Reviews | Full Listings | Venue Map
JOHN-LUKE ROBERTS SPECIAL FX Inside:
Your FREE Festival Guide
14 – 16 August
fest-mag.com
Rachel Chavkin Chris Thorpe Tetra-Decathlon Justin Moorhouse Jacqueline Novak The Fishmermen Mark Thomas Little Death Club John Hegley
Director George Sully Co-editors Evan Beswick & Jo Caird Sales Executive Sebastian Fisher Cover Photo Sarah Donley
Lead Theatre Critic Matt Trueman Lead Dance Critic Donald Hutera Lead Comedy Critic Veronica Lee Artworker Silvia Razakova Production Manager Alexander Smail
Writing Team Sean Bell, Marissa Burgess, Ruby Foster, Eve Green, Martha Green, Si Hawkins, Donald Hutera, Louise Jones, Katharine Kavanagh, Laura Kressly, Veronica Lee, Alice McGuire, Brett Mills, Becca Moody, Fergus Morgan, Naomi Obeng, Daniel Perks, Francesca Peschier, David Pollock, Lewis Porteous, Jay Richardson, Matthew Sharpe, John Stansfield, Joanna Trainor, Tom Wicker, Kate Wyver Radge Media Publisher Sophie Kyle Media Sales Executives Keith Allan, David Hammond Bookkeeping & Accounts Rebecca Sweeney
Editor-in-Chief Rosamund West Picture Editor Sarah Donley Media Sales Manager Sandy Park
Fest Street Dates 2018 7, 10, 14, 17, 21 August Advertising sales@fest-mag.com 0131 467 4630 Contact fest-mag.com hello@fest-mag.com @festmag ISSN 2397-2734. Published by Radge Media Limited., 1.9 Techcube, Summerhall, 1 Summerhall, Edinburgh, Scotland EH9 1PL. Every effort has been made to check the accuracy of the information in this magazine, but we cannot accept liability for information which is inaccurate. Show times and prices are subject to changes – always check with the venue. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without the explicit permission of the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within this publication do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the printer or the publisher. Printed by More Ltd., Glasgow. Distributed by doortodoordelivery.co.uk
4
5
Contents
Comedy 32 Denim: The Reunion Tour
John-Luke Roberts
8
Getting the band back together
A very absurd man truly getting into his stride
Theatre 41 What Girls Are Made Of Cora Bissett’s autobiographical gig theatre experience
Road Trippin’
11
Dance, Physical Theatre & Circus
Chris Thorpe and Rachel Chavkin explore nationhood in troubling times
49 Jungle
Cabaret & Variety 52 Little Death Club
Going for Gold
15
Vive la différence at this Weimar-inspired cabaret showcase
One sports completist talks to another ahead of Tetra-Decathlon
Musicals & Opera 75 Listings
231
ET
ey
LEITH STRE
Ab b Mickey Sharma’s Mixed Blessings Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7–25 Aug, not 15, 22, £0.0
12:50
Playlight Robbery Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5.0
Richard Pulsford: Uns-Pun Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 7–26 OAD Russell Hicks: A Fist Full of Ideas Aug, not 13, £0.0 OD R O Laughing Horse @ City Lou Sanders: Shame LYR Pig Cafe, 7–26 Aug, £0.0 HOComedy Monkey Barrel Richard Wright: Virgin Club, 7–26 Aug, not 15, £5.0 Just the Tonic at The Mash Clif Knight Sucks! House, 7–26 Aug, not Laughing Horse @ The 13, £5.0 Place, 7–9 Aug, £0.0 Tom and Ollie in: One and 12:35 a Half Men Just the Tonic at The Caves, The Hangover Cure 7–12 Aug, £5.0 Just the Tonic at The Mash
Ab be yh il l
nd
13:10 Dan Kelly’s Madras Years Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 7–16 Aug, £0.0
Rik Carranza: Still a Fan Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 7–26 Aug, not 13, prices vary
Nathaniel Metcalfe: Chameleon, Comedian, Corinthian and Caricature Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7–26 Aug, not 14, £0.0
Catch of the Day (A Sturgeon Story) Just the Tonic at The Tron, 7–26 Aug, not 13, £10.0 Sketch Thieves
Laughing Horse @ Cabaretri D Voltaire, 7–26 Aug, not n's 14, £0.0 ee
u
Q Sketch Briony Redman: Artist Pleasance Courtyard, 7–27 Aug, not 11, prices vary
Andy Onions – PowerPointless Sweet Grassmarket, 7–26 Aug, not 8, 15, 22, £7.0
33
Australia: A Whinging Poms Guide Liquid Room Annexe/ Warehouse, 7–25 Aug, not 12, 19, £0.0
The Ashes: A Comedy Showdown Liquid Room Annexe/ Warehouse, 12 Aug, 19 Aug, 26 Aug, £0.0
House, 7–26 Aug, not 13, 20, £5.0
Punel Show Voodoo Rooms, 7–26 Aug, £0.0
Abstract Stand-Up Art
12:55
C venues – C aquila, 7–27 Aug, prices vary
Bodily Just the Tonic at The Caves, 7–26 Aug, not 13, £5.0
Pam Ford: Pants and Pantsability Rinsed Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 17–26 Aug, £0.0
12:40
13:00
The Ladies Loo Chronicles theSpace on North Bridge, 7–18 Aug, not 12, £7.5
Boogie Shoes Silent Disco Walking Tour With a Scottish Twist Just the Tonic at The Caves, 7–26 Aug, not 13, 20, £10.0
I Am Ross Smith Just the Tonic at The Caves, 7–26 Aug, not 13, £5.0
13:15
The Guilty Feminist
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 25–26 Aug, £15.0
Tom Short and Tom Little – Small World Daylight Robbery, 7–25 Aug, £0.0
Interdependent Woman Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 7–26 Aug, not 13, 20, £0.0 A Work in Progress Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 7–26 Aug, prices vary
8
ONAR
EET
Silly and poignant playtime with words
Rob Kemp’s Wheel of Shows Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 7–26 Aug, not 13, £5.0
EH8 9TJ
Queen's Dri
EH8 9AL
Kids 61 John Hegley: Morning Wordship
Austentatious Underbelly, Bristo Square, 15–24 Aug, prices vary
al
Naked Truth Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 7–26 Aug, £0.0
ST LE
H STR
EET
REET K ST
REET DS ST
CLER
EUC BUCCL
fest-mag.com
Paul Duncan McGarrity E to – A Practical Guide NGAT Attacking CANO Castles Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7–26 Aug, not 14, £0.0
Kai Samra – Brothers (WIP) Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 7–26 Aug, not 13, £5.0 y
ad
45
260
39 209
African in New York – Almost Famous by Njambi McGrath Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7–24 Aug, not 13, £0.0
Bark and B theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 7–11 Aug, £8.0
ic
12
5
2
Sooz Kempner: Super Sonic 90s Kid Globe Bar, 7–26 Aug, not 15, £0.0
Th eR
35
277
4
49
Comedy
27
410
Lemons
Laughing Horse @ The Place, 10–26 Aug, £0.0
A Kinder, Gentler Comedy Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 13–25 Aug, not 19, £6.0
iv
150
Generation Y Us? Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 7–26 Aug, not 13, £5.0
Over 200 shows every day!
H STR
ACE
Elvis McGonagall: Full Tartan Jacket
LEUC BUCC
HOME STREET
PL MORE
The Edinburgh Revue’s Stand-Up Show 2018 Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 7–27 Aug, £0.0
57 Scientology the Musical A lo-fi parody romp poking fun at the infamous ‘religion’
13:05
Camels Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7–27 Aug, not 13, prices vary
3
300
360
Afternoon Delight
Just the Tonic at La Belle Angele, 7–26 Aug, not 13, £5.0
82 @thepleasance
RE 0131 556 6550 pleasance.co.uk E SQUA GEORG
Phill Jupitus: Freeviously Bannermans, 7–26 Aug, not 13, £0.0
Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of the Fringe
n's Dr Quee
E PLAC
Pleasance Courtyard, 7–26 Aug, not 16, 23, £12.0
4 12
OT TEVI
Jack and Claire / Free Festival Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 7–11 Aug, £0.0
NCE
CE TON PLA LAURIS
23
Better Sweet Novotel, 7–12 Aug, £5.0
PLEASA
25
12:45
Peter Brush: Chasing Snails Banshee Labyrinth, 7–26 Aug, £0.0
38
ACE
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7–27 Aug, not 20, prices vary
REET
PL ISTON LAUR
53 Just These, Please 43
212
EL ST CHAP
UN
FO
Some Like It Holt
Olaf Falafel – There’s no i in idiot HHH Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree, 21–25 Aug, £0.0
ET STRE
ST EA
E IDG BR TAIN
139
Oxford Revue: Free
Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 12–21 Aug, £0.0
ON
PlAsNc
BREAD STREET
TREET MORRISON S
Space Doctor Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7–27 Aug, not 14, prices vary
Hoo-Ha! Just the Tonic at The Caves, 7–26 Aug, not 12, 13, 20, £5.0
Fopical With Peter E Davidson Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree, 7–20 Aug, £0.0
Voodoo Rooms, 7–26 Aug, not 14, £0.0
12:15
RS ST
BE 12:05 CHAM
Karoshi Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 9–24 Aug, not 11, 12, 14, 15, 18, 19, 21, 22, £0.0
12:20
Just the Tonic at The Caves, 7–26 Aug, not 13, £5.0
(No) Money in the Bank
12:30
The only place for show listings ordered by time. It’s genuinely indispensable
Bread and Geller: Prime 2 Time
88
Sweet Novotel, 13–19 Aug, £7.0 REET
Shaken Not Stirred: The Improvised James Bond Film Just the Tonic at The Caves, 7–26 Aug, not 13, £5.0 Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7–25 Aug, not 14, £0.0
RT
T PO
Ollie Horn Made Some Funny Friends in Japan Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 7–26 Aug, not 15, £0.0
LS NICO
WES
Anesti Danelis: Songs for E Order a NewGAT World COW Laughing Horse @ The Hanover Tap, 7–18 Aug, £0.0
Robin Boot’s Rockomedy: Welcome to the Pungle Whistlebinkies, 13–26 Aug, £0.0
Wildly Unprepared BrewDog Lothian Rd, 7–11 Aug, £0.0
Bennett Arron: I’ve Never Told Anyone This Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7–27 Aug, not 13, prices vary
9
64
ET 74
7–26 Aug, not 13, £5.0
Just the Tonic at The Caves, 10–26 Aug, not 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21, 22, 23, £0.0
EET
338
34
Pigs in Residence
STRE
1
Aidan Goatley’s 1051 Films 5 With... Podcast Sweet Novotel, Various dates from 7 Aug to 24 Aug, £10.0
E BRIDG
01:00
HIGH STR
ty’s, 7–26 Aug, £0.0
Aaaaaaaaaaaaargh, It’s the One-Liner EET H STR Show – Free Entry HIG Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7–26 Aug, £0.0
SOUTH
Pat Cahill: Clagnut Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 7 Aug, £5.0
Ryan Ward and Joe Molander: Natural Born Performers Laughing Horse @ The Hanover Tap, 19–26 Aug, £0.0
Aug, £0.0
Cam Spence and Jodie Mitchell: The New Babes Banshee Labyrinth, 7–25 Aug, not 14, £0.0
Alex Farrow: Allow It
OCKBURHorse N STR@EMoriarCLaughing E
272
Jacob Hatton: ACE TERR Ozymandias N10:40 Comedy Queers / Free STO Just the Tonic at The Caves, HN Jake Donaldson: Help! Festival 7–26 Aug, not 13, £5.0 JO I’m Trapped in the Laughing Horse @ The Body of an Adequate Counting House, 7–27 KET 11:30 Comedian! Aug, £0.0 SMAR The Kinkens Laughing Horse @ ASCity GR£0.0 Cafe, 7–26 Aug, Just the Tonic at The Caves,
Bob Slayer: NeverMind the BusStops Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 11–18 Aug, £5.0
18
DLAY
AC E
IA TE OR
11:20 CT
22
ROAD LOTHIAN
GRIN
TE RR
Present and Correct Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 7–25 Aug, not 12, 19, £5.0
12:10 MARKET ST EAST Nerd Time’s a Charm
JEFFREY SVoodoo Rooms, 7–26 T
288
CA ST LE
15
Rule of Three Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7–27 Aug, £0.0
Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 19–23 Aug, £6.0
Lee Kyle – Kicking Potatoes Into the Sea Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 7–26 Aug, not 15, 19, £0.0
The Delightful Sausage: Regeneration Game 11:15 Monkey REET Barrel Comedy Angry Face Emoji ET STClub, 7–26 Aug, £5.0 Just the Tonic at The Mash MARK Chris Thorburn: Cineman House, 7–26 Aug, not The Coffee House, 16–24 13, £5.0 Aug, £0.0 Benet Brandreth: A Hero Trying to Be Good for Our Times Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7–22 Voltaire, 7–26 Aug, not Aug, prices vary 15, £0.0 Gráinne Maguire: What Justin Matson: Fatter Has the News Ever Done Than You Think for Me? Laughing Horse @ Ushers, Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 7–26 Aug, £0.0 RRACE 7–26 Aug, not 13, 20, £0.0
61
Carl Donnelly Speaks to Dead People
125
10:20
12:00
A Piece of Cake! Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7–26 Aug, not 13, £0.0
Venue Map and Listings
Here Be Improv
theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20–25 Aug, £3.5
The Cambridge Impronauts: A Series of Improvable Events Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7–27 Aug, prices vary 36
ET STRE
Simon Jablonski – Love Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7–27 Aug, not 15, 16, £0.0
Eleanor Morton: Great Title, Glamorous Photo The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 7–25 Aug, not 13, 20, £9.0
Christian Talbot: Desperately Seeking Approval Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 7–26 Aug, not 14, £0.0
50
Late Night Comedy Death Camp Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7–27 Aug, not 21, £0.0
110% John Kearns and Pat Cahill Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 8 Aug, 10 Aug, £5.0
Andrew Sim: You Gotta
Aaaand Now For Something Completely Improvised Pleasance Dome, 7–27 Aug, not 15, prices vary
Clash of the Tight Tens Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 7–26 Aug, £0.0
Alex Love: How to Win a Pub Quiz – 90s Edition The Stand Comedy Club 2, 7–26 Aug, not 13, 22, £9.0
REET
Sugar Rush: The Best of S ST Find Joy CE Laughing Horse @ City PRIN the Fringe Cafe, 7–26 Aug, not Sweet Grassmarket, 7–26 15, £0.0 Aug, £5.0
11:55
Sarah Iles: Ghosted
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7–26 Aug, not 15, £0.0
W
00:45
Niteskreen Just the Tonic at The Caves, 7–27 Aug, not 14, £0.0
Plus:
LACE
RY‘S
127
On Earth As It Is Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7–26 Aug, £0.0
62
11:50
LOO P WATER
ST MA
Relatively Normal Waverley Bar, 7–27 Aug, £0.0
Mirth in the Morning With Rhodders Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 20–26 Aug, £0.0
Wedding Guest Extraordinaire: Sarah Southern Waverley Bar, 7–26 Aug, not 15, £0.0
ET RE
The Improverts
Mystery Meat (Showcase) Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 7–26 Aug, not 13, 20, £0.0
11:10
The Museum of Tat Roadshow Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 7–26 Aug, not 13, £10.0
T
Bedlam Theatre, 7–28 Aug, £8.0
10:00
UND
00:10
A Political Breakfast Natural Food Kafe, 9–25 Aug, not 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, £0.0
THE MO
The Late Night Evil Show Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 7–27 Aug, £0.0
About Comedy: Stand-Up Comedy Courses Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, Various dates from 7 Aug to 25 Aug, £99.0
09:30
David Ephgrave: My Part in His Downfall Just the Tonic at The Caves, 7–26 Aug, not 13, 20, £5.0
11:45
75
76
What’s Mark Zuckerberg Got to Do With It? ET Laughing Horse @ Harry’s STRE ESAug, Southside, 8–27 not INC 14, 21,PR £0.0
Black White With a Hash Brown Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 7–27 Aug, £0.0
Clicking Comedians Pleasance Dome, 7–27 Aug, £0.0
It’s No Job for a Nice Jewish Girl PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 9–27 Aug, not 11, 18, 25, £11.5
Succubus Fringe Edition Just the Tonic at The Tron, 7–26 Aug, not 14, £5.0
E BRIDG
00:30 ROSE
00:05
09:00
e
se
STREET
on
Hor
7
Cool Story Bro Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 7–27 Aug, not 16, £0.0
Desperately Seeking Motivation (The Beginning) Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7–26 Aug, £0.0
David Callaghan: Dead Man’s Chest Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 7–25 Aug, not 13, £5.0
NORTH
You’ve Been Fringed Just the Tonic at The Caves, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, £0.0
20
GEOR 00:25
REET ER S T HANOV
GE GEOR
Stranger Friends Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 8–15 Aug, £0.0
6
ET STRE ERICK
FRED
Goodbye... I’m Leaving
Just the Tonic at The Caves, Various dates from 8 Aug to 27 Aug, £5.0
T STREE
Orwell That Ends Well: The Musical Just the Tonic at La Belle Angele, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £5.0
Sanderson Jones: That’s the Spirit! Heroes @ Boteco, 7–25 Aug, £5.0
11:40 YO
236
Late-Night LOLs Sameer Katz: Treesonous Laughing Horse @ The Thoughts Counting House, 7–27 Laughing Horse @ The Aug, £0.0 Counting House, 7–27 REET Aug, £0.0 GE ST
The Full Irish Whistlebinkies, 7–26 Aug, £0.0
59
170
Best of the Fest Assembly Hall, 10–27 Aug, not 14, 15, 16, 21, 22, 23, prices vary
11:00
Fred MacAulay in Conversation Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 20–26 Aug, prices vary
14
ET STRE
ET N STRE
Best in Class / Free Festival Laughing Horse @ Harry’s Southside, 7–26 Aug, £0.0
Twat Out of Hell Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 8–26 Aug, not 21, £0.0 ACE
RK PL
Sad Clowns theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 7–10 Aug, £0.0
ETSlayer: NeverMind For Robin Williams: A Bob N STRE Benefit Gig in AidQU ofEE Mind the BusStops and SAMH Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, Assembly George Square 11–18 Aug, £5.0 Theatre, 12 Aug, £15.0
01:30
Rory Jones: Return of the Wizword Just the Tonic at The Caves, 7–26 Aug, not 13, £6.0
10:50
The Spice Girls Lied to Us Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 13–16 Aug, £0.0
Adventures of the Singing Acupuncturist 6: Big O Makes It in New York... or, Does She? – Free Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 16–27 Aug, £0.0
00:20
11:35
A Comedy Brunch 2 Just the Tonic at The Caves, 7–26 Aug, not 13, £5.0 Improvable and the Chapter of Secrets Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20–26 Aug, £0.0
Late’n’Live Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7–28 Aug, prices vary
01:10
10:45
32
HOWE
Electric Frog Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7–26 Aug, £0.0
Oxford Revue: Free Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, Various dates from 7 Aug to 27 Aug, £0.0
32
Late-Night Lucky Bag Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 7–27 Aug, £0.0
Just the Tonic Comedy Club – Midnight Show Just the Tonic at The Caves, Various dates from 11 Aug to 26 Aug, £7.5
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7–27 Aug, £0.0
e
Will Seaward’s Spooky Midnight Ghost Stories V Gilded Balloon Teviot, 8–28 Aug, not 14, 23, prices vary
QUEE
Diamond Comedy Club
Sam Campbell: The Trough Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 7–27 Aug, not 14, £6.0
302
Hate ‘n’ Live Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 7–27 Aug, £0.0
VI
00:15
Daniel Kitson: Good for Glue The Stand Comedy Club, 8–27 Aug, weekdays only, £8.0
rra
00:00
EH3 8EE
fest-mag.com
A sensual, surprising piece of international dance theatre
Perfect Day It’s overwhelming trying to decide what to see. So let Fest decide for you. It’s okay, we know what we’re talking about.
John Hegley: Morning Wordship
South Bend
Pleasance Courtyard
Gilded Balloon at the The Museum
10:30am – 11:15am
3pm – 4pm
With his unmatched creativity and endless imagination, John Hegley fills his show to the brim with clever stories, songs, and puns. Silly fun with an emotional core, Wordship will impress kids and adults alike. It will put you at ease. What better way to start the day than that?
Beautifully crafted set design, gorgeous soundscapes, and excellent performances make South Bend a standout.Telling the story of a man who flies to California to be reunited with the woman he loves, only to find out things have changed, the play is at once hilarious and tragic. A bittersweet treat.
Ting Thai Caravan 8 Teviot Pl
6
Totally affordable, incredibly tasty and more than a little exciting, Ting Thai Caravan is in many ways the perfect lunch spot. Get down early for a seat at the canteen-style benches and pore over a Thai menu with more variety and quality than you can shake a chopstick at.
Credit: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan
Perfect Day
Credit: Travis Elborough
1pm
Perfect Day
7
Civerinos Jacqueline Novak: How Em-
5 Hunter Sq, 49 Forrest Rd
Pleasance Courtyard 5:45pm – 6:45pm
The smartest hour of standup you’ll see at this year’s Fringe about blowjobs. Weaving her personal history into her standup, Jacqueline Novak celebrates femininity with humour and candour. Her set is relatable, cohesive, and deceptively highbrow. This is the New Yorker’s first Fringe, and hopefully not her last.
Credit: Ayesha Hussian
barrassing for Her
Little Death Club Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows 8pm – 9pm
Hosted by the wickedly funny Bernie Dieter, Little Death Club is funny, outrageous, and wonderfully inappropriate. It’s a glorious mix of cabaret and circus, with each act upending expectations. One moment you’ll be in awe of a fire-breather, and the next you’ll be laughing along with drag legend Myra DuBois. This one’s unmissable.
Their locations are great: just off the Royal Mile, and on the edge of the Meadows. The vibe is great: all fly-postered walls and marble statues. Above all else, the pizza at Civerinos is great: sourdough bases, brilliant toppings, and big enough to fuel even the most ill-advised of schedules.
fest-mag.com
9.30pm
8
A master of absurdity, JohnLuke Roberts is one of this year’s hottest tickets. He tells Lewis Porteous that it’s only now that he’s got the skills to pull it off
Photos by: Sarah Donley
Cover Feature
“ I wouldn’t sell this as a mainstream show. You need to come prepared”
“I
describe it as an absurdist manifesto told through 24 fictional Spice Girls, because that’s a better way of marketing the show. What I should be saying is, ‘it’s a really stupid show about the Spice Girls’.” John-Luke Roberts is having a breakthrough. Long established as one of the most consistently inventive—and funny—comedians at the Fringe, his latest offering All I Wanna Do Is [FX: GUNSHOTS] With a [FX: GUN RELOADING] and a [FX: CASH REGISTER] and Perform Some Comedy!, directed by Sam Bailey, is garnering rave reviews and reaching audiences outside the alternative comedy intelligentsia. It’s tempting to attribute his current flush of success to dogged determination. Roberts has been ploughing his own idiosyncratic furrow for years, seemingly indifferent to notions of mainstream acceptance and commercial success. As a co-host of the Alternative Comedy Memorial Society, he’s acted as the architect and figurehead of a wilfully left-field comedy scene. One could argue that only prevailing trends have prevented him from achieving wider impact, though he’s not so sure. The comedian suggests his earlier work was hampered by structural issues. “All my shows have been about something and people haven’t really noticed, which made me realise I hadn’t quite put them together in the right way,” he says. “It’s a tricky balance. You’ve got to be funny throughout. As soon as you make it about something, you can put that in the jokes to an extent. But when it’s absurdist jokes you’re dealing with, then you have to be oblique in a way. You have to put enough of the theme in for it to register, but not so much that it dominates
and turns into something that isn’t comedy. “Around the time of my very first solo show I said I thought the follow up was going to be called A Cogent Defence of Absurdity... Live! but I didn’t do it. I’ve realised I didn’t have the tools to put that show together then.”
“ I go quite a long way to do weird stuff and let everybody in” While Roberts says he’s been steadily honing the techniques required to pull off his strongest work to date, it has to be said that its premise—“laughing at things we don’t understand”—is particularly suited to his nonsensical stylings. Certainly, the dissolution of a long-term relationship, mental illness and his father’s death were difficult topics to broach in this fashion. “All art has to be about something,” he goes on. “If you’ve made a choice for it not to be about something, then it’s sort of about not being about something, which is absurdism in a way.” This sounds labyrinthine and confusing. “That’s the joy of it. I want people to be able to walk away from this show saying, ‘I have no idea what that was about; that was hilarious’. I’m also happy for people to walk away and think, ‘Oh, that’s an interesting point of view,’ or ‘That’s a compelling defence of this type of comedy’. “I go quite a long way to do weird stuff and let everybody in. You can do weird stuff in an open, continues
›
fest-mag.com
Features
9
Cover Feature
10
› generous way where you don’t compromise what you’re doing, but can let people know ‘this is for you if you want it’.” Roberts is showing us that many people do in fact want bizarre character comedy revolving around imagined girl group members – they just don’t know it yet. Reaching them is key. “The title’s unwieldy, sure, but it’s been quite useful. In the marketing for this stuff you want to put off the people that won’t like it as much as you want to draw in the people that will like it. I wouldn’t sell this as a mainstream show. You need to come prepared.” You also need to put your money down in advance, for his current Fringe run signals a move away from the Free Fringe to a more mainstream Assembly venue. Roberts is philosophical when discussing the economics of the Fringe and sees pros and cons to working in both types of space. At the moment, the move seems to be paying dividends. “The difference is how it’s perceived. You need
an audience to trust you enough to let you do this stuff and know that it must be good on some level. A way of doing this is to put it in a smarter room and have a [theatre] set there. I think image is important. Anything you can do to make it more beautiful is helpful.” Not that Roberts is one for taking easy options. Moments in our interview hint at tantalising methods of self sabotage the comedian may wish to explore in the future. “There was a point where I was trying to slip in some references even I didn’t understand. Someone said to me, ‘You should have that line from [the science fiction film] Dune: “Let the spices flow” [sic]. And I thought, ‘Maybe I should’ – because I’ve not read or watched Dune.” / Lewis Porteous VENUE: TIME: TICKETS:
Assembly George Square Studios 5:30pm – 6:30pm, 1–27 Aug, not 15 £9 – £10
Credit: The Other Richard
Features
11
fest-mag.com
Road trippin’ with Thorpe and Chavkin A country buries itself inside a person. Chris Thorpe and Rachel Chavkin take audiences on a road trip to find out how it happens
I
n the summer of 2016, writer and performer Chris Thorpe took a road trip across the western United States. At the same time, Britain and America were careening toward humongous political change. This became the formative DNA of Status, Thorpe’s new show, created in partnership with American director Rachel Chavkin. “Britain is having the conversation with itself about who we are and who we don’t want to be,” Thorpe says in a break from rehearsals. With America in the midst of similar discussions, Chavkin explains that Status asks “how [people on] the left in particular relate to nationalism, and if there is a healthy way to be found.” This duo are used to pulling things apart. Thorpe and Chavkin’s first show, the award-winning Confirmation, explored personal bias and the evidence we choose to back up our own beliefs. Their second in a planned trilogy, Status is a road trip investigating place and border. It is a magical realist exploration of
how far a country roots itself inside of a person and how much damage it does to dig that country out. Status was inspired by conversations from around the world, from those with a strong sense of nationhood to those without a nation. “We’re fundamentally shaped by the ideas we’re given of national identity,” says Thorpe. He spoke to people who had experienced a country’s reunification, those having to leave their homes because “those countries are falling apart” and others who were “radically against the idea of having countries”. Listing the scope of his interviewees, Thorpe pauses. “It’s interesting and fucked in a lot of ways.” They are aware of their privilege in telling this story. “We’ve talked about this a lot,” Chavkin says. “You don’t get to choose whether you have that privilege or not, and it’s not something you can get rid of just because you’d like to think you personally treat all people the same.” continues
›
Cover Feature
›
12
Since the last presidential election, Chavkin has been deeply engaged with anti-racism work, delving into the history of white supremacy and white privilege in America. This investigative rigour translates to the performance. Status is an “inner reflection about Chris as representing the dominant culture in Britain. It is wrestling through the discomforts of that on a very personal level.” Thorpe takes grammatical leaps as he grapples with this. “The story is about a guy called Chris. It’s being told by me about him. But he can’t talk about himself in the first person because there is a kind of discomfort of admitting things that Chris thinks are my own.” This internal argument might be familiar to the largely white liberal audience at the Fringe. Much like the pair’s first show, Status invites debate. “Confirmation at various points felt like quite a confrontational show,” Thorpe admits. “If [Status] feels challenging to any part of the audience—probably more to people most similar to me—it will do that in a different way. Anything destabilising sneaks in under the wire of song and story and landscape.” With projections, animation and textural sound design, Chavkin manifests the locations Thorpe passes through, without being overly illustrative. “I don’t need to double what the storytelling is already doing. It’s about creating a vibe around that,” she says. Like any good road trip, Status is based around
its playlist. “Music can create space where the story can take on a more epic mode,” Chavkin enthuses, “and narrative gets to refract against larger ideas. Song space is a really special space.” Both have form in using music this way. Chavkin’s work on musicals such as Anaïs Mitchell’s Hadestown used song to extend narrative. Thorpe, meanwhile, mashed together music with Tory budget speeches in noise project #Torycore, harnessing rage in a form of performance that echoed its emotion. In Status, Thorpe notes, there is a much closer relationship between the kind of music and the person who is telling the story. “They’re kind of a white British guy in his 40s with a guitar type of song, very deliberately. It comes back to that idea of having to accept and make useful your own identity and everything it entails.” With a microphone, a guitar and a gut full of stories, Status presents a heady adventure that questions how far we can climb outside of ourselves. After a tricky discussion of allegiance, white privilege and language, Thorpe admits there’s another way of looking at it. “It’s just a story about an idiot going on a trip with some songs in it.” / Kate Wyver VENUE: TIME: TICKETS:
Summerhall 7:55pm – 9:15pm, 1–26 Aug, not 2, 13 £15
15 shows 7 venues
edinburgh 2018
E E F IE RC TH E F IVS RE U N ITE Q U E E NN E N IG HT . F O R O AL L M O NTH O N LY.
M I N E D TH
TOUR N O I N E RE U
OW E DY S H VE A COMT TRUTH, LO IN G U ER O B A MU RD T O N AN D
Q Y M AN
KLAKILPLINLG ASIDE AL
12:30 22:30
03- -26 27AUG AUG 02
GEORGE SQUARE PICCOLO TENT
9.15PM (10.15PM) 01-26 AUGUST 2018
SEX. RACE . R PO LITICS. POWE PREMIERE TH E U K N EW YO RK O F TH E H IT. SM AS H
OUND R G R E D UND ROA
RAI L
E M A G NER
W INARD 2017 W O BI E A W AM ER ICAN BE ST NE TR E WOR K TH EA
02-26 AUG, TIMES VARY TRAVERSE.CO.UK 0131 228 1404
04 SEP - 13 OCT SOHOTHEATRE.COM 020 7478 0100
#EDINTFEST
“A WORK OF DEFINING GREATNESS” THE OBSERVER
Commissioned by 14–18 NOW: WW1 Centenary Art Commissions Sponsored by
AKRAM KHAN COMPANY
Photo Jean Louis Fernandez
16–18 AUGUST FESTIVAL THEATRE BOOK NOW EIF.CO.UK 14 0131 473 2000
15
wondered why I didn’t have an Olympic gold medal myself? I am, after all, quite tall. So I set about trying every Olympic discipline – from diving to mountain biking, wrestling to volleyball, tennis to weightlifting. Over the course of a year I had a go at them all, sometimes even training with actual Olympians. I didn’t manage every single individual event: plenty busy with the 37 Olympic disciplines, I decided that the long jump and the 100m sprint were enough atheletics to be getting on with. Hendry, however, didn’t have the luxury of picking and choosing. She immersed herself in a gruelling training schedule with an athletics club, tackling all 14 tetradecathlon events from scratch—100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m and 3000m running; 100m, 200m and 400m hurdles; long jump, high jump, shotput, javelin and discus—to prepare for her moment on the world stage. It was her first time on a running track. After training for 20 months, the then 30-yearold Hendry was ready to step up and take her place at the 2017 tetradecathlon world championships. But before she had even competed, she was inspired to start working on a show that would tell her story. “As soon as I joined an athletics club, it opened up a new and wonderfully idiosyncratic world to me, full of fascinating characters and stories. There’s a lot of inherent humour in these stories. You can only laugh – eventually.” Having entered a world in which sport suddenly became less about winning and more about achieving a personal best, Hendry wondered if sharing these stories might inspire others to test themselves too. continues
›
fest-mag.com
I
n this increasingly fraught world, it’s only really Whiskers adverts and tales of great sporting triumph that can raise a smile from my cynical chops. So I was intrigued to hear about Lauren Hendry, a theatre producer who decided to try her hand at the tetradecathlon and is now telling her story at the Edinburgh Fringe. But what on earth is a tetradecathlon – and how did the 31-year-old Glasgow native come to take part in this niche competition? “It’s like a heptathlon,” Hendry tells me, “but twice as many.” So that’s 14 track and field events, starting with 100m hurdles and finishing up with a 3000m run, with a hell of a lot of jumping, dashing and throwing along the way. In fact it was the heroics of heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill, who returned from maternity leave to win gold at the 2015 Beijing World Championships, that inspired Hendry. The theatre-maker began Googling the events that constitute a heptathlon, fell down a Wikipedia rabbit hole and eventually stumbled across the tetradecathlon. “I found out about how many events there are in the tetradecathlon and thought, ‘That just sounds stupid’.” She noticed that the tetradecathlon world championships had just taken place and found herself scrolling down through the scores. “It finishes, and I’m wondering – where are the rest of the scores? And then I realised: there are no other scores – only 12 people have entered the world championships. So I was like, ‘I could be 13th in the world. I don’t even need to do it well, I just need to finish.’” I can relate: a one-time sport-hater, in the summer of 2012 I found myself unexpectedly enthusiastic about the London Olympics. Watching the Brownlee brothers pedal to victory in the triathlon, I
Photos by: Mihaela Bodlovich
Having had a go at every Olympic sport in the year following the London 2012 Games, Jen Offord was intrigued to hear about TetraDecathlon, a show by Lauren Hendry about taking on the most challenging athletics discipline of them all
Features
Going for Gold
Features
16
› Hendry felt at ease with short-distance running. “I’m naturally a sprinter,” she says. Not so much the longer distances, though to be fair, a range of 100m to 3000m is pretty impressive. Only Mo Farah knows how much Quorn she’d have needed to consume to excel across all those distances. As a former gymnast, hurdling also came quite easily to Hendry. “I’m 5’2” and the hurdles are fixed height – you don’t get little ones because you’re little. But I think that’s where having done gymnastics was helpful because I’m quite flexible, and I’m not scared of falling over. And I definitely did some falling over.” The jumps and throws were a different story, however. “At the European championships, which was in the first year, the woman who went on to win looked at me and said: ‘I don’t understand: you run very fast, but then you don’t jump very far,’ which was pretty fair.” Still, hats off – the four metre long jump she went on to achieve was a far, far greater a distance than anything I ever managed. Hendry thought she’d do okay at the shot-put— she considered herself to be pretty strong and her sister once told her she looked like a shot-putter— but the event itself was an eye-opener. “It’s so technical! You think of those things as brute force, but they’re really, really refined movements.”
I had the same revelation when it came to almost every Olympic discipline I attempted. Even boxing, it turns out, is more techique than anything else. You know what else came as a surprise? You’re not necessarily going to be good at something you’ve never tried before simply by virtue of being an adult or, in my case, a bit tall. In terms of what we can expect to see on stage this August, Tetra-Decathlon is full of exactly these ups and downs and revelations, says Hendry, not to mention the jeopardy of how she actually fared in the competition. The theatre-maker is coy as to her final score and reminds me that, “for a beginner to enter a competition of that scale there was a question of not just where would I come, but also can I manage to do it?” Hendry hopes the show will inspire and entertain in equal measure, offering a taste of the “bizarre physicality of athletics” and an electronic score using sounds from the world of athletics composed by Scott Twynholm. “I’m hoping to hear about sign-ups for silly events by audience members,” she says. “Cheeserolling anyone?” VENUE: TIME: TICKETS:
Summerhall 11:55am – 12:55pm, 14–26 Aug, not 20 £12
PRESENTS
9PM (10PM) 03 - 25 AUGUST 2018 (NOT 8, 13, 20)
Photos by: Sarah Donley
Launch Party 2018
Ali McGregor
Cazeleon
Electric Fields
Fest Party
A
nother year of Fest means another LAUNCH PARTY. Shout out to Fireside and Paradise Palms for hosting us, and for serving up the finest bevvies courtesy of Yellow Tail wines and Cold Town Beer. Huge thanks also to Swish for our very chic tote bags and, of course, Black Axe Throwing Co. for somehow managing to host axe throwing in a venue full of booze without someone losing an arm. MCing our entertainment was the glorious Bernie Dieter of Little Death Club, who kept us laughing all night long with her top-quality banter. The highlight of the night was her song about unsolicited dick pics – complete with, ahem, visual aids. Kicking off the music with a bang was Australian band Electric Fields, whose mix of electronica, soul, and Indigenous sounds had the crowd begging for more by the end of their set.
THE ARCHES - E MARKET ST
18
Bernie Deiter (Little Death Club)
Michael Griffiths proved a worthy follow up, opening with a rousing rendition of ‘Dancing Queen’. If anything can get a room full of tipsy people to sing along, it’s ABBA. The wonderful Ali McGregor then impressed us with some delectable jazz, getting the crowd to make her a makeshift disco ball with their phone lights, and ending her set with a literal mic drop. A tough act to follow, but if anyone was up for the task it was Adelaide Fringe Best Emerging Artist winner Cazeleon. Treating us to a sultry James Bond medley, she commanded the crowd’s attention with her incredible voice and swagger from the get-go. Capping off the night was a performance from the fierce and hilarious Fringe Wives Club, followed by a fabulous DJ set from Harry Clayton-Wright (of Briefs) that had us dancing late into the night. Not like we had a print deadline the next day or anything…
fest-mag.com
Fest Party
19
Fringe Wives
Club
Brett Goldstein:
20
COMEDY CRITIC
Brett Goldstein would get that note. He tells us What Is Love Baby Don’t Hurt Me (4 stars) is about love, and indeed it is, but his penis and what he does with it forms a large (ahem) part of the show. It’s also about our ability to keep making mistakes that are obvious to everyone but ourselves as he describes a recent relationship that he realised late in the day was emotionally toxic. He’s a commitment-phobe—“I can’t even commit to a sandwich. That’s why I buy multi-packs”—so his desire for a settled relationship, which came about after most of his adulthood was consumed by a large appetite for porn (the subject of a previous show), surprised him. He’s given up the porn – he’s "four years clean", one of the several neatly sly jokes in the hour. Goldstein thought his girlfriend, whose sexual tastes were far more adventurous than his own, was the one. But of course she wasn’t–what kind of show would that be? Doomed love is far more interesting than roses around the door. He is unflinching in his examination of his own flaws–and his observational comedy about a visit to an STI clinic and what his love of surgically enhanced breasts says about him is no exception. Goldstein has crafted a thoughtful, deeply personal hour with lots of big laughs, and it flies by. Almost equally obsessed with his penis and also talking about lost love is Nick Dixon, who in Marriage Material (2 stars) tells us about his long-distance relationship with an actor/comedian based in Los Angeles. The couple got engaged within weeks of meeting, and Dixon, a chatty and smiley comic, talks about the joys of making a home together. He could hardly invite her to live in his studio apartment in London—his “wank box”, as he calls it—so they had to search for something rather beyond his means. But the strains began to show as he worked all hours to pay the mortgage, while she sorted out her visa problems. Then a shocking piece of news turns this story in another direction, but way too many questions are left hanging. It’s an unsatisfying end – much like the relationship Dixon describes.
What Is Love Baby Don’t Hurt Me «««« Pleasance Courtyard. 7pm – 8pm, 1–26 Aug, not 24. £10 – £12
Nick Dixon: Marriage Material «« Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 7:15pm – 8:15pm, 2–26 Aug, not 13, £5
Jake Howie: Read My Lips «« Just the Tonic at The Caves, 9:30pm – 10:30pm, 2–26 Aug, not 13, £5
Beth Vyse as Olive Hands: The Hand That Rocks the Cradle «««« Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 3:45pm – 4:45pm, 1–26 Aug, not 15, £5
Credit: Idil Sukan
Comedy
Veronica Lee
What I would give to sit in shows next to a Freudian analyst with a particular interest in the semiotics of knob gags. I’m sure he or she would write “obsessed with his penis” in about, oh, just about every single Fringe show written by blokes of a certain age I’ve seen this year.
Brett Goldstein
Beth Vyse
Nick Dixon
Knob gags also rear their head in Josh Howie’s Read My Lips (2 stars), in which he talks about his upbringing in New Zealand with Scientologist parents and a racist Jewish grandmother, moving to London nine years ago and meeting an Italian guy. What follows is so-so material about his marrying his husband, the highlight of which appears to have been gaining his force-feeding Italian mother-in-law. Howie says at one point: “At least I’m not another straight middle-class white guy up here talking about being awkward.” Which is of course true, but the only word that needs to be changed in that sentence is “straight” for “gay”. You would think his background and life experience would throw up some comedy nuggets but there isn’t an hour’s material here, and Howie doesn’t convert his better stories into showstopper gags. And you really can’t do stuff about being body positive while accusing the blokes in the front row of having small dicks. That’s a shame as Howie is clearly a nice bloke, and if stars were given for likeability he would get five. A relationship of another kind—between mother and child—forms the basis of Beth Vyse’s magnificent, madcap hour, The Hand That Rocked the Cradle (4 stars). She is in character as Olive Hands, a washedup daytime TV presenter who needs a brilliant idea
for a new show. Why not a mother-and-baby show? So The Hand That Rocked the Cradle is born, and we are the studio audience as the cameras start rolling. The baby—Tiny Hands—is Vyse’s own son, a cutie who goos and gurgles on cue whenever he is brought on stage. I’m still a little conflicted about this, but he appears unfazed by it all. The show is, no surprise, a disaster as Paddy McGuinness, whom Vyse realises with a mask with an ultra-high forehead and a stream of Bolton-accented catchphrases, has for some reason transported Hands’ celebrity guests to the wrong place. So she has to fashion them from the audience, or pretend to be them: step forward singer Jane McDonald and “poo expert” Gillian McKeith. The latter intuits Tiny Hands’ thoughts from his nappies in a hilarious scene that’s not for those with a queasy stomach. Z-list celebrities and daytime television are easy targets but Vyse manages to draw out some original material from them, and her audience work is terrific – not many comics could persuade grown men to do some of the things that she demands of them onstage. It’s daft and silly and a riotous mess, but the underlying narrative—about a mother’s guilt over just about everything—is subtly segued into the action. Huge fun, and done with a big heart. / Veronica Lee
fest-mag.com
Credit: Steve Ullathorne
Credit: Idil Sukan
Lead Critics
21
Theatre
22
LEAD THEATRE CRITIC
Matt Trueman
Britain has its ‘Fanfare for Europe.’ The EU sings along to Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’. No wonder artists are attempting to address continental rifts in song. Where there is discord, the Fringe is bringing the harmonies. Jonny Woo is singing both sides of the Brexit debate in his All Star Brexit Cabaret (3 stars)– a cheerful evening you might call The Gay Boys of Brexit. Striding out in a glittering gold and blue jumpsuit, a circle of stars around his neck, Woo welcomes all comers and spoofs both ‘camps’ equally. (If he leans towards Leavers, it’s 52-48.) His Brexiteers are backwards, pining for Woolworths and worrying about Poles. His Remainers are hipsters with Eastern European cleaners, fearful for the future of Pret A Manger. Conceived as a narrative musical, this chatty cabaret loosely retells the “fairytale” of the 2016 referendum with Woo and co. going after the obvious gags. None of the major players is spared. Soprano Sooz Kempner finds David Cameron cowering in Downing Street, the little piggy who went to the polls, while Jayde Adams gives us Boris the Clown, albeit with hints of racist club comic Roy Chubby Brown. At one point, she lets rip a dog-whistle squeal. The satire mostly sticks to the surface. ‘The Great Television Debate’ becomes an insult-slinging standoff that makes cunts of us all, while Woo’s ‘Leavers’ Lullaby’, dedicated to his dad, offers comforting tones to “simple swivel-eyed loons”. Jerry Springer composer Richard Thomas’s music finds subtler notes: menacing musical undertones clash with breezy, blinkered melodies. One number even channels the hippies of Hair, while Nigel Farage—a subversive cameo from Le Gateau Chocolat—gets a rabble-rousing number based on that old whoop-inducer ‘Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat’. Every song has a certain naivety, which pretty much sums up the state of the debate. A cheerful, diverting hour—some solace in the midst of the Brexit melee—it stops a long way short of the best satire. Skimming the biggest shitshow in 50 years for lolz, it misses the boiling fury beneath. Without it, Woo’s cabaret can’t come close to catharsis. Big in Belgium has gone big on Brexit this year. Frustrated by the limits of Belgium’s pop scene— blame “Anglo-Saxon cultural hegemony”—musical comedian Nele Van den Broeck ups sticks for Britain in Nele Needs a Holiday: The Musical (3 stars). She winds up in what might as well be another world:
Jonny Woo’s All Star Brexit Cabaret ««« Assembly George Square Gardens, 6pm – 7pm, 2–27 Aug, not 13, 20, £14 – £15
Nele Needs a Holiday: The Musical ««« Summerhall, 10:15pm – 11:10pm, 1–26 Aug, not 2, 6, 13, 20, £10
European Citizen Popsong «« Summerhall, 6pm – 7pm, 1–26 Aug, not 2, 6, 13, 20, £10
Fallen Fruit «« Summerhall, 11:25am – 12:25pm, 1–26 Aug, not 6, 13, 20, £12
Jonny Woo's All Star Brexit Cabaret
fest-mag.com
Credit: Kaat Pype
Lead Critics
23
Nele Needs a Holiday: The Musical
exorbitant rents, extortionate managers and artist flatmates funded by ma and pa. Crouched in child’s pose in her broom cupboard bedroom, she becomes “a lonely flexworker a long way from home.” A loosely strung musical ribbing London life, it’s endearingly silly but altogether featherweight. In her silver spanglesuit, Van den Broeck comes off like Camille O’Sullivan’s goofy little sister, and her wit-sprinkled songs can’t hold a candle to musical comedy’s best. Marieke Dermul wants to write a new song for Europe – a catchy European Citizen Popsong (2 stars) that combines diverse musical cultures into an anthem for EU-nity. That task takes her city-hopping around the continent armed with a camera, meeting euroscpetics in Italy and anarchists in Greece. The project’s a proxy: an excuse to open people up about Europe and the EU. A Kiev-based flautist talks of it as a promised land. A punk band in Berlin disavows borders altogether. Even as she forms a band in the room, Dermul doesn’t take her European inquiry or her musical endeavour nearly seriously enough to make us invest. Without interrogating the way music brings people
together—and her beloved Eurovision Song Contest rather suggests otherwise—Dermul’s content to offer something closer to spoof. “Are we Europe?” she sings in the streets of Kiev, as Ukranian policemen look on nonplussed. “Yes, we are.” Dermul’s no David Hasselhoff, in other words. Fallen Fruit (2 stars), from Two Destination Language, finds the Baywatch star on his crane, belting out ‘Looking for Freedom’ to bring the Berlin Wall down. Katerina Radeva’s look back at her childhood in Bulgaria offers a glimpse of life behind the Iron Curtain, asking whether the chaos of its collapse was worth the gains that came with communism. For a while, her family survived on lard but, on the plus side, there’s a Costa now. Erecting a wall of cardboard building blocks, Radeva remembers a childhood where “everything was red” and on-message television game shows dished out party memberships as prizes. It’s a young artist’s piece, eight years old now, and while walled borders in Eastern Europe add fresh resonance, there’s none of the structural elegance or emotional impact of Two Destination Language at its best. / Matt Trueman
24
DANCE CRITIC
This year’s productions range from crowd-wowing big top spectacles—such as Circolombia and Circus Abyssinia, both returning to Underbelly’s Circus Hub after success in 2017, plus the raucous UniverSoul Circus)—to fairly intimate, questioning works like Company 2’s Sediment at Assembly Roxy, or experimental, autobiographical solos Egg and Notorious Strumpet & Dangerous Girl at Summerhall. It’s easy to feel spoiled for choice. Barely Methodical Troupe burst onto the UK circus scene in 2014 with the award-winning male three-hander Bromance. In the follow-up, Kin, a kick-ass woman discombobulated a handful of young lads. Esmeralda Nikolajeff, the sole female in Shift (3 stars), is a chief asset of the company’s strippeddown and rather too laid-back new show. Strong and nimble, she seems up for and capable of just about anything. This could mean timbering down from someone’s shoulders into a floor roll, treating the male cast members’ upper bodies like stepping stones or being thrown up backwards into the air with the total confidence that she’ll be caught. Nikolajeff’s relationship with the men—strapping Louis Gift, the smaller and more flippant Charlie Wheeller, and the somewhat under-utilised breakdancer Elihu Vazquez—isn’t about teasing out any tensions within a gender binary. Nor is her attitude at all superior to the lads. She is instead, and rightly, on equal footing with them. The foursome generates an easy rapport both among themselves, and with us. Shift is staged up-close on a diamond-shaped platform within a Spiegeltent, and features simple blue boiler suits for costuming. The show’s basic shortcoming is that it doesn’t have quite a strong enough creative engine. If a key motive was to find and explore the possibilities of physical expression using (bodysized) rubber bands, as the quartet does, this viable concept isn’t well enough sustained. And there are missteps: a desultory bit of storytelling-with-motion, and a puzzling, pointless episode in which Nikolajeff distributes large rubber bands to the audience and then nothing happens. Compensation includes the graceful speed of the aptly-named Wheeller’s climactic Cyr wheel routine, and any passages when the performers demonstrate their considerable corporeal virtuosity. There’s virtuosity to spare in Réversible (4 stars),
Shift ««« Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows, 4pm – 5pm, 4–25 Aug, not 8, 13, 20, £13.50 – £15.50
Réversible «««« Assembly Rooms, 6:15pm – 7:25pm, 2–26 Aug, not 8, 13, 20, £18 – £19
8 Songs ««« Assembly Roxy, 4:40pm – 5:40pm, various dates between 1 Aug and 27 Aug, £12 – £14
Circus-Cision «««« Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows, 10pm – 11pm, 3–25 Aug, not 13, 20, £11 – £12
Credit: Gregory Batardon
Dance, Physical Theatre & Circus
Donald Hutera
Circus has deservedly grown into a Fringe mainstay, a development especially gratifying during the 250th anniversary of the invention of the genre.
Shift
Credit: Gregory Batardon
Lead Critics
25
but also an emotional core. The show was directed by Gypsy Snider for the Montreal-based Les 7 Doigts, aka The 7 Fingers. Plenty of other productions have featured boundlessly energetic, attractive young artistes. Indeed, some were devised by this same company. What gives Réversible an extra lift is the nine-strong cast’s calibre of skills, their individual personalities, and the work’s creative grounding in stories from the company members’ familial past. We don’t hear any of their tales in great detail or depth. Rather, a stream of brief utterances from each performer top and tail the show’s 70-minute running time. But it’s sufficient to draw us in and, by the end, touch us too. The gifted people onstage are framed by three free-standing, wheeled walls that can be configured in many ways. The opening movement section, with the ensemble scooting through and about these walls, seems frantic and overfamiliar. Things settle down, however, in a most winning fashion. The highlight is an unusual, and exquisite, male-female Chinese pole duet. But there are no disappointing acts and, consequently, much pleasure to be had. That includes the finale, a heavenly romp in billowing, cloud-like folds of parachute silk. It’s a lovely way to bring this open-hearted performance to a close. Originally conceived as an open-air performance, Gandini Juggling’s 8 Songs (3 stars) works well indoors. The premise is simple: a cast of six (some of whom are not, refreshingly, fresh-faced kids) juggle their way through some clever, sometimes complex and mostly satisfying patterns choreographed to rock-pop classics by the likes of Bowie, Dylan and the
Stones. Often the lyrics are repeated aloud by the performers, and accompanied by different moves. Much of this works a treat, but even good bits are overextended. By the end things spin into deliberate but unappetising chaos, like a jugglers’ karaoke crossed with a silent disco. Still, there’s no gainsaying the appeal of watching a mature man spin a basketball on his fingertip to Janis Joplin’s rendition of ‘Summertime,’ or the simple, buoyant sweetness of the Velvet Underground’s ‘Sunday Morning’ used as a Gandini springboard. As genial, hunky compere Cal Harris informs us at the start of Circus-Cision (4 stars), a giddy little hour of circus/cabaret organised by Head First Acrobats, “the title was cooked up to peg acts that ‘made the cut’”. And good fun it is too, especially if variety is what you crave. Harris and Thomas Gorham do a naughty-silly balancing routine dressed up in Game of Thrones-style garb. Garry Starr, aka Damien Warren Smith, plays with various theatrical genres while dressed in ruffed collar and tights (but minus a codpiece). Strands of spaghetti are used a la Lady and the Tramp to deal with romance. Even better is the surreal slapstick moment when the stage is occupied by a handful of audience members battering each other’s bottoms with soft, fat tubes. Kali Retallack has an elegant, sensual ring routine, Chelsea Angell makes the most of her hula hoops, and cheeky Rowan Thomas strips inside a Cyr wheel. Best of all is The Amazing Mr Fish, a smart goofball who’s an absolute dab hand at getting audience members to do outlandish things for him. / Donald Hutera
fest-mag.com
Réversible
ALUN COCHRANE
YOU ME
NOW
9.40pm 3 - 26 Aug £12 / £11 (not 13)
26
Comedy Reviews Jacqueline Novak: How Embarrassing For Her HHHHH VENUE: TIME: TICKETS:
Pleasance Courtyard 5:45pm – 6:45pm, 1–26 Aug £9.50 – £12.50
There aren’t many cleverer hours of standup at the Fringe this year than American comedian Jacqueline Novak’s How Embarrassing For Her. Novak is well known in her native New York, but this is her debut in Edinburgh. And what a debut – a wonderfully relatable, superbly smart show.
This might sound weird, but just go with it. How Embarrassing For Her is, first and foremost, about penises. More specifically, it’s about blowjobs. Even more specifically, it’s about Novak’s blowjob journey, from high-school rookie terrified but determined to suck someone off, to old hand confidently giving head like a pro. But it’s also not about blowjobs at all. Yes, there are quite a lot of well-crafted, slyly subversive dick jokes—the penis, Novak contends, is actually the most feminine bodypart; she’s got a point when you think about it—but Novak’s real focus is much more high-brow. Much more philosophical. She slowly but surely man-
ages to turn her embarrassing anecdotes about blowjobs into a wide-reaching and remarkably literary metaphor for personal development, for the narratives we frame our lives by, and for the ultimate unattainability of perfection. Because, Novak eventually hypothesises, isn’t life basically one slightly toothy blowjob after all? It’s an expertly crafted show, cohesive, cogent and joyously relatable from start to finish. And Novak is a hugely engaging performer, laying her whirring thoughts bare with frenetic wit and bubbly warmth throughout. It’s her first Fringe this year. Pray that it won’t be her last. / Fergus Morgan
Angela Barnes: Rose Tinted HHHH VENUE: TIME:
Pleasance Courtyard 7:15pm – 8:15pm, 1–26 Aug, not 13
TICKETS:
£8.50 – £12
Angela Barnes is a lesser comedian this year. Certainly not in terms of talent or pulling power, but she’s lost three stone, which is a fair bit of Barnes to be doing without. And yet her words now resonate more powerfully—she isn’t opera singing, after all—as this show actively
drills in the take-home messages. Confidence helps when you’re trying to change a wee bit of the world, of course, and that’s a key theme here. Barnes actually has a major fear of singing in public, for example, which she’ll be confronting at the Pleasance Grand soon. It’s the latest of several issues she’s taking on. Regarding the weight loss, the Kent-born comic is at pains not to sound body-fascist, but rapidly gaining it is a sign that her mental health has gone awry. That anxiety kicked in after a seedy #MeToo moment, and her lengthy speech about the subject is hugely impressive. It may not be funny, but it’s as sharp
and useful a statement to modern men as you’ll hear. If you want something summed-up succinctly, ask a good comedian. And Barnes is certainly that. Elsewhere there are great punchlines galore, invariably hitting the right targets. The general state of post-Brexit Britain and those contentious US happenings didn’t help her moods either, but she then “joined a cult”—park running—which did. Again, running isn’t for everyone, but Barnes’ personal escape from the darkness is an inspiring tale. Rose Tinted is razor-sharp, sometimes angry, but also features a big heap of hope. /︎ Si Hawkins
beautifully, with Kafka’s oeuvre squashed into short, absurdly unsatisfactory snippets and wrapped in a narrative that is just as equally absurdly unsatisfactory. ‘Poseidon’ is a particular beaut, with its description of the god of the seas drowning in admin. “Endless work! That’s the worst kind of work,” laments Parry as the fishy king. His experience as a comic and energetic crowd-pleaser is put to good use in this rather literary endeavour. There’s a guitar onstage pretty
much permanently, and there’s no need for it to be, really. A little D minor strumming goes a long way. And it feels a bit uncomfortable that the two women in the cast either have no meaningful dialogue (Kat, played by Heidi Niemi, speaks only in Finnish) or serve as a representative of the faceless bureaucracy (Karen, played by Rose Robinson). Beetlemania would flunk the Bechdel test. Still, I’m sure there’s a reason. Things are complicated, after all. / Evan Beswick
Beetlemania: Kafka for Kids! HHHH VENUE: TIME:
Pleasance Dome 1:15pm – 2:15pm, 1–26 Aug, not 14
Comedy
TICKETS:
28
£12 – £15
Five minutes from the end of Beetlemania: Kafka for Kids! and I’m convinced they’ve blown it. Too neat. Too happy. Not Kafka. I’m totally wrong: Fringe stalwart (legend?) Tom Parry and his “Kafkateers” blow any trite closure out of the water, in a show that genuinely feels like a manifesto for our times. Franz Kafka can be obscure, tricksy and obtuse, but it’s difficult to think of a better paraphrase than [sing it]: “it’s not black or white, and that’s alright”. Put like that, it seems obvious that kids (and mums, and dads and, well, people) should be presented with narratives that don’t fit into neat boxes. They are presented here
Bethany Black: Unwinnable HHHH VENUE: TIME:
The Stand Comedy Club 2 3:50pm – 4:50pm, 2–26 Aug, not 13
TICKETS:
£10
When did Bethany Black become one of the most interesting acts on the circuit? Recently diagnosed with agoraphobia, it’s possible the comedian’s observational powers have risen inverse to her ability to easily observe things. Or it may be the case that the more diagnoses she racks up, the shrewder her understanding of herself and the world around her. Either way, she’s approaching comedy from a unique perspective and audiences are starting to take notice. Even The Sun newspaper put its prejudices aside to recommend the trans malcontent as one of the must-see performers at this year’s Fringe. Unwinnable’s greatest strength
Demi Lardner: I Love Skeleton HHHH VENUE:
TIME:
Assembly George Square Studios 8:05pm – 9:05pm, 1–26 Aug, not 13
Comedy
TICKETS:
30
£10 – £11
“I guess I just have a great life!” boasts a grotesque fictional wife a few minutes into Demi Lardner’s multi-octane hour. Well, that character is never going to make an interesting Fringe show then. Our Aussie host, on the other hand, channels an unconvention-
is that it feels effortlessly coherent. Black doesn’t lay out a theme and then slavishly stick to it, but discusses topics relating to identity and mental illness in a flowing, conversational fashion. One of the stand-out set pieces of this show is based on an event that took place little over a week ago. Black has the skill to readily
incorporate up-to-date material into her act, and one gets the impression she would feel compelled to drop any routine which no longer resonated with her. With thousands of starry-eyed hopefuls flocking to Edinburgh in pursuit of fame, it’s a relief to come across something so unaffected and full of integrity as Unwinnable. /︎ Lewis Porteous
al upbringing into her gleefully absurdist material: mum, dad, stepdads. So many stepdads. And parrots; lots of Demi-replacing parrots. Plus at least one belligerent kangaroo, who briefly steps in as her secondary caregiver. That’s a lot of meat to work with here. The still youthful Lardner arrives at the Fringe laden with awards – one of her dashed-off visual gags here is to unfurl that full honours board, which she’ll occasionally point out after a particularly odd aside. No need, as we are very much on board—albeit all laughing hardest at different bits; always a good sign—rolling with the pumping beats early doors and barely getting a chance to register how
dark a lot of this stuff actually is. Somehow it holds together as a coherent show too, as Lardner does bring things down along the way, dipping into her poetry book and taking an occasional psychometric test, all of which are also impressively hit-heavy. Usually though she’s marching around in a semi-sinister style, looking for lint and lettuce and fixating on a face, although it’s obvious early on that she’ll refrain from full audience awkwardness. In fact, the only slight lapses in this magnificently farcical feast are when she breaks into minor giggles, and briefly breaks the spell. But who can blame her? /︎ Si Hawkins
31 Reviews
Sheeps: Live and Loud Selfie Sex Harry Potter VENUE:
TIME:
Assembly George Square Studios 8:05pm – 9:05pm, 1–26 Aug, not 13
TICKETS:
£10 – £11
What a pleasure it is to welcome back Sheeps to the Fringe. The three-man sketch group—Liam Williams, Daran Johnson and Alastair Roberts—last performed together here in 2014, and have been working on solo projects in the intervening years. Their show, Live and Loud Selfie Sex Harry Potter, is in the same vein as their previous work at the Fringe – original and intelligent sketch comedy
with a touch of the surreal. It’s an insightful exploration of long-lasting friendships that have to weather the strains of adult lives increasingly spent elsewhere, whether in relationships, parenthood or forging a career. That makes the hour sound rather serious. It’s not, it’s gloriously silly, starting with a song-and-dance number in which none of the three can either sing in tune or keep in step. As the hour progresses, we see the narrative—of how the group came to work together again—gradually emerge, a storyline constantly
interrupted by Johnson moping about, describing his pain at his recent split from his girlfriend. They perform both short and long-form sketches, which ultimately link to reveal the show’s purpose, including one set in an East London tech start-up with its own riddler on the board, a creepy Canadian life guru, a takedown of Shaggy’s ‘It Wasn’t Me’ and, most inspired, a sketch that only late in do we realise is a scathing denunciation of Western attitudes to Syrian refugees. It’s terrific stuff. / Veronica Lee
fest-mag.com
HHHH
Denim: The Reunion Tour HHHH VENUE:
TIME:
TICKETS:
Assembly George Square Gardens 10:30pm – 11:30pm, 2–26 Aug, not 13, 25 £13 – £14
After a triumphant debut at last year’s Fringe, queer ‘girl’ group Denim split up, its five fierce queens parting ways to pursue their own projects (or so goes the narrative of this glorious party of a show). Fortunately for us, the girls are back, for one night only—for every night of the Fringe—performing their “greatest hits” along with
a clutch of solo numbers in which they recount what they’ve been up to since the split. Not all of these individual bits hit the mark—Shirley DuNaughty’s rebirth as a cult leader is a one-joke wonder that’s not funny enough to last an entire song—but the conceit is an excellent vehicle for the myriad talents of Amrou Al-Kadhi (Glamrou La Denim), Guy Woolf (Elektra Cute), Charlie Parham (Aphrodite Greene née Jones), Hugh Wyld (Shirley DuNaughty) and Tom Rasmussen (Crystal Vaginova). Parham and Rasmussen are a gorgeous vocal pairing; Al-Kadhi’s confessional about his destructive relationship with Islam has real comedic bite; and Woolf’s satirical takedown of cause-addicted celebrities is spot on.
Director Steve Marmion keeps the pace fast enough and the entertainment varied enough that if a number doesn’t appeal you can be confident that another one more to your liking will be along soon. And while you’re waiting, you can keep yourself occupied gazing on the wonder of the group’s costumes (which they source and style themselves). Each queen gets at least one fabulous—and often totally unremarked upon— costume change, and most get two or three. Highlighting hairy chests and armpits, soft bellies and unpainted toenails, some of these costumes feel as subversive as the material coming of their wearers’ mouths. It’s drag, but not as we know it – and that’s all to the good. /︎ Jo Caird
the minutiae of the given situation, which in itself is strangely calming, and builds a detailed picture of a day-in-the-life seemingly effortlessly. His audience is able to forget about the horrors and focus on the beauty of more mundane and harmless things. The particular mundane activity in question, this safe haven that Munnery invites his audience into, is the activity of cleaning. That’s right, hoovering, mopping and scrubbing. It’s surprising and in-
triguing that anecdotes about buying extension cables and emptying sanitary bins could be so enjoyable to listen to. But it’s Munnery’s clear personal and comic perspective that enables him to pull off this unusual subject matter. The Wreath is gently paced, occasionally silly and doesn’t shy away from the occasional one liner. It’s got heart, as well as just the right amount of whimsy to make this hour a triumph in delicious escapism. /︎ Becca Moody
Simon Munnery: The Wreath HHHH
TIME:
Comedy
TICKETS:
32
The Stand Comedy Club 3:20pm – 4:20pm, 3–26 Aug, not 13 £12
Simon Munnery’s latest show, The Wreath, feels like a sanctuary in the Fringe. He begins with a joke that he’s been particularly fond of for a while: “I went to a funeral the other day. Caught the wreath.” What follows is an array of philosphically and poetically varied anecdotes and musings. A recent stint of employment as a cleaner at an egg hatchery provides inspiration for a large chunk of the show. Talking about the industry’s horrors, Munnery still somehow manages to find a certain beauty in it. He focuses on
Credit: Jon Spaull
VENUE:
33 Reviews
Wil Greenway: Either Side of Everything HHH TIME:
TICKETS:
Underbelly, Bristo Square 2:50pm – 3:50pm, 2–26 Aug, not 13 £10.50 – £11.50
Do you ever find yourself willing someone to do something, anything, a bit naughty? Sure, that’s not the only imaginative spring thats sprung during a Wil Greenway show. He’s fantastically, sweetly inventive; a proper creator of wonderful worlds. But it’s always there, an itch that’s never scratched. Greenway’s stock-in-trade is gentle storytelling, punctuated with pretty songs (pitch perfect by Kathryn Langshaw and Will Galloway). He does this beautifully, in an unhurried style that allows him to weave multiple narratives, moving each along just a little
Tom Stade: I Swear To... HHH VENUE: TIME:
TICKETS:
Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre 9:15pm – 10:15pm, 1–26 Aug, not 13 £15 – £16
Many years ago Tom Stade found himself switching from a coveted studio contract in California to life as an unknown standup in the Black Country – Wolverhampton, to be precise. It was a culture shock. Tonight he has to cope with Black Wednesday, which is slightly
before tracking back. When he does, there’s a little refrain that puts us back in the picture without sacrificing any of the atmosphere he’s worked to build. It’s the way he builds emotional punch, bit by bit tightening his grip on these disparate threads, drawing them together into a tapestry. There’s a running theme about stories being an eternity for the people in them, but may just be one of millions of beginnings, middles and ends in the stories of others. But, in truth, the content is less important than the form here. The same goes for Greenway’s meticulously crafted language.
His long adjective phrases wash over comfortably, but scratch the surface and the illusion is rumbled. Repetition is key (“we’re here in a theatre; that’s where we are”), as are slightly empty phrases (“making something of nothing, making everything of nothing”) which feel profound when delivered with wide-eyed wonder by the big-bearded Australian, but are dead on paper. Greenway is such a talented performer that he could risk challenging his audience a bit more, unsettling them, giving them more to chew on. It feels like he’s a bit afraid of the dark, though. /︎ Evan Beswick
bewildering, too. You can imagine that the popular Canadian has barely noticed the Fringe’s slowest sales day in recent years. “They put me on the edge of town!” he exclaims, while surveying a half-full room. Nice as the Rose Theatre is, it’s a good mile from his busy old stomping ground the Pleasance Courtyard. And though most Fringe comics would kill for an audience like this, tonight it takes a while to get the juices flowing. When they do flow, though, it’s a torrent. Stade’s initial thrust is about technology’s takeover, but the show really flies when he gets onto his kids, who are no longer kids. That also takes in booze,
drugs and sex, and a belief that the new generation will vanquish homophobia, racism – and religion. He supports that theory by challenging the youngest and oldest guys in the room. They bond. The second half here is a treat. There’s familial teabagging, an extraordinary revelation about his own sexual preferences, and a controversy-courting link between God and Bill Cosby. Still somewhat unsung after all these years, Stade is up there with the deified Doug Stanhope when it comes to skilfully taking good taste to the very edge. In Edinburgh terms, that’s to the west end of Rose Street. /︎ Si Hawkins
fest-mag.com
VENUE:
‘UNQUESTIONABLE SUCCESS’ BroadwayWorld EdFringe 2018
‘a serious sense of professionalism in a extremely unserious setting’ Mumble Theatre EdFringe 2018
It’s the worst wedding reception you’ll ever go to - and everyone is invited!!
AGE
3+
A VERITABLE CAVALCADE OF HILARITY MUMBLE THEATRE EDFRINGE 2018
INTERACTIVE CHILDREN’S THEATRE
Signor Baffo held the kids’ attention like the Pied Piper
MummyKimmy Blog EdFringe 2018
Faulty Towers and Signor Baffo’s Restaurant
SOLD OUT IN THE FIRST 2 WEEKS!
2-27 August
The Principal Edinburgh 0845 1544 145 George Street Hotel, interactivetheatre.com.au EH2 2PB (v119)
35 Reviews
Foxdog Studios: Robot Chef HHH
TICKETS:
Heroes @ Boteco 1:20pm – 2:20pm, 2–26 Aug, not 9 £5
Carving their own niche in interactive tech-enabled comedy, Foxdog Studios are back with another hour of knockabout geekery that’s a whole lot of fun. Celebrating the completion of a successful web build, only nepotism saving them from woefully exceeding the deadline, IT consultants Lloyd Henning and Pete Sutton have decided to throw a party, with music, dancing and food. The final element is the most important in Robot Chef, as the pair have contrived a jerry-rigged mini-kitchen in their basement nightclub venue. And they’re very much cooking with gas. Controllable through smartphones, everyone in the crowd gets an avatar pro-
Myra Dubois: We Wish You A Myra Christmas HHH VENUE: TIME: TICKETS:
Underbelly, George Square 4pm – 5pm, 1–26 Aug, not 18 £10 – £11
You’ve got to hand it to Myra Dubois: it’s an audacious move to bring a Chrismas show to the Fringe. And then put it on in the Wee Cow, scientifically proven to be the hottest venue in Edinburgh. As Dubois might say, my chestnuts
jected onto a screen broadcasting the action, via which, if randomly chosen, they get to contribute to the making of a rudimentary meal. The kitchen itself is a deceptively elaborate setup of magnets, motors, virtual on-screen buttons and a couple of elements straight out of the mad scientist textbook, with the deadpan Henning and Sutton occasionally interjecting to explain the awkward purchase of a prop to create their dubious enterprise. Inbetween the main action there’s music, a little bit of inexpli-
cable character comedy and some party-based competitive computer games everyone gets a go at. Surprisingly addictive, Foxdog have all but eliminated the occasional faffing and fiddling between set-pieces that compromised their last Fringe hour, for about as slick but still perilous an operation as they could hope to manage under the circumstances. The responsibility for things going (entertainingly) wrong has almost entirely been successfully, messily passed to the audience. /︎ Jay Richardson
were roasted. Except Dubois’ catty barbs are a cut above that – in quality, that is, not taste. Whatever the festive equivalent of the gutter is, Dubois is in it. As audacious a move as it is, Dubois largely pulls it off (sorry). Essentially, Dubois (the drag creation of Gareth Joyner) is having a bit of a joke with us, seeing how far and how out-of-context she can push an hour of smutty snipes. Pretty far, it turns out. If your act consists of slagging off your game audience, it doesn’t really matter what month it is. Sure, she falls back on the clichés at times – the “where are you from...
did they let you out?” one-two rears its hoary head. Also, so many easy cum jokes leave a bitter taste in the mouth. But there aren’t many acts on the circuit with an original line on vegans. Even fewer able to riff easily about an audience member who reveals that they subscribe to Wicca beliefs. Those Wicca jokes – they just don’t come free and easy. This isn’t big or clever, and Dubois is utterly unafraid of drawing attention to her similarity to a pantomime dame. She isn’t wrong, either. But it is high camp and big on laughs. Those jingle bells? It’s just the sound of a seasoned pro smashing it. /︎ Evan Beswick
fest-mag.com
TIME:
Credit: Hannah Platt
VENUE:
Sleeping Trees: World Tour VENUE:
TIME:
TICKETS:
Assembly George Square Studios 9:40pm – 10:40pm, 1–26 Aug, not 13 £11 – £13
After several shows spoofing film genres, Sleeping Trees have opted for something different this year. With a tongue-in-cheek introduction to the “sketch drama” format, their pacy, sprawling narrative sees them reminisce over their various world tours after taking some time apart from each other. Spanning the globe and any number of ill-conceived adventures, there’s plenty of opportunities for misdirection and pullback and reveal gags as they meet and panickingly kill eccentric strangers, only belatedly revealing the so-called truth of their trips to their sketchmates. Despite the knockabout sketch
Janeane Garofalo: Put a Pin in That HH VENUE: TIME:
Comedy
TICKETS:
36
Gilded Balloon Teviot 9:15pm – 10:15pm, 1–19 Aug, not 13 £13 – £14
Janeane Garofalo is a veteran of the lofty heights of Hollywood, so it’s surprising when she begins her set by talking about, of all things, British daytime property shows. The unexpected shoutout to Nick Knowles is perfectly welcome. What’s equally surprising, though
Credit: Mark Dawson Photography
HHH
style, the narrative structure has a satisfying symmetry. And the performances of James Dunnell-Smith, Joshua George Smith and John Woodburn are tight as a drum, whether as pensioners performing a gymnastic sex act or, most hilariously, as villains indulging in a mutual suicide pact to escape retribution. Particularly effective is a scenario in which Woodburn, a kidnap victim, projects Stockholm syndrome onto his captors, introducing them to the Home Alone films and working through their relationship problems. There’s
also a big song featuring some of the world’s most famous walls, a rousing singalong despite the ridiculousness of the sentiment. Directed by Tom Parry from Pappy’s, the Trees prove themselves well attuned to each other, seamlessly contorting to form background scenery in order to set a scene, capable of improvising when they fancy messing about a bit. As a succession of shaggy dog tales, their collective story doesn’t quite have the focus to be memorable. But there’s a lot of fun in the journey. / Jay Richardson
far less welcome, is the incredibly patchy hour that follows. Put a Pin in That not so much meanders as darts uncontrollably between a series of topics chosen on an apparent whim, with Garofalo veering off script so often you’re left wondering if there actually is one. Indiscipline isn’t necessarily her enemy, and she’s made her name as a talkative wildcard, but this takes tangentiality to the limits of audience patience. Indeed, she herself runs out of patience with her audience, dismissing them early on with a shooing motion and a tacit apology. The warning signs are there, chief among them the moment she
sits down on stage halfway through and ponders aloud: “Has it been an hour yet?” She alludes to being off her game, but on this evidence there wasn’t much of a show to revert to when things went south. We know she has interesting and worthwile things to say about feminism, but she doesn’t get round to any of them because she’s busy prowling around the seating area trying to engage her crowd directly (seemingly forgetting that’s what her act is supposed to do, on the stage). It’s digressive and ultimately self-indulgent. One can only assume the title is an ode to her attempts at writing the show. /︎ Matthew Sharpe
37 Reviews
Siblings: Acting Out TIME:
TICKETS:
Underbelly, George Square 6:40pm – 7:40pm, 1–27 Aug, not 14 £9 – £10
Maddy and Marina Bye’s show begins with darkness, and a fun, effective trick to highlight their distinct personas, early doors. Marina frets over her script and vocal warm-ups; Maddy makes funny noises and rates the audience for fitness. We’re in classic clever/daft double-act territory here, although Siblings’ other characters often turn out to be too post-millennial for their own good. Acting Out veers between old tropes and new dopes. There are echoes of Morecambe and Wise as the haughtier Marina (“classically trained, three years at Guildhall”) hijacks the show to perform highbrow drama. Then Maddy (clown
Trumpageddon H VENUE: TIME:
Gilded Balloon Teviot 4pm – 5pm, 1–27 Aug, not 8, 15, 22
TICKETS:
£11.50 – £12.50
How do I loathe thee? Let me count the ways. One, parodying that Star Wars opening crawl has been done to death. Two, an impersonation of Trump needs to do more than shout “beautiful” and hit on women in the front row. Three, you can’t include song numbers if you can’t sing. Four, if perhaps when this show was conceived, Trump-based satire could make do with ticking off the
college) ‘jacks it right back with the requisite high jinks. That old-school dynamic is interesting given the family background: they’re the daughters of a very famous comedy actor and comedy producer, both best known for anarchic alternative stuff. Youthful rebellion can move in mysterious ways. One recurring pair of characters recalls Monty Python’s Upper Class Twit of the Year sketch, as the sisters painstakingly—and painfully— pull elastic bands over each other’s heads to sneer up their faces. But where Python sent their posh gro-
tesques through hoops, Siblings’ non-yummy mummies just chunter away, mildly amusingly. These are rather niche caricatures. A couple of new-age spiritualists are probably well-observed, but again do little apart from contradict each other, then hassle a guy from the audience. He’s the lazy butt of several sketches. The Bye sisters are entertaining company, and if you live or work somewhere affluently bohemian then this will no doubt all seem hilariously relevant. But if you don’t, then it probably won’t. /︎ Si Hawkins
basics—small hands, orange face, creepy hands, dodgy relationship with daughter, silly tweets—that no longer suffices. POTUS moved way beyond a figure of fun when he, I dunno, backed white supremacists and authorised putting children in cages. Trump takedowns probably need to escalate accordingly. Five, if the only marginally successful nod towards surrealism in the show is having a Handmaid carry the mic for a mock Q&A, then getting the costume right is probably worthwhile. Literally, people not being paid to be on the Trump protests made a better effort. Six, while we’re on the subject of abusing women, is the biggest joke you could come up with about Melania
Trump pronouncing “memorise” as “meemorise”? And, seven, how off-target can you get by going after the famously expensively-dressed Theresa May’s “Primark suit”? Simon Jay’s Trumpageddon is unremittingly awful. Oddly, the only bit where this approaches something passable is an uncomfortable and unwanted date with an unsuspecting audience member. Having thoroughly lost the crowd and visibly given up hope, Jay lets his Trump slide towards nihilistic bitterness. It’s the first bit of real satire. But hope died for us long before. Eight: one of the Trump parody books shown here is titled “Shout Yourself Rich”. Why invite such an easy comparison? / Evan Beswick
fest-mag.com
VENUE:
Credit: Myles Trimble
HH
Theatre
Credit: Chigozie Obioma
Reviews
The Fishermen HHHH VENUE:
TIME:
Assembly George Square Studios 1:20pm – 2:30pm, 2–27 Aug, not 13, 20
Theatre
TICKETS:
38
£11.50 – £12.50
The fact that The Fishermen is based on Chigozie Obioma’s bestselling novel of the same name is literally the least interesting element here. It’s a production which not only stands on its own, but stands tall on the back of two stonking performances. Between them, Michael Ajao and Valentine Olukoga play a cast of thousands (give or take) in a
Nigerian village, during the military rule of Sani Abacha. The story, though, centres on four brothers, who Ajao and Olukoga share out between them. We’re never in any doubt as to who is who. There’s a lovely opener where brothers Ben and Obembe meet for the first time in years, and impersonate their other two brothers. Ajou is all gangly awkwardness for a young Ikenna, all edgy swagger as he ages. Olukoga’s bouncy youthfulness as Boja lets slip the hint of future tragedy. It feels a touch workshopped—a means of articulating character for both performer and audience alike— but it’s handled beautifully, and
impersonation is allowed to drift into retelling. And into tragedy. Gbolahan Obisesan’s adaptation of the novel picks out the drama without shutting down imaginative space. One can read this performance in a number of ways: as a Cain and Abel retelling; as metaphor for a divided, fratricidal nation; as a warning about Nigeria’s present. The river the brothers return to is “still as eerie as I remembered”, after all. There are a few sound effects that feel like overkill for such engaging performances. Amy Mae’s lighting design, though, is worth the visit alone. This a confident staging, and there’s so much to be confident about. / Evan Beswick
Blackthorn HHHH VENUE: TIME:
Roundabout @ Summerhall 1:05pm – 2:05pm, 1–26 Aug, not 7, 14, 21
TICKETS:
£14 – £15
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 after a first showing in 2016, following a writer’s development programme, at West Yorkshire Playhouse. Blackthorn follows two children—the first born into their
small Yorkshire village for 20 years—into adulthood. We get snapshots of their lives at key moments. It’s as much a portrait of a changing countryside (with a brilliant gag about a bungalow). Miles’s dialogue rolls fluidly from childhood games into a prickly adolescence where nothing is quite said but everything is felt, to the decision by Charlotte Bate’s girl (she nor Harry Egan’s boy is ever named) to go to university and, ultimately, to London. Bate and Egan breathe heartfelt life Miles’s tender, funny exploration of the wrench of change. Their love is a darkening bruise as the British economy re-shapes their
farming community. Egan is hurt by Bate’s character’s need for him to stay the same. The writing is generous as it looks at how home is elusive, even if you stay where you start. There’s an affecting, low-key lyricism to its tracing of the shifting contours of rural life. Childhood roots are deep and tangled, says the play – a lot like love. Director Jacqui Honess-Martin’s stripped-back production wisely lets the play do the talking, while using moments of urgent choreography to cement the intense connection of two people straining to be apart and together at the same time. / Tom Wicker
Theatre Re and Fourth Monkey. The characters fill the stage with an assortment of meticulously arranged, widescreen tableaux and our focus is encouraged to roam from one pocket of activity to the next. The action driving the fairly abstract narrative weaves in and out of the throng. This isn’t a young cast playing dress up. Rather, they succeed in
capturing a Victorian aesthetic representative of the work of Lewis Carroll and Charles Kingsley. A grotesque, madcap Englishness drives their assault on the senses, though there is room for a German cabaret performer and a Spanish señorita to add to the confusion. At the conclusion of the piece, most audience members can scarcely believe their eyes. / Lewis Porteous
The Woman and the Canvas HHHH VENUE:
Theatre
TIME:
40
theSpaceTriplex run ended
How to describe The Woman and the Canvas without making it sound dreadful? It’s piece of physical theatre about a woman named Anna who has been committed to some kind of Edwardian psychiatric hospital. At the beginning of the piece, she is found sitting alone with a nurse on a largely empty stage. Her carer implores her to approach the one prop in sight, an easel, but leaves in frustration when the patient fails to respond. Alone, Anna timidly makes her way toward the canvas and the stage begins to fill with characters. As she paints, the trauma that led to her internment is played out before our eyes. We bear witness to the artist’s tortuous creative process. A cast of thousands seems to populate this collaboration from
41 Reviews
What Girls Are Made Of HHHH VENUE: TIME:
Traverse Theatre times vary, 3–26 Aug, not 6, 13, 20
£21.50
Mark Thomas – Check Up: Our NHS @ 40 HHHH VENUE: TIME:
Traverse Theatre times vary, 4–26 Aug, not 6, 13, 20
TICKETS:
£21.50
The groove which Mark Thomas has hit with his run of first-person theatrical storytelling shows has really caught the essence of the Fringe. Blending comedy, theatre, politics and a warm sense of audience
the trio of actors/musicians around her—Susan Bear, Simon Donaldson and Grant O’Rourke—playing guitars and drums. This is a nostalgic situation for Bissett. As a schoolgirl in the early ‘90s in Fife she joined a band after seeing an advert in the paper, and by the time she left education her group Darlingheart were signed to a major label and supporting Radiohead and Blur.
This is the story of those years, from the unbridled joy of a teenager rapidly fulfilling dreams, to the exploitation—financial and image-based—which she fell foul of. The linking threads are Bissett’s mother and her daughter, and how she might be worthy of both their expectations, in this fast-paced piece of life-affirming gig theatre. /︎ David Pollock
inclusivity, he makes shows that are unafraid to challenge expectations. Check Up: Our NHS @ 70 is Thomas on fine form, using his skill as a theatre-maker and passion for a truly up-to-the-minute topic to create a riveting piece of work. “I was born in the NHS, and I’ll most likely die in it,” he tells us, affirming his positive sense that the National Health Service isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Yet the NHS has been badly wounded in recent years – through interviews with high profile figures which he relates or plays back here, Thomas lays out exactly why that is.
The very short answer, which he fleshes out with consummate storytelling flair, is a combination of marketisation of health delivery; budget cuts in areas like social care, with the NHS left to take up the slack; and a sloppy lack of industry regulation leading to air pollution and obesity. Yet not all of the blame can be passed upwards, and Thomas’s clear-sightedness becomes apparent when he shares the blame around. If we want to live longer, and more healthily, our own tax money is what must pay for this. It is, after all, our NHS. / David Pollock
fest-mag.com
From her role in the hit romantic comedy Midsummer (playing at the Edinburgh International Festival this year with a new cast) to her direction of high-profile Scottish theatre works including Roadkill, Glasgow Girls and last year’s Fringe hit Adam, Cora Bissett’s success as a theatre-maker is well known. For her latest work, however, Bissett has chosen to tackle her own life story. It’s an evocative and heartfelt piece which tells how a person—a woman, especially—might look back at their own mistakes, learn from them, accept them and come to terms with the fact that the good and bad in their lives are the building blocks of who they are now. The performers are arranged in gig formation, Bissett out front and
Credit: Mihaela Bodlovic
TICKETS:
Scotsman Fringe First Award Winner HHHH The Scotsman HHHH Sunday Post
42
BaseCamp HHH VENUE: TIME: TICKETS:
C venues – C south times vary, 1–27 Aug, not 14 £9.50 – £11.50
Fever Dream Theatre have an intriguing premise for their latest immersive show: upon arrival, the audience is split in half and led to separate bell tents in the garden of C south. Each group then hears a monologue that offers a take on the history of the two climbers whose tents we're sitting in—childhood
buddies whose friendship has soured—the performers occasionally communicating via radio or popping round to visit each other in paroxysms of childish frustration. There’s a lot of material about climbing itself, and the performers—the one whose tent I found myself in, at least—are effective in evoking the thrill of finding a new route up a sheer rock face, or the confusion and fear of being swallowed and spat out by an avalanche. The trouble is that these factoids and anecdotes, while interesting, don’t offer much of a dramatic
throughline, and the friends’ backstory isn’t much better. A piece of clunky exposition at the very start sets alarm bells ringing and it’s only quite a long way into the show, by the time of the admittedly quite exciting reveal, that you feel you’ve got any sort of handle on the relationship being explored. Don’t get me wrong: BaseCamp is an enjoyable way of spending an hour, and Fever Dream Theatre are to be praised for the innovative way they’ve chosen to tell this story. It’s just a shame the story itself leaves something to be desired. /︎ Jo Caird
fest-mag.com
Theatre Uncut: Women on Power HHH VENUE: TIME::
Traverse Theatre run ended
Theatre Uncut have been producing work for seven years now. Every year since 2011 they’ve commissioned a handful of emerging and established playwrights to produce short political plays, which are then made available free online for anyone and everyone to download and use. This year, they’re also launching the Theatre Uncut Political Playwriting Award with a prize of £9,500. 2018’s collection of shorts—entitled The Power Plays and readthrough unfussily in the Traverse Theatre cafe over two mornings— includes work by Sabrina Mahfouz, Cordelia Lynn, Vivienne Franzmann, Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan, Sharon Clark and Niellah Arboine. The first batch is a stimulating trio. A Coin In Someone Else’s Pocket by poet, blogger, political speaker
Reviews
43
Cordelia Lynn
and now playwright Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan is almost closer to a lecture than a play. It’s an intelligent and authoritative monologue, sparking off from her own disbelief at being asked to write a play, then embarking on a thoughtful dissection of female Muslim stereotypes. Cordelia Lynn’s Confessions is a two-hander that, remarkably, works as a palindrome. Two voices, a woman and a man, reveal their own confusions over violence, power, and sexuality. Then, at exactly half-
way, the conversation repeats itself backwards, the voices switched. Technically extraordinary and thematically compelling. The last, Safe by Niellah Arboine, is a dramatized, multi-voiced cacophony of non-specific misogynist internet noise. Abusive tweets, aggressive comments, and one woman trying to make herself heard amidst the racket. A disturbing and deeply unsettling piece, one of three diverting plays from three exciting writers. / Fergus Morgan
HHH VENUE: TIME:
TICKETS:
Pleasance Courtyard 11:35am – 12:35pm, 1–27 Aug, not 13, 14 £8 – £10
There’s the outer and inner of Victoria Firth’s persona in How to Be Amazingly Happy! The former holds up placards brightly announcing the ways she’s going to transform her life at 46 years old; the latter, in whispered voiceover, is full of doubt and uncertainty. These two sides work nicely in counterpoint as the show explores Victoria’s creeping anxiety that life is passing her by. There’s darkness at the edges of her determined progress through taking up running, tap or clowning – a sense of time running out.
Margo: Half Woman, Half Beast HHH VENUE: TIME:
Assembly Rooms 5:55pm – 6:55pm, 2–18 Aug, not 6, 13
Theatre
TICKETS:
44
£10 – £11
It’s one of the awful ironies of pre-Nazi Germany that Berlin was one of the most diverse, queer and artistically liberated cities in Europe. Cabaret star Margo Lion was a name on everyone’s lips. In their latest show, singer Melinda Hughes and writing partner Jeremy Limb have woven Lion’s
Credit: Cathy Pilkington
How to Be Amazingly Happy!
The bright, simple aesthetic is almost childlike as Victoria chats about the cost of buying running gear (no one calls it “jogging” anymore). The ironic contrast is that of a plastered-on smile. It puts into stark relief her quiet, subdued references to IVF. The show taps into that complicated guilt that sometimes accompanies feeling life has dealt you an unfair hand. The boxes from which Victoria unpacks her next self-improvement project are an angry red. At one point, she tips them out in frustration.
There’s something refreshingly frank in the uncertainty. There are no grand gestures. Whether showing us her new sports bra or quietly talking about breaking up with her girlfriend, Victoria comes to us open-handed – funny, a bit lost and sometimes angry. But the show itself also feels like a work-in-progress. Not all the joins fit. A song about wanting a dog barely works once, let alone twice, with audience participation. How to Be Amazingly Happy!’s sprawl is both a strength and a drawback. /︎ Tom Wicker
biography with the songs of Kurt Weil, Mischa Spoliansky, Friedrich Hollaender and their own compositions. Her turbulent relationship with the talented, self-destructive lyricist Marcellus Schiffer and her romantic entanglement with Marlene Dietrich all feature. Greeting us sprawled on a glittering chaise longue, wincingly sipping from last night’s cocktail and surrounded by the detritus of yet another decadent party, Hughes is an engaging presence. Her Margo is caught in the champagne spotlight, increasingly aware of the social unrest growing outside. The song selection—which Hughes, bringing to bear both her cabaret and opera talents, twists expertly through innuendo-filled
comedy to bruised tragedy—acts as a vivid snapshot of Weimar-era Germany. They paint a portrait of glittering excess and artistic expression embodied by Margo’s life. With Margo’s personal woes, the rise of Nazism and Germany’s buckling economy providing the connective tissue between songs, there’s inevitably some info-dumping. There’s also room for a more darkly satirical portrait of a celebrity lamenting the plight of Germany’s poor from her opera box than we get here. But this is still an enjoyable hour, held together by Hughes’s onstage charisma and rapport with her audience. She and her onstage band make Weimar’s cabaret scene sing again. / Tom Wicker
The Half Moon Shania HHH VENUE: TIME:
TICKETS:
Zoo Southside 12:40pm – 1:30pm, 3–27 Aug, not 15 £10
Burnt Lemon Theatre are bringing a blast of punk to Zoo Southside with their new show, The Half Moon Shania. It’s 1999, the millennium awaits, and all-female group The G-Strings are playing a last-chance gig at the Half Moon pub. There’s an industry representative in the audience, and they know it. As “Ketamine” Kerry, new-age-y
Lola and business-minded Jill, Cara Baldwin, Laura Green and Catherine Davies fill the small studio space with energy. They sketch in their characters while maintaining a breathless chemistry with each other and the audience as the guitar-playing trio of sweary, ambitious punksters. Also the show’s writer, Baldwin’s amped-up script enjoyably crashes together spoken-word poetry and gig theatre. There’s not much subtlety here—the characters are as broad as their on-stage performances—but it’s fun and never lets up. Director Hannah Benson’s production is stripped back and restless, staying in your face and loving it. This is a small show
big on atmosphere, anchored by high-impact performances. Then something awful happens to Lola and The Half Moon Shania veers into much darker territory. What are the others prepared to overlook for a chance of success within a male-run music industry? Squalid reality intrudes on their defiant lyrics. But, frustratingly, Baldwin chooses to leave that question unanswered. An ambiguous descent into blackout might be intended as a challenge to the audience but it feels like a failure of nerve – a fudged ending to a bold show. The breathless trajectory of the writing and performances judders into inconclusiveness. / Tom Wicker
fest-mag.com
Brexit HHH TIME:
Pleasance Courtyard 1:30pm – 2:45pm, 1–26 Aug, not 13, 20
TICKETS:
£12.50 – £16.50
Robert Khan and Tom Salinsky’s follow-up to previous Fringe hit Coalition tackles the biggest shift in recent British history with a quintessentially British form: backroom political satire. After the exit of “Matron” (AKA Theresa May), new Conservative Prime Minister Adam Marsters (Timothy Bentinck), has somehow to complete the final stages of Brexit without alienating the left or right of his party or—most key to him—jeopardising his career. The play steers into Yes, Minister-style farce as Marsters, immediately seeking potential scapegoats, sets fanatical, Jacob Rees-Mogg-esque Leaver Simon (Hal Cruttenden) against crusading
Credit: Grace Gelder
VENUE:
Reviews
45
Remainer Diana (Pippa Evans) as Trade and Brexit ministers. Khan and Salinsky’s writing is snappily funny as it exposes the posturing and policy fantasies that paralyse the venal, self-serving Marsters as he tries to appear decisive without actually taking any action at all. Meanwhile, the EU—represented by Jo Caulfield’s chief negotiator—wryly checks its watch. The cast—which includes Mike McShane as Marsters’ deeply suspicious, erstwhile campaign manager—play their roles at full tilt as the drama snowballs towards
its ironic conclusion. The humour is intellectually caustic, but feels cosily familiar. Brexit successfully highlights the dismal absurdity of post-referendum negotiations, but you may find yourself yearning for a Malcom Tucker-style character to spit some truly venomous bile across the wood panelling of the set. Ultimately, there’s a kind of afternoon BBC Radio 4-ness to this production that, while sharp and well delivered, somehow lacks the proper savagery that the situation engulfing us warrants. /︎ Tom Wicker
Sex Waitress HH VENUE: TIME::
theSpace on North Bridge run ended
A story set in 2020 when sexual harassment culture is represented by a party of generic men called Keith sounds like it’ll be a riot. What Sex Waitress delivers is a riot, but not entirely the hilarious kind. Lila (Melanie Simpson) and Agnes (Nimra Khan) bond when they end up in the same jail cell after an anti-Keith protest.
Watched by a perverted guardKeith who masturbates outside their cell, things quickly become as explicit as they can be. Agnes is raped by him and in a later scene there’s excrement. It’s fast paced and far-fetched. The ensuing scenes cover several feminist issues heavily discussed on social media in the last 12 months. But rather than feeling like a response to these discussions, Sex Waitress feels like a curt description of them. There are moments of idiosyncratic originality and humour in Ellie RowlandCallanan’s text. But, although it admirably aims to imagine the
liberation of its female characters, this endeavour seems undermined by its flippant tone. We also need to ask where the value lies in staging sexual violence if a show is aiming to challenge it. Overall, it’s just not affecting enough – it’s difficult to feel enraged or empowered by the production. It is an interesting idea but one that needs more time to unfurl. Strong central performances are let down by unimaginative technical aspects. While the boldness of its female characters is notable, the idiosyncratic text doesn’t quite meet the challenge of the seriousness of the subject matter. /︎ Naomi Obeng
his co-host is left to recite a series of verbatim lesbian coming-out stories, partly concealed by a veil. These are all quite moving in their own right, but the purpose of the reading is never really clear. We learn that this show and its tie-in podcast are intended to document and give voice to the queer female
experience, but there’s very little curatorial vision at play here. The shadow puppetry accompanying each account is primitive and confusing, while the inclusion of an underutilised foley artist is baffling. Rarely has so much heart and ambition amounted to so little. / Lewis Porteous
Red and Boiling HH VENUE: TIME:
Venue 13 1:15pm – 2:15pm, 4–25 Aug, not 6, 13, 20
Theatre
TICKETS:
46
£12
This fusion of drag and shadow puppetry is "based on hours of interviews conducted with queer womyn and non-binary individuals". Not that you’d be able to tell this from a single performance, as the show has been structured in a way that feels improbably slight. Our hosts Hasadick and Rosay kick things off with several minutes of crowd work, but their improvisational abilities are limited to pronouncing check-shirt clad members of the audience ‘honorary lesbians’ and telling us we look attractive. Hasadick is an orthodox Jewish drag king, a fun concept, but one which hasn’t been fleshed out in any way. The pair’s personae are sadly nondescript and set the tone for Red and Boiling as a whole. When Rosay leaves the stage,
Five Women Wearing the Same Dress HH VENUE: TIME:
TICKETS:
theSpace on the Mile 8:20pm – 10:20pm, 3–18 Aug, not 5, 12 £10
At a wedding, appearance is everything: especially the dress. You don’t look at photos of the seating plan in years to come, after all. So it’s a shame that this production of Alan Ball’s 1993 play Five Women Wearing the Same Dress is full of superficial flaws that undermine the handful of strengths of its
second half. The accents are shaky but it’s Marisa Crane’s costume design that’s more problematic. While the choice to accessorise each dress to suit its corresponding character is well-intended, it comes across as laboured. Consider Mindy (an excellent Lucia Proctor-Bonbright), who enters wearing a rainbow-ribboned hat. Rather than appealing to the play’s end point, which establishes Mindy as a complex character not solely defined by her sexuality, this production has her wear it on her sleeve – or, more literally, on her head. Similarly Georgeanne (Phoebe Mallinson) has no accessories. Is her character overlooked or just
too difficult to easily convey in costume shorthand? Ball’s script was written 25 years ago, which goes some way to explaining his heavy-handed approach to social topics. Abby McCann manages to imbue religious bigot Frances with just enough sympathy to elevate her from mere stereotype. There are flashes of nuance in the show. Meredith’s trauma is relived by Lucy McIlgorm with grounded care. However, the glimpses of brilliance are swamped in ruffles of fabric. The seams of the show are frayed and with a two-hour running time the cast doesn’t maintain a chemistry strong enough to hold court for the full duration. / Louise Jones
It’s hard to imagine why anyone would choose to see this, other than to share in a collective understanding that domestic abuse is a terrible social ill. Beyond the increasingly menacing use of Hot Chocolate’s ‘You Sexy Thing’ as the protagonist’s ring tone—emphasising the banality of evil each time her persistent husband calls—very few interesting theatrical devices are employed. Next Time is a no-
frills depiction of a woman recovering from a beating, staged in an authentic New Town bedroom. Its sole cast member conveys helplessness and crushed spirit, but has little room to truly impress. After taking her bows, she presents us with a series of statistics on domestic abuse and sends us back out into the world, freshly horrified. Is there a market for this sort of thing? /︎ Lewis Porteous
fest-mag.com
Power Play – Next Time HH VENUE:
TIME:
Pleasance Pop-Up: Power Play HQ 4pm – 4:50pm, 3–25 Aug, not 7, 14, 21
TICKETS:
£12
If you believe that theatre should entertain on some level, then this play from Offie-nominated Jess Moore isn’t for you. It’s incredibly hard work. Set in real time, it follows a woman as she plans and ultimately attempts to leave an abusive relationship. We’re shown the various obstacles that lie before her in these moments, but for the most part, this is a harrowing hour in the company of a mute, sobbing and hyperventilating victim. We long to help and comfort her, but can only look on powerless. A sadly inevitable ending does nothing to penetrate the dour atmosphere.
Reviews
47
Jungle HHHH VENUE: TIME:
Dance Base 7:45pm – 8:25pm, 3–19 Aug, not 6, 13
TICKETS:
£13
Forget, or toss aside, any ideas you might have about colonialism, the purported thematic impetus for Pink Mama Theatre’s Jungle, and instead surrender to the pointed wackiness, the fruity passion, the satiated ecstasy and underlying pain of what may well turn out to be one of the sharpest, strangest and most sensual dance-theatre productions on this year’s Fringe.
Polish choreographer Sławek Bendrat is, along with Dominik Krawiecki, this Swiss company’s artistic director. He certainly puts his sensationally good cast through their paces, plunging them into patterns of staggeringly rhythmic, gestural and repetitive motion often set to a driving beat and punctuated by fragments of spoken text. A handout pegs the borderline cartoon characters— embodied by Charlotte Mclean, Valentin Markus Oppermann (also responsible for the infectiously heady music), Izabela Orzelowska and, in a tour de force performance, Tomek Pomersbach—as, respectively, a British feminist, a traumatised American soldier, a
Credit: Amy Sinead
Dance, Physical Theatre & Circus Reviews
lost missionary (presumably so lost she may be of unknown origin) and a Venezuelan transwoman. Edinburgh, it turns out, is only seeing half of this gob-smacking steamroller of a production. That may be why the female characters seem to be given short shrift compared to the men. Never mind. Even cut down to 40 or so minutes the show works a treat. Its dramatic and creative watchwords might be confession, violation and exaggeration. The bizarre, WTF beauty and kick of Jungle is predicated upon trusting that Bendrat and company know exactly what they’re doing even if you don’t quite know what’s going on, or being done to you. One to revel in. / Donald Hutera
Casus: You & I HHH VENUE: TIME:
Assembly Roxy 3:10pm – 4:10pm, 2–26 Aug, not 13, 20
TICKETS:
£10.50 – £12
Dance, Physical Theatre & Circus
Domestic life is no circus – except in Casus’s case. You & I finds the Australian troupe’s co-founders Jesse Scott and Lachlan McAuley moping around their flat on a rainy day; a couple killing time by doing tricks. Chin ups on the trapeze. Hula hoops in a lull. But nothing exposes a relationship’s cracks like being cooped up for a long, lazy day. Cohabiting has made this couple too comfortable. A tender hand-to-hand opener has them folding around one another, taking each other’s weight, with hardly a thought. There’s a playful lethargy to them. Silences are contented, time
50
alone is OK. McAuley picks up his wood-carving work, leaving his lover to make his own entertainment. They’re missing a spark, and every attempt to jumpstart something sexual—McAuley’s sultry hand-balancing act, Scott’s leathers-and-hotpants wardrobe raid— quickly collapses back into innocent fun. No matter how literally they try to rekindle the magic, it always seems to do a disappearing act. Domesticity slowly takes a darker turn. There’s a flicker on bondage— and the frustrations beneath—as
Scott swings his smaller partner round with a hand loop, and their tango-like trapeze turn has a fervent muscular velocity. Mostly, the subject matter means this is short on thrills and it’s a long while before a six-chair balancing act—a symbol of a healthy relationship—induces a shot of something spectacular. There’s a lovely chemistry between the real-life couple, but You & I feels short on context and content. Casus, hot property on the Fringe, may have got comfortable. / Matt Trueman
fest-mag.com
51
Credit: Rod Penn
Cabaret & Variety Reviews
Little Death Club HHHHH VENUE:
TIME:
Cabaret & Variety
TICKETS:
52
Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows 8pm – 9pm, 3–25 Aug, not 13 £12.50 – £15
“We’re being told that difference is something to be afraid of,” says Bernie Dieter—an award-winning star bringing more than a touch of Weimar Berlin to the Fringe—at the end of this deliciously defiant punk cabaret show. “Here at the Little Death Club, we fucking celebrate it.” In the glittering shadows of Beauty,
Circus Hub’s little top, a Spiegeltent of dark, subversive delights awaits. If you’re thinking of going for some casual titillation, think again. Yes, there’s nudity – but this is a roll call of acts with razor-sharp intention. Whether it’s a fucked-off mime who just wants an actual box and some real rope, or drag legend Myra DuBois raising a perfectly arched eyebrow at millennials while massacring Chess duet ‘I Know Him So Well’ as a solo, there’s something for everyone. Dieter, who performs as well as hosts, sets the tone. She’s wickedly funny and mesmeric to watch as she strides among the dumbfounded
men (and women) of the audience. Dressed in feathered black, she pokes fun at dick pics. She makes sure that the only gaze that matters is hers. She owns the stage. Each act is hugely entertaining—and often wow-worthy—while upending expectations: hula hoop extraordinaire Jess Love’s surly onstage persona works as a constant send up of the stereotypically sequinned costume she’s in; a male trapeze artist steps out of a dress for a hauntingly beautiful sequence. With Dieter in charge, Little Death Club is a rallying cry from the raucous depths of cabaret. All you can do is cheer. / Tom Wicker
53 Reviews
Colin Cloud: Psycho(Logical) ««« TIME: TICKETS:
Pleasance Courtyard 8pm – 9pm, 1–27 Aug, not 14 £13.50 – £17
Hmm. Is Colin Cloud actually that good? If the soar-away success of his entertainment career is anything to go by, then yes. The Harthill-born mentalist— dubbed the closest thing we have to an actual Sherlock Holmes—has performed on some big stages. Just last year, he was a semifinalist on America’s Got Talent, he did the Royal Variety Performance, and he was co-opted into the wildly popular touring show The Illusionists. His 2017 Fringe show, Dare, was rapturously received. And, okay, a lot of what he does in his new show, Psycho(Logical), is impressive. It’s cool when he guesses audience members’ birthdays apparently out of the blue. It’s cooler when he works
The Marilyn Monroe Story ««« VENUE: TIME:
TICKETS:
Assembly Rooms 9:40pm – 10:40pm, 2–26 Aug, not 14 £12
You might not consider Marilyn Monroe’s life particularly mysterious, but this show aims to get into the more obscure details of her time as Hollywood’s prime icon. Jojo Desmond sings, dances and acts the part of Monroe, from her early years as a foster child to her
out an audience member’s phone number, then calls them on it. And it’s even cooler when he somehow mind-reads several audience members’ worst nightmares. Some of his material, though, is a little old-hat, a bit obvious, even for laymen – the invisible touch trick, for example. And although he’s a likeable enough stage presence with a sharp suit and a sharper eye, he doesn’t exactly ooze charisma and confidence. His patter is dry and his quips lack wit.
Plus the overriding theme of Psycho(Logical)—something about the difference between psychotic responses and rational ones—gets lost in a miasma of unnecessary music and dramatic lighting. It’s meant to heighten the tension. All that stuff really does is evaporate any atmosphere, which Cloud only partly recovers with a ghostly, jump-scare conclusion. This is the Pleasance Courtyard, not Caesar’s Palace, after all. / Fergus Morgan
untimely death, via that famous white dress. The Marilyn Monroe Story certainly provides information about Monroe that most people wouldn’t know. In true cabaret style, audience interaction and a roster of tunes are aptly chosen to reinforce the events in Monroe’s life, with a touch of irreverence. We’re witness to an impressive number of costume changes, skilful lighting and some heartfelt singing. This is most notable in the second half when we see a woman desperate for human connection, rather than just the image an of inconveniently strong-willed peroxide blonde.
It’s the general absence of this sort of emotional insight in the first half of the show that makes the monologue and singing feel initially lacklustre. Because the drama here is in the songs, these really need to be performed with full force. The delivery of lines about her films and lovers tends to lack variety. The issue with the monologue is deeper than the delivery though. With a biographical focus on fact more than feeling, she refers to events as though they were scripted, rather than lived. Among the familiar images, glitzy costumes and entertaining musical numbers, the real Marilyn still feels at arm’s length. / Naomi Obeng
fest-mag.com
VENUE:
55
TIME: TICKETS:
Assembly Rooms 2pm – 3pm, 2–26 Aug, not 13 £10 – £11
You might not have heard of the American singer Marni Nixon, but you’ve certainly heard her. She was a ghost singer for some of the most famous movie musical performances of all time, supplying the voices for silver screen stars when they couldn’t get it right themselves. Deborah Kerr in The King and I and An Affair To Remember. Natalie Wood in West Side Story. Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. That’s actually Nixon singing in all of them. Eliza Jackson’s anecdote-stuffed solo musical The Voice Behind The Stars traces Nixon’s life and career,
from her early appearances on Broadway, through her experiences dubbing for Hollywood stars, to her later concert appearances at Carnegie Hall. Reclining in an armchair and sipping tea, Jackson recounts stories involving the icons she worked with and her struggles to get herself credited and recognised by the big studios. There are a few things missing from Ian Wood’s production. There’s not much jeopardy, not much about Nixon’s private life, and not enough exploration of the psychological
effect of someone else getting the credit for all your hard work. But every so often, Jackson gets up and sings into a studio microphone at the side of stage. And how she sings. If Jackson’s acting impersonation of Nixon is a little one-note, her singing impersonation is anything but. ‘I Whistle A Happy Tune’, ‘Somewhere’, ‘Wouldn’t It Be Loverly?’ – all songs actually sung by Nixon, and classily rendered by Jackson here. Sweet, slightly superficial, but nicely nostalgic fare. / Fergus Morgan
Glenturret Distillery, Perthshire PH7 4HA
fest-mag.com
VENUE:
Credit: The Other Richard
«««
Reviews
The Voice Behind The Stars
Musicals & Opera Reviews
Musicals & Opera
Drive-By Shooting
56
with the next-door neighbour. She’s had enough. She’s going to “shoot the fecker in the pecker” with his HHHH daddy’s gun. Supported by, among othVENUE: Summerhall TIME: times vary, 1–26 Aug, not 2 ers, Irish National Opera, this installation piece by composer TICKETS: £3 Brian Irvine and librettist John McIlduff is a visual art translation Animated mini-opera Drive-By Shooting is a short, snappy—and at of an eight-minute opera initially £3, bargainous—treat, projected for performed live by Doreen Curran and Sylvia O’Brien. 15 minutes, multiple times per day, This wickedly witty short onto the walls of Summerhall’s terrace. This darkly funny, street-level uses the high drama of opera to turbo-charge net-curtain domestic piece is like an Alan Bennett play anger into a comic art form crossed with GoodFellas. conscious of its social conditions. A Zimmer frame-using old lady We only spend a few minutes with in stencilled animation complains the conspiring killers, but they’re furiously to her friend that her instantly cheer-able as they plan husband has been playing away
for a prison stay that’ll be cheaper than paying for healthcare. McIlduff’s production—which uses headphones—buzzes with imagination, from the shaking, collapsing surtitles to the octogenarians’ relentless shuffle on the spot. It’s like watching a comic strip blaze into life on a trip to the shops. And it’s glorious to see these women take centre stage in opera form. Drive-By Shooting’s portability, its freedom from having to be watched in a conventional performance space, with all that brings, is great. There’s something liberating about it. Hopefully, these anti-heroines will be roaming a few more streets yet. / Tom Wicker
hunger HHH VENUE: TIME::
Paradise in The Vault run ended
One of the warnings for this new opera is for "hostile harmonic texture", and on this point it certainly delivers. hunger considers what it means to be a female artist through the lens of a mother’s struggle to be taken seriously in her work while also looking after her family. She can attempt to perfect her home life but her reputation and artistic legacy are factors outside of her control.
Wanton Theatre’s production thrives on tension and controls it expertly through movement, a gorgeous score and beautiful gliding harmonies. Framed by a chorus of men dressed in black who are everpresent but not always involved, this short opera is urgent and precise. The musicians navigate the show’s unconventional pieces of music skilfully, as do the performers. hunger is a series of questions spiralling downwards into anger. It feels incredibly welcome. Welcome too is a central woman emoting against sexist inequalities, rather than having to explain why she’s disadvantaged and how she feels
as a preface to her entirely justified rage. The rare spoken lines tend to take some of the energy away from the piece, and it loses momentum whenever the tension drops. We’re not always sure what is happening, and while this semi-dream is a beautiful liminal space, it doesn’t sit comfortably alongside the statements about being an artist or a woman artist, which are restated, but never developed. hunger is a brief step into a world that would benefit from being expanded, but you’ve got to applaud the originality and precision with which these 30 minutes have been constructed. / Naomi Obeng
with instruments. The show’s rock-opera stylings are a good fit for the hyper-macho swagger of Hubbard’s hilariously convoluted space opera mythology about Thetans and souls in volcanos. The company’s appearance in navy uniforms is a neatly comic reference to Hubbard’s murkily vague career background and makes about as much sense. This is a scrappy, silly production, powered by the lo-fi charm of its performers as they, poker-faced, flag Scientology’s pick-and-mix
‘borrowing’ from other religions – as well as its fluid status as a charity or a belief, depending on whether it’s the IRS asking. The show has a vague framing device about new recruits, but it’s really just an excuse to dress up in a bunny onesie or as Christ. There are some great sight gags—notably the trippy Alice in Wonderland-inspired payoff for a suitcase of secrets—but there’s also coasting and some flat lyrics. Still, you’ll want to sign up. / Tom Wicker
fest-mag.com
Scientology the Musical HHH VENUE: TIME:
TICKETS:
Pleasance Courtyard 12:05pm – 12:55pm, 1–27 Aug, not 14 £8.50-9.50
You could probably just list all of the beliefs of Scientology and its founder, the erstwhile pulp sci-fi writer and autobiographically ‘creative’ L. Ron Hubbard, and get something that would sound like parody. From this perspective, Australian troupe George Glass Comedy have given themselves a pretty easy job. Actually, reciting Scientology’s mantras with tongues firmly lodged in their cheeks? That’s pretty much what they do. If you’re expecting musical cameos from infamous Hollywood Scientologists like Tom Cruise or John Travolta, you’ll be disappointed. This is a more Flight of The Conchords-style voyage into gentle surrealism by six performers
Reviews
57
KID CRITICS
Ruby Foster
Ellie and the Enormous Sneeze
Ruby Foster (age 9) loved the big-nosed “unsneezable” Stanley but wanted more jokes What happens in the show? It’s about a little girl called Ellie who loves to sneeze. On her travels she meets a bignosed man who finds sneezing impossible, so they set off on a mission to cure him of his unsneezableness. Describe the show in five words. Snot-tastic, fun, silly, entertaining, creative. Who was your favourite character, and why? My favourite character was Stanley, the bignosed man. He was funny and you cared about whether he would be able to sneeze again.
Kids
What didn’t you like about the show? I didn’t like that the main character, who was a 9 year old, acted a bit too young and maybe a little too silly at times.
58
If there was something the performers could have done better next time, what would it be? I would like there to be more jokes.
What was your favourite moment in the show? The big musical sneeze! What did your grown-up think of the show? Ironically they had just taken some particularly strong cold medicine just beforehand in so their memory is a little hazy! What they do remember though is a kind-hearted show with a certain charm and an intriguing Jim Henson-esque character in Stanley. Would you tell your friends to come and see the show? I would tell my younger friends but probably not ones my age.
VENUE: TIME: TICKETS:
Assembly Roxy 1:30pm – 2:30pm, 2–27 Aug, not 14, 21 £8 – £9
The Storyteller’s Apprentice Alice McGuire (age 11) was impressed by the moral tales in this multi-layered story What happens in the show? The storyteller’s apprentice wants the chance to tell stories—her own stories—and through the telling of three tales she tries to convince the storyteller that she’s up to the task.
If there was something the performers could have done better next time, what would it be? Some form of backdrop or stage setting would help make it feel atmospheric.
Describe the show in five words. Unique, fascinating, poetic, thoughtful, fables.
What did your grown-up think of the show? My dad: “This was a beautifully engaging show. The fables themselves were wonderfully lyrical and told with an impressive degree of skill and mastering of the art of storytelling. Great stuff.”
What did you like most about the show? That they managed to nicely tie three fables into the plot of the assistant wanting to become a proper storyteller. What was your favourite moment in the show? The end of the first story, where the little girl placed the rose on the grave of the man who was really unpleasant, because she believed that everyone should have someone show them some love and compassion.
Would you tell your friends to come and see the show? Yes, the storytelling flowed really well and I like a moral to a tale. They deserve to have many more people there to enjoy the show.
VENUE: TIME: TICKETS:
theSpaceTriplex 4:40pm – 5:25pm, 3–18 Aug, not 5, 12 £9
fest-mag.com
KID CRITICS
Alice McGuire
Reviews
59
‘The Royal Variety Show of the Fringe’
DANCE MUSIC CIRCUS COMEDY THEATRE CABARET SPOKEN WORD PHYSICAL THEATRE Answering the question “Have you seen anything good?” for 26 years Daily line-ups and full details at mervspotfringe.com PLEASANCE ONE Box Office: 0131-556-6550 www.pleasance.co.uk 4 - 26 August (not 16, 23) 12.45pm-2.15pm £12
60
John Hegley: Morning Wordship HHHH VENUE: TIME:
TICKETS:
Pleasance Courtyard 10:30am – 11:15am, various dates between 4 Aug and 19 Aug £10
Even the wordplay is susceptible to wordplay in John Hegley: Morning Wordship. The comedian, poet and musician mixes drawings, songs and stories in a winning combination. Hegley’s unique creativity seems to guarantee that, if they come along for the ride, the audi-
ence will end up seeing the world a little differently by the end. We skip from a clapping song that makes clapping into a novel experience, to an inexplicably Icelandic version of a picture book, to commentary on drawings of ambiguous animals. Clearly Hegley thrives on being unpredictable. This is a delight, and we’re easily drawn into the photographs and collages that make up the bulk of the show. The main story is touchingly personal, reframing old photographs of Hegley’s family into a crazy, sofa-based adventure. His storytelling is playful, and his fluid ad-libs incorporate the children’s spontaneous comments with ease
and to great comic effect. There’s an ease about the whole show in fact, a delicate hammock in which we all sway, enjoying the sights and sounds of a mad journey through pictures and poems. We’re in safe, competent hands from start to finish. Within all this silliness we glimpse at a poignant core too, with asides about his father’s beautiful paintings, and reflections on whether he focuses too much on himself and not on his sister in the story. Mainly though it’s absurd, with carrot parrots and a duck on a leash. Safe to say that by the end, we’re reluctant to leave this world behind. / Naomi Obeng
a playground – sometimes stepping stones across rivers, sometimes prisons to pen each other in. The two squish themselves onto one seat, tiptoeing and clambering around one another, finding moments of counterbalance to hang in the air, and others of collapse. Caroline Cornélis’s choreography, set to a soothing cello score, seeks out images of sturdiness and stability, reflections of chairs, as her dancers wobble on their heels and return to balance.
It’s a gorgeous, refined piece of dance-infused play that aims to get young imaginations firing. Four chairs become monsters, chomping shadow mouths. Others turn into a tree with chair legs for branches. It never panders to young audiences, nor remotely patronises, but at times one might question the purpose. Kids’ imaginations are already pretty active, and the beauty of Stoel—much like its Bausch references—will likely fly far over their heads. / Matt Trueman
fest-mag.com
Stoel (Chair) HHH TIME: TICKETS:
Zoo Southside 1pm – 1:45pm, 3–14 Aug £12
A train of wooden chairs chugs onto a white stage – apparently of its own accord. They’re the stars of this quirky dance piece for kids aged three and up which proves the ample possibilities ordinary objects contain. Dotted unevenly around the space—a nod to Pina Bausch’s Café Müller that might pass some toddlers by—are all sorts of chairs: big and small, fine and rugged, varnished and rough. Some have high backs, others low seats. A couple are cushioned. One beauty’s all white. Together—and, again, your kids might miss this—they’re living proof of Plato’s theory of forms: all imperfect individuals, all perfectly chair. For dancers Miko Shimura and Colin Jolet, however, they become
Credit: Alice Piemme
VENUE:
Reviews
61
Cr es
ub
ce
nt
Dan
s
Te De rr an ac e Pa rk
n An
r St
ee
E STRE
Ox f
or d
HOWE
t
Terr ace
T
ET STRE
6
e
F RED
N QUEE
ERIC
7
REET GE ST G E OR
E STRE ROSE
T
CES S
76
cen res t
Ra
ge
Mi
d Bri
REET K ST
an De
REET GE ST G E OR
T TREE
T TREE VER S HANO
n La
en t resc d nC oa do rry R fe ns
NS QUEE
20
k R ow
125 artSpace@StMarks 322 LAssembly Checkpoint en no 3 Assembly George Sq Gardens x St 35 Assembly re Hall et Cla 139 Assembly Roxy Qu re20 The Assembly Rooms n rra ee ce 25 BBC 49 Bedlam Theatre nt 34 C n 73 Canada EtoHub @ King’s Hall 50 C cubed esc ent 6 C royale 58 C south 4 C too er Ro w ll22 Dance Base 59 BellsEdinburgh Playhouse Bra e ndolph C 75 Fireside 1 Fringe Shop and Box Office ad Fringe Central Ro 2 d 76 Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre or 64 Gilded Balloon at the Museum 14 Gilded Balloon Teviot 410 Ghillie Dhu 236 Greenside @ Infirmary e t Street re St 209 Greenside @ Nicolson Square e ill 231 Greensidee@ lv Royal Terrace M Bob’s Blundabus 515 Heroes @ 127 just Festival at eSt etJohn’s r St at The Caves 88 Just the Tonic t cen am at The 288 Just theilliTonic esMash House Cr W 51 Just the Tonic ats The Tron 27 Just the Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre C l l Voltaire 338 Laughing Horse @ACabaret t ho 170 Laughing Horse @ The Counting House 272 Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters 7 New Town Theatre Torphichen Street 33 Pleasance Courtyard 23 Pleasance Dome Dewar Place Lane 277 PQA Venues @ Riddle’s Court 38 SpaceTriplex 26 Summerhall 18 Sweet Grassmarket 72 The Queen’s Hall n Lin Comedy Club 5 The Stand ry P 5 The Stand Comedy Club 2 lac e ad Ro Club 3 & 4 12 The Stand Comedy ch 260 theSpace @ oaJury’s Inn pr p 53 theSpace @ Surgeons Hall tA es 43 theSpace @ Symposium Hall W 45 theSpace @ Venue 45 9 theSpace @ Niddry Street 36 theSpace on North Bridge ridge b 39 theSpace on the Mileuntain o 15 Traverse Theatre F 360 Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows 61 Underbelly, Cowgate 300 Underbelly, George Square et Underbelly, Bristo Square 302 re St e e 150 Venue150@EICC h nd 124 ZOO Charteriswpat Du To 82 ZOO Southside l a l
PRIN
T TREE OU THE M ND
n to
AC E
DLA Y
STR
EET
ve S
Mo r r i s
Gro
150
WES TREET MORRISON S
ET ARK SSM A R G
18
N ROAD LOTHIA
GRIN
RRACE N TE STO HN O J
22
e
ac
Pl
15
TE RR
RT
T PO
25
BREAD STREET
tree
t
o
ST EA
U FO
GE RID NB I A NT ACE N PL ISTO LAUR
k
ve Gro
T HOME STREE
eet St r
vi
el
M
n
W
Place
k
al
an
C
d on iel Unin C
inf
Ba
io Un
an a
re
e
ac
Pl
GILM
VI
CA ST LE
4
sc
125
re
rs
Co at e
e nt
et
re St
35
rd fo af
410
St
127
LACE ORE P
MELVIL
LE DR IVE
231
12
on
e rra
e Ab be yh il l
A
5
LEITH STR
EET
E PLAC YORK
ACE OO P L
RL WATE
CE S S PRIN
TREE
T
260
45 39
a
eR
236
32 27
Th
277
32
NCE
49
209
170
T
14
4 12
ET TRE
302
38
REE
82
UARE GE SQ GEOR
3
CLE
REET S ST A RD EO N
Queen's
RK STR EET
CE RRA
73
REE
K ST LE R
TON LUT
CE PLA
P
TH C SOU
26
D TE
oo d
72
NAR B ER
Ho lyr
8
ST L
TREET
ET STRE
360
S LEUCH BUCC
H LEUC BUCC
300
58
VI
2
43
S ON
23
E
Qu
PLEASA
53
212
OLS NIC
PLAC
D
33
139
ST PEL CHA
CE TON PLA LAURIS
OT TEVI
's en
e Qu
T
EET
STR
64
25
AD RO
2
88
GE
ERS
MB CHA
34
272
T
OD
338 H BRID SOUT
61
COWGATE
H
RO OLY
TREE
9
515
288
RRACE IA TE OR CT
S RY‘S
1
A ST M
TREET HIGH S
TREET HIGH S
ATE ONG CAN
EAST MARKET ST
ET RE
COCKBURN STRE E
T
K MAR
ET
W
GE
36 TRE ET S
y nd
75
H BRID
rse Ho
NORT JEFFREY S T
50
4
59
T
00:00 Goodbye... I’m Leaving Just the Tonic at The Caves, Various dates from 15 Aug to 27 Aug, £5 Daniel Kitson: Good for Glue The Stand Comedy Club, 15–27 Aug, weekdays only, £8 Will Seaward’s Spooky Midnight Ghost Stories V Gilded Balloon Teviot, 15–28 Aug, not 23, £10–£10.50 Adventures of the Singing Acupuncturist 6: Big O Makes It in New York... or, Does She? – Free Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 16–27 Aug, FREE Best of the Fest Assembly Hall, 17–27 Aug, not 21, 22, 23, £14–£15 Just the Tonic Comedy Club – Midnight Show Just the Tonic at The Caves, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, £7.50 You’ve Been Fringed Just the Tonic at The Caves, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, FREE Stranger Friends Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 15 Aug, FREE
00:05 Black White With a Hash Brown Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–27 Aug, FREE
00:10 Relatively Normal Waverley Bar, 14–27 Aug, FREE Niteskreen Just the Tonic at The Caves, 15–27 Aug, FREE Bob Slayer: NeverMind the BusStops Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 14–18 Aug, £5
Comedy
Carl Donnelly Speaks to Dead People Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 19–23 Aug, £6
64
00:15 Hate ‘n’ Live Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–27 Aug, FREE Late-Night Lucky Bag Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 14–27 Aug, FREE
Electric Frog Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Pigs in Residence Just the Tonic at The Caves, Various dates from 17 Aug to 26 Aug, FREE
Sam Campbell: The Trough Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 15–27 Aug, £6
The Spice Girls Lied to Us Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–16 Aug, FREE
00:20 Sameer Katz: Treesonous Thoughts Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–27 Aug, FREE
00:25 Cool Story Bro Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–27 Aug, not 16, FREE
00:30 What’s Mark Zuckerberg Got to Do With It? Laughing Horse @ Harry’s Southside, 15–27 Aug, not 21, FREE The Improverts Bedlam Theatre, 14–28 Aug, £8 The Late Night Evil Show Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 14–27 Aug, FREE
00:45 Rule of Three HHH Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–27 Aug, FREE Simon Jablonski – Love Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–27 Aug, not 15, 16, FREE Late Night Comedy Death Camp Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–27 Aug, not 21, FREE Comedy Queers / Free Festival Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–27 Aug, FREE
01:00 Diamond Comedy Club Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–27 Aug, FREE Late’n’Live Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–28 Aug, £12.50–£16 Oxford Revue: Free Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 22–27 Aug, FREE
Improvable and the Chapter of Secrets Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20–26 Aug, FREE
11:00 Desperately Seeking Motivation (The Beginning) Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, FREE
01:10 Bob Slayer: NeverMind the BusStops Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 14–18 Aug, £5
Orwell That Ends Well: The Musical Just the Tonic at La Belle Angele, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £5
01:30 Late-Night LOLs Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–27 Aug, FREE
The Full Irish Whistlebinkies, 14–26 Aug, FREE
09:00
About Comedy: Stand-Up Comedy Courses Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14 Aug, 18 Aug, 21 Aug, 25 Aug, £99
Clicking Comedians Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, FREE
09:30 A Political Breakfast Natural Food Kafe, Various dates from 16 Aug to 25 Aug, FREE
10:00 On Earth As It Is Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE Mystery Meat (Showcase) Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE
10:20
11:10 Mirth in the Morning With Rhodders Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 20–26 Aug, FREE
11:15 Gráinne Maguire: What Has the News Ever Done for Me? Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, FREE Benet Brandreth: A Hero for Our Times Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–22 Aug, £9.50–£10.50
Lee Kyle – Kicking Potatoes Into the Sea Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 19, FREE
Angry Face Emoji Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5
Present and Correct Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £5
Jacob Hatton: Ozymandias Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
10:40 Jake Donaldson: Help! I’m Trapped in the Body of an Adequate Comedian! Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, FREE
10:45 A Comedy Brunch 2 Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
PlAsNc
11:20
11:30 The Kinkens Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
11:35 Twat Out of Hell Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, not 21, FREE Rory Jones: Return of the Wizword Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £6
11:40 David Callaghan: Dead Man’s Chest Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–25 Aug, £5 Succubus Fringe Edition Just the Tonic at The Tron, 15–26 Aug, £5
11:45 The Museum of Tat Roadshow Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £10
11:50 Sugar Rush: The Best of the Fringe Sweet Grassmarket, 14–26 Aug, £5
11:55 Aaaand Now For Something Completely Improvised Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £8–£10
12:00 Aidan Goatley’s 10 Films With... Podcast Sweet Novotel, 20–24 Aug, £10 Trying to Be Good Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 14–26 Aug, not 15, FREE It’s No Job for a Nice Jewish Girl PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 14–27 Aug, not 18, 25, £11.50 The Cambridge Impronauts: A Series of Improvable Events Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £10–£10.50 Justin Matson: Fatter Than You Think HH Laughing Horse @ Ushers, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE David Ephgrave: My Part in His Downfall Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £5 Fred MacAulay in Conversation Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 20–26 Aug, £10.50–£12.50 Chris Thorburn: Cineman The Coffee House, 16–24 Aug, FREE Aaaaaaaaaaaaargh, It’s the One-Liner Show – Free Entry Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Sanderson Jones: That’s the Spirit! Heroes @ Boteco, 14–25 Aug, £5 Christian Talbot: Desperately Seeking Approval Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 15–26 Aug, FREE Wedding Guest Extraordinaire: Sarah Southern Waverley Bar, 14–26 Aug, not 15, FREE Shaken Not Stirred: The Improvised James Bond Film Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5 The Delightful Sausage: Regeneration Game Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 14–26 Aug, £5 (No) Money in the Bank Sweet Novotel, 14–19 Aug, £7 Some Like It Holt Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 15–25 Aug, FREE Alex Farrow: Allow It Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 14–26 Aug, FREE Best in Class / Free Festival Laughing Horse @ Harry’s Southside, 14–26 Aug, FREE Andrew Sim: You Gotta Find Joy Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, not 15, FREE Ryan Ward and Joe Molander: Natural Born Performers Laughing Horse @ The Hanover Tap, 19–26 Aug, FREE Anesti Danelis: Songs for a New World Order Laughing Horse @ The Hanover Tap, 14–18 Aug, FREE
12:05 Hoo-Ha! Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £5 Sarah Iles: Ghosted Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, not 15, FREE Eleanor Morton: Great Title, Glamorous Photo The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 14–25 Aug, not 20, £9
0131 556 6550 pleasance.co.uk
65
SLEIGHT OF HANDSOME DEFT COMEDY MAGIC
From Fringe First winning creators of THE TABLE and CITIZEN PUPPET
BLind SumMiT presents
Henry A puppet possessed
11-26 August 3:30pm (1 hr) Pleasance Dome Tickets £9-12 0131 556 6550 pleasance.co.uk
Daily from 4-25 August @ 3.45 La Vida, Basement Room 1 (Venue 113) 3 Queensferry Street Lane, Edinburgh, EH2 4PF (Just off Princes Street) Unsuitable for young children
Alex Love: How to Win a Pub Quiz – 90s Edition The Stand Comedy Club 2, 14–26 Aug, not 22, £9
A Piece of Cake! Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Here Be Improv theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20–25 Aug, £3.50
Just These, Please Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £9–£9.50
12:10 Ollie Horn Made Some Funny Friends in Japan Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 14–26 Aug, not 15, FREE
Karoshi Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, 20 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, FREE
Bread and Geller: Prime Time Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
Robin Boot’s Rockomedy: Welcome to the Pungle Whistlebinkies, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Nerd Time’s a Charm Voodoo Rooms, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Oxford Revue: Free Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 14–21 Aug, FREE
Bennett Arron: I’ve Never Told Anyone This Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10
12:20
Cam Spence and Jodie Mitchell: The New Babes Banshee Labyrinth, 15–25 Aug, FREE
12:15 Fopical With Peter E Davidson Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree, 14–20 Aug, FREE Olaf Falafel – There’s no i in idiot HHH Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree, 21–25 Aug, FREE
Australia: A Whinging Poms Guide Liquid Room Annexe/ Warehouse, 14–25 Aug, not 19, FREE Elvis McGonagall: Full Tartan Jacket Voodoo Rooms, 15–26 Aug, FREE The Ashes: A Comedy Showdown Liquid Room Annexe/ Warehouse, 19 Aug, 26 Aug, FREE
12:30
Space Doctor Gilded Balloon Teviot, 15–27 Aug, £10–£11
Paul Duncan McGarrity – A Practical Guide to Attacking Castles Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 15–26 Aug, FREE
Clash of the Tight Tens Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Afternoon Delight Just the Tonic at La Belle Angele, 14–26 Aug, £5 Lemons Laughing Horse @ The Place, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Phill Jupitus: Freeviously Bannermans, 14–26 Aug, FREE Peter Brush: Chasing Snails Banshee Labyrinth, 14–26 Aug, FREE Lou Sanders: Shame Pig Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £5 Richard Pulsford: Uns-Pun Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 14–26 Aug, FREE
blindsummit.co.uk
Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of the Fringe Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, not 16, 23, £12
12:50 Russell Hicks: A Fist Full of Ideas Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, FREE Richard Wright: Virgin Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5 Playlight Robbery Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
12:35
12:55
The Hangover Cure Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £5
Bodily Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
Punel Show Voodoo Rooms, 14–26 Aug, FREE
12:40 I Am Ross Smith Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5 The Ladies Loo Chronicles theSpace on North Bridge, 14–18 Aug, £7.50
12:45 The Edinburgh Revue’s Stand-Up Show 2018 Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 14–27 Aug, FREE Mickey Sharma’s Mixed Blessings Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–25 Aug, not 15, 22, FREE A Kinder, Gentler Comedy Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £6
‘The UK’s Puppet Masters’ The Guardian
Listings
NO TICKET NEEDED
FREDDIE FOLKSTON IN
13:00 Kai Samra – Brothers (WIP) Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5 Rik Carranza: Still a Fan Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £8–£9 Briony Redman: Sketch Artist Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £7–£9 Camels Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10 Catch of the Day (A Sturgeon Story) Just the Tonic at The Tron, 14–26 Aug, £10 The Guilty Feminist Underbelly, Bristo Square, 25–26 Aug, £15 Pam Ford: Pants and Pantsability Rinsed Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 17–26 Aug, FREE
Abstract Stand-Up Art C venues – C aquila, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£10.50 Sketch Thieves Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 15–26 Aug, FREE Sooz Kempner: Super Sonic 90s Kid HHH Globe Bar, 14–26 Aug, not 15, FREE Naked Truth Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 14–26 Aug, FREE Boogie Shoes Silent Disco Walking Tour With a Scottish Twist Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10
13:05 Generation Y Us? Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5 African in New York – Almost Famous by Njambi McGrath Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–24 Aug, FREE
13:10 Andy Onions – PowerPointless Sweet Grassmarket, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, £7 Nathaniel Metcalfe: Chameleon, Comedian, Corinthian and Caricature Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 15–26 Aug, FREE Dan Kelly’s Madras Years Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–16 Aug, FREE Austentatious Underbelly, Bristo Square, 15–24 Aug, £14–£16
13:15 Rob Kemp’s Wheel of Shows Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 14–26 Aug, £5 Angel Comedy Showcase Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, FREE Old Jewish Jokes Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 15–26 Aug, not 21, FREE Live Your Best Life Laughing Horse @ The Hanover Tap, 14–18 Aug, FREE
¤ Beetlemania: Kafka for Kids! HHHH Pleasance Dome, 15–26 Aug, £12–£15 AComedyTapas Opium, 14–25 Aug, FREE
fest-mag.com
FREE SHOW
Aaaaaaaaaaaah, It’s 101 Clean Jokes – Free Entry Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 14–26 Aug, FREE Paul ‘Silky’ White: Ziuq The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 14–26 Aug, £10 Tom Short and Tom Little – Small World Daylight Robbery, 14–25 Aug, FREE Paul Foxcroft: Huge If True Laughing Horse @ Ushers, 14–26 Aug, FREE Interdependent Woman Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE A Work in Progress Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10
Over 200 shows every day! @thepleasance
EH8 9TJ
EH8 9AL
EH3 8EE
CRISTINA LARK:
A COMEDY ABOUT PROCRASTINATION “Guaranteed to make you feel better about yourself” - The Advertiser
Cassie Atkinson – Swan Songs Waverley Bar, 14–26 Aug, not 16, 23, FREE The Oxford Imps: Class of 2018 Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £10 The Weird and Whacky World of Raymond Bishop Laughing Horse @ The Hanover Tap, 19–26 Aug, FREE
13:20 Best of Edinburgh Showcase Show Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £9–£12 Foxdog Studios: Robot Chef HHH Heroes @ Boteco, 14–26 Aug, £5 It’s Not Cute Anymore Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10 The Durham Revue present: Zeitgeist Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £9.50–£10.50 Alex Hylton: Everybody’s Different and I’m the Same Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
Comedy
I Want an Irish Passport The Stand Comedy Club 2, 14–26 Aug, £10
66
Rory O’Keeffe: The 37th Question Banshee Labyrinth, 14–26 Aug, FREE Girlfriend from Hell Underbelly, George Square, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10
13:30 MetaMafforphosis Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 14–26 Aug, not 23, FREE Impromptu Shakespeare Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10 Andy Storey: Awkward
HHH
Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5 Nick Hall: Spencer Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10 Vince Ebert: Sexy Science. Made in Germany Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £9–£10 Julia Sutherland: Exposed Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10 Board Game Smackdown Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, FREE Johnny Irish Laughing Horse @ The Mockingbird, 14–26 Aug, FREE Lia Hatzakis – Onion Gum The Clootie Dumpling, 14–25 Aug, FREE The One-Thirty Comedy Cabaret The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 14–26 Aug, not 16, £6 Robin Ince: Chaos of Delight Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 15–26 Aug, £12
Men With Coconuts Liquid Room Annexe/ Warehouse, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Jon Culshaw and Bill Dare: The Great British Take Off Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, £15
Alex Garner – Who?! Sweet Novotel, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £5
Mind the Gap Stand-Up Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 14–26 Aug, FREE Jeremy Nicholas: After Dinner Stories from My Disastrous Broadcasting Career Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £10.50–£11.50 Fred MacAulay in Conversation Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 14 Aug, £10.50
UCL Graters: Panopticon Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10
Gets Sucked Off by God
Eleanor Tiernan: Success Without a Sex Tape Banshee Labyrinth, 15–26 Aug, FREE
HHHH
The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 14–26 Aug, £12 Pals Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 15–26 Aug, FREE
Frank Carson: If I Didnt Laugh I’d Cry Assembly Hall, 14–27 Aug, £10–£11
Curried Mustard Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, 20 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, FREE
13:45 The Whole of Shakespeare theSpace on the Mile, 21–25 Aug, £8
Ron the Plumber Meets God-Cilla Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–17 Aug, FREE
Adventures in Dementia: Steve Day Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE
Revill’s Selection – Free Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14 Aug, FREE Dad’s Army Lunch Hour Pleasance at EICC, 16 Aug, 18 Aug, FREE
Mark Watson: How You Can Almost Win (Work in Progress) The Stand Comedy Club, 14–23 Aug, £10
PlAsNc
The Best of Northern The Stand Comedy Club, 25 Aug, £10
13:40
¤ Seymour Mace
13:35
Paul Sinha: The Two Ages of Man HHH The Stand Comedy Club, 26 Aug, £6
Odd Two Out Laughing Horse @ The Place, 17–26 Aug, FREE Bruce: Just a Pretty Face Tolbooth Market, 14–25 Aug, not 19, FREE Tony Slattery: Slattery Will Get You Nowhere The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £12
Getting Higher Laughing Horse @ The Place, 14–16 Aug, FREE Jew-O-Rama Opium, 14–25 Aug, FREE Jen Brister – Meaningless Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £5 The Second Annual Black Comedy Showcase Bannermans, 14–26 Aug, FREE The Secret Diary of Scott Mitchell, Aged 43 and 3/4 Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 18–26 Aug, FREE Eat Sleep Shit Shag Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–23 Aug, FREE
13:50 And They Played Shang-a-Lang Hill Street Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £12
13:55 Archie Maddocks: Matchstick Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5
14:00 Nicky Wilkinson: Happy Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, FREE Andrea Hubert: Holes of Joy Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £9–£10 Susan Harrison Is a Bit Weepy Voodoo Rooms, 14–25 Aug, FREE
Only Fools and 3 Courses Kama Sutra Restaurant, 14–27 Aug, not 15, 22, £44.50 No Funny Business C venues – C aquila, 14–27 Aug, £7.50–£9.50 Claire Ford: Unboxed Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £7 Day Drinking With Yanks and Hosers Laughing Horse @ The Cuckoo’s Nest, 14–19 Aug, FREE Adam Larter: Boogie Knights Heroes @ The Hive, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £5 Sarah Johnson: Mum’s Going to Ibiza Heroes @ Dragonfly, 14–26 Aug, not 22, £5 Aaaaaaaaaaargh, It’s 101 Naughty Jokes in 30 minutes – Free Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 14–26 Aug, FREE Croft & Pearce: Double Take Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11 Adventures of the Improvised Sherlock Holmes Just the Tonic at La Belle Angele, 14–26 Aug, £9 Daniel Downie: 2 O’Clock Gun Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 14–26 Aug, not 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, £5 Tom Brace: Brace Yourself (It’s Magic Time!) Pleasance Courtyard, 14–18 Aug, £8–£10
0131 556 6550 pleasance.co.uk
14:05 A Booklover’s Comedy Show Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, FREE Robbie McShane and Mary Flanigan: One of Us Is a Robot Three Broomsticks, 18–25 Aug, FREE My Finest Hour Southsider, 15–25 Aug, not 21, FREE
14:10 Adam Riches Is The Guy Who... Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £8 Ella Woods: Wing Defence Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5 Ignacio Lopez: Nine Ig Fails Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 19–26 Aug, £5 Mark Silcox: I Can Cure... Ciao Roma, 14–25 Aug, FREE Cold as Icelandic Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE
14:15 Ahir Shah: Duffer
HHH
Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 14–26 Aug, FREE Kevin Precious Unholier Than Thou: The Non-Believing Religious Studies Teacher Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 14–26 Aug, FREE
14:20 Tamar Broadbent: Best Life Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10 Katharine Ferns: Between One Ferns Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, not 15, FREE Joey Page: Perhaps Under Stars That Would Stretch Forever (an Idiot Explains the Universe in Under an Hour) Just the Tonic at The Tron, 14–26 Aug, £6.50 Henry Three Broomsticks, 14–19 Aug, FREE Jack Evans: Work Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5 Amy Annette: What Women Want Underbelly, Bristo Square, 16–26 Aug, not 20, 21, 22, £10
14:25 Please Stop! Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 19–26 Aug, FREE Jessie Cave: Sunrise The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 14–26 Aug, £10 Harry and Chris Save the World Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–25 Aug, £5 TwentyTwelve – Free Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–18 Aug, FREE
14:30 The Freedom Machine C venues – C royale, 14–27 Aug, £7.50–£9.50
Cult Comics Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Afternoon Tea With Ray Fordyce and Other Spiffing Personnages Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 14–25 Aug, not 19, FREE
Toby Adams – Tongue in My Head Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Ali Brice’s Lemonade Stand HHH Heroes @ The Hive, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £5
Will Hall: Netflix and Will Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
101 Comedy Club – Free Laughing Horse @ The Hanover Tap, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Grace theSpace on the Mile, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £6
Agatha Is Missing! Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £10–£11 Worst Show on the Fringe – Free! Subway, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Peter Dobbing: Pleased With Yourself Isn’t the Same as Being Happy Sneaky Pete’s, 15–25 Aug, not 21, FREE
Aidan Goatley is the Vicar’s Husband Sweet Grassmarket, 14–25 Aug, not 15, £9
Live the Laugh Liquid Room Annexe/ Warehouse, 14–26 Aug, FREE
14:45
Juliet Meyers: Year of the Dog Laughing Horse @ Harry’s Southside, 15–26 Aug, FREE Pottervision Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, FREE Laugh Train Home Comedy Showcase Laughing Horse @ Ushers, 14–26 Aug, FREE Crizards Cromedy Show Waverley Bar, 14–26 Aug, FREE Britain, Let’s Talk About the Golliwogs Fireside, 14–26 Aug, FREE David McIver Is a Nice Little Man Opium, 15–25 Aug, FREE Stand-Up Nomad: Backpacking Comedy Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 14–26 Aug, FREE Luke Rollason’s Planet Earth Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £5
14:35 Alphabetti Cabaretti BrewDog Lothian Rd, 15–25 Aug, not 20, FREE A Holy Terror The Stand Comedy Club 2, 14–26 Aug, £10
14:40 Speechless Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10 David Mills: Focus People! Underbelly, George Square, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10 Róisín and Chiara: Back to Back Heroes @ Boteco, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, £5 Audible Presents Pleasance Courtyard, 14–25 Aug, FREE Artcoholic Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £6
Rosco McClelland: 29 Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, £8–£9 Gareth Richards: Prophet Whistlebinkies, 14–26 Aug, FREE Nathan Lang: The Stuntman Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £8
14:50 Eric’s Tales of the Sea – A Submariner’s Yarn Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £9.50–£10.50 Wil Greenway: Either Side of Everything Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, £10.50–£11.50 Lucy Frederick: Even More Naked Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10 Dansplaining Banshee Labyrinth, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Funny Cluckers – Best of the Fest – Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Stuart Goldsmith: End Of Liquid Room Annexe/ Warehouse, 14–26 Aug, not 16, FREE
Ben Clover: Crème Brûlée Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, FREE
15:00
First World Problems Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, FREE Olaf Falafel – There’s no i in idiot HHH Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree, Various dates from 15 Aug to 26 Aug, FREE Not Quite Mass Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 14–26 Aug, FREE Still Got It Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 14–27 Aug, FREE Matt Watson and Friends Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 14–26 Aug, FREE Helen Lederer Asks Why The Fuss? Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree, 21–25 Aug, FREE Chris Chopping’s Lonely Hearts Club Band The Clootie Dumpling, 14–25 Aug, FREE
¤ Eshaan Akbar:
Prophet Like It’s Hot
HHHH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £9–£10 By the Power of Greyskull Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, 20 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, FREE
Laughing Horse Free Comedy Selection Laughing Horse @ The Place, 20–26 Aug, FREE Ashley Blaker: Observant Jew HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, not 18, 25, £10–£11 Stephen Carlin: The Opinionater Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 15–26 Aug, FREE Good Manners Gone Bad Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 14–26 Aug, not 21, £8–£9 Vice Captains Underbelly, Cowgate, 15–26 Aug, £10–£11 KEITH. Presents KEVIN. Laughing Horse @ The Place, 14–19 Aug, FREE
Andy Zaltzman: Right Questions. Wrong Answers. The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 15–26 Aug, £12
The Noise Next Door’s Really, Really, Good Afternoon Show (At Sea!) Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £9.50–£10.50
The Cutting Room Canons’ Gait, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Gareth Waugh: Oh Boy...! Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10
The Trevor Lock Experience Bannermans, 14–26 Aug, FREE
AAA Batteries (Not Included) Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
Stand-Up Philosophy – Free Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Women Aren’t Funny theSpace @ Venue45, 14–18 Aug, £5
Ania and Riss Are Trying Their Hardest Tolbooth Market, 14–25 Aug, FREE
¤ Tony Law: A Lost Show HHHH
Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 14–26 Aug, £10 Captain ‘The Butcher’ Reality Three Broomsticks, 15–25 Aug, FREE Boogie Shoes Silent Disco Walking Tour With a Scottish Twist Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10 Liam Jeavons: Never Heard of Him CANCELLED PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 14–23 Aug, £6 Don’t Be Terrible Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 15–26 Aug, FREE
The Weegies Have Stolen the One O’Clock Gun Outhouse, 18 Aug, 25 Aug, £7
fest-mag.com
A Comedy Show on Top of Arthur’s Seat On Top of Arthur’s Seat, 18 Aug, FREE
Listings
67
Barry Cryer and Ronnie Golden: Historical Objects Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 14 Aug, £14.50 Matt Forde’s Political Party Podcast Gilded Balloon Teviot, 15 Aug, £12
15:15 Tania Edwards: Not My Dog Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5 Zahra Barri is Zahra: Warrior Not Princess Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 14–26 Aug, FREE We’re Sorry Canadian Comedy Showcase Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Over 200 shows every day! @thepleasance
EH8 9TJ
EH8 9AL
EH3 8EE
Gráinne Maguire: I Forgive You; Please Like Me HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, £8.50–£9.50 Kirk Smith’s Stand-up Showcase Bar Bados Complex, 14–25 Aug, FREE Afternoon Family Underground Ghost Tour City of Edinburgh Tours, 14–31 Aug, £9 The Newcastle Revue: Tyne of Your Life Laughing Horse @ The Cuckoo’s Nest, 14 Aug, FREE
Dom O’Keefe: Free Willy from the Perspective of the Whale Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, not 21, £5 Laughing Horse Free Comedy Selection Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14 Aug, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, FREE Ahab; or What If Moby Dick Were Stand-Up Comedy Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 15–26 Aug, not 20, FREE
Cat Pictures to Music for an Hour Heroes @ The Hive, 20–26 Aug, £5
Rory Bremner and Jan Ravens Underbelly, George Square, 14–19 Aug, £18–£20
Lou Conran: At Least I’m Not Dog Poo Darren Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5–£7
Tessa Coates: Witch Hunt Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £7.50–£10
Nick Hall: Peninsula Ciao Roma, 15–25 Aug, FREE Barbara Nice: Raffle Heroes @ The Hive, 14–19 Aug, £7 Johannes Dullin: Come Along and Bring a Friend! Heroes @ Dragonfly, 14–26 Aug, not 22, £5
15:25 Mitch Benn: Doing It on Purpose The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £12
15:30 The Rat Pack Presents: International Stars of Comedy Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 14–26 Aug, not 23, FREE
Comedy
Will Mars: Candid Cafe Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 15–26 Aug, FREE
15:20 ¤ Simon Munnery: The Wreath HHHH
The Stand Comedy Club, 14–26 Aug, £12
68
Steve Bugeja: Almost Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £6–£8
Sofie Hagen Tries Something Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 15–26 Aug, not 20, 21, FREE Friz Frizzle: Keyboard Warrior Globe Bar, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE Shot in the Dark Just the Tonic at La Belle Angele, 17–26 Aug, not 22, 23, £3.50–£8
Beard: Baby Come Back Pleasance Courtyard, 15–26 Aug, £9–£12 Ken Cheng: Best Dad Ever Bedlam Theatre, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £10 Private Parts Underbelly, George Square, 23–25 Aug, £14 All Killa No Filla Live Underbelly, George Square, 26 Aug, £14 InsTed Talks Just the Tonic at La Belle Angele, 22–23 Aug, £5
Anna Nicholson: Woman of the Year Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £7
15:40 Sara Barron: For Worse Just the Tonic at The Tron, 14–26 Aug, £5 Jacob Hawley: Howl Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5–£6 Manhunt Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10
Aaaaaaaaaargh, It’s the Monster Stand-Up Show – Free Entry Laughing Horse @ The Hanover Tap, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Underbelly, George Square, 14–26 Aug, not 18, £10–£11
Adrian Minkowicz: Tango Tales Banshee Labyrinth, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Lola and Jo: Focus Groupies Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10
Just Like That! The Tommy Cooper Show Gilded Balloon Teviot, Various dates from 14 Aug to 23 Aug, £12.50
Alistair Barrie – The InternationAL Liquid Room Annexe/ Warehouse, 14–26 Aug, not 15, FREE
Schalk Bezuidenhout: Leopard Print Heroes @ Boteco, 14–26 Aug, £5
Paul Merton’s Impro Chums Pleasance Courtyard, 14–18 Aug, £13.50–£16
Trumpageddon Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, not 15, 22, £11.50–£12.50
Stephen K Amos Talk Show Gilded Balloon Teviot, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £14
Jane Hill – Addicted to Fun Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 15–26 Aug, FREE
Nevermind the B*llocks, Here’s Markus Birdman Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 15–26 Aug, not 21, FREE
15:45
Naomi McDonald: Stardumb Fireside, 14 Aug, FREE
Bilal Zafar – Lovebots
HHH
Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5 Stand-Up Showdown: Improv Apocalypse! Laughing Horse @ Harry’s Southside, 14–26 Aug, FREE
15:50 Camilla Cleese and Steve Hofstetter: Produced by John Cleese Assembly George Square Studios, 14–26 Aug, £10–£12.50
Davey Reilly: Disposable Camera Bar Bados Complex, 14–25 Aug, FREE
The Stand Comedy Club 2, 14–26 Aug, £10
Whispers in the Cosmos Fireside, 15–25 Aug, FREE
15:55
Ben Target: Splosh! Heroes @ The Hive, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £5
Richard Soames: Let’s Make a Movie Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10
Katie Pritchard: Tsunamiramirami 52 Canoes (Grassmarket), 14–25 Aug, FREE
¤ Beth Vyse as
Olive Hands: The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
HHHH
¤ Bethany Black: Unwinnable HHHH
16:00 Jenny Collier: A Few Good Jen Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Perry Air Comedy Award Ceremony Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 23 Aug, FREE
Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £5
Stranger Things Have Happened Just the Tonic at La Belle Angele, 14–16 Aug, £12
Anywhere but Here
Any Suggestions, Doctor? An Improvised Adventure in Space and Time Sweet Grassmarket, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12
HHHH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £10–£11
Brown Guys, Grey Skies The Clootie Dumpling, 14–25 Aug, FREE
Tom Neenan: It’s Always Infinity Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11
Battle of the Superheroes – The Great Superhero Debate (Free Festival) Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–25 Aug, not 15, 22, FREE
15:35 Nick Revell: BrokenDreamCatcher The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 14–26 Aug, £10 Charmian Hughes – Bra Trek Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, FREE
¤ Scott Gibson:
Angry Boater Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 15–26 Aug, not 21, FREE Men With Coconuts: Improvised Bond Subway, 14–25 Aug, FREE
CSI: Crime Scene Improvisation Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10
PlAsNc
Jason Neale: Happy to Help Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 14–26 Aug, £5
Myra Dubois: We Wish You a Myra Christmas
HHH
Lost Voice Guy: Inspiration Porn Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10 Des Kapital: Mao That’s What I Call Music! Sweet Grassmarket, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, £8 Robin Morgan: Honeymoon Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree, 14–26 Aug, FREE Laughing Horse Free Pick of the Fringe Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 14–26 Aug, FREE Freestyle Comedy: Improvised Stand-Up Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 15–26 Aug, not 21, £5 Maxine Jones: My Way 62 Whistlebinkies, 14–26 Aug, FREE Ruby Wax: Frazzled Pleasance Courtyard, 20–26 Aug, £18–£20 Daniel Muggleton – Mouth Breather Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, FREE Flo & Joan: Alive on Stage Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £11–£12 All Together Irish Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 14–26 Aug, FREE Edd Hedges: For Eva, from Forever Ago Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, £8–£10 James Hancox: Sports for the Unsporty Assembly George Square Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £11–£12.50
Josh and Lou: Working Classy Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Mark Simmons – One-Linererer Banshee Labyrinth, 14–25 Aug, FREE Laughing Horse Free Comedy Selection Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 15 Aug, 22 Aug, 26 Aug, FREE
16:05 Pity Laughs: A Tale of Two Gays Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5 The Leeds Tealights: Souls for Sale Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £9
16:10 Bumper Blyton Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10 Adele Cliff: Sheep
HHH
Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5 Hannah and Charlie: Making It Canons’ Gait, 15–26 Aug, FREE Paul Williams: Santa Fe Underbelly, Cowgate, 15–26 Aug, £9–£10 Arthur Smith: Syd Pleasance Dome, 14–19 Aug, £10–£12.50 Enter the Dragons Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£11 John Lynn: Addiction Diction The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £10 Viv Groskop: Vivalicious
HHH
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10
0131 556 6550 pleasance.co.uk
Listings
69
Ray Bradshaw: Deaf Comedy Fam Gilded Balloon Teviot, 16–22 Aug, £10–£11
Brexit Stage Left Canons’ Gait, 14 Aug, £5
Benet Brandreth: A Hero for Our Times Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23–27 Aug, £9.50–£10.50
16:15 DF Comedy Jam Laughing Horse @ The Place, 17–26 Aug, FREE That’s My Story Podcast Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, FREE Louise Reay: Eraserhead Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 15–26 Aug, FREE Matt Hutson: Brittle Boned Opium, 14–25 Aug, FREE
¤ Catherine Bohart: Immaculate HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 15–26 Aug, £8–£10.50
Dave Maher Coma Show Bar Bados Complex, 14–25 Aug, not 15, FREE Jim Tavaré: From Deadpan to Bedpan Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, FREE Will Penswick: Dank Verse Laughing Horse @ The Place, 14–16 Aug, FREE I’m Your Man – Letters of the World’s Most Ambitious Job Applicant theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 14–18 Aug, £8 Laughing Horse Free Best in Comedy Chat Show Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 15–26 Aug, FREE
Juliette Burton: Butterfly Effect Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–15 Aug, £9 Dad’s Army Afternoon Tea Hour Pleasance at EICC, 14 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, FREE
16:20 Bendy House Improv Sweet Novotel, 14–26 Aug, £8 Sameena Zehra: Existerhood Sweet Novotel, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £8 Lazy Susan: Forgive Me, Mother! Assembly George Square Theatre, 15–27 Aug, £9.50–£10.50 John Hegley: New and Selected Assembly George Square Studios, 14–26 Aug, £11–£13 Shhh – An Improvised Silent Movie C venues – C, 14–18 Aug, £9.50–£11.50
16:25 Blaise White Changes the World Three Broomsticks, 14–18 Aug, FREE
16:30 Free Stand-Up Will Never Die Three Broomsticks, 14–25 Aug, FREE
¤ Sindhu Vee: Sandhog HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £8–£10 Emslie and Cooke: Light and Shade Southsider, 14–25 Aug, FREE Nish Kumar: It’s in Your Nature to Destroy Yourselves (Work in Progress) Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 15–26 Aug, £5 Ross Brierley: Accumulator Underbelly, Bristo Square, 15–27 Aug, £9–£10 Graham Fellows Completely Out of Character Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 16–26 Aug, FREE AART TV Live! Pleasance Courtyard, 21–25 Aug, £8.50–£11 Gyles Brandreth: Break a Leg! Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £16–£19 Immigrateful Bar Bados Complex, 14–25 Aug, FREE The Kagools: Kula Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £8 Short & Curly: Young at Start Pleasance Courtyard, 15–27 Aug, £7–£10 Hurricane Vs Robot Tolbooth Market, 15–25 Aug, FREE
Bad Clowns: Hostage Just the Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre, 14–26 Aug, £5 Phill Jupitus: Sassy Knack The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 14–26 Aug, £12 Shaggers (Free Festival) Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, FREE James Farmer – Scaredy Cat Voodoo Rooms, 14–26 Aug, not 24, 25, FREE Maisie Adam: Vague Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £9 George Egg: DIY Chef Assembly George Square Gardens, 22–26 Aug, £10–£12 Edinburgh Comedy Awards Gala Show Pleasance at EICC, 26 Aug, £14 Love Letters to Rappers Sweet Novotel, 22–23 Aug, £9
16:35 Tudur Owen: Undemanding Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–25 Aug, £5 Sixty-Seven Arseholes (Free) Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 15–26 Aug, not 21, FREE Paul Savage: DoGooder Ciao Roma, 14–25 Aug, FREE Paul Revill: Revillationships Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14 Aug, FREE
16:40 Anna Morris: Bombastic Voodoo Rooms, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, FREE Nick Elleray: It’s Been Emotional Just the Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre, 14–26 Aug, £5 Tom GK – Hearing Loss: The Musical Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £6.50–£7.50 Kit Sullivan: Lad Heroes @ Dragonfly, 14–26 Aug, not 16, 22, £5
16:45 Great British Mysteries: 1599? Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £8–£11 Luke Kempner: House of Faces Pleasance Courtyard, 15–27 Aug, £10–£12 Suzanne Lea Shepherd: You’re Okay! Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 15–26 Aug, FREE Adam Hess: Seahorse
HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10.50 Owen Roberts: I Let a Six-Year-Old Write My Show HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £8–£10 Daniel Nicholas: Travaux En Cours Bourbon Bar, 14–25 Aug, FREE Jamie Dalgleish: From Buckfast to Middle Class The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 14–26 Aug, £8
William Andrews: Willy Pleasance Courtyard, 15–26 Aug, £9–£12 Sean McLoughlin: Hail Mary Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 14–26 Aug, FREE Show Up Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, FREE Action Figure Archive With Steve McLean 52 Canoes (Grassmarket), 15–25 Aug, not 21, FREE Gusset Grippers Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10 Matt Rees: Happy Hour Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £8–£10 Joe Foster: Let’s Get Cynical Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 14–26 Aug, FREE
fest-mag.com
Father in the Hole Greenside @ Royal Terrace, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £8
Now That’s Who I Call Archie Henderson Globe Bar, 15–26 Aug, FREE
16:50 Yes, That Nick Page, Apparently. Winner of English Comedian 2017 Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–25 Aug, not 20, £10 I Can Make You Feel Good. By Comparison. Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5 Tri-Nations Comedy Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 15–26 Aug, not 21, FREE
Over 200 shows every day! @thepleasance
EH8 9TJ
EH8 9AL
EH3 8EE
16:55 Paul Sinha: The Two Ages of Man HHH The Stand Comedy Club, 14–26 Aug, £12 Sam Russell: Lucky Bastard Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £7 Tom Taylor: Abridged Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, FREE
17:00 Another Time Slot With Ger Staunton Waverley Bar, 14–26 Aug, not 19, FREE Steve Bennett: Irish Comedian of Last Year Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 14–26 Aug, FREE 2 for Joy Laughing Horse @ The Hanover Tap, 14–26 Aug, FREE Voldemort and the Teenage Hogwarts Musical Parody Assembly George Square Studios, 15–27 Aug, £13–£15
Comedy
Matt Winning: Climate Strange Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5 Adam Vincent: Stuck in the Suburbs With You Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, not 21, FREE
¤ Garrett Millerick: Sunflower HHHH
Just the Tonic at The Tron, 14–26 Aug, £6
70
Oliver Coleman: Delicious The Coffee House, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Arnab Chanda: Stories from Arnab Banshee Labyrinth, 14–26 Aug, not 19, FREE
World Cup of Comedy Laughing Horse @ Ushers, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Jeffrey Baldinger: Living in a Hyperbolic Chamber Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 14–26 Aug, FREE
#Jollyboat: Why Do Nerds Suddenly Appear? (The Best Of Jollyboat) Subway, 14–26 Aug, FREE Andrew O’Neill: I Am a Rich Man and I Have Many Sons Liquid Room Annexe/ Warehouse, 14–26 Aug, FREE Appropriately Inappropriate Laughing Horse @ Harry’s Southside, 14–26 Aug, FREE Larry Dean: Bampot Assembly Checkpoint, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £8 Liam Withnail: Homeboy Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 15–26 Aug, £5 Ben Clover: Crème Brûlée C venues – C royale, 14–27 Aug, £6.50–£8.50 Murder She Didn’t Write: The Improvised Murder Mystery Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £10–£12.50 Jon & Nath Like to Party Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, not 15, FREE Tessa Waters: Fully Sik Heroes @ The SpiegelYurt, 14–26 Aug, £5 Charm Offensive Sneaky Pete’s, 14–25 Aug, FREE
17:10 Old Movies Saved My Life theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 14–25 Aug, £8 Henry Paker: Man Alive Banshee Labyrinth, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE
Dominic Frisby’s Financial Game Show Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £9–£10 Big Shop Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10
17:15 Ian Smith: Craft
HHH
Sister Mary’s Playtime @ Teatime Frankenstein Pub, 14–26 Aug, not 15, FREE
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, £10–£12.50 Jimmy McGhie Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree, 14–25 Aug, not 20, FREE
Luke McQueen: Monster Heroes @ The Hive, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £5
¤ Laura Lexx: Trying HHHH
Alex Love: Stop the Press, I Want to Get Off Kilderkin, 14–25 Aug, not 22, FREE
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £8.50–£9.50
A Very Brexit Musical Just the Tonic at La Belle Angele, 14–26 Aug, £5
#1 Comedy Great Fun Best Show Jez Watts Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE
Rory O’Hanlon – Comedy Hour Opium, 14–25 Aug, FREE
17:05 Jim Campbell: Trampoline Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5–£6 Fanny’s @ Five The Stand Comedy Club 2, 14–26 Aug, £9 Helen Lederer: I Might as Well Say It Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–25 Aug, £10.50–£11.50 Despite Everything, Price Still Includes Biscuits theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £8
PlAsNc
I’m Your Man – Letters of the World’s Most Ambitious Job Applicant theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20–25 Aug, £8
Jessica Michelle Singleton: Codependent Arising Laughing Horse @ The Mockingbird, 14–26 Aug, FREE Alison Spittle: Worrier Princess HH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 15–27 Aug, £10–£11 Stephen Bailey: Our Kid Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE Bark and B theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–25 Aug, £8
Paul Mayhew-Archer: Incurable Optimist Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10 Carey Carey Quite Contrary Whistlebinkies, 15–26 Aug, FREE Aaaaaaaaaaaah, It’s 101 Clean Jokes – Free Entry Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 14–26 Aug, FREE Christian Elderfield: Bolloxed Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, FREE Alex Kealy: A Kealy’s Heel Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 14–26 Aug, FREE Alcohol Is Good for You – Sam Kissajukian Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 15–26 Aug, not 21, FREE Hardeep Singh Kohli: You-topia Assembly George Square Studios, 14–25 Aug, £11–£13
¤ Sunday Service With Ola HHHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 19 Aug, 26 Aug, £14 17:20 Best of English Comedian of the Year Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £12–£15 The Cambridge Footlights International Tour Show 2018: Pillow Talk Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, £11–£13
Christian Reilly: Gig Economy Liquid Room Annexe/ Warehouse, 14–26 Aug, FREE T2 Brainclotting theSpace on the Mile, 14–18 Aug, £7 Zach Zucker: Human Person Underbelly, Cowgate, 15–26 Aug, £10–£11 Luca Cupani: God Digger Underbelly, George Square, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10 Chris Betts vs the Audience Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 15–26 Aug, £5 Viggo Venn: Pepito Underbelly, Cowgate, 14 Aug, £10
17:25 Alistair Williams: Great White Male Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £7 Charlie V Martin: The 24/7 Club C venues – C royale, 15–27 Aug, not 21, £8–£10
17:30 Alice Marshall: The Strike
HH
Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £6 Sarah Keyworth: Dark Horse Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £9–£11 Mawaan Rizwan: Juice Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£10.50 John Pendal: We Are Family Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £10–£11
0131 556 6550 pleasance.co.uk
¤ John-Luke
Roberts: All I Wanna Do Is [FX: GUNSHOTS] With a [FX: GUN RELOADING] and a [FX: CASH REGISTER] and Perform Some Comedy!
HHHHH
Assembly George Square Studios, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £9–£10 Lucy Porter: Pass It On Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12–£16
17:35 Josh Berry: Voice Thief Assembly Hall, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11 Joanne McNally: Wine Tamer Assembly George Square Studios, 15–27 Aug, £8.50–£9.50
17:40 The Oxford Revue: Wasted Assembly George Square Studios, 15–27 Aug, £9–£10 Laura Davis: Ghost Machine Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £9.50–£10.50 Made in Spain Sweet Novotel, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £5
Athena Kugblenu: Follow the Leader HH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11
¤ Laurence Clark: An
Graham Dickson: Timber Underbelly, Cowgate, 15–26 Aug, £10.50–£11.50
Assembly George Square Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £10–£12
Imran Yusuf: Saint, Sinner, Sufi The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15–26 Aug, not 20, £10 Bollywood and Birmingham to Berlin and Brexit Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, FREE Keara Murphy: Furious! #MeToo Time’s Up! No Bawbaggery Allowed! Laughing Horse @ The Place, 14–26 Aug, FREE Josh Glanc: Karma Karma Karma Karma Karma Chamedian Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11
Irresponsible Father’s Guide to Parenting
HHHH
Russell Hicks: Love Song for the Viciously Ambitious Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Stephanie Laing: Quitter Nightcap, 15–27 Aug, not 21, FREE
Unexpected Inheritance PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 14–18 Aug, £8
Dave Green: Melt Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 14–26 Aug, FREE
...What the Frick?! Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Zoe Lyons: Entry Level Human Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, £11.50–£12.50
❤ Ari Shaffir: Jew HHHH
Heroes @ The Hive, 14–26 Aug, £7
Jake Lambert: Little Lost Lad Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £7.50–£10
Keith Fox is... Here and Now? 52 Canoes (Grassmarket), 14–25 Aug, not 15, FREE
Stuart McPherson and Donald Alexander Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £9
Stand Up for Shelter Underbelly, George Square, 15 Aug, £12.50
Showstopper! The Improvised Musical Pleasance Courtyard, 15–26 Aug, £13–£17
Simon Caine: Sex, Drugs and Other Things I Never Do Sweet Novotel, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, £5
17:50 Clay Nikiforuk: Fun to Be Around Just the Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre, 14–26 Aug, £7 Robyn Perkins: 10,000 Decisions Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, £10–£12
17:55
17:45
Singalong Sitcom Quiz The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 14–26 Aug, £10
NewsRevue Underbelly, George Square, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £14.50–£16.50
Harriet Kemsley: Slutty Joan Voodoo Rooms, 14–25 Aug, FREE
¤ Jacqueline
Novak: How Embarrassing for Her HHHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £9.50–£12.50 Say It Ain’t Show Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Scott Bennett: Leap Year Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5
18:00 Brennan Reece: Evermore Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£11
Sparkle Deli Southsider, 15–25 Aug, not 20, FREE
Synchronised Swimming – The Dry Version Assembly Rooms, 14–25 Aug, not 20, £10–£12
Comedy Freak Show Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 14–26 Aug, FREE
California Backstage C venues – C south, 14–27 Aug, £7.50–£9.50
James Meehan – Gaz Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
Silent Disco Tours by Silent Adventures Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £13.50
Red Richardson: Seeing Red Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£9.50
Godley’s Cream 20 Years and Counting Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, FREE
George Lewis: A Man, a Plan, a Girl With Fake Tan Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £7.50–£10
Darren Walsh: Massive Punt Just the Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre, 14–26 Aug, £5–£7
Good Grief Tolbooth Market, 14–25 Aug, not 20, FREE The Full Irish Bannermans, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, FREE
A New Political Comedy Show Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 15–26 Aug, not 21, £5
Notflix Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, £11–£12.50 Frank Lavender: Gotta Laugh Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, not 18, FREE Jamali Maddix: Vape Lord Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 14–26 Aug, £8
Andrew White: Coming of Age PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 14–27 Aug, not 21, £5 Alex Cofield: Supernova Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11 Evelyn Mok: Bubble Butt Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £8–£10 Boogie Shoes Silent Disco Walking Tour With a Scottish Twist Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10 Stevie Martin Vol. 1
HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £8–£10 The Weegies Have Stolen the One O’Clock Gun Outhouse, 14–25 Aug, not 19, 20, £7 Twonkey’s Night Train to Liechtenstein Heroes @ Dragonfly, 14–26 Aug, not 22, £5 Only Fools and 3 Courses Kama Sutra Restaurant, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, £49.50 Henning Wehn: Get on With It Just the Tonic at The Caves, 15–26 Aug, not 20, 21, £12.50 Shady With a Chance of Sunburn Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 14–26 Aug, FREE Natalie Palamides: Nate Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £11–£13 Reel Comedy Club Assembly Rooms, 14–25 Aug, £12.50
Egg: Richard Pictures Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £7–£10 Kriss Foster: Thimble Map Globe Bar, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Telling the Wrong Man He Had Cancer and Other Hilarious Stories theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 20–25 Aug, £10 Rob Auton: The Talk Show Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
18:15 Maddie Campion: 20 Uses for a Lovedoll Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5 Ivor Dembina Show Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 15–26 Aug, not 21, FREE Fat Chance The Coffee House, 15–26 Aug, not 18, 25, FREE
InsTed Talks Just the Tonic at The Caves, 20–21 Aug, £5
The Russian Comedy Experience La Vida, 14–25 Aug, FREE
Aaaaaaaaaaargh, It’s 101 Naughty Jokes in 30 minutes – Free Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Aidan Greene: Stutter Island Bar Bados Complex, 14–25 Aug, FREE
Gyles Brandreth: Break a Leg! Pleasance Courtyard, 17 Aug, £19
Fat Girl Slim... Chance Banshee Labyrinth, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, FREE
Quiz in My Pants Subway, 14–25 Aug, FREE
Beta Test 52 Canoes (Grassmarket), 24–25 Aug, FREE
Rich Wilson’s Still Relevant Sneaky Pete’s, 14–25 Aug, FREE
Pick of the Fringe The Sheraton Grand Hotel , 23 Aug, £190
Stand-Up Power Hour Fireside, 14–25 Aug, FREE
Plumbing the Death Star Live Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14 Aug, £15
Laughing Horse Free Pick of the Fringe Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Plumbing the Death Star Live Outhouse, 26 Aug, £15
Shaggers (Free Festival) Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, FREE
18:05
The Travellin’ Man Comedy Showcase Laughing Horse @ Harry’s Southside, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Struan Logan: Struan All Over the World Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, not 15, FREE It’s All My Mother’s Fault! theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £7–£8
18:10 Hal Branson: Mbolo Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 15–26 Aug, £5 Sagar Dreamcast Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 15–26 Aug, FREE
fest-mag.com
The Establishment: Fool Britannia Heroes @ Boteco, 15–26 Aug, not 21, £7
Listings
71
Gordon Southern: A Man for Two Seasons Frankenstein Pub, 15–27 Aug, not 21, £6 The Travelling Sisters: Toupé HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £10–£11 Comedy in the Dark Just the Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12
Over 200 shows every day! @thepleasance
EH8 9TJ
EH8 9AL
EH3 8EE
Rahul Kohli: Newcastle Brown Tales Part II Laughing Horse @ The Hanover Tap, 14–25 Aug, FREE Dominic Holland – The Glory Year Voodoo Rooms, 15–26 Aug, FREE Joke Addict Liquid Room Annexe/ Warehouse, 14–26 Aug, FREE James Cook: Sarcasmic Laughing Horse @ Ushers, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, FREE Northern Power Blouse – Up Your Promenade Waverley Bar, 14 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, FREE Scott Gibson: Tales from the Battlefield Gilded Balloon Teviot, 15 Aug, £10
18:20 Hayley Ellis: Once, Twice, Three Times a Hayley Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5 Rose Matafeo: Horndog Pleasance Courtyard, 15–26 Aug, £9–£11 Glen Davies – Gagging Assembly Roxy, 14–27 Aug, not 15, 22, £9
18:30
The Eve Complex Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–18 Aug, FREE
Lucy Pearman: Fruit Loop Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 16–27 Aug, £6 Marcus Brigstocke: Devil May Care Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £13–£15 Dylan Moran: Dr Cosmos The Stand Comedy Club, 15–19 Aug, £17.50 Lord of the Game of the Ring of Thrones Just the Tonic at La Belle Angele, 14–26 Aug, £5 Jay Lafferty: Wheesht! Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £10 Henry Café: Quiz Machine Whistlebinkies, 14–24 Aug, not 18, FREE #AA: Absurdly Asian 2018 by Jinx Yeo Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 14–26 Aug, FREE Rik Wolters – Heroic Failure The Clootie Dumpling, 14–25 Aug, FREE
18:25 I Can’t Do This theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £9–£10
Duke Pop Bedlam Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £8 Brett Blake: Reckless Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 15–26 Aug, not 21, FREE
Kai Humphries: Team Smug Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £10.50–£13.50 Aaaaaaaaand Now It’s Time for... Roger Swift’s Pun-U-Matic (The Second Leg) Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 15–26 Aug, FREE
Geoff Norcott: Traditionalism Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–19 Aug, £10–£12
Chris McGlade: Northern Monkey Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Scott Gibson: Tales from the Battlefield Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14 Aug, £10
Rice Krispies With Ketchup Bar Bados Complex, 14–25 Aug, FREE
18:50
Daniel Sloss: X Pleasance at EICC, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12.50–£17.50
Clara Cupcakes – The Worst Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £10–£11 25 Years of Stand-Up: Vladimir McTavish The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £10 Stuart Bowden: Our Molecules Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10.50–£11.50 The St Andrews Revue Presents: Bears! Assembly Hall, 15–26 Aug, £8–£9 Elf Lyons: ChiffChaff Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£10.50
Daniel Cook: Carpet Pleasance Courtyard, 15–26 Aug, £7–£10
Chris Kent: Looking Up Assembly George Square Studios, 15–27 Aug, £8.50–£9.50
Police Cops Assembly George Square Studios, 14–26 Aug, £12
Kevin Matviw: Self Defence for Cowards Laughing Horse @ The Place, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Josh Pugh: The Changingman Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
The Biscuit Barrel Sweet Grassmarket, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £7
EdinBra Fringe Comedy Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, FREE
18:55
Conor Drum: ...If Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Matt and Ollie Are... Dads! Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10
18:40
The Stand Comedy Club 2, 14–26 Aug, £10
Aaron Simmonds and the Person That He Loves Tolbooth Market, 15–25 Aug, FREE
18:35
Butterfly C venues – C royale, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£10.50
Gavin Webster: I Am Stand-Up Comedy
Strictly Carl Donnelly! Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, FREE
The Best of Irish Comedy The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £12
Glenn Moore: Glenn Glenn Glenn, How Do You Like It, How Do You Like It Just the Tonic at The Tron, 14–26 Aug, £6
HHH
18:45
Andrew Silverwood: Reformed Terrorist Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14 Aug, FREE
Chris McCausland: Speaky Blinder Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, £10–£12
Darius Davies: The Art of the Troll Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE
David Earl Is Brian Gittins: Don’t Feed the Monkey Man Heroes @ Boteco, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £7
One More Cup of Coffee, and Then We’ll Save the World Quaker Meeting House, 14–18 Aug, £8
AAA Stand-Up at Underbelly Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11.50
Gary Little: Big Mouth Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 14–27 Aug, FREE
HH
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane McDonald? Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 22–26 Aug, FREE
Stuart Mitchell: Gordon Ramsay’s Karma Cafe Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £9.50–£11.50
The Fresh Prince of Comedy – Kyle Legacy Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 15–26 Aug, not 21, FREE
Siblings: Acting Out Underbelly, George Square, 15–27 Aug, £9–£10
Tony Slattery’s Crimes Against Improv The Stand Comedy Club, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, £14
Marny Godden: Marny Town HHH Heroes @ The Hive, 14–27 Aug, not 15, 22, £5
Absolute Improv! theSpace @ Niddry St, 14–25 Aug, £10
Comedy
Twisted Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 15–21 Aug, FREE
Terry Alderton: The Musical Assembly George Square Studios, 14–27 Aug, £12.50–£14.50
Who Do You Think You Are? Barbara Brownskirt. Assembly Rooms, 14–25 Aug, £10–£11
72
Sid Singh: American Bot Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5
Best of Irish Comedian of the Year Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £12–£15 Amsterdam Underground Comedy Collective Assembly George Square Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10 Fast Fringe Pleasance Dome, 14–25 Aug, £7.50–£11
Bennet Kavanagh and Chris Jones: Two Guys Talking Shite Opium, 15–25 Aug, FREE I Love You Laughing Horse @ The Cuckoo’s Nest, 14–26 Aug, FREE MARVELus: All the Marvel Movies. Kind of. 2018 Gilded Balloon Teviot, 15–27 Aug, £10.50–£11.50 Mike’s Back Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE
¤ Ivo Graham: Motion Sickness HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £8.50–£12
James Veitch’s Work in Progress Show Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
Yuriko Kotani: Moreish Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £5
The Committee: Improvised Comedy Bar Bados Complex, 14–25 Aug, not 20, FREE
PlAsNc
One Woman Sex and the City Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £11–£12
19:00 ¤ Brett Goldstein:
What Is Love Baby Don’t Hurt Me HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, not 24, £10–£12 Raymond Mearns Is in the House Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 14–27 Aug, FREE
¤ Mark Watson: The Infinite Show
HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, not 24, 25, £12–£16 Andy Barr: Neustadt Black Medicine Basement & Heroes, 15–26 Aug, £5 Lauren Pattison: Peachy Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £9–£12
Sheeps: Live and Loud Selfie Sex Harry Potter Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, not 25, £10–£14 Nina Conti Is Monkey Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £16–£19 Anuvab Pal: Empire
HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £11–£13 The Oxford Revue: Group Work Three Broomsticks, 14–25 Aug, FREE Paul Foot: Image Conscious Underbelly, Cowgate, 14– 26 Aug, £10.50–£12.50 A Complete Waste of Time PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 14–27 Aug, £7 Milo McCabe: 1001 Moments With Troy Hawke! Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE Justin Moorhouse: Northern Joker Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, £12–£13 I Spy With My Little Eye Something Beginning With Why Have You Been Sleeping With My Wife: A Play by Christopher Bliss Pleasance Dome, 14–26 Aug, not 25, £10–£13 Vulvarine: A New Musical Assembly George Square Studios, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £10–£12 Two Faced Bitchin’ PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 14–22 Aug, £6 Kimono My Comedy Show 52 Canoes (Grassmarket), 14–25 Aug, not 20, FREE Matt Price: Last Night a Weegie Saved My Life Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, £11–£12
0131 556 6550 pleasance.co.uk
Martha McBrier – Fur Coat Nae Knickers Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Daphna Baram: Sugarcoating Sweet Novotel, 14–25 Aug, not 15, 22, £7
¤ Angela Barnes: Rose-Tinted HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £8.50–£12
Wip It! Southsider, 14–25 Aug, FREE
Ivan Aristeguieta: Juithy Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £11–£13
Tales of the Unacceptable The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 20 Aug, £5
Bisha K Ali and Kemah Bob: Bish and Bob Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Funny Women on the Fringe Assembly Rooms, 20–24 Aug, £10
19:05
Alan Ayckbourn’s Farcicals theSpace on the Mile, 20–25 Aug, £8–£10
(No) Money in the Bank Sweet Novotel, 20–26 Aug, £7
Aatif Nawaz: Instant GrAATIFication The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 14–26 Aug, £9 The Amours of Lillie Langtry theSpace on the Mile, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £8 Cream Tea and Incest theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £8.50
19:10 Allan Havey Stands Up Sweet Novotel, 15–26 Aug, £9 Tom Skelton: Blind Eye Spy Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £9–£10 Russ Peers: Hereditary Peers Just the Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre, 14–26 Aug, £5 Nigel Ng: Malaysian Sensation (Work in Progress) Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, FREE Brain Rinse HH theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £10–£12
19:15 Musical Comedy Guide Showcase Globe Bar, 14–26 Aug, FREE Gary Meikle – Before All This Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10 Martin Mor is Blocked
HHH
Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Trump’d! C venues – C, 14–27 Aug, not 15, 22, £11.50–£13.50
¤ Nick Dixon: Marriage Material HHHH Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5 AAA Stand-Up Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £9–£11.50 Olga Koch: Fight Pleasance Courtyard, 15–26 Aug, £7–£9 It’ll Probably Be Alright Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 14–26 Aug, not 16, 17, FREE Pierre Novellie: See Novellie, Hear Novellie, Speak Novellie Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £10–£12
¤ Heidi Regan: Heidi vs Sharks HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £8–£10
19:20 Sean Morley: I Apologise for My Recent Behaviour Heroes @ Dragonfly, 14–26 Aug, not 22, £5 Thea-Skot Through the Heart and You’re to Blame Voodoo Rooms, 14–26 Aug, not 15, FREE Dave Chawner: Mental Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, FREE Phil Cooper: One Phil Over The Cooper’s Nest Just the Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre, 14–26 Aug, £5 Piff the Magic Dragon and the Dog Who Knows The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 16–26 Aug, £16
The Lost Matriarch 2 theSpace on North Bridge, 14–24 Aug, not 19, £7–£8 Sally-Anne Hayward: Comedienne-ess Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5 Craig Hill: C’mon the Lads! Pleasance at EICC, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12.50–£18.50
Dylan Moran: Dr Cosmos The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 14 Aug, £17.50
19:25 Mr Lorraine theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £5 Angry Boater Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 15–26 Aug, not 21, FREE
19:30 Loose Brie Solve Everything Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 14–26 Aug, FREE Daisy Earl and Sukh Ojla Fireside, 16–26 Aug, FREE Tom Ward: Popcorn Lung Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £7 Glenn Wool: Wool’s Gold II (The Iron Pirate) Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 14–25 Aug, £7.50 Kate Smurthwaite: Clit Stirrer Banshee Labyrinth, 15–26 Aug, FREE David O’Doherty: You Have to Laugh Assembly George Square Theatre, 15–27 Aug, £15–£16
¤ Nick Doody: PG HHHH
Subway, 15–25 Aug, not 21, FREE Alexander Bennett: Housewives’ Favourite Waverley Bar, 14–26 Aug, not 15, FREE David Tsonos: Walking the Cat Two Bar Bados Complex, 14–25 Aug, not 15, FREE Mickey Sharma – Filthy Club Comic Laughing Horse @ The Hanover Tap, 14–25 Aug, not 15, 22, FREE Mr. Swallow and the Vanishing Elephant Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £11.50–£14.50
Ed Gamble: Blizzard Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £10–£12
Daliso Chaponda: What the African Said Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 19–26 Aug, £15–£16
Adam Rowe: Undeniable Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
Lost Voice Guy: Inspiration Porn Gilded Balloon Teviot, 15 Aug, £12 Comedy Gala 2018: In Aid of Waverley Care Edinburgh Playhouse , 18 Aug, £25
Neil Delamere: Controlled Substance Gilded Balloon Teviot, 15–26 Aug, £11.50–£12.50
The Rat Pack Presents: International Stars of Comedy Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 19 Aug, 26 Aug, FREE
Richard Brown: You Are Not My Audience The Coffee House, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Lost Voice Guy: Inspiration Porn Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 14 Aug, £12
#Jollyboat: Bards Against Humanity Liquid Room Annexe/ Warehouse, 14–26 Aug, FREE Gamarjobat Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 15–18 Aug, £11.50–£12.50 So You Think You’re Funny? Grand Final Gilded Balloon Teviot, 23 Aug, £15 Is This the Worst Quiz / Game Show Ever? (Edinburgh Regional Championships) Hosted by Yianni Agisilaou Sneaky Pete’s, 15–25 Aug, FREE Leo Kearse: Right-Wing Comedian Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 15–26 Aug, FREE Dylan Moran: Dr Cosmos Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 22–26 Aug, £17.50
Silent Disco Tours by Silent Adventures Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £13.50
Gareth Berliner: I Paid for 50 Minutes of Your Time Laughing Horse @ Ushers, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Beach Hunks: Leg Day Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE
The Ballad of Sarah Callaghan Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 14–25 Aug, not 19, FREE
Reel Comedy Club Assembly Rooms, 14–25 Aug, £12.50
Henry Ginsberg: Molesting the Corpse of Traditional Masculinity Since 1987 Laughing Horse @ Harry’s Southside, 14–26 Aug, FREE
19:35 Empathetically Challenged Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–25 Aug, £5 Satanic Rites of Robin Ince The Stand Comedy Club 2, 14–26 Aug, £12 Big Value Comedy Show – Early Just the Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre, 14–26 Aug, £10 Holly Morgan: Madonna or Whore? Assembly Roxy, 15–26 Aug, £10–£12
19:40 Chris Stokes: We Don’t Need Roads Just the Tonic at The Tron, 14–26 Aug, £5 Caution: Deadline Ahead – A Comedy About Procrastination C venues – C aquila, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£10.50 Lead Pencil Underbelly, Cowgate, 15–26 Aug, £9.50–£10.50 Jo Caulfield: Killing Time The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10 Masud Milas: Masud Abides HHH Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–25 Aug, £5
Mandy Knight: The Dark Knight Voodoo Rooms, 14–25 Aug, not 15, FREE
Phil Ellis Is Ready for the Big Time Heroes @ The Hive, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £5
19:45 Holy $#!% It’s Music and Comedy With Matt Griffo Zoo Southside, 19–27 Aug, £10 Laughing Horse Free Pick of the Fringe Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 14–26 Aug, FREE Andrew Roper – What Is Best in Life? Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE The Problem With Faye Treacy Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5–£6.50 Tom Walker: Honk Honk Honk Honk Honk Underbelly, Bristo Square, 15–26 Aug, £10–£11 The Curious Incidents of the Gay in the Night-Time Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 15–26 Aug, FREE A Pair of Jokers Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, FREE
fest-mag.com
Dilruk Jayasinha: The Art of the Dil Assembly George Square Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £11–£12
Listings
73
The Trouble With Being Born Romanian Laughing Horse @ The Mockingbird, 14–26 Aug, FREE Confessions of a Cockney Temple Dancer Dance Base, 22–26 Aug, £11–£13 Chris Forbes: Prophecy Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £10–£11 Jamie Oliphant: The Oliphant in the Room Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE Stand Up, Weather Girl! Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, not 15, FREE
Over 200 shows every day! @thepleasance
EH8 9TJ
EH8 9AL
EH3 8EE
19:50 Micky Bartlett: Crucifying Fergal Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £10–£11
19:55
Tolerate Nightcap, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Brendon Burns Mansplainin’ Heroes @ Boteco, 14–26 Aug, £6.50
The Pin: Backstage Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £9.50–£12.50
20:00
The Not So Late Show With Ross and Josh Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 15–26 Aug, not 21, FREE
Bitter and Twisted Laughing Horse @ The Cuckoo’s Nest, 14–26 Aug, FREE Potatoes, Pies and Haggis Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–19 Aug, FREE
¤ Ashley Storrie: Adulting HHHH
Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, FREE Steen Raskopoulos: Stay Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £11.50–£12.50 Tim Renkow Tries to Punch Down Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, £5 John Robertson: The Dark Room Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–25 Aug, £10–£11 Nathan Cassidy: If I Caused the Financial Crash of 2008 Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5–£7 Patrick Monahan: #Goals Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £13–£14 Eau de Munro Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 14–26 Aug, FREE Russian Roulette Just the Tonic at La Belle Angele, 14–26 Aug, not 21, £8
Comedy
Eurosceptic Song Contest Lebowskis Bar, 21–26 Aug, FREE
Alice Fraser: Ethos Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £10–£11
Jarred Christmas: Remarkably Average Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11
74
Kiri Pritchard-McLean: Victim, Complex Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £8–£10.50
Witt ‘n Camp: Swag Assembly George Square Studios, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11 Robin Clyfan: The Sea Is Big Enough to Take It Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, £5
Baby Wants Candy: The Completely Improvised Full Band Musical Assembly George Square Studios, 14–26 Aug, £14–£15 Dream On – Kirsty Munro / Free Festival Laughing Horse @ The Place, 14–26 Aug, FREE Pelican: Fisk Bedlam Theatre, 14–27 Aug, not 15, 22, £8 Linda Underbelly, George Square, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10 Ross Hepburn Is Beetlejuice’d Sweet Grassmarket, 15–26 Aug, not 21, £8.50 Aidan Goatley: 10 Films With My Dad Sweet Grassmarket, 14–25 Aug, not 15, £10 Late Night Disco Fight CC Blooms, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE Holt and Talbot: Mansplaining Feminism Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 15–26 Aug, FREE
20:15 Tom Lucy: Reluctant Millennial Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £7.50–£10 Laughing Horse Free Comedy Selection Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, FREE
The Tartan Ribbon Comedy Benefit Pleasance Courtyard, 14 Aug, £12.50 An Imp-Revised History of the World Bar Bados Complex, 14–25 Aug, FREE
Single Comedians Trying To Impress You Bar Bados Complex, 14–25 Aug, FREE
Comic Relief Live Assembly Hall, 20 Aug, £16.50
20:05
Eddy Brimson: Fidgety Tits Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 15–26 Aug, not 22, £5
Fred MacAulay and John Moloney The Stand Comedy Club, 14–26 Aug, £14
Stella Graham: Uncivilized Three Broomsticks, 14–25 Aug, FREE
¤ Demi Lardner: I Love Skeleton HHHH Assembly George Square Studios, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11
We Should Know Better 52 Canoes (Grassmarket), 14–25 Aug, not 20, FREE Fred Cooke: Fredinburgh Gilded Balloon Teviot, 15–27 Aug, £8.50–£9.50
Hot Mess: Bezzie Mates Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £6
James Nokise: Talk a Big Game The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 14–26 Aug, £10
Is That Right Aye? theSpace on the Mile, 14 Aug, £9.50
Sisters: On Demand Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £7.50–£10
20:10 Frank Foucault: Shoes Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
BattleActs! Improvised Comedy Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE
Joe Sutherland: Toxic Underbelly, Bristo Square, 15–27 Aug, £9–£10
No Success Like Failure Tolbooth Market, 14–25 Aug, not 15, FREE
Tom Houghton: The Honourable Pleasance Dome, 14–26 Aug, £8–£10
Pete Firman: Marvels Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £11.50–£15
Chris Henry: Around the World in 80 Dates Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £9–£10
Bristol Revunions Present: Hoops Tolbooth Market, 14–25 Aug, FREE Boogie Shoes Silent Disco Walking Tour With a Scottish Twist Just the Tonic at The Caves, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £15
Sam Nicoresti’s Bedtime Black Medicine Basement & Heroes, 15–26 Aug, £5
Sheraz Yousaf: The Pursuit of Manly-ness Tolbooth Market, 14–25 Aug, FREE
Alex Edelman: Just for Us HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £10–£14
WOLF Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10–£11
Kieran Hodgson: ‘75 Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £8–£12
Garry Starr Performs Everything Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11 Andrew Lawrence: Clean Assembly George Square Studios, 14–26 Aug, £10–£12 Me Talking, Mostly Paradise in The Vault, 14–18 Aug, £9.50
PlAsNc
20:20 Bald Man Sings Rihanna Ciao Roma, 14–25 Aug, not 20, FREE The Best of Scottish Comedy The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £15 George Michael Is Greek Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, FREE Ismo: Words Apart Pleasance Dome, 14–26 Aug, £7.50–£10 Simon Evans: Genius 2.0 Assembly George Square Studios, 14–26 Aug, £13–£14
Calling My Tribe Assembly George Square Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £12–£14 Robert White and His Particularly Silly Organ Pleasance Dome, 20–23 Aug, £12 Here Be Improv theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 14–18 Aug, £3.50
John Hastings: Float Like a Butterfly, John Hastings Like a Bee Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£11 Look, it’s Tom Little, Alright? Tolbooth Market, 14–25 Aug, FREE
BEASTS: Best of BEASTS Pleasance Dome, 16–19 Aug, £11–£12
Richard Hanrahan Is Doing This Just the Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre, 14–26 Aug, £5
Mark Nelson: Irreverence Underbelly, Bristo Square, 23–25 Aug, £12.50–£14.50
Rosie Jones: Fifteen Minutes Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £7.50–£10
20:25 Jamie MacDonald: Blinkered Assembly Rooms, 14–26 Aug, £10.50–£11.50 The Liverpool Revue theSpace on the Mile, 20–25 Aug, £6
20:30 Jordan Brookes: Bleed Pleasance Courtyard, 15–26 Aug, £10–£13 Emma Sidi: Faces of Grace Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, not 25, £7.50–£10 Bryony Twydle: Flamingo Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £9–£10 Joke Thieves Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 15–26 Aug, FREE Jess Robinson: No Filter Assembly George Square Gardens, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12.50–£14.50 Marjolein Robertson: It’s Time Bar Bados Complex, 15–25 Aug, FREE Ben Pope: Baby Sasquatch HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £7–£10 Gareth Mutch: Wants Mutch More Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10 Jack Barry: Tango Globe Bar, 14–24 Aug, FREE Matt Forde: Brexit Through the Gift Shop Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £12–£14
Reginald D Hunter: An American Facing the Beast and Niggas Pleasance at EICC, 15–26 Aug, not 20, £15.50–£17 The Raymond and Mr Timpkins Revue: Ham Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, £10–£12.50 Lewis Schaffer: What Have You Heard? Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE Chris Washington: You Beauty! Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £8–£10 Time Out With Ross Voss Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 14–26 Aug, FREE Bronston Jones: God Bless ‘Merica 4 – Free Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 14–26 Aug, FREE Adam Kay: This Is Going to Hurt (Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor) Pleasance at EICC, 14 Aug, £16
20:35 Ethnic Cleansing – Ruven Govender Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 15–26 Aug, not 21, FREE The Thinking Drinkers: Pub Crawl Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, £13–£15 Gary Tro: Idoit Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £7
20:40 Sèayoncè Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £6
0131 556 6550 pleasance.co.uk
Listings
75
Paul Currie: Hot Donkey Heroes @ The Hive, 14–27 Aug, not 15, 22, £5 Fitting Image Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, FREE Jimeoin: Result! Pleasance at EICC, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12.50–£18.50
Def Comedy Space Jam Laughing Horse @ The Hanover Tap, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Jordan Gray: People Change Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
Improv Cage Match Bar Bados Complex, 14–25 Aug, FREE
¤ Fringe Wives Club: Glittery Clittery
Accident Avoidance Training for Cutlery Users – Level 2 Quaker Meeting House, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £8
Assembly Roxy, 14–26 Aug, £11–£12
Stand Up and Slam Subway, 14–25 Aug, not 15, FREE
Matthew Highton – Insufficient Memory Heroes @ Dragonfly, 14–25 Aug, not 22, £5
The Great Irish (Finnegans) Wake Off Laughing Horse @ Finnegan’s Wake, 14–26 Aug, FREE
20:45
Dreamgun: Film Reads Underbelly, Bristo Square, 15–26 Aug, £9–£10
Ashley Haden: We All Die C*nts Laughing Horse @ Harry’s Southside, 15–26 Aug, FREE Love Like 90s R’n’B Fireside, 14–25 Aug, not 19, FREE Fake TV Frankenstein Pub, 14–26 Aug, FREE Christian Finnegan: My Goodness Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £10–£13 Interruption Show Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 14–26 Aug, FREE LoveHard: Tales from the Elsewhere Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, FREE Laughing Horse Free Pick of the Fringe Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Spontaneous Potter Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11
20:50 ¤ Mat Ewins: What
Sorry? My Mistake! The Doors Are Not Open; The Show Has Been Cancelled. Do Not Have Your Tickets Ready!
HHHH
Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5 Heard the One About Identity Theft? With the Real Bennett Arron The Stand Comedy Club 2, 15–26 Aug, £9 Lolly Jones: Fifty Shades of May Assembly Roxy, 14–24 Aug, £8–£10
HHHH
Happy Lucky Golden Tofu Panda Dragon Good Time Fun Fun Show theSpace on the Mile, 20–25 Aug, £9.50
20:55 Luxury Split Bill Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
21:00 Harriet Braine’s Apocalibrary Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–19 Aug, FREE Andrew Maxwell: Shake a Leg Assembly George Square Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £14–£15 Foil, Arms and Hog – Craicling Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, £13.50–£16 Max and Ivan’s Prom Night Assembly High, 24–25 Aug, £16 Jack Docherty: Miekelson and McGlashan – Serious Men Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £15.50–£16.50 Bob Slayer Is Bob Slayer (The Eponymous Show) Heroes @ The SpiegelYurt, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, £5
Jason Byrne: You Can Come in, But Don’t Start Anything Assembly Hall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £17–£19.50 Go Slay Dragons! Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE Hal Cruttenden: Chubster Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £11–£15 The Lesbian Whisperer Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE Comedy Boxing: New Challengers Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 15–26 Aug, not 21, FREE Helen Duff: How Deep Is Your Duff? Heroes @ The Hive, 14–26 Aug, not 21, £5 James Loveridge Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5 David Correos: The Correos Effect Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10 Luisa Omielan: Politics for Bitches Gilded Balloon Teviot, 15–26 Aug, not 23, £14–£15 Richard Wheatley: Jokes and Tales of a Second-Year Gap Student C venues – C royale, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£10.50 All Hail the Rat King! Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–18 Aug, £6
Barry Ferns: Barry Loves You Just the Tonic at The Tron, 14–26 Aug, £5 Felicity Ward: Busting a Nut Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £10–£13.50 Abigoliah Schamaun: Do You Know Who I Think I Am?! Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, not 19, £9–£10 Adventures of the Singing Acupuncturist 6: Big O Makes It in New York... or, Does She? – Free Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 14–26 Aug, FREE Phil Nichol: Your Wronger
Joz Norris Has No Show This Year, but Mr Fruit Salad Does Heroes @ The SpiegelYurt, 18–19 Aug, £5
21:05 Trevor Feelgood’s Weird Surreal Alternative Showcase Three Broomsticks, 15–25 Aug, FREE Rhys Nicholson – Seminal Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, £11–£12.50 Eric Davidson – Words of a Blether theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 14–25 Aug, not 19, 20, 21, £10
HHH
Free Footlights Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5
Church of Phil The Clootie Dumpling, 14–25 Aug, FREE
Prom Kween Assembly George Square Gardens, 14–26 Aug, £13–£14
Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 14–26 Aug, £8
Scotland’s Pick of the Fringe Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 15–26 Aug, not 20, 21, £5–£10 Eleanor Conway: Walk of Shame 2 Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 14–26 Aug, FREE Unhinged Laughing Horse @ The Mockingbird, 14–26 Aug, FREE The Boy With the Pearl Necklace The Street Bar, 18 Aug, 25 Aug, £8 Show And Tell at The Queen’s Hall The Queen’s Hall, 20 Aug, FREE
fest-mag.com
Pamela DeMenthe Presents: Sticky Digits Just the Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre, 15–26 Aug, £5
21:10 Jerry Sadowitz: Make Comedy GRATE Again! The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 16–26 Aug, not 20, 21, 22, £16.50 Terrible Sex Tips: Live and Uncut Sweet Grassmarket, 15–26 Aug, £10 This Is Your Trial Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £8–£10 Stephen K Amos: Work in Progress The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 15–25 Aug, not 20, 21, £12
Over 200 shows every day! @thepleasance
EH8 9TJ
EH8 9AL
EH3 8EE
The Bugle Live The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15 Aug, 22 Aug, £15 Dylan Moran: Dr Cosmos Assembly Hall, 23–25 Aug, £17.50 Bob Doolally The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 20–21 Aug, £10
Good Evening Edinburgh, It’s Sam Kissajukian Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 15–26 Aug, not 21, FREE So You Think You’re Funny? Sketch Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20 Aug, £10
21:20 Seann Walsh: After This One I’m Going Home Pleasance Courtyard, 14–25 Aug, £14
Rahul Kohli: All My Heroes Are Dead, in Jail or Touched Up Your Gran The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 14–25 Aug, £10
21:30 Police Cops in Space Assembly George Square Studios, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, £12 Alfie Brown: Lunatic Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 14–26 Aug, £7 Link and Lorne: Terrestrial Is the Bestrial The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £10
The LOL Word Three Broomsticks, 14–25 Aug, FREE
Eli Matthewson: The Year of Magical F*cking Underbelly, George Square, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10
Match Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–15 Aug, FREE
50% Canadian, 100% Crazy, Let’s Laugh Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
Janeane Garofalo: Put a Pin in That HH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–19 Aug, £13–£14
Ingrid Dahle: Wingrid Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 14–26 Aug, £5
Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £10–£13
Sex Shells Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11
Cosmic Comedy Berlin Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Improvabunga! theSpace @ Niddry St, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £6–£7
Daniel Connell: Mr Personality 1988 Gilded Balloon Teviot, 15–26 Aug, £10–£11.50
21:15
Kate Berlant: Communikate Assembly George Square Studios, 14–26 Aug, £10–£12.50 Murray Hill: About to Break HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £10.50–£12.50 Funny Dubz Laughing Horse @ The Place, 14–26 Aug, FREE Spring Day: Strong Codependent Woman – Free Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, FREE The MMORPG Show – Scruffy Looking Nerd Herder Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 16–26 Aug, FREE Bumpkins Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 14–25 Aug, FREE Ed Night: An Aesthetic Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £8.50–£10.50 Dan Attfield: Futureproof Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10 Tom Stade: I Swear To...
HHH
Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £15–£16 Myq Kaplan: All Killing Aside Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, £11–£13
Scott Capurro: The Trouble With Scott Capurro Heroes @ Boteco, 15–26 Aug, not 21, £7 The Man Presents: Women Assembly George Square Studios, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11 Tilda Swinton Answers an Ad on Craigslist Assembly George Square Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £11–£12 Zach & Viggo and Thumpasaurus: Where Does the Love Go? Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £11–£12
21:25 The 2 Mouthed Men Experience theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 20–25 Aug, £8 Blind Mirth theSpace on the Mile, 14–18 Aug, £7 Lily Lovett and Patrick Monahan: Date Night Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £5
Prune 52 Canoes (Grassmarket), 14–25 Aug, not 21, FREE
¤ Jayde Adams: The Divine Ms Jayde HHHH
99 Club Stand-Up Selection – Free Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE Abandoman (AKA Rob Broderick) – Pirate Radio
HHH
Tamsyn Kelly: You’re Welcome Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £10–£11
Jon Harvey: TreasuRETROve Assembly George Square Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £9–£10
¤ Alice Snedden: Self-Titled HHHH Pleasance Courtyard, 15–26 Aug, £7–£9
Madame Señorita: QUEST!ON Black Medicine Basement & Heroes, 15–26 Aug, £5
Adele Is Younger Than Us Pleasance Dome, 21–25 Aug, £10–£11
Coach Coach 2: Coach Harder HHHH Pleasance Dome, Various dates from 15 Aug to 27 Aug, £11–£15
Rachel Fairburn: The Wolf at the Door Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £10–£11
¤ Jake Howie: Read My Lips HHHH
Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
Darren Harriott: Visceral
HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £8.50–£10 Amused Moose Comedy Award: Grand Final theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 19–20 Aug, £14
21:35 Bumble Me Tinders Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, FREE Big Value Comedy Show – Late Just the Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre, 14–26 Aug, £10 The Infamous Five Sketch Show theSpace on North Bridge, 21–25 Aug, £8
21:40
Underbelly, George Square, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £14.50–£15.50
Caustic Comedy Nights C venues – C aquila, 14–26 Aug, £11.50–£13.50
The Comedy Reserve Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £7.50–£10
The Improvised Panto! Paradise in The Vault, 14–26 Aug, not 19, £8
Rob Oldham: Worm’s Lament Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £9–£11
The Tape Face Show
‘Aaave You Been Involved in a Comedy Show That Wasn’t Your Fault? Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE
HHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 15–26 Aug, £13.50–£17 Sleeping Trees: World Tour HHH Assembly George Square Studios, 14–26 Aug, £11–£13
Moon Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £7.50–£9.50
Tinderella and the Seven Deadly Sins theSpaceTriplex, 14–18 Aug, £9
Best of Scottish Comedian of the Year Just the Tonic at La Belle Angele, 14–26 Aug, £12–£15
Yianni Agisilaou: I, Human Pleasance Dome, 15–26 Aug, £8–£10
Kevin Quantum: And for My Next Trick Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, not 21, £12–£13
Alun Cochrane: You. Me. Now. The Stand Comedy Club, 14–26 Aug, £12
Elsa Pleasance Dome, 16–19 Aug, £10–£12
21:45 ¤ Suzi Ruffell: Nocturnal HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £8.50–£11
Adam Riches Is The Lone Dueller Pleasance Dome, Various dates from 14 Aug to 26 Aug, £11–£15 Kwame Asante: Teenage Heartblob HH Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £8.50–£10 Fin Taylor: When Harassy Met Sally Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £8–£10 Hangry Americans Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 15–26 Aug, FREE Wheely Wheely Wheely Wheely Wheely Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 15–26 Aug, not 21, FREE LJ DA FUNK in... When Will These Fascist Bastards All Be Lined Up and F*cking Shot?!? Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 15–26 Aug, not 21, FREE George Rigden: George-ous Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £7.50–£10 Chris Turner: We’re Where We Were Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £8–£10 Full Velvet Jacket (WIP) Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14 Aug, FREE Dean Hendry: Smells Like Dean Spirit Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10 Joseph Parsons: Baggy Point Bar Bados Complex, 14–25 Aug, FREE
¤ Adam Riches Is
21:50 Tracy’s Leaving Party: Hot Young Things Just the Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre, 14–26 Aug, £5 The Edinburgh Revue Is All at Sea Canons’ Gait, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, FREE David Callaghan: One for Sorrow, Two for Joy; Shoes Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 15–26 Aug, FREE Be More, Do Better but Don’t Change Underbelly, Bristo Square, 15–27 Aug, £9–£10 James Barr: Thirst Trap! – Free Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14 Aug, FREE
21:55 Dan Nightingale: Sex, Drugs and My Nanna’s Bungalow Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £5
fest-mag.com
Standard Issue: Stands Up The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 14 Aug, £12
Listings
77
The Mad Craic Comedy Show Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 15–26 Aug, FREE
22:00 Lloyd Langford: Why the Big Face? Banshee Labyrinth, 14–26 Aug, FREE Hot Gay Time Machine Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11 Mark Dean Quinn: You Win You Lose Heroes @ Dragonfly, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, £5 Damian Clark: Extra Show Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11 Jimeoin: Roast Chicken Result! Pleasance at EICC, Various dates from 16 Aug to 25 Aug, £14.50–£15.50
Over 200 shows every day! @thepleasance
EH8 9TJ
EH8 9AL
EH3 8EE
Neil O’Rourke and Patrick Spicer: Cool Dude Island Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5 Pop Ditz Just the Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre, 14–26 Aug, £5 Escaping Trump’s America Frankenstein Pub, 14–27 Aug, FREE The Nasty Show Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE Snowflake It ‘Til You Make It Laughing Horse @ Harry’s Southside, 15–26 Aug, FREE The Godfather of Comedy Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, FREE Australian Beauty Opium, 14–25 Aug, FREE Shit-Faced Showtime: Oliver With a Twist Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £10.50–£12.50
Comedy
Imaginary Porno Charades Sweet Grassmarket, 14–25 Aug, not 20, £7 Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, not 15, 22, £13.50–£14.50 Bristol Revunions Present: Paraguay C venues – C aquila, 15–27 Aug, £7.50–£9.50 Dragprov Revue Sweet Novotel, 15–26 Aug, £7
78
Bob’s Not My Uncle and Other Devastating Truths Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–17 Aug, £5
Two Hearts: Edinburgh World Tour Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11
Head Sets Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 15–26 Aug, FREE
The Establishment: Le Bureau de Strange Heroes @ The Hive, 15 Aug, £5
She Wolf Voodoo Rooms, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE
Life Coach (Age 14) Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14 Aug, FREE
And Another Thing! An Improvised Show Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–18 Aug, £8–£9
22:20
Ari Shaffir’s Renamed Storyteller Show Heroes @ The Hive, 16 Aug, 23 Aug, £5 Iain (Stirling) Does Jokes (With Pals) Pleasance at EICC, 22–24 Aug, £12 Frank Leigh We Don’t Give a **** Kilderkin, 14 Aug, FREE Adam Kay: This Is Going to Hurt (Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor) Pleasance at EICC, 17 Aug, £17 The Never Ending Cycle Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14 Aug, FREE
22:05 Unbecoming Ramon Rivas HHH The Stand Comedy Club 2, 14–26 Aug, £10
22:10
22:15 Claire Sullivan: I Wish I Owned a Hotel for Dogs Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £9–£10 Danny O’Brien: Lock-In Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £9.50–£10.50
Wigwam Wonder Jam Heroes @ The SpiegelYurt, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, £5
Rob Kemp: The Elvis Dead Pleasance Courtyard, 15–26 Aug, not 20, 21, £10–£12
The Neighbours Are Worried Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
22:30
Christopher Macarthur-Boyd: Home Sweet Home Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10
Micky Overman: Role Model Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £7.50–£10 52 Days Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Dirty White Boys: Manners Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
Tetchy (Work in Progress) Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Woman Up Comedy Improv theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 21–25 Aug, £8
Alex Williamson: So Wrong, It’s Wrong Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £11.50–£12.50
Andrea Spisto: Miss Venezuela HH Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £7
Tori Scott Is #Thirsty Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, not 15, 22, £9.50–£10.50
PlAsNc
Two Little Dickheads Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5
John Robertson: Sweaty, Sexy Party Party Just the Tonic at The Tron, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10
Njambi McGrath and Guests Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–24 Aug, FREE
Improvised Improv Outhouse, 14–16 Aug, £10
The Shambles theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £5
Thrones! The Musical Parody Assembly George Square Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £14–£15 Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre: Superheroes Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14– 26 Aug, £10.50–£12.50
Rik Carranza presents: Star Trek vs Star Wars Gilded Balloon Teviot, 16–27 Aug, not 23, £10–£11.50 The Best of Red Raw The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 16–26 Aug, not 20, 21, 22, £4 Denim: The Reunion Tour Assembly George Square Gardens, 14–26 Aug, not 25, £13–£14 Georgia Tasda Means Business CC Blooms, 14–23 Aug, FREE Swipe Right Love and Other Comedy Songs Bar Bados Complex, 15–25 Aug, FREE Fright Bus Service Necrobus, 14–26 Aug, £13 The Stevenson Experience: Spot the Difference Assembly George Square Studios, 14–26 Aug, £8.50–£11.50
22:35 Ladylike: A Modern Guide to Etiquette Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £10–£11 The Homesick Submarine Broadcasting Company The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 14–26 Aug, £9 Plumbing the Death Star Live Assembly George Square Studios, 18 Aug, 25 Aug, £15
22:40 Neal Portenza’s Final Edinburgh Show Will Be a Bad Magic Show on a Bus. BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Netflix and Amazon Prime Are All Welcome Heroes @ Bob’s BlundaBus, 14–26 Aug, £7 Andy Field the Love Tonight Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
Set List: Stand-Up Without a Net Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10–£14.50
Willis & Vere: Comedians After Hours Live Underbelly, George Square, 16–26 Aug, not 20, 21, 22, £10–£11
Night at the Museum Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 16–19 Aug, £10–£12
Three’s Company, Where’s Our Crowd? An Improvised Show theSpace on the Mile, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £6–£7
Judah Friedlander: America... Still Number One Gilded Balloon Teviot, 19–22 Aug, £14.50 Death Ray Cabaret Laughing Horse @ The Place, 14 Aug, FREE So You Think You’re Funny? Semi-Finals Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–15 Aug, £10
The Bear Pack Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £11–£12 The Story Beast: This Is Bardcore Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11
0131 556 6550 pleasance.co.uk
Douglas Walker Presents: Of Christmas Past Underbelly, Bristo Square, 15–26 Aug, £10–£11
22:45
A Beginner’s Guide to Bondage Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, FREE
The Moa Show Gilded Balloon Teviot, 15–27 Aug, £11–£12 Norris & Parker: Burn the Witch Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £8–£9.50 Michael Hackett: The Late Mike Show Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £5 Famous First Words Just the Tonic at The Caves, Various dates from 16 Aug to 25 Aug, £10 Ben McCarthy: Nevermind Paradise in The Vault, 14–26 Aug, not 19, £15 Kitchen Party Action Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE Bongo’s Bingo The Jam House, Various dates from 16 Aug to 31 Aug, £15 Ciarán Dowd: Don Rodolfo Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £8–£10 AAA Stand-Up Late at Gilded Balloon Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £10–£11.50 Shaggers (Free Festival) Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE Fright Bus Service Necrobus, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £13 Richard Todd: We Need the Eggs Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £8–£9.50 Michael Clarke: Felt Black Medicine Basement & Heroes, 15–26 Aug, £5
22:50 Werewolf: Live Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, not 21, £9–£10 The Noise Next Door’s Comedy Lock-In! Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £10.50–£14
Agenda Benders: Witty Gritty Bitty Fitty Committee Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £6 Shit-Faced Shakespeare: Hamlet Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £12.50–£15 The Stand Comedy Club at New Town Theatre The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £15 Barry Crimmins – A Tribute The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 16–17 Aug, £15
22:55 Plenty of Linguine at Home Paradise in The Vault, 14–26 Aug, not 19, £7.50
23:00 Late Night Bedlam Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £10 Clingfilm Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £8–£10 Murder She Didn’t Write: The Improvised Murder Mystery Pleasance Courtyard, 26–27 Aug, £12.50 The Lampoons: House on Haunted Hill Pleasance Dome, 14–26 Aug, £9–£11 Eleanor Colville: Late-Night Pick and Mix Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 18–26 Aug, FREE The Free Association: Jacuzii Pleasance Courtyard, 15–26 Aug, £8.50–£10.50
Huge News Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11 Drugstore Culture: Live Assembly George Square Studios, 18 Aug, 25 Aug, £10 Avocado: Definitely Maybe Not Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £8–£10.50 AAA Stand-Up Late Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £9–£11.50 Birthday Girls: LateNight Comedy Party Pleasance Courtyard, 16–19 Aug, £12 AC/DC: Australian Comedians / Dope Comedy Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–25 Aug, FREE Clara Saves America Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–18 Aug, £8 The Crooners Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £10–£12 Questing Time Pleasance Courtyard, 17 Aug, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, £8.50–£10 Late Night Nonsense: Variety Show Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE Rachel Parris’ Musical Comedy Club Pleasance Dome, 14 Aug, 21 Aug, £13 Anna Mann’s Late Night Cheese and Sex Party Pleasance Courtyard, 21–25 Aug, £12–£14 Goose: Golden Eggs Assembly George Square Studios, 17–19 Aug, £12
23:15
Bearne the Midnight Oil Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 15–27 Aug, not 20, FREE
Jay Handley: White Jesus Banshee Labyrinth, 14–26 Aug, FREE Jon Long – Troubadour Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 14–26 Aug, FREE 2 Girls, 1 Cup... of Comedy Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5 Jem Brookes: Schizophonic Laughing Horse @ Harry’s Southside, 14–26 Aug, FREE Tim Key: Megadate Pleasance Courtyard, 16–26 Aug, not 21, 22, £14–£16
23:20 There Will Be Cake Pleasance Dome, 15 Aug, 16 Aug, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, £14–£16 Planet Caramel: Rotations in Flavour Space Just the Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre, 14–26 Aug, £5 John-Luke Roberts: Terrible Wonderful Adaptations Pleasance Dome, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, £10 Secret Mountain Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £9
23:05 The Piece Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, not 15, FREE
The Ladies Loo Chronicles theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–18 Aug, £7.50
23:10
Brendon Burns and Colt Cabana Do Comedy and Commentary to Bad Wrestling Matches Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 14–26 Aug, not 16, £5
Witch Hunt Just the Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre, 14–26 Aug, £5
Comedians Against Humanity Pleasance Dome, 15–26 Aug, £10–£12
Rahul Kohli: Kohl and the Gang Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–25 Aug, FREE
Tape Facebook Live! Pleasance Dome, 15–26 Aug, not 20, 21, £10.50–£11.50
Berlin Survivors’ Comedy Club Frankenstein Pub, 14–26 Aug, FREE
HHH
Gloria Hole Presents: The Clinic Sweet Grassmarket, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, £7
Falling With Style Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Rachel Parris’ Musical Comedy Club Pleasance Dome, 23–24 Aug, £13
23:30 Laughterthoughts: A Comedy Showcase Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 15–26 Aug, FREE Roman Fraden: Back in the Closet Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £10
Lenny Sherman: Make the World a Better Place Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–26 Aug, £5 Bronston Jones: Spilt Milk – Free Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 14–26 Aug, FREE Roast Battle Edinburgh Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE Thomas Green: Doubting Thomas Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £8–£9 Edinburgh Comedy Allstars Underbelly, George Square, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £12.50–£15 Revenge of the New World Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE Werewolf: Live – Charity Spectacular! Underbelly, George Square, 21–22 Aug, £15 Amusical Pleasance Courtyard, 22–23 Aug, £15 All Killa No Filla Live Underbelly, George Square, 19–20 Aug, £14
23:35 BEASTS Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £5
23:40
Getting Away Scott Free Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, not 19, FREE Queen C*nt – Sacred or Profane? Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £9–£10 Wishful Drinking Laughing Horse @ The Place, 17–26 Aug, FREE Not My Audience! The Stand-Up Showcase with a Twist: You Decide the Material! Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, not 15, FREE The Stand Late Club The Stand Comedy Club, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £15 Old Jewish Jokes Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 15–16 Aug, FREE
23:55 Spank! Underbelly, Cowgate, 14– 26 Aug, £13.50–£15.50 Fright Bus Service Necrobus, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £13 Last Orders Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 15–26 Aug, not 20, 21, £5 Alternative Comedy Memorial Society (ACMS) Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, £7
fest-mag.com
Found Footage Festival: After Dark Underbelly, Cowgate, 17–26 Aug, £10–£11
Listings
79
23:59 Zach & Viggo: Thunderflop Underbelly, Cowgate, 17–18 Aug, £10 Stamptown Comedy Night Underbelly, Cowgate, 16 Aug, 23 Aug, £8
Oleg Denisov: Doublethink HH Just the Tonic at The Tron, 14–26 Aug, £5 Wikipedilove Paradise in Augustines, 14–26 Aug, not 19, £9 Mr Thing Pleasance Courtyard, 15–26 Aug, not 23, £10
23:45 Grant Busé: The Birds and the Beats Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £9–£10
Over 200 shows every day! @thepleasance
EH8 9TJ
EH8 9AL
EH3 8EE
00:00 Werewolves Gilded Balloon Teviot, 15–27 Aug, not 16, £10
09:00 Breakfast Plays: Youthquake Traverse Theatre, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12 Barry’s Fringe Audio Walking Tour Outside the Tron – Hunter Square, 14–31 Aug, FREE
09:30 Bruford Warm-Up Mornings Summerhall, 14–23 Aug, not 19, 20, £4
10:15 How to Keep Time: A Drum Solo for Dementia Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10 Henriad – Histories of Betrayal Greenside @ Royal Terrace, 14–18 Aug, £8
10:20
09:55 Goodbye Rosetta theSpace @ Niddry St, 15–19 Aug, £10
Your Alice Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 20–25 Aug, £9
10:00
A Dog’s Tail Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–18 Aug, £8
Ganymede Paradise in Augustines, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £10 Shakespeare for Breakfast C venues – C, 14–27 Aug, £7.50–£9.50 Another One HHH Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10 Underground Railroad Game Traverse Theatre, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £21.50
¤ What Girls Are Made Of HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 15 Aug, 23 Aug, £21.50
¤ Nigel Slater’s Toast HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 14 Aug, 19 Aug, 21 Aug, 26 Aug, £21.50 Curio (A Cabinet of Curiosities) theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–18 Aug, £5 Meek Traverse Theatre, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, £21.50
¤ Mark Thomas –
Theatre
Swap Shop theSpace on the Mile, 14–18 Aug, £9
A Collection of Grimm’s Fairy Tales, Too Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 20–25 Aug, £8
A Midsummer Night’s Droll theSpace on the Mile, 14–18 Aug, £12.50
80
Good Things Come to Those Who theSpace on the Mile, 21–25 Aug, £7
MAD Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–18 Aug, £8
10:30 Choose Life, Choose Leith: Trainspotting on Location Leith Dockers Club, Various dates from 16 Aug to 27 Aug, £7.50 Adventurers Wanted: Rebellion Sweet Novotel, 14–26 Aug, £5 Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show Pleasance Dome, 15–27 Aug, not 21, £12–£12.50 Gutted theSpaceTriplex, 20–25 Aug, £9 The Best Play Ever theSpace on the Mile, 20–25 Aug, £8 The WWI Wardrobe Project Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–18 Aug, £10
10:35 Dining Al Desko HH theSpace on the Mile, 20–25 Aug, £10
Check Up: Our NHS at 70
10:40
Traverse Theatre, 18 Aug, 25 Aug, £21.50
Reigen theSpace @ Venue45, 14–18 Aug, £8
HHHH 10:05
Monday at Golden Oak High theSpace @ Niddry St, 14–18 Aug, £9 Bottled Up theSpace on North Bridge, 14–18 Aug, £10
The Laurel and Hardy Story theSpaceTriplex, 14–18 Aug, £10
10:45 Alan Bennett’s A Visit from Miss Prothero theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 24 Aug, £12 The Electra Legacy Paradise in Augustines, 20–25 Aug, £15 Dining Al Desko HH theSpace on the Mile, 14–18 Aug, £9 Alan Bennett’s Say Something Happened theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, £12 That Bastard Brecht Paradise in Augustines, 14–18 Aug, £15
10:50 The Mariner’s Song Paradise in The Vault, 14–18 Aug, £10 In Addition Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10 Lights Over Tesco Car Park Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, not 15, 22, £8.50–£11 As It Happened (Contemporaneous Notes) theSpace on North Bridge, 14–18 Aug, £7 Lonely TWOgether Beijing Version theSpace on North Bridge, 21–24 Aug, £12
10:55 Treasure Island theSpace @ Niddry St, 21–25 Aug, £8 Pomona theSpaceTriplex, 20–25 Aug, £10
11:00 Zoo Assembly George Square Studios, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £9.50–£11.50 Alabama God Damn Pleasance Dome, 14–26 Aug, not 21, £8.50–£10.50 Proxy Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £8–£9 Our Man in Havana Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 21 Aug to 27 Aug, £7.50–£10 Twenty Minutes to Nine / Free Fringe Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, 20 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, FREE
¤ The Greatest Play in
the History of the World...
HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, £20.50 The Turn of the Screw Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10 The Taming of the Shrew C venues – C south, 14–18 Aug, £8–£10 Class HHH Traverse Theatre, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, 26 Aug, £20.50 The Meeting theSpace @ Niddry St, 14–18 Aug, £7 Old Boy Scottish Storytelling Centre, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, £10 Under the Fig Tree Paradise in The Vault, 20–26 Aug, £8
¤ Coriolanus Vanishes HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £20.50
¤ Ulster American HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 14 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, £20.50 On the Exhale Traverse Theatre, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, £20.50 Risk Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 14–15 Aug, FREE
11:05 Walk Swiftly and With Purpose theSpace on the Mile, 14–18 Aug, £9.50
11:10 Steve Richards Presents Rock’n’Roll Politics 2018 theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 19–25 Aug, £12 Punching Judy theSpace @ Niddry St, 14–18 Aug, £10 Are There More of You? Assembly Hall, 14–27 Aug, £11–£12.50 Two by Jim Cartwright (Clueless Presents) theSpace on North Bridge, 14–18 Aug, £8–£10
Swap Shop theSpace on the Mile, 20–25 Aug, £9 Inferno theSpace on North Bridge, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £7 Death, Dating and I Do theSpace on the Mile, 14–18 Aug, £7
11:20 Steve Richards Presents Rock’n’Roll Politics 2018 theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 14–18 Aug, £12 Holy Sh*t Paradise in The Vault, 20–24 Aug, £8 Brollies and Bumbershoots Central Hall, 14 Aug, £5 Intro to Chicano History: 101 Central Hall, 17 Aug, £5
11:25 Fallen Fruit Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12 Elise Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £9–£11 Definition of Man
HHH
Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £8–£10 The Antiscians Greenside @ Royal Terrace, 14–18 Aug, £10 Spoiler Alert Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £8.50
How to Spot an Alien Roundabout @ Summerhall, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, £10 Sticks and Stones Roundabout @ Summerhall, 15 Aug, 17 Aug, 20 Aug, 23 Aug, £15–£17 Shadow Hour Central Hall, 15 Aug, £5
11:35 How to Be Amazingly Happy! HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 15–27 Aug, £8–£10 Walk Swiftly and With Purpose theSpace on the Mile, 20–25 Aug, £9.50 The Interview theSpace on North Bridge, 20–25 Aug, £7
11:40 Trump Lear HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 15–27 Aug, £9–£11 No Sanction Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–18 Aug, £8 The WWI Wardrobe Project Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 20–25 Aug, £10 All the Lights Are On
HHH
11:30 Doors Opening Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–18 Aug, £9
An Elephant in the Garden by Michael Morpurgo Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £10–£11
Orlando Assembly Roxy, 15–27 Aug, not 21, £12–£13 She Taught Me How to Breathe Again Zoo Southside, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £10 WHITE Pleasance Courtyard, 15–27 Aug, not 20, £7.50–£10 Island Town Roundabout @ Summerhall, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, £15–£17
Good Women Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–19 Aug, FREE
Adventurers Wanted: Rebellion Sweet Novotel, 14–26 Aug, £5
Eglantyne Gilded Balloon Teviot, 15–27 Aug, £9–£10
The Fetch Wilson Pleasance Courtyard, 15–27 Aug, £8–£10
Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10
Hecate Paradise in The Vault, 14–18 Aug, £12
11:15
Sparks HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10–£12
...And This Is My Friend Mr Laurel Pleasance Courtyard, 15–27 Aug, £10–£12.50
Tarzanne theSpaceTriplex, 14–18 Aug, £10
11:45 1984 Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 20–25 Aug, £10 Raise the Roof Quaker Meeting House, 20–24 Aug, £5 The Girl Who Jumped Off the Hollywood Sign Assembly George Square Studios, Various dates from 16 Aug to 26 Aug, £12–£13 Nine Foot Nine Assembly Rooms, 14–25 Aug, not 16, £10–£12 Audacious Mr Astley Pleasance Courtyard, 15–27 Aug, £9–£12
䄀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀攀爀椀漀甀猀 匀栀愀欀攀猀瀀攀愀爀攀 瀀氀愀礀⸀⸀⸀ 眀椀琀栀 愀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀栀℀琀ⴀ昀愀挀攀搀 愀挀琀漀爀⸀
䠀䄀䴀䰀䔀吀 ⴀ㈀㜀 䄀唀䜀唀匀吀 ⸀㔀 倀䴀
Finding Fassbender Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £8–£10.50 Warhol: Bullet Karma Sweet Grassmarket, 20–26 Aug, £8.50 Eight theSpace on the Mile, 14–18 Aug, £10 That Daring Australian Girl Assembly George Square Studios, Various dates from 15 Aug to 27 Aug, £12–£13
11:50 The Reluctant Fundamentalist Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £8–£10 A Good Enough Girl? Assembly George Square Theatre, 15–27 Aug, not 21, £11–£12 Alma, a Human Voice
HHH
Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10 A Necessary Woman Sweet Grassmarket, 20–26 Aug, £9.50 The OS Map Fan Club theSpaceTriplex, 14–18 Aug, £9
11:55 Individual Medley Sweet Grassmarket, 14–19 Aug, £7 Tetra-Decathlon Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12 Brawn theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20–25 Aug, £8 You’ve Got To Be Kidney Me! HHH Venue 13, 14–18 Aug, £9 Lonely TWOgether Taipei Version theSpace on North Bridge, 21–24 Aug, £12
12:00
Daniel Cainer: Old Dog, New Shtick! Underbelly, George Square, 14–27 Aug, £11–£12 Heroine Assembly Hall, 14–27 Aug, not 21, £10–£12 The Lucky Durhams theSpace @ Venue45, 14–18 Aug, £10 Dangerous Giant Animals Underbelly, Cowgate, 15–26 Aug, not 21, £9–£10 Unsung Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12 Tits ‘n’ Teeth Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10 In Conversation With... Barbara Dickson The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 17 Aug, £12 Dominoes Assembly George Square Studios, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £10 The Archive of Educated Hearts Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £7 Agent November Investigates: Rob Berry The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £15 Scary Story Paradise in The Vault, 20–26 Aug, £8
In Conversation With... Jonathan Watson The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 25 Aug, £12 In Conversation With... Darren McGarvey The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 14 Aug, £12 In Conversation With... Arnold Brown The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 24 Aug, £12 In Conversation With... Mark Thomas The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15 Aug, £12 In Conversation With... Richard Leonard The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 18 Aug, £12 In Conversation With... Rory Bremner The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 16 Aug, £12 In Conversation With... Mike Russell The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 26 Aug, £12 In Conversation With... Ruby Wax The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 23 Aug, £12 In Conversation With... Archie Macpherson The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 22 Aug, £12 In Conversation With... KT Tunstall The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 21 Aug, £12
12:05
Cat-in-a-Box C venues – C aquila, 14–18 Aug, £7.50–£9.50
Into the Blue theSpace @ Niddry St, 21–25 Aug, £8
The Biggest Problem in the World: Our Problem With Problems (and Why Truth Matters) Sweet Grassmarket, 14–19 Aug, £8
Waiting for Ofsted theSpace @ Niddry St, 14–18 Aug, £10
An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE @JohnLewis: Never Knowingly Undertweeted
HHH
Leviticus ZOO Charteris, 15–27 Aug, not 21, £10–£12
Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, FREE
A Christmas Carol Assembly George Square Studios, 14–27 Aug, £13–£15
In Conversation With... Judy Murray The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 20 Aug, £12
After the Cuts HH Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £15
The Canterville Ghost PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 18–22 Aug, £5
The Accordion Shop PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 14–17 Aug, £5
Laura theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–18 Aug, £7 In Conversation With... Emily Thornberry The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 19 Aug, £12
The Edge of You theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 14–25 Aug, not 19, 21, £10 Alfred Hitchcock’s Writers’ Room theSpace on North Bridge, 14–18 Aug, £8.50
12:10 3000 Trees: The Death of Mr William MacRae The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £10 Offstage HH Pleasance Dome, 15–27 Aug, £8–£10 Stupid Cupid Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10 Just William’s Luck Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10 Ovid’s Metamorphoses Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, £9–£12
Black and White Tea Room – Counsellor Assembly Rooms, 14–25 Aug, £11–£12
12:15 Kokoda Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £8–£9 Uninvited C venues – C royale, 19–27 Aug, £7.50–£9.50 On Their Own Ground C venues – C royale, 14–18 Aug, £7.50–£9.50 Heimatmann Laughing Horse @ The Mockingbird, 14–26 Aug, FREE Banana Boys theSpace on the Mile, 14–18 Aug, £8 I’ll Have What She’s Having Assembly George Square Studios, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £9–£11 Magic 8 Ball (My Life With Asperger’s) Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £9–£9.50 The Merry Wives of Seoul C venues – C south, 14–18 Aug, £8–£10 Molière’s The Miser C venues – C, 14–18 Aug, £7.50–£9.50
12:20 Mengele Assembly George Square Theatre, Various dates from 14 Aug to 26 Aug, £10–£12 Yen C venues – C cubed, 14–25 Aug, £7.50–£9.50 Gate 64 Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10 Kit Finnie: Mabel and Mickey Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10 Marsistan Sweet Novotel, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £7.50 All Change Assembly George Square Theatre, Various dates from 15 Aug to 27 Aug, £10–£12 Let’s Inherit the Earth Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10–£12 Haggis, Neeps and Burns
HH
Hill Street Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £12 Good Grief theSpace on the Mile, 21–25 Aug, £8
12:25 Beaker’s Place theSpace on North Bridge, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £8.50 Vivarium Bedlam Theatre, 14–27 Aug, not 16, £10
12:35 A Beginner’s Guide to Populism theSpaceTriplex, 14–18 Aug, £9
Courtroom Play: A Courtroom Play Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, £9.50–£12.50
A Substitute for Life Assembly Hall, 14–27 Aug, £10–£11.50
An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE
Henriad – Histories of Betrayal Greenside @ Royal Terrace, 20–25 Aug, £8
A Night of Dark Intent theSpace @ Niddry St, 14–15 Aug, £5
147Hz Can’t Pass Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £7
12:30
Breathing Corpses theSpace on the Mile, 20–25 Aug, £8
Fcuk’d Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£10
The Big Lie theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 14–16 Aug, £5
The Archive of Educated Hearts Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £7
12:40 The Half Moon Shania
Is This a Dagger? The Story of Macbeth Scottish Storytelling Centre, 22–26 Aug, £10
HHH
Zoo Southside, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £10 An Evening With Miss Wong Assembly Rooms, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 19, 20, 22, £10–£12
No One Is Coming to Save You Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £8–£10.50 The Abode Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–16 Aug, £10 A Play, A Pie and A Pint Le Monde, 14–27 Aug, not 18, 25, £12.50 Simon Callow in De Profundis Assembly Rooms, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £17–£19 Eleanor’s Story: An American Girl in Hitler’s Germany Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10
Tarzanne theSpaceTriplex, 20–25 Aug, £10 Matthew 19:14 Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £9.50 Gratiano Assembly Rooms, 15 Aug, 19 Aug, 22 Aug, £10–£12 My Name Is Dorothy Greenside @ Royal Terrace, 14–18 Aug, £8 Pyg Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–18 Aug, £8
Adventurers Wanted: Rebellion Sweet Novotel, 14–26 Aug, £5
12:45
A State of Mind Underbelly, Cowgate, 17–26 Aug, £10–£11
Sisterhood Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £8.50–£11
¤ Daughter HHHH
Busking It Pleasance Courtyard, 15–27 Aug, £7–£12.50
CanadaHub @ King’s Hall in association with Summerhall, 15–26 Aug, not 20, 21, £11
UnSpoken C venues – C royale, 15–27 Aug, £7.50–£9.50
Titus Andronicus Paradise in The Vault, 14–18 Aug, £10 The Women of Lockerbie C venues – C, 14 Aug, £8.50 Comedy of Errors
HHH
The Selkie: A Song of Many Waters 52 Canoes (Grassmarket), 14–15 Aug, FREE
fest-mag.com
See-Through Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £5–£10
Listings
81
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14 Aug, £10
Everything Is Going to Be KO Pleasance Courtyard, 15–27 Aug, not 21, £8.50–£11 Statements Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–17 Aug, £8.50–£9.50
䄀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀攀爀椀漀甀猀 匀栀愀欀攀猀瀀攀愀爀攀 瀀氀愀礀⸀⸀⸀ 眀椀琀栀 愀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀栀℀琀ⴀ昀愀挀攀搀 愀挀琀漀爀⸀
䠀䄀䴀䰀䔀吀 ⴀ㈀㜀 䄀唀䜀唀匀吀 ⸀㔀 倀䴀
Fronting Pleasance Courtyard, 15–27 Aug, £8–£11
Ladykiller Pleasance Courtyard, 15–27 Aug, £9–£11
Boxes PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 18–22 Aug, £5
¤ Blackthorn by Charley Miles
A Play, A Pie and A Pint McSorley’s Irish Bar, 14–24 Aug, not 18, £12.50
In Loyal Company Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £9–£11.50
Romeo and Juliet Assembly George Square Gardens, 15–19 Aug, £15
Roundabout @ Summerhall, 15–26 Aug, not 21, £14–£15
12:50
Flight HHH Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, £6
The Time Machine theSpace @ Venue45, 14–18 Aug, £9
Crave theSpace on North Bridge, 14–18 Aug, £7
Tonight I Sleep in Peace (or How to Cure Involuntary Nocturnal Bruxism) theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–18 Aug, £7–£8
Gie’s Peace Scottish Storytelling Centre, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £9
Vessel Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £10–£11
An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE Born on a Monday Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £7 Everything Wrong With You Is Beautiful Banshee Labyrinth, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE The Monster in the Hall theSpace on the Mile, Various dates from 14 Aug to 24 Aug, £9.50 Keep the Change ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £10 Jumpers for Goalposts theSpace on the Mile, Various dates from 15 Aug to 25 Aug, £9.50
12:55 Polaris Pleasance Courtyard, 15–27 Aug, £7.50–£9.50
Theatre
Love Song to Lavender Menace Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12 Tonight I Sleep in Peace (or How to Cure Involuntary Nocturnal Bruxism) theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20–25 Aug, £7–£8
13:00 Dummy Bourbon Bar, 14–25 Aug, not 15, 22, FREE
82
Power Play: Somebody Pleasance Pop-Up: Power Play HQ, 15–25 Aug, not 21, £12 About Lady White Fox With Nine Tales... Assembly George Square Studios, 15–27 Aug, not 21, £12–£13 Guerilla Aspies Year Four – Autism. Amusement. Conversion. Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 17–26 Aug, FREE Propeller HH Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, not 21, £7–£9 The Archive of Educated Hearts Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £7 A War of Two Halves Tynecastle Park, 14–16 Aug, £24 Marie Assembly Rooms, 14–25 Aug, not 20, £10–£11 Agent November Investigates: Rob Berry The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £15 Meek Traverse Theatre, 16 Aug, 18 Aug, 25 Aug, £21.50 Diary of an Expat Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11
Underground Railroad Game Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, 26 Aug, £21.50
¤ Nigel Slater’s Toast HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 15 Aug, 22 Aug, £21.50
¤ What Girls Are Made Of HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, £21.50 Stealth Aspies – Autistic People Speaking Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 14–16 Aug, FREE Chwedl: Fairytales from Wales PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 23–27 Aug, £6 Twelfth Night Assembly George Square Gardens, 22–26 Aug, £15 The 39 Steps: A Disaster in a Radio Studio! PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 14–17 Aug, £5 The Trip PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 25–26 Aug, £7
¤ Mark Thomas –
Check Up: Our NHS at 70
HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 14 Aug, 19 Aug, 21 Aug, £21.50
HHHH
Manx Fairy Tales and Legends theSpace on the Mile, 14–18 Aug, £10 Never Vera Blue Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12
13:15
13:20
Red and Boiling HH Venue 13, 14–25 Aug, not 20, £12
The Hit Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10
What Makes You a Woman theSpace on the Mile, 14–18 Aug, £7 My Left Nut Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10 The Burning Gadulka Laughing Horse @ Harry’s Southside, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE Sinatra: Raw Frankenstein Pub, 14–27 Aug, £7.50
13:10
An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE
Signals Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £8–£10.50
The First Love Project C venues – C, 19–26 Aug, £7.50–£9.50
Do You Think That’s Wise? – The Life and Times of John Le Mesurier Laughing Horse @ Cabaret Voltaire, 14–26 Aug, FREE
The Quest: A Fantasy Musical theSpace @ Venue45, 20–25 Aug, £9.50
Little Sparks theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 14–25 Aug, £8
Don’t Kill Your Darlings ZOO Charteris, 14–26 Aug, £10
Who Cares? Natural Food Kafe, 14–25 Aug, not 21, FREE
The Grimm Truth theSpace @ Niddry St, 14–18 Aug, £7.50
Don Juan Assembly George Square Theatre, 14–27 Aug, £11–£12
Queens of Sheba Underbelly, Bristo Square, 15 Aug, £10
Dickens for Dinner C venues – C, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£10.50
Jericho Underbelly, Cowgate, 15–26 Aug, £6.50–£11
The Red Shoes theSpace @ Niddry St, 20–25 Aug, £8
Dolly theSpace on the Mile, 21–25 Aug, £7
13:05
Panopticon theSpace on North Bridge, 20–25 Aug, £7
DUPed Sweet Grassmarket, 14–26 Aug, not 19, £8
Dangerous Giant Animals Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14 Aug, 21 Aug, £9
Ouroboros Underbelly, Cowgate, 14 Aug, £10
Big Love Central Hall, 15 Aug, £5
❤ The Fishermen HHHH
Assembly George Square Studios, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £11.50–£12.50 The EU Inspector theSpace on North Bridge, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £7 Gypsy Queen Assembly George Square Studios, 15–27 Aug, not 21, £10–£12 Darlings C venues – C aquila, 15–27 Aug, £7.50–£9.50 As We Like It Paradise in Augustines, 14–18 Aug, £8 Intro to Chicano History: 101 Central Hall, 14 Aug, £5 Brollies and Bumbershoots Central Hall, 16 Aug, £5
13:25 Erewhon Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10 Don Quixote Assembly Roxy, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, £8–£10
¤ The Approach HHHH
Assembly Hall, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, £12–£13 The Black Dahlia Paradise in The Vault, 14–17 Aug, £6
13:30 Door-to-Door Poetry Bourbon Bar, 14–25 Aug, not 15, FREE Chemo Barbie HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £9.50–£10.50
䄀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀攀爀椀漀甀猀 匀栀愀欀攀猀瀀攀愀爀攀 瀀氀愀礀⸀⸀⸀ 眀椀琀栀 愀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀栀℀琀ⴀ昀愀挀攀搀 愀挀琀漀爀⸀
䠀䄀䴀䰀䔀吀 ⴀ㈀㜀 䄀唀䜀唀匀吀 ⸀㔀 倀䴀
On the Exhale Traverse Theatre, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, £20.50
Wrecked Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 14–27 Aug, £13–£14
Monolinguals, Where Are You? The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 19 Aug, £9
May Contain Neanderthal The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 25 Aug, £9
Politics of the Tooth Fairy The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 18 Aug, £9
Brexit HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12.50–£16.50
All News Is Fake News! The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15 Aug, £9
Flight HHH Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, £6 The Cat’s Mother Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10 The Archive of Educated Hearts Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £7 Adventurers Wanted: Rebellion Sweet Novotel, 14–26 Aug, £5
¤ Ulster American HHHH
13:35 The Spider Glass theSpaceTriplex, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £8
Evros | The Crossing River Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £8–£10
¤ The Greatest Play in
Twelfth Night: The Ship of Fools C venues – C, 14–18 Aug, £8.50–£10.50
HHHH
13:40
Traverse Theatre, 14 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, £20.50 Footballers Have Feelings Too The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, £9 Will Pigs Save Our Bacon? The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 22 Aug, £9
A Clown Show About Rain Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £8.50–£11 Camp Be Yourself Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10 Tonight With Donny Stixx theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 14–25 Aug, £9.50–£11.50
The Dark Side of Fluorescence The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 21 Aug, £9
An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE
Class HHH Traverse Theatre, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £20.50
Olorine C venues – C too, 19–23 Aug, £7.50–£9.50
What Keeps You Sharp? The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 16 Aug, £9
Bad Dog theSpace on North Bridge, 14–18 Aug, £10
❤ Coriolanus Vanishes HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, £20.50 Disgust for Dummies The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 14 Aug, £9
The Ballad of the Apathetic Son and His Narcissistic Mother Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12
Flight HHH Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, £6
Grace Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£9.50
Jings Crivvens Help Ma Boab Eric Liddell Centre, 14 Aug, FREE
The Spy Who Doped Me The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 26 Aug, £9
the History of the World...
Agent November Investigates: Rob Berry The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £15
The Marilyn Conspiracy Assembly George Square Studios, 14–27 Aug, £15–£18
You Only Live Forever Assembly George Square Studios, 15–27 Aug, £9–£11
The Naked Blind Data Show The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 20 Aug, £9
A Robinson Crusoe of the Soul Sweet Novotel, 14–26 Aug, not 17, 22, £5
Shadow Hour Central Hall, 17 Aug, £5
(sorry) Assembly George Square Theatre, 14–27 Aug, not 15, 22, £13–£15
Yer Aul’ Da The Royal Scots Club, 21–25 Aug, £10
The Archive of Educated Hearts Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £7
An Act Of Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £10
Traverse Theatre, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, £20.50
¤ Baby Face HHHH
Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £9
The Sisters of CastleKnock House C venues – C royale, 15–27 Aug, £7.50–£9.50
13:45 BaseCamp HHH C venues – C south, 15–27 Aug, £9.50–£11.50
Bowjangles: Excalibow Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, £10–£12 Faulty Towers the Dining Experience The Principal, 14–27 Aug, £49.50 Starfish C venues – C royale, 14–27 Aug, £7.50–£9.50 Feed Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £9–£12
WEIRD HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 15–27 Aug, £10–£12
The Half Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £7–£12.50
¤ Zugunruhe HHHH
A Pickering’s Gin Jolly Summerhall, 15–26 Aug, not 21, £10
Zoo Southside, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £10 My Mate Dave Died Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 20–25 Aug, £7
13:50 Medea Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 23–25 Aug, £7 Falkland – The War the World Forgot Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £10–£12 Last Tango in Little Grimley Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 21–25 Aug, £5 Osric Omand and the Story of Hope Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–18 Aug, £8 Diagnosed Paradise in The Vault, 21–25 Aug, FREE Scratch Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14 Aug, 16 Aug, 18 Aug, £8.50 Blink Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 15 Aug, 17 Aug, £8.50
14:00 And Before I Forget I Love You, I Love You Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £8–£10 VELVET Pleasance Courtyard, 15–27 Aug, £11–£12.50 Gulliver Returns Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11
Author, Composer, Soldier-of-a-Sort Pleasance Courtyard, 15–27 Aug, £8.50–£11 City Love C venues – C cubed, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£10.50
Annie Brassey Paradise in Augustines, 14–18 Aug, £8
UNCONDITIONAL Pleasance Courtyard, 15–26 Aug, £8.50–£11
All That Remains Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 21–25 Aug, £8
Bite-Size Plays Presents: Neverwant Pleasance Courtyard, 15–27 Aug, not 21, £9.50–£11
Dancing With Mrs Murphy Leith Dockers Club, 14–16 Aug, £10 Arthur Conan Doyle – The Spiritualist Arthur Conan Doyle Centre, 14 Aug, 16 Aug, 21 Aug, £8
Sit With Us for a Moment and Remember ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, £1
Twenty Minutes to Nine / Free Fringe The Edinburgh Yes Hub, 18–19 Aug, FREE
14:05
Ailsa Benson Is Missing Assembly Rooms, 14–25 Aug, £10–£11
An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE
Impact Pleasance Courtyard, 15–27 Aug, £9–£11
14:10 Jet of Blood ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £10 The Vanishing Man Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £9.50–£13
Para Handy: A Radio Play on Stage PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 14–19 Aug, £11.50
A Sight of Abject Pity and Ruin theSpace on North Bridge, 20–25 Aug, £5
Horror – Gothic Tales and Dark Poetry Banshee Labyrinth, 15–26 Aug, not 22, FREE
Words Is Words Is Words theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–18 Aug, £6
Happimess theSpace @ Venue45, 14–18 Aug, £8 Sit With Us for a Moment and Remember ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, £1 The Poets’ Republic – Unleashed Scottish Poetry Library, 24–25 Aug, £5
3 Years, 1 Week and a Lemon Drizzle Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10
14:15
Decibels Paradise in The Vault, 14–26 Aug, not 19, £9
The Screwtape Letters Palmerston Place Church, 25 Aug, £11 Pricks Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, not 15, 22, £8.50–£11
¤ What I Talk About
Losing My Mindfulness Natural Food Kafe, 14–25 Aug, FREE Nitro theSpace on the Mile, Various dates from 14 Aug to 24 Aug, £9.50 In Their Footsteps theSpace @ Venue45, 20–25 Aug, £8
Casanova Dreaming theSpace @ Niddry St, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £9
Bummer and Lazarus Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–18 Aug, £9
Chase Scenes HHH CanadaHub @ King’s Hall in association with Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £11 Antigone theSpace on the Mile, Various dates from 15 Aug to 25 Aug, £9.50
The Bench Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10
Treasure Island theSpaceTriplex, 14–18 Aug, £10
Goons Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14 Aug, £10 Spaces Sweet Grassmarket, 15–26 Aug, not 21, £9
Side Effects Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–18 Aug, £8
The End of Eddy The Studio, 23–26 Aug, £11
I, Sniper theSpace on North Bridge, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £7
14:25
Chimes at Midnight theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £8
Jings Crivvens Help Ma Boab Eric Liddell Centre, 14 Aug, FREE
14:20 Dracula Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £9–£12.50 The Song of Lunch Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £11–£14.50
Community theSpace on the Mile, 14–18 Aug, £5
Eight Bedlam Theatre, 20–27 Aug, £10
Taking it Badly theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20–25 Aug, £9
Integrity theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20–25 Aug, £10
fest-mag.com
It’s Not a Sprint HH Pleasance Dome, 15–26 Aug, not 21, £9–£11
Listings
83
The Lucky Durhams theSpace @ Venue45, 19 Aug, £10
When I Talk About Running HHHH ZOO Charteris, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 20, 21, 22, £10
14:30 Drip Feed HH Assembly George Square Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £12–£13
䄀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀攀爀椀漀甀猀 匀栀愀欀攀猀瀀攀愀爀攀 瀀氀愀礀⸀⸀⸀ 眀椀琀栀 愀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀栀℀琀ⴀ昀愀挀攀搀 愀挀琀漀爀⸀
䠀䄀䴀䰀䔀吀 ⴀ㈀㜀 䄀唀䜀唀匀吀 ⸀㔀 倀䴀
Flight HHH Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, £6
Rainforest Dreams Paradise in Augustines, 20–26 Aug, £8.50
One Woman Alien Sweet Grassmarket, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, £8
Cambusdonald Royal Mayfield Salisbury Church, 18 Aug, £12
Sticks and Stones Roundabout @ Summerhall, 16 Aug, 19 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £15–£17
Island Town Roundabout @ Summerhall, Various dates from 15 Aug to 26 Aug, £15–£17
Sit With Us for a Moment and Remember ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, £1 An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE Wired Army @ The Fringe in Association with Summerhall, 14–25 Aug, not 20, £12 The Pieman Cometh: A Cautionary Football Tale Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £11–£12
Theatre
The Providence of Neighboring Bodies Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11
84
Jings Crivvens Help Ma Boab Eric Liddell Centre, 14 Aug, FREE
Ruth Cockburn – Love Letters from Blackpool Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 20, £9
Nina’s Got News by Frank Skinner Pleasance Dome, 14–26 Aug, £14–£16 Big Aftermath of a Small Disclosure HHH Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12.50
14:45
The Prisoner The Lyceum, 25 Aug, £17
The Straw Man Assembly Rooms, 14–25 Aug, not 16, 18, 20, 23, £10–£12
The Steamie HHH Inverleith St Serf’s Church Centre, 18 Aug, £12
Fallout Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Legacy: The Story of Martin Luther Palmerston Place Church, 18 Aug, £10
Not Yet Suffragette Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £10–£11
It’s True, It’s True, It’s True Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £11–£12
14:35 Heaven Burns Assembly Roxy, 15–27 Aug, £9–£11 Awakening Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £10–£11
Power Play: Funeral Flowers HHH Pleasance Pop-Up: Power Play HQ, 15–25 Aug, not 21, £12
DNA – Alexandra David-Néel theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–18 Aug, £11
Wrecked Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 14–27 Aug, £13–£14
Love Songs Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £10–£11
Bonqrz Laughing Horse @ The Mockingbird, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE
The Front Page St Ninian’s Hall, 18 Aug, £12
I Love You... But theSpace on North Bridge, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £8
The Man Who Planted Trees Scottish Storytelling Centre, 20–27 Aug, £12
14:50 The Rockford File Pleasance Dome, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £8.50–£11
Once Seen on Blue Peter Assembly Rooms, 14–26 Aug, £19.50–£22.50
The Famous Five C venues – C, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£10.50
A World Beyond Man Quaker Meeting House, 20–25 Aug, £6
14:40 Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo HH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £10–£12
Man Down Venue 13, 14–25 Aug, not 20, £12 Other People’s Teeth C venues – C aquila, 14–19 Aug, £8–£10 Duck Gutters theSpaceTriplex, 20–25 Aug, £10
The Egg Is a Lonely Hunter Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, £10 Benny Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £10–£11 The Big Time C venues – C royale, 15–25 Aug, £7.50–£9.50 Sit With Us for a Moment and Remember ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, £1 In for a Penny Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £9.50–£10.50 A Self-Help Guide to Being in Love With Jeremy Corbyn Bourbon Bar, 14–25 Aug, not 20, FREE The Canterville Ghost Pleasance Courtyard, 17 Aug, 19 Aug, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, £10–£13
Sophie, Ben and Other Problems Assembly George Square Studios, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £10–£11 Orpheus Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £11 The House Assembly George Square Studios, 14–27 Aug, not 21, £11–£13 The Unknown Soldier Assembly Rooms, 16 Aug, 18 Aug, 23 Aug, £10–£12
14:55 Free and Proud Assembly George Square Studios, 14–27 Aug, £12–£13 Drowning Our Babies Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £10 An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE
Much Ado About Nothing theSpace @ Niddry St, 20–25 Aug, £10
15:00 Drenched Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £9–£11 It’s Alright, Everything’s Okay Zoo Southside, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £6–£7 Quines Paradise in The Vault, 20–26 Aug, £9 Agent November Investigates: Murder Mr E The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £15 Conflict of Interest Sweet Novotel, 14–26 Aug, £8.50 After Today PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 14–27 Aug, not 15, 21, £10–£12.50 Dreamland Zoo Southside, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £10 Really Want to Hurt Me Assembly Hall, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £10–£11 Drifting Towers C venues – C aquila, 14–27 Aug, £7.50–£9.50 BaseCamp HHH C venues – C south, 15–27 Aug, £9.50–£11.50 The Last Straw Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12 Flight HHH Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, £6 Woyzeck Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, not 23, £7.50–£10 Alternative Bedtime Stories Sweet Novotel, 14–26 Aug, £7
Hamlet (An Experience) Sweet Novotel, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, £10 Century Song HHH Zoo Southside, 14 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, £12–£14 Extro-Terrestrial Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 15 Aug, 17 Aug, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, £7 Your Alice Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–18 Aug, £9 Hello Georgie, Goodbye Best Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £10
¤ South Bend HHHH
Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 15–27 Aug, not 21, £13–£14 Painted Love Valvona & Crolla, 23 Aug, 26 Aug, £10 Me, Myself and AI Greenside @ Nicolson Square, Various dates from 14 Aug to 25 Aug, £7 Walk the Oars Scottish Storytelling Centre, 22–26 Aug, £9 Sit With Us for a Moment and Remember ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, £1 La Maladie de la mort The Lyceum, 18–19 Aug, £17 A War of Two Halves Tynecastle Park, 14 Aug, £24 Midsummer The Hub, 18 Aug, 25 Aug, £32 Jings Crivvens Help Ma Boab Eric Liddell Centre, 14 Aug, FREE
䄀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀攀爀椀漀甀猀 匀栀愀欀攀猀瀀攀愀爀攀 瀀氀愀礀⸀⸀⸀ 眀椀琀栀 愀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀栀℀琀ⴀ昀愀挀攀搀 愀挀琀漀爀⸀
䠀䄀䴀䰀䔀吀 ⴀ㈀㜀 䄀唀䜀唀匀吀 ⸀㔀 倀䴀
Listings
85
The Anglican Tradition of Poetry St Vincent’s, 17 Aug, FREE
15:05 Face 2 Face theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £10 Framed! theSpace on North Bridge, 14–18 Aug, £8 Grace Notes theSpace on the Mile, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £10 Phill Jupitus Is Porky the Poet in Living in a World Where They Throw the Ducks at the Bread Voodoo Rooms, 14–26 Aug, FREE Queen of the Air theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–18 Aug, £9 Puffin Island Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–18 Aug, £9 Congratulations You Bastard! theSpace on North Bridge, 20–25 Aug, £5
15:10 Other Voices Spoken Word Cabaret Banshee Labyrinth, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, FREE Bride of the Gulf C venues – C cubed, 15–27 Aug, £9.50–£11.50 Life on Venus theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 14–18 Aug, £7 Pig Circus Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–18 Aug, £10 Nutshells theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 14–18 Aug, £8
15:15
15:20
15:30
Susan Macbeth Laughing Horse @ The Cuckoo’s Nest, 15–26 Aug, FREE
The Poetry of Sticking an Egg Up a Hen’s Butt! Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Marmite Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £9–£10
Toby Thompson: For the Record Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £9–£12
The Pleasantries of Peasantry theSpace on North Bridge, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £7
Passionate Machine ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, £10
Tobacco Road HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 15–27 Aug, £9.50–£12.50
Lu-ting the Merman Paradise in Augustines, 14–26 Aug, not 19, £10
¤ Songlines HHHH
Ken Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £11–£14.50
Trojan Horse Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, £12
An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE
Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £10–£12
Sitting by Katherine Parkinson Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–26 Aug, £14–£16 Narcissist in the Mirror Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, not 19, £9–£11 Unspoken Pleasance Courtyard, 21–27 Aug, £7–£12.50 Terra Is a Warm Gun theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 21–25 Aug, £10 The Unsung Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 21–25 Aug, £9 Sherlock Holmes and the Conundrum of Conan Doyle theSpace on the Mile, 14–18 Aug, £8 The Imagicarium of Mr Dickens theSpace on the Mile, 20–25 Aug, £8 Sit With Us for a Moment and Remember ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, £1
¤ Angry Alan by Penelope Skinner
HHHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £13–£14 An Algorithm Named Kevin theSpace @ Niddry St, 20–25 Aug, £5–£7 Brollies and Bumbershoots Central Hall, 17 Aug, £5 To the Ocean theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 14–19 Aug, £5 Romeo and Juliet theSpace @ Niddry St, 14–18 Aug, £8–£10
15:25 F**k You Pay Me
HHH
Assembly Rooms, 15–26 Aug, not 21, £10–£11 Alan Bennett’s Say Something Happened theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 24–25 Aug, £12 Alan Bennett’s A Visit from Miss Prothero theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20–23 Aug, £12
Vox: A Fairy Tale for a New Age Central Hall, 14 Aug, £5 Ad Libido Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, not 21, £8–£10.50 Off-Kilter Dance Base, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £13 Misha Glenny: McMafia Assembly Checkpoint, 20–26 Aug, £14–£15 Sit With Us for a Moment and Remember ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, £1 Flight HHH Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, £6 Dietrich: Natural Duty Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £10–£12 The Strange Friendship of Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini Arthur Conan Doyle Centre, 14 Aug, 16 Aug, 21 Aug, £8 Outside Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £8–£10 Henry Pleasance Dome, 14–26 Aug, £10–£12 The Red Shoes Pleasance Courtyard, 14–18 Aug, £7.50–£10 Wrecked Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 14–27 Aug, £13–£14
15:45
Talking Heads – Bed Among the Lentils St Cuthbert’s Church, 14–15 Aug, £10
Drunk Lion Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 14–26 Aug, FREE
A War of Two Halves Tynecastle Park, 15–17 Aug, £24
Not in Our Neighbourhood Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £10–£11
Ciara The Royal Scots Club, 15–18 Aug, £10 Shadow Hour Central Hall, 16 Aug, £5
Luke Wright, Poet Laureate Bar Bados Complex, 14–25 Aug, FREE
15:35 Sirens Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £8.50–£11 Choking to Death on a Currant Bun theSpace on North Bridge, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £9 Metamorphosis of One C venues – C royale, 14–27 Aug, £7.50–£9.50
Breathing Corpses theSpace on the Mile, Various dates from 14 Aug to 24 Aug, £9.50 An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE Urban Unrest Paradise in The Vault, 14–26 Aug, not 19, £7.50
15:40
Wings Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 20–26 Aug, FREE
Don Quixote Unbound Sweet Grassmarket, 14–26 Aug, £10 I Love You Mum... I Promise I Won’t Die! theSpace @ Venue45, 20–25 Aug, £8
Flattered Fireside, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £7
Van Gogh Find Yourself #vgfy Natural Food Kafe, 14–25 Aug, FREE
Sit With Us for a Moment and Remember ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, £1
The Extinction Event Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £9.50–£13
On the Exhale Traverse Theatre, 14 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, £20.50
Dysney Disfunction
¤ The Greatest Play in
HHH
Assembly Rooms, 15–25 Aug, £10–£11 Flushed Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11 No Kids Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, not 21, £10.50–£13.50
fest-mag.com
HOME King’s Theatre, 25–26 Aug, £17
the History of the World...
HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 26 Aug, £20.50
¤ Coriolanus Vanishes HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, £20.50
䄀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀攀爀椀漀甀猀 匀栀愀欀攀猀瀀攀愀爀攀 瀀氀愀礀⸀⸀⸀ 眀椀琀栀 愀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀栀℀琀ⴀ昀愀挀攀搀 愀挀琀漀爀⸀
䠀䄀䴀䰀䔀吀 ⴀ㈀㜀 䄀唀䜀唀匀吀 ⸀㔀 倀䴀
15:50 Chihuahua Assembly Roxy, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £10–£11
15:55 Come Die With Us Sweet Grassmarket, 14–26 Aug, £8.50 Stand and Deliver C venues – C, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£10.50 Taiwan Season: The Delusion of Home Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12
16:00 A Pickering’s Gin Jolly Summerhall, 15–26 Aug, not 21, £10 Roman Candle Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 20–25 Aug, £9.50 Harpy Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £12–£13 James Dean Is Dead! (Long Live James Dean) C venues – C aquila, 19–27 Aug, £9.50–£11.50 Looking for Lightning C venues – C royale, 15–27 Aug, not 21, £8.50–£10.50
Theatre
Adam Smith: The Invisible Hand Panmure House, 14–26 Aug, £12 Duckpond: An Element of Mystery in Umpteen Samples Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 14–26 Aug, FREE Power Play: Next Time
HH
Pleasance Pop-Up: Power Play HQ, 15–25 Aug, not 21, £12
86
¤ Mark Thomas – Check Up: Our NHS at 70
Expendable Chapters Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–18 Aug, £8
Birth Control Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 20–25 Aug, £7
Traverse Theatre, 15 Aug, 22 Aug, £21.50
Underground Railroad Game Traverse Theatre, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, £21.50
Party Night CANCELLED theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 20–25 Aug, £8
¤ Nigel Slater’s Toast HHHH
A Generous Lover Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10
HHHH
Kin Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11 Ripper theSpace @ Venue45, 14–18 Aug, £5
Traverse Theatre, 16 Aug, 23 Aug, £21.50
Agent November Investigates: Murder Mr E The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £15
Traverse Theatre, 18 Aug, 25 Aug, £21.50
James Tait Black Prize for Drama 2018: The Award Ceremony Traverse Theatre, 20 Aug, £7 Rocket Man Laughing Horse @ The Mockingbird, 14–26 Aug, FREE The Welcome Revolution Zoo Southside, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £10 Alice Hawkins – Suffragette Arthur Conan Doyle Centre, 14–17 Aug, £8 Stella PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 14–16 Aug, £12 You Are Frogs Venue 13, 14–25 Aug, not 20, £12 Eat Your Heart Out Paradise in Augustines, 14–18 Aug, £10 InValid Voices Army @ The Fringe in Association with Summerhall, 14–25 Aug, not 20, £12 Slacker-in-Law Bourbon Bar, 15–25 Aug, FREE Sob Story theSpace on the Mile, Various dates from 15 Aug to 25 Aug, £9.50
¤ What Girls Are Made Of HHHH
Meek Traverse Theatre, 14 Aug, 19 Aug, 21 Aug, 26 Aug, £21.50
16:05 It’s a Dog’s Brexit theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–24 Aug, not 18, £10.50 Gayface theSpace on North Bridge, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £10
Eat Your Heart Out Paradise in Augustines, 20–26 Aug, £10 Last Hive Zoo Southside, 14–27 Aug, not 15, 25, £10 Strangers: Pairs Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 15 Aug, 17 Aug, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, £10 Nutshells theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 20–25 Aug, £8 Dib Dib Dead theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–18 Aug, £9
16:15
Tremor HHH Roundabout @ Summerhall, 15–26 Aug, not 21, £14–£16
BaseCamp HHH C venues – C south, 15–27 Aug, £9.50–£11.50
The Laramie Project theSpace on the Mile, 21–25 Aug, £10
Portraits in Motion Summerhall, 14–25 Aug, not 20, £12
Hug the Bunny Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–18 Aug, £10
A Broad Abroad C venues – C royale, 15–27 Aug, £7.50–£9.50
16:10
Huff HHH CanadaHub @ King’s Hall in association with Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £11
Where the Hell is Bernard? Assembly George Square Studios, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £9–£11 An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE Skin a Cat Assembly Rooms, 14–25 Aug, £10–£12
Attila the Stockbroker – Ancient and Modern Bannermans, 20–24 Aug, FREE The Quest: A Fantasy Musical theSpace @ Venue45, 19 Aug, £9.50 Reigen theSpace @ Niddry St, 20–25 Aug, £8
¤ Ulster American HHHH
Brenda’s Got a Baby theSpace on North Bridge, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £10 Fan Girl theSpace on the Mile, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £10 Nazanin’s Story C venues – C, 19–26 Aug, £8.50–£10.50
Ah Dinnae Ken theSpace @ Niddry St, 14–18 Aug, £7–£8
Stardust Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £9–£11.50
Lost Lore theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 14–18 Aug, £10
Your Bard Assembly Hall, 15–27 Aug, £12
Alan Bennett’s Green Forms theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 22–25 Aug, £12
Blackout Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12
HHHH
Working Class Hero Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 15 Aug, 17 Aug, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, £8
Class HHH Traverse Theatre, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, £20.50
A Joke Assembly Rooms, 15–26 Aug, not 21, £14–£16
Alan Bennett’s Say Something Happened theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20–21 Aug, £12
Bottom Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10
¤ The Greatest Play in the History of the World... Traverse Theatre, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, £20.50
16:20 Willis & Vere: A Serious Play About World War II Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11 Son of Jim Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £10
Achilles Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10
The Devil You Know: A Horror Play Greenside @ Infirmary Street, Various dates from 14 Aug to 25 Aug, £8
Diamond by Beryl Richards Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, £14–£16
Hymns for Robots C venues – C aquila, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£10.50
Traverse Theatre, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £20.50
¤ Timmy HHHH
Assembly George Square Studios, 15–27 Aug, £9–£11
The River Was a God Banshee Labyrinth, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, FREE
16:25
Badgered C venues – C cubed, 14–18 Aug, £8.50–£10.50
16:30 A Fortunate Man
HHH
Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10 Wrecked Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 14–27 Aug, £13–£14
䄀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀攀爀椀漀甀猀 匀栀愀欀攀猀瀀攀愀爀攀 瀀氀愀礀⸀⸀⸀ 眀椀琀栀 愀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀栀℀琀ⴀ昀愀挀攀搀 愀挀琀漀爀⸀
䠀䄀䴀䰀䔀吀 ⴀ㈀㜀 䄀唀䜀唀匀吀 ⸀㔀 倀䴀
Rise of a Humble Poet Laughing Horse @ The Cuckoo’s Nest, 14–26 Aug, FREE
¤ Build a Rocket HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £9–£12
¤ Games by Henry Naylor HHHH
Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £12.50–£13.50 Doom’s Day C venues – C south, 15–27 Aug, £8.50–£10.50 Who Will Separate Us? Leith Depot, 24–26 Aug, £5 Pigs in Blankets Paradise in The Vault, 14–18 Aug, £10 This Script and Other Drafts Scottish Storytelling Centre, 20 Aug, £10
16:35 Can’t Stop Can’t Stop C venues – C royale, 14–27 Aug, not 17, 20, 24, £7.50–£9.50 An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE Crave theSpaceTriplex, 20–25 Aug, £7
16:40 Loyalty theSpace on North Bridge, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £7
¤ Pickle Jar HHHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 15–26 Aug, £10–£11 Pigeon Man Apocalypse Three Broomsticks, 14–25 Aug, not 16, FREE Hamlet – Horatio’s Tale Assembly Rooms, Various dates from 14 Aug to 26 Aug, £12–£13 Henry V – Lion of England Assembly Rooms, Various dates from 15 Aug to 25 Aug, £12–£13
16:45 Testament ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, £10
16:50 No Home Like This Place Just the Tonic at The Grassmarket Centre, 14–17 Aug, £10 A Modern Guide to Heroism and Sidekickery ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, £10
16:55 Grail Project Bedlam Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £10 The Flop Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12
17:00 Revenants HHH Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £11–£12.50 BBC Pop-Up Radio Drama Studio at Summerhall Summerhall, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £6 Don’t Tell Me Not to Fly Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £17–£19.50 The Laird’s Big Breaxit Scottish Storytelling Centre, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £10 A&E theSpace @ Venue45, 15 Aug, 17 Aug, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, £8 Old Souls PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £8 Freeman HHH Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £8–£11 Flies Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £10.50–£13.50 Providence Assembly Rooms, 14–25 Aug, £10–£11 Loki, the Scottish Rapper: Poverty Safari Live The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £12 An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE War With the Newts Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12 Agent November Investigates: Murder Mr E The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £15 Live Before You Die Bar Bados Complex, 15–25 Aug, FREE
Same Old Same Oldies theSpace @ Venue45, Various dates from 14 Aug to 25 Aug, £8 Rights of Passage C venues – C too, 20–26 Aug, £8.50–£10.50 It Is a Truth... PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 14–27 Aug, £6 1902 Wee Red Bar, 14–27 Aug, not 16, 23, £12 Gutted theSpaceTriplex, 23–25 Aug, £9 Sit With Us for a Moment and Remember ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, £1 All These Things Zoo Southside, 15–16 Aug, £20
17:05 Hunch Assembly Roxy, 14–27 Aug, £10.50–£12.50 Blue Heart C venues – C too, 14–18 Aug, £9.50–£11.50
17:10 Nowt as Queer as Folk theSpace on North Bridge, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £7 Departure Date theSpace on the Mile, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £9 Bare Knuckle Paradise in The Vault, 20–26 Aug, £10 bloominauschwitz Just Festival at St John’s , 14–25 Aug, not 16, 19, £12
17:15 That Woman! Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, not 19, 26, £11–£12 Sit With Us for a Moment and Remember ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, £1 Reverend Richard Coles: Confessions Pleasance Courtyard, 14– 27 Aug, £12.50–£14.50 Welcome to Self Co Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 15–26 Aug, FREE Our Country Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £15 Umbrella Man Scottish Poetry Library, 14–18 Aug, £8 Re: Production Zoo Southside, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £10–£12
Rabbie Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 14 Aug, £15 Henchmen Sweet Grassmarket, 14–26 Aug, not 21, £8 Honey’s Happening Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £11 Big Love Central Hall, 16 Aug, £5 This Is Yorkshire theSpace on the Mile, 20–24 Aug, £6 Kids Play theSpace @ Niddry St, 14–25 Aug, £9 The Isle of Muck Greenside @ Royal Terrace, 14–18 Aug, £8
17:20 Loop Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11 Sod’s Law Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £10 Hoard by Bim Adewunmi Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £14–£16 Remember Scarborough theSpace on North Bridge, 21–25 Aug, £7.50 Power, Fame and Sex Venue 13, 14–18 Aug, £10 Woodbine Willie: Poet and Padre Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–16 Aug, £11 The Bacchae Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £8 Roxy Likes Cats Greenside @ Royal Terrace, 20–25 Aug, £7
The Insignificant Life and Death of Colin McKenzie Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 16–25 Aug, not 19, £9
Artificial theSpace on North Bridge, 14–19 Aug, £12 Beep theSpace on North Bridge, 20–25 Aug, £8
Lucille and Cecilia C venues – C aquila, 15–27 Aug, £7.50–£9.50
17:45 A Hero of Our Time C venues – C royale, 19–27 Aug, £8.50–£10.50
When You Cure Me Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14 Aug, £9
17:30 ¤ The Political History of Smack and Crack
HHHH
Bucket Men C venues – C royale, 14–18 Aug, £8.50–£10.50
Roundabout @ Summerhall, 15–26 Aug, not 21, £14–£15 Year Without Summer Sweet Grassmarket, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, £8 Shell Shock Army @ The Fringe in Association with Summerhall, 14–25 Aug, not 20, £12
Power Play: The Empty Chair HH Pleasance Pop-Up: Power Play HQ, 15–25 Aug, not 21, £12 Universal Dad Three Broomsticks, 14–25 Aug, FREE Playhouse Creatures Venue 13, 20–25 Aug, £10 Sit With Us for a Moment and Remember ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, £1 Vox: A Fairy Tale for a New Age Central Hall, 17 Aug, £5
Antigone theSpace on the Mile, 14–18 Aug, £7
A Beginner’s Guide to Populism theSpaceTriplex, 20–25 Aug, £9
17:25 An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE Jasper Red: Press Play Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £6.50
Sit With Us for a Moment and Remember ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, £1
17:50 Everything Not Saved
HHH
Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £14 An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE
17:55 Margo: Half Woman, Half Beast HHH Assembly Rooms, 14–18 Aug, £10–£11 Westminster Hour Sweet Novotel, 14–26 Aug, not 19, £10
17:35 Eat Me C venues – C aquila, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£10.50
Chamberlain... Peace in Our Time Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 17–18 Aug, £11
Painted Love Valvona & Crolla, 24–25 Aug, £10
It’s True, It’s True, It’s True Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20 Aug, £11
Electrolyte Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, £9–£12
The March theSpace on the Mile, 20–25 Aug, £7
Good Vibes Only theSpace on North Bridge, 14–18 Aug, £8
The Chore of Enchantment Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £9.50–£10.50
fest-mag.com
Mairi Campbell: Auld Lang Syne Scottish Storytelling Centre, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £12
Listings
87
Maz and Bricks by Eva O’Connor Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12 Di & Viv & Rose (In an Hour) by Amelia Bullmore C venues – C cubed, 14 Aug, £8.50
17:40 The Journey Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, £9–£11
18:00 Sit With Us for a Moment and Remember ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, £1
¤ Revelations HHHH
Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10 Showmanship C venues – C royale, 15–27 Aug, £8.50–£10.50 Mis(s)treated – Free Laughing Horse @ The Cuckoo’s Nest, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE
Rat Race theSpace @ Venue45, 15 Aug, 17 Aug, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, £8 Antigone na h’Éireann Paradise in The Vault, 14–26 Aug, not 19, £10 Trainspotting Live Venue150 at EICC, 14–27 Aug, not 15, 22, FREE
䄀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀攀爀椀漀甀猀 匀栀愀欀攀猀瀀攀愀爀攀 瀀氀愀礀⸀⸀⸀ 眀椀琀栀 愀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀栀℀琀ⴀ昀愀挀攀搀 愀挀琀漀爀⸀
䠀䄀䴀䰀䔀吀 ⴀ㈀㜀 䄀唀䜀唀匀吀 ⸀㔀 倀䴀
2 - 27 AUG STUDIO FOUR
Agent November Investigates: Murder Mr E The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £15
In Your Own Sweet Way theSpace on the Mile, 20–25 Aug, £8
Early Birds PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 14–27 Aug, not 15, 22, £11.50
How to Do Acting (Properly) theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 21–25 Aug, £8
The Brooklyn Scotsman Hill Street Theatre, 14–27 Aug, £12
[insert slogan here]
European Citizen Popsong Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10
¤ The Wedding Reception HHHH
The Principal, 15–27 Aug, not 20, 21, £42–£45 The Forecast ZOO Charteris, 14–26 Aug, £10
¤ dressed. HHHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 15–26 Aug, £10–£11 Wu Song – The Tiger Warrior C venues – C, 14–18 Aug, £11.50–£13.50 A Pickering’s Gin Jolly Summerhall, 15–26 Aug, not 21, £10
Theatre
Clouds Lauriston Halls, 21–25 Aug, FREE
88
18:10
HHH
ZOO Charteris, 14–19 Aug, £12–£14 First Snow / Première neige CanadaHub @ King’s Hall in association with Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £15 Five Encounters on a Site Called Craigslist ZOO Charteris, 20–23 Aug, £14
18:15 Class HHH Traverse Theatre, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, £20.50 Nightmare Fuel Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 14–26 Aug, FREE An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE
A War of Two Halves Tynecastle Park, 15–17 Aug, £24
In the Glare of the Neon Yak Bar Bados Complex, 14–17 Aug, FREE
Blackwell’s Writers at the Fringe Blackwell’s Bookshop, 16 Aug, 23 Aug, FREE
Nomad theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £8
18:05
¤ Coriolanus Vanishes HHHH
Bulgarians, Buggery, Brokeback and Beyond theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–24 Aug, not 18, £10.50 The Hollywood Effect theSpace on North Bridge, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £8
Traverse Theatre, 14 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, £20.50 Conchies! Quaker Meeting House, 14–18 Aug, £8
Sit With Us for a Moment and Remember ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, £1
Kill the Beast: Director’s Cut Pleasance Courtyard, 21–27 Aug, £10–£12.50
Laugh Out Loud (Cry Quietly) The Royal Scots Club, 14–18 Aug, £12
Twa Scottish Storytelling Centre, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £12
¤ Ulster American HHHH
Extremism theSpace on the Mile, 20–25 Aug, £8
Traverse Theatre, 26 Aug, £20.50 Twenty Minutes to Nine / Free Fringe The Edinburgh Yes Hub, 25–26 Aug, FREE
18:20 The Threesome Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–18 Aug, £10 From Today Everything Changes theSpace on North Bridge, Various dates from 14 Aug to 24 Aug, £8 Trans Pennine theSpace on North Bridge, 15 Aug, 17 Aug, 21 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, £8
18:25 DollyWould Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, £10 KillyMuck Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £10–£11 I Am Not Your Woman Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 21–25 Aug, £8 Por Favor Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 20–25 Aug, £8
18:30
The Basement Tapes Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12 Elsie Thatchwick Zoo Southside, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £10 Nick and Nina Laughing Horse @ The Mockingbird, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE Queen of the F*cking World: The Second Coming The Street, 14–25 Aug, not 18, FREE Medea Electronica Pleasance Courtyard, 14–19 Aug, £9–£11.50 The Way Out Greenside @ Royal Terrace, 20–25 Aug, £7 Midsummer The Hub, 16 Aug, 23 Aug, £32 The Gin Chronicles in New York artSpace@StMarks, Various dates from 15 Aug to 26 Aug, £12 Sit With Us for a Moment and Remember ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, £1
18:35
Bullingdon Revisited Laughing Horse @ The Phoenix, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Volpone Paradise in Augustines, 14–26 Aug, not 19, £14
When the Friendship Has Sailed HH C venues – C aquila, 15–27 Aug, £7.50–£9.50
Those Worrisome Sleeps Sweet Grassmarket, 20–26 Aug, £8.50
18:40 The Glass Menagerie Sweet Grassmarket, 14–19 Aug, £8.50 F*ck Off. Paradise in The Vault, 20–26 Aug, £5 O, FFS Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £8.50 Awkward Conversations With Animals I’ve F*cked Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11
bad things happen here Paradise in The Vault, 14–18 Aug, £8
¤ Ulster American HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, £20.50 A Midsummer Night’s Dream theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 14–19 Aug, £5 On the Exhale Traverse Theatre, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, £20.50
¤ The Greatest Play in
the History of the World...
An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE
Traverse Theatre, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £20.50
Dan Simpson: Worried Face Emoji Banshee Labyrinth, 14–26 Aug, not 15, FREE
Do You See What I Hear? C venues – C too, 21–27 Aug, £9.50–£11.50
OTOSOTR Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11 Lost in Thought Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11 Seven Ways to Calm the F**k Down Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £7
18:45 Sit With Us for a Moment and Remember ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, £1 Shakespeare in the Garden: As You Like It C venues – C south, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£10.50 Cock, Cock... Who’s There? Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10 Woke Gilded Balloon Teviot, 20–27 Aug, £13–£14
HHHH 18:50
Like Drowning theSpace @ Niddry St, 20–25 Aug, £9 Blinded Venue 13, 14–25 Aug, £7 Hysterical C venues – C, 19–25 Aug, £7.50–£9.50
¤ Queens of Sheba HHHH
Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11
National Killing Day theSpace on the Mile, 14–18 Aug, £8 The Death of Edgar Allan Poe C venues – C too, 14–19 Aug, £9.50–£11.50 The Cat’s Mother Underbelly, Bristo Square, 20 Aug, £9
18:55 Drip Roundabout @ Summerhall, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £14–£15
䄀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀攀爀椀漀甀猀 匀栀愀欀攀猀瀀攀愀爀攀 瀀氀愀礀⸀⸀⸀ 眀椀琀栀 愀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀栀℀琀ⴀ昀愀挀攀搀 愀挀琀漀爀⸀
䠀䄀䴀䰀䔀吀 ⴀ㈀㜀 䄀唀䜀唀匀吀 ⸀㔀 倀䴀
Listings
89
The Poets’ Republic – Unleashed Scottish Poetry Library, 24–25 Aug, £5
The Next Big Thing theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–25 Aug, not 21, £10–£12
1-2-1 This Sex Is Real C venues – C royale, 14–18 Aug, £8.50–£10.50
Underground Railroad Game Traverse Theatre, 14 Aug, 18 Aug, £21.50
The Island Just Festival at St John’s , 22–23 Aug, £12
19:00 I Ran With the Gang: The Story of Alan Longmuir, the Original Bay City Roller Le Monde, 14–24 Aug, not 18, 20, 21, £15 The Midnight Soup Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £15 Picasso’s Women The Fruitmarket Gallery, 14–26 Aug, not 21, £13 Cezary Goes to War Army @ The Fringe in Association with Summerhall, 16–25 Aug, not 20, £10 Flight HHH Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, £6 Deadly Dungeon Murder Mystery The Edinburgh Dungeon, 16–18 Aug, £17 Agent November Investigates: Major X The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £15 Brand-New Jew, a DNA Comedy Sweet Grassmarket, 14 Aug, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 26 Aug, £7 Vivian’s Music, 1969 Sweet Grassmarket, 15–25 Aug, not 20, 21, £7
❤ Mark Thomas – Check Up: Our NHS at 70
HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 16 Aug, 23 Aug, 25 Aug, £21.50 The End of Eddy The Studio, 21–26 Aug, £11
¤ Nigel Slater’s Toast HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, £21.50
¤ What Girls Are Made Of HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 19 Aug, 21 Aug, 26 Aug, £21.50 Hatty’s Last Stand The Salvation Army Edinburgh City Corps, 24–25 Aug, £7 Meek Traverse Theatre, 15 Aug, 22 Aug, £21.50 Neil Hilborn Summerhall, 23 Aug, £15
19:05 An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE Jennifer Lack: Narratively Satisfying theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 14–25 Aug, £8 Love on Blue Canvas, 1890 theSpace on North Bridge, 20–25 Aug, £8
19:10 Addiction: The Untold Story theSpace @ Venue45, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £10 The Squirrel Plays C venues – C cubed, 14–27 Aug, £9.50–£11.50
19:15 Entropy Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £11–£12
Connected Lives Just Festival at St John’s , 14 Aug, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, £8 The Screwtape Letters Palmerston Place Church, 22–24 Aug, £11
19:20 Thief Hill Street Theatre, 14–26 Aug, £12 Mistero Buffo Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £12–£13 The Actor’s Nightmare theSpace on North Bridge, 21–25 Aug, £8 10 Steps to Happiness Sweet Novotel, 15–19 Aug, £8.50 Red Peppers theSpace on the Mile, 14–18 Aug, £8–£9 Intro to Chicano History: 101 Central Hall, 15 Aug, £5
19:25 Extinguished Things Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £11.50 That’s So GCSE theSpace on North Bridge, 14–18 Aug, £7
19:30 Overpriced Zeitgeist Bar Bados Complex, 15–25 Aug, FREE Talking Heads – Bed Among the Lentils St Cuthbert’s Church, 14–15 Aug, £10
Faulty Towers the Dining Experience The Principal, 14–27 Aug, not 15, 16, 18, 22, 25, £49.50–£55 Heather and Harry ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, £8 Skeptics on the Fringe Banshee Labyrinth, 14–26 Aug, FREE 1902 Wee Red Bar, 14–27 Aug, not 16, 23, £12 Henna Scottish Storytelling Centre, 15–19 Aug, £10 The Prisoner The Lyceum, 22–26 Aug, £17 Cambusdonald Royal Mayfield Salisbury Church, 14–17 Aug, £12 Flight HHH Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, £6 Aye, Elvis by Morna Young HHH Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £11.50–£13.50 Uncanny Things Scottish Storytelling Centre, 22–26 Aug, £10 That’s What She Said Scottish Poetry Library, 16–18 Aug, £10 My Kind of Michael Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £11 An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE Dancing With Mrs Murphy Leith Dockers Club, 14 Aug, £10 The Front Page St Ninian’s Hall, 14 Aug, 15 Aug, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, £12
Plaza Suite The Royal Scots Club, 20–25 Aug, £12
The Junkies Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 14–18 Aug, £14–£15
Living With a Dark Lord Paradise in The Vault, 14–18 Aug, £10 The Steamie HHH Inverleith St Serf’s Church Centre, 14–17 Aug, £12 Legacy: The Story of Martin Luther Palmerston Place Church, 14–17 Aug, £10
19:35
You Only Live + Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 20–25 Aug, £10 Filth theSpace on North Bridge, 14–18 Aug, £10 Solarplexus: An Alternative Energy Play ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £10–£12 Thaw Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £8
How My Light Is Spent Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–18 Aug, £10
19:50 <3_Error 404_<3 Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–18 Aug, £8
19:55
19:40
19:45
Istanbul: You’ll Never Walk Alone Zoo Southside, 14 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, £10.50–£12
Why Even Bother C venues – C royale, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£10.50
Cepacia – Love Takes His Breath Away Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–18 Aug, £10
Trainspotting Live Venue150 at EICC, 14–27 Aug, not 15, 22, FREE
Janis Joplin Full Tilt Assembly Rooms, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £16–£17.50
Let’s Talk About Porn C venues – C, 19–25 Aug, £7.50–£9.50
Owen O’Neill: Ten Songs to Die For Assembly Rooms, 14–25 Aug, not 20, £11
Handfast HHH Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 16, 17, 18, £12
The Myth of the Singular Moment Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £11
De Fuut Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10
Hotel Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 20–25 Aug, £8
Cry for the Moon Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–18 Aug, £8
Closed Doors Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10
fest-mag.com
Sugar Baby by Alan Harris Roundabout @ Summerhall, 15–19 Aug, £14–£15
¤ Status HHHH Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, £15 An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE Earnest & Wilde: Let’s Face the Music (and Franz) C venues – C royale, 15–27 Aug, £9.50–£11.50 Plucked theSpace on the Mile, 15–19 Aug, £7
䄀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀攀爀椀漀甀猀 匀栀愀欀攀猀瀀攀愀爀攀 瀀氀愀礀⸀⸀⸀ 眀椀琀栀 愀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀栀℀琀ⴀ昀愀挀攀搀 愀挀琀漀爀⸀
䠀䄀䴀䰀䔀吀 ⴀ㈀㜀 䄀唀䜀唀匀吀 ⸀㔀 倀䴀
Where Are they Going Theatre Company Present
LEVITICUS
An epic love leaves enduring marks...
12:00 Noon
3 - 27th Aug £10.00/£8.00 Not Tues 7th, 14th & 21st
Venue 124, www.zoofestival.co.uk 0131 662 6892
20:00 Hamish Henderson: On the Radical Road Scottish Storytelling Centre, 14–27 Aug, £12 How to Drink Wine Like a Wanker Zoo Southside, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £10 The Rise of Donald in 40 Downfalls Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 21–25 Aug, £4 The Dame The Dome, 14–25 Aug, not 20, £12 A Sockful of Custard Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £10–£12.50 Job-Cher PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 14–27 Aug, £11.50 Midsummer The Hub, 15–26 Aug, not 16, 21, 23, £32 User Not Found Traverse at Jeelie Piece café , 14–26 Aug, not 20, £20.50 Shakespeare Catalysts Laughing Horse @ Espionage, 20–26 Aug, FREE Flight HHH Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, £6 Enough Quaker Meeting House, 20–24 Aug, £10
Theatre
Moonlight On Leith Bar Bados Complex, 15–25 Aug, not 21, FREE
90
HOME King’s Theatre, 22–25 Aug, £17 Agent November Investigates: Major X The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £15 La Maladie de la mort The Lyceum, 16–18 Aug, £17
20:20
The Last Burrah Sahibs Woodland Creatures, 20–21 Aug, £5
Silence in the Archive The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 22 Aug, £10
Poetry Bordello Woodland Creatures, 16 Aug, £5
#YesAllMen The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 24 Aug, £10
Edinburgh in the Shadows Woodland Creatures, 14 Aug, £5
Privacy Is Dead, Long Live Privacy! The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15 Aug, £10
An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE
20:05
Cows Eat Grass, Don’t They? The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 14 Aug, £10
Fast theSpace @ Niddry St, 20–25 Aug, £9
Number, Please. theSpace on North Bridge, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £6 Crack/ed theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20–25 Aug, £10
When Is Lying Good? The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 23 Aug, £10
Greg Byron: Wordshow Assembly Hall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10–£11
Ditch the Classroom; Speak in Tongues! The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 16 Aug, £10
Amsterdam theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 14–17 Aug, £8
Abolish Childhood! The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 25 Aug, £10
20:10
Is Astronaut Food the Future? The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 20 Aug, £10
Rainbow Baby theSpace on North Bridge, 20–25 Aug, £6 Laura theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20–25 Aug, £9 Glasgow ‘14 theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–18 Aug, £10 Suspect Confessions The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 17 Aug, £10 Freak theSpace on the Mile, 20–25 Aug, £7.50 Bitter Paradise in The Vault, 20–26 Aug, £5 No Copyright, No Problem? The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 19 Aug, £10 Evren Venue 13, 14–18 Aug, £9 Epiphany theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 22–24 Aug, £7
We’re All Mental! The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 26 Aug, £10 Big Boys Don’t Cry The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 21 Aug, £10 Science is F***ed The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 18 Aug, £10
20:15 Greyhounds theSpace on the Mile, 14–18 Aug, £10 To Have Done With the Judgement of God C venues – C too, 14–27 Aug, £9.50–£11.50 War With the Newts Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12
Square Go Roundabout @ Summerhall, 15–26 Aug, not 21, £15–£17
Tabou Sweet Grassmarket, 14–26 Aug, £7 Five Women Wearing the Same Dress HH theSpace on the Mile, 14–18 Aug, £10
Flight HHH Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, £6
The Time Machine theSpace @ Venue45, 19–25 Aug, £9
The Gin Chronicles in New York artSpace@StMarks, 15–26 Aug, not 20, 21, £12
A Librarian theSpace on North Bridge, 20–25 Aug, £9
Adult Orgasm Escaped from the Zoo C venues – C cubed, 15–27 Aug, £8.50–£10.50 Where It Hurts HHH Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12 You Remind Me of You The Royal Scots Club, 14–18 Aug, £12 Am I F#*kable? Sweet Novotel, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £8.50
Antling theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 21–25 Aug, £10
Painted Love Valvona & Crolla, 21–22 Aug, £10
20:25
Ruki C venues – C cubed, 14 Aug, £8.50
Bristol Improv Presents Story Slam BrewDog Lothian Rd, 14–25 Aug, FREE The Bacchanals theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £12 Loving Monica C venues – C aquila, 14–18 Aug, £9.50–£11.50
20:30 A War of Two Halves Tynecastle Park, 15–17 Aug, £24 Our Boys PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 14–27 Aug, not 15, 22, £11.50 Famous Puppet Death Scenes HHH CanadaHub @ King’s Hall in association with Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £11
20:35 Fast theSpaceTriplex, 14–18 Aug, £9 Frau Welt HHH Assembly Rooms, 14–25 Aug, £12–£13 Aphrodite and the Invisible Consumer Gods ZOO Charteris, 15–27 Aug, not 21, £10
20:40 Lines Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £8 Sex, Drugs and a Cup of Tea Sweet Novotel, 14–26 Aug, not 22, £8 The Conditioning C venues – C aquila, 14–18 Aug, £8.50–£10.50
20:45 An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE
¤ Coriolanus Vanishes HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 26 Aug, £20.50 In Pursuit of Andromeda Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £9–£10 I Am Orestes and I Am Electra Too Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 20–25 Aug, £10 Class HHH Traverse Theatre, 14 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, £20.50
20:50 The Cloak and Dagger Show Sweet Grassmarket, 14–17 Aug, £10 The Fun Club Presents... Zoo Southside, 16–27 Aug, £8.50 Fear Itself Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–18 Aug, £9 Body Shop Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 20–25 Aug, £9 Kidding Zoo Southside, 14 Aug, £10 Thrown by Jodi Gray Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–19 Aug, £10–£11
20:55 Romeo and Juliet ZOO Charteris, 14–26 Aug, £10–£12
䄀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀攀爀椀漀甀猀 匀栀愀欀攀猀瀀攀愀爀攀 瀀氀愀礀⸀⸀⸀ 眀椀琀栀 愀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀栀℀琀ⴀ昀愀挀攀搀 愀挀琀漀爀⸀
䠀䄀䴀䰀䔀吀 ⴀ㈀㜀 䄀唀䜀唀匀吀 ⸀㔀 倀䴀
This Is Just Who I Am Assembly Rooms, 14–25 Aug, not 20, £9.50–£10.50 Call of the Void Greenside @ Royal Terrace, 22–23 Aug, FREE
21:00 Agent November Investigates: Major X The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £15 East Belfast Boy Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £16 Improvised Therapy Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 20–25 Aug, £8 Pamela’s Palace The Principal, 15–27 Aug, not 16, 18, 20, 21, 25, £25 Lovecraft (Not the Sex Shop in Cardiff) Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £15 Big Bird / Big Berg Double Bill La Vida, 14–25 Aug, FREE Flight HHH Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, £6 Faulty Towers the Dining Experience The Principal, 16 Aug, 18 Aug, 25 Aug, £49.50–£55 2nd Coming. Again. PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 16–23 Aug, £10 Forbidden Stories French Institute, Various dates from 16 Aug to 25 Aug, £14 Body Shop Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–18 Aug, £9
¤ Ulster American HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, £20.50
21:05 Upcastle Downcastle theSpace on North Bridge, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £7 Canoe theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–25 Aug, £8
21:10 Shackleton’s Stowaway theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £9–£10 An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE King Lear (Alone) PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 14–15 Aug, £10
21:15 Twelfth Night Paradise in The Vault, 14–26 Aug, not 19, £8.50 Prehistoric Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10 Valerie Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £12 The Island Just Festival at St John’s , Various dates from 14 Aug to 25 Aug, £12 A Midsummer Night’s Droll theSpace on the Mile, 20–25 Aug, £15
¤ Coriolanus Vanishes HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 15 Aug, 21 Aug, £20.50
On the Exhale Traverse Theatre, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £20.50 Big Love Central Hall, 14 Aug, £5
21:20 Onstage Dating Underbelly, Cowgate, 14–26 Aug, £10–£11
21:25 Bitches in the Ford KA theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £8 A Dangerous Woman theSpace @ Jurys Inn, 14–15 Aug, £8
21:30 The Importance of Being Earnest as Performed by Three F*cking Queens and a Duck theSpace on the Mile, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £12 Flight HHH Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, £6 A Ghost’s Tale Outside Johnston Terrace Nature Reserve (by the red telephone boxes), 14 Aug–2 Sep, not 16 Aug, 22 Aug, 30 Aug, £12 Monsieur Somebody Venue 13, 14–18 Aug, £10 (even) HOTTER Bedlam Theatre, 15–27 Aug, not 21, £10 Urban Death Sweet Grassmarket, 15–26 Aug, £8.50
Loud Poets: The Fantastical Game Show Spectacular Scottish Storytelling Centre, 15–27 Aug, not 21, 22, £12 Carmen Funebre Pleasance at EICC, 16–19 Aug, £15 This Script and Other Drafts Scottish Storytelling Centre, 14 Aug, 21 Aug, 22 Aug, £10 Vox: A Fairy Tale for a New Age Central Hall, 15 Aug, £5 Trainspotting Live Venue150 at EICC, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, FREE
21:35 An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE
Pangea Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 20–25 Aug, £8 Agent November Investigates: Major X The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £15 The West Port Bloodbath Fireside, Various dates from 14 Aug to 26 Aug, FREE High School English Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £8
You All Know Me, I’m Jack Ruby! theSpace on North Bridge, 14–18 Aug, £8
Drunk! Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 20–25 Aug, £6
The Electra Legacy Paradise in Augustines, 14–18 Aug, £15
21:40 17 Days ZOO Charteris, 14–27 Aug, £10
Underground Railroad Game Traverse Theatre, 15 Aug, 19 Aug, 21 Aug, £21.50 Corydon Ovium Laughing Horse @ The Newsroom, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE
21:45
Father of Lies Sweet Novotel, 14–19 Aug, £9
One Life Stand Roundabout @ Summerhall, 15–26 Aug, not 21, £14–£15
¤ What Girls Are Made Of HHHH Traverse Theatre, 14 Aug, 16 Aug, 22 Aug, £21.50
White Feminist Tolbooth Market, 14–25 Aug, FREE
¤ Mark Thomas – Check Up: Our NHS at 70
Girl World theSpaceTriplex, 20–25 Aug, £5.50–£8
Traverse Theatre, 17 Aug, 24 Aug, 26 Aug, £21.50
Modern Horror Stories Tolbooth Market, 14–25 Aug, FREE
21:55 There She Is Zoo Southside, 19–27 Aug, £6 Violet Zoo Southside, 14 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, £10–£12
22:00 Meek Traverse Theatre, 23 Aug, £21.50
Silence HHH Pleasance at EICC, 14–26 Aug, not 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, £13–£15
Care Not, Fear Naught Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–18 Aug, £10
Midsummer The Hub, 16 Aug, 23 Aug, £32
HHHH
the History of the World...
How to Swim in Hollywood Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–18 Aug, £10
That Bastard Brecht Paradise in Augustines, 20–25 Aug, £15
¤ The Greatest Play in Traverse Theatre, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, £20.50
An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE
HHHH
¤ Nigel Slater’s Toast HHHH
Traverse Theatre, 18 Aug, 25 Aug, £21.50
22:05 Mr Saxon’s Excellently English Evening of Entertainment theSpace on the Mile, 20–25 Aug, £8 The Creation Myths of China Zoo Southside, 23–26 Aug, £12 Two-Man, One-Man Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–18 Aug, £8 Talking to the Dead – A Séance Sweet Novotel, 24–26 Aug, £12
22:15
The Shallow Entertainment Tour Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £9–£10
Nele Needs a Holiday: The Musical Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10 Carmen: A Gender-Flipped Film Noir Fantasy Laughing Horse @ The Mockingbird, 20–26 Aug, FREE The Cabinet of Madame Fanny Du Thé Laughing Horse @ The Mockingbird, 14–19 Aug, FREE
23:00 A Gay and a NonGay Live! – Free Laughing Horse @ Moriarty’s, 16–17 Aug, FREE
23:05 The Maids Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–18 Aug, £10 You Only Live + Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 14–18 Aug, £8–£10
22:20 Hillary’s Kitchen theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20–25 Aug, £10
23:10
22:25 Frieda Loves Ya! Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £10–£11 An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE
Dandy Darkly’s All Aboard! Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £9–£10
23:15 Very Blue Peter Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £10–£11 An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE
Mr Saxon’s Excellently English Evening of Entertainment theSpace on the Mile, 14–18 Aug, £8
23:30
22:30
The Cabinet of Madame Fanny Du Thé Laughing Horse @ The Mockingbird, 21–26 Aug, FREE
Contractions theSpace @ Venue45, 20–25 Aug, £8
22:40
The Dip theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £8–£9
Horror Show theSpace on the Mile, 14–25 Aug, not 19, £9 Silence HHH Pleasance at EICC, 16–19 Aug, £15 Death is the New Porn theSpace @ Venue45, 14–18 Aug, £10
All We Ever Wanted Was Everything Roundabout @ Summerhall, Various dates from 20 Aug to 26 Aug, £15–£16
fest-mag.com
Until You Hear That Bell Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10
Listings
91
Bertrand Lesca and Nasi Voutsas (Workin-Progress / Open Rehearsal) Summerhall, 25–26 Aug, £5
22:45 Girl World theSpaceTriplex, 14 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, £6–£7.50
23:40
22:50
An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE
We’ve Got Each Other
HHH
Pleasance Dome, 15–27 Aug, not 21, £9–£11
23:45
An Intimate Setting for the Devouring of Performance Art Cranston Caravan Club, 14–27 Aug, not 20, FREE The Charisma of Evil: Why Are We Obsessed by Serial Killers? The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 16–26 Aug, £9
Professor Novak Presents: Cabinet – A Victorian Séance Tolbooth Market, 14–25 Aug, not 20, FREE You’re a Star! Laughing Horse @ The Place, 14–16 Aug, FREE
䄀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀攀爀椀漀甀猀 匀栀愀欀攀猀瀀攀愀爀攀 瀀氀愀礀⸀⸀⸀ 眀椀琀栀 愀渀 攀渀琀椀爀攀氀礀 猀栀℀琀ⴀ昀愀挀攀搀 愀挀琀漀爀⸀
䠀䄀䴀䰀䔀吀 ⴀ㈀㜀 䄀唀䜀唀匀吀 ⸀㔀 倀䴀
10:00 BambinO The Edinburgh Academy, 14–19 Aug, FREE Finding Peter Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £8–£9
A Cockroach and Furry Blurry Fluffy Things Venue 13, 14–25 Aug, £10 Better Together
HHH
Sing-a-Long a Musical Hill Street Theatre, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, £8
Pleasance Courtyard, 14–19 Aug, £8–£10
Woogie Boogie Summerhall, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £9
Cat in the Hat Pleasance Courtyard, 14–19 Aug, £10.50–£12.50
Absolute Legends Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, not 15, FREE
Wriggle Around the World Stockbridge Church, 14–16 Aug, £8
10:05 Villain: DeBlanks theSpace @ Venue45, 20–25 Aug, £8–£10
10:10 Strings for Kids: Misha’s Gang Presents theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14 Aug, £9
Morning Wordship
HHHH
Pleasance Courtyard, 16–19 Aug, £10 The Lion and the Mouse Stockbridge Church, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £8 MamaBabaMe Pleasance at EICC, 14–17 Aug, £8
10:40
The Big Balloon Singalong Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 16–26 Aug, not 21, 22, £8–£9
AnimAlphabet: The Musical HHH Pleasance Dome, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£11
Africa Weird and Wonderful Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–24 Aug, FREE
10:20 Tomfoolery’s Beans on Toast Show Greenside @ Infirmary Street, 20–25 Aug, £8 A Chinese Bestiary theSpaceTriplex, 14 Aug, 15 Aug, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, £5
10:30 If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Assembly Rooms, 14–25 Aug, £6–£9 Wriggle Around the World Stockbridge Church, 17–18 Aug, £8
Monski Mouse’s Baby Disco Dance Hall Assembly George Square Gardens, Various dates from 17 Aug to 26 Aug, £7.50 Brainiac Live! Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £12–£15 Meet the Little Prince! Assembly George Square Theatre, 14–27 Aug, £8–£9 Shhh... The Elves Are Very Shy Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh – John Hope Gateway, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £5 Princess Pumpalot: The Quest for the Purple Super-Farting Bean Le Monde, 14 Aug, £8
¤ John Hegley:
10:15
CeilidhKids at the Fringe – Free! Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14 Aug, FREE
Kids
Bubble Trouble Sweet Grassmarket, Various dates from 15 Aug to 26 Aug, £7
Eliza’s Big Adventure! theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 20–25 Aug, £6.50
10:45 Penguinpig Assembly Roxy, 14–19 Aug, £8.50–£9.50 Games With James Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, FREE
Kids’ Birthday Bash! Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree, 14–26 Aug, FREE Waves Scottish Storytelling Centre, 14–15 Aug, £9 The Showstoppers’ Kids Show Pleasance Courtyard, 14–19 Aug, £8.50–£10 Around the World with Bessy – Part One and a Half: Bessy Goes Busking! Stockbridge Church, 18 Aug, 21 Aug, £10 Bambino Beats Summertime Boogie – On the Farm Stockbridge Church, 17 Aug, £5 Poppets Adventure PQA Venues @Riddle’s Court, 14–27 Aug, not 15, 22, £5
11:00
The Puppets’ Orchestra and the Children’s Ball Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Fantastic Magic Show for Kids Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, not 20, FREE
The Gruffalo, the Witch and the Warthog with Julia Donaldson Underbelly, George Square, 14–27 Aug, not 15, £11–£12
Bubble Show: Milkshake and the Bubble Flower C venues – C, 14–27 Aug, £7.50–£9.50
What The Moon Saw Zoo Southside, 14–26 Aug, not 15, £9
Signor Baffo’s Restaurant The Principal, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £12
Le Carnaval des Animaux / Un Gâteau pour Cubitus French Institute, 16–27 Aug, £10 Baby Loves Disco The Jam House, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, £9
11:05
11:45
12:15
The Snow Queen Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–27 Aug, £8–£9
Romeo and Juliet Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£10
Grumpy Pants Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE
One Giant Leap for June theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–18 Aug, £10
The Adventures of Sam Swallow C venues – C too, 14–27 Aug, £7.50–£9.50
The Little Musician Assembly Roxy, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £10–£11
11:10 Reach for the Stars Hill Street Theatre, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, £8
11:15 CeilidhKids at the Fringe – Free! Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, not 16, 21, 23, FREE Harmony – The Mumbai Experience Greenside @ Royal Terrace, 23–25 Aug, £7
11:20
11:50 A Dragon in the Family Pleasance Courtyard, 14–19 Aug, £8–£10
12:00 Show Up, Kids! Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, FREE Science Magic Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE Brave Macbeth Gilded Balloon Rose Theatre, 14–19 Aug, £9
Paddington Bear’s First Concert HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–26 Aug, £11–£12
Shakespeare for Kids: Under the Greenwood Tree C venues – C south, 14–27 Aug, £7.50–£9.50
11:30
Tales from the Fireside Fireside, 14–25 Aug, not 19, FREE
Defrosted Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–22 Aug, not 16, FREE David Baddiel’s AniMalcolm HHH Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–19 Aug, £11–£12 BambinO The Edinburgh Academy, 14–19 Aug, FREE Story Builders Lauriston Halls, 18 Aug, £8
Singing Hands Summer Spectacular Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 17–19 Aug, £12 The Bear Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £9–£12 Children’s Underground Ghost Tour City of Edinburgh Tours, 14–31 Aug, £7
The Lost Things Pleasance at EICC, 14–19 Aug, £10
The Dragon and the Whales Assembly Roxy, 14–27 Aug, not 20, £8–£9
11:35
Huggers (Free Festival) Fireside, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Clowntown: I Can Do Anything, the Funtastic Show by Sphere Clown Band theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–25 Aug, not 16, 22, £8
11:40 Beowulf HHH Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–17 Aug, £10–£11 Balloonatics Underbelly, Cowgate, 14 Aug, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, 26 Aug, £9–£10
92
‘Signor Baffo held the kids’ attention like the Pied Piper’ MummyKimmy Blog, EdFringe 2018
Arr We There Yet? Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows, 14–25 Aug, not 20, £10–£12.50 Chores Assembly George Square Gardens, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £7–£9
12:10 The Extraordinary Time-Travelling Adventures of Baron Munchausen The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 15–26 Aug, £8
All Hail the Poetry King! Bourbon Bar, 15–25 Aug, FREE
12:25 The I Hate Children Children’s Show theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–19 Aug, £11
12:30 Children’s Haunted Underground Experience Meet outside Tron Kirk at Auld Reekie Tours Boards , 14 Aug–1 Sep, £12 Michael Morpurgo’s Kensuke’s Kingdom Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 Aug, £8.50–£11 Stick by Me Dance Base, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £9
¤ FunnyHappyStuff.
co.uk Presents String Theory HHHH Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–26 Aug, FREE
Eaten Scottish Storytelling Centre, 14 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, £9
12:45 Andrew Roper’s Superheroes for Kids 3 Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE The Bean Counter Gilded Balloon Teviot, 18–26 Aug, £9.50
12:55 Grimm’s Fairer Tales Pleasance Courtyard, 14–19 Aug, £8–£10
13:00 Shhh... The Elves Are Very Shy Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh – John Hope Gateway, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £5
Listings
93
Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows, 14–25 Aug, £11.50–£12.50 Children’s Underground Ghost Tour City of Edinburgh Tours, 14–19 Aug, £7 Stoel (Chair) HHH Zoo Southside, 14 Aug, £12
13:15 Captain Cauliflower and Marvin the Mischievous Moose Assembly Roxy, 15–26 Aug, not 21, 22, £8–£9 Science Magic Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE ComedySportz UK Fireside, 14–15 Aug, FREE Fun Kids Radio’s Epic Roadshow Adventure
The Amazing Bubble Man Underbelly, George Square, 14–27 Aug, £11–£12 Mr Fizzywigg’s Story Factory Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, FREE Kaput Assembly George Square Gardens, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, £11–£12 Ellie and the Enormous Sneeze Assembly Roxy, 15–27 Aug, not 21, £8–£9 MamaBabaMe Pleasance at EICC, 14–17 Aug, £8
13:35 The New I Hate Children Children’s Show theSpace @ Surgeons Hall, 14–25 Aug, £10–£11
HHH
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 14–27 Aug, £10–£11
13:20 Doktor James’s Bad Skemes HHH Sweet Grassmarket, 14–26 Aug, not 15, 22, £7
13:25 This Is Your Trial (FF) Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–26 Aug, £10
13:30 Children’s Haunted Underground Experience Meet outside Tron Kirk at Auld Reekie Tours Boards , 14 Aug–1 Sep, £12
13:45
Shhh... The Elves Are Very Shy Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh – John Hope Gateway, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £5 Nutty Noah: You Might Die! Pleasance Courtyard, 20–27 Aug, £8–£10 Story Builders Lauriston Halls, 14 Aug, 18 Aug, £8 Bambino Beats Summertime Boogie – On the Farm Stockbridge Church, 17–18 Aug, £5 Circa: Wolfgang
HHH
Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows, 14–25 Aug, not 20, £12–£14 Huggers (Free Festival) Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE Wee MacNessie St Giles’ Cathedral, 21–25 Aug, FREE
Dan the Man (Kidz Comedian) – All the Things I Want to Be When I Grow Up Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 20–26 Aug, FREE
Baby Loves Disco The Jam House, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, 25 Aug, £9
Grandma’s Gonna Kill Us Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 14–19 Aug, FREE
Dance Base, 14–26 Aug, not 20, £9
14:00
Wriggle Around the World Stockbridge Church, 20 Aug, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug, 25 Aug, £8
The Garden of Delight Duddingston Kirk Manse Gardens, 14 Aug, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, £7
14:10 Four Go Wild in Wellies
HHH
14:30
2-27 August The Principal Edinburgh George Street Hotel, EH2 2PB (v119)
0845 1544 145 interactivetheatre.com.au
Circus Sonas Family Show Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE The Lion and the Mouse Stockbridge Church, 14 Aug, 15 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, 19 Aug, £8 The Time Machine Scottish Storytelling Centre, 14 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, 18 Aug, 19 Aug, £10
14:50 Wilde Creatures Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 14 Aug to 26 Aug, £9–£11
15:00 Charlie Baker Presents: The Greatest Goat of All Time Assembly George Square Gardens, 14–26 Aug, not 21, £8.50–£10 The Reluctant Dragon Inveresk Lodge Garden, 18 Aug, £9 The Lost Things Pleasance at EICC, 14–19 Aug, £10 Bercerus the Blind Dog and Other Heroes St Patrick’s Church, 25–26 Aug, £5
15:15 The Story Beast: Myths, Monsters & Mayhem Pleasance Courtyard, 14–26 Aug, £8.50–£10 Boogers, Books and Big Bottom Burps! Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–26 Aug, FREE
15:45 Game On 2.0 Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–19 Aug, FREE
16:00 Bercerus the Blind Dog and Other Heroes St Patrick’s Church, 22–24 Aug, £5
17:00 Le Carnaval des Animaux / Un Gâteau pour Cubitus French Institute, 16–27 Aug, £10
17:30
16:10
I Have Always Been a Storm Tolbooth Market, 14–25 Aug, FREE
The Battle of Frogs and Mice Assembly Roxy, 14–19 Aug, £10
The Dark Room (For Kids!) Gilded Balloon Teviot, 14–25 Aug, £10–£11
16:30 Wriggle Around the World Stockbridge Church, 19 Aug, £8 ComedySportz UK Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 14–15 Aug, FREE Mark Thompson’s Spectacular Science Show Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 14–26 Aug, £10 Opera Mouse Pleasance Courtyard, 14–17 Aug, £8–£10
16:35 Denim: The Denim Juniors Assembly George Square Gardens, 14–19 Aug, £9–£10
16:40 The Storyteller’s Apprentice theSpaceTriplex, 14–18 Aug, £9
17:50 Comedy Club 4 Kids Assembly Roxy, 14–26 Aug, £8.50–£10
18:30 The Jungle Book Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 14–18 Aug, £8.50
fest-mag.com
¤ Splash Test Dummies HHHH
W
e’ve put three acts into the Fest Face Generator™ and yanked our huge lever (fnar fnar) to mash them together. Can you work out which features belong to which act at the festivals? Tweet us @festmag with the hashtag #FestFaceGenerator with your guesses for the chance to win a pair of tickets to a show of your choice at the Pleasance. (Absolutely no peeking at the answers – which you’ll find at the bottom of this page. Seriously, we’re watching you.)
Top to bottom: The Gruffalo, the Witch and the Warthog with Julia Donaldson, Underbelly, George Square, 11am – 12pm; Pussy Riot: Riot Days, Summerhall, 7pm – 10pm; The Marilyn Monroe Story, Assembly Rooms, 9:40pm – 10:40pm
94