our volunteer VAULES

The Pleasance is a place where journeys begin. Our festival volunteer programme stands proudly at the heart of our organisation, giving people of all backgrounds and ambitions the opportunity to enhance their skills, grow confidence and become part of a community that puts people above all else.

It exists on five simple values:

It’s the journey that counts, not the destination Every volunteer’s experience should be memorable and they should take something from it that stays with them wherever they go next.

Go far, stumble often

Volunteers should have the opportunity to push themselves. People flourish just outside of their comfort zone and it’s here that confidence grows.

Many voices make for better conversations

The mix of people and the meeting of minds and ideas makes everybody’s time at the Pleasance infinitely more rewarding.

Time to explore

The fun that volunteers have outside the venue is as valuable as the experiences they gain within it.

We get there together

The Pleasance exists because of volunteers. Their contribution is significant, respected and celebrated. By supporting volunteers to realise their individual ambitions, we are able to achieve our own.

10:20 (11:30)

White Room Theatre Ed2023 Partnership

THE BIG BITE-SIZE BREAKFAST SHOW

Good morning, Edinburgh! We’re thrilled to be back for our 15th anniversary year! We'll be in our new home at Pleasance Beyond, bringing you three delicious, rotating 'menus' of 10-15 minute newly written comedies, eccentricities and minidramas – all served up with complimentary fresh Lavazza coffee, tea, croissant and strawberries. The perfect way to start your day. Doors open by 10am so come and meet the team before they perform for you. 'The tapas of the theatre scene' (ThreeWeeks), 'One of the most important shows you'll see on the Fringe' (Daily Record).

Brekkie brilliance Sunday Mail

The Carol Tambor Shortlist Award Winner, 2019 Best of Edinburgh

10:50 (12:00)

10:55 (11:55)

Naysay Productions

Chasing Butterflies

Murder in London: The Butterfly Butcher strikes again.

Beneath the bustling capital, a relentless evil continues to lurk. Pressure mounts on Detective Richards and the police to catch the serial killer that has haunted Whitechapel throughout 1985.

May God be with you all.

Lawrence Batley Theatre, Richard Jordan Productions, 412, Ketchup with Pleasance JESUS,

JANE, MOTHER,

Winner, Best Play, Critics Award; Theatre Weekly Award. Playwright Philip Stokes' (Heroin(e) for Breakfast) hilarious heartwrenching play about mothers, sons, and Jane McDonald, returns to Edinburgh following sell-out London and Adelaide seasons. 'Must see show!' (Fringe Review)

Stage, ThreeWeeks, Theatre Weekly & Adelaide Advertiser

EVENTS

11:00 (12:15)

Pleasance

Pleasance Opening Gala

Join us for a very special preview of some of the most exciting shows in our 2023 programme and help us launch our 38th year on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe!

The Pleasance is the centre of the cultural universe

Scotsman

The heart of the greatest show on Earth

Edinburgh Festivals Magazine

11:00 (12:10)

Christopher C Gibbs WIESENTHAL

UK premiere of the acclaimed play by Tom Dugan, as seen offBroadway. Based on the life of Simon Wiesenthal, who survived the Holocaust and devoted the rest of his life to bringing Nazi war criminals to justice.

A true story of an ordinary man who did extraordinary things. Performed by Christopher C Gibbs, directed by Mark Liebert.

Insightful, heartbreaking and beautiful New York Times

Heartfelt, engaging piece that transcends Time Out New York

Jeffrey Holland

...AND THIS IS MY FRIEND MR LAUREL

Jeffrey Holland (Hi-de-Hi, You Rang M'Lord) returns in this sell-out one-man show about friendship, memories and a couple of remarkable lives. Set in the bedroom of a sick Oliver Hardy, during Laurel's visit to the dying man. A humorous and touching look at one of the great cinematic partnerships of the last century.

Spellbinding and magically, timelessly funny Stage

THEATRE

11:35 (12:35)

PLEASANCE COURTYARD • BUNKER THREE

Sophie Joans - Spark in the Dark

Le

Hot off an explosive run in South Africa, Sophie Joans erupts with her comedic coming-of-age story about returning to her ancestral island home, Mauritius. This multi award-winning play explores mother-daughter relationships, dodos and lava lamps. Directed by Rob van Vuuren, AKA viral sensation NamasteBae.

It’s a hell of a play. The writing is superb. It’s fast, funny, and able to turn on a dime Critter

11:00 - 19:00 PACK COLLECTION

Shanna May Breen & Luke

Casserly 1000 MINIATURE MEADOWS

An outdoor soundscape looking at Scotland’s biodiversity crisis. Part letter project, part sound project, and part city-wide planting project, this fizzy triptych will begin with you collecting a Listening Pack from the Pleasance Courtyard. To participate, you will need access to a smartphone with WiFi or data and a pair of headphones.

Business Post

11:30 - 21:00 EVERY 30 MIN

Darkfield

S Ance

SÉANCE transforms a 24ft container into a Victorian séance room. It asks you to believe, not only in what seems to be happening inside the container but in what might be conjured into the room with you.

It’s skin-tingling, breathquickening stuff Stage

A creepy and manipulative miniature which unsettles and makes you question not just your senses but what you actually believe Guardian

20 MINUTE IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE

11:45 - 20:45 EVERY 45 MIN

DARKFIELD

EULOGY

EULOGY is a surreal, otherworldly journey through a dreamlike, labyrinthine hotel that exists entirely in your mind. Performed in complete darkness over 35 minutes, this exhilarating ride uses binaural sound and speech recognition technology to deceive the senses.

BBBB

A trippy, sensory adventure

Stage

£12.50 (£11)

11:45 (12:45)

Box Tale Soup

Casting The Runes

'Who is this who is coming...'

You're invited to the edge of your seat, to the darkest corners of the night...

Following Fringe sell outs in 2018 & 2019, Box Tale Soup return with a heart stopping adaptation of M.R. James’ supernatural thriller. Our advice? Don’t come alone...

Remarkable Wee Review (for Gulliver, 2022)

Incredible Young Perspective (for Great Grimm Tales, 2019)

Beautifully crafted Fringe Guru (for Turn of the Screw, 2018)

11:45 (12:45)

Love Song Productions

SING, RIVER

Are you ready to be swallowed into the depths of the Thames? Weaving together an original folk score and tales from a romance best forgotten, Sing, River invites us into the hidden world of British mythology.

Vital, engaging, and experimental Isis Magazine

Inventive, unique Oxford Blue

A beautiful and thoughtprovoking experience Daily Info

11:50 (12:45)

Natasha Stanic Mann

The Return

The beaches are lovely. Remembering is crass, embarrassing, and in poor taste. But to remember is to return. If we cannot return, where do we start from? Come to laugh, to cry and to feel awkward. Whatever it is, we will survive it - survival being an art. Or an embarrassment?

An immersive insight into hidden consequences of war.

Breath-taking, striking, utterly engrossing Everything Theatre

11:50 (12:50)

Ashlee Elizabeth-Lolo / The REcreate Agency

Blueprints

Are you destined to repeat ancestral patterns forever? If you could know the entire history of your bloodline, and everything you’re passing on to your children, would you want to know? Adam and Faith do. Welcome to the Blueprints programme, where we can protect you from the past because, after all, knowledge is power. Right? Blueprints, a new show by Ashlee Elizabeth-Lolo is about beginnings, knowledge, and ancestral inheritance.

11:50 (12:50)

Richard Clements

How To Bury A Dead Mule

Nominated for Best New Play at the UK Theatre Awards, the compellingly powerful and evocative story of Norman Clements, following his time on the front line during WW2 and his attempts to reconnect with family upon returning. An affecting and beautifully imaginative journey into the heart of a man trying to regain a foothold in society. Written/performed by Richard Clements. Directed by Matthew McElhinney.

12:00 (13:00)

Project Y and Richard Jordan Productions in association with Pleasance

YOGA WITH JILLIAN - A NEW COMEDY

A new screwball comedy about how Gwyneth Paltrow, guru culture, green juice, and your best downward-facing-dog can save the world! Brought to your yoga mat direct from its sellout Off-Broadway World Premiere season by the team behind laugh-out-loud Edinburgh smash hit Trump Lear and one of the US most exciting new writers.

Such a discovery is playwright Lia Romeo Theatremania

The laughs come hard and fast and the audience adore it ITV (for Trump Lear)

Please never let Jillian near a yoga mat! Yoga Guru Weekly

12:00 (13:00)

From Start to Finnish in association with Spindrift Theatre

Them

A thought-provoking show that explores the impacts of toxic masculinity. Through interviews with male-identifying individuals and personal stories, four women from Iceland and Finland powerfully portray the pain, thrill, shame, and sorrow of not fitting in. Them challenges audiences to question their own preconceptions and consider how we can work towards a world where everyone has the right to be themselves.

12:10 (13:20)

Voloz Collective

The Man Who Thought

HE KNEW TOO MUCH

Last summer’s sold-out hit returns – bigger and better! Wes Anderson meets Hitchcock meets Spaghetti Western in this multi-awardwinning, fast-paced, raucous whodunnit.

Physical theatre at its most immaculate Scotsman

The theatrical equivalent of a well-crafted Netflix thriller WhatsOnStage

12:10 (13:10)

The Style Theatre

TENNESSEE, ROSE

A gripping new play starring Anne Kidd (Shetland). Delve into the childhood of siblings Tennessee and Rose Williams and the rooted guilt of one of America's greatest playwrights. Rose provided the inspiration for many of Williams' greatest characters, suffering betrayal at the hands of her family and society as a whole. The play starts when Rose, in her 80s, is in a medical facility. Tennessee has died, leaving provision for flowers to be sent to her every week, from beyond the grave but he is still very alive in her mind and on stage.

An inquisitive nurse wants to connect with Rose and tries, against medical advice to help her find peace, something she may later come to regret. What might Rose say, were she given a voice? To her brother, to her mother, to her nurse, to the world? Avoiding documentary, the play examines mental health, guilt, and the role of family tragedy in artistic creation...

12:15 (13:15)

Cheap Date

Dirty Words

Cheap Date dig into the filth, fun and aftertaste of our everyday interactions. A crash landing of our dirtiest words through movement, music, film, speech and comedy.

The fusion of physical narrative, high quality short sharp film, punchy sound scape and story telling is underpinned with a duet that has a chaotic chemistry, captivating the audience into fits of laughter. This crossdisciplinary collaboration is Cornish Performance at its best Cultivator

12:20 (13:20)

Jamie-Lee Money SPIN CYCLES

Time to sweat out the sadness: Spin Cycles gives a cathartic look into why we search for something deeper when the inconceivable happens to us. After an earthshattering year, can she spin herself out of a slump? What is it about cult exercise studios that give us a feeling of purpose? She's not in a cult... yet? Is she? Spin Cycles is a one person show about spinning, grief and everything in between. But mostly spinning, and grief.

Directed by Larica Schnell.

14, 21

12:30 (13:30)

Sam Macgregor

TRULY MADLY BALDY

Truly, Madly, Baldy is a hilarious two-hander comedy based on the brutally honest stories of people who suffer from the hair loss condition Alopecia.

Told through a surreal and whacky lens, our characters Baldy 1 and Baldy 2 encounter doctors, dates and deluded opinions on beauty standards as they come to terms with their hair loss. Strap yourself in as things are about to get hairy!

12:30 (13:30)

Graeae Theatre Company, in association with Theatre Iolo and Soho Theatre

SELF-RAISING

Self-Raising is a true life story about growing up Deaf in a family with a secret. Artistic Director of Graeae, Jenny Sealey has spent a lifetime championing stories by Deaf and disabled artists. In SelfRaising she takes to the stage to tell her own... Blisteringly honest, always reflective, and often laughout-loud funny. ALL ALL ALL ALL

12:30 (13:30)

Charlie Merriman

WONDER DRUG: A COMEDY ABOUT CYSTIC FIBROSIS

Charlie has cystic fibrosis, a condition that causes a buildup of mucus. Lovely. But with a Wonder Drug coming soon, what can stop him now? Intravenous antibiotics meet 80s bangers in this VAULT Festival sell-out show!

Brilliantly unique Liam O'Dell

The kind of theatre that makes us grateful to be alive Prickle

16, 22

COURTYARD • UPSTAIRS

12:40 (14:10)

Mervyn Stutter

MERVYN STUTTER'S

Pick Of The Fringe

'It's like the Royal Variety Show of the Fringe.'

90 minutes of top talent in this legendary daily 'seven show' showcase. Comedy, theatre, music, cabaret, dance, circus and the indefinable; carefully researched by Merv's dedicated team. More info and line-ups: mervspotfringe.com

Vibrant, stimulating showcase of talent Scotsman

12:45 (13:45)

Prentice Productions with Kit Sinclair

30 AND OUT

'Mum, forgot to tell you, I’m a lesbian. Sorry it’s late - fifteen years late, but grab a rainbow flag and don some Docs... I’m 30 and coming out.'

On her 30th, Kit left her boyfriend and the closet. While her friends get mortgages, join her in a hilarious, sexy and painful portrayal of starting life again. Is it too late to be a lesbian? Does she need a cat and an undercut? It’s a coming out story... decades late to the party.

12:50 (13:50)

Yonder Window

Violet And Me

A meditation on motherhood, feminism and fame, two-time Emmy Award winner Dorothy Lyman premiers her story at this year’s Fringe. As she searches for her orphaned mother’s heritage, she finds herself in the bargain. Discover her journey as she tells it from her Midwestern childhood, through motherhood, her marriages, and her successful Hollywood career. As the director of hit sitcom The Nanny and star of All my Children, Lyman’s journey is not one to miss.

12:50 (13:50)

HangDog

Music

Dave is house band/receptionist at music streaming service Stripefy, but he wants more: he dreams of going full-time on reception. Join Dave as he accidentally swallows the Stripefy algorithm and becomes a global music mega-star. For a bit.

The sort of show that makes you excited about the Fringe again Broadway Baby

12:55 (13:55)

Scylla’s Bite

Break Up With Your Boyfriend

Cassie is a hot mess. Jo is playing it cool. When a sleepover erupts with a phone call break-up, they get ready to light it up and burn it down. Through raging reflections, cathartic cooking shows, and treadmill therapy, these best friends come face to face with the realities of their romantic relationships and the toxic truth behind them. An upbeat, queer and honest exploration of consent, self-love and healing in this romcom gone wrong.

13:00 (14:00)

Louis Rembges

CHATHAM HOUSE RULES

Host is going to work again. Front of house, mixologist, cloakroom guardian, finsta meme exec, human signpost, agent provocateur, waiter, TikTok darling — it’s giving range. Hospitality agency work is never as stunning as we want it to be but this shift is particularly deranged. High profile, secret cult, Brexit revenge, dark web, Birkin handbag prices, trial of David Cameron level deranged. To make matters worse, we’re not allowed to talk about it. So come watch a play about it instead.

13:00 (14:10) & 16:00 (17:10)

James Seabright in association with Northbank Speakers

IAIN DALE: ALL TALK

Award-winning LBC presenter returns with in-depth interviews.

5th 13:00 - Jeremy Corbyn MP & Len McCluskey / 6th 13:00Penny Mordaunt MP / 7th 13:00

- Wes Streeting MP / 7th 16:00

- Harriet Harman MP / 8th 13:00 -

Alex Salmond & David Davis MP /

8th 16:00 - Peter Hitchens & Polly

Toynbee / 11th 13:00 - Humza

Yousaf MSP / 13th 13:00 - Sir John

Curtice & Brian Taylor. More TBA at iaindalealltalk.com.

Compagnie le Fils du Grand Réseau, Something for the Weekend THE ICE HOLE: A CARDBOARD COMEDY

A great actor is recounting an epic journey he took from the fjords of Iceland to the dust of the Spanish desert.

Cursed by the mermaid he once accidentally caught, he is aided by one fellow performer, a language no-one quite understands and a thousand pieces of cardboard.

In the spirit of Monty Python with a twist of Laurel and Hardy, the theatrical acrobatics from these virtuoso performers will make you howl with laughter. Pure theatrical joy.

From the creators of Edinburgh 2019's smash-hit physical comedy, Fishbowl.

Molière Theatre Award Winner, 2022 - Best Show In a Public Theatre.

Best Theatre In Europe 2022 New York Times

Cartoonesque and delirious.... We laugh. We are seduced... and conquered

Le Monde

Incredibly funny and inventive

Le Parisien

Left me speechless with mirth... highly charged comic physical dexterity... Excellent Scottish Daily Mail (for Fishbowl)

An incredible piece of theatre and one I would urge you to go and see British Theatre Guide (for Fishbowl)

BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW

13:05 (14:05)

Fishing 4 Chips

Burning Down The Horse

Burning Down The Horse is an immersive comedy set onboard the most iconic wooden animal in history - the Trojan Horse. Whilst being wheeled towards (almost) certain doom, you'll have to contend with heroic egos, class clashes, and sword supply issues. There's only one rule: Odysseus' word is law. Oh, and for the love of gods - no naked flames! Join your fellow soldiers and experience what really went on inside the belly of the beast.

13:35 (14:35)

Spring Lamb

Cowboys And Lesbians

British schoolfriends Nina and Noa have never done drugs, they’ve never been kissed... and they’re absolutely never going to admit that they fancy each other. Join them as they escape their boring, sexless lives by inventing a fantasy world of lust, betrayal, and sexy cowboys, set in the gritty belly of the US’s Deep South. Or... is it the Mid West?

London Theatre Reviews

13:10 (14:10)

Joss Jones for EdCom Productions

Best Of Edinburgh Showcase Show

Great value comedy showcase featuring the best and brightest of this year's Fringe comics, with hand-picked daily changing line-ups. In its 18th successful year in the Cabaret Bar, The Best of Edinburgh Showcase Show has been proud to include mega-stars in its previous line-ups including John Bishop, David O’Doherty, Adam Hills, Micky Flanagan, The Boy With Tape On His Face and Russell Howard. This is the best way to start the day for comedians and comedy fans. See EdComProductions.com for daily listings.

A perfect bite-sized flavour of the festival ThreeWeeks

Have a bite to eat and take a seat – you're in for a treat Broadway Baby

13:15 (14:15)

StammerMouth, Sherman Theatre, Pleasance

CHOO CHOO! (OR... HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT ****** **** *****? (COS I HAVE))

Nye and Duncan live in their dream house. They sing songs and play together all day with their BFFs Radio, Breadloaf and Mr and Mrs Chair. Everything's alright! But when Nye opens up about something that's been going on in his head, things start to go off the rails.

Funny and nonsensical, brave and poignant, this disability led performance is an exploration of obsessive compulsive disorder told by people who know a bit about it.

CHOO CHOO! (Or... Have You Ever Thought About ****** **** *****? (Cos I Have)) is a wild journey into a mind that refuses to play nicely.

ALL ALL ALL

(£13)

13:30 (14:30)

Compagnie du Kaïros / Something for the Weekend

Dough

A fast-paced darkly comic drama from internationally acclaimed Moliere award-winner, David Lescot. Exploring a lifetime through one person’s daily interactions with money, three actors portray over forty characters, examining the transactions we engage in to build a life.

'You can’t keep accumulating all the time, you see... You can’t always be gaining, earning, winning; you need to lose as well. We need loss.'

Written and directed by Lescot - an associate artist of the renowned Théâtre de la Ville in Paris - who makes his Edinburgh Fringe debut.

A swift, humorous and sometimes bittersweet tale Manhattan Digest

[A] mesmerising, nearly perfect production StageBuddy

13:30 (14:30)

Patrick Sandford

Groomed

How can a truth be told? How can a secret be spoken? Three true stories of survival. A schoolboy is kept back by his teacher, a Japanese soldier won’t surrender and an accident prone young Belgian invents the saxophone. Fast, powerful, gripping storytelling with live saxophone music. 'One of the most moving pieces I have seen' (Sandi Toksvig). Winner of 3 Outstanding Theatre Awards, Brighton Fringe. Finalist, Best Male Performer, Off West End Awards. Written and performed by Patrick Sandford. Director Nancy Meckler. Composer Simon Slater. Ages 14+.

Astonishing... unmissable Guardian

Remarkable brave inquiring theatre Financial Times

13:30 (14:40)

The Thelmas and The Pleasance in association with Sarah Verghese Productions

SANTI & NAZ

Best friends Santi and Naz live in pre-partition India. One Sikh, one Muslim. But as the political situation worsens, the threat of their separation looms large. Award-winning company The Thelmas explore queer love, identity and loyalty, set against the backdrop of a country soon to be changed forever. Winner of the Pleasance Charlie Hartill Fund 2023.

Praise for Ladykiller (2018):

A smash hit Broadway Baby

Superb Scotsman

15, 19 ALL

Returning to Edinburgh Fringe for the first time since sell out runs in 2018 & 2019. In Loyal Company is the incredible true story of missing WWII soldier Arthur Robinson, written and performed by his great-nephew David William Bryan.

May 1941. Hitler's bombs rain down on Liverpool. Local packer Arthur Robinson joins up, becoming a private in the 18th reconnaissance division.

Deployed to Singapore where his ship is destroyed by Japanese dive bombers on arrival, Arthur is declared missing. This extraordinary true story of survival is a one-man tour-de-force war epic.

A masterpiece of war storytelling Broadway Baby

Touching and humbling British Theatre Guide

A truly stunning performance Fringe Guru

A must see show Southside Advertiser

A tour de force performance London Theatre

BOOK YOUR TICKETS NOW

13:45 (14:45)

Natasha Sutton Williams & PlayWell Productions

Clown Sex

Join Gary Strange in the London sewers as he encounters stories of bad sex, sad sex and clown sex. Visceral and 'brilliantly oddball' (Time Out), you will laugh, cry, and even gag. It’s funny, grotesque and surprisingly relatable.

Unique and mouthwatering North West End

Laugh-out-loud funny Broadway World

13:45 (14:45)

Matthew Radway

Super

On Hollywood Boulevard, a group of actors are posing as famous characters for photos with tourists. It’s 100°, Batman punched Robin in the face and the whole thing is about to be on TMZ. Captain Jack Sparrow has fainted and Catwoman is screaming. It’s all gone wrong. Inspired by real people and true stories, a darkly comic drama about ambition, love and overwhelming failure told by two not-very-super-heroes.

ThreeWeeks (for previous work)

13:50 (14:50)

Sibearita Productions, Theatre Royal Plymouth, Pleasance

Buff

Fresh from its award-nominated run at VAULT Festival, Buff arrives at Edinburgh! A 32 year old gay primary school teacher navigates the cruel online dating world as a plussized man, alongside his rising feelings towards his new buff flatmate. Funny yet timely, Buff is a heart-warming tale of the journey to self-acceptance.

Directed by Scott Le Crass (Rose, West End), written by Ben Fensome. In association with Theatre Royal Plymouth, Pleasance, and Sibearita Productions.

Something very special indeed LondonTheatre1

Sensitive yet hilarious All That Dazzles 20

13:45 (14:45)

GOYA Theatre Company

Four Felons And A Funeral

A brand-new musical following four dysfunctional friends on a roadtrip to scatter their mate’s ashes. Meet the new five stages of grief: screaming, shouting, fighting, f*cking and fleeing from justice.

Sam Woof, the writer and composer, is one to watch Musical Theatre Review (for previous work)

14:00 (15:00)

Izzy Tennyson and Etch

The Great Ruckus

Two sisters have to navigate their way through their mother’s funeral and quickly find the warm embrace of their family turns into a seething snake-pit of selfish and self-absorbed relatives. Jo and Ida dutifully march to Death’s drumbeat, only to tumble and fall as their delicate relationship cracks under the pressure.

Izzy Tennyson, writer of awardwinning Brute and critically acclaimed Grotty, returns with Etch, with this wickedly dark play about people behaving badly.

14:00 (15:00)

Bric à Brac Theatre, Grace Dickson Productions and Pleasance

Glass Ceiling Beneath The Stars

NASA, 1992. Hurricanes in Hawaii, riots in LA, the longest running game of tennis at the US Open and NASA launches the Endeavour STS-47. Onboard are two women set to change history. Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman to go to space, and Jan Davis, the first woman to go to space with her husband. Back on Earth everyone had one question: did the couple have sex in space?

Five performers and three cameras investigate sexism at NASA, racial politics in the US and our fascination with the sex lives of others.

Witty and inventive Stage (for Ash)

ALL 7, 14, 21

14:00 (15:00)

Temper Theatre

HOME

The vivid colours of East Anglian folklore weave their way into the grey city life of Eddie, a young man desperately out of his depth. Temper return with a heartwarming story of memory, imagination and the joys of parenthood.

Blazingly sincere Guardian (for Terra Incognita)

Vehement but cogently delivered Herald (for Terra Incognita)

Voice Magazine (for Tribe)

14:05 (15:05)

Callum Hughes and Fake Escape

Thirst

Join actor-musician Callum Patrick Hughes as he rediscovers himself without looking through the bottom of a bottle. Featuring original songs, Thirst is a funny yet moving love letter to sobriety and a celebration of all things alcoholic.

One the best storytellers I’ve seen AskTheUshers

Thirst is an eye-opening, raw and touching love letter TheatricEllie

14:05 (15:05)

Platform Presents

NUCLEAR CHILDREN

Winner of the 2021 Platform Presents Playwright’s Prize, Nuclear Children, written by Ezra England, directed by Seán Linnen, is a dark comedy about mental health, a submarine accident and a melon.

Following her father’s death, Isla runs away to university in the hope of staying sane.

A stunningly gifted writer who chimed straight into my heart with such a startling debut

Jenna Coleman

14:10 (15:10)

Pink Sky Theatre Company

Rapture

Rosy, Tommy and Kit are cluedup, kinky and queer as f*ck - until safe spaces fracture and identities start to shift. As events in the present bring past traumas to the surface, the bonds within this chosen family must shudder and transform if they are to survive.

Rapture is an ode to London, the queer experience, and chosen family Lost in Theatreland

14:15 (15:15)

Elle Dillon-Reams

HONEYBEE

HoneyBEE is a festival-driven show with a banging soundtrack. We follow Kate, as she flits and stumbles through her twenties fuelled on highs and hedonism. With a heady mix of music, stand-up and spoken word, Kate’s story represents a generation’s search for purpose and the need to dance in the face of adversity. It’s Fleabag meets Kae Tempest, with a dash of dirty bass. Best Newcomer Award, Scotsman.

Scotsman

14:20 (15:20)

RJG Productions, Bristol Old Vic, Pleasance

Bitter Lemons

In the pressurised worlds of football and finance, two women carve their own path.

After the loss of her dad, a goalkeeper prepares for the league final, while an ambitious banker must battle her fears of being tokenised to secure a promotion. But as their pitches get closer, worlds collide as life shifts unexpectedly and in parallel. How do you face your biggest challenge yet?

Winner of a Pleasance Edinburgh National Partnership Award and supported by Bristol Old Vic, Lucy Hayes' Bitter Lemons is an explosive debut play tackling the pressures on women’s bodies and the power society holds over them.

Perfect

Telegraph (for previous work)

14:25 (15:25)

Voloz Collective

The Life Sporadic Of Jess Wildgoose

Tarantino meets Pixar in this electrifying cinematic thriller from the creators of the smashhit comedy The Man Who. With virtuosic acrobatics and live music, this madcap tragicomic rollercoaster unnerves and astounds as we follow Jess on a brutal and moving quest for revenge.

Physical theatre at its most immaculate Scotsman (for The Man Who)

14:15 (15:15)

Elle Dillon-Reams

Meat

MEAT is an electrifying roar of fury, a rallying cry of protest and unifying celebration of strength packed with heroism and heart.

Written by multi-award winner Elle Dillon-Reams (Best Newcomer, Scotsman), MEAT is a theatrical hybrid of poetry, clowning, cabaret and dance feat original music.

Supported by Arts Council England.

One of the most dazzling performances of the month. Dillon-Reams is a star

Scotsman

14:30 (15:30)

Soho Theatre in association with Bhuchar Boulevard

SUDHA BHUCHAR:

Evening Conversations

Middle-class, middle-aged, multicultural mother of millennial sons, Sudha invites her Indo/ Pakistani, fiercely British boys to 'crack open a cold one' and share their views on life. Will they see their background as a place of strength or an unwelcome inheritance?

'You’re the one with the identity crisis mum, not us!'

14:30 (15:30)

Off The Kerb Productions

Graham In The Green

Ivo Graham dips a greedy toe into the theatre/therapy section, poring over the usuals (relationships, responsibilities, regrets) without any promise of logic or laughter.

It takes a meaty whack of self-absorption for a comedian to book an extra slot at the Fringe just to gaze further at his navel without punchlines: please only do come if you can forgive such indulgence (and you've already investigated his main show, Organised Fun).

Questions about why Graham is so drawn to the past remain unanswered

The i

This device isn't a spaceship, it's a time machine

Dick Whitman

14:30 (16:15)

Mervyn Stutter

MERVYN'S 30TH YEAR CHARITY GALA

Join Merv and a host of top talent in a huge Charity Variety Gala to celebrate the 30th year of the legendary Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of the Fringe showcase.

Proceeds to Imibala Trust charity in Cape Town.

MervsPotFringe.com

14:35 (15:35)

Alice Malseed & Emily Foran, Lyric Belfast, Pleasance, Thistle and Rose Arts

The Half Moon

Four women. Four generations. One Belfast family fighting for freedom and future.

In a ferociously optimistic tale of home and hope, we meet Ethel, Jeanette, Sarah and Pam, each trapped by the narrow streets and looming mountain of Tiger’s Bay. None of them had the chance to leave until now. Pam may have broken the cycle and followed her dream of a life elsewhere but can she ever truly escape her ancestry? There are stories of battle, passion and hope still demanding to be told.

Nominated for Best Set and Audience Choice Award, Irish Times Theatre Awards 2022.

Storytelling mastery... Stories of uncompromising women

Alan in Belfast Blog 18

Degrees of Error

MURDER, SHE DIDN'T WRITE

Don your deerstalker, grab your magnifying glass and get your 'finger of suspicion' at the ready because Fringe favourites, Degrees of Error, are bringing back their multiple sell-out show for your sleuthing pleasure.

They'll create a classic murder mystery on-the-spot every afternoon in this ingenious and original improvised comedy production. You, the audience, become the author as the cast act out your very own Agatha Christie-inspired masterpiece live on stage. Each show, this extraordinarily talented company use audience suggestions to create a unique, original and extremely comical improvised murder mystery just for you. All you have to do... is solve it.

Ms Gold poisoned at a synchronised swimming gala? Dr Blue exploded by cannon during a hot air balloon race? Professor Violet crushed to death at a Love Island recoupling? You decide!

But will you guess whodunnit before the killer is revealed?

Degrees of Error are a theatre company, focused on producing original comedic and dramatic improvised works. Founded in 2010 they are resident troupe at The Bristol Improv Theatre, the first theatre in the UK dedicated to the art of improv.

Hilarious... The show is a riot Scottish Daily Mail

Absolutely fantastic... Incredibly clever... Laugh out loud funny... A truly entertaining and hilarious take on the murder mystery and absolutely not one to miss Voice Mag

An improvisation style mystery play that totally hits the spot! Theatre Bubble

Outstanding performances delivered by a seriously talented cast! ThreeWeeks

An incredibly impressive feat. A funny and outrageous show Fringe Explosion

14:50 (15:50)

DEM Productions BLOWHOLE

He’s gay, aspiring to be Billie Piper circa 1999, and perfecting the bum-hole selfie in the work toilets. Rock bottom’s never been so fabulous. 'An outrageously raw, brazenly queer new comedy depicting life and love in your twenties.'

Theatre does not come any better than this Boyz Magazine

Side-splittingly hilarious Theatre And Other Things

14:55 (15:55)

Peyvand Sadeghian

DUAL دوگانه

One woman. Two passports, and two names: Peyvand is British, Parisa is Iranian. A darkly comic, award-winning show about passports and protests.

Top Picks: Lyn Gardner (Stagedoor) and Natasha Tripney (Stage).

Cheekily irreverent and sharply satirical Stagedoor I have the feeling that I’m about to be, in some form or another, revolutionised A Younger Theatre A thrilling performer To Do List (for Rich Kids: A History of Shopping Malls in Tehran) ALL

14:55 (15:55)

Luke Wright

LUKE WRIGHT'S SILVER JUBILEE

Wright tries to celebrate but ends up taking a deep dive into himself and the England that raised him. New poems on class, love and adoption.

Visceral, poignant and riotously funny Scotsman

15:00 (16:00)

Dominique Salerno

DOMINIQUE

SALERNO:

THE BOX SHOW

One woman. 25 characters. All inside a tiny box. Think SNL performed by one person: in a cupboard! Dominique creates hysterical, entirely new realities each time the doors swing open. Purely delicious... a paragon of the Fringe form New York Times Intensely creative Time Out New York

Salerno is one of our most inventive, entertaining, and accomplished writers and performers New York Theatre Guide

15:00 (16:00)

Glenna Morrison, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, Pleasance GUFFY

An allegorical tale of the state of our nation. Guffy, the present. Alba, the past. Bairn, the future. All co-existing in the bottom end of a parochial Scottish town. Guffy plans a night on the tiles of footie lads and karaoke while reeling in the aftermath of her maelstrom. Young talent Georgia Blue Ireland plays Guffy, while Alba is played by the superb Ceit Kearney. This guttural play is fearless on race, sex, addiction, alzheimers, death. Guffy may offend, but she doesn’t care.

Realism to the max. It has deep humour, terrible pain and wrenching passion Ewan Morrison, Author Scots blood runs so deep throughout the whole play. I could feel it, so, so strong Susannah Norbury, Author Searingly relevant Colin McReddie, Actor

15:00 (16:10)

Apphia Campbell presented by James Seabright

Black Is The Color Of My Voice

Fringe First and Spirit of the Fringe Award winner Apphia Campbell's stunning solo show inspired by the life of Nina Simone. Returning to celebrate its 10th birthday for five performances only.

Captivates throughout Skinny

Nothing short of sensational Broadway Baby

15:00 (16:00)

Wound Up Theatre

TONES: A HIP-HOP OPERA

PLEASANCE COURTYARD • UPSTAIRS

What happens if you're not black enough for the ends, but too black for the rest of the world? Meet Jerome, aka The Professor, who's in a battle with his identity, and on a journey through the depths of Black-British culture, class, and belonging.

Tones combines gritty underground sounds of Grime, Hip-Hop and Drill and the melodrama of Opera, to present a piece of gig theatre like no other.

15:00 (16:00)

Young Pleasance SHOWGIRLS &

Spies

The thrilling true story of Florence Waren, an intrepid Jewish resistance fighter and dazzling showgirl leading a perilous double-life in WW2. Working fearlessly for the French resistance by day, Florence takes to the stage alongside icons Edith Piaf and Josephine Baker, every night at the infamous Bal Tabarin. Written by Florence’s relative, the 'breathtakingly skilful ensemble' (BBC Scotland) jump cut between worlds bursting with bravery, family and feather boas. With their trademark high production values, the 'superbly multi-talented' (Scotsman) Young Pleasance present their modern take on the glitz, glamour and glare of wartime Paris.

Young Pleasance is extraordinary British Theatre Guide

15:10 (16:10)

Pacey's Creek

CHRISKIRKPATRICKMAS: A BOY BAND CHRISTMAS MUSICAL

A Christmas Carol meets It’s A Wonderful Life meets... *NSYNC. It's Christmas Eve 2009 and Chris Kirkpatrick from *NSYNC has until midnight to make a wish that could change his life forever. Featuring 12 original songs and plenty of 90s nostalgia!

Music direction by Taylor J. Williams (Hamilton); sound design by Josh Millican (Six).

Triumphant Stage Scene LA

15:10 (16:10)

Amsterdam Artist Management

SLÄPSTICK: SCHËRZO

Spirit of the Fringe Award winner Släpstick is back. Bringing their unique brand of mischief to Schërzo, a clown-esque concerto for the ages where a seemingly highbrow classical concert glissandos into a bacchanal of comical mishaps and absurdity.

Neither floppy-wigged composers nor their magnum opus are safe from this Släpstick buffoonery. It’s Chaplin meets Tchaikovsky, Buster versus Bernstein, and Groucho Marx does Mozart, all rolled up into one raucous show! Internationally renowned Släpstick presents Schërzo, a performance of classical music as you’ve never experienced it before. Language no problem.

Fest

£15 (£13.50) £16 (£14.50)

15:10 (16:10)

Tom Moran

PLEASANCE COURTYARD • PLEASANCE BELOW

Tom Moran Is A Big Fat Filthy Disgusting Liar

What's the worst lie you've told? And how far would you go to keep it a secret? Join this charismatic people-pleaser in this hilariously honest show as he seeks to confess his secrets and unf*ck his future. Winner of Fishamble New Writing Award at Dublin Fringe 2022.

The most searingly honest and moving show of the year Arts Review

15:15 (16:15)

Cosmic Collective, York Theatre Royal, Pleasance EDMONDS

Deal or No Deal meets Doctor Faustus. 22 red boxes. One soul.

Edmonds makes a Deal (or No Deal) with the Devil. How far will they go for fame, fortune, and free TV licensing? An audience member is invited to play the game, as the Cosmos decides the fate of the show. The Banker has now come to claim what is owed to them.

'It is only a soul... what does it matter when the very life blood of mid-to-late afternoon light entertainment is hanging in the balance.'

15:20 (16:20)

Mick Perrin Worldwide

BRONWYN SWEENEY: OFF-BRAND

In her debut hour, Funny Women finalist Bronwyn teaches audiences how to build their own personal brand in four easy steps. British born but American presenting, Bronwyn draws on her own confusing life and a career making ads no one wanted to watch to explore how to stand out in the crowded marketplace of life. Expect a set packed with natural charisma and full of gags... the finished package Chortle

15:20 (16:20)

Nothing More to Say 52 MONOLOGUES FOR YOUNG TRANSSEXUALS

'What’s the worst thing that’s ever made you feel like a woman?'

Let’s go, girls. Nothing More to Say’s award-nominated debut is an eloquent and audacious hour of verbatim and cabaret theatre. Strap in for sleepover-style honesty on sex, love and trans womanhood.

Broadway World Theatre at its most alive Varsity

15:30 (16:30)

Lilly Burton

ALL ABOARD! AT TERMINATION STATION

The Edinburgh Fringe debut from performer, writer, and creative activist Lilly Burton. A comedy-cabaret about Abortion... obvs! This is Lilly’s story, a bracing, booming and brash autobiographical tale. This is a cry-to-arms that will have you slamming down your pints in support of reproductive rights!

Fearlessly funny and painfully poignant Shami Chakrabarti

15:30 (16:30)

Maria Rud and The Filthy Tongues

THEATRE

PLEASANCE COURTYARD • THE GRAND

Revelations Of Rab Mcvie

Join everyman Rab McVie as he travels through richly-textured dreamscapes, pursuing light in darkness, hope in a torn world. Unnmissable collision of live painting, live music and theatre with Maria Rud, The Filthy Tongues and Tam Dean Burn. Thrilling, vital, batsh*t crazy!

Herald

15:30 (16:30)

Mick Perrin Worldwide

PAUL MERTON'S IMPRO CHUMS

Paul Merton and his highly acclaimed Impro Chums are back at the Edinburgh Fringe this year for their twentieth anniversary at the festival.

They take audience suggestions and create cascades of fantastic tumbling laughter. The collective improvisational experience embodied in the Chums is enough to stun an elephant. They flex their improvisational muscles to delight and entertain audiences in this country and abroad, and now they return to Edinburgh, their second home.

The Impro Chums are Paul Merton, Suki Webster, Richard Vranch, Kirsty Newton and Mike McShane.

Every year they bring the house down... a testimony to their brilliance and consistency... you could see this every night and never tire of it Mirror

These are masters of their craft and there wasn't a dull moment. Terrific fun Manchester Evening News

A masterful demonstration of improvised comedy Daily Telegraph

I laughed a lot, at those uncomplicatedly glorious moments Guardian

A masterclass in improv Wee Review

15:35 (16:45)

Silent Faces in association with The Pleasance

Godot Is A Woman

The 'unmissable' (Reviews Hub) 2022 Fringe hit returns!

Since Beckett wrote Waiting for Godot, he and his estate have notoriously challenged - often legally - non-male companies that wish to perform it. A whip-smart interrogation of gender, authorial copyright and the cultural significance of Madonna's 1989 album Like a Prayer, Silent Faces return with their trademark style of playful, political, physical theatre.

Cheeky and geeky Guardian

Extremely clever Scotsman

Richly comic Stage

15:35 (16:35)

Sophie Craig / The REcreate Agency

I LOVE YOU, NOW WHAT?

Can love survive when someone dies?

'No bastard ever warned me that your love life goes down the shitter when someone dies.'

This brilliantly funny, heartwarming and raw debut play by actor and comedian Sophie Craig, examines a beautifully ugly story about grief and love's place within it.

15:45 (16:45)

GOYA Theatre Company

ACTUALLY, LOVE

Romcoms and pop songs collide in a musical rollercoaster charting the highs and lows of identity politics, romantic clichés and open mic nights. Alex is singing - Stevie is watching. The songs tell us their story.

Will they fall in love 'properly' - as seen in Richard Curtis’ 2003 megasmash Love Actually? Or is that just for straight people?

A must-see at this year’s Fringe EdFringe Review (for previous work)

15:40 (16:55)

Ad Infinitum

Beautiful Evil Things

Multi award-winning Ad Infinitum (Odyssey, Translunar Paradise, Ballad of the Burning Star) returns with an untold, breathtaking version of the Trojan War.

Enter Medusa. Monstrous gorgon? Snakes for hair? A turnto-stone glare? Perhaps. But she was there - as a bodiless head strapped to the shield of a goddess.

Her forever-open eyes saw it all, but Medusa’s petrifying gaze focused on three extraordinary women: the key to her ultimate hope.

Beautiful Evil Things is a new, high-energy, one-woman 'tour de force' (British Theatre Guide), a critically acclaimed show combining physical storytelling with cut-throat wit.

One of The Guardian's 'Best Theatre of 2022'.

Exhilarating Guardian

High-intensity Stage

Epic Morning Star

A powerhouse performance Fix Magazine

Physical storytelling at its zenith StageTalk Magazine 11, 15, 16, 19 11, 13, 15, 16, 19

15:40 (16:40)

Elisabeth Gunawan, Created a Monster and The Pleasance

Unforgettable Girl

Money can't buy love, but £19.99/month can get you a mailorder bride delivered directly from the wasteland of Asian stereotypes. But what lies beneath her shiny surface? How is she forced to transform, destroy and rebuild herself in order to survive? An irreverent, no-holds-barred, bouffonesque myth about the violence our culture inflicts on bodies of colour. Winner of the Pleasance Charlie Hartill Fund 2023, Best Show (Offies, 2021) and Best Performer in a Play (Stage Debut Awards, 2022).

A standout show... Elisabeth Gunawan captivates Stage

Beautiful Broadway Baby

15:45 (16:45)

November Theatre and The Pleasance

Pitch

A bold, goal-scoring exploration of the relationship between football and the queer community. Expect a hat-trick of true stories, dirty tactics and dancing! In the wake of the Qatar World Cup and in the midst of the 2023 Women’s Tournament, Pitch blends documentary storytelling and theatre, investigating what it means to watch, play and love the beautiful game.

November Theatre (one of The Stage’s Top Picks of the Fringe, 2022) imagine a future in which queer representation in football is more than just a debate over a rainbow armband. Winner of the Pleasance Charlie Hartill Fund 2023.

A stellar cast... a queer tale of complexity and captivation Broadway World 13, 21 10, 20

16:00 (17:10)

James Seabright in association with Northbank Speakers

IAIN DALE AND JACQUI SMITH'S FOR THE MANY LIVE

LBC legend and the former Home Secretary host the live version of their smash-hit podcast. Political analysis, unfiltered opinion and smut.

9th - Peter Tatchell

10th - Mark Drakeford MS

11th - Kate Forbes MSP

12th - Sir Ed Davey MP

13th - Ian Blackford MP

16:00 (17:00) theFound, supported by TikTok

KNOCK, KNOCK

Knock, Knock will showcase TikTok’s biggest comedy stars as they bring their hilarious online content to the live stage. A mixture of stand-up and characters hosted by Coco Sarel and starring Henry Rowley, Steven McKell, Ayamé Ponder plus special guests. This is a feel-good hour of fun you don’t want to miss.