Underbelly Cowgate, EdinburghMelissa Firlit recreates Dirty Dancing in a one-woman show that mixes trivia, personal memories and a singalongDirty Dancing was the first VHS in our house: snazzy purple box, pure 80s brushstroke title, alluring 15 certifi…
Continue ReadingPleasance Courtyard, EdinburghFrom embarrassing anecdotes to karaoke and lurking on Instagram, this love story sweeps you alongCourtney Büchner is here to tell us a love story. Not the type you’re thinking of – even though she has just married her part…
Continue ReadingPitlochry Festival theatreIain Heggie’s rejigged 2001 play – now ensconced in the world of voice notes and vapes – is very funny, but the lighter moments jar with some sobering subtextsThese days, shows about care homes, dementia and end of life are ve…
Continue ReadingPleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThis fantastic comic play from the Radio 4 trio unleashes a torrent of great gags and illusionsHorror pastiche has a proud lineage at this festival – for example Garth Marenghi, and Andrew Doherty’s hit Gay Witch Sex Cult …
Continue ReadingAssembly George Square, EdinburghThe US comic’s troupe tell the tale of a special guest’s romantic encounter, in this case Travis’s frontman – but their incoherence makes for a scatty if fun showIt’s a lovely format for improv: a special guest tells Da…
Continue ReadingAssembly George Square, EdinburghThe US comic’s troupe tell the tale of a special guest’s romantic encounter, in this case Travis’s frontman – but their incoherence makes for a scatty if fun showIt’s a lovely format for improv: a special guest tells Da…
Continue ReadingFrom a cake-baking Elton John to possibly the most horrible man in the world, comedians reveal how they get in character – and how far they can push thingsIn the Covid lockdowns, I was drawing all these silly things, and one day I drew Elton John as a …
Continue ReadingFrom a cake-baking Elton John to possibly the most horrible man in the world, comedians reveal how they get in character – and how far they can push thingsIn the Covid lockdowns, I was drawing all these silly things, and one day I drew Elton John as a …
Continue ReadingEvery year, hundreds of standups from across the world descend on the venerable festival. Here are some of their finest one-liners10 of the funniest jokes from the 2025 fringeOlaf Falafel: I remember thinking, as I taped a piranha to my boomerang, this…
Continue ReadingClary’s back with Fully Dilated, a burlesque star called Entendre Entendre is doing lewd singalongs and there’s an A-Z of very dirty words. Our writer investigates Edinburgh’s smut outbreak – and ends up getting his own fantasies turned into eroticaOn …
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