Encore! Surefire shows returning for the Edinburgh festival in 2023

In the run-up to the festival, our writers will choose new productions that have caught their eye – but here’s a selection of those we’ve already reviewedRichard Marsh has clearly seen Die Hard more times than he’s had Christmas dinners. He’s here in h…

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‘My instinct is to look for the gag’: Martha Watson Allpress takes Lady Dealer to the Edinburgh fringe

The writer of the acclaimed Patricia Gets Ready… returns with a lockdown-inspired comedy drama about a drug dealer having a power cutThe trigger for a play can be many things: a moral dilemma or a political event, a true-life story or a misheard anecdo…

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Adam Brace had a magic touch for comedy and theatre – both worlds will mourn his death | Brian Logan

Brace, who has died aged 43, was a hugely talented playwright, dramaturg and director who worked on a string of hits including One-Woman Show and Age Is a Feeling“The most high-profile director you’ve never heard of.” That’s what the Stage newspaper ca…

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Comedian Catherine Cohen: ‘Look, I find myself quite annoying, too’

The US comedy sensation is making up for lost time after Covid with a new show – still self-obsessed, but ‘a bit darker’ – and an opportunity for us to observe a quintessentially millennial comic grow up in publicAs long as there has been standup, comi…

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Standup success was sweet, but the review I cared about most was written on a biscuit | Jordan Gray

It was hard not to get caught up in my own hype at the Edinburgh fringe. A heartfelt gift restored my humilityThere is no version of this article that doesn’t cast me a braggart. But I hope you’ll forgive me a spot of self-aggrandising when I tell you …

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The Delightful Sausage: ‘Impostor syndrome has propelled us forward’

It will take more than multiple Edinburgh nominations to convince comedy duo Amy Gledhill and Chris Cantrill that they’re a success. Perhaps a TV sitcom would do it?When Amy Gledhill and Chris Cantrill received the life-changing news that they’d been n…

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The Delightful Sausage: ‘Impostor syndrome has propelled us forward’

It will take more than multiple Edinburgh nominations to convince comedy duo Amy Gledhill and Chris Cantrill that they’re a success. Perhaps a TV sitcom would do it?When Amy Gledhill and Chris Cantrill received the life-changing news that they’d been n…

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‘My parents wanted to give me horse hormones’ – Sam Campbell, comedy’s new champion

He breezed into the Edinburgh fringe late with just half a show – and won the ‘Oscar of comedy’. In his first ever face-to-face interview, the eccentric Aussie standup reveals what’s next (‘Something’)Here’s how the Edinburgh fringe usually figures in …

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‘I’m a venal narcissist’ – standup Leo Reich on skewering his inner Gen-Z monster

The hotly tipped comic was the talk of Edinburgh with his blistering hour of hilariously hollow egomania – and audiences haven’t a clue whether to pity or deplore himUK standup has a new superstar – and we have Covid (just a little bit) to thank. When …

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‘We need an intervention’: five ways to fix the Edinburgh festival fringe

Too pricy, too elitist, just too big? After the criticisms of this year’s event, a panel of festival regulars consider the way forward for Edinburgh’s summer spectacularKaty Koren, co-artistic director, Gilded Balloon Continue reading…

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