Viewer beware, you're in for a scare... Preapre for a selection of the Festival's spookiest, creepiest, and also funniest shows. From ghouls to Traitors, spirits to serial killers, our team shines a light on the Festivals forgotten genre with our Top Horror Picks.
With a song in our heart, the team has been hard at work figuring out which of the year's many (many) showtunes, powerballads, and shows with songs make the cut for Top Musical Picks at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe returns with over 3,000 shows, featuring Scottish, UK, and world premieres. This year highlights theatre for children and young people, exploring themes like identity and environmentalism. Various productions promise immersive experiences from clown adventures to puppet shows, celebrating creativity, resilience, and the joy of storytelling.
Boys Don’t Dance, choreographed by Marc Brew, explores identity through movement, blending personal memory and societal pressure. The performance is marked by dynamic partnerships, innovative choreography, and a commitment to inclusivity, providing a compelling narrative about evolving self-expression.
The review of "In Time," a co-production by Teater Refleksion, highlights its unique focus on patience and subtlety in storytelling. The narrative follows characters A and O as they nurture a plant, symbolizing personal transformation alongside growth. The production excels in crafting an emotional and visually restrained experience, engaging audiences without overt moralizing.
"Cringe," written by Ross MacKay and directed by Joe Douglas, explores the challenges of high school through humor and authenticity. Drawing from personal experience, the play transforms adolescent embarrassment into universal themes of identity and resilience. With strong performances and clever design, it engages both young and older audiences, delivering a powerful message about vulnerability as strength.
Walking on Eggshells, directed by Becky Hope-Palmer, creatively explores trauma and recovery from abuse through vibrant cabaret elements. Emma Lynne Harley delivers a heartfelt performance that engages with difficult themes while ensuring accessibility and communal involvement.
Co-curated and Directed by Cora Bissett and Hannah Lavery Review by Dominic Corr ★★★★ An international beacon; Scotland’s writing, talent, music, and movement is a world-leader. So too is its sense of justice and inclusive nature. But even so; the swell of the Right is nothing which can be ignored. The National Theatre of Scotland’s … Continue reading Review: The National Theatre of Scotland: May Day – Central Hall, Edinburgh
Review by Laurie Kemmett ★★★ Nobody likes a funeral. Even when the deceased isn’t someone you know well. This fact doesn’t change even when you don’t know the person at all - and when the person isn’t a person but a British supermarket of the 2000’s. Enter Paul Campbell and his eulogy for Somerfield. If like, the … Continue reading Review: Paul Campbell: The Lost Tapes of Somerfield, Glasgow Comedy Festival
Auntie Empire storms into Manipulate with Disaster Plan’s trademark blend of bouffon clowning, dark satire, and political bite. Led by Julia Taudevin and Kieran Hurley, the show casts Taudevin as a decaying, delusional Britannia figure inviting her “family” to revel in imperial nostalgia while confronting a far grimmer truth. Evolving through earlier versions as live‑gore cabaret, … Continue reading Have a Gander at Auntie Empire – Manipulate 2026
