Presenting: The Golden Goose
For one time only (until next year), we ditch our trademark crimson and don the finest of guilded feathers to celebrate our top choices for this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. We’ll be crafting a selection of their Top of the Flock, each awarded a ‘Golden Goose’, with each of the writers submitting their top choice across The Festival Fringe.
From here, we’ve sat and debated over a few glasses and several packs of biscuits about which shows we feel have shown an exemplary sense of accomplishment for some of the major categories. But one thing remains clear across the entire board – everyone, in ways, has been a winner this year. With richly creative debuts to returning shows which hone their talents, the festival season continues to be (for all of its faults) an explosion and celebration of creativity, community, and expensive baked potatoes.
If you have a show coming and would like to chat with us about a Q&A or a review, please do get in touch through the ‘contact’ page where one of the team will get back to you!
Eva O’Connor’s For Dolores, directed by Jim Culleton, is an uncompromisingly raw and devastatingly human play that explores the tumultuous relationship between two women. Hurtling through a non-linear timeline, the story traces the university-forged bond between a combative Glaswegian, Mo (Catriona Faint), and a middle-class Dubliner, Réaltín (Lara McDonnell), as it fractures under the weight of addiction, tragedy, and inescapable codependency. Faint and McDonnell deliver powerhouse, electrifying performances with magnetic chemistry, skillfully anchoring the unpredictable temporal shifts. Bolstered by cleverly minimalist staging and dynamic lighting, the production stands out as an emotional freight train—a vital, profoundly empathetic triumph that beautifully captures the messy, chaotic reality of love and human imperfection.
Review by Dominic Corr
Traverse 2 at The Traverse Theatre
Top Goose: Sarah Hester Ross: Serving C*nt
Powerhouse viral sensation Sarah Hester Ross delivers a blisteringly funny, unapologetically filthy cabaret hour blending 1950s glamour with fierce showgirl charisma. Armed with a staggering vocal range and immaculate comic timing, Ross commands the room with uproarious original songs tackling misogyny, internet trolls, and female autonomy. The queer and female-centric production—featuring her witch-demon alter-ego, Miss Andry—balances provocative crowd work with inclusive warmth. Masterfully navigating abrupt, earnest shifts into stark political commentary before culminating in a cathartic singalong of “Stop Giving Men Microphones,” Ross offers a high-energy, empowering triumph of musical comedy.
Review by Katherine McIntyre
Den at Gilded Balloon Teviot
Top Goose: BIRDS: Alex Hines and Sarah Stafford
Alex Hines and Sarah Stafford’s BIRDS is a phenomenal absurdist dark comedy about two glamorous, fiercely made-up middle-aged women who bond at the beach while blissfully ignoring the end of the world. The brilliant, rapid-fire script is packed with wordplay, wicked humor, and grotesque physical comedy. Hines and Stafford are powerhouse performers with incredible chemistry, masterfully navigating complex dialogue and disturbing physical gags as their characters literally melt into their deck chairs. Complemented by over-the-top costumes, intelligent lighting that delivers visual punchlines, and expert sound design, the production stands as an exceptionally funny, meticulously crafted allegory for humanity’s grim apathy toward its own destruction.
Review by Harri Dimdore-Miles
The Box at Assembly George Square
Sh!t Theatre’s Evita Too is a brilliantly chaotic, cabaret-style Fringe production that explores the bizarre, forgotten story of Isabel Perón—the world’s first female president, who was overshadowed by her husband’s famous first wife, Eva. Through a delightfully messy DIY aesthetic featuring homemade video projections, eccentric musical numbers, puppetry, and rollerblading, creators Rebecca Biscuit and Louise Mothersole deliver a biting feminist satire. With immaculate comedic timing and deadpan delivery, the duo expertly tackles historical erasure and the male construction of cultural mythology, leaning fully into wildly entertaining, unhinged Fringe anarchy.
Review by Dominic Corr (for The List)
Zoo Southside
Top Goose: The Real Kyle McCarren
Andy Roninson and Sean McVerry’s The Real Kyle McCarren is a poignant, autobiographical gig-theatre musical that explores Roninson’s grief following the tragic death of his 21-year-old best friend and bandmate, Kyle. Blending modern rock, jazz, and folk, the show intricately weaves its music into a deeply moving coming-of-age story that balances heart-wrenching loss with a celebration of life. Roninson delivers a profoundly relatable and cathartic performance as a younger version of himself navigating the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, while McVerry brings boyish charm and powerhouse vocals to his haunting yet vibrant portrayal of Kyle. Supported by simple staging, evocative lighting, and a stellar ensemble cast, the production is a beautiful, emotionally raw masterpiece of modern musical theatre.
Review by Hunter King
Forth at Pleasance Courtyard
Top Goose: Rory Cargill On TV!
Rory Cargill delivers a salacious, high-energy tour of television history, guided by his delightfully egotistical alter ego, an over-the-hill TV star named Beau Crème. Through a series of outrageous, deeply committed parodies, Cargill skewers everything from classic children’s programming to modern reality TV, wringing every drop of comedic potential from each era. The ambitious solo performance is elevated by an impressive, professionally edited rig of synchronized TV screens that provide sharp cultural commentary, visual gags, and interactive prompts. Juggling a dizzying array of bedazzled costumes and characters, and weaving in hysterically perplexing audience participation, Cargill serves up a fine-tuned, chaotic feast that brilliantly captures the addictive absurdity of television through the decades.
Review by Esme Hallworth
The Crate at Assembly George Square
Maddie and Marcus Rice’s Goodbye Dandelion is a touching, unpretentious piece of storytelling that serves as a heartfelt love letter to the wisdom and outspoken humor of the elderly. Set around a strikingly lit dandelion, the show unfolds as a eulogy for a fictional woman named Darcy. Maddie delivers a charmingly personal and dedicated narrative, beautifully complemented by Marcus’s piano score and bluntly funny songs about death that offer welcome comedic relief. The siblings masterfully walk the delicate tightrope of finding humor in mortality, delivering a cohesive, deeply moving exploration of life, death, and the often-overlooked realization of just how loved we truly are.
Review by Eloise Robertson
Belly Dancer at Underbelly, Cowgate
Top Goose: Parasocial Activity
Briony Martha’s solo debut, Parasocial Activity, directed by Megan Brewer, is a sharp, hilarious exploration of modern loneliness and digital connection. The plot follows Jenny, a struggling creative who sparks a parasocial romance with an A-list celebrity after a chance encounter in Glasgow. Martha delivers a chameleon-like, tour-de-force performance, effortlessly shifting between characters to ground her hyperactive protagonist with deep emotional authenticity. Bolstered by Rosie Bailey’s precise, twist-enhancing technical design, the production stands as a stellar piece of Scottish theatre examining the extreme lengths people go to forge relationships in the modern age.
Review by Laurie Kimmett
The Penny at Gilded Balloon Patter House
Top Goose: Trans People Are Awful
Ros Watt’s comedy thriller Trans people are awful is an utterly unique, shockingly bold piece of theatre that magnifies the realities of gender dysphoria into a work of sheer horror. The absurdly dark plot follows an unnamed young trans man who murders fourteen cisgender men to harvest their body parts for a fatal, DIY transition. Watt delivers a mesmerizing, star-making solo performance, effortlessly balancing outrageous dark comedy—complete with multiple accents and a macabre ballroom dance—with brutally sad, heart-wrenching monologues. Culminating in a breathtaking final twist, the superb writing and potent acting create a terrifying yet profoundly moving exploration of the trans experience that brilliantly shatters monolithic stereotypes.
Review by Harri Dimdore-Miles
Bunker One at Pleasance Courtyard
Katie Hurley and Sarah Hehir’s Man Or Bear, directed by Ursula Martinez, is a cutting and sensitive exploration of gendered violence and the bonds between women. The narrative follows Paige (Hurley) as she navigates single motherhood while establishing independence from an abusive ex-partner. Hehir’s poetic, polemical script is elegantly elevated by Martinez’s fragmented staging, which emphasizes the characters’ isolation. Amaia Naima Aguinaga delivers a standout, raw portrayal of Paige’s teenage daughter, Angel, alongside strong, deeply effective characterizations from Hurley and Lesley Ewen. Ultimately, the production stands as a deliberate, clever theatrical indictment of modern life lived under the ever-present threat of male violence.
Review by Olivia Burns
Red Lecture Theatre at Summerhall
Writer and performer Lee Minora stars as Baby in a chaotic, hyperactive solo comedy about an anxious hypochondriac desperately trying to enjoy a day off amidst the crushing weight of global politics and relentless doomscrolling. Masking deep angst with a manic, Disney-fied cheerfulness, Minora blends absurd audience participation—including oversized cosmetics and tiny-handed breast exams—with dizzying physical comedy. The result is a confrontational, overstimulating, and painfully accurate exploration of the modern struggle to remain positive while overwhelmed by the endless 24-hour news cycle.
Review by Esme Hallworth
TechCube 0 at Summerhall
Scotland’s Wonder Fools and South Korea’s Theatre SAN unite for Tether 인연, a cross-cultural triumph that transitions from a warm, interactive ceilidh into a sweeping, three-era narrative. The story follows Dae Han (Hyeon-kyu Choi), a student navigating early 20th-century Glasgow, the Korean War, and the 1970s, who discovers a profound bond between cultures through music. Choi anchors the piece with a breathtakingly sincere performance alongside a stellar international ensemble. Elevated by a live score seamlessly fusing Scottish and Korean folk traditions, the production is a poetic, unforgettable celebration of love, memory, and human connection.
Reviewed by Dominic Corr
Main Hall at Summerhall
Grid Iron’s site-specific adaptation of Andrew O’Hagan’s Mayflies transforms a Leith warehouse into a striking backdrop for a decades-spanning story of male friendship. Directed by Ben Harrison, the narrative splits sharply between an exhilarating, music-fueled 1986 weekend in Manchester—anchored by energetic performances from Jude Bain and Kieran Devine—and a somber, modern-day meditation on terminal illness. Despite acoustic challenges in the cavernous venue and a jarring tonal shift from adolescent euphoria to stark mortality, deeply moving performances from Matthew Pidgeon and Graham Mackay-Bruce ensure this poignant exploration of loyalty and loss resonates deeply.
Reviewed by Dominic Corr
Rear Warehouse at Brown’s of Leith
Top Goose: Dracula: Lucy’s Dream
Directed by Yngvild Aspeli, Plexus Polaire’s Dracula: Lucy’s Dream is a dialogue-free, hyper-focused adaptation exploring the psychological and physical undoing of Lucy Westenra. The production is a breathtaking technical masterclass, seamlessly blending human performers with life-sized puppets to visually manifest the vampire’s draining of Lucy’s vitality. Despite minor pacing dips, the eerie shadow-play, haunting soundscapes, and mind-bending staging combine to create a remarkably atmospheric, chilling gothic nightmare.
Reviewed by Dominic Corr
Lennox Theatre at Pleasance at EICC
Interested in being featured? With many previews and Q&As lined up, we’re always happy to chat about including your show in future articles. Please do get in touch through the contact page to feature in an upcoming ‘Have A Gander’