Theatre
#Hysterical
Panad Productions®
Hysterical: Synonym: Over-emotional, deranged. The Brighton, Camden and Lambeth Fringe sell-out show is back! A satirical, educational comedy show exploring the historical views and issues surrounding sexuality and gender. Join the one-person powerhouse performer Callaghan on a journey from the uptight Victorian misunderstandings of female anatomy, to the "debauchery" of sexual pleasure. 'This show is delightful' **** (www.FringeFan.com). 'Everything that needs to be said... but said hilariously'(Wombshine). Developed with the support of Soho Theatre Labs
1 King, 2 Princes and Shakespeare's Lie
Slade Wolfe Enterprises Limited
Sold out in 2025. Back by popular demand. A king. A traitor. A villain. Or was he? Richard III returns to confront the myths that condemned him, challenging Shakespeare’s version of events and putting history itself on trial. In this gripping one-man performance, fact clashes with legend as Richard defends his reign and questions who gets to decide the truth. Provocative, compelling and darkly entertaining, this show asks whether history judged the wrong man. As power, propaganda, legacy and reputation collide on stage, you must decide whether history lied.
2%: A Play About Privilege (And Also, Milk)
Kevin Qian
What does milk have to do with growing up privileged and Asian in America? In his Edinburgh Fringe debut, Kevin Qian shares stories about tasting flesh, private schools, and how his family’s love language is primarily milk. You'll meet the voices in his head and watch him drink so much milk.
3.2.1. Hold Me on Stage
Selin Bakan / Stüdyo Kolektif
Hello, I’m Daphne Bell. From my left profile I’m shy; from my right, I’m remarkable. I can sing – sometimes I even feel like a soprano. I’ve been trapped inside a claw machine for a long time; perhaps I wanted it, too. From behind the glass, I wait to be chosen, to be noticed, to be valued. Would you choose me? I think I need to hold me on stage. This play portrays Daphne’s struggle with invisibility and inadequacy as she seeks recognition. Social pressure and past traumas become her greatest obstacles.
A Cat in a Box
Tom Nemec
A deeply personal solo play that tells a story everyone can relate to. Through darkly humorous and dramatic monologues, Tom explores love, loss and hope growing up in an alcoholic, dysfunctional family, showing how trauma shapes our lives. Offering that no matter how dark the past, the present holds the possibility of light. 'Nemec avoids all of the flaws of the genre that make autobiographical solo plays cringeworthy' (Showtones.com). 'For a moment, we were united in our collective experience, and in our resolve to heal' (ArtsIndependent.com).
A Desperate Remedy
Magdalen College School Drama
May 1606. In the Tower of London, Father Henry Garnet awaits a traitor’s death in the morning. Through his last confession, we follow the Gunpowder Plotters’ doomed conspiracy as Garnet wrestles with his own conscience and the indefatigable will of charismatic ringleader Robert Catesby. As Catesby recruits a group of desperate men, including the enigmatic soldier Guy Fawkes, we are led to question just how far a man will go for his friends and his faith. This exciting new play offers an intense, fast-paced and moving portrayal of one of the most infamous events in our history.
A Forgotten Woman: Mrs Oscar Wilde
Slade Wolfe Enterprises Limited
Constance Lloyd is rarely remembered in literary history, overshadowed by her infamous husband. Feminist, writer and mother, her life is told through letter excerpts written in her own hand, revealing wit to rival Oscar’s, with dry humour and fierce selfhood. From a troubled childhood to society womanhood and quiet tragedy, this intimate solo performance restores a voice history diminished, inviting audiences to root for a brilliant, resilient heroine. Her story unfolds with grace, courage, humour and defiance. ‘Gut-writhingly convincing’ **** (TheReviewsHub,com). ‘Wolfe excels’ **** (Fringe Guru).
A Highly Suspect Murder Mystery: ABBAsolute Murder
Highly Suspect
It’s the Continental Song Content 2026! But when competition royalty BABA are found garrotted inside a portaloo, 'the name of the game' is catching the killer! Award-winning mystery maestros Highly Suspect return to the Fringe with a new hilarious interactive murder mystery for the audience to solve! Featuring a fiendish plot, evidence packs to examine and cryptic clues to crack, can you deduce whodunnit? Fun, frivolity and fatalities guaranteed! Sold out show 2021-2025. ‘Prepare to have your funny bones and little grey cells equally tickled!’ (BroadwayWorld.com).
A Highly Suspect Murder Mystery: Knives In
Highly Suspect
A famous author. An impossible murder. Knives are out for renowned detective Beignet Blank, but can he peel back the layers before he wakes up a dead man? Award-winning mystery maestros Highly Suspect return to the Fringe with a brand-new hilarious interactive murder mystery for the audience to solve! Featuring a fiendish plot, evidence packs to examine and cryptic clues to crack, can you deduce whodunnit? Fun, frivolity and fatalities guaranteed! Sold out show 2021-2025. ‘Prepare to have your funny bones and little grey cells equally tickled!’ (BroadwayWorld.com).
A Little Green Leaf
Leaf Collective
A Little Green Leaf is inspired by the life of Odette Hallowes (MBE, Legion d’Honneur, George Cross), Britain’s most highly decorated spy of the Second World War. This play tells the story of Odette’s service as an agent of the Special Operations Executive, resilience in the face of Gestapo brutality, survival of Ravensbruck concentration camp, and her remarkable ability to retain her light, humanity and compassion in the face of unimaginable suffering. A Little Green Leaf is a poignant and timely reminder of sacrifice, courage and how one achieves peace.
A Traitors Pantomime
MTAO Productions
Follow a new traitors series, with all the melodrama that we know and love, plus some panto pizzazz. Our Dame, Claudia, and her fringe will guide us through the twists and turns of each roundtable. A devious trio of traitors, a comical set of faithfuls, and a Romeo-and-Juliet love story; this series will be unlike any other. Using the power of deduction and a predictable parody (or two), will good win out? Or will evil take all the money, money, money for itself? (Yes, that is an Abba reference). Come and find out!
After Shakespeare
Slade Wolfe Enterprises Limited
Returning for its third Edinburgh season, After Shakespeare asks what happens to Shakespeare’s heroes and villains once the curtain falls. Lady Macbeth, Portia, Hamlet and King Hal reflect on power, love and survival, beyond the endings we think we know. In this acclaimed solo show, Lexi Wolfe transforms seamlessly between four iconic characters, weaving Shakespeare’s language with historical insight and fresh dramatic imagination. Witty, poignant, surprising; a thoughtful, inventive celebration of voice and consequence, long after the lights fade. 'A must-see show' ***** (EdinburghGuide.com). 'One of this year's stand-out shows' **** (GetYourCoatsOn.com). 'Refreshing and gifted writing' **** (WestEndBestFriend.co.uk).
After the Fact
Blue Bird Productions
Set in 1980s Scotland during the Cold War, when nuclear bombs were a very real threat. The play is inspired by true events and real experiences, when one night in Peebleshire, Scotland, the unimaginable happened. Five scared, lost, turbulent young women grapple with the adversities and joys of life in the 80s, with the constant knowledge that their lives could be obliterated at any moment. In the face of nuclear war, how do they cope, love, and live?
Against the Grain
Mimi van Amerongen
Winter, 1943. As the Siege of Leningrad tightens its grip, two scientists guard a seed vault designed to preserve humanity. Faced with starvation, yet surrounded by food they refuse to touch. When a desperate intruder forces his way in, the moral line they have defended for years suddenly becomes unbearable. Nina and Olga must confront an impossible question: will they save the world or save themselves? A thrilling new work inspired by true events.
An Island of Bad Ideas: The Tempest
Edinburgh Youth Theatre
A fast, funny Tempest packed with magic, mischief and spectacularly poor decisions. Edinburgh Youth Theatre returns with a bold 50-minute adaptation performed by a brilliant young ensemble. Critically acclaimed for hugely entertaining, fast-paced, relevant productions that are accessible to audiences aged 8 to 108, the youth company brings shipwrecks, scheming nobles, mischievous spirits and one very chaotic island to life. Expect physical comedy, a foot stomping soundtrack and a storm of bad choices as power, revenge and forgiveness spiral hilariously out of control. Perfect for families, Shakespeare connoisseurs and newcomers alike.
An Opportunity in Kind
The Optimiserables
An Opportunity in Kind is a darkly comic tale about wasted potential, loyalty and the seductive pull of easy fortune. Three disaffected young men drift through life in a haze of bravado, drugs and half-baked philosophies, masking their fear of failure and mortality with banter and delusion. When an unexpected crisis disrupts their aimless routine, cracks in their friendship widen, exposing greed, insecurity and moral weakness. Blending absurd humour with sudden brutality, the play explores how some men rationalise the unforgivable and how quickly dreams of opportunity curdle into chaos, consequence and bitter irony.
And The Little One Said
Minotaur Theatre Company
And The Little One Said is a grotesquely dark comedy that follows Sasha and her three friends, Henry, Cedric and Rose, as they spend two weeks at her uncle’s country home for a summer holiday. With a backdrop of late 90s Britain (a time of innovation, new ideas and excitement for the future), the group's fate is about to be destroyed forever by a series of disturbing events that will expose evils and completely change their lives. And amongst all the discomfort, death and despair, as the little one says... roll over.
Angelshark
Blue Dot Theatre and New Celts Productions
Sign up to Saving Squatina: a summer camp focused on Shetland's returning population of Angel Sharks! The only catch? You might have to solve a marine murder whilst you’re at it. Camp members Mira, Harry and Lottie decide to take things into their own fins and dive deeper into this mystery. The three will have to push against the tide of the island to find the truth that lies beneath the sandy exterior, but what surfaces will force them to confront themselves, scales and all.
atticwife
RnL Productions
Astrid Fisher is an influencer who goes from tradwife to trapped-wife when her husband locks her in their attic. She says she’s soooo happy to be up there, but some of her viewers aren’t so convinced. When one of those concerned viewers breaks into the attic to try and rescue her, she is forced to question if the life she’s made as a “traditional woman” is as perfect as she’s always claimed... or if she’s in serious danger.
Bachelors of Fine Arts
Method in Madness Co.
Our college stalker is facing a felony. We skipped depositions for rehearsals. Picture this conservatory fairy tale: BFA besties, chaotic sublets, borrowed underwear and one super-fan who confused method acting with method stalking. Partners stolen, careers nuked, faculty too dazzled by "genius" to spot the red flags. Bachelors of Fine Arts is a dark two-person comedy that roasts ambition gone cultish, institutions that shrug at sabotage because "talent," and the noble tradition of smiling through betrayal. Not true crime. Not therapy. Come watch us process publicly and affordably, or... something like that.
Be My Baby
Parker & Snell Youth Company
Set in 1964, four teenage girls are sent to a church-run mother and baby home, hidden away by a society that refuses to acknowledge them. As they wait for their babies to be adopted, unexpected friendships form and courage quietly emerges. Warm, witty and ultimately heartbreaking, Amanda Whittington’s powerful drama explores love, shame and resilience in a world ruled by judgement and silence. Performed by the Parker & Snell Youth Company, this moving production brings to life a hidden chapter of recent history with honesty, humanity and hope.
Bean vs The Robots: A Solo Show Musical
Midge Lema / Lemabean Productions
Bean is trapped inside her spaceship. And now you’re trapped with her. Unfortunately for you, Bean lost her memories and must play sad little songs on her keyboard in order to get them back. While she sings, you start to lose all sense of time. But don’t worry. In space, there’s always time. Or is there? As Bean unravels, she remembers why she, and perhaps you, needed to go to space in the first place. A sci-fi exploration of grief through the funny, wistful and weird eyes of a lost space traveller.
Bella
Jin Hi Soucy Rand
In this raw and riveting one woman show, JinHi lays bare the moments that fracture and forge a life. Through fierce honesty, sharp humour and unexpected grace, her monologue traces love, illness, art and resilience, inviting audiences into an intimate reckoning with survival and selfhood.
Betsi
Her Story Theatre Company
Following sell-out Welsh tours, Her Story Theatre Company presents Betsi – the electrifying story of Betsi Cadwaladr. From humble beginnings to globetrotting adventures, Betsi's extraordinary life culminates in her most daring venture: in her sixties, defying all conventions, she sailed to the Crimean battlefield to serve as a nurse, where she famously clashed with Florence Nightingale herself. Through flashbacks and poignant interviews, this superb script by Welsh playwright Adele Cordner brings Betsi's indomitable spirit to life with heart-stopping excitement and tender humanity. Prepare to laugh, cry, and be swept away by this unforgettable theatrical experience celebrating a true trailblazer.
Bloody Mary's
Fat Pooch Productions
Set in 1823, an Edinburgh riddled with greed and decay, Mary McKinnon is the queen of the night. Her brothel, Bloody Mary’s, is successful, her reputation untouched... Until one night of violence changes it all. When gentlemen turn ungentlemanly and demand more than Mary is willing to give, tragedy creeps under the red curtain and blood becomes the new currency. Come join us for a night of song and dance where the women from Edinburgh's past reclaim their voices.
Body Parts
University of Bristol DramSoc
Recently widowed May (60s) is visiting her eldest, Carmel (32), in her new house in rural Scotland. She brings her youngest, Margot (22), who suffers from immense Catholic guilt. May begins an affair with Carmel’s long-term boyfriend. Using cutting-edge facial mapping software invented by our collaborator, Alensi Studios, Body Parts is a taste of the future of theatre. Live art and technology meet in this experimental dark comedy which confronts ageing, guilt and the insatiable sexual appetite of an older woman.
boobytrapped
No Tits Theatre in Association with theSpaceUK
Bodyswap romcom chaos erupts when Simon, a trans man, and Kevin, a cis man, meet in a gay club and are instantly drawn to each other. Their hookup derails when Kevin realises Simon is trans, but before things turn ugly, a magical twist traps them in each other’s bodies. Forced to navigate insecurities and prejudice, they must work together to reverse the swap - whether they understand each other or not. From the creators of Fckboy - winner of the Binge Fringe Queer Award and The Stagey Best LGBTQ+ Production.
Book Club
New Stagers
Grab your wine, nibbles and notebooks and get ready to join Linda and her fellow “book clubbers” as they attempt to dissect the classics. This award-winning comedy explores the idiosyncrasies of a mismatched group brought together (through Linda’s heavy persuasion) by their love, or mild interest, in books. As they journey through the novels, free-flowing wine and endless crisps, one question remains: can this motley group of strangers actually become friends? And what exactly is a cheese puff?
Brew Hill
Pecadillo Productions
Gordon suffers from panic attacks and is obsessed with Berlin. Nat is a recovering alcoholic who has visions of the Renaissance painter Pieter Bruegel. And Pieter, the great observer of wit and folly, has something he needs to tell us. As cracks appear in Nat and Gordon's routines and their story begins to overlap with Pieter's, this ‘kooky, self-assured tragicomedy with instant cult classic potential’ (Cherwell) asks the big questions: what is the difference between community and suffocation? Can creativity be home-grown? And is it a good idea to start a brewery if you don't like beer?
CAKE: A Crime of Love
On The Brink
It’s 24 hours before Alfie’s birthday party. 24 hours before someone’s going to die. What happens next has everything to do with what happened before. Charlotte has made the cake. Dani has made a mistake – an unforgivable, best-friend-destroying, boyfriend-involving mistake. Darkly funny and deliciously unhinged, this reverse murder mystery slices through jealousy, friendship and the fragile line between telling the truth and protecting the people you love. Because sometimes honesty is an act of violence – and sometimes love is the crime. CAKE asks, who gets to have their cake and eat it too?
Carys Should be the UK’s Next Eurovision Entry
Carys Jeffrey Evans
Carys is campaigning to become the UK’s next Eurovision entry. In this one-woman musical comedy, she builds her case through bold vocals, unshakable self-belief and a growing list of signatures on her petition. Part manifesto, part love letter to Eurovision, the show celebrates big dreams and the reckless optimism required to think that this is going to get the BBC’s attention. Expect abundant ESC references, a curated track list and the joyful delusion to accept nil points if required. A heartfelt, hilarious tribute to the world’s most chaotic international song contest.
Charles Dickens: The Hanged Man's Bride
Blue Orange Arts
'She comes towards me on the floor; always approaching; never coming nearer; always visible as if by moonlight whether the moon shines or not'. A writer struggling to reignite his creative vision. A real-life crime. And a visit to a supposedly haunted inn. As darkness descends, a ghostly tale is played out. But what is real and what is not? A tale of passion, deceit and the ethereal dance between the realms of life and death as the Hanged Man's Bride beckons from the shadows of the past.
Charles Dickens: The Signalman
Blue Orange Arts
A traveller meets a solitary railway signalman – and steps straight into a mystery he cannot explain. Ghostly warnings, fatal accidents and mounting dread haunt this faithful stage adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic tale. Inspired by the real-life 1861 Clayton Tunnel disaster, The Signalman explores fear, progress and the darkness beneath the steam-driven optimism of Victorian Britain. Blue Orange Arts delivers a tense, atmospheric production that crackles with suspense and psychological unease. Beware the signalman's bell...
Chip and Gus: A Comedy with Balls
Fat Knight Theatre (New York City)
A blisteringly brilliant comedy of two oddball men playing ping-pong in a rundown upstate New York bar. Their chemistry explodes with hilarious, heart-breaking revelations. Gus, a flamboyantly stoic professor of philosophy and socially inept genius, spouts jokes and pedantry. Chip is a goofy struggling music teacher and composer, whose life hangs by a thread. A spectacular, gripping, rapid-fire human symphony. Overall Excellence for Ensemble winner (FringeNYC). ‘Bright, funny and cathartic. An emotionally resonant buddy comedy for thinking audiences’ **** (Time Out). ‘One of the most impressive things I’ve ever seen’ (BroadwayRadio.com).
Cinderella and Frankenstein's Monster Are Dead
The Beachcombers
A gothic fairytale for the culturally confused. A Chinese exchange student at an American high school sees herself in Frankenstein’s monster – stitched together and out of place. When the drama club stages Cinderella, she auditions to prove her worth, only to find herself longing for the Mandarin rhymes she once sang with pride. As foreign stories glitch into nightmares, she realises: both the princess and the monster are dead. She’s neither. Critically acclaimed at 2025 Brighton Fringe: 'raw, eye-opening' **** (TheatreInBrighton.co.uk), 'refreshing and linguistically aware take on identity construction' **** (SoundBehindCurtain.com).
CIRCLE
JMTC Theatre
In this award-winning comedy and Off-Broadway hit, two actors play eight interconnected characters in a fast, funny daisy chain of sexual encounters. A country music star, an exchange student, a cybersex novice, an estranged husband, an S&M submissive, a frat boy and a lesbian bestie collide in a witty, provocative exploration of sex, power, intimacy and the universal longing for human connection. Bold, timely and sharply observed, CIRCLE turns desire into a revealing – and hilarious – map of modern relationships. 'CIRCLE delivers belly laughs from beginning to end!' **** (London Free Press). 'Ingenious!' (New York Times).
Collateral Damage
Without Compromise Theatre
'You can’t force someone to open up, can you?' In the aftermath of tragedy, a mother drowns her sorrows, one daughter lashes out at the world, while another soldiers on through the storm. The Laing family have been through thick and thin together but now lead separate lives. In the wake of Alex Laing’s release from prison, can they mend the rift between them, or have some wounds been cut too deep? Collateral Damage is a new-writing drama, tackling themes of generational trauma, mental health and recovery, through the lens of working class and queer Scottish women.
Constellations
Theatre33
Every choice creates a universe. A simple conversation begins… and begins again. Slightly different each time. A word changes. A silence shifts. A life unfolds another way. In Constellations, time fractures and possibilities multiply as two people navigate love, loss, and everything in between. What changes us isn't just what happens – but what could have happened. Witty, intimate and quietly devastating, this is a play about connection in a world where nothing is certain… except the moments we choose to hold onto.
Cubicle Dialogue
University Of York Drama Society
Tensions are running high at Wessex District Council! As Labour falters nationally and Reform surges locally, inside a struggling local council office three civil servants and their boss find neutrality increasingly impossible. Cubicle Dialogue is a sharp British political satire where Angie, a Conservative councillor, faces a choice: loyalty or survival. Private arguments spill into public consequences as local elections loom and the future of the ward hangs in the balance. Funny, biting and uncomfortably familiar, Cubicle Dialogue turns a council office into a microcosm of modern Britain – where ideology, ambition and insecurity collide.
D H Lawrence: The Prussian Officer
Blue Orange Arts
Power. Desire. Control. Set within a harsh military world, The Prussian Officer charts the explosive relationship between a young orderly and his commanding officer. What starts as obedience twists into dangerous obsession as authority and attraction collide. Ben Mills-Wood’s charged new adaptation of D H Lawrence’s story shines a fierce light on repression, class and the human cost of desire denied. With striking performances and bold direction, this taut psychological drama reveals how passion, when silenced, becomes destructive – a gripping battle between control and surrender that leaves lasting scars.
Daisy Pulls It Off
Viva Arts and Community Group
Returning to the Fringe, Viva bring you this fast-paced, much-loved romp through 1920s girlhood by Denise Deegan. Daisy Meredith is off to Grangewood School for ‘Gals’ but she finds herself the target of a mean campaign of tricks and false accusations. Undeterred, Daisy launches into a mission of her own – to find the Beaumont Treasure – beat the bullies and save the school! An affectionate and hilarious parody, Viva’s Daisy Pulls it Off delivers a feel-good, charming and utterly spiffing show. Complete with a gripping on-stage hockey match and daring clifftop rescue!
Daughter of Sweden - That One Princess Who Got Drunk with Lizzie I and Thrown Out of England
Teater Kaleido, By/With: Cecilia Säverman, Director: Judith Hollander
Award-winning one-woman show, bringing royal scandal and the high seas to life. When Sweden's 19-year-old Princess Cecilia Vasa is caught with a lover in 1559, Europe thinks the scandal will tame the harlot. But Cecilia is just getting started. Condemned, filthy rich and yearning for freedom, she enters Renaissance Europe where war, chastity and men rule. Could friendship with Queen Elizabeth I of England grant her the independence she craves – or why not a life of piracy? Translated into English.
Dead Wrong
Jaimee Doyle
Dead Wrong is a gripping psychological thriller that pulls audiences into the aftermath of a night that may have ended in murder. Best friends Fiadh and Nolan have disappeared, hiding from the world and from the truth of what really happened. As fear tightens and outside pressure creeps closer, their bond is tested by suspicion, manipulation, and moral compromise. What begins as unwavering loyalty slowly fractures, forcing Nolan to question whether standing by the person he loves most is an act of devotion, or a dangerous refusal to see the truth.
Dear Michelle Kwan
Triple Lutz Productions
Set in the early 2010s, four teen figure skaters rehearse for their annual holiday show, led by their bizarre and obsessive coach. They pray to Michelle Kwan, their god, for guidance. In the locker room, the girls navigate friend drama, twerking and IBS. When a blizzard traps them in the ice rink, reality warps. Their prayers to Michelle Kwan turn into violent rituals and life becomes a never-ending rehearsal… a never-ending ritual. A dark comedy about the beauty, violence and camaraderie of girlhood in hyper-competitive spaces.
Deckhand
Spinelly Productions and Los Angeles Theatre Initiative
Joseph, an abrasive pushing-40 talent agent, is awoken in the middle of the night to a call from his top-billing client – she’s on Catalina Island for a photoshoot without any of her wardrobe or glam. Joseph arrives at the dock ready to set sail but waits on one last thing: his assistant Fiona. Join Joseph and Fiona as they embark on a tumultuous journey aboard a failing speedboat in this comedic look at the divide between agent and assistant. Fresh off a sell-out run in Los Angeles, Deckhand makes it's Edinburgh Fringe debut!
Democrazy
Action Theatre (Italy)
From the company behind The Italians in England comes an extraordinary tale about democracy and dictatorship, told through Balinese mask, music and physical theatre with Edoardo Vanoni and Denis Haugh. Cycling through the countryside of a tropical island, an Italian tourist loses his way when his phone battery dies. He enters the home of an old mask maker and from then on a remarkable political story unfolds. This play explores the lure of populism and the common traits shared by dictators, reflecting the political realities shaping our world today. The show is dedicated to Alexei Navalny.
Detective Heartbreak
Student Theatre at Glasgow
Detective Heartbreak, a detective trained in solving the mysteries and complexities of love and desire, tackles what might just be his most unsolvable case yet: why did Connor's Hinge date leave him on read? An offbeat detective parody tackling some of the biggest problems in the modern world; clowns, magicians and... dating apps!
Does the Oracle Speak Truth?
July2septembertheatre
Modern day worshippers seek answers from the Oracle – the speaker of gods – to help them through their past, present and future. But how long will this support last?
Don't know? Have a go!
Fast Snail Productions
Where do forgotten memories go? What’s the meaning of life? Why is this so hard to answer? Don't know? Well lets have a go! Welcome back for one last time to everyone's favourite quiz show. One lucky contestant will trudge through the trials of the evening in an attempt to enter The Tunnel of Mystery. Fast Snail Productions invites you to their brand new one man show that explores the power of memory, the pressures of living and the hope that love and music can give us. You won’t want to forget this!
Don’t Rain on My Parade!
Miss Lossie Mouth
Don’t Rain on My Parade is a bold, hilarious and heartfelt 50-minute cabaret-theatre show starring award-winning Highland icon Miss Lossie Mouth. Featuring hit songs from stage and screen, razor-sharp comedy and moments of moving honesty, it tells the story of a boy who loved a fabulous dress and grew up under Section 28 – turning shame into sequins. With council-estate courage, queer resilience and gloriously camp theatricality, Miss Lossie Mouth celebrates identity, survival and sparkle in an uplifting show packed with heart, humour and powerhouse diva spirit.
Dust: The Sixth Sense
3Bugs Fringe Theatre Society
The Sixth Sense pulls you into a world of decay and possession, following five fractured identities navigating darkness when guidance is absent. At it’s centre is Girl, confined to her home and to Mother, Dust, Air and Narrator. Experience our world of chaos and the original soundtrack that pierces through dimensions. This play insists on listening. On recognising. Dust is a story about the unstable sense of self and how we are shaped by our fortunate and unfortunate events alike. We invite you to sit with the parts of yourself the cracked mirror reflects.
Eight
Drama Works (Parker & Snell)
A collection of searing monologues from contemporary Britain, each offering a distinct and uncompromising voice. From privilege and politics to identity, faith and personal responsibility, these characters wrestle with the beliefs that shape their lives and the society around them. Sharp, provocative and darkly funny, this acclaimed play examines the fault lines running through modern culture. Each story stands alone, yet together they form a striking portrait of a nation questioning itself. Bold, intelligent and unflinching, this compelling production invites audiences to confront uncomfortable truths and consider where they stand.
Elsa McTaggart: Capturing the Light
sruth-mara in association with An Lanntair
The third child of Gaelic-speaking crofters, William McTaggart became one of Scotland’s most celebrated artists through sheer determination and hard work. What is his legacy a century on, for his country and family? Songwriter Elsa McTaggart tells the story of her great grandfather’s extraordinary life and talent, and how it shaped her own creative identity. Made in the Outer Hebrides – and part of the Made in Scotland showcase – this visually striking new theatre show is written by Elsa McTaggart and directed by Fringe First winner Laura Cameron-Lewis. Production design by Robbie Thomson. MadeInScotlandShowcase.com
Erika. Reflections on a New Era
Enebro Teatro
The play explores the power of the arts in general, and theatre in particular, as a tool for resisting the rise in violence and war in contemporary society. Erika is a Jewish woman born in Germany who now lives in Madrid. She is the director of a cadet residence and the central figure in the story. She is caught in a conflict between two residents: Adrian, who is preparing to enter the Spanish Army, and Khalil, a Syrian refugee training to enter drama school.
Eve and Adam
Little Darlings
Tr*mp got elected – again, the environment is fucked and capitalism rules. But this show isn’t about that – Eve and Adam explores a modern day woman, obsessed with enemies to lovers, seeking honour as a way to get back with her ex and wanting to right the wrongs of the world, in a desperate attempt to change the world by going back to the very beginning... to make Adam eat the Apple instead of Eve.
exit strategy's How to Win a Gameshow
exit strategy
Gameshow opens to find Graham alone at a table. Graham has been the star of a popular gameshow for 324 days. At least that’s what they tell him. The audience helps Graham play an increasingly sinister-seeming game, where the tasks are invasive, the stakes mysteriously high and the audience increasingly implicated. Part performance art, part improv show, part ethics inquiry, this is ultimately an exploration of our capacities for cruelty and complicity under observation, our impulses as a group and as individuals, and of our assumed passivity as observers in theatrical space.
Fight or Flight
Noe Productions
Fight or Flight is a one-act play with two alternate endings that follows the story of two trans men who find and lose love for one another. Showcasing 14 scenes in a non-linear timeline, Fight or Flight is sure to keep the audience on their toes! With a twist ending, the audience chooses the characters' fate. The jury are aware it is life or death.
Film Noir Frog
On The Fly Theatre
Film Noir Frog, gripped by a dirty sense of morality, continues their pledge to clean the crime-ridden city. Finding themselves the number one webbed suspect of a recent arson attack on a city landmark, The Bowling Alley, they seek to wash the city with a slippery, slimy hard truth. With the whole of the morally ambiguous police force and their local pub against them, what secrets will they find amongst the rubble? How many prop cigarettes will they get through? Will Martha ever leave them alone? No, she won't. Screw Martha.
Follow Me
The Dog Ate My Theatre Company and New Celts Productions
'I know that life won’t break me, when I come to call, she won’t forsake me – I’m loving Angel instead...' Some say you should never meet your heroes, but four die-hard superfans are about to get closer than ever to theirs. Angel is a global sensation: chart-topper, social media goddess, the voice of a generation. She’s perfection. She’s family. She’s fantasy. Tonight, after the final show of her tour, dreams are coming true backstage. But in a world built on likes and curated connection, how real is love and fame? And who’s truly following who?
Fool's Gold
University Of York Drama Society
It’s just a regular day in the Last Chance saloon, that is until foul mouthed regular Sam finds a bag of gold stashed away by the barkeep. The other patrons join in on the action, arguing over who is most deserving of the gold and what it should be spent on. They are quickly interrupted, however, by the most fearsome bandit in the west, and the true owner of the gold, intent on reclaiming his property by any means necessary... A farcical caper about cowboys, dynamite, and property damage.
Fool’s Gold
Agents of Chaos Theatre Company
Ettie Best Comedy in a Fringe Venue nominee – here lies a dark comedy about a long underrepresented group: grave robbers (covert-excavators). A twisting show which keeps you guessing and 'balances grotesque dark depths with pure, ridiculous joy' **** (Everything-Theatre.co.uk). Grave-robbing can be a sticky business, so whack on your marigolds and observe this unhinged odyssey with marathon runners, ghosts and… Take That? 'The best show about grave robbers I’ve ever seen!' **** (PinkPrinceTheatre.com). One more dig and David can leave the game, but has he already dug his own grave?
Gaudí: God's Architect
AGAP Theatre
Genius? Madman? Saint? The story of Antoni Gaudí, internationally renowned visionary architect responsible for Barcelona's towering Sagrada Familia. The sell-out 2024 Fringe show written and directed by Stephen Callaghan returns with a revised version marking the centenary of Gaudi's death. As all eyes turn towards Barcelona for the completion of Gaudi's masterpiece and the case opens for Gaudi's canonisation, Callaghan heads a cast of three bringing to life the powerful and enigmatic events and characters surrounding God's Architect. ‘Acting is strong throughout... engrossing’ (AllEdinburghTheatre.com). 'Superb writing' (Derek Awards). 'Sincere storytelling' (BroadwayBaby.com). 'Fun and educational' (Scotsman).
Gloves
GlovesUK
A one-act psychological dark comedy about a Scottish sociopath named William, who believes his sole purpose in life is to fix the brokenness of the world person by person. We follow his dysfunctional life through his eyes, and we realise very quickly his tendencies, although wanting to be good, only end up creating more damage than fixing it. Through his picky nature we meet his next victim who ends up winning the game William didn’t even know he’d started, but in doing so, ruins her own life.
God Complex
Bristol Spotlights
Five Olympian Gods discover that no one believes in them anymore. As they grapple with existential dread, dysfunctional relationships and much-needed family therapy, the almighty deities reveal just how human they really are. Bridging 2000s nostalgia and Greek mythology, this sit-com style show confirms that sleeping with your flatmates is messy – especially when they’re family. Written and directed by the exuberant radio host Felix Glanville and ‘dazzling’ (PlaysInternational.org.uk) comedy-actor Leah Pollard, ‘God Complex’ playfully reimagines iconic mythological characters as morally dubious everymen.
Grandma's Shop
Julie Flower
Clothes, cats and counterculture. Sheffield, 1989. Loveable, eccentric septuagenarian, Hilda, has run a second-hand clothes shop for decades. The profits feed 30 stray cats. One day, a journalist from The Guardian walks in... Hilda's granddaughter, Julie Flower, returns with her 5-star Fringe 2024 hit! A solo, multi-character show about family history subverting expectations. Step inside Grandma's shop, a nostalgic world of old carrier bags, pools coupons and vintage clothes... presided over by an unlikely punk icon. ***** (ThreeWeeks). **** (List). 'You will leave bathed in the warm glow of humanity at its best' **** (TheEdinburghReporter.co.uk).
Grief Encounters
Imogen Defriez
The last train of the day to France, 11:54pm. Three siblings embark on an emergency journey from London to the south of France, to be with their dad in hospital, experiencing some bizarre moments and encounters en route. This fast-paced, silly, tender one woman show will leave you wanting to tell everyone in your life you love them. We don't have long on this earth, let's make it count.
Halfway Home
Deliverance Theatre
Halfway Home follows the rippling effects of addiction and confronting mistakes of a past life. Davie is just out of prison and cooped up with his policeman-hopeful brother, Freddie. Caught in the middle is Laura, an overworked nurse in an underfunded NHS, who finds herself at wits end with both of them. Perspectives collide on treatment and attitudes, in the backdrop of austerity-hit Scotland, providing a bold, relatable story of a broken family trying to mend themselves.
Having a Baby - The Sh!t They Don’t Tell You in Books
Lou Cox
The journey to motherhood is fraught with the most painful and awkward moments for all women. This comedic and brutally honest one woman show takes the audience on an emotional and at times highly entertaining rollercoaster. From morning sickness to hypnobirthing classes to labour, you won’t find this stuff in the pregnancy books! No holds barred; get ready for a whirlwind of witty anecdotes and graphic storytelling with an ending no mother could ever imagine.
Henry V
Blue Orange Arts
A single actor takes the field in this electrifying retelling of Shakespeare’s Henry V, embodying kings, comrades and enemies alike. With nothing but language, imagination and sheer force of performance, the epic story of power, war and responsibility is distilled to its beating heart. Thrones rise and fall, battles roar and doubts whisper in the shadows as one man channels the voices of an entire world. Intimate yet monumental, Ben Mills-Wood’s interpretation of Henry V strips away spectacle to reveal the cost of leadership, the thrill of rhetoric and the fragile humanity behind a legendary king.
Homunculus
ECC
Art is the best revenge. The Off-Off-Broadway camp cult sell-out hit makes landfall in Edinburgh at last! It’s their umpteenth break-up, but this time feels different to artist and self-styled sorceress Mimi. The obvious solution? Sculpt an idol of her ex during a thunderstorm and top it off with the foulest love-hate potion alchemy can brew! An 'impish word-drunk play' giving 'big laughs and sharp plot turns with confidence' (Rob Weinert-Kendt, American Theatre Magazine), Homunculus is a classic farce in modern verse, a romance for the ages, an explosion of creativity and a monstrously good time.
Houdini Speaks to the Living
The Hidden Room Theatre
The year is 1924. Harry Houdini is at the peak of his fame, touring the country with performance-lectures that expose fraudulent mediums and challenge the growing Spiritualist movement. At the same moment, his friend (and eventual adversary) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is lecturing in passionate defense of Spiritualism, convinced it represents a profound philosophical and moral evolution for humanity. Watch these two legends battle out the true nature of magic, science and faith through a historically based, largely verbatim play from writer-director Beth Burns and writer-magician Patrick Terry.
How To Feel Feelings
great thing going
Five supporters of a fallen authoritarian regime are sentenced to group therapy to help them get in touch with their feelings and find out why they were, like... so into fascism. Cuz, weird, right? Like, we got the big baddies, no worries. But what about the rest of them? Like, all those, maybe, not-so-innocent bystanders? This semi-devised dark comedy from Berlin-based theatre collective great thing going proposes the perfect, ultimate, most supreme solution: therapize them into repenting.
How to Write a Novel (or Not)
Greyhound Indigo Productions
A woman of a certain age is forced to trace the unruly manuscript of her life when a hijacking shatters the ordinary. Life snaps, twists, tumbles. Fear, fury, faith collide. Old choices that sting yet refuse burial. Her fierce devotion to animals becomes refuge and rebellion, a way of loving without condition. Like a ghost walk through the Eternal City’s layered past, memory flickers as she confronts truths avoided about survival, reinvention and resilience. Gathering fragments of experience, she discovers that the hardest story to write is the one that begins again.
I Killed My Father
Irving Diptera
'This is the story of how I killed my father. Mostly.' Between demeaning beer auditions and his mother’s relentless calls, Irving performs a bitingly funny, "mostly true" autopsy on his own masculinity. From the salt-aired trauma of Veracruz to the grit of Mexico City, he dissects a paternal lineage of absentee biological fathers and the ghosts of men who only knew how to leave. A visceral, darkly comedic excavation of what we inherit, what we kill, and the high cost of a graceful exit.
I Was Never Here
Leo Lion
This sleeper agent is on his most important mission ever. Only problem – he has no idea what it is. From the clown/game show creators of last year's Edinburgh Fringe hit Help Me!!!! (an interactive mime séance) comes I Was Never Here: a highly interactive, gonzo spy thriller featuring an overzealous secret agent searching for activation phrases which will help him regain sections of his memory. Play along, decode cyphers, answer phones and most importantly remember – you never saw any of this.
If Aliens Attack, I'd Die First
Imperial College Dramatic Society
Jane is sensible, Sam is annoying, Harry is tired and Benji might be in love with an alien. A new sci-fi comedy following a group of friends as a meteorite lands in the local playground, kicking off an alien invasion. Set in their living room, the friends start to panic as more information is revealed to them about their impending doom, and accusations of secretly being Aliens start to fly about. It's a fast-paced, manic exploration of group dynamics and desperation – with a bit of ABBA added for good measure.
In Her Hand
Surgeons Hall Museum
In Her Hand draws on real journals and letters from women serving with the Scottish Women’s Hospitals in the First World War. This defiant, darkly witty play follows an unlikely friendship forged through service on the Balkan front. Through the pages of Francis’s journal, an unlikely friendship sparks amid chaos. Thrown together, two very different women confront catastrophic injuries, scarce supplies and constant danger. Armed with quick thinking, gallows humour and fierce determination, they forge a bond strong enough to survive the harshest conditions. Go Home and Sit Still? Aye Right! Ticket includes Surgeons’ Hall Museum entry.
In the Cold Light
George Grant
The gravestones of two friends pull a journalist into an investigation he hopes will bury the past. Instead, it unearths the harsh reality of staying silent, confronting him with the one story he refused to tell. Following his five-star run in 2025, Scottish playwright George Grant returns with this powerful meditation on identity and grief. Making it’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut, In the Cold Light is a sharp, funny and quietly devastating exploration of how we mourn – and what we leave unsaid.
Inside Voices
Original Cast of Inside Voices
Alex, a young man navigates first love, friendships and the quiet pressure of growing up. At school, between lessons and late-night messages, he tries to balance who he is with who he feels he should be. As relationships shift, the audience is drawn inside his private world, where every word is rehearsed, every silence is loud and what he thinks rarely matches what he says. While classmates see an ordinary student stumbling through young love, we witness his doubts, his hopes and the quiet struggle to understand himself.
INTRUSIVE
INTRUSIVE Show
INTRUSIVE is a psychologically charged drama about anxiety, intrusive thoughts, and the weight of unspoken experiences. Set during a seemingly ordinary night with friends, the story follows Jess as her inner world begins to overwhelm reality. Blurring the line between memory and imagination, the play invites audiences to experience the unsettling intensity of a mind struggling for control. Honest, intimate, and unsettling, INTRUSIVE offers a raw exploration of mental health and trauma.
Invasion (JoMarZeb)
Philippine Theatre UK
Invasion, a bold multimedia spectacle from Philippine Theatre UK’s 23rd anniversary season, leaps across time – from the tense streets of 1940s Manila to the quiet corners of modern-day Oxford. Three mischievous spirits, a teacher, a lawyer and a nun crash into the present, pulling audiences into a haunting yet humorous journey blending horror, drama, comedy, music, film and history. At its heart is a stark look at Imperial Japan’s wartime atrocities, including the silenced suffering of Comfort Women. Guided by award-winning writer-director Ramon C. Teñoso, JoMarZeb explores memory, faith, loyalty and the lingering shadows of colonial trauma.
Is This Your First Crime?
Long Face
A new comedy set within a police interrogation. When Tim is brought in for questioning, he knows he's in for the third degree. But nothing can prepare him for what the desperate detectives have in store! From cops undercover to rehashed routines, from skittish psychologists to a problematic polygraph, watch the insane interrogation unfold, as the police pull out every trick in the book to get Tim's confession! Will they succeed? Or will Tim walk free? And are there more secrets at play? Who else has something they need to confess?
It Couldn't Get Worse; or, The Margarita Boat Tour Incident
Mariah Lee Squires, SW Jones and Riley Gene
Maggie is lost at sea after the Margarita Boat Tour Incident. Who even knew Edinburgh had one of those? As a storm closes in, her mother Judy and her fiancée Claire find themselves locked inside a lighthouse with only each other's opposing ideologies. Forced into an uneasy alliance, the pair desperately search for the person who ties it all together. It couldn’t get worse. Probably.
It Happened on a Tuesday
CTRL-ALT Productions
Six employees. An ordinary Tuesday in the office. One of them stole £60,000. To solve the mystery, the boss asks each of his employees to walk him through their day, leading to absurd recreations and ridiculous revelations. It Happened on a Tuesday is a new comedy play that merges the workplace sitcom with a whodunnit mystery, in the structure of Rashomon. In a world where everyone believes their own version of the truth, how can we ever be objective?
It's a Mystery!
Tim Benzie
For those who have ever wondered ‘whodunnit’ and why... Detective Tim Benzie examines the clues that drew him to the genre as a child – from Scooby Doo to Encylopedia Brown, to gobbling up the entire works of Agatha Christie as a teenager. Along the way he draws draws connections between obsessions with detective films the the TV series Murder, She Wrote.
It’s Always Sunny on Olympus
Mind Yer Head Theatre and New Celts Productions
The Olympians have won the war with the Titans. The cosmos is theirs. Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hermes and Athena find themselves in the uncomfortable position of organising everything. Roles must be chosen, leaders must be appointed, worlds must be created and cared for – this is not what they signed up for. Egos clash, relationships are stretched thin, and the Earth is in peril from day one. The universe might be doomed before it’s even begun.
Jacuzzi by Twilight
The Optimiserables
A grizzled private investigator partners with a dewy-eyed homicide detective to solve the mysterious murder of a journalist that dug too deep. Together, they work to outmanoeuvre the crooked cops and scheming politicians that deal in the shadows of Metroville. But will they finish the case before the case finishes them?
January 6th The Musical
Kiely Sugayan and Jessie Ballard
When violent insurrectionists stormed the United States Capitol on 6th January 2021, they ruined a birthday forever. Kiely and Jessie are best friends who share the same birthday and the same big dreams of theatrical stardom. On the fateful day of the insurrection, their birthday goes from bad to worse when allegations emerge of their involvement in the attempted coup. Faced with their special day going down in infamy and spending the rest of their lives in prison, can Kiely and Jessie sing and dance their way to innocence?
Jekyll and Hyde
Muchmuchmore Theatre
Everyone has another face they hide behind... A radical re-imagining of Stevenson’s classic tale, where Victorian morality and modern feminist issues collide. This adaptation begins with Dr Jekyll’s wife, Harriet, continuing his work and exploring the duality of the soul – but her transformation is not all it seems. With powerful links between past and present, this gripping ensemble piece explores the timely question of how social change can be won, and at what cost. And crucially, do we all have a Hyde inside us?
Jessies
A Bunch of Jessies Ltd
Winner of the Creative Arts Award at the Proud Scotland Awards 2025, this powerful new play follows three unforgettable drag queens – The Jessies – and the staff of the infamous Jessie’s Bar in Scotland. Spanning from 1980 to 1995, the story dives into the highs and lows of queer life during a time of upheaval, hope and hard-won joy. Set against the backdrop of a changing world, this hilarious and deeply moving play is a celebration of resilience, love and the enduring power of community.
John Wayne Gacy: The Killer Clown, Born Evil?
No Frills Theatre Company
Gacy was one of the most prolific serial killers in US history. Between 1972 and 1978 in Chicago, he was responsible for the rape, torture and murder of at least 33 innocent teenage boys and young men. He became known as the Killer Clown due to his public performances as a clown prior to his crimes. In this theatrical piece, his story is told from his own perspective in chilling, vivid and unrelenting detail. This production is in memory of the 33 who died at the hands of a 'devil in disguise'.
JOSIAH
Thousand Miles of Bricks Productions
Based on the autobiography of Josiah Henson. Born into slavery in Maryland, enduring 41 years of unimaginable brutality and persecution before escaping to Canada. The play dramatises his unwavering resilience, determination and faith; the indomitable spirit which led him to become a respected leader, minister and teacher. His story inspired Harriet Beecher Stowe to create Uncle Tom in the seminal novel of the 19th Century – Uncle Tom’s Cabin. This is a story that matters today in a time when histories are being erased and challenged. It is a compelling true Canadian story of triumph over adversity.
Kitty Daddy
JMTC Theatre
How an unexpected cat turned award-winning monologist Bob Brader's life upside down. After weeks of hissing and growling from under Bob’s bed, his brand-new surprise feline, Jade, is determined to be alone, inspiring Bob to confront his own desire for isolation. A funny and touching examination of rage, love and healing. And how one impurrfect kitty can change everything. 'Storytelling gold!' (TheatreInLondon.com). 'Brader keeps the audience mesmerized with his dark comic relief!' ***** (Uptown Magazine). 'A must-see performance that will make you laugh, cry and just feel good' ****½ (London Free Press).
La Musicca von Scene / Sonata
Thor Theatre Guliz Portakaloglu
Turkish-Norwegian theatre-maker Guliz Portakaloglu travels to Edinburgh with her new show. It is a solo theatre performance where a former actress creates a theatre play through improvisation, using objects found on stage to reflect on love, home, and music, as emotions awaken through sounds and theatrical remnants.
Launa
Tidal Theatre
After the loss of her daughter, young mother Edna must navigate the shifting terrain of grief as memory begins to consume her present. Movement, music, dialogue, puppetry and shadow-play converge in this visually arresting production. Within the cluttered familiarity of her apartment, grief erupts amidst the mundane like the sudden chorus of a song: supermarket flowers, intrusive cold calls and the apparition of Launa herself. This is a world in which the echo of childhood imagination and devastating loss co-exist, asking whether we have to let go of the past to remain present with the living?
Lawrence of Arabia and ME
Eamonn Gearon
Hollywood needed a cast of thousands, David Lean, and won seven Oscars. Eamonn Gearon had a camel called Osama. This Oxford-trained historian spent decades in the Middle East – living with Bedu, risking his neck and uncovering secrets Britain buried with Lawrence. History and comedy collide; a sharper image emerges. Neither villain nor hero, but something more interesting. What was promised? What was broken? What would Lawrence make of Peter O’Toole’s performance? With the wit of a raconteur and authority of a scholar, Gearon reveals man, myth, movie... plus camels.
Lipstick
Angelina Nichols
A post-apocalyptic tale of beauty, misogyny and bisexual baggage. Amidst societal collapse, Mila and Sam find comfort in their close friendship and budding attraction. It seems possible that the end of the old world could be the beginning of something better. All that changes when a strange man arrives. Joe is desperate for Mila’s companionship, and in exchange he can give her an artefact of her former life: a lipstick. As tensions among the three rise, Mila finds herself caught between Sam’s hopes of a better future and Joe’s offer of the safety of male approval.
Living the Dream
Steel Antler Theatre and New Celts Productions
After a failed attempt to get Oasis tickets, a group of friends meet for another night in the pub. Once discovering The Hardest Geezer’s marathon, the group decide to walk the Fife Coastal Path hoping to achieve something in their lives. Will this adventure be enough to break their midlife crisis, or have they bitten off more than they can chew? Living the Dream is a Scottish coming of age comedy drama, exploring mental health, friendship and a love of the Scottish Coast.
Long Story Short
New Stagers
Four fast-paced comedies about love, life, murder and... houseplants. From dating disasters to domestic dramas and a good old-fashioned whodunit. Two Sides: a couple replay their break up, two memories, two truths, both are right obviously. Hello Plant: a woman finds unlikely relationship advice from her houseplant. I Wrote A Play: a mum unveils her "masterpiece" with an unexpected twist. And, award-winning whodunit, 15 Minutes To Solve a Murder: a period farce where everyone is desperate to solve Tubby's murder. Four Plays. Plenty of laughs.
Lysistrata
Basement Theatrics
Imagine 20 years of war. A war in Ancient Greece, between Sparta and Athens. Now picture Lysistrata, an ordinary Athenian woman who says, 'Enough war! We women will end this war!' But how? 'By going on a sex strike! Are you with me?' Aristophanes' comedy Lysistrata gets an explosive, modern reimagining through protest, politics and power.
Macbeth: Blood and Bluegrass
The Barden Party
Critically acclaimed, highly original adaptation of the Bard’s dark tale. Tragic yet uplifting, tender, raucous, poignant and high-energy. Set to a live score of Americana and bluegrass music, the multi-award-winning New Zealand troupe blend classic literature with a modern twist alongside original arrangements of Mumford and Sons, Dolly Parton and The SteelDrivers, creating an emotional, accessible, toe-tapping theatrical experience. Winner Best Theatre Award Adelaide Fringe 2025. Received multiple five-star reviews Edinburgh Fringe 2025, including: 'Fantastically gifted team' ***** (TheatreWeekly.com), 'Macbeth as you’ve never seen it before' ***** (MusicalTheatreReview.com), 'Bravo' ***** (TheWeeReview.com).
Macbeth’s Midsummer Night’s Dream
Studio 919 DC
This isn't the Macbeth you know; he might be your neighbour. A head-on collision between classical tragedy and modern absurdity. Two actors, six roles. Shakespeare’s tragedy mutates into a contemporary existential crisis: a tyrant haunted by a donkey-ghost, love as a hallucination, and life as the cost of "quality living". Fusing hip hop rhythms, meta-theatrical deconstruction and surreal visuals, the play asks: when "opportunity" knocks, can you truly refuse? A 50-minute descent into high-energy madness where the crown is lost, but the nightmare grows more cunning. This isn't an adaptation; it’s a mutation. Radical, dangerous, unmissable.
Milkdrunk
Cathleen O'Malley
Crackling with humour and vulnerability, writer-performer Cathleen O'Malley plunges headfirst and tit-deep into childbirth, milk and what it takes to be a nursing mammal in a modern world. 'A hilarious one-woman hurricane of a show' (RocCityMag.com). 'Brilliant' ****½ (AllAboutSOLO.com, Critics' Choice).
Mind Full
Mon Espoir
How do you know what is reality and what is not? Mind Full: new writing by Lewis Teckkam. This surreal, Brechtian and Beckett-esque play combines quirky humour with existential thoughtfulness. Conscience, Memory, Imagination and Intrusive Thoughts explore what it means to live in a body that needs help with everything. Except thinking. Entertaining, provocative and darkly funny, Mind Full examines society, disability, politics, and the arts. It questions our individual and collective responsibilities and hopes to inspire audiences to imagine real change. For the better.
Mind The Gap Year
Wabi-Sabi Productions
Four teenagers. Twelve months. Endless possibilities. Four teenagers are ready for a taste of the real world before they embark on... whatever comes next. As they plan their adventures and start to figure out who they’ll be, a frightening realisation hits: a gap year can’t last forever. There’s so much to do and only so much time. Will they rise to the challenge and forge an iconic legacy, or crumble and question everything? Only time will tell... Filled with laughs, live music and a touch of pathos, you can't miss it.
Mistakes Were Made: Shiver Me Timbers!
Bottoms Up Theatre
Three heroes. One dungeon. No dragons. They’re back, and this time they’re on a boat! Bottoms Up Theatre returns with Mistakes Were Made: Shiver Me Timbers! When the crew’s treasure hunt takes an unexpected turn, it’ll take all their daring to set sail... and to survive your dice rolls. You shape the action from the comfort of your seat in this exhilarating and hilarious show! This is Mistakes Were Made’s third outing at the Edinburgh Fringe and we’re back once again at Surgeon’s Hall. Will this magical tabletop improv show sell out yet again?!
More Myself Than I Am
Talking Shadows Theatre
A vivid exploration of how three sheltered young women from a remote Yorkshire parsonage created some of the most raw, violent and passionate literary works of all time. Charlotte: the ambitious dreamer. Emily: the intense loner. Anne: the gentle, would-be social reformer. And their brother Branwell: the brilliant "lost" boy whose disappointments served only to highlight the extraordinary success of his sisters. 'Gripping and unforgettable' **** (BroadwayBaby.com). 'A cut above' **** (TheWeeReview.com).
Mrs Macbeth
Susanna Hamnett
If you hear everything and say nothing, does that make you complicit? From multi award-winning writer and performer Susanna Hamnett (Nearly Lear, Hotel Elsinore), Mrs Macbeth is a new solo show exploring the complexities of integrity in dark times. Set in the aftermath of Macbeth's fascist rule, explanations are being demanded from those closest to the murderous couple, including Margaret, Lady Macbeth's gentlewoman, who happens to share her last name. Tragic, funny, and unsettling, Mrs Macbeth is presented here in a 50 minute version. 'A virtuosic performer' (New York Times).
Mummy’s Dead, Long Live Mummy!
Koël Purie Rinchet Mic and Couch Entertainment Ltd
Raw, chaotic, heartbreaking; much like motherhood. God couldn't be everywhere, so he created mothers. Of course, he could be everywhere, he's God, he chose not to be, he knew mothers have the hardest job. This dark comedy from Paris dramatizes the relentless nature of motherhood by following the often ridiculous but sometimes moving journey of four diverse mothers. The play opens as each one is dealing with a 'die or kill' moment of mothering. The acting is compelling, the writing is painfully funny and, at times, painfully painful. It'll change your perspective.
Night of the Fox
Aquila Youth Theatre
Attie can’t stop dreaming of a fox-masked truth-teller who lives deep in the woods, a mysterious figure said to reveal who you really are. When Attie dares to summon him, he vanishes. As his friends struggle with a sudden social media ban, they follow him into the forest, hoping to bring him home. But the deeper they go, the more they’re forced to face painful truths. In a place where every truth must be spoken aloud, saving Attie may come at a cost. Will they risk revealing their true selves or lose their friend forever?
Nocturnal Is The New Sexy
By Esme Sharpington
A darkly comic, movement-led play about love working against the clock. When NHS call-handler Alice is swapped onto night shifts, her relationship with nine-to-five Ben begins to unravel. Using an inventive ensemble and striking physicality, the show explores exhaustion, intimacy and working whilst the world sleeps. Fast, funny and painfully human, this absurdist love story asks whether being loved means being seen and what happens when you disappear in plain sight. Perfect for afternoon audiences, Fringe romantics and anyone who has ever felt invisible at work or in love. Overnight.
Nude
Bacchanalia
'No, but how funny would it be though? Like, he turns up, and it’s just me – with my tits out. His model student.' Clara has a plan. It involves a life drawing class, her favourite lecturer and stripping naked in front of a room full of strangers. What could go wrong? A lot, it turns out. Funny and devastating, Nude is a solo play about desire, fantasy and the seductive idea that being seen is the same as being empowered.
O Brave New World, That Has Such People In’t!
Mulberry Theatre Company
The sky, it seems, would pour down stinking pitch... and for Maya the rain wouldn’t stop coming. Her parents are away, tending to her sibling in hospital, leaving Maya in a house that doesn’t feel like home. Her saving grace is a garage of junk left by the previous owners. With the help of her cat, she fetches stories from across town, bringing them to life. But when the town floods, she is forced to step into the real world and find her place amongst the community. Fringe First winners return.
One House on Brick Lane
Mulberry Theatre Company
From the Fringe First winning Mulberry Theatre Company, One House on Brick Lane is an original play rooted in East London. Set in a single house, centuries collide with the voices of past and present. In 1985, a Bangladeshi family faces eviction amid protests. Through stories told by Huguenot weavers of anti-fascist resistance, migration and community struggle, the house reveals its memories. Drawing on oral histories and lived experience, this powerful production asks who gets to belong when home is under threat. Created by young East London voices, it celebrates resilience, humour and collective hope.
One More Time
Angel Chan
A paper boat becomes the path through which an elderly woman revisits the regrets she left unresolved. Wrapped in humour and heartbreak, she finally comes to terms with her past.
Operation Blank
George Grant
Someone has dropped an atom bomb on Copenhagen! With all-out war looming, one junior minister in the British Government must somehow stimulate a response from his hopeless superiors. There’s just one thing standing in his way: Microsoft Teams. Welcome to Operation Blank, the subversive dark comedy debut from up-and-coming Scottish writer, George Grant. Delve into this biting critique of modern online working, that weaves laugh-out-loud humour to themes of unfulfillment and existential dread. It’s the show where nothing happens, and nothing has ever been more entertaining. Leading Light Prize nominee, Scottish Theatre Awards on the Fringe 2025.
Operation Market Garden
Inspired Theatre
A powerful new piece of verbatim theatre, inspired by the wartime diary of Welsh paratrooper Neville Neads, captured during the 1944 operation of the same name. Offering a raw, personal perspective on war, identity and survival as a prisoner of war, the show centres the real testimony of the often-overlooked foot soldier. This is a story of resilience and remembrance, told from the ground up. Drawn directly from Neads’ own diary and letters to his fiancée, the production traces his experience and that of his comrades during almost a year in captivity.
Padlocked!
Zinc Simian
Guy prepares himself for a bondage session with his Grindr hook-up, the alluring but elusive Fabio. Once the chains are on, there’s no escape – certainly not from Guy’s problems. As the minutes tick by, Guy must face a reckoning with all the responsibilities of his life. It’s Pillion without motorbikes; Gerald’s Game without Gerald; Locke with locks! Revealing, exposing comedy drama. Sex positive, life negative. Definitely adults only.
Pajama Talks
Ad Astra Productions
Pajama Talks is a coming-of-age story following childhood best friends Abby and Nina as they relive memories of their sleepovers. Together they are forced to confront their friendship, their girlhood and their personal identity. The show examines the joys and hardships of growing up and grief in all forms, asking the question: Are the people we’ve loved and lost still with us? A play about platonic love, figuring out life and existential conversations in the middle of the night.
Paris in a Jazz Age: The Memoirs of Eloise Defleur
The Hot Jazz Vagabonds
Step into a Parisian cafe – relive the music, romance and glamour of the Jazz Age through the eyes of chanteuse Eloise DeFleur and her talented band. Featuring vintage swing, evocative chanson and timeless classics performed live, this stylish cabaret transports audiences to the smoky clubs of 1930s Paris and beyond. 'As Eloise, Airlie Scott sparkles like a coupe of champagne at one of Gatsby’s shindigs' (GetYourCoatsOn.com). The five-star reviewed show blends storytelling, music and charm.
Parkies
Honey Badger Productions
Porn star wannabe, retired accountant, Croatian student on a gap year, Christian proselytizer and a drag queen in training. We all live and work together in a remote corner of one of America’s most beautiful national parks. Parkies is a train wreck of humour, mischief and intrigue. Come take a look at what happens when this land of misfit toys collides with greedy corporate America and the National Park Service.
Persona
Namesake Theatre
Deliciously disturbing. Award-winning, sold out LAMDA graduate company Namesake Theatre returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with their new play Persona, a gripping, darkly comic and cathartically unsettling reunion. Four boarding-school alumni gather in a secluded country house to divide a dead friend’s trust, but the night quickly begins to unravel. Insults are flung, compliments concealed and civility begins to fracture under the weight of social grace pushed to its breaking point. By turns hilarious and hellish, Persona peels back the curtain on the masks we wear to survive, and asks what, if anything, lies beneath.
Pierrepoint: The People's Hangman
No Frills Theatre Company
Albert Pierrepoint was an English hangman who executed an estimated 435 people in a 25-year career with HMP Prisons between the 1930s and 1950s. During his tenure, he was responsible for the executions of several high-profile murderers including the Acid Bath Killer – John Haigh, and Ruth Ellis – the last woman to be hung in England. Another was the case of one John Reginald Christie of 10 Rillington Place infamy. Through the executioner's eyes, this theatrical production dissects and scrutinises Christie's crimes and examines how he came to be on the end of a rope.
Pigeon Syndrome
Broadly Speaking Productions
When a hapless husband accidentally steps on a bee that his wife has been trying to save, it seems that their marriage really has hit rock bottom. But when he inadvertently gets back into her good books by saving an injured pigeon that's flown into the window, he finally believes he's found a way to restore their former passion for each other. An absurdist comedy, with a dash of dark humour and questionable puppetry, that explores the fundamentals of relationships.
Portraits of Americana
APU Theater Arts
Inspired by iconic American portraits, this devised performance invites audiences into the imagined inner lives of contemporary youth. Young Los Angeles artists transform still images into raw, funny and deeply personal monologues – each a confession, a protest, or a dream. What begins as art on a wall becomes living testimony, capturing the contradictions, urgency, and fragile hope of a generation coming of age in America today. By giving voice to those often unseen, the piece reframes Americana through honesty, vulnerability and wit. This 45-minute ensemble work is intimate, unfiltered and unapologetically human.
Putting the Ass in Brass
Four Headed Dragon
Soap suds, brass bands and a 1970s sexual awakening. A cornet-playing youth cheerfully derailed by bum notes, feisty women and very questionable choices. From analogue grime to digital chaos, I've stumbled, squeaked and occasionally hit the right note, uncovering embarrassing truths and buried stories along the way. This one-man romp is a noisy, nostalgic revelation of identity and heritage from bigotry to the digital age. Sharp, cheeky and utterly unpolished, it's a blast through the past with all the wrong notes, laughs and just enough courage to blow me right out of the closet.
Reaching The C
Ursula Leveaux
A show that explores the way music can be woven through life – using personal experience, a bassoon and a loop pedal. It is a story about living and learning, unexpected paths and places, and about finding your way through. Written and performed by Ursula Leveaux. Original script development and direction by Rosemary Harris. A work-in-progress version of this show was first performed at Open Space at Theatre by the Lake in Keswick in April 2024.
Revelation
Los Angeles Theatre Initiative
The four horsemen gather at Mama Ruby’s Restaurant in Nowhere, North Carolina for their annual apocalypse conference, convinced that this is the year that the world will finally crash and burn. Unfortunately for them, humanity seems to have other plans. Created by an ensemble of students from Ithaca College, this world premiere explores humanity’s stubborn dedication to doing good even when the forces (or the horses) that be are trying as hard as they can to make it impossible. Will civilisation finally crumble, or will the horsemen's plans be halted by the power of human connection?
Robert Louis Stevenson: The Body Snatcher
Blue Orange Arts
A chilling tale of greed, guilt and the macabre, The Body Snatcher exposes one of the darkest truths in history – the grisly pursuits of the so-called Resurrection Men. When medical student Fettes is recruited to assist the enigmatic scholar Wolfe Macfarlane, a chilling chain of events is set in motion. To what lengths will they go for the advancement of medical knowledge? This stunning adaptation brings to the stage Stevenson’s masterfully weaved story of suspense and morality – exploring the dark depths of human ambition and its terrifying consequences.
Rockbeth
More The Merrier
After a sold-out, head-banging debut, Rockbeth returns to the Fringe: louder, darker, and even more deliriously doomed. A prophecy. A power-hungry frontman. A band teetering between glorious world domination and total backstage collapse. When ambition collides with reverb and blood-red stage lights, the fallout is spectacular. Featuring classic rock anthems from AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Santana, and The Sex Pistols, this is Shakespeare with riffs, fate with fuzz pedals, and murder most metal. Expect shredded guitar solos, unhinged visions, thunderous drums and tragedy at full volume. Part live gig, part Shakespearean meltdown... all killer, no mercy.
Romeo and I
ToyHorse Theatre
A newly devised piece focusing on the relationship between human beings and artificial intelligence. The performance follows a politician named Jane, whose life crumbles when she becomes the victim of deepfaked porn. This causes Jane to isolate herself from the world, taking comfort in an AI chatbot – who she affectionately names Romeo. The performance focuses on the progression of their relationship as it takes on a more romantic nature, and confronts the risk of replacing human connection with AI. Eventually Jane is forced to chose between her real life and her new, idealised virtual life.
Room 1219
Keystone Theatricals
Hotel St Francis, San Francisco, September 1921. The principal players – silent movie star Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle, actress Virginia Rappe and rabble-rouser Maude Delmont. Room 1219 – a room of secrets. Roscoe Arbuckle – the man who turned slapstick into gold – is at the top of his profession; but a charge of murder sees his world come crashing down. With his future career in tatters, Arbuckle becomes Hollywood’s first fall guy! This is Roscoe Arbuckle’s story – his rise to fame and his shameful downfall at the hands of the public, the press and Hollywood.
Shadows, Mirrors, Echoes
Badminton School
In seeking to explore how social media defines our reality, this play reimagines the story of Narcissus and Echo for the social media age. Weaving in Plato's allegory of the cave, we ask questions of the nature of the reality we glimpse through the screens of our phones. At what point does reflection become distortion and what is left behind as a digital echo once the screen has been turned off? How easily does the illusion of reality we see projected towards us consume and devour us – are we willing participants or slaves to the algorithm?
Shakespeare's Dead Dames
Academy of Expressive Arts (AEA Productions)
After their in-performance deaths, six female Shakespearean characters find themselves in a holding area until the play they are a character in gets revived by another Shakespeare company so that they can (re)live their tragedy over (and over) again.
Sherlock Holmes: The Speckled Band
Blue Orange Arts
A dying woman’s mysterious last words and a plea for help from her sister, lead Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson to a crumbling country house. How did a young woman die there with no obvious cause of death, and why does her sister believe she will be next? With a seemingly locked room mystery on his hands, Holmes must solve one of the darkest and most baffling cases of his career. Adapted from the short story by Arthur Conan Doyle, this is Sherlock Holmes at his finest!
Slim for Life
Thirsty Theatre
Welcome to Slim for Life. A friendly local slimming group... with a taste for the dramatic – and perhaps something darker. Newcomer(s) welcome. Results guaranteed. Side effects may include eternal damnation. When heartbroken Lily joins her first session, she expects weigh-ins, wellness jargon and forced positivity. Instead, she finds a devoted leader, eccentric regulars and an atmosphere feeling increasingly ritualistic. As mantras become chants and discipline turns to devotion, Lily must decide how far she’s willing to go for transformation. A sharp, fast-paced dark comedy with live-musical flair from the team behind The Caper Trail (Fringe 2023).
Soaked
La'al Marra Productions
High-flyers Imogen and Rich like wine. It drips into their lives as their love language and helps them to cope with their stressful lives. But after twenty years of excess, Imogen is wavering. She’s tired of waking up with unexplained bruises, tired of the mornings thick with shame, tired of being tired, but is it enough? When life has become so intertwined with the powerful nectar is it easy to break away, or do relationships start to unravel? Perhaps a wake-up call is all she needs? Filled with humour and drama, Soaked seeks to unnerve.
Spare Room
Blue Duck Theatre Company
Inspired by true events, the five-star smash hit play Spare Room follows Jodie as she takes the plunge and applies for a room in a house share. Confronted with the unexpected world of chunder charts, STIs and tangible testosterone, this wasn’t the fresh start Jodie imagined. Entirely set in a student living room, expect to be thoroughly immersed in the lives of these badly behaved twenty-somethings who’ll leave you cackling one minute and speechless the next, in this honest insight into masculinity, mental health and consent. Nominated for five Fringe theatre awards including Best New Play.
Take Care
Late Shift Theatre
Follow Lilian, Richard, Cassandra, Chloe, Aidan and William as they navigate New Year’s Day working in a care home for adults with learning disabilities. While the rest of the world celebrates, they remain on shift, taking care of those who rely on them. Amid outings, new arrivals and the unexpected chaos of the day, these carers face fresh starts, mounting responsibilities, and the quiet resilience required to keep going. Thoughtful, funny and profoundly human, Take Care offers an intimate glimpse into the realities of care work – and the people who show up, every single day.
Teen Spirit
Blackstar Productions
Noah is dead. He spends his afterlife in limbo, passing the time with failed 90s grunge rocker Elijah. When he starts seeing his living brother Alex, Noah finds himself torn between the worlds of the living and the dead. Finding out that his time in limbo might soon be up, he must tie up all the loose ends of both his life and after-life before he dies... again. Part coming-of-age comedy and part ghost story, Teen Spirit is a bittersweet comedy about grief, ghosts and grunge rock, complete with alternative fashion and a concert atmosphere.
The Body I Left in Susquehanna National Forest
Ur Mean Kathleen
POV: you and hubby are fresh off the altar, driving to your Niagara Falls honeymoon, sipping on your fave bevvy. It's the middle of the night and you haven't had service for miles, but it's okay – you're drunk off the bliss of married life! Or... trying to be? Out of nowhere, your drink is in your lap, and the car is in a ditch. Shit, what (or who) did he just hit??? A dark comedy about where the mind takes us when faced with the questions we never wanted to answer.
The Cut of Her Jib
Rubber Ear Productions
A wicked, gin-soaked dark comedy set on a stormy Edinburgh Hogmanay. Belinda Crabbs’ husband disappears, leaving behind police tape and three decades of marital fatigue. Enter Barbara, the cleaner with forensic instincts and impeccable timing. What follows is a razor-sharp dismantling of marriage, class and sex. Delivered with biting one-liners and delicious cruelty. Female rage detonates. Widowhood, it turns out, can be an upgrade and menopause absolute murder. From the multi award-winning writer of Sex, Chips & Ouzo, Glasgow Hard Tickets, Death of a Playboy, The Devil Wears Primark. 'A rip-roaring delight!' (Independent). 'Brilliant' (Scotsman).
The Extraordinary Life of a Rat Racer
Stage Leftovers
Ever wondered what the person next to you is thinking? Eva is just a regular rat racer. Single mother to a six-year-old boy, she is desperately trying to play the game – pay the bills, get him to football, survive mum’s comments. Her mind has different plans. On the way to an important job interview, Eva gets bombarded by a series of ever-worsening intrusive thoughts. So prepare for the uncomfortable and dive into Eva’s mind. Guided by Arthur, a sadistic, half-real figure, this two-hander surreal dark comedy will shift your concept of normality.
The Extraordinary Life of a Rat Racer
Stage Leftovers
Ever wondered what the person next to you is thinking? Eva is just a regular rat racer. Single mother to a six-year-old boy, she is desperately trying to play the game – pay the bills, get him to football, survive mum’s comments. Her mind has different plans. On the way to an important job interview, Eva gets bombarded by a series of ever-worsening intrusive thoughts. So prepare for the uncomfortable and dive into Eva’s mind. Guided by Arthur, a sadistic, half-real figure, this two-hander surreal dark comedy will shift your concept of normality.
The Great Shakespeare Showdown
Flying Solo! Presents
Draw your quills, sharpen your wits and polish your pickaxes for the Great Shakespeare Showdown! Cheer, hiss and boo with the silver miners of Leadville, Colorado through this highfalutin verbal duel as the acclaimed Shakespeareans and renowned thespians, England’s Sir Charles GoodKnight and America’s Mrs. Twelvetrees, do battle using Shakespeare’s own words to be crowned The Wild West’s Best Bard 1882.
The Hollowed Man 5.0
Grad LEUNG Wai Kit
Hollowed: a state of passive depletion. We earn and spend under the guise of normalcy, yet when balance falters, we slip into a hollowed existence. Society, wealth, space and freedom fade into the nihility of a mirror’s image. Pray to God? Who is the devil? Even the divine is emptied by human arrogance. Autonomy is our birthright. Let us strip away the layers of self and confront the demons hollowing us from within. As the void burns to ashes, we rise through the fire to reclaim our spiritual freedom.
The Horse That Jumped at the Moon
Bonnet and Belt Theatre Company
The Horse That Jumped at the Moon (formerly Boat Horse) is an exciting and funny musical romp through the days of the horse drawn boats on the English canals. John and Molly Swift (played by real canal boat people) tell the story of Tommy, the horse that hated the moon, and other tales, through original music, poetry and puppetry. It's fast paced, funny, poignant and highly entertaining. 'One of this year's sparkling gems. Singalong choruses, make sure you catch it' (SidmouthHerald.co.uk).
The Hunger
Black Bright Theatre Company
Megan and Deborah live alone on their farm in the Yorkshire Dales. What was once their home has now become their only refuge from an increasingly dangerous outside world. They have their farm, their food and each other. But when their fragile harmony is sent into a dark, downward spiral, the cost of survival is chillingly laid bare. Kitchen sink drama meets post-apocalyptic horror, The Hunger is about morality and motherhood at the end of the world.
The Hypochondriac
Rebrand Theatre and New Celts Productions
A satire comedy about a wealthy eccentric, Argan, with delusions of illness. His greed for answers has led to him arranging his daughter, Angelique, to marry a doctor to selfishly fuel this obsession, whilst she pines for her true love. Hilarity ensues as Argan's family and his witty maid attempt to guide him to see reason as he falls further into his hypochondria due to a capitalistic healthcare system feeding his fantasies. Will Argan break away from his wife? Will Angelique end up with her true love? Or will Argan succumb to his hallucinations?
The IT
Fuzed Theatre Company
"It’s growing. It’s heavy. It’s angry. And it’s about to come out." A teenage girl has something growing inside her. She doesn't know what it is but she knows it's not a baby. It expands. It has claws. Eventually, it takes over her entire body. No one must know about it. But she can't contain it forever. Sooner or later something's got to give... This surreal psychological thriller viscerally explores the teenage mental health crisis. Blending sharp social commentary with heightened storytelling, The IT captures the internal rage of a generation pushed to the brink.
The Italians in England
Action Theatre (Italy)
Early 1570s. Some years before Shakespeare. Commedia dell' Arte's combination of mask, comedy, wild plots, hilarious improvisation and women performing on stage is taking Europe by storm. Queen Elizabeth I insists on seeing the Italian players at her royal court. Following their success at the 2024 Fringe, the Italians are back in an adaptation of Flaminio Scala's canovaccio, The Jealous Old Man, featuring a ten-strong troupe, leather half masks, exquisite costumes, live music and four-part harmony. 'A rare chance to see such work done this well' **** (BritishTheatreGuide.info). ***** (GetYourCoatsOn.com).
The Joker and The Thief
Dylan and Will Theatre
1960s. Two comedians meet at the Fringe. They discuss...things.
The Knocking
Black Cat Theatre Company
Three sisters pack up their deceased mother's house during a thunderstorm. They discover an ancient story that is close to home and has resonance with their childhoods. Together, all three, reluctantly confront the past and – with the help of another figure in the room – reconcile the future.
The Land Beneath Our Feet
LeftCoast and Nathan Parker
One man, one garden, one last day. On his last day in Blackpool before the waves take it away, Ted, an old-timer with a big heart, recalls the stories and people who made his beloved community garden so special. This new play, written and performed by acclaimed poet Nathan Parker, is full of love, hope and heartbreak as it celebrates community spirit and shines a light on the reality of climate change for seaside towns. This evocative story will leave you feeling inspired, moved and ready to change the world! 'Brilliant, emotional, powerful' (Audience Review).
The Last Audition
Paul Shearman
The Last Audition. A once-celebrated Shakespearean actor returns to an empty stage to rehearse King Lear and prove he can still live independently. As memory falters, voices from his past intrude, turning rehearsal into reckoning. Darkly funny and deeply moving, this intimate solo play explores ageing, caregiving, legacy and the courage to keep stepping into the light. European Premiere. Written and performed by international actor Paul Shearman, it blends Shakespeare with contemporary storytelling and emotional truth, resonating with audiences across generations. Perfect for Fringe-goers seeking powerful, human theatre.
The Last Ballad
Performed by Tuli & Co
In a land where music has been losing its ground in the dreary desert of despair, a voice arrives with latent promise. Among the mysterious world of mythical sea creatures, guardians of ancient secrets and enticingly melodic voices, one soul discovers that compassion can ripple through even the deepest darkness. As destiny intertwines beneath moonlit waves, the courage of a single human being heals old wounds and awakens lost dreams. This play is a journey through pain, love and redemption, reminding us that even one heart, steadfast in hope, can transform the entire world.
The Last Days Of Liz Truss?
Oxia Theatre Company / Emma Wilkinson Wright
Join Liz, on her last morning at number 10, in an exploration – equally comic and tragic – of the tensions in politics: between ambition and ability, vision and reality, going short and playing it long. Can a fighter ever quit? This award-winning production (Emma Wilkinson Wright, Best Actor, London Pub Theatres Awards 2025) comes to Edinburgh after a West End Transfer to London at The Other Palace Theatre in March 2026.
The Night Ali Died
Raising Cain Productions
A gripping, cinematic and award-winning solo thriller about a man who becomes dangerously out of his depth in the criminal underworld. Ali is wanted dead by a vicious London gangster and is placed under police surveillance for the protection of himself and his family, yet for some reason, Ali decides to sneak out into the night, sparking a bloody domino effect that ricochets through the sleepy streets of his city. Through the accounts of Ali, a henchman, a detective, and a mob boss, find out what on earth happened on the Night Ali Died.
The Orchardist
Magdalen College School Drama
A boy jumps from a thirty-foot oak tree and survives unmarked. It's the first day of the evangelical summer festival, The Orchard, and newcomer Lucas immediately makes an impression among the other children. The younger kids believe he’s a miracle maker. But Benji is the pastor’s son, and he won’t give up his assumed leadership easily. Meanwhile eldest girl, Ruth, isn’t sure that what Lucas is doing are acts of God. But as the "miracles" grow in extremity, so too does Lucas’s influence.
The Passion
The LAMPS Collective
The life, death and resurrection of Jesus are recreated in this moving, memorable and ultimately joyful retelling of the Easter story, through monologue and song. Told from the perspectives of Peter, Mary Magdalene and a Roman centurion named Marcus, this powerful contemporary drama leads us up to and through the events of Holy Week, to the cross and beyond. 'A very moving and beautiful portrayal of the most amazing story in history. Phenomenal performers!' 'Absolutely mesmerising. Really helped me get into the characters of the people involved – who represent us all really' (Audience reviews).
The Poetical Life of Philomena McGuinness
Moon Rabbit Theatre
How will history remember you? As the person you are or, the person you want to be? It’s 1939 and Philomena is on her way from Dublin to London to join the British war effort. But can she live true to the poet inside her when she is constantly being defined by her role in the war? Philomena is a poignant and funny solo play, infused with poetry and inspired by the true stories of Irish nurses in WWII. 'Charming, funny, soulful and heartfelt' ***** (BroadwayBaby.com). ***** (TheWeeReview.com). ***** (TheEdinburghReporter.co.uk). ***** (TheatreAndArtReviews.com).
The Problem With Kate Winslet's Dress
Switch Theatre in association with Centre Stage Theatre Company
The Problem With Kate Winslet’s Dress is a witty and heartfelt theatre piece exploring life through the lens of cinema. Inspired by iconic films and television, the show reflects on love, loss, self-discovery and the expectations movies place on our lives. Blending humour, nostalgia and music, it celebrates storytelling and those moments when reality feels nothing like the movies – and the surprising times when it feels exactly like one. Warm, playful and deeply human, this show invites audiences on a joyful, cinematic journey.
The Red Shoes
Shiplake College
In the cutthroat world of a 2000s fashion empire, a pair of red-hot shoes becomes the driving force behind a young girl’s dazzling yet dangerous decline. As she navigates regret born of temptation and uncontrollable power, the shoes cling to her with a pulse of their own, tightening as she weakens. Each strut thrusts her deeper into a labyrinth of vanity, manipulation and sacrifice. Her spirit soon shatters as she discovers that the only thing more frightening than the shoes themselves, are the price they demand...
The Seat of Me
Giulia A. Cryan
The Seat of Me is a raw, intimate one-woman show about memory, identity and the moments that shape us. With just a chair, a few symbolic objects and fragments of Edith Piaf’s music, Giulia retraces a journey from Rome to New York to Los Angeles – through ballet, vanished mentors, an immigration scare at LAX and an unexpected love story – to ask: what happens when we finally sit with our past so we can stand in our life?
The Sins of the Father
Cat Isaacs
One man’s decision determines the fate of the family. Where they’ll live, who they’ll interact with, what they’ll believe… The patriarchal idea that the father is the head of the home, while the system below him, never equal in standing nor given equal respect, suffers on behalf of his decisions. What happens when decisions go too far and we neglect the individual identities of our children? Through Suraya’s life we explore the inherited burden and what it means to carry it. One woman. Four characters. A journey into family dynamics and how they affect us…
The Skarsgård Effect
Ellen Eklund
Three sisters. One lie. What's the worst that could happen? Besides, don’t you feel like every time you blink, there’s a new Skarsgård actor on the scene...? Follow the adventures of three ordinary girls as they stumble headfirst into the disorderly world of fame, and transform themselves from nobodies to global superstars. The Skarsgård Effect is a comedy about hubris, nepotism, AI deepfakes and what happens when you lie too close to the sun. It’s a love-letter to the paradoxical world of the performing arts and the fantastic Skarsgård family.
The Unwilling Accomplice
Pigeon Patter Productions
Pigeon Patter Productions presents their debut show The Unwilling Accomplice. A horror comedy, following two sisters – Riley a serial killer, Emily her unwilling accomplice. We step into their world as cracks begin to form and the sisters learn that sometimes family shouldn’t be forever... This show tackles the difficulties that come when you can no longer rely on the few people you grew up with, and we ask the question of whether blood relation should be held sacred if all it's doing is poisoning your life.
The Vagina Monologues
Drama Works (Parker & Snell)
A ground-breaking play by Eve Ensler, this internationally-celebrated work gives voice to women’s experiences with honesty, humour and unflinching courage. Through a series of powerful, intimate monologues, stories of love, sexuality, identity, violence, joy and resilience are brought vividly to life. Hilarious, shocking and deeply moving, this bold production invites audiences to listen, reflect and celebrate the strength and complexity of women’s lives. Raw, empowering and unapologetic, it remains as urgent and relevant today as when it first electrified audiences around the world. Don't miss The Vagina Monologues – six performances only!
The Witches of Macbeth
Inanna's Children
A bold, fresh take on Macbeth as a pagan ritual, in which three immortal witches enchant an unsuspecting man to become the bloody Thane. This innovative production mashes the glorious text of the Shakespeare classic with a 4000-year-old Sumerian epic poem, recasting Macbeth as a sacrificial king. You'll be on the edge of your seat as the immortals lead Macbeth to the heights of power, then use his own dark impulses to destroy him. The ensemble of four actors brings all the roles to life in this fast-paced, spellbinding show. An age-old drama made startlingly new.
The Zoo Story
The Classic Theatre Project
The American dream meets the American nightmare on a bench in Central Park. Two Yorkshire actors take on Edward Albee’s absurdist, shocking masterpiece in this razor-sharp transatlantic clash.
Therapy "R" Us
Adrienne E. Foran, d-composing Ink
This is group therapy. It requires each actor to have a different psychological disorder. The group works well together until a new member arrives and then it doesn’t.
Tim Kenneth Kicks the Bucket
Kestrel Eye Productions
After their professor, Tim Kenneth, suffers a mental breakdown in class, obnoxious prankster Scooter and teacher's pet Pencil embark on an odyssey through New Jersey, saddled by the weight of their own existence and with complicated feelings towards their lecturer. After its sold-out run in New York and debut at the Edinburgh Fringe, this academia-set dark comedy returns, bolder and brighter than before!
Treasure Island
BB&N Theater
Brace the main sails, land ahoy, and shiver me timbers! Robert Louis Stevenson's timeless classic comes to life in this new interactive adaptation. This show is designed to entertain audiences of all ages. Following on from their successful debut with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Buckingham Browne & Nichols School returns with their favorite Scottish author's tale of pirates, castaways and hidden gold. A fast paced swashbuckling romp accompanied by music and flashing child-friendly plastic blades. We invite you to set sail and join the adventure! Singing and dancing is optional.
Trust Me, I’m a Doctor
The Magazine Studio Theatre
Dr Rose Pratts is a respected GP who spends her days reassuring patients that everything will be fine – despite secretly battling crippling health anxiety herself. Her carefully controlled life begins to unravel when she develops feelings for a much younger junior doctor at the practice. As professional boundaries blur and panic sets in, Rose is forced to confront the one thing she has always avoided: herself. Trust Me, I’m a Doctor is a sharp, warm comedy about anxiety, desire and the terrifying possibility that it’s never too late to change your life.
Turn the Screw Tickety-Boo
Faceless Theatre and New Celts Productions
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to find yourself trapped by destiny in an independent bingo hall? So has Jo. Jo’s life has taken a turn for the worse. She’s eighteen, grieving the loss of her mother, and at risk of losing her flat. Through a mix of desperation and a pull of fate, she stumbles into her local bingo hall. As events unfold, Jo is offered a job and becomes part of the hall’s great history. Can she overcome her anxiety, find out the truth and turn her life around?
Twelve Angry Men
Tower House School
Locked in a jury room on a sweltering day, twelve strangers must decide the fate of a young man accused of murder. What begins as an open-and-shut case unravels as one juror dares to question the evidence. Tensions rise, prejudices surface and tempers flare as reason battles bias. Twelve Angry Men is a gripping courtroom drama about justice.
Two Halves
Muddrag Productions
Sean is an ageing, downtrodden professional rugby player from Wales. When he meets world-famous US soccer star Sophie, they begin an unlikely romance. Can they survive the pressures that come with elite sport? Two Halves offers a window into their private lives as they try to enhance or preserve their own reputations, navigate the cut-throat world of social media, and balance personal ambition with home life expectations. Past secrets are revealed. Mistakes are made. Consequences are inevitable. Integrity, morality, resilience and love are all tested in this tense and explosive relationship drama.
Unearthed
Plush Tiger Productions
In 1968, Nottinghamshire housewife Emma Smith traded her kitchen for a coffin. Buried beneath the Skegness seafront in a record breaking attempt, Emma invites us into a subterranean world of Radio Caroline, cream crackers and DH Lawrence. As she battles claustrophobia and public scrutiny, she unearths her past as a Belgian refugee and former nun. Unearthed explores the "everyday housewife's" desperate search for identity. A haunting, gritty portrait of a woman finding freedom in the dark. Previous production, Waiting for Elvis **** (TheWeeReview.com), ‘Life affirming’ ***** (ThreeWeeks).
Via Dolorosa by David Hare
Gary Hay of Chasing Rainbows
Through the medium of theatre, David Hare gives a dramatic account of his travels though Israel and Palestine, from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to Gaza and Ramallah. The playwright was given unique access to a range of public and private figures, each with a different perspective on the region and its troubles. The resultant drama draws together these very different voices, exposing the passions and opinions that run deep throughout the region. At the end, like its author, the audience is left wiser but exhausted by the experience.
Voltei
Tropodora
Voltei, a true story, begins by telling us what it takes for young people to leave their home country, what those big changes are, and the challenges they face. Voltei takes us back to England in 2006, when smartphones weren't yet a thing and YouTube had just become part of our lives. It explores the various social and cultural differences between Portugal and the UK, through various first-hand emigrant stories and through the real impact of Brexit on the decision made by so many to return to their home country. Voltei is interdisciplinary and combines theatre with stand-up comedy.
Waiting For Elvis
Plush Tiger Productions
March 3, 1960. Elvis is returning to the US after completing his military service in Germany. His flight stops at Prestwick Airport for refuelling. Margaret Rutherford (the definitive Miss Marple) while waiting in the departure lounge for her London flight, meets Elvis fan, Albert, hoping to glimpse the King. 'Quietly moving two-hander imagines a meeting that changed a life' **** (TheWeeReview.com). 'Life affirming' **** (ThreeWeeks). Previous productions Noiseless & Patient, 'Beautiful and lyrical' (FringeGuru.com), and When Kurt Met Thora, ‘As an imagined piece of entertainment folklore, it’s priceless’ (TheStage.co.uk).
Waving
Dogs in Wellies
In a coastal studio, a portrait takes shape and old roles are redrawn. The talented artist is no longer a woman her children recognise. Her adored son and overlooked daughter are rocked by the change. What washes up when the tide retreats – and what stories vanish with the shifting sands? Waving is a moving and humorous look at the nerve centre of a creative yet destructive family. In Rosalind Philp’s debut play, time and reality blur in a vivid exploration of life, loss and identity.
We Are All Florida Man
Lubna Kerr and Kerr Arts Collective
This is a modern myth born from real headlines, a term for the bizarre, chaotic and utterly unbelievable stories that come out of Florida. An absurdist comedy set inside a support group for these infamous characters. Meet the woman who trained attack squirrels, the man who tried to rob a Chinese restaurant using only finger guns, and gloriously eccentric ensembles of headline-makers. As their stories unravel, audiences are drawn into their strange world to question what it really means to be a “Florida Man.” Expect chaos and laughter that will leave rolling in the aisles.
We Have a Dream
Fast Snail Productions
The Tartan Army are back! Four friends follow Scotland across the Euros, hauling flags, hangovers and secrets they barely share. Lost tickets, packed stands and late-night pints force moments of honesty. As the team falls short, so do their attempts to ignore drifting friendships, hidden fears and personal struggles. Laughter, arguments and warm cans expose the cracks between them. Turning a football trip into a reckoning with their own lives – where loyalty, fear and the messy truths of adulthood hit harder than any final whistle.
When The Tide Comes In
Hungry Wolf Visionary Youth Theatre
An original play commissioned by Hungry Wolf Visionary Youth Theatre Company and written by Naomi Denny in collaboration with the young company. As nine young people approach the end of their GCSEs, a celebratory gathering on the beach takes a devastating turn. A singular, defining event inexplicably binds the group, forcing them to grapple questions of collective responsibility and individual guilt. Hungry Wolf VYT represents a new generation of youth theatre. With work both thought provoking and relevant, Hungry Wolf has established a reputation for hard-hitting, truthful and uncompromising material.
When We Were Young
Geez a Break Productions
The public and critically acclaimed multi award-winning When We Were Young is back for 2026. This five-star show goes beyond the tabloid stereotype of ‘neds’ to tell a powerful and hilarious story about the realities of gang culture and young team mentality in Glasgow during the 90s. Follow the lives of one of the many young teams who polluted the streets of the city during a time when it was known as the murder capital of Europe.
Who We Become: Breakfast at the Track / A Poster of the Cosmos by Lanford Wilson
Deep Flight Productions
Award-winning, five-star production of two one-acts by a Pulitzer Prize winner. The first, a two-hander, captures a pre-dawn hotel room encounter between a couple. The second, a monologue, is set in a Manhattan police station, where a tense interrogation becomes a searching exploration of love, identity and human connection. Distinct in tone yet thematically linked, these plays trace private moments when ordinary lives are tested and reshaped. ‘Tragic themes… superbly acted’ (The Student Newspaper). ‘Stoner gives a superb performance’ (ReviewsHub.com).
Who We Become: The Moonshot Tape by Lanford Wilson
Deep Flight Productions
Award-winning, five-star production of a play by a Pulitzer Prize winner. In this compelling monologue, Diane, a successful writer, returns to her Missouri hometown to help her ageing mother. Responding to questions from an unseen local interviewer, she revisits pivotal moments from her past. Written with Wilson’s signature lyricism and emotional clarity, the play explores memory, identity and the moments when lives quietly change course. ‘Perhaps one of the best performances you will see at the Fringe this year’ (BroadwayBaby.com). ‘Incredible’ (Independent).
Whose Play Is It Anyway?
The Wharf Theatre Company
Join your host, Barry Ruffles, and his glamorous assistant, Jenny Flannel, for a game show like no other! 18 pieces of theatre in 50 minutes; all you have to do is guess the genre, playwright or year to win a speedboat, cuddly toy or a holiday for two on the Isle of Fernando!
Witches Corner
Encapulus Productions
Witches Corner is a comedic socio-political play written by Eilidh Smith with original songs composed by Rona Johnston. Born out of injustice and a burning desire for more female-led storytelling, Witches Corner explores the fear of feminine power and the misogynistic roots of the witch trials. Challenging gender-based stereotypes and asking the question – are women still on trial today? Step into the shoes of both the accuser and the accused. Would you follow the crowd, be a bystander or stand up for what is right? Witches Corner will leave you aching for justice.
Woman Seeking Cuddles
Hannah Strauss
Harper unknowingly slept with her sperm-donor father. After that, nothing was ever quite the same. Making its Edinburgh Fringe debut from New York City, this darkly comic, confessional one-woman show traces that event’s fallout – as shame, grief and reckless desire collide in one woman’s messy, defiant search for love. In a landscape of dating apps, modern polyamory and kink acronyms, boundaries blur and destiny feels algorithm-driven. Raw, funny and unflinchingly honest, Emmy-nominated writer Renwick McAslan asks, in a culture obsessed with connection, why is it still so hard to feel held?
You Are What You Eat
Beautiful Death Theatre Company
You Are What You Eat is a comedy about friendship, tenacity and outrageous misadventures that dives into the gritty underbelly of fictional 1970s London through the eyes of two aspiring detectives. In this action-packed adventure, Lewis and Tom find themselves embroiled in a deadly mystery involving corrupt police, a crime boss and the death of a young woman. With the odds stacked high and bullets flying, their only weapons are their wits, awkward heroics, a sarcastic sister and the belief that they might just be the city's last hope. 'Excellent' **** (Everything-Theatre.co.uk).
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