Fringe 2023

Alan Turing was a brilliant mathematician, computer scientist and cryptanalyst.His work at Bletchley Park during World War Two is credited with having shortened the war by at least two years and saved the lives of 14 million people.In 1954, at the age of...

It's a festival within a festival. This Sunday, 6 August, harp player Karen Marshalsay takes part in the celebration of Scottish music organised by Soundhouse at the Rose Theatre in Rose Street.Karen will be giving her three Scottish Harps presentation, which involves the gut-strung...

Singers and shower-warblers, listen up!If you're looking for an unforgettable musical experience, look no further than Choir! Choir! Choir! at Violet Underbelly (Underbelly at Bristo Square).🎤 This show is an absolute blast, and here's why:🎵 It's all about the crowd. You become the...

Chopped Liver and UnionsFour StarsTHIS was a dive into a important part of radical politics, taking us back to the east end of London as seen through the eyes of a Jewish socialist feminist.It did what we hoped it would, educate, entertain and inform...

Bryan Berlin took up jogging ten years ago after overcoming a fear of failure as a 14-year-old that prevented him from running two miles in 16 minutes to make his American school football team.He now competes regularly in the annual Brooklyn half-marathon...

When you see a Michelle Brasier show you can be guaranteed of two things: you will laugh and you will feel.This is the unique talent of a comedian whose act is as much an examination of the human condition as it is an...

The winners of the Edinburgh Comedy Awards which is the highest honour at the Fringe have been announced.The winner for Sky Best Comedy Show has been won by Ahir ShahUrooj Ashfaq has won the DLT Best Newcomer AwardThe Show for Gareth Richards...

The memory of President Lincoln is widely revered – there is even statue of him in Edinburgh – but the First Lady who supported him through the Civil War is forgotten in Scotland and reviled in America.A new play, which has its international premiere...

Mhairi Black has been MP for Paisley & Renfrewshire South since being elected in 2015, when she was just 20 years old.She took her final exam at Glasgow University after the election, and was awarded her degree in Politics and Public Policy with...

In 1563 the Witchcraft Act became law in Scotland. From the 16th to the 18th centuries between 4,000 and 6,000 people were tried on charges of witchcraft. Over three-quarters of these were women.Of the 1,500 found ‘guilty’, the majority were garrotted; their bodies...

Comic magician JezO aims for a Royal Variety Performance with his debut at Edinburgh Festival Fringe.JezO (Jez Bond), a member of The prestigious Magic Circle, is set to premiere his family-friendly Car-Crash Magic Show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this summer. Running from August...

A one-man show about Tenzing Norgay Sherpa, who with Sir Edmund Hillary was one of the first mountaineers to successfully conquer Everest on his seventh attempt.‘Tomorrow is a big day. Our first attempt to reach the summit. That was our plan, but mountains have...

Christopher Biggins would love you to join him for tea at Prestonfield House where he will entertain Dean Friedman on Friday - (yes Dean who had a hit with Lucky Stars which he sang with Denise Mara in 1978) - and the Artistic Director...

AN ESSEX theatre producer is bringing not one but two shows to the Edinburgh Festival in August.There are over 3,500 shows at the world’s largest arts festival and Joel Goodman hopes that theatre goers will come to his two productions.Joel’s shows are: Alan Turing: A...

‘Liberate yourself from the gender binary and celebrate queer joy!’ screams the flyer. And a celebration is exactly what Antonio! provides.This show is such a joy; it’s hilarious, it’s camp, it’s well acted, the script is clever, the music is great, the costumes...

Skinner is immediately drawn to a man in the front row with a black kilt, sparkly black jacket and cane.He proves to be something of a comic foil for Frank throughout the show and loves every minute. The 66-year-old refers back to when...

YOU just never know where and when you will find a gem. Up on The Lawnmarket on Riddles Court, a audience packed out the space for this show.They were well rewarded with, what it says on the title. From the Wild West to...

‘The London property market is the fundamental driver of inequality; it makes everything very difficult and it’s getting worse.’Jeremy Corbyn has been MP for Islington North since 1983.  Helping his constituents is his favourite part of the job, and housing issues are the number...

Underbelly has added more names to the already star-studded roster of artists who will perform at its charity fundraiser.With Frank Skinner and Adam Kay confirmed today Underbelly has announced that Comedian Larry Dean will host the event with Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Abandoman will also perform on the night....

Scottish jazz guitarist and singer Aki Remally, who also performed in the Hendrix & Us show at this year’s Fringe, brings the music of black conscious American poet and author Gil Scott-Heron back to Edinburgh for a sell-out show.Along with Fraser Urquhart on...

Ever wanted to know how to cook Bangkok Thai street food or pad Thai and Thai dumplings? Or, what about red curry or panang or a green curry?Well, these are some of the dishes that you can learn with an Edinburgh-based masterchef during the...

At the Grand at Pleasance on Saturday there was a fabulous array of talent on display in the Opening Gala, and every show which performed this morning would be an excellent choice to add to your Fringe diary.Comedy of Operas opened the show...

The Royal Mile becomes a gathering point for street performers and performers trying to increase their audiences by handing out flyers and offering a snapshot of their shows. It is always busy and can be a lot of fun.All photos Alan Simpson Photography10/08/2023...

Pleasance have reported that their 39th Fringe was a great success with more than 36,000 people visiting the Courtyard on the busiest day in August.The company sold more than 480,000 tickets which is a 10% increase on last year. The Pleasance Theatre Trust...

There’s lots of comedy and visual humour in Silent Faces Theatre Company’s Godot is a Woman, but this is a clever, slick and entertaining show which conveys a serious message.Why are people so keen to hang on to outdated ideas about gender, and what...

Geraldine Hickey is a popular comedian in Australia, where she won the best show award at the 2021 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Not yet a household name but a talented comic who has put in the work over many years and whose star is...

Tom Robinson shot to fame in the late 1970s when the (‘modestly named’) Tom Robinson Band had hits with 2-4-6-8 Motorway and Glad to Be Gay.Over 40 years later he’s still going strong, still performing and now also broadcasting on BBC Radio 6. Three...

Bobbie Viney’s here from Australia to talk about ghosting. Ghosting is what happens when someone with whom you thought you had a relationship suddenly stops communicating. You can text/message them all you like, you won’t get anything back.Or in Bobbie’s own words:‘A pretty f***ing...

The Rose Theatre will pop up again for this year's Fringe under the organisation of the Soundhouse live music charity and Edinburgh-based Bellfield Brewery.The venue had been mothballed pending sale, but over 25 days in August it will rock to the sounds of some...

Picture yourself at a birthday party hosted by the twins from The Shining and a collection of aggressive ghosts, where you’re forced to play “pass away the parcel” as you try to get through the event without being murdered.This is the nightmarish premise...