Consider yourself at home with this lot; from famous-revenge tales to cute-potted plants (hiding terrible secrets) to a punk-rock icon and Gods of old, there’s a veritable maelstrom of music in the city this August at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. What better way to mark the year than with a song in your heart and a jig in your step?
This list begins our gander at the musicals, operatic and jukebox moments over the Fringe run, and by lord – there are a few audience favourites, but importantly, there’s a wealth of unique, original and grim musical productions to continue introducing visitors to the richness of Scottish culture, and the wealth of stories we have to offer.
Say what you want about musicals: they’re a diverse bunch, they’re a clever lot, and by lord, some of them really are spectacular.
Links directly to the Fringe website to purchase tickets or look further at shows can be followed by clicking on the show’s respective image. Ticket prices are for standard admission, so please check the Fringe website for concession prices.
Reimaging the legacy of Archne, the most talented weaver in all ancient Greece, vengefully turned into the world’s first spider, God Catcher is a fascinating part of this year’s Fringe we cannot wait to see.
Tackling complex themes, from the erasure of the female narrative to toxic power struggles and grief, God Catcher finds Arachne punished by the goddess Athena and asks us to re-evaluate how stories are often told by the ‘victors’.
Exploring the tale of a woman who dared to tell the truth, at any cost, Cassie Muise and Tyler McKinnon, with Prickly Pear Productions co-producing, spin a legendary tale with original and heartfelt lyrics, with infectiously catchy tunes.
16.55pm (65 minutes), 2nd-8th, 10th-13th, 15th-20th, 22nd-28th, Aug 2023
Venue 302: Underbelly, Bristo Square – Ermintrude
Teviot Place, EH8 9AG
Tickets: £8.00 – £13.50 (Con. available)
If you haven’t this delightful little bundle of joy popping up on your feeds, then what on earth are you doing?
A brand-new, dark-comic musical starring the titular Potty, an all-singing, blabbing, tap-dancing potted plant, comes to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this August. When mysterious things start happening at Little Boo Boo’s general hospital, it’s up to a rag-tag bunch of dysfunctional nurses to pull together and save the day.
But just what has happened to the missing children…
Will the beautiful Miss Lacey ever find true love? And is there more to the nasty-looking Dr Acular than at first glance…?
Well, it’s up to you, the gang, and Potty to solve this mystery before it’s too late. With original, catchy songs, heart-warming friendships and twisted humour, Potty The Plant has taken up roots with the Gilded Balloon PatterHoose and is waiting for a whole host of new friends.
18.00pm (60minutes), 2nd-27th, Aug 2023
Venue 24: Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose – Doonstairs
3 Chambers St, EH1 1HT
Tickets: £9.00 – £13.00 (Con. available)
A deeply vulnerable and hilarious autobiographical musical, Good Morning, Faggi premiered at the National Theatre of Iceland during 2021 Reykjavik Pride and went on to sell over one-hundred shows and tour the country twice over.
And now, this masterpiece arrives at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as part of Summerhall’s programme.
Sharing the experiences of a gay actor in his prime trying to understand why he suffers from nervous breakdowns, Good Morning, Faggi, sparked vital conversations about the human rights of Queer people in Iceland, and what it means to belong. Setting out their journey with diaries, memories, and letters from the past to learn the truth, this is an excellent addition to the festival.
20.45pm (60 minutes) 2nd, 4th-13th, 15th-20th, 22nd-27th Aug 2023
Venue 26: Summerhall – Red Lecture Theatre
1 Summerhall, EH9 1PL
Tickets: £15.00 (Previews & con. available)
Now, this is one to watch.
The name may put you off, and you might thank that Fiona Yu is just another one of those Hello Kitty stereotypes you spot in Hot Topic or Damaged Society… but you’d be dead wrong.
From the Tony-winning producer of Six comes an outrageously irreverent world premiere for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. A musical mash-up of Asian feminism, with a powerfully killer score, Fiona Yu is a high-achieving, but deeply disillusioned Chinese American woman.
Fed up with the stereotypes and pushed upon her by a white, patriarchal society looking for boxes to fill, she will no longer be a human embodiment of a speechless (though snappily dressed) cartoon feline. Based on Angela S Choi’s cult novel, this ruthless musical combines sex, violence, cat ears and stilettos. An absolute must-see.
16.50pm (60 minutes) 2nd-7th, 9th-14th, 16th-21st, 23rd-27th, Aug 2023
Venue 33: Pleasance Courtyard – Pleasance Two
60 Pleasance, EH8 9TJ
Tickets: £16.00 (Preview & con. available)
A hugely exciting project, made in association with the Dundee Rep and Traverse Theatre, No Love Songs, is already generating ripples as a Fringe-hit.
Joining the illustrious rank of previous successful Fringe gig-theatre shows, featuring songs by Kyle Falconer of The View, No Love Songs is inspired by the real-life experiences of Kyle and Laura. Traversing the story of two new parents struggling with the challenges of parenthood and the weight of postnatal depression.
A poignant fusion of live music, laughter, and plenty of tears, audiences are taken on a sincere journey with Kyle and Laura’s up and downs of this new stage of life. Adapting Kyle’s second album for the stage, with book by Laura Wilde and the marvellous and beloved Johnny McKnight, this Made in Scotland Showcase should be on everyone’s Fringe list.
Various times (75minutes) 3rd-6th, 8th-13th, 15th-20th, 22nd-27th, Aug 2023
Venue 15: Traverse Theatre
10 Cambridge Street, EH1 2ED
Tickets: £22.00 (Preview & con. available)
A big musical for a tiny fairy.
But it wasn’t always that way. Did you know that fairies start out big? And one of the most brilliant, biggest, and boldest was Tink. Until one day, in a tragic cliché, Tink began to shrink. Originally performed in association with Tobacco Factory Theatres, TINK is a love letter of a musical monologue to younger girls, women, and everyone to remind them to shine bright – like the way little you always wanted to.
A funny, fulfilling and true-to-life nostalgic, yet contemporary show, TINK navigates the complex social struggles of tween life, teens and into the fledgling world of full-on adulting. This new piece will light up the Underbelly programme throughout August, reminding the audience that they DO believe in fairies.
12.55pm (60 minutes) 2nd – 20th Aug 2023
Venue 302: Underbelly, Bristo Square – Clover
Teviot Place, EH8 9AG
Tickets: £7.00 – £11.00 (Preview & con. available)
The remarkable talents of The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland are bringing the contemporary song-cycle musical Edges to the Assembly Rooms as part of this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
From the creators of La La Land, Dear Evan Hansen and The Greatest Showman, Edges explores the universal issues of identity, commitment and love through a diverse range of songs – spanning genres and styles.
Confronting emotions, complicated relationships, and attempting to escape expectation, this contemporary piece in a world of social media and information overload is a charming, honest, and witty examination of adulthood in your early 20s – and explores the truth of what happens when we are teetering on the edges of our lives, out supposed paths, and challenges the preconceptions we held before.
10.00am (80 minutes) 5th, 8th, 10th, 13th, 15th, 18th, 22nd, 25th Aug 2023
Venue 20: Assembly Rooms – Music Hall
54 George Street, EH2 2LR
Tickets: £16.00 (Con. available)
Revenge – For the Count of Monte Cristo & Ripper
We all know that idiom; Revenge is best served cold.
Reworking Alexandre Dumas’ classic tale of revenge, The Count of Monte Cristo is transformed into a powerful and dynamic rock Opera by Reconnect Regal Theatre for this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. After plotting vengeance and studying his enemies for fourteen years whilst falsely arrested and incarcerated, will this bloody affair destroy his soul, or will he break free of the cruel cycle?
You know the tale of Jack the Ripper.
1888: residents of Whitechapel were terrorised by a string of brutal murders. When the detective in charge of the hunt begins to draw their suspicions closer to home, he is ignored and ridiculed by his peers. But as the bodies pile, he begins questioning his sanity as he spirals deep into the mind of history’s most infamous killer. Step behind the knife and discover who the Ripper is in Reconnect Regal Theatre’s other dark musical at this year’s Festival.
Revenge – For the Count of Monte Cristo, 18.45pm (55 minutes) 4th – 27th Aug 2023
Ripper, 20.45pm (55 minutes) 4th – 27th Aug 2023
Venue 41: Hill Street Theatre
19 Hill Street, EH2 3JP
Tickets: £15.00 (Con. available)
Look, we’re gonna be straight with you. If there’s ONE musical you should be seeing at this year’s Fringe, it’s SCOTS.
It’s the musical history lesson you didn’t ask for, but you’re gonna get, and you’re gonna love it.
After a hugely successful A Play, A Pie, and a Pint run, and a stint in the USA, this true (kinda) story of our nation’s past, present, and future, its triumphs, and failures, is all told by a figure who has seen it all inside and out. It’s Scotland’s greatest export, invention, and storyteller: The Lavvy (Toilet for the rest of you).
Recounting the most infamous, and forgotten tales, from award-winning duo Noisemaker, this highly irreverent and rousing musical adventure through Scotland’s history and culture asks the simple(ish) question: What makes a country?
P.S. – Your ticket includes the play, a pie, and a pint. Nae excuse not to go now.
Various times (60 minutes) 14th-16th, 18th-20th, 22nd-27th Aug 2023
Venue 410: Ghillie Dhu – Auditorium
2 Rutland Place, EH1 2AD
Tickets: £20.00 (Con. available)
If you haven’t spotted your production – do not worry! We’re currently working our way through a huge backlog of requests, with many previews and Q&As lined up. If you haven’t, please do get in touch through the contact page to feature in an upcoming ‘Have A Gander’