Royal Lyceum theatre, EdinburghThree men bicker and reflect like they’re chatting at a bar – yet this grimly beautiful piece of theatre at the Edinburgh international festival won’t le…
Pleasance Dome, Edinburgh Heckling herself in character as the Greek goddess, the standup delivers an intelligent, in-your-face show about sex and expectationsYou can’t argue with the open…
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghFrom embarrassing anecdotes to karaoke and lurking on Instagram, this love story sweeps you alongCourtney Büchner is here to tell us a love story. Not the type…
Underbelly Cowgate, EdinburghMelissa Firlit recreates Dirty Dancing in a one-woman show that mixes trivia, personal memories and a singalongDirty Dancing was the first VHS in our house: snaz…
Pitlochry Festival theatreIain Heggie’s rejigged 2001 play – now ensconced in the world of voice notes and vapes – is very funny, but the lighter moments jar with some sobering subtext…
Summerhall, EdinburghIntertwining his diaries with Anne Frank’s gives Brine a tough job, but his passionate performance and force of will combine in a heady brewIt’s a hell of a swing to…
Pitlochry Festival theatreOliver Emanuel’s musical love story between tenement neighbours is told via origami gifts and restaurant receiptsIt started as a BBC radio drama in 2016, and was …
Emerald theatre, LondonAn account of the superstar’s life revisits her relationships and considers some conspiracy theories but never gets beyond clicheThere have been 600 books written ab…
Traverse theatre, EdinburghMalaika Kegode delivers a supernatural story about the strange disappearance of a maudlin folk singerPlaywright and performer Malaika Kegode tops and tails this sh…
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghThis fantastic comic play from the Radio 4 trio unleashes a torrent of great gags and illusionsHorror pastiche has a proud lineage at this festival – for exam…
From a cake-baking Elton John to possibly the most horrible man in the world, comedians reveal how they get in character – and how far they can push thingsIn the Covid lockdowns, I was dra…
Traverse at Royal Lyceum Studio, EdinburghPaul Ready’s playwriting debut expertly utilises his bumbling acting persona to examine what is enough in our response to climate emergencyNobody …
Harold Pinter theatre, LondonOuthwaite’s performance as Beverly, a precision-tooled showcase in hidden anger and longing, is a triumph in this eternally resonant suburban dramaAlison Stead…
Assembly George Square, EdinburghThe US comic’s troupe tell the tale of a special guest’s romantic encounter, in this case Travis’s frontman – but their incoherence makes for a scatt…
The comedian charts his life in demos from 1960s Liverpool to 2020s London in this fiery and addictive bookAt 74, the comedian Alexei Sayle is approaching a dangerous phase for veteran Briti…
Clary’s back with Fully Dilated, a burlesque star called Entendre Entendre is doing lewd singalongs and there’s an A-Z of very dirty words. Our writer investigates Edinburgh’s smut out…
Every year, hundreds of standups from across the world descend on the venerable festival. Here are some of their finest one-liners10 of the funniest jokes from the 2025 fringeOlaf Falafel: I…
There are 3,649 shows at the fringe this year, but how many embody its spirit of radical experimentation? I took a journey through foam, lube and gore to find out ...Somewhere in Edinburgh, …
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghAn unlikely relationship blossoms in Abigail Weinstock’s compelling and touching solo dramaIt takes a brave writer/performer to make her character a sociopath…
Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghEmotionally open and a little weirder than usual, the Glaswegian comic updates us on his recent marriageWhen SNL UK hit big earlier this year, it made stars of …
Three years ago, he won the Edinburgh comedy award with a work in progress. Now he’s back with a show inspired by Gerard Manley Hopkins and Friedrich Nietzsche. Isn’t this all a bit grow…
Festival theatre, EdinburghThe choreographer combines a homophobic killing from 2012 with a remembrance for his father in an often rapturous show about healingIn 2019 at the Edinburgh intern…
A play based on the writer’s dreamlike novel Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World is touring the world, riding a wave of interest in Japanese culture. Its creators talk about ho…
Cathy Scott-Willars responds to an article about the secret lives of theatre workersI enjoyed your article (The secret lives of theatre workers: ‘People were having full sex in the stallsâ…
With brute strength and beauty, party tricks and personal revelations, this year’s dance and circus programme has ambition and a spirit of togethernessIf you want to be wowed by technical …