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 life of a hero or a villain, a fresh look at a controversy, a disaster or a dangerous love affair, lovers of history will be spoilt for choice at this year’s Fringe. Here are a few picks from the programme.
I want to see …
… a midday show for 12s and over about historical blunders. Then see 5 Mistakes That Changed History
… a musical about Alan Turing. Then see http://Alan Turing – A Musical Biography
… a play that has the 1980s miners’ strike as its backdrop. Then see The Collie’s Shed
… a personal story about the suffragette movement. Then see Alice Hawkins – Suffragette
… a free, lunchtime, family-friendly show about ancient coins. Then see Ancient Coins of Forgotten Kingdoms
… the incredible true story of missing WWII soldier Arthur Robinson. Then see In Loyal Company
… some live spoken word from someone who lived with David Bowie. Then see Bowie, Cambo & All the Hype – An Evening with John Cambridge
… a play is performed in the very residence where economist Adam Smith spent his last 12 years. Then see Enquiry Concerning Hereafter
… something about a figure from Scottish history. Then see The Curious Case of Osgood Mackenzie
… some theatre with the 1745 Jacobite Rising as its backdrop. Then see Colonel Anne: Jacobite Heroine
… a new play set during the Great Fire of Edinburgh. Then see Brief Candle
… some mate morning theatre, an award-winning evocative story of Royal Irish Fusilier, Norman Clements. Then see How to Bury a Dead Mule
… some free live spoken word, a show seeks to educate and entertain with a walk through history exploring the possibilities that could have been. Then see Impro Poet Presents: What If History?
… a piece set in 1605, a chaotic reimagining of the most notorious bewitchment case you’ve never heard of. Then see Gunter
… the story of Britain’s first black judge. Then see Just An Ordinary Lawyer
… some First World War solo theatre. Then see The Last Bantam
… a new play about Presidential First Lady, Mary Lincoln. Then see Mrs President
… a theatre piece about Zelda Fitzgerald, icon of the Jazz Age. Then see The Last Flapper
… in spoken word and song, a show about the Land GIrls of World War Two. Then see Lilies on the Land
… a critically acclaimed theatre piece exploring the Partition of India. THen see Mohan: A Partition Story
… a play based on a true event in New York City, 1911. Then see Paved with Gold and Ashes
… Edinburgh’s gruesome past brought to life by two actors in a family-friendly comedy (8s and up) show. Then see Plague, Poo n’ Punishment
… some theatre about the Scottish Witch Hunts. Then see Prick
… a show based on the events that led to the slave trade being abolished throughout the British Empire by Parliament. Then see The Progressive Campaign
… a theatre piece concerning Marlowe and SHakespeare. Then see The Real William Shakespeare… As Told by Christopher Marlowe
… the true story of Florence Waren, an intrepid Jewish resistance fighter and dazzling showgirl leading a perilous double life in WW2. Then see Showgirls and Spies
… some storytelling about horror and Edinburgh. Then see Tales of Edinburgh Horror
… a s how the about childhood of siblings Rose and Tennessee Williams and the rooted guilt of one of America’s greatest playwrights. Then see Tennessee, Rose
… a drama about the Titanic. Then see Titanic: The Last Hero and The Last Coward
… a solo play about the first Salem witch to confess and household slave to the Parris family, Tituba. Then see Tituba
How do we select our recommendations? We mostly know the work of the above companies, have cast our net into our well informed community, we may have reviewed them in the past, and there are a few that we… kust like the look of and recommend you might like to take a punt.
