Fringe 2023

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...

This is an intensely personal story written, performed and composed by Brook Tate who was disfellowshipped from the Jehovah's Witnesses after coming out as gay, but it is also a very Fringe show.Tate has been unable to retain contact with his nieces and...

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...

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...

Mad or just angry – she’s certainly alone. Jazz icon Zelda Fitzgerald is locked up in a mental hospital and has just hours to live. Award-winning actress Catherine D. DuBord and Texan director Lydia Mackay will premiere their new version of The Last Flapper by William Luce...

New York-based puppeteers Andy Manjuck and Dorothy James bring their wordless tragicomedy Bill’s 44th to the Edinburgh Fringe, in association with Underbelly.This introspective puppet show explores physical and emotional seclusion, a concept that carries added weight following the pandemic, in a tender and hilarious party that...

What happens when an Action Hero walks into a small sound booth by themselves, alone on a dark stage? That’s what audiences can find out over six performances starting on 22 August when Summerhall hosts a collaboration between the Action Hero partnership and Deborah...

Bricklayer Stuart Alexander has been playing a part in this year’s Edinburgh Fringe after swapping his spirit level for a guitar.The West Lothian brickie who used to perform in local venues in the late ‘80s, turned back the clock to hit the stage as...

Dennis Elkins has been passing his life as an ordinary ageing, married, straight white American dad. Humdrum.But the reality is rather different and events bring the seeming certainties crashing down. Three solo shows deftly woven together, provide unique lenses through which we join Mr...

If you like your stand-up comedy delivered on steroids then Josh Elton is the man for you."Hello, Wembley! Have we got a lot of energy. Is this wicked! We are in for a helluva show," he said, bounding on stage after corralling the early-afternoon...

The activism group Extinction Rebellion Edinburgh and Lothians are holding a Fringe talk on 22 August.The Liquid Rooms event will be led by two speakers from XR’s Edinburgh and Lothians local group, Dom and Alex Porter as part of PBH’s Free Fringe programmes.XR promote...

Dozens of comedians have joined together in Edinburgh to pay a special tribute to a tragic stand up in a daily show that has become one of the most popular performances on the Fringe.Stars from the world of comedy including Frank Skinner, Dara Ó...

Arriving 15 minutes early, I was faced with a slightly concerning prospect that I might be the only person turning up for this show. I still have vivid memories of reviewing a show in 2019 when I was the only audience member. The performer...

Gabby Killick: Conversations with my AgentThree StarsTHIS show was a bit of a curates egg. We weren’t entirely convinced that one woman stand up is the best showcase for Gabby Killick’s work.It was only later when we saw her work on social media that...

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...

The show is something of a love letter to the Fringe and Edinburgh as a place of cultural adventure. Edward W. Feery has greatly enjoyed the Fringe  'as a performer' for the last few years, and as 'a punter' for over a decade.In...

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...

An all-night tram service will run on August weekends to help visitors and local residents to make the most of Edinburgh’s festivals.Edinburgh Trams is gearing up to play its part in helping to keep the city moving as tens of thousands of people flock...

The veteran Fringe performer Attila the Stockbroker (John Baine)  has launched a broadside against the contemporary Fringe.The punk poet and multi-instrumentalist musician believes that it's time to 'reclaim the Fringe'.In a piece 'Edinburgh: a Tale of Two Cities' (reproduced below -...

Breaking Open at theSpace @ Surgeons Hall is a powerful one-woman play that delves into the life of Oskar Saville, once the lead singer of the multi-platinum band, 10,000 Maniacs.Despite the modest audience turnout, including her supportive teenage kids who are wearing T-shirts...

Faith is a member of the Edinburgh Festival of The Sacred Arts committee, who, with friend Peter Holloway, are putting on a drama production which will see a contemporary twist on Twelfth Century ‘The Mystery Plays’. There will be two performances happening on Sunday 13...

"You might know Michael Shafar from his debut special '(A)LIVE' on Amazon Prime, his YouTube special 'Alright, Next Joke' or perhaps you're one of the 80+ million people who have seen his videos online," the Melbourne stand-up comedian's flyer proclaims.I don't and I haven't,...

Fresh faced Midwestern actress, Lisa Verlo, came to Hollywood looking for fame but found more action on casting couches than onstage.Decades later, with help from imaginary mentors, Katharine Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe, Lisa faces the truth about abandoning dreams in her humorous, heartfelt, and...

Shimmer** starsTHIS IS story told by one performer of life in the heartland of America, Tama County Juvenile Home, Iowa.1956.The story is told by John, looking back on himself as a fifteen-year-old who has found himself in a succession of institutions, homes for...

An unlikely star takes the stage in witty new comedy at Edinburgh Festival Fringe.As summer heats up, so does the anticipation for the Fringe. The new play Ringer is a humorous dive into the complex world of overworked actors and is the debut work...

‘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...

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...

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...

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...

Simon Thacker and Piah Dance Company present Tandava as part of the Made in Scotland showcase in a World Premiere.The Edinburgh Festival Fringe includes shows from around the world which make the pilgrimage to the world's biggest arts festival. One of these is Tandava,...