Written by Alfie Jones Directed by Alice Harding Review by Orly Benn Underbelly George Square - Buttercup ★★★★ In a visual age of mass media consumption and production, Alfie Jones’s ‘This Blighted Star’ is immeasurably pertinent as a modern analysis of surveillance, mass media safety, social conspiracy, and celebrity idolatry. Jones’s play, expertly directed by … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – This Blighted Star
Review by Marina Funcasta Just the Tonic at the Caves ★★★ Witnessing the success of Adam Kay, the emergence of Dr Benji Waterhouse comes at no surprise. Breaking through the taboo of combining humour and the unknown sides of mental health, as Waterhouse himself acknowledges at the beginning of his show, humour becomes a very … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Benji Waterhouse: Second Opinion (WIP)
Written and Performed by Lucy Roslyn Directed by Jamie Firth Review by Eve Nugent Pleasance Courtyard - Cellar ★★★ It’s man devouring man, my dear, and who are we to deny it in here?We have all heard of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd and his murderous exploits on Fleet Street. But what of his partner in crime? … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Lovett
Review by Eve Nugent Monkey Barrel Comedy ★★★★ Alison Spittle waltzes onto the Monkey Barrel stage in her puffy, multicoloured tulle suit – a whimsical armour she soon sheds to reveal a glamorous, sparkly two-piece. From the offset, she disarms the audience with her total transparency, acknowledging her large size and recent weight loss. Exactly … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Alison Spittle: BIG
Written by Indra Wilson Co-directed by Cora Bissett and Niloo-Far Khan Review by Orly Benn Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose - Big Yin ★★★★ The care and generosity of Indra Wilson’s performance begins in the queue entering Gilded Balloon’s ‘other yin’, where patrons are handed silver-star stickers to use in acts of personal remembrance and celebration … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Float
Written by Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland Review by Orly Benn theSpace @ Niddry St ★★★★★ Fringe heroes Xhloe and Natasha return to the too-busy, too-expensive, over-saturated Auld Reekie Edinburgh Fringe with all three of their previous shows to remind us why Fringe is worth it and why we should all try to do what … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – And Then The Rodeo Burned Down
Written and Performed by Jasmine Thien Directed by Max Percy Review by Eve Nugent Underbelly Bristo Square, Friesian ★★★ I Dream in Colour, performed on the intimate Friesian stage at Underbelly Bristo Square, is a moving semi-biographical one-woman show about a blind woman “fighting for the right to exist”. Writer Jasmin Thien draws upon her … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – I Dream In Colour
https://youtu.be/-Lpsslq9W1U Created by Wright&Grainger Review by Eve Nugent Summerhall - Dissection Room ★★★★★ To a sold-out auditorium, Wright&Grainger present their beautifully original show Orpheus: an innovative and modern retelling of the classic Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. Performed on the funky traverse stage in the Dissection Room at Summerhall, the duo breathe vibrant new … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Orpheus
Review by Eve Nugent Assembly George Square Studios - Studio Five ★★★★ Oozing with charisma is Ismael Loutfi in his stand-up comedy titled Heavenly Baba. Across one hour, he shares the unique story of his father – a Syrian-born immigrant to the United States and devout Muslim whom Loutfi affectionately calls “the most religious man … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Ismael Loutfi: Heavenly Baba
Review by Dominic Corr Just the Tonic at The Caves ★★★★ More than many recent years, the ties of spoken word and storytelling have found themselves at the heart of the Festival Fringe’s theatre/comedy circuits, winning awards and accolades. Storytelling is Theatre. And Theatre is storytelling. Writer, performer, and stand-up Edward Tripp delves into the … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024 – Edward Tripp: No Man is an Ireland
