Failure Project review – a reality check about being ‘booked, busy and blessed’

Summerhall, EdinburghIn an often raw performance that retains a light touch, Yolanda Mercy delivers a bittersweet and valuable reflection on the theatre industryScroll through the listings on the edfringe app and you’ll find dozens of productions have …

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At the fringe with your kids? Edinburgh festival shows for families

Younger audiences can choose from fart jokes, dancing lizards, acrobatic bees and plenty of other monkeying aroundPleasance Courtyard, 11.30am, until 25 August Continue reading…

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Luke Rollason review – shock-haired standard bearer of UK clown boom riffs on fairytales

Pleasance Dome, EdinburghRapunzel, Hansel and Gretel and a lot of toilet roll feature as the star Disney+ comedy Extraordinary explores wishes and their fulfilmentAll very well being part of comedy’s current clown boom, you may think, but what are the …

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Batshit review – grandma’s moving story highlights pathologisation of women’s mental health

Traverse theatre, EdinburghLeah Shelton plays her grandmother, incarcerated in a psychiatric hospital, in this one-woman show that draws on research, recordings and videos to link 1960s Australia to todayMrs Gwen Couper is having “delusions” about leav…

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Yurts, a cruise ship, my flat: all the city’s a stage at the Edinburgh fringe

From the backseat of a moving car to a swimming pool, what constitutes a venue at Scotland’s sprawling arts festival never fails to surpriseOf all the extraordinary things about the Edinburgh fringe, the easiest to take for granted is that performances…

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A Letter to Lyndon B Johnson or God: Whoever Reads This First review – scouting out for America

theSpace @ Niddry Street, EdinburghCult clown duo Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland play muddy-kneed boy scouts in this knockabout comedy with an emotional punchAt the fringe, despite the predominantly bare stages, some performers transport you to another …

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Margolyes & Dickens: The Best Bits review – the nation’s favourite foul mouth

Pleasance @ EICC, Edinburgh There’s more Margolyes than Dickens here, but her gift for florid characters is on fine display and suits the Victorian master perfectly“Guaranteed to offend and delight,” says the publicity. Really? It’s rare now to hear th…

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Weather Girl review – apocalyptic comedy gives chilling forecast for a burning planet

Summerhall, EdinburghJulia McDermott is captivating as a presenter whose all-American smile cracks in the face of environmental nightmareScorchio! The Fast Show’s persistently sunny forecasts from Caroline Aherne have got nothing on the flaming reports…

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Digested week: Liz Truss’s unintentional comedic turn at Edinburgh fringe | Brian Logan

A crowing flash-in-the-pan PM and Jimmy Carr’s life lessons from the Oompa LoompasA tale of two powerful women as the Edinburgh fringe enters its opening week. Nica Burns is a West End producer and the impresario behind the Edinburgh comedy awards. The…

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Natalie Palamides: Weer review – an outrageously entertaining one-woman romcom

Traverse, EdinburghPlaying both partners in a sordid three-year relationship, the bold LA clown delivers another unforgettable showFew fringe trajectories have been as joyful to trace these last few years as that of Natalie Palamides. From best newcome…

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