The Grandmother’s Grimm

Now. We’re quite fond of this one, and placing all bias aside – Some Kind of Theatre’s The Grandmother’s Grimm is a deeply refreshing venture into the world of folk and fairytale unlike any you’ve likely encountered. We’ve covered the piece in its previous incarnations before – so please have a look at our recent review here to see why it should be at the top of your Fringe list. 

As time continues to erode the voices of those storytellers long forgotten, or kept silent by their male ‘colleagues’, the continued preservation of women’s voices is a vital endeavour. Looking at the lives and influence of Marie Hassenplug and her relationship with the Brother’s Grimm, this exploration of the unsung woman who shaped our foundations of storytelling. Featuring deceit, murder, werewolves, Cannibalism and… well, you can come along to find out. If you feel brave enough. 

18:25pm (60 minutes) 15th – 17th (Not 21st) Aug 2022
Venue 16 – Greenside Riddles Court
Thistle Theatre, Riddles Court, EH1 2PG
Tickets £12.50

Merchant of Venice

Our dear friendships of the Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group (EGTG) have remained advocates for grassroots theatre through the lockdown and recent months. So to know they’re not only performing one extraordinary piece but two, well we’re tired just thinking about it.

First, the team are performing a stage classic with Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. A genre-defying comedy which infuses incredible moments of drama, the tale of Antonio, who defaults on a sizeable loan from Shylock is a tale many are familiar with. With some of literature and theatre’s most infamous lines; “pound of flesh” – it’s a quality piece of EGTG to undertake.

18:30 pm (90 minutes) 8th – 13th Aug 2022
Venue 241 – The Hepburn Suite
The Royal Scots Club, 29-31 Abercromby Place, EH3 6QE
Tickets £15

Bloody Wimmin

Also staged at The Hepburn Suite, later in the evening, EGTG will be tackling a more contemporary piece with the marvellously talented Lucy Kirkwood’s Bloody Wimmin. For those who are familiar, the determination and skill of the women of EGTG mean this production is in firm and talented hands. 

It’s 1984, and the women of Greenham Common are convinced the world is wandering blindly into nuclear Armageddon. A piece on competing priorities, targeted rages and dire living conditions, with a soupcon of humour and camaraderie. Time accelerates – 2009, and one question is asked; are these passions and rages burning as brightly?

20:30pm (50 minutes) 8th – 13th Aug 2022
Venue 241 – The Hepburn Suite
The Royal Scots Club, 29-31 Abercromby Place, EH3 6Q
Tickets £15

Loud Poets: Best of Fringe

Look. If you haven’t heard us gush on and on about Loud Poets then you might be new here. An offshoot of Loud Productions, Loud Poets make a welcome return to the Netherbow Theatre this Fringe for select performances of their spoken word medleys, spotlights, and all-together communal evenings where poetry takes as firm a place as any other artform during the Fringe. It’s always an absolute treat of an evening, where absolutely anything could happen, yes, even that. If you want a flavour though please read our review of one of the last performances here.

Now, in terms of who is appearing – we can’t tell you. It isn’t a big secret; we just don’t know. But, from the laugh-out-loud to the sincere and possibly even the surreal, Loud Poets are certain to continue their ambition by providing spoken word is for everyone. Each show will feature new poets and writers, but each will guarantee a stellar line-up.

Various Times (60 minutes) 5^th – 28^th Aug 2022
Venue 30 – Scottish Storytelling Centre
Netherbow Theatre, 43-45 High Street, EH1 1SR
Tickets £12.00

Red Alert – Cancer!

For many of us, Allan Wilson requires no introduction as a lover, patron, and supporter of the arts in Edinburgh. And finally galloping to the stage himself, Red Alert – Cancer! is a personal journey, turning his familial history with red hair and cancer into a solo performance.

So, meet the Wilsons, five children, three of them redheads, who came to Scotland in 1959. Of the redheads, Iain, Heather, and Allan himself, all developed cancer in their 50s. In true fashion; if you didn’t laugh – you’d cry, so Red Alert – Cancer! tells their story with a richness in laughter and sadness, as the show entices audiences to look into the possible connections between cancer and red hair. Directed by the absolute wonder Kolbrún Björt Sigfúsdóttir (who has a show appearing on our following list), Wilson’s first Fringe stage debut is set to be a sentimental and humorous one.

11.30am (55 minutes) 5th – 13th Aug 2022
Venue 186 – Zoo Playground
High School Yards, EH1 1LZ
Tickets £13.00

She Wolf

As Maggie finds herself opening up and telling her story to the wolves at the zoo, the once-solid distinctive lines and binaries erode. Winner of the Assembly ART Award 2022, and the Alpine Fellowship Theatre Prize, She Wolf makes its Fringe debut. A fierce and ferocious monologue about a woman’s fall from a position of power and her scrambled attempts to reclaim it.

Following a powerful reception and positive reviews earlier in the year, there’s a solid chance that Cowan’s She Wolf will become a smash-hit for the Fringe, so book your tickets as early as possible!

Those around the Scottish and Edinburgh theatre community will recognise playwright and creative Isla Cowan, and her rise as one of the finest emerging theatre-makers taking steps today. Crafting She Wolf – to further dismantle boundaries of our outdated personifications and raise questions around capitalism and the ‘survival of the fittest’ that pervades in a perverse manner. She Wolf also touches on the Rewilding in Scotland.

13.50pm (60 minutes) 3rd – 28th Aug 2022
Venue 139 – Assembly Roxy
Downstairs, 2 Roxburgh Place, EH8 9SU
Tickets £12.50

Miss Lindsay’s Secret

Some shows at the Netherbow Theatre cause audiences to leave the Netherbow Theatre inside the Scottish Storytelling Centre in a separate way than when they entered. Humble, poetic, and melodic –  Miss Lindsay’s Secret is the sort of show which contributes to this change.

Inside the museum, the curator discovers a series of concealed letters which bind Glenesk to the Canadian Klondike gold rush, which took so many men from their families in pursuit of wealth. But should the past remain secret? Especially when so obviously hidden away. We had the pleasure of covering Miss Lindsay’s Secret in 2021, and like so many others we’re blown away by the touching narrative, performances and musical nature of Maria MacDonell, Georgina MacDonell Finlayson, and Alan Finlayson. If you’re keen to have an idea of the production, please have a look at our review of last year’s performance, a veritable treasure of a show, here.

13.15pm (65 minutes) 4th – 28th Aug 2022 (select dates)
Venue 30 – Scottish Storytelling Centre
Netherbow Theatre, 43-45 High Street, EH1 1SR
Tickets £12.00