Game shows and games at the Fringe

Gamification is the buzz word of the new ’20s. You’ll find it in business speak, in coaching and education. But the compelling nature of interactive theatre and performances for audiences with a distate for the “fourth wall” means that there’s a ready marketing for the live gameshow format as well as shows based on games. […]


Interactive and experimental shows at the Fringe

Interactive theatre, comedy and some of the more uncategorisable shows on offer at the Fringe are to be found under the headings “interactive” and “experimental”. So, if you are looking for something a bit different, you might just find a few recommended below. In interactive theatre the fourth wall if often shown and the border […]


It’s just the voice – and there is the power! A cappella – singing without instruments – has been around for millennia.  People sing to communicate, to express feelings of joy or sadness, to join in community, to pray, to entertain.  Everyone has a voice. Singing is universal and transcends language, cultural traditions, and demographics. […]


This year there are 125 Children’s Shows at the Fringe and it’s a perfect opportunity to introduce children to the wonders of live performance. Stories, puppets, magic, music, and zany characters engage the imagination and there are shows for the very young to tweens and teens. Topics and styles vary so there’s something for everyone, […]


Gillian Lacey-Solymar is a first-time Fringer at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Gillian is the Bookwriter and Lyricist of IrrePRESSible: The Musical and she talks to Jo Tomalin about how and why she is inspired to create the show. Gillian’s career includes working as a consumer affairs correspondent at the BBC and as a senior […]


Improvised Theatre and Comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe

Where do you start with impro at the Fringe? It’s been growing for years and now there are plenty of shows on offer. It claims to never require a script, but nearly all of then have an underpnning, more or less hidden, structure. There are a range of formats, some which grew out of competitive […]


Physical theatre is an interesting and creative genre of theatre because most physical theatre shows result from developing a gestural language to express a story or topic. A physical theatre show is devised by a director only or by the director and the cast in collaboration. A piece can be based on a true story, […]


Shows based on dance range from pure technique of a single style, or a creative mix of more than one style, to those that integrate other skills such as physical theatre or spoken word in their visual storytelling. Topics and inspiration vary from personal experiences to research about important issues in the world. An empty […]


Tribute shows at the Edinburgh Fringe

Tribute shows take different forms at the Edinburgh Fringe. Most prominent are the many musical tributes to those stars, legends and icons of stage and screen. There are also tributes to literary greats, film and theatre stars, artists, philosophers and politicians. There’s an onverlaps between tribute shows and biography shows but here we’ll stick to […]


History, from recent to ancient, is explored each year at the Fringe across all the genres and in many different ways. Whether it is a standup comedian commenting on recent political events, or a theatre company recreating an episode from the middle ages, an inquiry into a trial in the 19th or 20th century, the […]


Solo Comedy Preview: Ultimate Jewish Mother

The UK comedy circuit’s only Orthodox Jewish Comedian returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with an original new lunchtime comedy show. Whether it’s a relationship problem, how to word a sensitive work email or the best way to cook a brisket, this Jewishmother has all the answers you’ll need. Award-winning comedian Rachel Creeger presents her brand-new […]


Storytelling at the Edinburgh Fringe

Storytelling can be a catch all term toi include a lot of stand up comedy shows listen in the Fringe programme. Storytelling is also a craft going back thousands of years and becomes a genre in its own right in August in Edinburgh. Traditional tales, fables, myths, legends, and histories form the backbone of storytelling […]


Going site-specific at Edfringe 2023

Site-specific theatre and performance has been just about everywhere in Edinburgh from down at the docks to a graveyard, from a real hotel room to the underground catacombs that honeycomb the city, from swimming pools to the register of births and deaths. Site-specific theatre takes you away from traditional performance spaces and the location becomes […]


Verbatim Theatre at Edinburgh Fringe 2023

Verbatim theatre is define as. “Verbatim theatre is a form of documentary theatre which is based on the spoken words of real people. Strictly, verbatim theatre-makers use real people’s words exclusively, and take this testimony from recorded interviews.” (Source). It can also involve using words from recorded video, from papers and documents, such as court […]


A search of the Edfringe 2023 programme under the genre of “theatre” yields up 867 results (as we go to digital print). That’s heartening given the fact that many theatre shows have fled into the comedy section in the hope of bigger audiences. So here are some of our early picks for theatre this year. […]


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They’ve ignored my press release! Whether you are bringing a show to a Fringe festival or simply trying to get media coverage for a show at any time of the year, these tips are for you. There could be a number of reasons why your press has been not responded to by potential reviewing publications. […]


When I began to work with Fringe Review, I opined that I hated the Edinburgh Fringe. Over the years I have softened and my old joke that people believe we have a cultural supermarket each August, and think it is Sainsbury’s when it is actually Aldi or Lidl has been used so often it is […]


Fringe Views

When I’ve had the chance I’ve taken a few pictures around the fringe, late at night and during the day. Here are a few in a slideshow. Note to self: Must get out and about more!


Preparing to leave the fringe

Final few days Friday of the last week opened to a dreary Edinburgh with rain in the air. Fortunately the rain cleared as I made my way to the final ‘FringeReview’ gathering for this year. These are one of my favourite mornings of the fringe as I am guaranteed to have a good chinwag. Today […]


Guest Blog: Edinburgh and Its Part in My Downfall

Edi 2022 in Review (15-21st Aug) – Alec Snook Well, my first Fringe, but absolutely the first of many to come. Edinburgh chewed me up and spat me out, directly into the lap of a passing angel… Despite a sociopathic, accommodation-based episode, I managed to complete all my spots for the week, performing to several […]


Guest blog at Edfringe 2022: Mark Saltveit’s first Edinburgh Fringe adventure

Why did I think it was a good idea to create my first Fringe show at age 60? That’s easy: it’s an adventure. I started a “zine” about palindromes in 1993, before web pages existed, and it got out of hand, creating a worldwide (though very small) network of palindrome writers. (You know, palindromes like […]


Guest Blog at Edfringe 22: ASSISTED – a cautionary tale about love and learning in the age of Artificial Intelligence

Every ten years or so, our relationship with technology is revolutionised. Just thirty-odd years ago, mainframe computers dominated the landscape; since then, we’ve raced through desktop computing, the internet, smartphones and the explosion of social media.  Will the next revolution be in voice computing and conversational AI?  The uptake of this new technology is happening […]


Czech Cirk La Putyka on tour: Lenka Capova and Ethan Law talk to Jo Tomalin about the company from Prague and their new show Runners

“Award-winning contemporary circus company returns with an extraordinary show looking at the hectic pace of today’s world. In a unique set design featuring a giant treadmill, four performers and two musicians mix dance, running, cyr-wheel acrobatics and original live music, while running almost a whole marathon. This UK debut for Runners marks the company’s fourth […]


Guest Blog at Edfringe 2022: Russ Pollard: The taste of the fringe

We are delighted to welcome Russell Pollard as a guest blogger. Watch his show trailer. DAY 6 – 27th August 2022 Day 6 at the fringe – Renewed afresh Last chance to see me is 14:00 today. The reality is that while I might do the fringe again, it will not be such a personal […]


Guest blog: Creating Floodgate – science fiction theatre at the Fringe

“It’s 2061. A coastal town is quiet, deserted by those seeking higher ground. As three siblings clear out their grandma’s belongings, they find a diary left behind that will change everything. Locked within are journals and love letters set amidst a world of climate chaos. With the audience’s help, the family secrets are spilled. When […]


Pat Silver’s a Cappella shows to see in the last week at Edfringe 2022

Innovative, entertaining, and fun – that’s a cappella at this Fringe This year the Fringe is sporting at least 23 a cappella shows, ranging from barbershop to choral to contemporary a cappella.  My original story profiled the genre and some of the upcoming shows.  / Now at the Fringe, I had a chance to review […]


Sarah-Louise Young is a theatre maker with 26 years’ experience at her 17th Fringe with her 40th production and the 13th show she has created. Which is nicely serendipitous because it’s also the first show she has made telling a very personal story. We found what we thought would be a quiet corner of Summerhall… […]


Actor, Samara Neely Cohen talked to Kate during Edfringe 2022 about 9 Circles, 9 Circles by Bill Cain asks how can a soldier be trained to be a cold-blooded killing machine while clinging on to the threads of humanity? A Dantesque descent into the conundrums, contradictions and hypocrisies of war through the eyes of a […]


Sarah talks about her journey to embracing the chronic pain she has lived with since her teens and how she developed Pain and I. She describes it as a bold exploration into chronic pain experience, featuring playful choreography, experimental dance, intimate autobiographical text, and original classical music composition by Alicia Jane Turner. In addition to […]


@ theSpaceUK

With All Jew Respect Cyril Squirrel Grounded Self Service The Sound of Mucus


You’ve probably seen the fact that endometriosis is as common as diabetes plastered over billboards, newspapers and the TV recently. If you haven’t I’ll fill you in. Endometriosis is as common as diabetes and Channel 5 have recently decided to create a 4 part documentary to better equip menstruators with information that they may need. […]


Fourth Wall’s musical show Fruit Flies Like a Banana comes in two flavours for their first Edfringe: one for children and a longer one for adults (not that there is anything unsuitable for children in the longer version, it is just framed differently). It’s a show that combines extraordinary physical acrobats with virtuoso musical skill […]


Guest Blog at the Edinburgh Fringe: The Cambridge Impronauts

We are delighted to welcome guest blogger Dylan Perera producer for the impronauts at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. I just spent a week performing an improvised reality TV Edinburgh Fringe show, Keeping Up With the Kimprov. And it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had”. I’m on the 10am train from Edinburgh to London, reflecting […]


“How do you live your best ho life? Have you accidentally become your parents? These are the questions NYC-based comedian Ann Chun (SF Chronicle, Timeout) explores in her solo show about an immigrant coping with the dissolution of her parents’ marriage in Thailand, while learning how to be a fuccboi in America. Ann’s immersive storytelling […]


Emilienne Flagothier creates contemporary dance, directs non-theatrical text theatre and performs in street theatre, a solo show and more. At the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe she directs a new show called We Should Be Dancing, based on observations of children playing, working with her collective from Brussels.


“Triple Fringe First and Olivier winning Fishamble, in association with Fringe First winning Sunday’s Child, return to Summerhall with the 2019 hit show Mustard by Eva O’Connor. A darkly comic play about heartbreak, madness and how condiments are the ultimate coping mechanism. When the man of her dreams, a professional cyclist, leaves E, she plummets […]


“Pluto and Vector have been dating for almost a year now, but as they hike up the mountain where the Greek god Prometheus was bound as punishment, their relationship hits its breaking point. The myth of Prometheus looms large over the mountain’s cold peak as Pluto and Vector confront their differences, their fears about their […]


Gilded Ballon Press Launch

Thursday 4th August MC: Lou Conran Maise Adam Mythos Ragnarok James Roque Finlay Christie Elf Lyons Tehran Von Ghasri Grant Buse Basil Brush Pete Firman Kylie Brakeman Just These Please


2022 Underbelly Launch

Thursday 4th August – McEwan Hall A selection of photographs of the press launch. Featured shows Dragons and Mythical Beasts Rhys Nicholson Caligari Emmanuel Ja’mime La Clique Balloon Myra Dubois Rob Madge La Clique – Charlie Wheeler Cyr Camille BOOM


2022 Greenside Launch Show

Riddles Court – 12:00pm Thursday August 3rd The morning following my arrival at this year’s fringe I eased myself into the round of venue launches. Here are some photos I took at the Greenside Launch held at their ‘Riddles Court’ venue at the top of the Royal Mile. Following the welcome we saw excerpts from: […]


The Importance of Being An Earnest Reviewer – Kind of…

(With apologies…Kind of…) In April of this year, the Oliviers were back. After three years of not celebrating those who have got to the be seen as the best in theatre … We celebrated them publicly and without Zoom. But… There was one story that was deep in my heart. It reminded me that the […]


2022 theSpaceUK Press Launch

theSpace Triplex theSpaceUK bounced back into 2022 with what they claim to be ‘the biggest new writing programme of the fringe’. Here are a selection of photographs from the shows previewed. Featured Shows – Compered by Fraser Brown Hip-Hop Orchestra Experience Crossing the Void Apartness Prejudice and Pride Merrill Means Well Brother’s Keeper The Mistake […]


2022 Assembly Launch Show

40th Anniversary Festival Gala – Assembly on the Mound Gathering in the courtyard of the Mound I prepared to photograph this show. When we were allowed in they ushered us to a specially prepared space for photographers. Yes we had an unobstructed view, but I like to select my vantage point from where to photograph. […]


Verbatim Theatre at the Edinburgh Fringe

“Verbatim is a type of documentary theatre constructed from the words of real people responding to a particular theme or a real event. These words might be taken from interviews or testimonials, or even from media or news footage.”. (Naomi Joseph) There are always verbatim theatre productions at the Edinburgh Fringe and, if you haven’t […]


Improvised Comedy and Theatre at the Fringe

Improvised performance tends to be mostly comedy-based at the Fringe. Yet there is also a smattering of improvised music and theatre as well. There are news shows on offer each year and the quest for a novel angle is always at the forefront as compnaies and performers try to win the audience battle. There are […]


Science Fiction at the Fringe

I have to admit I am disappointed at the lack of science-fiction at this year’s Fringe. Despite it being a comeback fringe with less shows, there are still well over three thousand to choose from. Could it be that our worst sci-fi nightmares have arrived in the present, with environmental catastrophe and AI Hell already […]


Aca-cool ! A cappella is the Edinburgh Fringe

Theatre maker, musician, clown and reviewer Pat Silver shares her thoughts on this popular fringe niche. NEW! Pat Silver’s shows to see in the last week for Edfringe 2022. Aca-cool! “But where is the music?” “ I don’t see the drummer but I hear one.” “I sing in a group. Is it ok if we […]


Kate’s five solo shows to see at Edfringe 2022

Making sense of life: Age is a Feeling From Haley McGee, a new show, that is different every day, inspired by interviews with hospice workers, interactions with mystics and trips to the cemetery. Age is a Feeling is a story about the glorious and melancholy unknowability of human life that charts the seminal moments, rites of passage […]


Richard Daniels Edinburgh Fringe 2022

I’m very happy to be back at the ‘Fringe’ this August with my camera for FringeReview after a couple of years absence.  Looking back Enjoyable as it is, this will be very different time for me, because my good friend, the well known fringe performer, “Lynn Ruth Miller” will never be with us again. Sadly, […]


Joe’s comedy picks for Edinburgh Fringe 2022

Now that Edinburgh Fringe is back, here are some of my comedy highlights. My apologies for the length of the list, there is so much good stuff to see! I haven’t posted show links; if you’re reading this, you will already know where to find them. The shows are in no particular order. Paul Currie […]


Brighton Fringe is back and with it, lots of great comedy. Here are my top tips for some of the best comedy around. Just to make it easier, I’ve included links to each of the shows. First up Shaggers, hosted by Nik Coppin. I was lucky enough to review this show last year, and I […]


Ever heard of Jasper Maskeleyne? Many haven’t these days – but he was quite remarkable. He was known as The War Magician and was a major inspiration for Kevin Quantum‘s ★★★★ Army@TheFringe show The Trick That Fooled. During the show Kevin, who is based in Edinburgh, recreated magic tricks that fooled the greatest and most creative people […]


Scottish Pakistani actor, writer and stand-up comedian talks about how she started writing and performing with Jo Tomalin. Lubna presents Tickbox – her latest theatre/comedy/storytelling show at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2021. “Tickbox is a semi-autobiographical, one-woman play, in Scots-English and Urdu. Describing a Pakistani woman’s journey from a middle-class life in Pakistan to Govan in […]


Writer, performer mandla rae talks to Jo Tomalin about their work, how they started writing and performing and their show: mandla rae -as british as a watermelon. “‘My name is mandla. It means power. I gave it to myself’ – mandla rae has a selective memory and they are scrambling to piece together their life. […]


Loneliness and social dislocation are the price some children pay for life in a military family – due to frequent moves and relocations. This makes it difficult to settle into education, establish friendships or even know where to call home. Dandelion by Creative Electric addresses these issues in a work of physical theatre created for this year’s […]


The head of the Army in Scotland, Brigadier Ben Wrench, raised the curtain at the Army’s own Edinburgh Fringe venue – a drill hall converted into a COVID-safe theatre space. With the Edinburgh Fringe facing so many challenges, the Army wanted to ensure that Hepburn House (which hosts Army@TheFringe) was one of the venues able […]


If someone mentions Army musicians what springs to mind? Changing of the Guard, The Edinburgh Military Tattoo, perhaps a sombre rendition of The Last Post. All very much part and parcel of what they do, but they have many other dimensions too. Take Colour Sergeant Dougie Anderson of the Lowland Band of the Royal Regiment […]


As a small venue outside the Edinburgh city centre, with little walk up trade, Army@TheFringe has always had to work that bit harder to win audiences. Ticket sales tend to build as the Fringe goes on, as the result of reviews and word of mouth recommendations. This year we decided to return to in-person performances […]


From Page to Stage – a Platform for New Edinburgh Writers

When Michelle McKay returned to Edinburgh she found there were few opportunities to connect with other creatives and started Page2Stage as a solution. The idea was to provide a platform for new work and bring people together. As the arts seek to recover after the pandemic she’s relaunching the initiative during Army@TheFringe. This year’s Army@TheFringe […]


By Jordan Blackwood, Army@TheFringe producer It’s good to be back on stage at The Edinburgh Fringe. Last year we went digital and it worked well. But there’s huge yearning among performers and audiences alike to get back into venues and to soak up the atmosphere that is unique to in-person performance. A mark of that is […]


The bumpy road gets a bit longer

By Lori Hamilton One thing about me is that I am persistent. SO PERSISTENT (aka stubborn, hard-headed, etc.). Given a problem, I am 100% sure that I can find a solution.  When obstacles arise, I set about pulling out my fix-it tools and get to work. Ha ha! My confidence abounds! I like this about […]


First Crack off the Bat – Three Broken Ribs

Lori Hamilton continues her series of blogs about the mishaps and challenges of bringing a show to the Edinburgh Fringe. It was February 10, 2020. Having written a play about following my intuition, you would think that I would follow my intuition. But you would be wrong. On that particular morning, I decided to shave […]


By Lori Hamilton At last it’s confirmed – the 2021 Edinburgh Fringe is happening! I’m SO EXCITED. And I’m so grateful. The importance of the Edinburgh Fringe: When I was in college at UCLA, one of my favorite classes was Modern British Drama, where we learned about the incredible impact of the Fringe on the quality and […]


About nine months into Covid, a friend and I decided to remain hopeful by booking a trip to Yellowstone National Park. Little did I know that by the time we were there, I would also be rehearsing for the World Premiere of my show at the Brighton Fringe Festival. That’s right!  I started live streaming […]


My Bumpy Road to The Fringe

Hi. I’m Lori Hamilton, writer and actor currently living in New York City. Between now and August, I’m planning to do a regular blog about the challenges of bringing a show to the Edinburgh Fringe (I’m also doing online performances for the Brighton Fringe) from the USA in 2021. You’ll hear about recording during Covid, how my cats […]


Mini-Reviews of Online Fringe

Over August I have been watching online content. Not all of these shows are long enough to warrant the full Fringe Review experience but are good, and interesting enough to be talked about. Whilst the review criteria are the same, the brevity is a whole new experience. Anyhow, here are my thoughts on these shows. […]


A busted August

Like most of us, this is not the August I imagined. I won’t bore you with the same tale, you have heard told again and again. Suffice to say, the image on the left tells its own story. What I would like to talk about is new work, the emergence of a new medium, and […]


Edinburgh Fringe Online 2020

Welcome to our coverage of a very different Edinburgh Fringe for 2020. In the midst of the strange times we find ourselves with and a cancelled physicial world version of the world’s largest arts festival, Edfringe has ported online, hopefully just for this year, though we suspect there will be a mch more significant number […]


Welcome to ZOO TV

        Welcome to our coverage of ZOO TV. Zoo Venues, one of Edfringe’s key performance venues, brings an impressive programme to you, via the digital realm. We’ll be posting recommendations, previews and interviews soon, so watch this space. VIew the Zoo TV programme here.


              Paul Levy talks to director Matt Owen and co-producer Kate Chalmers from Pound of Flesh Theatre about Fires Our Shoes Have Made. “Excalibur, equipped. School, skipped. Six months ago, when they lost their mum, their names shot past the sun and echoed through the stars. Today they become […]


              Paul Levy talks to Jacqueline Haigh about Goddess. “A peek behind the velvet curtain! Hilarious one-woman sitcom based on Jacqueline Haigh’s true experiences working as a receptionist in a tantric massage parlour. Fringe hit 2018! Directed by award-winning Alan Short (co-director Watership Down, Netflix/BBC) ‘Well written and conveyed… […]


A Strategy Play: Paul Levy talks to Elliot Hughes about Standard: Elite

              Paul Levy talks to Elliot Hughes from Hidden Track about award-winning theatre game Standard: Elite. “There are two types of ticket. Everyone gets a Standard ticket. You have to earn an Elite ticket. Together, we’re going to tell a story… of a girl from Lowground spun from spiderweb and […]


Producing for the First Time at the Fringe: Jo Tomalin talks to Jacob Standbridge about producing Sidekick

Jo Tomalin talks to Jacob Standbridge cast member and producer, who offers advice to first time producers at the Fringe, from his experience in Sidekick, a new musical. “It’s the final year of university for Tom, but he’s afraid he’ll never be good enough to become a superhero. When Lily mysteriously arrives with powers stronger than […]