Created by Conor Murray and Hannah Power Directed by Emma Finegan Review by Aislinn McSharry Underbelly Cowgate - Belly Dancer ★★★★★ A hilarious love letter to friendship, growing up, and most importantly, to Princess Diana, Conor Murray and Hannah Power's Don't Tell Dad About Diana is truly the greatest, funniest, and most heartfelt show at this year's … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Don’t Tell Dad About Diana
Written by Lucy McIlgorm Directed by Anastazie Toros Review by Dominic Corr Studio Five at Assembly George Square Studios ★★★★ The more one thinks about the title, the stronger the production's merits become. There’s a quiet power in REFUSE—a production that doesn’t shout but resonates. In a festival often saturated with spectacle, this piece from … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Refuse
Written and Performed by Ewan Downie Directed by Ian Spink Review by Dominic Corr Assembly Roxy ★★★★ There’s a feral pulse running through The Bacchae at Assembly Roxy, a solo retelling that trades grandeur for grit, myth for muscle. Ewan Downie channels Dionysos with a raw, ritualistic intensity, conjuring gods and mortals alike in a … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – The Bacchae
Written and Performed by Annie Davison Directed by Daniel Bainbridge Review by Dominic Corr Pleasance Courtyard ★★★★ There’s a particular thrill in watching a performer sprint headlong into their own chaos—and Annie Davison does so with wit, warmth, and an explosively impressive performance. BAIRNS, her one-woman show about surrogacy, sisterhood, and self-sabotage, is a tightly … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – BAIRNS
Review by Eve Nugent Monkey Barrel Comedy ★★★★ Performing to a sold-out cave in Cabaret Voltaire, the magnificent Ria Lina makes a triumphant return to the Edinburgh Fringe at long last with Riabellion – a sharp, exceptionally polished hour of comedy that dares to tackle provocative topics with balance and wit. Bursting onto stage with … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Ria Lina: Riabellion
Written and Directed by Ellie Coote Music and Lyrics by Jack Godfrey Review by Dominic Corr Pleasance Courtyard ★★★★★ There’s a moment in Hot Mess—a pop musical about the climate crisis masquerading as a romcom—where Earth, played with volcanic intensity by Danielle Steers (The Cher Show), belts a note so pure and furious it feels … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Hot Mess
Written by Maria Telnikoff Directed by Lauren Tranter Review by Orly Benn Underbelly Bristo Square - Jersey ★★★★ ‘Would you let your best friend be your sperm donor?’. This is the tagline that Big Sofa and the Counterminers are using to advertise their newest show Eggs Aren’t That Easy To Make (‘Eggs’), written by Maria … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Eggs Aren’t That Easy to Make
Review by Aislinn McSharry Underbelly Circus Hub - The Beauty ★★★★ A circus experience, showcasing a truly phenomenal skill standard, Three Legged Race productions Sophie's Surprise 29th has audiences gasping in awe, laughing-out-loud, and sitting on the edge of our seats, in all too real states of absolute concern, as the performers fling each other around, hang … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Sophie’s Surprise 29th
Directed by Dan J. Bryant Review by Aislinn McSharry Sanctuary at St. Augustines ★★★★ EUSOG's (Edinburgh University Savoy Opera Group) rendition of Stephan Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along is engaging, exquisite, heartfelt, and undeniably charismatic. An enthralling musical theatre experience at this year's Fringe, it is to be cherished. Sondheim's musical follows the central friendship between Franklin, … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – EUSOG: Merrily We Roll Along
Written by Sophie Fisher Review by Aislinn McSharry Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose ★★★★★ A one-woman play detailing the trials and tribulations of casting calls, acting aspirations, and general social survival in the face of all this, Sophie Fisher's An Ode to the Casting Director is hilarious, heartfelt, and completely captivating. Dismal auditions of hoarse battle cries, to … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – An Ode To The Casting Director
