This year’s Fringe includes 3,352 shows and it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the vast choice.
Here, we’ve pinpointed just a handful of exciting shows to ensure you get the best experience out of the Fringe.
Our best advice is to download the Fringe app and use it to book your tickets and keep yourself straight about what you have actually booked.
Oh and enjoy the shows!
Anatomy of Pain
Directed by Aoife Parr, her autobiographical show is a scorching performance with an unflinching look at the ‘broken’ NHS from a young person’s perspective as she struggles with an initially dismissed chronic condition. The journey aims to highlight experiences of the seriously ill and provoke serious conversation.
theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 1–9 August
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/anatomy-of-pain
The Marriage of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein
Edward Einhorn’s play imaginatively explores the lives and relationship of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, against the backdrop of a surreal, fantasy Jewish wedding. The fast-paced farce, peppered with appearances from famous artists, offers a witty, if abstract, examination of a lesbian relationship in the early 20th century.
Dram at Gilded Balloon Patter House, 30 July–25 August (excl. 6, 12, 19)
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/the-marriage-of-alice-b-toklas-by-gertrude-stein
Oops
Olivia Raine Atwood’s side-splitting one-woman comedy offers a professional matchmaker’s hilarious behind-the-scenes look at being a real-life Cupid. While detailing her experiences, the newly singleton will dish up tips on how to meet the love of your life.
Ivy Studio at Greenside @ George Street, 1-23 August (excl. 10, 17)
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/olivia-raine-atwood-oops
Girl Pop!
A show-stopper of a romp of a fictional fractured Noughties girl pop band set for a one-off reunion. Director Sophie Cairns skillfully ties rumours, rivalries and egos amid a crackling setlist.
Big Yin, Gilded Balloon Patterhouse, 30 July-25 August (excl 12, 19)
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/girl-pop
Midnight in Nashville
Fringe premiere of director Lee Papa’s play of country singer Marcy Aurora’s stab at redemption as she lays down tracks in an all-night recording session in a Nashville studio. Murder, prison, hard living all swirl in this fun, heartbreaking cocktail of live music and raw emotion.
Playground 1 at ZOO Playground, 1-24 August (excl 11, 18)
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/midnight-in-nashville
Adrienne: An American in Paris
Kirsten Lewis brings alive the decadence and desire of the Roaring Twenties in a romantic, one-woman reverie. Inspired by the memories of Sylvia Beach and her bookshop, Shakespeare & Company, Adrienne is a dreamy, tender exploration of finding oneself.
Greenside @ Riddles Court, 4-9, 12-16 August
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/adrienne-an-american-in-paris
Vacuum Girl
Writer-actor Erica Bitton presents a bold and immersive production that follows a single day of a New York restaurant worker who dissociates into a rich, internal fantasy life as her outer world becomes increasingly untenable. A high-wire act of innovative storytelling.
Just the Cask Room at Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 31 July–24 August (excl 12)
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/vacuum-girl
Bing!/A Mad, Mad Wonderland!
Award-winning actor Jason Woods makes his Fringe debut with two solo shows. His solo Off-Broadway production, Bing!, is a razor–sharp comedy about family and fantasy amid blurred lines. In A Mad, Mad Wonderland! Woods embodies several characters in a zany, breakneck romp through a reimagined Wonderland.
Forest Theatre at Greenside @ George Street (Venue 236), 1-23 Aug (excl 10, 17)
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/bing
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/a-mad-mad-wonderland
