‘It’s a brigade of old gits!’ Miriam Margolyes, Andy Linden and the older performers storming Edinburgh

At a festival so often dominated by bold young talent, it’s veteran performers stealing the spotlight this year. We meet them – from household names to octogenarian newcomersMiriam Margolyes is ensconced in the garden room of a fancy Edinburgh hotel, f…

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Luke McQueen: Comedian’s Comedian review – lord of mischief gatecrashes the popular podcast

Pleasance Dome, EdinburghThe tricksy standup uses AI to create his own episode of the long-running interview series on which he’s never been invitedThe Comedian’s Comedian podcast, in which comic Stuart Goldsmith interviews one standup per episode, has…

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‘TikTok is like an old-school variety show’: what’s behind the surprising boom in ventriloquism?

The once musty old art of voice-throwing is back in vogue on stage and online. Its new hip practitioners – plus 1980s TV mainstay Roger De Courcey – explain why their vocal tricks and errant dummies are wowing audiences againIt is the greatest duet, pe…

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Lorna Rose Treen: 24 Hour Diner People review – ‘best joke of the fringe’ winner serves up silliness

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThe character comic returns with another daft set of surreal characters and sharp one-liners – this time stuck in an open-all-hours cafeWhen Lorna Rose Treen won the best joke of the fringe award two years ago with a cheet…

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When Billy Met Alasdair review – two Scottish giants happily collide

Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh Alan Bissett embodies both the expansive Big Yin and the detached author of Lanark in a thoughtful, entertaining search for their connectionThere is a scene in Alasdair Gray’s landmark novel Lanar…

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Every Brilliant Thing review – Lenny Henry gets audience on board for list of life’s joys

@sohoplace theatre, LondonHenry is the first of a group of star performers taking Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe’s hit show about depression into the West EndSince its premiere in 2013, Duncan Macmillan’s one-person play about depression has gradua…

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Wodehouse in Wonderland review – less than spiffing portrait of the artist as a light comedian

Assembly George Square Studios, Edinburgh Robert Daws stars as the great comic author in this one-man show but is let down by lukewarm humourRobert Daws has lots of previous form on PG Wodehouse: he has played in various Jeeves and Woosters through the…

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‘Casually jaw-dropping’: at an Edinburgh fringe of tricks and treats, Ben Hart has the magic touch

The sense of wonder never wavers in Hart’s charming ‘best of’ set, a fringe favourite in a year of crowd-pleasing card work, mentalism and a hidden-squirrel routineMagic is addictive. The more you see, the higher the bar rises, but the itch to be astou…

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Solitude Without Loneliness review – bad dates, frenzied flyering and the spirit of the fringe

Dance Base, EdinburghMalcolm Sutherland’s meta production about isolation and the search for intimacy knowingly ties its themes to the experience of the fringeThe dry title belies a show with spark. Solitude Without Loneliness can feel like several fri…

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Palestine: Peace de Resistance review – an absurdist response to an abominable situation

Pleasance Dome, EdinburghIn an impressive show, Sami Abu Wardeh delivers a collage of historical storytelling, jokes about colonialism and clowningWhen Sami Abu Wardeh performed his hit show Bedu at the fringe three years ago, his Palestinian heritage …

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