new level of performance for me. I think it will give audiences a new sense of perspective about how they see the world – literally – as well as an hour of laughs.”
Off stage, Jake has been supported by his local Eye Care Liaison Officer (ECLO), a service managed in hospitals across the UK by leading sight loss charity RNIB and other providers. Alongside practical support to help people maintain their independence, they also offer emotional reassurance. Jake adds, “My ECLO has been great, he’s been really instrumental in helping me come to terms with the reality of my sight loss.”
Jake is not the only comedian with sight loss on the comedy circuit, but he is usually the only one on the bill. “It’s rare for multiple visually impaired performers to get booked on the same gig because bookers assume we’ll all be similar,” he says. “In reality, we’re all varied in our styles and kinds of comedy we do.”
And what about venue accessibility?
“In the past, I have been discounted from gigs because the venue was not reachable by public transport, and they automatically assumed I don’t have access to someone who could drive me, but this has thankfully only happened a few times.
“I’m lucky in that, for the most part, I’m usually able to navigate most venues with the sight I do have and my guide cane.
“However, often comedy gigs happen in rooms above pubs or comedy clubs in dark basements which could easily prove difficult for performers in terms of accessibility. The vast majority of bookers and promoters I’ve personally worked with have been super helpful, accommodating and understanding about my access requirements.”
What’s next for Jake?
“Spectacle is a show that I’m incredibly proud of and I can’t wait for audiences to experience it. I want to continue making comedy and sharing it with the wider world. I’m really excited about building my own audience through touring because I love being a comedian. I will continue to push myself out of my comfort zone and create new and exciting shows in the future.”
*Jake’s show, ‘Spectacle‘, is at Just the Tonic – The Mash House (Venue 288) at 6.40pm from 1-11 and 13-25 August 2024.
Assembly Festival has announced a further 90 plus shows for its 2024 programme, bringing its Fringe season to 222 shows to be presented from Wednesday 31 July to Monday 26 August.
Performances will take place on 28 stages around eight venues across Edinburgh city centre.
Assembly’s popular festival hubs will return at Assembly Rooms and Assembly George Square Gardens and Studios, headline acts return to Assembly Hall, plus performances at Assembly Checkpoint and the festival’s year-round home of Assembly Roxy.
Bridging the gap between Edinburgh’s Old and New Towns, Assembly Festival will have a new stage at Assembly @ Virgin Hotel, alongside last year’s partnership with Scotland’s Centre for Dance featuring two stages in the Grassmarket venue Assembly @ Dance Base.
Paradisium, Recirquel Cirque Danse
Internationally renowned Recirquel Cirque Danse, the company behind Fringe-hits IMA (2023) and My Land (2018), returns with a new show directed by Bence Vági; Paradisium, where the body is the medium and movement is the common language.
A bevy of international circus comes from Colombia with Circolombia: Corazón, a fun-fuelled circus concert with a beating Latin heart; Canadian acrobats Agathe and Adrien redefine gender roles in N.Ormes; and from Australia comes the return of hit grown up circus by Highwire, Rouge, a circus for grown-ups, and three contemporary Australian circus artists hope to re-discover the connection we once had with the earth in Na Djinang circus’ Of the Land on Which We Meet as part of the House of Oz programme.
Rising star of Australian dance, choreographer-director Lewis Major brings two new dance shows to Assembly @ Dance Base as part of the House of Oz programme; a unique collaboration with the legendary Russell Maliphant OBE in Lewis Major: Triptych, and an intimate one-on-one performance between one audience member and one dancer for an encounter never to be repeated in Lewis Major: Lien.
Dance Base’s in-house companies Lothian Youth Dance Company and PRIME come together in Timeless, featuring dancers aged 14 to 80+ in one life-affirming showcase; a double-bill performance by two Hong Kong artists in It’s not my body chapter 3.5 / This Is; and READY weaves around a series of Beethoven piano sonatas purposely selected for each performance.
Fringe Fragments is a new platform showcasing dance talent from around the world produced by Dance Base; Fault Lines pulls at the tension in our relationship with nature; READY is a solo piece celebrating over half a century of dance practice; and Impasse presents an attempt to understand the politics of the Black body in a contemporary western society.
Through dance, drums and electronic music a duo embarks on a journey of chaos, calm and collaborative climax in CRAWLER; blending dance, mime, and aerial acrobatics, The Weight of Shadow depicts mental health deterioration; Man & Board is an unlikely pairing of a dancer’s moving body with a ritualised wooden board; and Transhumanist is a popping male duet to an electronic soundscape.
Award winning choreographer Mathieu Geffré presents What songs may do…, shining a light on our deep-rooted connection to memory through music; Scotland based seminal choreographer Alan Greig looks at the ageing body and plays with gender, identity and LGBTQ+ icons in Within Reach; and desires and fears collide in two explosive but intimate physical poems by Charles Pas and Courtney May Robertson in Victory Boogie Woogie / the pleasure of stepping off a horse when it’s moving at full speed.
Beats on Pointe, Masters of Choreography
The whole family can enjoy non-stop five-star entertainment as Beats on Pointe returns to Assembly Festival, where ballet meets modern street dance in Australia’s hottest commercial dance theatre production.
The street meets the elite in 360 Allstars, a supercharged urban circus; and as seen as part of the Tokyo Olympic Opening Ceremony, GABEZ bring their international award-winning physical comedy, LIVE MANGA.
For younger families, the world-famous unicycle acrobatics show Cartoooon!! takes audiences on a magical journey to the big top; when Doctor Tuneless threatens the planet, only Granny Norbag can save the day – can she complete her quest in time for tonight’s Emmerdale? And the riotous, gratuitous and possibly hazardous, kids’ comedy duo The Listies return to the Fringe as part of the House of Oz programme, taking on the torturous subject of bedtime in The Listies ROFL.
Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Newcomer winner 2023 Urooj Ashfaq returns for a limited run of her award-wining show, Urooj Ashfaq: Oh No! Plus, a mix of stories and observations in a new work in progress Urooj Ashfaq: It’s Funny To Me (Work in Progress). Hoping to follow in her footsteps with their Edinburgh debuts are Kate Dolan: A Different Kind of Unhinged, exploring the bizarre expectations put on women; the camp and chaotic world of Alex Hines: Putting On A Show; Alexandra Hudson explores her experiences as disabled woman in Making Lemonade; a glittering hour of fastidiously-curated spontaneity from Will Owen: Like, Nobody’s Watching; the world’s youngest, smallest, most normal comedian, Sarah Roberts: Silkworm; and a darkly funny comedy set within the world of two co-dependent sisters and their cow in The Sisters Fig.
2023 Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Newcomer, Urooj Ashfaq
Britain’s Got Talent star Nurse Georgie Carroll: Sista Flo 2.0 returns to Assembly Festival after a sell-out debut season; Australia’s favourite comedy duo return with their banger show The Umbilical Brothers: The Distraction; Superstore star Chris Grace brings his homage the greatest living Asian actor in Chris Grace as Scarlett Johansson; and returning to Assembly Festival for its third year, Liars & Clowns: A Late Night Comedy Show is a jam session for comedians showcasing the best alternative comedy from around the festival.
The masters of improv Spark Creative return with their two smash hit shows, Baby Wants Candy and Shamilton! The Improvised Hip-Hop Musical; a magical adventure awaits in Spontaneous Potter: The Unofficial Improvised Parody; and the ground-breaking fusion of improv comedy and live jazz of Giant Steps comes to the Fringe after sell-out London shows.
Dancefloor Conversion Therapy presents the history of dance floors and joyful regret as part of the House of Oz programme; BAFTA-nominated comedian Rachel Parris brings a dazzling new hour of stand-up and songs in Rachel Parris: Poise; and for one night only NZ Taskmaster star Paul Williams Plays the Hits in a special late-night gig, featuring the best of Surf Music and his brand-new album.
The rise of the clowns continues as Trygve Wakenshaw disciple Tom Greaves: FUDGEY, an award-winning comedy about privilege; solo Edinburgh debutante, Aussie Yozi is adamant about the rules in Yozi: No Babies In The Sauna as part of the House of Oz programme; there’s ‘very funny stand-up’ from I am Claire Parry (very funny stand-up); and you become the orchestra led by the virtuosic Boorish Trumpson.
There’s more interactive fun as pictionary meets pub quiz in the adult gameshow Laser Kiwi’s Sketch Game; comedians Sweeney Preston and Ethan Cavanagh guide you through tasting five wines, using at least five jokes in In Pour Taste: A Comedy Wine Tasting Experience; and a healing ceremony unlike any you’ve ever experienced with Namaste Bae: Blessings & Kombucha.
Comedy meets cabaret in actress, comedian and content-creator Dylan Mulvaney’s Fringe debut, Dylan Mulvaney: F*G HAG; the obscenely intelligent, rib-crackingly funny Reuben Kaye returns to the Fringe with The Kaye Hole Hosted by Reuben Kaye and the UK debut of Reuben Kaye: Live and Intimidating; and the legendary Ghost-Whisperer returns in Séayoncé: She Must Be Hung!
More LGBTQ+ stories are told as Ricky Sim brings back his stand-up/storytelling show An Asian Queer Story: Coming Out to Dead People; and Andrew White is Young, Gay and a Third Thing in a hilarious hour of new material tackling identity, authenticity, and Musical Theatre themed weddings.
The cult cabaret, idiots… GAY idiots makes its Edinburgh debut with vaudevillian variety ranging from weird to very weird; fresh from their acclaimed Australian Tour MESSY FRIENDS explore the world of enchanting glamour; vocalist Victoria Mature pays homage to one of the most popular leading men of Hollywood’s Golden Age in Victor’s Victoria; and Australia’s reigning Queen of comedy cabaret makes her way to Assembly Festival as part of the House of Oz programme in The Unburdening of Dolly Diamond.
Camille O’Sullivan: Loveletter
The celebrated “Queen of the Fringe” (BBC) returns to Edinburgh for her 20th Festival. Camille O’Sullivan: Loveletter pays tribute to those loved and missed, a heartfelt show celebrating Shane McGowan, Sinead O’Connor, Leonard Cohen, and David Bowie.
The multi-award-winning live music sensation makes its Edinburgh debut with a celebration of Aussie hit-makers in Down Under: The Songs That Shaped Australia as part of the House of Oz programme; witness mind-blowing sounds and vocal agility with The Beatbox Collective: What’s Your Sound?; and dance through the decades as the Fringe‘s newest Saturday night entertainment takes over Assembly @ Virgin Hotel with DecaDance Silent Disco.
Get your boogie shoes ready for the official KC & the Sunshine Band musical, Who Do Ya Love?; or take a magic carpet ride into an enchanted castle of adult fantasies and fairytale follies as The Hairy Godmothers present Dizney in Drag: Once Upon a Parody and Villains: A Dizney in Drag Parody.
The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland bring two musicals to Assembly Festival for the Fringe, Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music and the pop-infused score and gore of Fountain of You; and history’s most mysterious ruler is uncovered in House of Cleopatra, an immersive musical with an original high-octane pop score.
Music is the catalyst for a trip down memory lane in The Imitator, the journey of one man’s dream of becoming an artist; and award-winning theatre maker Liam Hurley teams up with songwriter Jo Mango to present A Giant on the Bridge, unflinching gig theatre as part of the Made in Scotland Showcase 2024.
There’s more Scottish theatre with an a-typical love story in Love Beyond, also presented as part of the Made in Scotland Showcase 2024; and The Old Queen’s Head in which only one Queen can prevail. Plus, a score of plays from across the world.
Finland’s most decorated touring theatre company, Red Nose Company return to Assembly Festival with their acclaimed Don Quixote; Japanese comedian Akira Ishida teams up with actors to present a non-verbal comedy show with traditional Japanese sword fighting in CHALLENGE; from the USA 3 Chickens Confront Existence at the Edinburgh Fringe; and as part of the House of Oz season, two actors present three short plays in Summer of Harold, a trio of comedies about clinging on and letting go.
In new writing, award-winning artist Michaela Burger explores the legacy of a high-class sex worked in a brand-new one-woman show, The State of Grace as part of the House of Oz programme; new play DEADHEADS looks at the complexity and joy of loving someone while also allowing them to grow and change; a new queer love story in Conversations We Never Had, As People We’ll Never Be; an ode to young Belfast student life in Float; anda soul-searching, delightfully human roller-coaster ride through music and the Artist formerly known as Prince in K. Lorrel Manning’s Lost…Found.
Lost…Found, The Barrow Group
A traveller is rescued from the surging seas to the devout fishing village in physical theatre piece Plenty of Fish in the Sea as part of the House of Oz programme; ‘The Thick of It’ meets NHS A&E in In The Sick of It, a satirical state of the nation dissection; a one-man reimagining of Hamlet, told entirely from the perspective of the Dane in Sam Blythe: Method in my Madness (A one-man Hamlet); and Olivier winning Guy Masterson directs Clara Francesca in Making Marx, a look at the formidable woman behind Karl Marx.
Assembly Festival begins its season with the opening of Assembly George Square Gardens on Friday 12 July for the Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival, closely followed by the tenth anniversary of the Edinburgh Food Festival, Friday 19 – Sunday 28 July.
Assembly Festival’s Fringe season will begin on Wednesday 31 July and run through to Monday 26 August.
For tickets and further information about this year’s programme, and to sign up to receive news from Assembly Festival, visit www.assemblyfestival.com.
Audiences: start longlisting and booking early to support artists and #UnleashYourFringe
Today, Thursday 04 April 2024, a new batch of shows to be staged at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe has been revealed. All shows will be available to view on edfringe.com from 12:00 today.
The 1,373 shows span many genres of the Fringe programme, including cabaret and variety; children’s shows; comedy; dance, physical theatre and circus; music; musicals and opera; spoken word; and theatre. They join the 274 shows revealed previously, resulting in a total of 1,647 shows so far.
More shows are set to be announced on Thursday 09 May, while the official programme launch will take place on Wednesday 12 June.
Audience members are encouraged to start compiling their favourite shows and booking early to support artists, using the hashtag #UnleashYourFringe in the run-up to this year’s festival.
Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: “It’s super exciting when a new batch of shows gets announced – you can really feel the momentum gathering as August gets closer and closer! I can’t wait to get stuck in and add some more shows to my favourites list – and to book a few in, just in case they sell out.”
“Artists are the backbone of this festival and they’re at the heart of everything we do at the Fringe Society.
“Booking tickets in advance, adding free and unticketed shows to your favourites list, giving shout-outs to artists and companies on social media using #UnleashYourFringe – these are things that Fringe audiences can do to show some essential early support and boost morale for the artists they love.
“So if your fave is coming to Edinburgh, or if a show tackles an issue that’s close to your heart, get it locked in now!”
Below is a small representative sample of shows available to book from today. The full list of shows so far can be found at edfringe.com from 12:00:
Cabaret
Yes-Ya-Yebo! at Laughing Horse is ‘an all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza celebrating South Africa’s 12 official languages, sprinkled with that incredible township vibe’. Meanwhile, audiences are invited to ‘indulge in the hottest pop-up cabaret experience on Cowgate with a rotating selection of the most electrifying and scandalous performers at the festival’ in Big Gay Afterparty at Just the Tonic.
La Clique brings its ‘breathtaking, hilarious, sexy, dangerous and iconic’ mix of circus, cabaret and comedy back to Underbelly with two shows, the traditional main event and a family-friendly Sideshow. At Eve, ‘the award-winning comedy trio Bad Clowns’ present ‘a night of the best comedy acts from this year’s festival’ in Bad Clowns and Good Friends. And The Burlesque Show at Hill Street Theatre is ‘a competition with a brilliant prize that will satisfy the experienced as well as the novice burlesque watcher’.
‘Award-winning magician’ Dan Bastianelli returns with an all-new evening of close-up magic’ in Deception at Paradise Green. German magician Thomas W Kuenstner ‘combines applied psychology, storytelling and old-school conjuring to generate original mysteries’ in Truth. Lies. And Other Illusions at the Arthur Conan Doyle Centre. Caspar Thomas demonstrates The Art of Close-Up Magic at Gilded Balloon while Andrew Frost lays his Cards on the Table at Pleasance. And ‘mind-reading and unbelievable trickery abound in this exploration of how autism and magic make anything possible’: it’s Naughty or Neurodiverse – Magic from Another Planet at theSpaceUK.
In Melody at The Voodoo Rooms, Aidan Sadler guides audiences ‘through the top steps to surviving the apocalypse with 80s-inspired synth-wave melodies’. Australian piano cabaret entertainer Antony (Dr H) Hubmayer brings two shows to artSpace@StMarks – A Monty Python Cabaret Singalong Circus and Another Unwasted Evening – The Genius of Tom Lehrer – plus a third, Meat Loaf – Just the Best Bits, to PBH’s Free Fringe. At Greenside, Baby Belle: Young, Dumb and Full of Autism is ‘a whimsical, musical exploration of social versus personal identity from the perspective of a late-identified and diagnosed non-binary autistic person’. And in Sawdust Symphony at ZOO, ‘obsessed characters discover and transform their space and themselves, transporting the spectator into a unique DIY experience’.
‘Rome Mosaic explores sisterhood and the sibling dynamic – with dance, lipsyncing and good old-fashioned sibling rivalry’ in Sisters? at Hootenannies. Award-winning cabaret star Ada Campe shows off her Big Duck Energy at The Stand Comedy Club, while ‘glamorous, hilarious and fiercely clever Jens Radda… reinvents Sinatra’s classics through saucy modern twists’ in Skank Sinatra at Assembly. In The Taylor Swift Eras Drag Party at The Three Sisters, hosts ‘Blaze, Rujazzle and Rozie Cheeks… take you on a journey through the eras of Taylor Swift’.
Children’s shows
‘The disability Taskmaster’ Blue Badge Bunch returns to Pleasance ‘as two teams battle it out to come up trumps in a show where disadvantage is an advantage’. At Royal College of Physicians, games-master Jes presents ‘crazy bingo variations like you’ve never seen before’ in Amazing Prize Family Comedy Bingo. And ‘your little ones will move, groove and dream, plus you’ll walk away with your very own custom-made medal,’ in The Comedy Games with Coach Mon (theSpaceUK).
‘Full of inviting, imagination-tickling charm’, Taiwan Season: Little Drops of Rain (Assembly) ‘is a feat of non-verbal, environmentally-conscious storytelling ingeniously led by Foley sound’. How to Catch a Book Witch at Underbelly is ‘an open-hearted show aimed at children ages 4+ exploring the importance of libraries and sharing stories’. And ‘when the directors call for auditions for new actors, comedy and mayhem ensue’ in Reach for the Stars at Hill Street Theatre. Meanwhile, Dragon Song Productions presents a trilogy of shows for children aged six and under at the LifeCare Centre – Ice Dragon, Moon Dragon and Sea Dragon – plus Dragon Shows for Babies, each ‘a magical and stimulating show to start a love of the theatre’.
‘Featuring stories by Scottish icon Alan Cumming’, Dragonory: Magic and Music at Edinburgh Fringe! (Hootenannies) ‘offers an unforgettable mix of storytelling and music, promoting love and acceptance’, while Newbury Youth Theatre presents The Fantastical World of My Uncle Arly at Paradise Green, ‘a voyage through the absurd world of Edward Lear.
‘Reimagined from a beloved Korean tale by Jung-saeng Kwon’, Aha! Doggy Poo (Bedlam Theatre) ‘incorporates dance, magic and Korean music to embody the philosophy that nothing in the world is useless’. Meanwhile, ‘Edinburgh’s gruesome past is brought to life by two performers (as seen on CBBC’s Saturday Mash Up)’ in Plague, Poo ‘n’ Punishment at Greenside.
FlamenKids at the Edinburgh New Town Church gives kids ‘a fun and visual way to learn about Spanish culture and flamenco art: rhythms, dance movements, clapping, guitar, singing, castanets, percussion and language expressions’. And a ‘professional violinist and cellist perform familiar classical melodies and tell a musical version of Pinocchio’ in Heads, Shoulders, Strings and Bows at Stockbridge Church.
The Spanish Gentleman Juggler is at Laughing Horse, ‘bringing to life everyday objects such as fishing poles, drinking glasses and kebab sticks alongside invented props and gymnastic balls’. Sing, Sign and Sensory at Gilded Balloon offers ‘an immersive, creative experience in customised, inflatable sensory pods’ for ages 0–2.
Comedy
As ever, there’s a strong international flavour at the Fringe. Taiwanese American comedian Titi Lee is a Good Girl Gone Baddie at Just the Tonic, discussing ‘coming out to their immigrant parents as bisexual, and then non-binary, getting pandemic boobs, and renouncing their good girl ways’. Prev Reddy, ‘the first South African comic that is Indian, queer and outspoken’ is at the Arthur Conan Doyle Centre in Prev Reddy is a Triple Threat. In Antidepressed at Greenside, ‘Ege Öztokat talks, sings and screams about the wonderfully terrible predicament of her existence as a young woman in Turkey’. Mumbai-based ‘global stand-up star’ Rahul Subramanian makes his Edinburgh debut with Who Are You? at Assembly. Bodega Bonnies at The Stand Comedy Club features ‘a new rotation of the fest’s best comics from around the globe (but mostly from New York)’. And ‘in his debut hour, Jin Hao walks you through the seascape of his mind, filled with nightmares of being a spider, dreams of joining the yakuza and breezy memories of serving in the military with the boys’ in Swimming in a Submarine at Pleasance.
Suchandrika Chakrabarti ‘tries to explain our chronically online era to her niece (5), and speculates about the future’ in Doomscrolling at Hootenannies. And audiences are invited to join Jack Freeman ‘as he learns how to love and be loved in this hilarious solo show combining stand-up with lots of heart and even more limp’: Embrace Me: A Solo Show About Dating and Disability That is Also Funny (Laughing Horse). ‘He’s been a TV presenter, DJ, double-glazing salesman, footballer and comedian’ – now James Gardner: Journeyman (WIP) is at Boteco do Brasil. Musical comedian Amelia Bayler ‘navigates a year of heartbreak and learning to be alone’ in Easy Second Album at the Scottish Comedy Festival. And Robin Cairns, ‘with his array of comedy characters, gives us a riotous hour exploring the (hopefully friendly) rivalry between Scotland’s major cities’ in Edinburgh’s Pandas Were Just Weegies in Disguise! (St Columba’s by theCastle Scottish Episcopal Church).
‘Imagine an Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman finally in the same bar as a therapist’ – it’s Five Mugs, No Tea at Leith Depot. The Leith Comedy Festival Presents… The Edinburgh Fringe Edition at The Biscuit Factory, boasting a different line-up every night and ‘your golden ticket to a great night out’. And A Political Breakfast at PBH’s FreeFringe is a ‘political comedy panel show chaired by Chris O’Neill or Harun Musho’d involving up to four comedians (subject to alarm clocks working) and the audience’.
Lady ADHD is at theSpaceUK and online, ‘tracing how Blaire Postman’s unique comedy bits (fueled by a rollercoaster of flipchart rabbit-holes) at first revealed to her the unexpected connections of life’s intricacies, then panned out further to expose the true nature of her own brain’. Character Building Experience at Bedlam Theatre ‘is a Dungeons-and-Dragons-style comedic interactive roleplaying game show, suitable for the experts, the novices and the uninitiated-but-curious’. At Hill Street Theatre, BBC Radio 4’s ‘cop-turned-comedian Alfie Moore returns with a brand-new show’: Fair Cop – Live!
‘Shameless, charmingly aggressive and unladylike, she’s the funniest half-Sri Lankan gal from Coventry’ – she’s Stella Graham, and her show Phoenix is on at PBH’s FreeFringe. In Good Girl at Paradise Green, Rhiannon Jenkins goes on ‘an immersive, interactive clown adventure as she plays with male fantasies, female sexuality, and how we navigate 21st century womanhood’. And Daliso Chaponda ‘revisits the themes of [his] ancient debut show’ two decades later in Feed This Black Man Again at Underbelly.
Among the familiar Fringe faces returning to this year’s festival are David O’Doherty, Flo & Joan, Reginald D Hunter, Milton Jones, Adam Hills, Dara Ó Briain (Assembly); Adam Kay (Edinburgh Playhouse); Bobby Davro (Frankenstein Pub); Andrew Maxwell, Craig Hill, Lucy Porter and Patrick Monahan (Just the Tonic); Raul Kohli (Just the Tonic and Laughing Horse); Sian Davis (Laughing Horse); Sara Pascoe, Nish Kumar and Glenn Moore (Monkey Barrel Comedy); Ahir Shah, Kieran Hodgson, Nina Conti, Rose Matafeo, Sophie Duker, Jordan Brookes, Paul Merton and Suki Webster (Pleasance); and Mark Thomas (The Stand), while former politician Mhairi Black makes her Fringe comedy debut at Gilded Balloon.
Ivo Graham is at the Fringe in three capacities in 2024: with his stand-up show Grand Designs at Pleasance, his theatre show Carousel at Assembly and as the host of Comedians’ DJ Battles at La Belle Angele.
Dance, physical theatre and circus
‘Marrying traditional rhythms with modern dance’, HuXi / Breath (Paradise Green) ‘allows audiences to embody the intricate connection of Qi within and beyond, fostering links between self-realisation and higher realms’. In Korean Painter at theSpaceUK, the Contemporary Yunhee company paints ‘various pictures on stage using the traditional Korean hat called sangmo’, offering audiences a ‘mysterious experience’.
‘Award-winning choreographer Aparna Ramaswamy weaves together threads of body, memory, desire and devotion to describe the eternal relationship between the deity and the devotee’ in Ananta, the Eternal at Assembly. In The Flock and Moving Cloud at ZOO (part of the Made in Scotland showcase), Scottish Dance Theatre present works by ‘two of the most-exciting female choreographers in the European dance scene: Roser López Espinosa and Sofia Nappi’.
At Edinburgh New Town Church, Flamenco in Scotland is ‘directed and choreographed by Inma Montero and performed by top flamenco professional artists’. Flamenco Fiesta at Alba Flamenca ‘offers the audience an intimate and delicate atmosphere to enjoy the wonders of the passionate art of Flamenco’. And 2Flamenco brings a ‘powerful, exquisite, beautiful and unforgettable Flamenco experience’ to Argyle Cellar Bar, while ‘Jolly performers from Japan will take you on a journey through a dazzling world of rhythm, tap dance and comedy’ in Sushi Tap Show 2024 at Greenside.
Part of the Sacred Arts Festival at Old Saint Paul’s Church, Dancing Ash Wednesday is ‘a piece in which movement interacts with the speaker’ in TS Eliot’s titular poem. ‘Towers grow and decay, bodies leap and are caught, physical limits are pushed to their extreme’ in Circa: Humans 2.0 at Underbelly. the Curve at Just the Tonic ‘stitches together acrobatics, dance, physical comedy and spoken word to form the image of life as a circus performer – and what happens to the body and mind in the process’. And audiences can ‘come and witness Martin and Logy’s ongoing battle against the gravitational pull of the planet’ in Circus Sonas Presents: Down with Gravity at Laughing Horse.
Music
‘Hailed by critics and fans alike as one of the finest songwriters of his generation,’ Dean Friedman brings his Words and Music to The Stables at Prestonfield. ‘After nearly a decade-long absence, Sandi Thom makes her long-awaited reintroduction to the iconic Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year’ at The Voodoo Rooms with her new song collection, Warpaint. Valery Ponomarev: The Jazz Messenger! at The Jazz Bar features ‘an unmissable exclusive performance from legendary Russian-American trumpeter and Jazz Messengers alumnus, Valery Ponomarev, who dramatically escaped 70s USSR and toured the world with Art Blakey and The Jazz Messengers’.
The songs of Jo Carley and The Old Dry Skulls ‘tell stories of deals with the devil, demons in love, witch doctors, zombies, ghosts, ghouls, journeys to the deepest jungles and other exotic adventures’ – hear them at the Argyle Cellar Bar. At Greenside, ‘iuchair tells a tale of debauchery played out in the coarsest catches of Henry Purcell and his contemporaries’ in To Your Rude Health! At Paradise Green, The Seas Are Rising: Stories of a Climate in Crisis is ‘a multimedia concert experience calling attention to the urgency of the climate crisis through original songs by American musician and songwriter Dan Sheehan’. And Grammy-winning cellist Leah Coloff ‘has played alongside the greatest names in contemporary music – from David Bowie to Debbie Harry’; her show, Super Second Rate, is at theSpaceUK.
Audiences are invited to ‘join Delhi maestro Manmohan Dogra for a journey through soulful Hindustani classical music, featuring vocal ragas and a tabla solo in Banares style,’ in Raag Rang: A Journey Through Indian Musical Traditions at Arthur Conan Doyle Centre. Seckou Keita and his Homeland Band are at The Queen’s Hall – formed in 2020, ‘they’ve been lifting audiences to their feet and leaving them buzzing ever since’. And at Valvona & Crolla, Pitchblenders: Só Danço Samba is ‘an evening of vibrant bossa nova, ebullient bal musette and soul-stirring contemporary songs from Spain, France and Brazil’.
At Assembly, ‘Out of the Blue is an internationally acclaimed a cappella group from the University of Oxford and, after jet-setting across the world earlier this year, the group is excited to return to their home turf to showcase new talent and new songs’. Meanwhile, ‘an all-male a cappella group of nerds from Imperial College London’ deliver The Techtonics: 44 Days of Liz Truss (A Cappella) at Gilded Balloon.
The Sacred Arts Festival has programmed church performances across the city this August, with Ave Maria: Centuries of Prayer and Praise at Old Saint Paul’s Church, Sacred Jazz at St Mary’s Catholic Cathedral and The Lord is my Shepherd: Sacred song of the English musical renaissance at St Vincent’s Chapel. ‘The Howe Street Singers, directed by Les Shankland, perform Faure’s much-loved Requiem and equally beautiful Cantique de Jean Racine alongside Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms’ as part of the Sacred Arts Festival Music at the Church of the Sacred Heart.
Edinburgh-based chamber choir Calton Consort ‘presents an hour of choral music from LGBTQ+ composers and allies’ in Choral Pride at Canongate Kirk. St Giles’ Cathedral hosts a programme of Celebrity Recitals on its ‘world-famous Rieger organ’, with performances from Francesca Massey, Tom Bell and Michael Harris. St Mary’s Lunchtime Recitals return to St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral, featuring ‘a wide variety of performers playing and singing in one of Edinburgh’s most beautiful concert spaces’. And at Edinburgh New Town Church, Scottish Voices and Friends features ‘an imaginative and diverse program, including world premieres of new classical music, with a special focus on settings of Gaelic poetry by Catriona Montgomery and from the Orthodox poetry of Konstantin Balmont and traditional Ukrainian carols’.
‘16-year-old Brit School pianist, guitarist and singer’ George Cassidy brings his second show, Piano Boy, to Laughing Horse, mixing ‘his own songs with those of Elton, the Beatles and many more’. Lisa Scott and the All-Stars bring their Fabulous Sounds of the 60s to Leith Dockers Club, ‘covering all genres of music and top-class musicians, including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner and more’. Vocalist Georg Tormann performs ‘a touching and entertaining tribute to Old Blue Eyes’ in Sinatra – The Greatest Hits at Frankenstein Pub. Absolutely (not) Free – An Evening of Zappa is ‘a smorgasbord of Frank Zappa classics hand-delivered by those finest purveyors of conceptual continuity, Pygmy Twylyte’ – catch them at Bannermans. Brian Kennedy toured the US with Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and Joni Mitchell in 1998 – now he celebrates the latter’s 80th year in Brian Kennedy – A Love Letter To Joni Volume 2 at Greyfriars Hall at Virgin Hotels Edinburgh. And at Le Monde, All the Hits of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons offers exactly what it says on the tin, with ‘favourites including Sherry, Let’s Hang On, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like a Man, Grease and many more’.
‘Guitar, piano, violin, harmonium, banjo, vocals, and sometimes double bass create a folky sound with elements of classical, ambient metal, spoken word, Celtic reels and Eastern European scales’ in The Seventh Season at The Royal Oak. Fiddler Alastair Savage has two shows at St Cuthbert’s Church: Scotland and Beyond with cellist Alice Allen and The Scottish Fiddle Story ‘alongside Gregor Blamey on piano / accordion, with a specially written script read by legendary actor John Shedden’; he’s also at Canongate Kirk with Scots Fiddle Old and New. Audiences can catch ‘Wendy Weatherby (cello, vocals), John Sampson (trumpet, crumhorn, recorders), Sandy Brechin (accordion, piano), Andy Cannon (storyteller) and Allan and Rosemary McMillan (vocals, guitar) for a cheerful, poignant or nostalgic jaunt through our favourite songs, tunes and stories’ in Mrs Weatherby’s Concert Party at artSpace@StMarks.
‘Exploring classical works for viola and piano… the Kosonen Ranieri Duo will evoke the feeling of having just woken from a sweet slumber’ in Viola and Piano: Aprés un Rêve at Stockbridge Church. At St Cecilia’s Hall, The Triumph of Time and Truth: Handel and Vivaldi is ‘a vocal programme… threaded with gorgeous instrumental harpsichord and violin instrumental pieces’. Audiences can ‘join Duo Malvina for an afternoon of beautiful Classical Guitar music for two’ at St Columba’s by the Castle Scottish EpiscopalChurch. And ‘rising American opera star and composer Johan Hartman is joined by Edinburgh’s Ailsa Aitkenhead’ in 2 Artists, 2 Concerts, 2 Premieres at Greyfriars Kirk.
In Massaoke at Underbelly, audiences ae invited to join Rockstar Weekend ‘for their biggest and most spectacular show ever – a high-voltage, spandex-clad, crowd-powered, sing-along megamix of the biggest hairbrush anthems from across the decades, live and unleashed with giant video lyrics’.
Musicals and opera
The Wellbrick Centre on Roswell Drive (Paradise Green) is ‘a conversational musical with poignant, comedic and absurd elements’, focusing on two patients at a fictional NHS facility. SOFTPLANET Productions bring a pair of grisly historical musicals to the Mackenzie Building: Deacon Brodie is ‘packed with deceit, love, laughs, theft and some great contemporary songs’, while Flesh uncovers ‘the real-life drama of Burke and Hare, Scotland’s first serial killers, with a comic twist and original folk-rock songs’. On a similar theme, Ripper at Hill Street Theatre is ‘a terrifying musical look through the eyes of Jack the Ripper, the officer who pursued him, and one of his victims’.
Macbeth at Saint Stephen’s Theatre offers a new take on Shakespeare, mixing original and modern text with ‘songs from the likes of Foo Fighters, The Prodigy, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Dire Straits to name a few’. In ‘brand-new comedy musical’ The Weird Sisters (Just the Tonic), Amaranth, Scarlett and Blush ‘attempt to initiate the audience into their coven’ to a soundtrack of ‘punchy power-pop’. At Assembly, You & It: The Musical explores romance and technology with the story of Gyujin, who ‘orders an AI robot that eventually replicates his dead wife’.
Beowulf the Musical at Greyfriars Kirk ‘presents two medieval myths intertwined: on one side the famous hero as strong as 30 men, and on the other a princess who must live her life in service to her kingdom against her own heart’.
At Greenside, BANNED the musical ‘follows a group of gender misfits through the events leading up to their debut at a local performing arts festival’. Kafka’s Metamorphosis: The Musical! With Puppets! is at Pleasance, ‘a silly, surreal take on Kafka’s paranoid, mystifying masterpiece to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his death’.
Captivate Theatre brings its own mini-festival programme to The Edinburgh Academy, with performances of The Phantom of the Opera, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical Junior, Disney’s Frozen Junior and Les Misérables School Edition. At Underbelly, DIVA: Live From Hell! is a ‘blood-stained love letter to Broadway – a solo musical about rivalry, vengeance, and killer ambition’.
Arias in the Afternoon at the Edinburgh New Town Church features ‘international opera singer Brian Bannatye-Scott (bass) with rising stars Caroline Taylor (soprano), Catherine Backhouse (mezzo-soprano), Laurie Slavin (tenor) and James Atkinson (baritone), accompanied by dazzling Polish pianist, Michal Gajzler’. And at theSpaceUK, Fringe – The Musical isn’t what you think – it’s ‘a hilarious musical comedy about a cherished family run hairdressing salon in Essex’.
Spoken word
At Hill Street Theatre, writer Gigi Bella explores ‘mental health, feminism and the gospel of Taco Bell through poetry, comedy and music’ with show Big Feelings. Poets Christine De Luca and Elspeth Murray, in combination with Katharine Wake on the flute, return to Edinburgh Festival of the Sacred Arts at Canongate Kirk, ‘with poetry and music, offering a reflection on home and homelessness’. Also at the Festival of the Sacred Arts will be Sacred Arts Festival Poetry at Church of the Sacred Heart, promising work ranging ‘widely from masterpieces of the Middle Ages, through ballads and hymns of the Reformation, to satirical and meditative poetry from the 20th and 21st centuries’.
Ben Kassoy brings poems from his ‘spectacularly original book to life in a solo show’ at Zoo. The Funny Thing About a Panic Attack uses ‘physical theatre, dance and traditional poetry reading to reveal the connections between mental health, art and pancakes’.
Storyteller and classicist Jo Kelen brings a ‘new, poetic reimagining of the myth of Achilles’ with Achilles, Death of the Gods at Paradise Green. ‘The warrior Achilles finds himself in Troy, fighting a war that is not his. When Achilles’ lover Patroclus is killed in battle, Achilles inflicts unspeakable horrors upon those around him.’ Iain Dale returns to the Fringe with his All Talk series of political interviews at the Pleasance including Humza Yousaf, Alex Salmond, Liz Truss, Anas Sarwar and Ruth Davidson.
Among the familiar faces returning to Edinburgh are David Harmer and Ray Globe, ‘the irrepressible Glummer Twins’, back with The Beat Goes On at theSpaceUK, offering ‘stand-up comedy, spoken word and music from the beat generation through eight decades.’ Performance poet and musician Attila the Stockbroker performs 14 Days, 14 Completely Different Shows at PBH’s Free Fringe, alongside his Early Music Show at St Ceceilia’s Hall.
‘Humour and horror are woven together with empathy in a shocking insight into the untold stories of ordinary women caught up in a whirlwind of politics, religion and magic’ in Witch? Women on Trial at Greenside. Tales of Haunted Edinburgh – Echoes From Beyond the Grave at Arthur Conan Doyle Centre invites audiences to hear ‘tales of the undead from a paranormal investigator as you discover a host of terrifying stories of hauntings from the city’s dark past’. Anne Bayne of Dunsapie Loch is available online, a ‘poignant audio play [and] a journey into the heart of Edinburgh’s literary history of 1740’.
Theatre
Deaf Action present *Smoke Not Included, a scripted stoner stage play. ‘I cannae tell if I’m having fun or I’m scared he’s gonnae murder us aw’. At Edinburgh Palette, a Pan-Africanist painter, Eda, is ‘cajoled by his friend and former agent Reki to go steal some of Da Vinci’s works that are presumably on tour in an art museum in Nigeria’ in Who Tiff Monalisa? Jeremy McClain stars in Rat Tails (WIP) at Fruitmarket, a new one-man show directed by Matt McBrier. ‘As he muses on his childhood and everything that got him to this moment, follow the Prozac-popping, biracial millennial who’s married into a wealthy, British aristocratic family’.
The Good Iranian makes its Edinburgh Fringe debut with ‘a mesmerising and moving production directed by Sepy Baghaei. Enjoy the art of storytelling and the triumph of good over evil, all in one educational hour’ at Just the Tonic. ‘Though dementia is increasingly common in an ageing population, it remains an unknown quantity to many’. In William Kite has Memory Issues, follow William’s experience of seeking support for someone with early-onset Alzheimer’s as he faces his changing reality (Paradise Green). When their daughter announces that she wants to transition, a couple ‘find themselves divided in their attitudes and judgements’. In Divided, the mother – who has always seen herself as inclusive – struggles with losing a daughter and gaining a son (The Royal Scots Club).
A historical satire championing John Kay, one of Edinburgh’s unsung artists, Passing Likeness at Virgin Hotels Roof Terrace is ‘a play of grotesque caricatures and still more grotesque originals’.
Enjoy a sip of mezcal at Comala, Comala, a ‘Day of the Dead-style theatrical experience’ at Zoo. Adapted from a novel by Johnny Tait, Naked Truth is ‘an extreme satire on false-celebrity culture. Not for the easily offended. A deep, dark rollercoaster ride’ at Saint Stephen’s Theatre. In Why Am I (Still) Like This? at theSpaceUK and online, Nicole Nadler asks why she still can’t ‘leave the house on time, pay her credit card on time or know where she put her glasses’ following her ADHD diagnosis. At Laughing Horse, The Guerilla Autistics show returns for its tenth year and asks ‘are you eccentric?’ The Basement Entertainer at PBH’s Free Fringe is ‘a comedy about being a performer at heart’, as basement-dwelling artist Kate performs her sketches ‘to an audience of miscellaneous junk with faces drawn on’… until one of them starts talking back. Ne’er the Twain at Mayfield Salisbury Church is a ‘laugh-a-minute comedy’ that tackles the historic joining of Edinburgh with the port of Leith, and a family caught on the boundary line.
‘Two rising Ghanaian creatives navigate their perception of identity, success, assimilation and home’ in DRUM at Underbelly. A US writer ‘with a big nose grows up hearing stories of mixed ethnic heritage to discover the stories are not true, sort of true, then true in a way that no one expects’ in Journey to Long Nose at Greenside. The Shroud Maker at Pleasance weaves ‘a harrowing story of courage, love, escape and disappointment with comic fantasy and true stories to create a vivid portrait of life in Palestine before the recent heartbreaking events’. In Do This One Thing for Me at Bedlam Theatre, Jane Elias tackles questions of Holocaust remembrance and how we move forward through an ‘acute portrait of her relationship with her father, a Greek Holocaust survivor’.
Fix Your Mind at Gilded Balloon is a ‘a contemporary exploration of patriarchy, love and the internet’, as two siblings are drawn in different directions by their chosen communities, while I Sell Windows at Assembly is ‘one Black woman’s exploration of what is birthed at the collision of grief, ambition and sex’.
Stepping Out at Inverleith St Serf’s Church Centre ‘charts the lives of seven women and one man attempting to tap their troubles away at a weekly dancing class’, and at Hill Street Theatre, Rave is a jukebox musical set in a nightclub, where ‘we see the lives and battles of a group of friends coming to terms with getting older and the reality of faded dreams’. A musical comedy about coming of age in the 1980s, ‘mashing hundreds of classic 80s songs into both dialogue and song (a la Moulin Rouge). Don’t Stop Believing: A Theatric Remix of the 1980s is at PBH’s Free Fringe.
