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

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 and Performed by Patrick McPherson Directed by Jonny Harvey Review by Dominic Corr Underbelly Cowgate - Iron Belly ★★★★ There’s a particular kind of silence that falls over an audience when fear is genuine. Not the polite hush of anticipation or the scatter-gun anxiety of jumpscares, but the breath-held, spine-tightened stillness of people bracing … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Scatter: A Horror Play

Written by Ed Gamester Review by Dominic Corr Underbelly Circus Hub - The Lafayette ★★★★ There’s a moment early in Mythos: Ragnarök when Loki, played with gleeful irreverence by Ed Gamester, locks eyes with the audience and dares them not to laugh. It’s emblematic of the show’s ethos: myth meets muscle, comedy meets chaos, and … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Mythos: Ragnarök

https://youtu.be/DvEgMH3LcMI Created and Performed by Dougie Mackay and Jemima Thewes Review by Dominic Corr Scottish Storytelling Centre ★★★★ In A Wolf Shall Devour the Sun, ancient myth collides with ecological urgency in a richly textured hour of storytelling, shadow puppetry, and live music. Performed by Dougie Mackay and Jemima Thewes, this Fringe offering is a … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – A Wolf Shall Devour the Sun

Review by Katherine McIntyre Underbelly Circus Hub ★★★★★ In a world that often feels brittle and closed-off, Club Kabarett is a glorious act of defiance—a glitter-drenched, gin-soaked celebration of connection, chaos, and unapologetic joy. Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett is more than a show; it’s a living, breathing organism that pulses with life, lust, and radical … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett

Created and Performed by Emery Hunter and Bobby Bradley Directed by Neil John Gibson and Jen Bates Review by Dominic Corr Scottish Storytelling Centre ★★★★ Revolutionising, modernising, reinventing – however you wish to describe it, it’s tricky to bring an ancient mythos to new audiences, particularly with Scottish folklore. In Dregs, the Selkie myth is … Continue reading Review: Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 – Dregs