Brainsluts review – clinical drug trial comedy could cause severe laughter

Pleasance Dome, EdinburghAn anti-work activist and a nepo volunteer join the group for a research study in Dan Bishop’s polished playWhen plays get under way we wait for something to happen – look and listen for clues, monitor behaviour, tune in. One o…

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Ayoade Bamgboye: Swings and Roundabouts review – commanding comic’s thrilling debut

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghDrawing on her experiences moving from Nigeria to the UK, this livewire standup delivers a multifaceted first fringe showThe fringe is nothing if not a place where unknowns can write their names across the stars. Ayoade Ba…

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The Unstoppable Rise of Ben Manager review – tales of the unexpected at the office

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghA man picks up a dead stranger’s lanyard and gets sucked into a sinister corporate world in Bunkum Ensemble’s unsettling playOn the way to an interview for a job, one in a proper office that his mum can be proud of, Ben We…

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Furniture Boys review – grab a seat for clever comedy that turns exes into beds and chairs

Underbelly, George Square, EdinburghA locked drawer that never opens, a rug that everyone walks all over … Emily Weitzman’s metaphors for boyfriends are ridiculous and revelatoryIt’s a sight for sore backs. Fringegoers accustomed to fold-out chairs lik…

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Mr Creep review – a grubby visit from the office pest

Banshee Labyrinth, EdinburghTheodora van der Beek’s inventive and quirky show about a slimy bloke targets the male gazeThe clue is in the fingers. Rubbery, bulbous things, they look as if they would leave a trail of slime if they touched you. And they …

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Edinburgh’s couple acts: the fringe duos starring together – and even getting married on stage

Love is in the air on the fringe as romantic partners put their private lives in the spotlight through daft sketches, acrobatics, folk songs – and a real weddingSome people blow their wedding budget in Las Vegas or on Venice’s Grand Canal. But the acto…

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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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Knight, Knight review – spangly chivalry with psychosexual horseplay

Underbelly, George Square, EdinburghMadeleine Rowe’s physical comedy, deft vocal work and twinkle-eyed charisma takes the relationship between man and steed to extremesAcademic texts have been written about the bond between knights and their steeds in …

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David Elms Describes a Room review – a captivating exercise in collective imagining

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThe sometime Mr Swallow sidekick’s hour of interiors improv is a skilful, unshowy treat‘Shall we give ourselves a night off from being funny?” There are unassuming performance styles, then there’s David Elms. At a festival…

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Julio Torres: Color Theories review – prismatic brilliance from comedy’s most vibrant absurdist

Soho theatre, LondonThe nonconformist TV writer, film-maker, children’s author and standup is hired to find a new colour in this charismatically surreal hourFans of the former Saturday Night Live writer Julio Torres know him to be the current torchbear…

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