Press

In a stunning performance, Egg tells a true story about the journey of egg donation from one friend to another. It’s a raw display of true emotion through the eyes of real life characters, showcased by theatre... [more]

Written by James Ley and directed by Ros Philips, this hilarious, heartfelt and provocative play tells the story of Lavender Menace, the gay bookshop that occupied a basement in the New Town between 1982 and 1987. Or... [more]

Small cardboard boxes line the edge of the stage, some with letters written on them and some blank. Katherina Radeva appraises her audience, welcoming but with a nervous energy. No one is sure what to expect and this... [more]

Woogie Boogie Summerhall, 10am, until 26 August A delight in doodling is at the heart of this inventive escapade for the over-threes from Korean company Brush Theatre. Our mischievous hosts, Youngkyun Yeom and... [more]

Katherina Radeva’s play looks back to life in Bulgaria in the times before the fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1989, Katherina was seven years old and she paints a vivid picture of a girl who had everything that she... [more]

This experimental, deeply affecting piece of gig theatre is striking in both its imaginative breadth, and the delivery of its message, keeping me rapt. Valerie seamlessly mixes interdisciplinary elements, a heightened... [more]

Pussy Riot might put the punk rock in modern protest, but their musical chops have always been a little less clear. You will likely know that two of the Russian feminist disrupters were arrested and sentenced to nearly... [more]

The Midnight Soup is a powerful piece of theatre centred around a diary given from grandmother to grandson in 2006, and her suicide years later. Leo Burtin recounts memories of his grandmother and provokes questions... [more]

A city that is loved despite its reputation. Closed Doors takes place in a multicultural neighbourhood in Glasgow. On a cold November night, a tenement is evacuated by the police and four women gather in a nearby sari... [more]

Based on Chandradhar Sharma Guleri’s iconic Hindi short story Usne Kaha Tha, The Troth is about one soldier, Sardar Lehna Singh, and the sacrifice he makes to keep his secret promise to an unrequited love. He does... [more]

Buckle up. Flight is a 20-minute experience that takes place almost entirely in darkness and plays on a fear that most of us will have felt at some point in our lives: that when you’re flying at 35,000ft in a metal... [more]

At a fringe where the issues surrounding mental health form a major theme, Where It Hurts, from Edinburgh’s Grassmarket Projects, not only nails the zeitgeist, but reveals it using authentic voices as it takes... [more]

“A revolution needs a big screen.” Maria "Masha" Aloykhina has broken the law to be here tonight. A court ruling forbade her to leave Russia, so she drove hundreds of miles to reach an airport that couldn’t... [more]

Sticks and Stones (★★★☆☆), Island Town (★★★★☆), Blackthorn (★★★★☆), The Political History of Smack and Crack (★★★★☆).   Paines Plough’s Roundabout tent in the... [more]

4.5 Stars LUNG Theatre has been creating some of the most exciting theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe for a number of years. Renowned for their challenging verbatim work, their offering at the 2018 Festival, Trojan... [more]

Mental health is, once again, a big theme at the Fringe, and these shows tackle it from different angles with great success, says Tim Cornwell.   A Fortunate Man, Summerhall (Venue 26) **** An old friend... [more]

Somewhere between punk, prayer and protest, Pussy Riot tell their story. The anti-Kremlin activists trace their chronology like a chant, their words translated and illustrated with archival footage on screens above the... [more]

Hijinx is back at the Fringe and entirely living up to their name. This year the Wales based troupe, whose cast features three learning disabled actors and three non-disabled actors, have teamed up with renowned... [more]

Tale of unconventional pregnancy is the third in Rowland's captivating trilogy ★★★★ Revelations James Rowland is a magical storyteller. He weaves tales of wonder and woe using just his imagination... [more]

The idea that your life flashes before your eyes as you die is given a distinctly contemplative air by Finnish company Teatteri Metamorfoosi in this wordless dance piece. An old woman, her body sagging and frail,... [more]

Charlotte Berry and Rob Gregson introduce Katie (human girl, 15) and Pip (dog) with a diabetes disclaimer. A knowing look between the two sets the scene for this gentle yet deliberate production – stop worrying,... [more]

Angry yet witty political theatre from Manchester Covering both the personal and social impact of heroin, Political History is a brash yet thoughtful analysis of how the British state was complicit in the increase of... [more]

Fringe review: Square Go ★★★★★ WRITTEN by two of Scotland's most acclaimed writers, Gary McNair and Kieran Hurley, Square Go embodies the best of their work; accessible, highly entertaining and with a... [more]

This debut play is an assured, lyrical look at love, community and change. There’s an ache, a yearning, for things past in this lovely debut by Charley Miles. It comes to Paines Plough’s pop-up Roundabout Theatre... [more]

It starts off innocuously enough. A man is discussing his daughter’s birth. A difficult job for his wife, by all accounts, and the man makes it all about him, of course. Typical, etc. The fierce possessiveness he... [more]

5 Stars It’s not easy to vandalise the entire history of time in one hour, but Malaprop Theatre have just about achieved it. If it had to be expressed in a single word, Everything Not Saved is a play about... [more]

“Schrödinger’s Paradox dictates that a cat inside a sealed box is both alive and dead simultaneously. Imagine this from the cat’s perspective.” Flight, Summerhall (Venue 26) ****   The above quote... [more]

Square Go (image: Tread Design | photography: The Other Richard) The heady aroma of fear and Lynx Africa hangs in the air in Square Go, Kieran Hurley and Gary McNair’s hilarious new play... [more]

 Falling to pieces … George Docherty and Pauline Knowles in After the Cuts. Photograph: Murdo MacLeod for the Guardian The future Gary McNair imagines is a raggedy one, worn... [more]