Megasquirt: Fully Loaded review – how to combat existential angst? A comedy rave at an ungodly hour

Underbelly, Cowgate, EdinburghAshley Blair and Drew Reilly send up gen Z anomie with hardcore ditties about awkward dinners, megachurches and centaur boyfriends‘How to feel whole in an empty world?” There are many possible answers to that question, and…

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A supreme being, the nearly naked show and politics with paws: Edinburgh fringe pick’n’mix

From Taiwanese steampunk dance to Australian climate comedy, here are 13 quick-fire fringe reviewsAll our Edinburgh festival reviewsFor new perspective on the strange ways we behave, we all know the thought experiment “if a visitor from space arrived o…

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The Jonathan Larson Project review – Rent composer’s lost songs find a glorious new home

Southwark Playhouse Borough, LondonA lesser-known selection from the composer and lyricist’s archive is full of heart and humour, swinging between cabaret blues and pop bangersHow do you measure a year? Love is one answer, according to Jonathan Larson’…

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The Jonathan Larson Project review – Rent composer’s lost songs find a glorious new home

Southwark Playhouse Borough, LondonA lesser-known selection from the composer and lyricist’s archive is full of heart and humour, swinging between cabaret blues and pop bangersHow do you measure a year? Love is one answer, according to Jonathan Larson’…

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Bigfoot, ‘slutfluencers’ and a David Bowie-powered gay fantasia: Edinburgh festival 2026’s must-see theatre

Plays about political extremes, religious sects, swimming the Channel and an 80th birthday party are among the highlights at this summer’s arts spectacularProducer Francesca Moody has shown a sure touch for spotting fringe hits (Fleabag and Baby Reinde…

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Bigfoot, ‘slutfluencers’ and a David Bowie-powered gay fantasia: Edinburgh festival 2026’s must-see theatre

Plays about political extremes, religious sects, swimming the Channel and an 80th birthday party are among the highlights at this summer’s arts spectacularProducer Francesca Moody has shown a sure touch for spotting fringe hits (Fleabag and Baby Reinde…

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The best theatre, comedy and dance of 2025

A meet-cute between Humanity and Earth, a mod ballet and Nick Mohammed’s career-best standup set – our critics pick the best stage shows of the year10. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold FryStaging a bestselling book that has already been adapted into a…

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Betty Grumble’s Enemies of Grooviness Eat Sh!t review – nude, lewd and confused

Assembly Roxy, EdinburghEmma Maye Gibson’s outre alter ego conjures a bacchanalian helter-skelter of burlesque moments that never quite cohereThis experimental act from Australia knows how to create merry anarchy with incantatory rituals and boundary-f…

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Pigs Fly Easy Ryan review – a frisky, filthy cabaret of chaos

Underbelly Cowgate, EdinburghThis mix of acrobatics, feverish monologues, high-altitude accidents and apocalyptic physical comedy doesn’t need to have a rationale – does it?It is probably best not to ask too many questions. I mean, you could imagine Lo…

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Pickled Republic review – a curious cabaret of jarring vegetables

Summerhall, EdinburghRuxandra Cantir’s cast of gherkins, onions and carrots is conceptually funny but lacks biteWe can agree that a cabaret involving pickled vegetables is conceptually funny. The stars of a variety night do not normally count gherkins,…

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