Gilded Balloon at the Museum, EdinburghAlan McHugh’s play explores grief and the agony of treatment – but also hope and laughter in the face of adversityWhat a lovely thing to have done. When the great actor Andy Gray was being treated for leukaemia be…
Continue ReadingComedian was in top 10 on three previous occasions – here are this year’s best gags, as voted for by a public panelA joke by Mark Simmons has been declared the funniest of this year’s Edinburgh fringe festival, chosen by a public panel from a shortlist…
Continue ReadingDebuts rich in neurodiversity and self-analysis jostle for attention at this year’s festival with a beloved grandma, the Russian elite and a misguided attempt at an apologyWe’ve reached the halfway point at the Edinburgh fringe, where more than a third…
Continue ReadingA zesty courtroom drama about cakes (or biscuits?) and a combat epic using dozens of jelly teddies offer sweet and sour clashes at the festivalThe sweet spot for Edinburgh fringe comedy is finding a subject the whole audience can tuck into. Gigglemug T…
Continue ReadingPleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThe standup weaves real-world experiences of racism with whimsy about angler fish and joining the yakuzaThere are few things more tedious, they say, than listening to the contents of someone else’s dreams. Jin Hao Li seems…
Continue ReadingSummerhall, Edinburgh Exploring coercive relationships, Laura Horton’s play features three middle-aged women in ‘snazzy cardigans’ performing a real-time maiden gig‘This next song is called Kiss My Tits.” In Laura Horton’s play, we meet a punk band for…
Continue ReadingPleasance Dome, EdinburghGeorge Fouracres portrays the impresario as a haughty squire, while the comedy duo play keyboard and drums‘Is this show a legal minefield? Yes it is. But on we go.” So begins musical comedy duo Flo & Joan’s One Man Musical,…
Continue ReadingThe art of improv is in the air as comedians have battled blackouts and other interruptions – with the result of rekindling the festival’s spiritWalking around Edinburgh this month, you might have noticed the unusual number of standup comedians perform…
Continue ReadingPleasance Courtyard, EdinburghIn what they bill as their farewell to the fringe, the sketch group address woke-phobic dads, the apocalypse and AI in typically rich and wild styleA standup career can endure – but the lifespan of most sketch groups is ma…
Continue ReadingRoundabout @ Summerhall, EdinburghWith superb performances, Julia Grogan’s lyrical and often extremely funny play follows three young women’s friendshipThere are raucous teenage kicks in Summerhall’s fringe programme this year, which includes school di…
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