by Laura Kressly
Pissing from tall buildings, pulling strangers, waking up somewhere you don’t remember – these are the hallmarks of an absolutely banging night out for some people. But when outrageous behaviour at the weekends starts creeping into the week, then every day, this is a problem.
by Laura Kressly
With the world as it is, it’s fair to feel like the apocalypse is coming and there’s nothing us powerless citizens can do about it. In that context, making a show about how we’re all doomed seems a rather reasonable response. Doom and gloom shows are a dime a dozen at the fringe, and these two address a particular brand of disaster with varying results.
by Laura Kressly
Ink Asher Hemp (they/them) is trans nonbinary. They are taking up space and they are not apologising in this one-person show with a bit of spoken word that overviews trans and queer issues.
by guest critic and photographer Esther Moorton
To see or not to see? That is the question.
But this is a hilarious take on Shakespeare’s famous Hamlet, but not as you or I know it.
In these long-running, established shows, one of the main actors is plied with alcohol pre-performance and throughout the show audience members have the authority to request more drinks for the actor.
Paines Plough’s flatpackable Roundabout theatre is one of the most exciting new writing venues of the fringe. Tucked in the rear courtyard at Summerhall, the intimate, domed space features several plays spotlighting Britain’s working class this year. From Scottish school gates to a Yorkshire village, the best writing here this fringe wrenches theatre’s narratives away from the privileged classes.
By Laura Kressly
Some facts: Katie is 15 years old. She has a dog called Pip. When she grows up, she wants to be an animal trainer. She has an older brother called Rob, and was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was two years old.
by Laura Kressly
Theatre doesn’t need another all-white, all-male absurdist production ridiculing vulnerable people. Whilst fun in its staging and innovative in its storytelling, Flies lazily exploits cishet, male power dynamics in a Kafka-esque nightmare for fly-phobic Dennis whilst exploiting systemic, patriarchal structures to make him even more of a victim.
by guest critic and photographer Esther Moorton
Egg may be a comedy, but the underlying message behind the sketches is that women are still underrepresented in comedy, in the workplace and are still being objectified. “Hello, my name is Sharon” is the tagline for this show and serves as a reminder that any one of us can be subjected to sexism and objectification.
by guest critic Joanna Trainor
Allô you gorgeous creatures, this entire review is going to be written in a very sexy French accent so that’s how you should read it.*
by guest critic and photographer Esther Moorton
Michael Ajao & Valentine Olukoga capture the audience “hook, line and sinker” in this beautiful two man performance about a family of four Nigerian brothers, Ikenna, Boja, Obembe and Benjamin – and a prophecy which brings devastation and loss.
The Play's The Thing UK 