Fest 2025 Issue 3 by Fest Magazine

COME AS YOU ARE

Emma Frankland makes no apologies

Inside: Daisy Doris May Jess Robinson Zainab Johnson Khalid Abdalla The Listies Ayoade Bamgboye Alright Sunshine Ghouls Aloud

Join us in August as the Tattoo turns 75 and celebrates The Heroes Who Made Us, with a spectacular performance from pipers, drummers, dancers and musicians from around the world at Edinburgh Castle.

1-23 AUGUST 2025

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Fest 2025 Issue 3

8 About a Girl

Emma Frankland reimagines Kurt Cobain

12 Living Legend

Jess Robinson and Henry Naylor take on the icon

15 Positive Thinking Zainab Johnson on her Fringe debut

20 Anywhere But Here

Khalid Abdalla discusses his powerful solo show

Comedy

22 Ayoade Bamgboye: Swings and Roundabouts

An absolute lock-in, don’t-miss-a-thing outburst of talent

Music

55 Hot Mess

Entertaining musical romcom about the climate crisis

Theatre

38 Alright Sunshine

Hauntingly powerful piece of writing

60 Listings

Find the shows for you with our hour-by-hour show guide

Image credits (top to bottom, left to right): Kaleidosshoots; Karla Gowett; Matt Misisco; Helen Murray; Matt Stronge; Mihaela Bodlovic; Mark Senior; Gaelle Beri

Daisy Doris May's Perfect Night

Three of the comedian and drag king’s iconic characters take us on their big night out

STEVE PORTERS

(LOCK UP UR DAUGHTERS)

Oi Oiii. It’s The Stevo here. Rite. My dream nite out u say? Well first off: UR THERE!

Luckily for you I’ve already been shopping at The Gyle Centre for a coupla gems… So the look 2nite is an all white FRESH look. Backstreet Boys eat ur heart out.

We starting over at mine… pre drinks, banter, VYBES and some quavers to line the

stomach. U gunna fank me l8r. Trust. ��

Then the FINEST venue in Edders: Tropicana. Obvs I’m on the decks. (If u didn’t KNO… I’m an iPod DJ ��) and 2nite it’s BYOM: Bring Your Own Mum. It’s my no.1 girl’s bday… my mum, ROZZA.

So we’re goin big. I’m talkin lambrini waterfalls, free WKD shots n boyband flashmobs

on the dance floor. Wheyyy. ��

Last tune? Pretty Green Eyes. Obvs… (dont worry if u get emo. Tissues WILL be handed out)

After that? I’m probs goin home wiv the fittest bird in the club. ��

MAYBE DAS U. HOI.

Steve XOX

Photo: Katinka Bester

firStly… i haVenT slêpt in 4 dayZ

[zË aLoe vËra ivE beËn microdösing iS crAZi.]

zË iDeal night? VIPS oNLY. s0mËwherë iN an ÄbÄndonëd warehouse where zË fog mÄchines bl0ck oUt evERy biSH thËRe

y0u can’t sÉË anyone. unTiL you dö …and it’s alL of mY ëx-B0yfRiËnds. ��

⚠ zË after party? tËch n0. tËch YES.

⚠ zË afTer afTer partY? aT zE IKËA stÖRË. muSic s0 mïnimal… it’s not even tHËre. crAZi.

oH. dØNt worRY. i pUT yÖu on zE guËStliST THE DIVINE KAREN

Blessings. ��

It’s an absolute honour to share my ideal night out with you, the beautiful beings who orbit my radiant frequency. Because I am a content source of light �� for so many, I am gifting you all with my vibrations by hosting a sacred Moist Yoga ceremony (yes, moisture is the fifth element) followed by a sound bath of whale song �� and moonlit crystal tuning.

Let’s limber up together under the stars, lubricated by

OFF

raw cacao and fully present in our sacral chakras ��

Then, I shall journey to the wilderness for a Silent Disco, because, obviously, I cannot trust the vibrations of any DJ. I choose my own frequencies.

Tonight, I will be sipping on my Placenta LSD Tea �� (blessed by a doula and stirred by a divine feminine force of nature: me).

It’s a NO SHOES POLICY.

If you can’t walk barefoot in the dirt, you cannot walk beside me in the astral realm.

Love. Light.

Lymphatic Drainage.

Karen.

wEÄr yOUr paRTY pAntz biSHës

HÄNS. HÄNS OFF.

SHOW Daisy Doris May: Big Night Out

VENUE: Assembly George Square

TIME: 31 Jul-24 Aug, 9.50pm

HÄNS

Photo: Katinka Bester

About a Girl

In No Apologies, Emma Frankland delves deep into the long-running internet discourse around Kurt Cobain’s gender identity. The writer-performer speaks to Arusa Qureshi about the mythology that surrounds celebrities, the current climate for trans people in the UK and the importance of community

Photo: Kalediosshoots

“If you’re a sexist, racist, homophobe or basically an asshole, don’t buy this CD,” Kurt Cobain infamously wrote in the liner notes of Nirvana’s final studio album In Utero. “I don’t care if you like me; I hate you.”

Amid the current political climate in the UK – a landscape increasingly hostile towards any notion of difference and defiance – it’s rare for chart-topping artists and global megastars to be as explicit in their support of marginalised communities as Cobain once was.

“On one hand, it’s kind of cringe,” writer, theatre maker and performer Emma Frankland laughs as we discuss the significance of this flawed figure that we both grew up revering. “But on the other hand, that cuts across something.”

This summer, Frankland brings her bold, tender, and timely solo show to the Edinburgh Fringe, which pays homage to Cobain and references the long-standing internet rumours that have circulated around the musician’s gender identity. No Apologies is both a celebration and a lament, using the speculative possibility that Cobain might have been trans as a point of departure to explore grief, mythology, music, and the act of dreaming oneself into spaces society tries to keep closed.

Frankland has a deeply personal connection to Nirvana’s music. A self-described ‘90s kid’, she remembers watching the iconic MTV Unplugged concert at the age of 14 and feeling a resonance that went far beyond fandom. “I grew up in a coastal town that was very straight and scary to grow up in as a queer person. There was something about grunge that always felt queer. It felt like I could access something in it that I couldn’t elsewhere.”

“We can find a way to pick ourselves up together, talk about what action we can do and leave the theatre with our heads held high”

In the days and weeks following Cobain’s death in April 1994, Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged set was played on a loop on televisions around the world. The sombre performance, filmed just five months before Cobain’s body was found, felt to many like a goodbye, the abundance of lilies and candles on set adding to its funereal effect. Whether or not Cobain meant it as a farewell, the gig is renowned for its powerfully raw and emotionally charged atmosphere, Nirvana’s stripped back renditions of their songs and covers offering a moment of solace as well as a reminder of why this band, and indeed Cobain, spoke to so many.

The resulting production is part spoken-word, part performance art, part music gig. And while Cobain’s presence permeates the piece, “It isn’t really about Kurt Cobain,” Frankland explains. “There’s a lot of Kurt Cobain in it, but it’s about the importance of wishful thinking in broader societies. What would it mean if they had come out as trans? How would that have affected my life? How would that affect other people’s lives? Who knows if Kurt was trans, but I think we can be fairly confident that he would have been a vocal ally and supporter of the trans community.”

Cobain’s tragic death was Frankland’s first experience with the concept of celebrity loss – an encounter that continues to shape the emotional landscape of No Apologies. “I think it’s hard to think about Kurt Cobain without thinking about how they died,” she says. “There’s obviously a huge epidemic of loss within the trans community. And giving the initial concept more space and time has allowed me to go deeper. What is compelling about this person being trans? What does that open up?”

While the show has been touring as a solo piece, Frankland has also developed a band version featuring trans musicians and friends from Brighton. They perform selected songs from the MTV Unplugged concert including

‘Come As You Are’, ‘Dumb’, and, of course, ‘All Apologies’.

“The whole show really is a bit of a love letter to ‘All Apologies’. I use a lot of the lyrics to unpack throughout the show.”

For Frankland, this band version – set to be performed over two nights towards the end of the Fringe – is a dream come true. “I’ve never been in a band before, and it’s felt really incredible to be in a band, and incredible that that band is kind of Nirvana. There’s a lot of wish fulfillment in it for me.”

In grappling with the enduring cultural impact of Cobain, No Apologies questions the value and limits of celebrity mythmaking. “Kurt Cobain being trans isn’t going to save us,” Frankland says. “But we need each other to be there. And I feel like that’s what I wish for Kurt

Cobain – that they had people around them to be in community with.”

It’s a powerful conclusion to a performance that touches on suicide, identity, and what it means to be visible. “We can go to some places that are undone. We can talk about suicide. We can talk about what happens if we’re not allowed to live our authentic lives. And then also, we can find a way to pick ourselves up together, talk about what action we can do and leave the theatre with our heads held high. I’m not interested in leaving people on the floor.”

When asked why Cobain still resonates, Frankland is clear: the music, the emotion, the radical vulnerability. “Kurt belonged to everyone, because they never had a chance to disappoint us. So we can hold on to the version we know. For me, I can be like, yeah, the trans

Kurt Cobain – what would that have been if she’d come out?”

No Apologies isn’t about nostalgia though; it’s about reimagining the future – and who gets to be part of it. “Speaking from a trans perspective, we are in an absolutely abundant time of role models and representation. But it would be great for more people to stand up.

“It’s been a really tough time to be a trans person in the UK,” Frankland continues. “The first preview of the show was the same day that the Supreme Court judgment ruling came out. It’s been weird and it’s an interesting time to be navigating.”

Frankland is keen to emphasise that No Apologies is not a show about defeat – it’s about resistance, imagination, and finding community in unexpected places, even,

perhaps, in the legacy of a rock icon gone too soon. With her mix of visual experimentation and writing rooted in honesty, Frankland brings a signature approach to No Apologies And whether you catch the solo version or the full band, the show promises to be one of the most vital offerings at this year’s Fringe.

“Come through,” Frankland urges. “Be changed. And leave fired up.”

SHOW No Apologies

VENUE: Anatomy Lecture Theatre, Summerhall TIME: until 24 Aug, 8.45pm

SHOW No Apologies

VENUE: Dissection Room, Summerhall

TIME: 21 & 23 Aug, 5.30pm

Photo: Matt Crockett

Living Legend

Jess Robinson and Henry Naylor pay homage to the icon that is Elton John at this year’s Fringe

Words: Jay Richardson

With 300 million records sold and a 10th UK

number one album earlier this year, Elton John has survived innumerous trials and tribulations, tantrums and tiaras. An iconic figure, he’s still inspiring fellow artists.

“From the moment he stomped onto the world stage, he changed everything,” Jess Robinson enthuses. The musical impressionist’s Fringe show, Jess Robinson: Your Song, celebrates the 78-year-old pop star’s perpetual reinvention – “my niece loves the Dua Lipa ‘Cold Heart’ remix and Britney Spears’ ‘Hold Me Closer’, while I love his theatrical queer joyousness, his grit and resolve” – as she reinterprets his greatest hits through the esteemed female singers in her repertoire.

Collaborating with Frisky and Mannish pianoman Matthew Floyd Jones, Robinson’s “love letter to Elton and my female heroes, plus Britney”, includes Kate Bush approaching ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’; Barbra Streisand performing ‘I’m Still Standing’ with a nod to Yentl; Billie Eilish’s ‘Candle In The Wind’ via the Barbie soundtrack and Spears’ interpretation of ‘Bennie And The Jets’

Gently tweaking melodies and lyrics, Robinson is connecting, for example, John and Amy Winehouse’s addiction struggles in ‘Tiny Dancer’, adding elements of ‘Stronger Than Me’ and ‘Tears Dry On Their Own’.

“From the moment he stomped onto the world stage, he changed everything”

Jess Robinson

“Female voices change the emotional temperature,” she suggests. “Performing ‘Rocket Man’ as smoky jazz in the style of Billie Holliday, you get more sense of the wife left at home, because Katy Perry hadn’t invented female astronauts by that point. It’s a new lens. But it also shows how adaptable and universal his music is.”

Henry Naylor hails John as a “phenomenal” campaigner for gay rights and AIDS research.

But for the acclaimed playwright, whose 2004 play Hunting Diana critiqued the media’s

Photo: Chloe Hashemi

Jess Robinson

role in spreading conspiracy theories around the death of John’s friend Princess Diana, the singer’s battles with the press symbolise a struggle for the soul of UK journalism.

In 1987, John sued The Sun for libel after the tabloid published scurrilous headlines about the musician participating in orgies with underage rent boys. Monstering The Rocketman presents the story from the perspective of a rival journalist at The Mirror, with Naylor also portraying John.

“He refused to be lied about, putting his wealth, reputation, health and sanity on the line, fighting for what was right,” Naylor explains. “The Sun’s homophobia was jaw-dropping at that time. It’s a hugely important case, because, after he defeated them heavily, the newspapers had to be kinder in their language towards minority groups.”

The Sun subsequently disgraced itself covering the Hillsborough disaster though. And Naylor, who wrote for Spitting Image when it charac-

terised Fleet Street hacks as pigs in fedoras, reckons the seeds for phone hacking and other British press scandals were sown at this time.

The late Mirror owner Robert Maxwell “was in a dick waving contest with [The Sun’s] Rupert Murdoch and the papers abandoned truth in search of profit,” he argues. “It’s vitally important we get back to a popular press that is respected and trusted.”

Referencing John watching Winehouse singing, “his face alive with joy and admiration”, Robinson calls her hour “the silliest and campest I’ve done.” But it’s also “the richest, without pressure on me to always be funny. I’m allowing moments of pathos and poignancy.”

Naylor, likewise, is playfully weaving the lyrics of Bernie Taupin, John’s greatest collaborator, through Monstering, while parodying The Sun’s personal problems feature Dear Deirdre. “You’ve got to give the audience a few laughs,” he says. However, his abiding message is more urgent.

“Objective truth is vital right now,” he maintains. “When Trump accuses Zelensky of starting a war, that is empirically not true.” That approach “can be traced back to the Thatcher era, when news barons started owning multiple papers and simply switched their political allegiances for financial advantage.

As opposed to their core job of providing a public service.

“The public never wanted them going after Elton, their circulation dropped whenever they attacked him. Readers were kinder than they thought and deserved a paper reflecting that.”

VENUE: Assembly George Square Gardens

TIME: 30 Jul-24 Aug, 6.05pm

VENUE: Pleasance Dome

TIME: 30 Jul-24 Aug, 4.10pm

Photo: Rosalind Furlong

Monstering the Rocketman by Henry Naylor

SHOW Monstering the Rocketman by Henry Naylor

SHOW Jess Robinson: Your Song

Positive Thinking

As she makes her highly-anticipated debut at this year’s Fringe, Zainab Johnson talks politics, identity and being a responsible gun owner

Words: Jay Richardson

Photo: Matt Misisco

“The one thing that will exist in all of my hours is that it will come from a very human, emotional place”

Making her Edinburgh Fringe debut with Toxically Optimistic, it’s hard to refute that Zainab Johnson has Pollyannaish tendencies. “I’m constantly seeking positivity,” the Los Angeles-based stand-up confirms. “I’m like a beauty pageant girl wishing for world peace, Inshallah.”

Nevertheless, she’s hardly oblivious to the state of the world. Speaking from her home office, where she’s about to record her weekly live discussion podcast, I’m Reasonable, about the ICE raids on undocumented immigrants in her city, the Muslim comedian tells me that she “wasn’t surprised at all” by President Trump’s recent travel ban on predominantly Muslim countries. Because she was performing material about it prior to his second election.

“He has very specific targets that are always in line with his prejudices, sexism, racism and xenophobia,” she shrugs. “This is his playbook.” Performing in Toronto as recently as April, she found herself “limiting” her topical material.

“I really wanted to get up and talk about him. But as a black, American comedian, and also as a very vocal, out and proud Muslim comedian, I had to be careful. Obviously, it’s against the constitution for them to be detaining American citizens or those with active visas [coming home]. But he’s clearly not following that. I haven’t had any trouble yet. I don’t believe I will have any trouble. But at times I’m feeling a bit more cautious.”

Despite her easy charisma and relaxed warmth on stage, Johnson’s 2023, identity-based debut special Hijabs Off tackled Islamophobia in the wake of 9/11, disapproval from the “Haram police” and her childhood abduction by a suspected paedophile. Yet although Toxically Optimistic features stories of her dating life and an encounter with an opossum, that doesn’t mean it’s more frivolous.

“Yeah, the content is different but it’s supposed to be,” she maintains. “This hour is very serious. I’m talking about death, I’m talking about fear, I’m talking about empathy. Besides,

I’ll always be a black, Muslim woman that grew up in Harlem, New York, that has 12 siblings from the same parents.”

A key routine in her show focuses on “how I’m trying to be a better gun owner, trying to do the absolute best with what I believe to be the absolute worst.” Most comics’ firearms material is “highly political”. But “what sets my bit apart is that it’s a bit more emotional than usual”.

As a single woman living alone, she bought the weapon “because a friend was concerned about my safety. Yet the moment he suggested it, the irony was that I felt more fearful than I had in a long time.

“With Hijabs Off and anything I do in the future, the one thing that will exist in all of my hours is that it will come from a very human, emotional place.”

Johnson is “thrilled” whenever she attracts a “positive reaction for proudly expressing my faith”. Representing an under-represented demographic “can be very difficult and I’m not surprised that it’s appreciated. I don’t know any terrorists. But I do know a lot of Muslim girls [who] are glad that I’m able to tell something closer to a version of their story to the world.”

An actor in the Amazon Prime sci-fi comedy Upload, and with aspirations to host her own talk show, Johnson jokes that she’s practically wielding the “infinity glove of diversity” as far as the entertainment industry is concerned. But while she’s also technically disabled, having limited mobility in her ankle, after both her legs were broken by a drunken truck driver when she was 17, she no longer publicly identifies as impaired.

“I wake up and run five miles every day,” she affirms. “I don’t need another ‘thing’ over mediocre white guys right now.”

SHOW

Zainab Johnson: Toxically Optimistic

VENUE: Pleasance Courtyard

TIME: 30 Jul-24 Aug, 6.40pm

FIGURES IN EXTINCTION

The Besties

We’re delighted to announce the recipients of this year’s Besties Awards which celebrate the best that Edinburgh’s August Festivals have to offer, now in their second year running

Proudly presented in partnership with Capital Theatres and Premier Scotland, our list of winners is hand-picked by Fest and The Skinny's editorial teams. In an incredible year, we felt these shows stood above the rest.

WEEK 1 WINNERS

(Saturday 9 August)

The Super Power Award (chosen by the young critics of The Super Power Agency’s summer school) Connor McKenna – Seltzer Boy at Paradise in Augustines

The Outwith Award (for best international talent) for Alaa Shehada – The Horse of Jenin at Pleasance Dome (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)

Radgie of the Festivals (for radgeness) for In Bed with my Brother – PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD at Summerhall (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)

The Debut Award for Toussaint Douglass –Accessible Pigeon Material at Pleasance Courtyard (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)

The One to Watch Award for Saaniyaa Abbas – Hellarious at Gilded Balloon Patter House (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)

The Dame Good Show Award for Johnny McKnight – She’s Behind You at Traverse Theatre (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)

The Breakthrough Award for Kate Dolan – The Critic at Assembly George Square (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)

WEEK 2 WINNERS (Saturday 16 Aug)

The Genre Chaos Award (for hybridity) for SLUGS at Summerhall (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)

The Emerging Talent Award for Ayo Adenekan: Black Mediocrity at Monkey Barrel Comedy (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)

The Heart Award (for defiance of spirit and strength of will) for PALESTINE: PEACE DE RESISTANCE at Pleasance Dome (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)

The Collaboration Award for Orpheus and Eurydice at Edinburgh Playhouse (Edinburgh International Festival)

The Nature Award for Katherine Polwart: Windblown at The Queen’s Hall (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)

The Venue Award for EAF Pavilion (Edinburgh Art Festival)

The Kids Award for The Listies: Make Some Noise at Assembly George Square Studios (Edinburgh Festival Fringe)

The final awards ceremony will be held on Saturday 23 August and the winners announced online via our website and socials!

Awards handmade by Camillo Feuchter from recycled plastic and salvaged wood.

Photos: Ian Georgeson

Anywhere But Here

Actor and activist Khalid Abdalla discusses his intricate and playful solo show, inspired by his involvement in the Egyptian revolution of 2011

Words: Anita Bhadani

Can performance be a political act in and of itself? For Khalid Abdalla, the answer is clear. At its most “scintillating,” he tells Fest, it engages in “acts of rupture.”

“That’s very political,” he explains. “You’re allowed to see the world in a different way, and experience it and think about it, and engage in narratives in ways that allow you to go on emotional journeys.” It’s these acts of rupture that he seeks to evoke through his debut ‘anti-biography’ play, Nowhere, which arrives on the Scottish stage for the first time this Fringe presented as part of the Here & Now Showcase. Abdalla, who was born in Scotland, explains: “The idea of coming back with what

Photo: Helen Murray

is my first play is very meaningful on multiple levels.”

Nowhere sits amidst an array of performers in the showcase experimenting with new forms of personal storytelling which reflect contemporary social, economic and political issues. Abdalla’s multi-layered solo show covers much ground, spanning from his involvement in the 2011 Egyptian revolution and experience of counterrevolution, to histories of colonialism and decolonisation, to growing up in a post 9/11 context and the current political context of Israel’s genocide in Palestine.

“All of that travels through me in ways that make me more than I make it,” Abdalla says. “The play is more through me than about me.” Politics and performance have been in conversation with one another throughout Abdalla’s life and career to date. His father and grandfather were both prominent anti-regime activists and political prisoners in Egypt, and he notes that their histories and experiences exist within him intimately to the present day. “I think we’re all like that,” he reflects. “Whether it’s forms of personal or cultural trauma, it has this shape that is natural to it, which breaks a sense of time and place through the individual experience.”

The challenge for Abdalla, then, was to create something which could hold personal experience with this same placelessness. “We live in a world of intersecting crises right now. And those crises exist inside us,” Abdalla says. “There’s a part of that that we want to liberate

“We live in a world of intersecting crises right now. And those crises exist inside us”

ourselves from, and we want to liberate ourselves from it in community. We can never do so alone. Theatre is uniquely placed as a space in which you can do that together.”

Abdalla’s “nowhere” is thus reimagined as a paradoxical space of belonging. “There are forms of political orphaning, really. That means not only are you always in between places, but you don’t really have a space of belonging. And there are ways in which the culture around you threatens you and denies certain stories that are foundational; threatens your safety if you express them”, he explains.

Early this year, Abdalla was one of a range of people interviewed by the Metropolitan Police following his attendance at a pro-Palestine rally in January. The Met’s policing of the rally was widely condemned, with legal experts calling it “disproportionate, unwarranted, and

a dangerous assault on the right to assembly and protest,” and a few days after Abdalla and I speak, police confirm that no further action will be taken. He writes on Instagram that this is “a relief, and vindication.”

Perhaps it is the agency to act which performance – like politics – invokes, where the two most clearly converge. “It’s a vulnerable act to step out in front of people and try and share. But I share things we often don’t put out there in the hope that it might unlock something for us both,” Abdalla reflects. “If you can create that space inside a theatre, then why can’t you have more of it outside?”

SHOW Nowhere – Here & Now Showcase

VENUE: Traverse, 12-24 Aug (not 18)

TIME: various times

Photo: Manuel Vason

Comedy Reviews

Ayoade Bamgboye: Swings and Roundabouts

VENUE: Pleasance Courtyard

TIME: until 24 Aug, 4.45pm

What a Fringe debut this is. An absolute lock-in, don’t-miss-athing outburst of talent. From South West Nigeria, via Edmonton, North London, Lagos, and a little spell in Hungary, Ayoade Bamgboye arrives at the

Fringe like she owns the place. And she may well.

The name Ayoade has royal connotations, plus Bamgboye was born with supernatural foresight and, crucially, good eyebrows; so, a special one. And she does march around this space in a magisterial fashion, fascinated by oldschool expressions, such as the show’s title. And microphone leads, which she sports as an elaborate over-theshoulder accessory, or like vintage Morrissey. And the microphone stand, which goes wandering after inventive use as an illustrative prop. “I don’t know why I put that there,”

says the comic, addressing her nearest subject. “Do you?”

It transpires that Bamgboye has actually been to clown school, hence the joy in exploring physical comedy. Meanwhile she veers between accents so naturally, sometimes mid-sentence, it can feel like a character show, at first. But then tragedy strikes, and this seemingly nerveless performer falls apart – in the past.

Swings and Roundabouts is really about a life already beset by extreme highs and lows, and Bamgboye’s remarkable responses. But it’s all riotously, unpredictably funny. A special talent indeed. ✏ Si Hawkins

Photo: Matt Stronge

Kate Dolan: The Critic

VENUE: Assembly George Square

TIME: until 24 Aug, 6.25pm

“No one can explain it, girls. Just lock in,” is how Kate Dolan brings a group of latecomers up to speed. I mean, it’s my job: I’ll try to explain. But she’s not far wrong. There’s plenty of comedy about that calls itself ‘weird’, but this might just fit the bill. Who is this woman? Who is winning in this tussle with her internal monologue?

Where have you been all of my comedy life?

To describe Dolan’s approach is a bit like trying to ascribe Queensbury technique to the vicious frenzy of a street brawler. Hers is a wild assault of jokes, voices, act outs and asides. Yes, there’s a routine here (10%), but it’s a routine punctuated with marginalia, second guesses and doubt (90%). It’s extremely disconcerting. There’s a lady in the front row who’s really not sure for a few minutes. But by the time Dolan is trying to drink a glass of water, she’s dissolved like an effervescent tablet, just like the rest of us.

Dolan doesn’t drink a glass of water like the other comics. What Dolan does do like the others is a bit of pathos just towards the end. She does it well, bringing the pace down for a moment’s reflection before revving it back up nicely. It’s technically sound (don’t be fooled that Dolan’s frenzied approach is anything other than skillful). But is it perhaps a sop too far to the niceties of contemporary comic performance to which Dolan elsewhere plays delightfully little heed? Maybe. But it’s still worth the money for that act out of a Cosmo Magazine piece. ✏ Evan Beswick

Photo: Luke

Darcy

Urooj Ashfaq: How to Be a Baddie

VENUE: Monkey Barrel Comedy

TIME: until 24 Aug, 6.25pm

A middling review for Urooj Ashfaq’s award-winning 2022 debut, which described her as “appealing to conservative tastes”, has thrust the young comedian from Mumbai reflexively into her bad girl era. Or, more accurately, it’s encouraged her to expose the side of herself that’s been present all along. From writing erotica online since the age of 14 to altercations with medical professionals, she’s laying it all out there.

The whole thing makes for a riotously funny hour, within the first five minutes of which it’s impossible not to fall for Ashfaq’s charms. She is a ray of sunshine with an albeit prickly edge to her persona, one that has her turning and shouting “stop having more fun than us!” at the wall that separates her show with the one next door that is also inducing big laughs.

Never navel-gazing or morose, this is perfectly pitched

confessional stand-up. It’s like a night in with your bestie, rummaging gleefully through their shoebox of eccentricities (Ashfaq’s One Direction fanfic clippings, lovingly backed with glitter, for example). How to

Be a Baddie is an irresistibly uplifting and surprisingly vulnerable insight into the comedian’s own deviance from the conventions and expectations of an Indian-Muslim upbringing. ✏ Louis Cammell

Photo: Ashiq

Bryan Safi:

Are You Mad at Me?? HHHHH

VENUE: Underbelly, Bristo Square

TIME: until 25 Aug, 5.20pm

Bryan Safi’s debut Fringe show is all about “coming out”, but after teasing us that we’re in for an hour of queer trauma, he reveals he’s actually talking about the physical act of coming out on stage. The American comic certainly knows how to make an entrance. He kicks off proceedings with a sultry slow jam version of a classic Paula Abdul number, but hidden behind this razzle-dazzle is a plethora of insecurities. He laments that he “walks into a room like he’s apologising” and suffers from a curious case of body dysmorphia, but how could he not be a little messed up with a mother who once said, “Bryan, I don’t care if you’re gay, just don’t make it obvious”?

The premise might sound slight, but this is a wonderfully goofy show filled with catty one-liners and fabulous physicality. Safi’s comedy tends to emanate from flipping situations on their head. The fierce insults his mother used to hurl at him become a cathartic interactive gameshow called “homophobic or serving?”, and the singing of 90s power ballads, one of the few things that brought Safi comfort as

a queer teen, is turned into a hilarious weapon of discomfort. He’s a natural comedian who seems to have the most fun going off-script, including a surreal segue in which he tries to guess the item an antsy audience member has

been rummaging for in their bag. Safi might wish that he wasn’t such a people pleaser, but with this effortlessly funny show, he gives his audience exactly what they want: a joyous evening of sharp comedy. ✏ Jamie Dunn

Photo: Robyn Von Swank

Helen Bauer: Bless Her HHHHH

VENUE:

TIME: until 24 Aug, 3.20pm

Helen Bauer has the room in the palm of her hand. The audience never has a moment to breathe, belly laughing from the start. But Bless Her is more than an onslaught of laughter. Bauer has had to reluctantly bring her eight-year-old self on stage as part of her therapy

– an exercise to try and love her inner child. They hate each other. Despite the child being invisible to us, we are able to clearly picture her there, staring in horror as Bauer looks down at her with disgust.

A core theme of the show is trying to love yourself when you hate yourself, and questioning the wisdom of self compassion. When people recommend being a friend to yourself, Bauer has to ask ‘which friend?’. It makes a huge difference.

This leads Bauer to explore the complex nature of female friendships, especially when

it comes to the comparisons constantly drawn between women’s eating habits. She somehow manages to make recounting her secret binge eating as a child absolutely hilarious.

This is Bauer’s key strength. Every raw moment keeps its authenticity and gut-punching sadness while the audience is still commanded into uncontrollable laughter. It’s through these moments that Bauer begins to empathise with her inner child; recognising the journey they’ve taken together to where Bauer is today. ✏

Lauren Hunter

Photo: Raphael Neal

Monkey Barrel

Paul Sinha: 2 Sinha Lifetime

VENUE: The Stand Comedy Club

TIME: until 24 Aug, 3.45pm

Paul ‘The Sinnerman’ Sinha treads a variety of ground in his 2025 show. A respected quizzer, comedian, and celebrity smart guy, he flirts with his own intellectual ego while diverse enough comedically

to ground his intellect with heaps of self-awareness. He reflects on his own topical satire while more than happy to deliver some twisted punchlines, drawing shocked laughs on topics ranging from the Queen Mother to Jannik Sinner.

The ITV and Radio 4 star veers enjoyably through high and low brow material. A common target is Sinha’s own mild celebrity status. He tears into the ‘cosy crime’ literary trend adopted by other TV stars while cutting into his own lack of big mainstream breakthroughs, successfully staying clear of the smugness that can so easily blight other

booksmart comedians. Sat somewhere in between the A-list and the rest of us, Sinha is well placed to comment on everything from the celebrity elite to the nuanced struggles of ordinary life.

Lending a poignant tone to the show, Sinha discusses his heart attacks during 2024’s Fringe and Parkinson’s diagnosis from 2019, with some added characteristic dark humour. As ever during an entertaining and well-structured set, Sinha excels at changing direction as and when needed to quite effortlessly uplift a crowd that loves watching him perform. ✏ Hamish Gibson

Photo: Andy Hollingworth

Amy Mason: Behold!

VENUE: Pleasance Courtyard

TIME: until Aug 25, 5.50pm

Absurd and unapologetic, Amy Mason’s Behold! recounts the comic’s recent experience of digital hacking, attempting to navigate the confusion of receiving gifts from the hackers. A psychiatric nurse, three double ended dildos, and the letters of Emily Dickinson feature heavily (and not disparately so) in this brilliantly entertaining solo show.

Mason’s show is strikingly intimate, exposing her rough edges without hesitation. But hers is a purposeful unravelling, one executed with the keen insight and wit held by only a truly talented storyteller. The odd pun is thrown in for good measure but, overall, the humour rests with Mason’s unfaltering performance: she claims the stage and her delivery is perfectly dry. Beneath her deadpan sensibilities, a subtle depth lurks. Mason asks us what is true

connection in the digital age (if not bonding with guinea pig sellers or members of Facebook car groups) and what does that mean in the context of our individual mental health? What is privacy in

a not-so-password protected world? Mason doesn’t come to any grandiose conclusions and yet Behold! is a highly accomplished show, littered with all-too relatable home truths. ✏ Eilidh Akilade

Photo: Pit Lad

Shamik Chakrabarti: Despite Appearances

TIME: until 24 Aug, 9pm

With his dry, droll manner, rarely expressing more than the gentlest smirk, Shamik Chakrabarti is an unlikely questing adventurer. The Indian standup managed to debilitate himself playing football before

a match had properly started. And he’s so nondescript that he blends into the background tedium of office life, successfully failing in jobs because no one notices him, his beta maleness mistaken for competence. If he stands out at all, it’s for his commitment to comic juvenility, at an age when most of his peers are forging respectable careers. And a reckless adherence to the rules of the road, utterly at odds with improvising fellow drivers on India’s highways.

So when he launches into his tale of leaving his laptop in a taxi, expectations are

middling. Yet the recovery becomes a dark night of the comic’s soul, as he encounters frustration after frustration and acquires a level of self-awareness that causes him existential wobbles. Aided by an inexplicably committed police officer, set against broader indifference to his plight, the pair negotiate the difficulties of finding the tech with escalating narrative drama. And that’s despite very little actually happening, with Chakrabarti enlivening the story with wry humour and a sharp eye for its absurdity. ✏ Jay Richardson

VENUE: Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower

Photo: Sumendra Singh

12:55 | 30 Ju L - 25 Aug

Seaton Smith: Trauma Bonding

VENUE: Pleasance Courtyard

TIME: until 24 Aug, 8.30pm

It might be a surprise to have a comedian offer to do shots with everyone in the audience, but Seaton Smith makes it seem natural. In a show about trauma, the American comedian is able to take some dark topics, like abuse and slavery, and somehow make them fit into a comedy show – with only a few gasps from audience members. Smith does a fantastic job of working with the audience, never asking too many questions but quickly getting the “vibe” of those in the room from their reactions to jokes and going forward based on that.

As one can expect from a comedian from the United States, there are a few jokes that go over the heads of the non-Americans in the room,

which doesn’t make the show any less funny, as Smith explains things to the audience or simply moves onto the next joke if those listening are a bit too lost. As an American, however, these jokes are brought

to the next level, including a particularly great bit about biking in New York versus Edinburgh. This is a strong Fringe debut from Smith and one can only look forward to more in the future. ✏ Kat Mokrynski

Photo: Mindy Tucker

Rosa Garland: Primal Bog

TIME: until 24 Aug, 9.50pm

It all starts with a simple wee. And from here, Rosa Garland’s Primal Bog plunges headfirst into a kind of mayhem that is messy, grotesque and yet somehow, extremely endearing. On arrival, the first row is invited to don water-

proof ponchos, seemingly to protect from any mid-show splash-back – but what exactly they need protected from is left unsaid, and probably for the best.

Garland arrives on stage naked, bedraggled orange wig on her head and Goop product in tow – she’s embodying Gwyneth Paltrow, but maybe not the version we’ve all come to know (and fear). This Gwyneth’s version of a celebrity-endorsed miracle product is presented in the form of neon orange slime, which she slaps on all over her body, writhing on the floor like a possessed demon.

As well as the Nickelodeon levels of slime, there’s some dream analysis, chaotic video clips, plenty of worms and a (real) live tattoo on stage every night, administered by a delightful ‘Lady in Red’. It all sounds nonsensical, and it is; but underneath it all, Primal Bog is a show about queer intimacy, desire and shame, and how liberating it can be to dive into the swamp and embrace the chaos, warts and all. Through her surreal merging of clowning and comedic performance art, Garland invites us all to find joy in the mess and take pleasure in the playfulness. ✏

Arusa Qureshi

VENUE: Assembly Roxy

Theatre Reviews

Alright

VENUE: Pleasance Dome

TIME: until 24 Aug, 4.20pm

Isla Cowan’s outstanding show deftly explores gender roles, abuse of power and sexual assault through a fiery monologue performed by Molly Geddes. The show catches PC Nicky McCreadie after a mass

brawl at Edinburgh’s Meadows. She defiantly reflects on her journey to that point, slowly coming face-to-face with a past she has tried to forget.

The strength of this show is the light touch that Cowan has for these subjects. Their exploration feels natural and rooted to the character, with the unpeeling of McCreadie’s emotional layers slowly revealing a startling truth. This is a fully fleshed out character and Cowan’s words not only bring us into their headspace but also allow us to clearly see the lies they tell themselves. Whilst

the opening of the monologue, describing the politics and rituals of the Meadows, may feel a bit overlong in the moment, it becomes apparent why the character has their fixation with it by the show’s end.

The staging is appropriately simple, with just a police outfit which Geddes slowly puts on like battle armour. This is a nice visual metaphor; the outfit is a costume, a constant guard she has up, one that has been shattered by the events she describes. A hauntingly powerful piece of writing. ✏ Sean Greenhorn

Photo: Mihaela Bodlovic

Managed Approach

HHHHH

TIME: until 24 Aug, 1.40pm

Managed Approach tells the story of the Holbeck area of Leeds, the UK’s first legalised red-light district, where sex workers were able to operate safely with police supervision between 8pm and 6am. This was known as the managed approach.

The performance tells the fictional story of a mother and daughter living in the area at this time, intertwining verbatim interviews with sex workers discussing their experiences operating within it.

The production was intelligently written to draw parallels to the ‘Yorkshire Ripper’ of the late 1970s and the ongoing onus on women to protect themselves from men, 50 years on. This manifests in the fractious relationship between mother and daughter that acts as the centrepiece of the performance; the story investigating the domestic, generational responses to the approach, as well as a first hand exposé from the women involved.

The characters are incredibly well developed, with the multiple perspectives blended with thoughtful precision

to ensure the performance remains fluid and compelling. The mother-daughter narrative is nuanced and comically relatable, with both performers delivering their decisive perspectives on the approach, leaving the audience to come

to their own conclusions regarding the conversation.

Managed Approach is a moving and original exploration of recent events that places the viewer in the heart of something historic. ✏ Jemima Hawkins

VENUE: Gilded Balloon

Patter House

Elysium

HHHHH

VENUE: Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower

TIME: until 24 Aug, 12.20pm

Horror has made a triumphant return in the last decade.

Milly Blue and Jessie Maryon Davies (AKA Ghouls Aloud) are riding this wave, situating the self-isolated world of South London’s Elysium Court within the modern horror landscape. The artist duo use a spectacular combination of original music, humour and drama to tell a story of neoliberalism’s version of alienation.

Maryon Davies’ piano leads most of the instrumental elements of the performance. Through exceptional monologues and musical numbers, Blue guides us through the story of a young 30-something couple moving into the nature defying Elysium Court.

Each backyard of this gated community is “seeded” with astroturf. The women’s decision to rip it out causes all kinds of commotion in the neighbourhood. Upon replacing the astroturf with a vegetable garden, the couple experience intense effects to their physical and mental health that only the horror genre could create.

Beyond the fantastical effects the young couple face as residents of Elysium Court, the production also grapples with the repression the UK government is pursuing against activists who engage

in direct action against the war machine. In creating a personal relationship between the women of Elysium Court and a college friend whose sister is an actionist facing terrorist charges, the plot communicates the UK government’s role in Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza.

Blue and Maryon Davies’ production is a remarkable theatrical and musical exploration of personal relationships. Specifically how these social dynamics are impacted by the growing isolation society faces as technological alienation grips the 21st century. ✏ Billie Estrine

Photo: Felicity McCabe

She's Behind You

HHHHH

VENUE: Traverse Theatre

TIME: until 24 Aug, 9.45pm

Johnny McKnight is here from the depths of Pantoland, making a decidedly unseasonal entrance from – where else? – behind us, to undoubtedly confuse the hell out of any international theatregoers in attendance and take audiences from the UK back to their childhood, or perhaps more

recent Christmas trips to the theatre with the kids.

Pantomime is a particularly British tradition, and in the John Tiffany-directed She’s Behind You – originally presented as a Cameron Lecture at the University of Glasgow in 2024, then as a one-off performance at Glasgow’s famed panto hub the Pavilion earlier this year –star Scottish panto writer and performer McKnight offers part celebration, part dissection and part personal journey through the artform.

Appearing in costume as his own dame character Dorothy Blawna-Gale, this lets him switch between being himself

when he needs to make a serious point and being Dorothy when he’s going for one of the many laughs to be found here. To, for example, hilariously give a lapdance to a man in the third row while educating us all about consent during audience interaction.

We learn a lot, not least from McKnight’s own experiences, as he illustrates how the traditional can be reborn with modern thinking, while the medium helped him explore his own sexuality in the character of the anarchic dame. Through laughter or empathy, it’ll bring a tear to your eye. ✏ David Pollock

Photo:

Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

Works and Days

VENUE: The Lyceum TIME: run ended

People looking to connect with nature and live at a slower pace can be prone to romanticising life on a farm without realising just how much work it is. This non-verbal, physical theatre piece by Belgian theatre collective FC Bergman depicts the brutality of working the land and raising livestock in stark relief. Based

on the ancient Greek didactic poem of the same title, the performance is an impressive, epic rumination on humanity’s quest to conquer nature and how it fights back.

FC Bergman is known for their design-forward concept, which is also the case in this production. Though unassuming at the start, several surprises variously emerge, erupt, or are erected from what looks like a nondescript stage. These are often initially funny, shocking or both. In these, and through other interactions with the space, it becomes a character that the ensemble cast attempt to control. Sometimes they are successful, and some-

times not. Both outcomes are moving due to the sheer lack of effort exerted.

Both human and animal life cycles are also a part of the narrative. Some of these are inherently violent, others are peaceful or celebratory, but all provoke strong emotional responses. Though there is one ethically questionable moment, and an ending that significantly diverges from the dominant theme, this is a powerful show that particularly resonates as the climate becomes increasingly unpredictable. That it is shared without words and only through ensemble movement and live music makes it all the more spectacular. ✏ Laura Kressly

Photo:

Kurt Van der Elst

Copla: A Spanish Cabaret

VENUE: Assembly George Square Studios

TIME: until 24 August, 6.40pm

Going into this cabaret, many may have no idea what Copla is. Going out, we understand not only its initial appeal but its echoing and prevailing impact. The show is a powerhouse led almost entirely by Dr Alejandro Postigo, who is accompanied

at times by a steadfast violin player. He takes us through the history of Copla – a genre traditionally attributed to those on the outskirts of society, later to be adopted by Spain’s biggest divas.

Postigo offers a relaxed, fluid control of the crowd from the start. It doesn’t take long to see him truly shine with his powerful renditions of the songs that made him. Through archival footage, we get a picture of his own connection to the music as a gay man brought up in a society still scarred by dictatorship. We are shown his love for the

powerful women who made him – Julie Andrews, Whitney Houston, Sara Montiel, as he works with the screen behind him as if it were another member of the cast.

Subsequently, we watch his own endless and desperate desire to be one of them rather than stuck “in between”. One does wonder where the big finish will land. Whilst it may be easy to end a show on the final note of a well-sung ballad, Postigo reels us back in once more and leaves us looking towards the future of Copla which is, ultimately, left in our hands. ✏ Alekia Gill

Photo: Jake Bush

Another Sight HHHHH

VENUE: ZOO Playground

TIME: until 24 Aug, 8.45pm

Taking place in the dark, Another Sight is an immersive theatrical experience performed by Blind Theater. Telling a domestic tale of cancer treatment, emotional growth, and family strength through trauma, it places the audience in the space occupied by blindness, replacing

spectacle with smells, voices and sounds of the actor moving around the room.

The title is a play on the way in which the audience finds itself in a different experience of theatre, and the way that the characters are forced to reconsider their situations. A maid is in the home straight of recovery, while her mistress is about to begin her treatment. Competing class interests collide with an emotional anguish, with the household servant providing both optimism and social conscience for the bourgeois family. Through a gesture of compas-

sion, the mistress discovers the courage and belief that she initially lacks.

The performance begins as the audience are negotiated into the auditorium, provoking questions beyond the usual theatrical experience: immersed by the dark, they are invited not only to consider the clearly laid out dilemmas of the drama, but also a novel way of engaging with movement and processing the event. The script may be slight, but Another Sight expands into a therapeutic and compassionate social exercise. ✏

Gareth K Vile

Image: courtesy of the artist

Strangers and Revelations

VENUE: theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall

TIME: until 23 Aug, 12.05pm

A first date, two strangers and a bottle of wine. Chiedza Rwodzi’s debut play sees the audience immersed in the intimacy of Zodwa and Malcolm’s meeting from the jump as it begins in the crowd, moving onto the stage. Taking place over the course of an evening, their proximity to one another is intensified by the inward setting of Malcolm’s London home. Their dynamic is one of push and pull, compounded by ties they share and where they diverge; both Zimbabweans, they have enduring and unique relationships to their heritage and over the next 50 minutes their conversation evolves into nuanced and captivating realms encompassing place, gender, spirituality, religion, and the ripple effects of trauma on their lives.

The purposefully minimalistic staging emphasises the pair, but it is their flawless performance which keeps the

audience rapt throughout. Through playful banter to moments of tension that rise and peak, even to extremes, they navigate and convey subtleties and emotions extraordinarily, conveying distance to closeness to claustrophobia. The space

between them is constantly shifting, always charged. The ending in and of itself creates blunt emotional impact hard to forget: but ultimately it is the more nuanced subtleties and explorations which come beforehand that truly linger on. ✏ Anita Bhadani

Image: courtesy of the artist

Dance, Physical Theatre & Circus Reviews

Circa: Wolf

TIME: until 23 Aug, 6.20pm

Ten bodies writhe, link and push onstage. They are dressed in the same clothes. Only slightly different. They operate as a team – a pack, even – each movement, improbable balance and outlandish toss coordinated and supported. And yet they shove and snarl, form shifting alliances. The opening scene quickly sets

moods of struggle, domination, desire, violence, care, comfort, fear. Sequences set out a society where strong women bear the weight of men just as much as they are borne. Through movement, tumbling, acrobatic feats and extraordinary balances – not to mention pulsing beats which match, support but never overpower the choreography – Circa show yet again that they can deliver spectacular circus with real emotional heft.

A note on the level of spectacle here. A routine on aerial straps receives only muted applause as each knife-edge balance is held. There’s a reason: it’s so ridiculously tense. The point

of release comes at the end. The applause is effusive. There’s a niggle that starts to take shape in the hours that follow Wolf, once the oohs and aahs have subsided. It’s this: despite the strong aesthetic and bold emotional brush strokes, it’s just not clear that Wolf goes anywhere. Over the course of a gorgeous hour, there’s no development, no transformation, no distance travelled. But that’s not to say there’s no variety – there’s changes in intensity, pace, aggression. And never, never is a move, balance or shape repeated. For an hour, this is mesmerising – exceptional creativity performed with unmatched skill. ✏ Evan Beswick

Photo: Andy Phillipson

VENUE: Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows

Imago

VENUE: Assembly Roxy

TIME: until Aug 24, 1pm

Eowynn and Isak Enquist tell a story of attachment and interdependence through a mixture of contemporary dance and corde lisse.

Accompanied by a soundtrack that conjures images of creaking boards and beating rain, the Enquists rock back and forth in the bowels of a tilting ship. Adding to the maritime setdressing, a number of looped ropes hang from the rafters and sway across the foggy stage.

The show starts with both performers tied together, slowly tangling each other up, eventually meeting in the middle. The two twist and writhe together, each performer seemingly trying to escape the other’s grasp whilst simultaneously unable to support their own weight independently.

The theme of symbiosis is ever present in Imago and reaches its peak mid-way through the show as the two

climb the ropes, continually falling and catching one another as their shared tether is winched higher and higher. At points, Eowynn dangles free from the rope using only Isak’s body to support herself mid-air. At others, the two are separate, with one spiralling in the air and the other struggling to stay upright under a layer of artificial fog.

The show imposes ideas and themes upon its audience effectively but stops there, failing to offer enough substance to retain engagement in the show’s story. Imago is an incredibly impressive feat of acrobatics, staging, and sound design, held back only by its slightly uninspiring and loose narrative. ✏ Oscar Lund

Photo: Chris Randle

LOLA: A Flamenco Love Story

VENUE: Pleasance at EICC

TIME: until 24 Aug (not 20), 7.30pm

This is the story of Lola, who leaves behind Francoist Spain in the 1960s, taking work as a cleaner in London, to send money back to the family she leaves behind. She’s grieving

her husband’s death and depressed. “My mind calls for death, my heart says no,” read the English translations on the screen behind her. The story is partly inspired by Maria Garcia’s family. The founder and director of Company LOLA Flamenco’s grandfather and 17-year-old father left Spain for Germany in the 1960s to find work.

The story is told with fairly broad brushstrokes, mostly in Spanish. For anyone who’s behind on their Duolingo, the finer details can be overlooked as what needs to be conveyed comes across through excel-

lent music and dance, as Lola slowly uncurls from the foetal position on her bed, gets a glow up and falls in love.

Rhythms are battered out on typewriters, tapped with knuckles on tables, and of course, clicked, stomped and pummelled with feet. The elegant, defiant flamenco footwork – not to mention face work, hand work and arm work is astonishing. Added Spanish guitar and impassioned singing make this a joyous story of resilience and romance, with lots of sweat flying and shawls being whipped around. ✏ Claire Sawers

Photo: Farideh

Diehl

Cabaret Reviews

Sink or SING!

HHHHH

VENUE: Gilded Balloon

Patter House

TIME: until 25 Aug, 9.20pm

Amelie Peters’ Sink or SING! is the perfect show for extroverted wannabe pop stars everywhere. Leaning on the audience as her ‘choir’, this musical comedy details the

ups and downs of Peters’ life, from chaotic blind date mishaps to poignant moments of low self-esteem, all performed through catchy original songs.

The show benefits from a large audience, so the more pals you can muster, the better but, be warned, there are solo singing moments around every corner! This interactive singing party has the crowd providing the backing vocals to Peters’ life.

Not much of a singer? No matter. As an international vocal coach, the on-stage singer is a force to be reckoned

with, with cabaret style high notes filling the room with ease. While performing her own witty songs, Peters also guides the crowd through some vocal exercises of our own, unlocking any untapped choir potential.

Instantly likeable and relatable, Peters will have the whole crowd (be that a choir of five or 50) standing and clapping along to a song about the joys of being a Passenger Princess. Sink or SING! is a funfilled hour of music, laughter, and choosing ‘Mates over Dates’. ✏ Jemima Hawkins

Photo:

Dream Space

VENUE: Assembly George Square

TIME: until 24 Aug, 1.25pm

Whimsically eclectic, the dream space created by South Korean Creative Group SSAK welcomes you in with an endearing playfulness. With sparse dialogue, they bring their world to life through a mixture of performance and puppetry; sound and light. A family-friendly show, the audience has many children in attendance, and the perform-

ers’ engagement with them makes this an immersive experience throughout.

The show is split into roughly four segments: the first featuring kazoos and movement, with audience members invited inside to play. The following two feature respective puppetry shows, with loosely woven plots: which in and of themselves are fairly straightforward fare – wizards and desert islands alike. The performance for the most part somewhat sadly shies away from going truly into the abstract and fantastical and errs toward

silliness and charm, despite visually striking and creative staging and props. However, the final segment places renewed focus on the artistry of puppetry, and is undeniably hauntingly beautiful. Stunning whale puppetry floats through an ocean created of light and sound: it’s captivatingly calm, and captures the transcendence of what it can mean to exist in a dream space between realities. Overall, children and adults alike can take away something special from the world created throughout this performance. ✏

Anita Bhadani

Image:

courtesy of Assembly

Music Reviews

Hot Mess

VENUE: Pleasance Courtyard

TIME: until 25 Aug, 3.10pm

She’s a planet who’s been languishing in want of a sexy apex predator since T-Rex went down with the asteroid. He’s a plucky new species with ambition. What could go wrong? Across a series of catchy pop-rock numbers, new musical Hot Mess smartly maps the tumultuous relation-

ship between Earth (Danielle Steers) and humanity (Tobias Turley) onto the contours of a love affair. The rise of civilisation is the honeymoon period; the moon landing is an adulterous flirtation.

On paper, a musical romcom about the climate crisis seems incongruous. But as with their last show 42 Balloons, creative duo Jack Godfrey and Ellie Coote bring verve and humour to unlikely subject matter. Hot Mess is an entertaining alternative to earnest, hand-wringing climate dramas, bringing gags and infectious beats to

a weighty topic, with the witty touches extending right down to the small details of Shankho Chaudhuri’s compact set. It’s a punchily performed and tightly packed hour of material, skipping swiftly from agricultural revolution to burning of fossil fuels to climate breakdown. While the time constraints inspire brilliant economy, some sequences feel cut short and the issues are inevitably flattened at times. A clever and well-executed concept that could be even better with more room to breathe. ✏ Catherine Love

Photo: Mark Senior

Triptic HHHHH

VENUE: The Hub TIME: run ended

Seated at a grand piano awash in soft, golden light, Phil Alexander introduces himself and bandmates Mario Caribé and Greg Lawson to an audience seated luxuriously on sofas and beanbags in the Hub. The trio are showcasing their new album, a blend of tango, jazz and European folk, and their first song, Alexander explains,

is inspired by a poem about men no longer wearing hats.

Dreamy, glassy piano opens the piece, with Caribé’s double bass soon providing an earthy cushion. Lawson lunges about the stage as his searing fiddle becomes more severe, thinning to a hair’s breadth on the high notes. For a tune about hats, it’s certainly got a lot of drama.

Each piece of the evening has a story behind it. There’s tunes about loved ones, like the jubilant rumba about Caribé’s grandmother, or the gorgeous, loving ode to Alexander’s childhood spaniel.

There’s pieces inspired by mundanities (the flatness of Lincolnshire) and snapshot moments (a father and child flying a kite). Fragile, prickly piano and slippery violin glissandos jostle about in the playful, jumpy ‘The Sea Urchin’s Embrace’, a tune about Alexander’s and Caribé’s sometimes spiky friendship.

As well as a rapturous, virtuosic exploration of global folk music, Triptic is also a reminder of the universal feelings and singular moments that move people to create music in the first place. ✏ Zoë White

Photo: coutesy of artists

Driving in Circles

VENUE: Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower

TIME: until 24 Aug, 1.30pm

“After the earthquake, it’s the aftershock that kills you,” sings composer/performer Jay Eddy in this one-person musical theatre show about the maelstrom of self-blame, intrusive thoughts and panic attacks that followed years of sexual assault. Not to mention the victim blaming and jokes that they were “pulling a Jay” every time they “overshared” about their trauma. (That particular joker became their lover and artistic partner in EPs Theater, the team behind the show.)

Although certain motifs become laboured in places and the dark, deadpan delivery sometimes zooms into a dizzy fast-forward, Eddy brings us all as passengers through the wild ride from rage and alienation to moments of bliss. Their message about the need for connection hits even harder following raw descriptions of

dissociation and anger which ultimately led to them having seizures. Eddy wrote the riot-grrrl, grunge, art pop album of tracks for the show; their confessional folk rock calls to mind PJ Harvey’s emotional intensity, with theatrically unhinged flashes of Hedwig

and the Angry Inch or Kylie in her Nick Cave era. Usually it’s about the journey, not the destination, but this fraught journey comes with a welcome dose of indie-weird and drops us somewhere where the views end up being pretty great. ✏ Claire Sawers

Photo: Scornavacca Photography

Kids Critics The Listies: Make Some Noise

Edie, seven, enjoys laughing with The Listies

What happens in the show?

In the show they do lots of funny things all to do with music! Matt pretends to be a baby. They pretend to be a sausage. Well, not a sausage, but sticks that move around. It’s a bit wonky! They make lots of noise. There’s a fragile box at the start with an instrument inside. You can’t see it. Well, they didn’t show us. And Matt thinks the box says “fragil”. What?! So, anyway, the box is fragile and there’s lots of dancing and when Matt is doing a bow at the end, he throws the fragile box over his head!

What did you like most about the show?

The bit about the baby. They’re trying to get the baby to sleep, but they aren’t very good at it.

Was there anything you didn’t like?

No, not really!

What did your grown-up think about the show?

Made me cry with laughter, even if the section about the baby was a bit too close to home.

Would you tell your friends to go to the show?

Yes, 100%!

VENUE: Assembly George Square Studios

TIME: until 25 Aug (not 18-22) , 11.30am

Photo: Andrew Wuttke

The Unlikely Friendship of Feather Boy and Tentacle Girl

Lyra, nine, is wowed by the acrobats

What happens in the show?

Two acrobats take to two poles that are arranged on the stage. They twirl around them, suspend themselves from them and work together to do amazing and beautiful

feats. It’s all about finding friendship and who they truly are. If I had to choose three words to describe the show I would say elegant, beautiful and strong. I also thought the actors really made the show come to life.

What did you like most about the show?

The movement on the poles, in particular when both artists became a human flag at some point.

Was there anything you didn’t like?

No, loved it all.

What did your grown-up think about the show?

It was a spectacular display of skill, stamina and showmanship, with an engaging and thought-provoking storyline, to boot.

Would you tell your friends to go to the show?

Yes, and I already have!

VENUE: Assembly Roxy TIME: run ended

Photo: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan