The List's Edinburgh Festival Guide 2026

FESTIVAL

Welcome

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

13–19 August

edfilmfest.org

Later in this guide, a bunch of Fringe acts recommend the one show that people simply have to see this August. Esteemed immersive theatre/comedy practitioner Adam Riches makes a bold choice: don’t overly plan, head off to a venue at a random time, see someone you’ve never heard of and bask in the belief that you are part of the real Edinburgh Festival. We salute him for tapping into the true spirit of the Fringe, but we can’t bring ourselves to fully endorse such a message. After all, it’s the exact opposite of what we’re trying to do in this guide as well as what we’ll be attempting to achieve across our various print publications and online coverage throughout the upcoming six weeks.

So, what are we recommending? No better place to start than with our cover star. New addition to the stand-up world, Amanda Knox may prove to be a divisive figure this Fringe but if you stare long and hard at the facts and still suggest that she shouldn’t be allowed to pursue a career of her choice, then I’m not sure what to say to you. Also firmly putting their pasts to bed through the therapy of art are former models Keeley Hazell and Mario Adrion who tease out the humour from the dark side of their previous lives. Daniel Sloss has a lot to get off his chest, too, having taken quite a pounding for speaking out about Russell Brand in the Channel 4 exposé, In Plain Sight (noticeably, depressingly, the Fifer was the only male stand-up to do so). Also putting their safety at risk are the circus performers balancing on wine glasses in Soft Spot, while in the film Mission, George MacKay plays a wayward character hellbent on pushing himself in such a way that terrible harm seems inevitable. And Bryony Kimmings feared for the planet, her family and herself in the process of creating her latest intriguing theatre work, Bog Witch

In less dark matters, we ask children’s authors to pick the book they adored as a kid, reflect on the brilliance of Little Miss Sunshine (20 years young this year), pay tribute to the allnew shiny King’s Theatre, chat to composer Erland Cooper and director Louis Paxton about seabirds, and let a fair bit hang out as we gingerly enter the world of sauna theatre. So, by all means go full Adam Riches and casually drop into a venue to see what’s what. Or pore over what seasoned pros and fresh-faced newbies are getting excited about on our pages throughout August. Or do both. There’s an often big and scary world out there, so however you choose to conduct your Edinburgh Festival, just remember to have fun.

Brian Donaldson FESTIVAL GUIDE EDITOR

CONTRIBUTORS

CEO Sheri Friers

Festival Guide Editor

Brian Donaldson

City Guide Editor

Jo Laidlaw

Art Director

Seonaid Rafferty

Subeditor Paul McLean

Writers

Afreka Thomson, Ailsa Sheldon, Allan Radcliffe, Ananya Patankar, Brian Donaldson, Carol Main, Claire Sawers, Danny Munro, Dom Czapski, Donald Reid, Evie Glen, Fiona Shepherd, Greg Thomas, Isy Santini, James Mottram, Jay Richardson, Jo Laidlaw, Johanna Derry Hall, Kevin Fullerton, Lucy Ribchester, Marissa Burgess, Mark Fisher, Max Norman, Megan Merino, Neil Cooper, Paul McLean, Rachel Morrell, Suzy Pope, Zara Janjua

Print & Digital Content Manager

Murray Robertson

Online News Editor

Kevin Fullerton

Head Of Commercial

Jayne Atkinson

Business Development Manager

Lachlan McMaster

Head Of Marketing & Events

Leah Bauer

Marketing & Events Executive

Eve Johnston

Marketing & Events Assistant

Paighton Scott

The first thing most of us do when we step into an art gallery is lower our voice. It’s as though we’ve entered a sacred space. Shoulders straighten, footsteps soften, and suddenly we become terribly worried about saying the wrong thing. We scan the descriptions, searching for the ‘correct’ interpretation before we’ve even taken in the work itself.

But who decided art had to be so serious? History certainly didn’t. One of the greatest misconceptions about art is that it belongs to academics and experts. In reality, artists were some of history’s biggest jokers. Botticelli pokes fun at abysmal male stamina in ‘Venus And Mars’. Hogarth packs his paintings with merciless gags mocking English society. One medieval manuscript I saw recently shows a merman curled on his back while the devil fires an arrow up his arse. Monastic kink? Artists have always been playing with us. Somewhere along the line, we simply stopped laughing.

The people in the paintings are no different. Portraits aren’t simply crusty old faces. They’re records of hopes, heartbreaks, fragile egos and impossible ambition. Kings, queens, aristocrats and merchants all wanted to be remembered in the best possible light. Scratch beneath the surface and you’ll usually find someone desperate to be loved, admired, feared or simply not forgotten. That’s the gossip I find irresistible.

As a comedian with a history degree who spent much of his childhood being dragged around museums by his artist

Mouthpiece

Max Norman, the man behind the woman that is socialite/historian/’walking HR complaint’ Coco

The Time-Travelling Tart, asks the burning question: when exactly did we stop laughing at art?

mother, I’ve realised that laughter is often the quickest route into curiosity. The moment someone laughs, they’re engaged. Suddenly they’re asking questions and spotting details they might otherwise have missed. Humour helps us connect with the past and, in doing so, realise we’re ultimately all the same. I think that’s why I love history so much. I’m not searching for facts. I’m searching for people; for guidance on how to navigate this strange and sometimes scary business of being human. Strip away the crowns, armour and marble statues, and aren’t we the same? For thousands of years we’ve fallen hopelessly in love, dared to dream, made spectacular mistakes, simmered with jealousy, grieved deeply and somehow found a way to carry on. I find that strangely comforting. Knowing that Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius filled his private journal with reminders to stop worrying and get out of bed in the morning has an odd way of making me feel less alone. History reminds me that, whatever I’m feeling, someone has almost certainly felt it before.

At the heart of my work with comedy character Coco The Time-Travelling Tart is play and storytelling. By day in Edinburgh, I’ll be leading comedy tours at the National Galleries Of Scotland, uncovering the scandal, secrets and wonderfully human stories hidden behind the masterpieces. By night, Coco takes audiences on a wildly chaotic journey through history at the Fringe. Whether I’m in a gallery or on a stage, the aim is exactly the same: to make history feel gloriously alive. Because history isn’t really about the past. It’s about understanding ourselves a little better.

n Coco’s Art History Comedy Highlights Tour, National Galleries Of Scotland: Portrait, 7–30 August, 2.30pm, 3.45pm; Coco The Time-Travelling Tart, Underbelly George Square, 5–30 August, 9.45pm.

You Ok Pun?

Another year and another Fringe programme packed with oodles of puntastic titles and wordplay a-go-go. Here is but a mere sample of the ones so far which have caught our eye and made us grin/grimace/guffaw

3 Out Of 4 Twats

A Stan Is Born AI, AI, Oh

Angle Of The North Annabalism

Back To The Fracture

Calmer Comedian

Coming Of Rage

Fraudcast

Game Of Phones

Grand Theft Opera

Ignorance Is Chris

It Me Baby One More Time

It’s A Quarter Tutu

Jokemon

Noise Zealand

Outlord

Persianality Disorder

Portergeist

PowerPoindexter

Quartz And All

Rocket Fan

Sillypun Valley

The Wizard Of Ozempic

Figures are a touchy subject at this time of year in Edinburgh given the controversies over everything from accommodation prices, taxi fares and the cost of putting a poster up around town. But some numbers are just fine. Such as the array of Fringe shows which begin with a digit. Here’s just a select few of them (a sweet 16 to be precise)

1 Hour Straitjacket Escape Magic Show

2 Shoulder Pads Galaxy Train 3 Bad Sisters 5 Lesbians Eating A Quiche

8 Ways To Break A Glass 11½ Angry Men 15 Minutes Of Shame

Club 33 Years Single 40/40

Minutes

55 Minutes Of Adequately Amusing Jokes And Stories From An Irishman Who Recently Turned 67

200 Puns In 1 Hour With Roger Swift

360 Allstars

666 The Devil: My Side Of The Story

800 Pound Gorilla Alumni Showcase

lights , camera . . .

What era do you believe to be cinema’s golden age? Opinions, of course, will vary, but if you reckon it’s somewhere around the 1980s and 90s with a little nod into the very early 2000s, well, you’re probably wrong. But don’t listen to us, as the Fringe appears to have been smitten by that timeframe too, with a number of theatre productions inspired by those cinematic decades. If it’s not obvious from the show title or the image which film is being referenced, well, a little bit of googling should reveal all

DON’T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME

Assembly Roxy, 5–31 August, 2.20pm.

Scan and listen as you read

It’s that time of year again. As Edinburgh turns into a bustling hive of creative activity, these pages become your map for navigating the best of it. And what better way to sample the delights than through this ever-eclectic setlist. Hear music by Erland Cooper, SZA, Grace Jones, Siobhan Wilson, Rianne Downey, Corto.Alto, Sultan Stevenson and plenty more

HOLD ON TO YOUR BUTTS Pleasance Courtyard, 12–26 August, 8.30pm.

TOP GUNCHAINED Gilded Balloon Teviot, 6–30 August, 5.05pm.

DIRTY DANCER Underbelly Cowgate, 5–30 August, 7.25pm.

FLY, YOU FOOLS! Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 August, 3pm.

KEVIN!!!!! Pleasance Courtyard, 5–31 August, 12.20pm.

PICTURE: JACK HAUXWELL

27 Club

festival showcase

Whether you want to laugh or cry, sing and dance, or marvel at the wonders of the human body, you’ll always find the perfect show at the Edinburgh Fringe. Explore our showcase and get booking!

METEORS

THEATRE & DANCE

Summerhall

6–31 August (not 17 & 24), 9pm thecramcollective.com

Grief. Stars. Mums. Lasagne. ‘Among the more than a thousand works on offer in the Fringe, Meteors is likely a standout – both entertaining and emotional, offering a chance for real connection’ AAAAA (InDaily.com.au). Grief isn’t part of the conversation. Especially not as a young person. No one knows what to say, so it’s simply left unsaid. An acclaimed breakout at the 2026 Adelaide Fringe, Melissa traverses the messy, nonlinear aftermath of losing a mother at age 20, the vastness of the universe, too many lasagnes and the search for light in the dark.

NAUGHTY CABARET

COMEDY

Underbelly Bristo Square 6–15 August, 11.20pm instagram.com/naughtycabaret

A queer feminist extravaganza full of energy, absurdity and ridiculousness. With an everchanging line-up of clown, character comedy, boyband, burlesque and more. Previous guest performers include Lorna Rose-Treen, Lara Ricote, Elf Lyons, Siblings, Ria Lina, Lucy Hopkins and Paulina Lenoir. Hosted by Norwegian clowns, Anna Marie Simonsen and Marie Kallevik Straume, previously seen in the ‘irresistibly silly’ (AAAA The Guardian) clown comedy, Troll

THE WORST RECORD COVERS IN THE WORLD

COMEDY

Assembly George Square Studios Bar 7–31 August, 10am–5am, free entry instagram.com/worstrecordcovers

A collection of dreadful record sleeves that makes people giggle, guffaw and double-up laughing everywhere it goes. It’s been a huge success at galleries, museums and comedy and music festivals. It’s even got onto BBC Radio 4’s Front Row, and Have I Got News For You ‘De ning an as yet uncategorised new substrata of folk art.’ Stewart Lee ‘The room is full of people howling with laughter; it’s great.’ Mark Radcliffe

HESS

THEATRE & DANCE

Gilded Balloon Teviot 5–31 August, 1pm instagram.com/hess.2026

‘A voice from the past, with a warning for today.’ First performed in 1976, HESS imagines Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s Deputy Führer and a central architect of the Nazi regime, re ecting on his life, his complicity and the crumbling legacy of the Thousand Year Reich. Burrell’s script probes the unsettling divide between private virtue and public monstrosity: how a man may present himself as principled and humane while simultaneously embodying political brutality and moral collapse. A decade after its last appearance in Edinburgh, this revival underscores the enduring relevance of Burrell’s work and is a reminder of the persistent inhumanity that continues to de ne global events.

SHATTER RESISTANT

THEATRE & DANCE

Greenside @ George Street

7–29 August (not 16 & 23), 4.05pm instagram.com/shatterresistanttheplay

Shatter Resistant is a darkly comic one-woman show exploring the frustrations of modern life. Cassie is having a tough time, she’s lost her job to an AI chatbot and her life is imploding from every angle. Armed with self-help mantras and a positive mental attitude, Cassie is forced on an odyssey of self-discovery and begins to question why she puts up with crappy jobs, terrible dates and a psycho atmate. Why can’t she just say no? Knock after knock, the cracks begin to show. Maybe Cassie needs to embrace a new philosophy.

MINDREADING AND OTHER FREAKING WONDERS

CABARET & CIRCUS

Muse At Braw Venues @ Hill Street

7–30 August, 3.45pm brawvenues.com/mindreading-andother-freaking-wonders

International mentalist Christian Lavey invites you into a world where psychology, intuition and illusion collide. In this fast-paced, interactive show, thoughts are revealed, choices are predicted and impossible coincidences happen live on stage. Volunteers from the audience become the stars of the show as their thoughts, decisions and memories are explored in ways that feel both astonishing and unsettling.

HOLE!

COMEDY

Underbelly Bristo Square 5–30 August, 9.30pm instagram.com/americansingsong

Plug up thy hole! A religious sect in Nebraska wears butt plugs at all times because they believe a wrathful God shall suck the unplugged up, ass-first, to burn on the face of the sun. The crazy thing is . . . they’re right. HOLE! is an epic love story set in the apocalyptic aftermath of The Great Sucking, when the only people left on Earth are the fanatical Nebraskans – and anyone else who happened to be doing butt stuff at the time.

KNIGHT’S DREAM

THEATRE & DANCE

TheSpace @ Niddry Street 17–22 August, 8.50pm knightsdream.com

Welcome to Knight’s Dream! The classy new bar rated almost five stars! Knight’s Dream is a brand-new musical that explores the modernday issue of drink spiking. It’s a dark comedy packed with catchy songs you’ll be singing as you leave the theatre. Meet a cast of fun and chaotic characters, including the manipulative Bartender, who watches as Oscar and Tulisa, the forever-engaged couple, spend the evening arguing. Meanwhile, a young love triangle spends the night chasing one another after two members of their group are influenced by the illicit ‘Love Drug’. Don’t miss this pop-jazz take on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream!

MR BERGMANN OF DEADMAN’S POINT

THEATRE & DANCE

Paradise Green @The Vault

8–30 August (not 16 & 23), 5.30pm instagram.com/nth_degree_productions

A new play based on the extraordinary true story of Ireland’s most famous unidentified man, the so-called Peter Bergmann, who spent three days in Sligo mysteriously erasing his identity. Told through the eyes of an embalmer who is in a race against time to cement his own legacy, using half-mask, magic and physical theatre. This is a spellbinding and comic tale exploring reputation and what it is to live close to death. Brought to you by the award-winning Nth Degree Productions. ‘Remarkable’ AAAA The Arts Review, ‘Unforgettable’ AAAA The Advertiser

HOW TO BE HAPPY ALL THE TIME

COMEDY

The Banshee Labyrinth 8–30 August (not 18), 3.55pm instagram.com/zoebrownstone

‘Incredible joke writer’ (Mae Martin) Canadian comedian Zoe Brownstone presents an unauthorised survival guide for staying hopeful while everything quietly explodes like a soundless blender without a lid. This is an absurd, spiralling hour about hard choices, ill-advised intimacy and family drama that feels both relatable while also epic in proportion. It’s a show about answering the question we all have to ask ourselves at some point. Strange, honest, and joyfully unhinged. AAAA The Wee Review

JANUARY 6TH THE MUSICAL

THEATRE & DANCE

TheSpace Triplex 7–29 August, 5.05pm instagram.com/january6musical

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?

TURN YOUR FUCKING PHONES OFF

THEATRE & DANCE Summerhall 6–31 August (not 17, 24), 3.40pm hannah-maxwell.com

Hi. Thanks for making time for this. Whatever this is. I suppose it’s a theatre show. Hopefully an ambitious, impactful and timely exploration of human connection in the Information Age. A town hall meeting on a train carriage. A karaoke booth in a nuclear bunker. A clear-the-air chat between you, me and the rest of our plane-ofexistence mates. A dark, absurd and fiercely hopeful new show from the multi award-winning theatremaker. As voted for by audiences at Babyfleareindeerbag across the UK and Australia. ‘Unmissable’ AAAAA ToDoList

festival showcase

WHEEL OF JUSTICE

Amanda Knox was convicted and finally acquitted of a brutal murder, yet still receives death threats despite being cleared of all charges. Making her Fringe debut with a stand-up show that she describes as ‘70% comedy and 30% rage’, the Seattle-born activist and entertainer tells Claire Sawers that she won’t let the bullies (or reviewers) win

No one had it on their bingo card for Amanda Knox to drop in to the Edinburgh Fringe with a stand-up comedy show. She was the American student wrongly convicted for the 2007 murder of roommate Meredith Kercher, sentenced to 26 years in prison, then eventually acquitted in 2015. Seattleite Knox is widely viewed now as the victim of a huge miscarriage of justice. For years, she was at the centre of a targeted campaign to paint her not only as a savage murderer, but an anarchist, drug-taking, Satan-worshipping whore and liar. Many Fringe acts have worked up an hour’s material out of a lot less. Now Knox is bringing us a one-woman debut: her own blend of storytelling, nonconsensual notoriety, resilience and humour with a feminist take.

As those who followed the case will remember, accusations about 20-year-old Knox began because she kissed boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito outside the crime scene, which was considered suspicious, even guilty behaviour. Increasingly wild theories were spread by Italian prosecutor Giuliano Mignini (a pipesmoking Sherlock Holmes fan) who concluded Knox must have staged a break-in after a demonic sex game went wrong. The tabloid press piled on with character assassinations, nicknaming her ‘Foxy Knoxy’ and the rest is history. Or not for Knox, who has spent her whole adult life clouded by controversy. She receives death threats (including some to her four-year-old daughter and two-year-old son) to this day.

That infamous false conviction, based not on proof but on antiAmerican, misogynist speculation and a pressure felt by local Italian police to quickly ‘crack the case’, means Knox knows what it feels like to be hated globally for decades. After being on the wrong end of a hysterical witch hunt, and doing jail time, Knox, now 38 and a mother of two, must feel bulletproof by this point, right? A trip to an arts festival will be a breeze, surely?

‘I’ve actually broken out in hives,’ she tells me over Zoom from her home on Vashon, an island just outside Seattle. ‘I’m really excited to be bringing my debut show, and I’ve heard amazing things about the Fringe, but it’s extremely nerveracking. I heard the Fringe critics tend to be pretty harsh. They instil fear!’ she says, with a strained smile. Knox has tried to process as much as she can over the years. She attempted to get closure and clarity by writing two memoirs, appearing in a Netflix documentary, and through Mouth Of The Wolf, a film released earlier this year and made by her husband, in which she returned to Italy to confront Mignini. She’s become an activist for justice reform, platforming the wrongly accused on her podcast Hard Knox, and drawing attention to disputed cases like Lucy Letby’s on another podcast, Doubt

When Knox joins the call today, she is polite but starts out looking tense and vigilant. Who can blame her for having trust issues with the media? ‘In my show, all of that unresolved rage and grief is coming out. When you’ve gone through something

traumatic, you can think, “ok, I’m done, I’ve found peace, I’ve moved on!” And then you become a mother and it all comes up again. Cartwheel is about being a mother to a daughter asking questions. It’s funny too because so much ridiculous stuff happened and deserves to be a punchline.’

After announcing her stand-up plans, some critics found it insensitive and the family of Meredith Kercher was reported to be offended. Knox is keen to point out that it is likely to be their lawyer and not Kercher’s parents who were outraged. ‘He’s an Italian man, assigned to them from my prosecutor in Italy. Frankly he’s a raging hypocrite. He wrote his own book about the case. He doesn’t say a peep when the actual murderer [Rudy Guede] writes his book [2022’s The Benefit Of The Doubt: My Story], or that the actual murderer is currently in an ongoing trial for sexual assault since his release from jail. The young woman was too young to have followed the case; she knew nothing about him.’

Knox prefers to keep her focus on not letting the bullies win.

‘When your very existence is controversial and offends people and if your story reminds people of something terrible that happened to someone else, the idea that being connected to that terrible thing suddenly disqualifies you as a storyteller or a person with something valuable to say . . . I suppose you could take that position, but I do not. I frankly don’t think anyone serious does. I think they invented this ethical dilemma for me.’

Knox describes Cartwheel as ‘70% comedy and 30% rage’. More than a decade has passed since her acquittal, yet the show combines ‘unresolved feelings of pain at the impossible trap of patriarchy’, with absurd humour, silly situations and ‘mom jokes’. Knox made her stand-up debut at the Los Angeles Comedy Store as part of The Roast Of Whitney Cummings in 2023 and has since opened for Nikki Glaser, Esther Povitsky and Damon Wayans.

‘The comedy world is notoriously hard on women. People have found astounding ways to be cruel and punishing towards me, in insane ways. I am aware there are tabloids who cannot wait to talk shit about me. They would love for me to fail. I am prepared for criticism. I’m speaking about personal things in Cartwheel: raising a daughter given my own history, being abused as a woman. Everyone is familiar with little kids saying, “it’s not fair!” Oh! Yes! Really? Let’s talk about that! How do I explain injustice in an age-appropriate way to my four-yearold given what I know? I’m trying to explain how the world works to my kid, but in a way that doesn’t make her afraid to exist in this world. The “funny” is the tension between those two things.’

The title is a reference to Knox ‘cartwheeling’ in the Perugia police station where she was questioned. The alleged odd and inappropriate behaviour was, in fact, a lost-in-translation moment, sensationalised to vilify her. Knox did yoga stretches in

AMANDA KNOX

the waiting room, which was translated by police as gymnastics, and then cartwheels, a misleading game of what Knox calls ‘telephone’ (better known here as Chinese whispers). ‘To this day, people believe I was just doin’ cartwheels and jugglin’ balls and circus acts in there!’ she jokes, incredulously. ‘Really? Really!?’ Cartwheels are also a nod to her daughter’s carefree innocence as well as her own. ‘I’m raising a daughter who likes to play and be silly, just like me, and do cartwheels. How do I set her up to succeed in a world that punished me for that very behaviour? I’m reclaiming it, giving a kind of defiant embrace to free-spiritedness. I want my kid to be carefree and whimsical and do a little dance.’

When I bring up that Knox used to be a musical theatre kid, it’s like the conversation has a key change. Her serious face melts into a grin. ‘Oh my god, yeah. I was a nerd singing showtunes in the hallways between classes at school. I

was in Annie twice, Fiddler On The Roof; maybe Fringe audiences will hear a little riff on The Sound Of Music in my show . . .’

She loves the idea of coming back to her roots as a performer, and the light-hearted kid who grew up loving Robin Willliams and Jackie Chan. Grown-up Knox is a fan of Bo Burnham, Tig Notaro, Flight Of The Conchords, Mike Birbiglia and Alex Edelman. US comedians Jena Friedman and Sarah Silverman have become her friends and she admires Riki Lindhome who turned a sad infertility journey into a fun, uplifting musical show, Dead Inside ‘After this whole ordeal, I really didn’t get to embrace my creative side. I love that art transmutes ugliness into joy and beauty. Comedy does that in an incredible way. My god, when you have children you have to have hope. Let’s see if the audience and the reviewers give me a fair hearing.’

Amanda Knox: Cartwheel, Gilded Balloon Teviot, 7–17 August, 8.15pm.

Amanda Knox pictured with Raffaele Sollecito in the 2016 Netflix documentary

Afrique En Cirque

Sophie’s Surprise 29th

High flying birds

As part of Fringe By The Sea’s new Love Of Life programme, it seems fitting that Erland Cooper’s latest work will premiere within sight of the Bass Rock’s northern gannet colony that helped inspire it. Fiona Shepherd caught up with the composer to talk movies, melody and Moomins

I‘’m as excited as a little schoolboy,’ says Erland Cooper. This is a composer who has, in the past few years, buried the only master tape of one of his works then initiated a global treasure hunt to find it (captured in the documentary Recomposing Earth); soundtracked an installation, Superbloom, for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee; and, arguably most exciting of all, worked with the Moomins (or, to be accurate, scored a reading of Tove Jansson’s essay The Island). What excitement could possibly be left for the Orcadian musician who quips that ‘the first job of a composer is to be composed’?

How about steering the recording of a new work which brings together his abiding love of ecological themes with his favourite players, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, in their opulent home at Glasgow’s City Halls? For Cooper, these guys are the ‘Formula One’ of musicians, and, under the baton of Sheffield-based conductor George Morton and guidance of Charlotte Parr, SSO’s head of artistic planning and production, something very special is about to take flight. Cooper’s latest work, commissioned by and premiered at Fringe By The Sea, celebrates the Bass Rock and its superstar avian colony of northern gannets.

‘Sula Bassana’ is a soaring ten-minute piece based on a melody Cooper recorded his then six-year-old daughter singing. He previously interpreted her simple tune on piano and string quartet for the first of his Orcadian album trilogy Solan Goose (from the Norse name for gannet). Now he has a whole orchestra to play with.

An initial rehearsal of the whole piece packs an emotional punch, from the anticipation created by the wind machine’s opening whirr to the full ensemble’s climactic swell. Successive meticulous takes capture the elemental essence of the work. ‘You stitch it together like crocheting,’ he says, ‘and hopefully the finished tapestry is the best of the best. Best performance, best feeling, best vibe.’ Cooper was a natural choice for this commission. He has been drawn to coastal crags and rocky outcrops since discovering the dramatic etchings of artist Norman Ackroyd. His own music is frequently inspired by coastal and island environments, not least his native Orkney; Bass Rock has been on his bucket list and he gathered field recordings there on a recce.

Kicking off the festival’s new Love Of Life programme, the recording of ‘Sula Bassana’ will form part of an immersive experience meditating on air, sea and land; festivalgoers will be invited to engage with a giant nestlike structure created by artist Naomi Mcintosh and tune into the soundtrack through suspended listening posts. Meanwhile, the neighbouring Scottish Seabird Centre will host screenings of a sumptuous film by Lewis Gourlay, capturing 360-degree vistas on the rock and underwater footage of gannets diving with a precision and artistry not unlike the orchestra. ‘When they get it right, it’s like watching someone shoot arrows in the water,’ says Cooper. ‘Our avian friends have occupied Bass Rock for thousands of years and we celebrate the next chapter with the RSPB taking ownership of the island.’

Cooper has lived in London for many years, forming indie bands Erland & The Carnival and The Magnetic North with Verve/Gorillaz guitarist Simon Tong and singer/composer Hannah Peel before gravitating to field recordings and modern classical music. He has recently written his first feature film score for the documentary Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story which, along with Recomposing Earth, screens as part of Fringe By The Sea’s Wavelength musicfilm strand. Later this year, he will return to Glasgow’s City Halls to premiere a violin concerto marking David Attenborough’s 100th birthday.

‘I’m constantly learning,’ Cooper says. ‘Yes, I was in a psychedelic shoegaze folk indie rock band but electronics and distortion are still something I apply to my music now. Melody is always really important to me; true folk music, which is where my band started, is storytelling, so there’s always a thread. If you’d told me 15 years ago, “you’re going to be standing in front of an orchestra”, I would have thought, “really?” But we all take elements of our past lives with us forward into new projects and they make you better at what you do.’

Love Of Life launches at Big Top, 31 July, 3.30pm, and can be heard at Scottish Seabird Centre, 31 July–9 August, 10am–5pm; Recomposing Earth screens on 31 July, 4.30pm, and Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story screens on 4 August, 6pm, both at The Dome; all events in North Berwick.

Against the tide

The Incomer features an eccentric pair of siblings shaken by the arrival of a stranger on their isolated island. Director Louis Paxton chats to Afreka Thomson about dealing with midges, bemused locals and a performing seagull called Scampi

This August, Edinburgh International Film Festival will open not with an established auteur or Hollywood heavyweight, but with a strange, slightly scruffy and completely charming Scottish comedy. The Incomer is the debut feature from Edinburgh-born filmmaker Louis Paxton: a folk and horror-infused story about two siblings living in self-imposed exile on a remote Scottish island. Fresh from winning the Next Innovator Award at Sundance, the film arrives in Edinburgh having charmed audiences across the Atlantic. Alongside its breakout director, it boasts an ensemble cast including Domhnall Gleeson, Gayle Rankin, Grant O’Rourke, John Hannah, Michelle Gomez and Emun Elliott.

For Paxton, the moment feels particularly surreal. Before he was opening Edinburgh’s film festival, he was working there. ‘It was one of my first jobs; I saw so many films there. The idea that this would screen at that festival . . . ’ he says, shaking his head in disbelief. Growing up in Edinburgh, Paxton spent summers in Orkney, where his grandfather came from, surrounded by stories of selkies, finn-men and the folklore of Scotland’s Northern Isles. He explored shipwrecks and abandoned settlements, becoming fascinated by communities that had vanished.

That fascination led him deeper into the world of abandoned Scottish islands such as St Kilda, and the way the modern world romanticises what would have been a very hard life. ‘People would talk about abandoned houses and how sad it is that communities left. I just never felt like that. There is tragedy in it, but it’s also a really positive thing that these people found better lives.’

Paxton’s intrigue with the lore of Scottish islands eventually became The Incomer, in which childlike siblings Isla (Rankin) and Sandy (O’Rourke) have spent decades alone on the barren island that they inhabit: hunting seabirds, chatting to persuasive mythical creatures (John Hannah in a wetsuit, no less) and defending their island from dreaded ‘incomers’. That is until the arrival of awkward council worker Daniel (Gleeson), sent from the mainland on a reluctant mission to collapse their odd little world. Upon his arrival he finds two siblings that squabble like children, eat seagulls from the bone and have a shockingly blasé relationship with violence. For Paxton, authenticity was crucial, no matter how absurd the story became. The relationship between Sandy and Isla is central to that. ‘The way things can escalate from zero to a hundred so quickly is very much the dynamic me and my sister had in our teens. You just know how to push each other’s buttons.’

Despite its distinctly Scottish setting, Paxton always hoped the film would travel. He points to Taika Waititi’s Hunt For The Wilderpeople and Boy as key inspirations. ‘They have such a strong identity and sense of place, but you could show them to anyone in the world and they’ll get it. I always looked at that and thought, “why can’t we do that with Scottish comedy and Scottish film?”’ So far, audiences seem to agree. ‘I was really surprised that in the US they understood as much of it as they did,’ laughs Paxton. ‘I’m not criticising them: there are bits of it that are just so Scottish.’

Paxton originally intended to shoot in Orkney, but rising costs and a busy tourist season made it difficult. Instead, production moved to Caithness. ‘It’s quite flat and has this sort of barren beauty,’ he says. The cast and crew spent weeks in Wick and Thurso, winning over bemused locals. ‘People would ask if we were making The Odyssey,’ he laughs, referring to Christopher Nolan’s epic which was shooting nearby at the same time. ‘And we’d say no and they’d just walk off, unimpressed.’

Still, The Incomer had its own version of movie-star glamour. Domhnall Gleeson spent one day strapped to the edge of a cliff for a particularly hair-raising sequence. ‘Domhnall’s lying on the edge . . . and he’s just getting eaten alive by midges,’ Paxton recalls. Then there were the trained seagulls, including one called Scampi, whose previous screen credit was alongside Robert Pattinson in The Lighthouse.

PICTURE:

needed it to flap over people, but the bird just didn’t do anything.’ If the gulls weren’t exactly throwing themselves into it, John Hannah was quite the opposite: he spent hours in the freezing North Sea. ‘He just turned up, smoking little rollies in his make-up,’ says Paxton. Moments later, he’d be ‘holding on to these weights underwater, fighting the surge and acting at the same time. He was just the best sport.’ Now, as Edinburgh prepares to welcome The Incomer home, Paxton remains nervous. He has screened the film for audiences across the world, but not yet for the people who know its landscapes and humour best. ‘I’ve not seen it with a Scottish audience, and all my family and friends are going to be there.’ It is a daunting prospect. But for a filmmaker who once hoovered popcorn from the seats he is now filling, and whose debut feature is steeped in the stories and landscapes of Scotland, there is one thing he certainly won’t be when his movie arrives in Edinburgh: an incomer.

The Incomer, Cameo, 13 August, 6pm, 9pm; Filmhouse, 13 August, 6.30pm, 9.30pm; Cineworld, 13 August, 10pm; 14 August, 1pm, 6pm; 15 August, 9.30pm.

LOUIS PAXTON

fashion Out of

The world of modelling may seem glamorous but, as two Fringe shows reveal, exploitation and worse can be the other side of that coin. Danny Munro meets Keeley Hazell and Mario Adrion to discuss the good, the bad and the ugly of life in front of a camera

PICTURE: TREVOR PAUL

Keeley Hazell and Mario Adrion head to Edinburgh armed with a similar angle. Both former models, the duo have each crafted shows about the vicissitudes of life in an industry where it pays to bare all. Hazell’s Fringe debut Everyone’s Seen My Tits is based loosely on her recently published memoir of the same name. Winner of The Sun’s Page 3 Idol competition at the age of 18, Hazell was catapulted into the lad mag industry of the mid-2000s, modelling for the likes of FHM, Nuts and Zoo when such magazines were at the peak of their powers. ‘I’m from south-east London, grew up on a council estate, parents didn’t have much money. And then I entered this competition at 18 and won. And everything sort of changed drastically,’ Hazell explains, catching her breath from the six flights of stairs she’s just climbed to reach her New York apartment.

Hazell spent a total of five years modelling in the British magazine industry, eventually ditching the front covers for Los Angeles, where she settled for over a decade and forged a successful acting career. In , we find Hazell, aged 32, trying to make sense of a life spent in front of the cameras while in the waiting room for an audition. ‘The show starts off with me auditioning to play myself, which is a real situation that happened. And so it’s delving into “am I who the world believes I am?”, themes of exploitation, and just kind

of coming to terms with my identity.’

Everyone’s Seen My Tits of a life spent in front of the cameras while in the waiting room for

kind of surreal because when you’re from a small town like I finding lived Klein. dark,’ expect level of sexual harassment and how normal a with to being sexually assaulted. Though he would stand-

catharsis for him. ‘I like challenging in

In a similar vein, Adrion got his break in the modelling industry thanks to a stroke of luck. While on a student exchange in Peru, German-born Adrion was headhunted by a modelling scout online who asked him to take part in New York Fashion Week. ‘It was kind of surreal because when you’re from a small town like I grew up in there is no path to doing anything artistic. We’re all engineers,’ Adrion laughs. ‘So I was like, “I’ve got to do it”.’ He proceeded to grab the opportunity with both hands, quickly finding success. ‘I lived in Milan, I lived in London, I lived in Singapore, I did jobs in South Korea,’ reminisces Adrion who starred in glossy campaigns for the likes of Gucci and Calvin Klein. Glamorous though it sounds, he doesn’t shy away from detailing his encounters with the seedy underbelly of that field. ‘Yeah, it’s pretty dark,’ Adrion admits. ‘I didn’t expect it, especially as a man; you wouldn’t expect the level of sexual harassment and how normal it is.’ The title of his show, Live A Little, is a reference to how photographers he worked with told him to deal with being sexually assaulted. Though he would be forgiven for not wanting to relive such experiences 25 evenings in a row via the medium of standup, performing evokes a feeling of catharsis for him. ‘I like challenging what people expect in a comedy club; they expect jokes about Hitler and my German heritage, and all of a sudden I bring in this very personal thing. And I love that. I love challenging people.’

ditched modelling and turned to a career has

staff writer on the fact a career she walked away from more than 15 Starbucks can see women who have been in certain industries in a

Like Adrion, who eventually ditched modelling and turned to a career on YouTube, Hazell has largely stepped away from the industry. It’s been a busy few years for the Lewisham-born scribe who is now a Ted Lasso. When asked if she resents the fact a career she walked away from more than 15 years ago is consistently referenced, Hazell says she chooses to take the positives from her past life experiences. ‘If I’d had a job at Starbucks at 18, it wouldn’t be something people mentioned. But at the same time, I think if I can talk about something and flip the conversation, then maybe people can see women who have been in certain industries in a different light. Maybe then it’s a thing worth discussing.’

Keeley Hazell: Everyone’s Seen My Tits, Pleasance Courtyard, 5–29 August, 5.40pm; Mario Adrion: Live A Little, Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 August, 8.30pm.

From the award-winning creators of

‘Hypnotic masterpiece’ Chicago Reader

6–29 AUG • 5:30PM

Moby Dick (Barbican)

Directed by Yngvild Aspeli

Plexus Polaire presents

Fit for a king

Royal flush: artist impressions (above) and a long work in progress

Edinburgh’s much-loved King’s Theatre is all set to swing open its doors after a multi-year, multi-million pound refurb. Mark Fisher looks back at the building’s illustrious history, talks to key players about its rebirth and finds out what audiences can expect as the curtain goes up once more

Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre is all things to all people. Want evidence? Just look at the first two shows after the Tollcross venue officially reopens following its three-and-a-half-year refurbishment. You could hardly have a bigger contrast. On the one hand, there is a recording of the podcast Wanging On in which Graham Norton and Maria McErlane dispense unreliable advice about life’s little dilemmas. Should be a hoot. On the other, there is Angels In America, Ivo van Hove’s staging of Tony Kushner’s ‘gay fantasia on national themes’. It is performed in Dutch and lasts five hours. Should be great too.

Post-August, it’s the same: everything from a hip-hop musical to modern dance and a Yoruba retelling of Macbeth (Crown Of

Blood). ‘We want to still have that mix of genres for the King’s,’ says Fiona Gibson, chief executive of Capital Theatres which operates the venue as well Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre. ‘Our mantra is always to have a show for someone at least once a year.’ She points out that 90,000 residents contributed to the fundraising campaign for the refurbishment. The building is seriously loved. ‘It’s known as the People’s Theatre for a reason,’ she says.

With the refit completed, those people will have more space to enjoy the King’s, notably in the expanded circle bar that now commands views up Home Street thanks to the relocation of toilets and removal of its frosted-glass windows. ‘When the light comes round in the evening, because it’s west facing, you get beautiful sunlight in those rooms,’ says James Nelmes, the architect from Bennetts Associates responsible for the scheme. ‘For pre-show drinks, it should be a great experience.’

Downstairs, there is a daytime café where the box office used to be and, on upper circle level, a magnificent gin bar, previously neglected. The thin strip of a bar beneath the stalls now has extra depth after they dug into the ground behind it. Up in the attic, with the rafters exposed, is a creative engagement

studio for workshops, school groups and heritage projects. It is still recognisably the King’s, but there should be less queuing and not so much of a squash.

‘It’s a strong responsibility for all of us because we just know how loved the building is,’ says Gibson. That responsibility applies to the Edinburgh International Festival as much as it does to year-round programming. It was here, in the inaugural festival of 1947, that Princess Margaret and her sister, the future Queen, attended the Glyndebourne staging of Verdi’s Macbeth. If it were not for the lights fusing in the orchestra pit, it would have been the most glamorous of evenings.

Glyndebourne was a fixture for most of the next decade, establishing the King’s as the EIF’s home for opera, the place where Maria Callas sang in 1957 and Joan Sutherland performed in 1960 and 1961; the latter was the year John Gielgud directed Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, two years before Britten himself conducted The Beggar’s Opera, starring his partner Peter Pears.

The list of cultural giants (both performers and directors) continued into the 1990s: Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Placido Domingo, Alexander Gibson, Jonathan Miller, Peter Ustinov. From 1985, the EIF increasingly used the King’s for theatre and dance.

Here you could see productions by Ingmar Bergman and St Petersburg’s Gorky Theatre, not to mention, in a surreal crosscultural collision, Michael Clark dancing to the music of The Fall live on stage in 1988’s I Am Curious, Orange. Visits by choreographers Mark Morris, Pina Bausch and Bill T Jones in subsequent years were just as sensational.

‘Theatres are wonderful buildings to work with,’ says Nelmes. ‘The fact that they’re culturally important and beloved by lots of people is lovely.’ And the famous names just keep coming: Kenneth Branagh directed Siobhan Redmond, Emma Thompson and Richard Briers in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and King Lear; Yukio Ninagawa directed Alan Rickman and Suzanne Bertish in Tango At The End Of Winter. It is the theatre where Peter Stein staged his mighty productions of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya and David Harrower’s Blackbird, and where Alan Cumming entered upside down (and bare bummed) in The Bacchae

Hosting world-class drama is one thing, but the King’s has a longer history as a palace of popular entertainment. From the 1930s until the 60s, The Half Past Eight Show (later Five Past Eight Show) could run for as long as 28 weeks over the summer with variety stars including Jimmy Logan, Rikki Fulton and Stanley Baxter. The Howard & Wyndham chain sold the theatre

to Edinburgh City Council in 1969, but thanks to Baxter, the tradition of lavish Scottish pantomime was kept alive. The inheritors of that tradition include the current dream team of Allan Stewart, Grant Stott and Jordan Young, who will be itching to get back to the King’s for The Adventures Of Pinocchio this Christmas. ‘The panto cast have loved all the space at the Festival Theatre, but their spiritual home is the King’s,’ says Gibson. ‘They’re really looking forward to being back.’

Built by a syndicate of Edinburgh businessmen, the theatre was designed by Scottish architects James Davidson and JD Swanston and opened in December 1906 with a production of Cinderella. That it had six routes from street to seat reflected the social make-up of the era. ‘It depended on ticket price and, effectively, which class of society you came from,’ says Nelmes. ‘You only ever came through the front door and up the alabaster stair if you were wealthy enough to have circle seats or to be at the front of the stalls. We have changed the architecture to reflect our time and more democratised access to the arts.’

Now, in our egalitarian age, the side doors are gone. Where previously there were fire escapes, there are now staircases and lifts. The watchword for the redevelopment is accessibility. From the sloping pavement at the front to the step-free corridors backstage, the King’s is no longer an obstacle to navigate. ‘You’re always in the shadow of your forebears but you can’t be cowed by that,’ says Nelmes. ‘You have to be bold and

brave, and think big ideas. I met a descendant of JD Swanston and she said, “surely as an architect, you want to knock it down and start again?” You’ve got this wonderful asset to work with; why would you do that? It’s nice to feel you’re part of that lineage, keeping things going.’

A refurbishment in the 1950s pushed back the wall of the upper circle, while reducing capacity from 2500 to 1500. That was further reduced to 1330 with a refit in 1985. The latest changes include the return of the back wall to its original position, the removal of two rows in the upper circle, and the installation of a control room, bringing the capacity down to 1125. ‘In comparison to the West End theatres, it’s still quite big,’ says Gibson. ‘The West End producers are super excited because they have really missed that size of venue here in the city.’

Those producers may reap the benefit of a fly tower that is 4.5 metres taller, making room for bigger sets, and the levelling of the 1:22 raked stage, allowing for a wider range of touring productions, notably dance and physical theatre. ‘It means we can improve productivity,’ says Gibson. ‘Get-in and get-out times will be much faster.’ After such a long process, how will she feel when opening night finally arrives? ‘It’s going to be very emotional. It’s been an amazing privilege.’

For full details of shows at the King’s Theatre in August and beyond, go to capitaltheatres.com

Majestic work: (from top left clockwise) Exxy, Angels In America, Paranormal Activity, São Paulo Dance Company, Allan Stewart and Grant Stott in the legendary King's panto, Alan Cumming in The Bacchae, Mark Morris Dance Group, Maria Callas, the King's on opening night in 1906

festival showcase

Whether you want to laugh or cry, sing and dance, or marvel at the wonders of the human body, you’ll always find the perfect show at the Edinburgh Fringe. Explore our showcase and get booking!

CRYING AT MY PODIATRIST

THEATRE & DANCE

Paradise In Augustines

8–14, 17–21, 24–30 August, 7.40pm juliaatkin.com/crying | @cryingatmypodiatrist @itsjuliaatkin

When Julia Atkin loses her big toenail, she gains an unlikely spiritual advisor: her Ukrainian podiatrist. In this preposterous, dark comedy, Julia revisits the worst three years of her life: medical mishaps, identity crises and giggling through grief. Between scenes about her toe, Julia talks about a medical mystery that drove her to call a suicide hotline and all the healthcare providers who couldn’t compare to her podiatrist. Crying At My Podiatrist blends absurd body horror with a reluctant search for meaning in the world’s least spiritual office.

JONTY O’CALLAGHAN’S GOT SOME NOTES: A ONE-MAN SKETCH SHOW

COMEDY

Just The Tonic At The Caves 6–17 August, 6.40pm instagram.com/onemanjonty

A one-man sketch comedy show, written and performed by Jonty O’Callaghan! Coming to Edinburgh fresh from two five-star runs at Camden Fringe and Brighton Fringe. This is a fast-paced collection of character-driven sketch comedy. Expect madness and audience participation. And maybe a unicorn or two. It’s gonna be a laugh . . .

THE EDINBURGH SOCIETY OF UNAPOLOGETICALLY IMPERFECT MOTHERS LIVE!

COMEDY

Just The Tonic Nucleus 29 & 30 August, 2pm edinburghsocietyofunapologetically imperfectmothers.com/fringeshow

This interactive show stars a prosecco-loving group of friends who dive into the chaos of motherhood with hilarious honesty, celebrating friendship and life in all its messy glory. It’s like pulling up a chair with your funniest mates over a cuppa or a glass of fizz. An unfiltered look at the reality of modern motherhood, where no topic is off-limits, this show will lighten your mental load and have you laughing as the mums bring their form of group therapy to the stage.

SABOTAGE

THEATRE & DANCE

TheSpace Triplex

24–28 August, 10.50pm sabotage.theplay

‘Every now and again, Melbourne’s indie theatre scene throws up something destined for a bigger stage . . . the two-hander writhes with comedic life even as it probes loneliness and trauma . . . talent scouts and arts programmers should make a beeline for this very short season.’ AAAA Cameron Woodhead, The Age. Following critical acclaim in Melbourne, Sabotage makes its Edinburgh debut in August. This sharp, darkly comic new play strands two versions of the same traveller in an airport departure lounge, where delayed flights give way to a reckoning with identity, ambition and the baggage we carry through life.

SANCTUARY

THEATRE & DANCE

Pleasance Dome | 5–31 August, 4pm leodistalent.com

The Leodis Prize has been awarded to Jacob Sparrow with his brand new play Sanctuary. A reflective and time-shifting drama, Sanctuary explores memory, belonging and community as past and present intertwine. Inspired by real events in a Suffolk village, where plans to open an Aids hospice in the early 1990s were met with local resistance, the play follows a man who arrives ahead of the development and forms unexpected connections with those around him. It’s a play about loneliness and legacy, and how memory and nostalgia can quickly move from comforting to oppressive. Sanctuary is about accepting your past in order to live in your present.

MACBETH: BLOOD AND BLUEGRASS

THEATRE

TheSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall 7–29 August (not 12, 19, 25), 3.55pm thebardenparty.com

Winning multiple five-star reviews at the 2025 Fringe, The Barden Party’s highly original adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth returns for a second year. Featuring live bluegrass and Americana music and gender-blind casting, the show became an unexpected word-ofmouth hit, as critics and audiences alike were captivated by the modern twist this multi award-winning New Zealand company gives to the classic play. You’ll never see the notorious Scottish Play in the same way again. Murder has never felt so alive!

The heat is on

Even before the Fringe kicks off, Summerhall can justifiably lay claim to some of the hottest shows in town this year.

Zara Janjua chats to the team bringing sauna theatre to Edinburgh and discovers the practicalities of staging multiple performances a day while breaking into a full-on sweat

Atelephone box. A swimming pool. Public toilets. A taxi. Even a lift. Over the years, the Fringe has transformed some of the city’s most unlikely corners into stages. What constitutes a venue at the world’s largest arts festival never fails to surprise. But this August might be the first time audiences have been asked to bring a swimsuit and towel.

Sauna Theatre, a purpose-built 80-seat sauna at Summerhall, will host nine performances a day, combining storytelling, music, dance and the centuries-old sauna ritual known as aufguss. And before anyone dismisses the concept as a novelty, co-creative director James Grieve is keen to make one thing clear: ‘There’s nothing about this that is a gimmick,’ he says. ‘We’re absolutely serious about this. I hope what we’re going to deliver is a really beautiful theatre that happens to have a sauna stove in the middle.’

The idea arrives at a moment when sauna culture is booming across Britain. What was once considered a Scandinavian import has rapidly become part of Britain’s growing wellness industry. But the roots of communal sweating stretch much further back than Nordic spa traditions. ‘People think of saunas as something we’ve recently imported from Finland,’ says Grieve. ‘But actually there are sweat lodges on this island dating back 10,000

years.’ For co-creative director and designer Lucy Osborne, the appeal lies in bringing together two experiences that already foster connection. ‘It’s become the new pub,’ she says of modern sauna culture. ‘It’s a place where you go to meet your friends.’

The performance element comes through aufguss, a German sauna ritual whose name translates as ‘infusion’. During a traditional session, ice infused with essential oils is placed on hot stones before a sauna master circulates the fragrant steam around the room using elaborate towel choreography. If that conjures images of someone aggressively snapping towels in a changing room, think again. ‘It’s really evolved from being a sauna ritual into a performance,’ says Grieve. ‘Aufguss now often involves narrative, music and lots of different storytelling forms alongside the heat and scent to take the audience on a journey.’

Early risers can start with a straightforward morning sauna session before graduating to a rave where DJs provide the soundtrack as audiences move between heat and cold plunges. There are literary salons, music events and performances from some of Europe’s leading aufguss artists. One of the most intriguing offerings is Mysteries Of The Picts, which imagines how ancient Scottish communities may have used sweat lodges. ‘The Picts are believed to have come from Ireland originally, where there are sweat lodges everywhere,’ says Grieve. ‘We’re

Hot stuff: Sauna Theatre co-creative directors Lucy Osborne and James Grieve; sketches of the sauna venue; (previous page) Aufguss master Meg Hopkinson

imagining that perhaps this was where they prepared for battle against the Romans. Perhaps it was where they tattooed each other. Perhaps it was where they told stories.’

The result is part history, part mythology and part imaginative reconstruction. Audience members won’t spend 90 minutes continuously baking. Most performances are divided into four short acts with cooling-off intervals in between. Cold plunge baths, showers and outdoor spaces allow people to regulate their temperature before returning for the next installment. ‘We know a lot of our audience will be first-time sauna-goers,’ adds Grieve, ‘so we’re keeping our acts a little shorter.’ The aim, says Osborne, is for audiences to leave feeling ‘euphoric’ rather than exhausted.

The venue, constructed in Somerset, is due to take around four weeks to build. Lighting, sound and staging all require specialist solutions because conventional theatre equipment struggles to cope with sustained heat and steam. ‘The heat and the steam are one of the most brilliant things about aufguss,’ says Osborne, ‘but also the most challenging from a purely practical point of view.’

Lighting equipment sits outside the heated environment, shining through glass openings rather than being exposed directly to high temperatures. Then there are the performers themselves. A team of UK and international aufguss masters will rotate through

the programme, with Grieve describing them as ‘athletes’ as much as artists. ‘It’s an extraordinary thing to watch somebody work so hard with such elegance and beauty in an extremely hot room,’ he says. For audiences worried about practicalities, the organisers insist hygiene and safety have been built into every aspect of the experience. The venue will be cleaned between every performance, while guests receive guidance on hydration and sauna etiquette from the moment they book.

The project has been funded through private investment rather than traditional arts funding, leading Grieve to make perhaps the most revealing observation about contemporary culture. ‘If anything,’ he laughs, ‘I’d say there’s probably more funding in saunas than there is in theatre at the moment.’ The Fringe has always been about putting Edinburgh audiences somewhere they’ve never been before: this year that place just happens to be 90C.

Get Set For The Day Sauna Session, 9am; Morning Sauna Rave, 10am; Mysteries Of The Picts, noon; Lunch Break Luxuriate Lit Salon, 1.30pm; Aufguss x The Waves, 3pm; Bubble Schmeisis (Remixed), 4.30pm; International Aufguss Masters, 6pm; Aufguss x Nils Frahm, 7.30pm; Sauna Sessions Arts Club: The Hottest Club In Town, 9pm; all shows at Summerhall, 6–31 August.

PICTURE:

“

The weirdest sensory experience I’ve ever had

Critics, PRs, venue bosses and taxi drivers usually have strong ideas about which shows Fringe fans should be shelling out for. But what about the performers themselves? Surely they have their finger on the pulse? Below are 23 of them, passing on some wisdom and telling us what’ll be hot this August

ZOE BROWNSTONE

I cannot wait to spend an hour with Marty Gleeson. One of the most unique new voices in comedy right now, her style, structure and imagination never fail to delight me.

 Zoe Brownstone: How To Be Happy All The Time, Free Fringe Banshee Labyrinth, 8–30 August, 3.55pm; Marty Gleeson: Dog Ear, Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 August, 7.15pm.

SEPIDEH KAAV

I love Sofia May’s comedy because she doesn’t play it safe or reach for low-hanging fruit. You always hear something different. 9/11 Birds And The Bees fascinates me because it’s not just 9/11 jokes; it’s Sofia telling us what it was like to witness history as a child. As a Middle Eastern, I’m obviously invested.

 Sepideh Kaav: 1979 – Persianality Disorder, Laughing Horse Coco Boho, 18–30 August, 5.15pm; Sofia May: 9/11 Birds And The Bees, Laughing Horse West Port Oracle, 6–30 August, 7.30pm.

SAPPHIRE MCINTOSH

I have only met Madeleine Brettingham once, in the green room of The Comedy Store, and she seemed dead cool. Cool, like Britpop cool. Not fussy, not stressing before her set but confident and assured. I never saw her set that night as I was rehearsing with my sketch group but I’ve checked her stuff out online and it’s sharp, smart and stunning.

 Sapphire McIntosh: Squeaky Bum Time, Underbelly Bristo Square, 5–30 August, 5.45pm; Madeleine Brettingham: Legend, Gilded Balloon Teviot, 5–31 August, 8.20pm.

ROSIE JONES

The show that I am most excited about seeing in Edinburgh is Helen Bauer’s work-in-progress show Working And God Willing Progressing Helen is a dear friend of mine and I find her comedy so fresh, funny and full of life. She is a force of nature and everybody should buy a ticket to her show IMMEDIATELY

 Rosie Jones: I Can’t Tell What She’s Saying, Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 August, 4pm; Helen Bauer: Working And God Willing Progressing, Monkey Barrel, 17–19 August, times vary.

RONAN DEMPSEY

What drew my attention this year was Diary Of A Mad Man. I read the short story by Gogol a long time ago but have never seen it staged before. Very much looking forward to that.

 Ronan Dempsey performs in Mr Bergmann Of Deadman’s Point, Paradise In The Vault, 8–30 August, 5.30pm; Diary Of A Mad Man, Assembly Roxy, 5–31 August, 1.20pm.

PIERRE NOVELLIE

I am recommending Garrett Millerick’s show. He’s an excellent comedian generally but his specific show this year has some elements to it that could genuinely change the world or the way you see the world.

 Pierre Novellie: Okay, One More Then Bedtime, Monkey Barrel, 5–29 August, 7.05pm; Pierre Novellie: Do The One About . . . Assembly George Square Studios, 18–29 August, 1pm; Garrett Millerick: We Tried It Your Way, Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 August, 4.35pm.

NATALIA SLEDZ

Giuseppe’s Love Quest by Jeromaia Detto would have to be up there. It’s clown, it’s silly, it’s interactive. It’s about an Italian beach boy trying to understand ‘what is love?’ What’s not to love about that?

Natalia Sledz: Puss Puss, Underbelly Bristo Square, 5–30 August, 7.15pm; Jeromaia Detto: Giuseppe’s Love Quest, Underbelly George Square, 5–30 August, 6.45pm.

MEGAN TOMEI

I’m beyond excited to see In The Black by Quaz Degraft. I’ve heard nothing but glowing reviews of how funny, touching and deep this play is, and how masterfully Quaz moves through his performance. He’s also a dear friend and fellow alum of the University Of Southern California’s Acting MFA! Megan Tomei performs in SpinQueen, Greenside George Street, 7–29 August, 7.35pm; In The Black, Underbelly Bristo Square, 5–31 August, 2.45pm.

KATE HAMMER

I saw a work-in-progress of Kathleen Hughes’ Twig last year and it was already so beautiful and funny. A lesser comedian would be fuming at how good Kathleen is and how easy she makes it look. She’s had to cut her run down, so get tickets fast.

Kate Hammer: Government Approved Comedian, Monkey Barrel Studio, 3–30 August, 5pm; Kathleen Hughes: Twig, The Gilded Saloon, 18, 20 August, 7.40pm.

JOE SELLMANLEAVA

I’ve been a fan of Eva O’Connor’s work for years now (compelling characters and stories, with vivid imagery and theatricality) and have loved everything I’ve seen at the Traverse. The copy doesn’t give much away, so I’m really intrigued by this one.

 Joe Sellman-Leava performs in Copycat, Pleasance Dome, 5–31 August, 4.10pm; For Dolores, Traverse Theatre, 6–30 August, times vary.

ISABELLE BLANCHE

I am excited to see Headcase. It’s a one-man show about an outcast who finds a stone head that only he can hear speak . . . and the voice is very influential. Produced by Cold Open Theatre and performed by Douglas Yannaghas (who is also directing my show), it’s going to be epic.

 Isabelle Blanche performs in Shatter Resistant, Greenside George Street, 7–29 August, 4.05pm; Headcase, Greenside Riddles Court, 24–29 August, 5.15pm.

IAIN ANDERSON

Gail Porter has lived her life so publicly and worn her heart on her sleeve. It’s obvious to me that her sense of humour has carried her through. That’s something I can relate to and I am so excited for this show. I hope she does hugs at the end!

 Iain Anderson: Traumedy – A Guide to Being A Fabulous Homeless Addict, Hoots The Apex, 7–31 August, 3.10pm; Gail Porter: Portergeist, Assembly Rooms, 6–30 August, 6.25pm.

HUGE DAVIES

I saw Basil Crumbwick at a gig recently and the rolling laughter from the audience was continuous and uncontrollable. I was astonished to find out this was a new venture, because it looked like Sam had been doing it for five years. Silly, well-written, inventive. This will become a cult hit.

 Huge Davies: Sleep Paralysis Princess, Monkey Barrel Cabaret Voltaire, 5–30 August, 9.30pm; Sam Eley Is Basil Crumbwick: Soul Sewage, Monkey Barrel, 3–30 August, 11.25pm.

GARETH MUTCH

Tom Stade has been consistently producing hilarious, guaranteed big belly laugh hours for something stupid like 16 years. He’s a staple. So, if I’m getting one recommendation it’s gotta be that crazy Canadian Tommy Stade.

 Gareth Mutch Means Well, The Stand, 5–31 August, 4.20pm; Tom Stade Rules, The Stand, 5–30 August, 8pm.

GARETH JONES

Mama G is an evergreen perennial pantomime dame. She is fabulous all year round. We first met at the Edinburgh International Book Festival where her speech about acceptance reduced my wife to tears. A consummate performer, she’s now a published author (I’m journeying in the opposite direction, from author to performer) and I’m excited to see how her show goes down with a Fringe audience.

 Gareth Jones performs in CinderGorilla: The Musical, Space Surgeons’ Hall, 7–15 August, 11.40am; Mama G: The Magic Bookmark, Gilded Balloon Teviot, 5–31 August, 12.20pm.

Previous page: Aaron O'Neill; this page, from top: Iain Anderson, Isabelle Blanche, Gareth Mutch

FRISKY

I can’t wait to experience Werewolf, an immersive, interactive horror-comedy where the audience are in a safehouse to protect them from a werewolf-virus outbreak. I love when you don’t quite know how something will go, and what the audience will choose to do, but I’ve heard amazing things about the actors and it sounds like something genuinely fresh and thrilling.

 Frisky’s Remix Roulette, Assembly Rooms, 6–30 August, 8.30pm; Werewolf, Summerhall, 6–31 August, 9pm.

ELE MCKENZIE

Freddie Meredith is a good friend of mine and one of the funniest people I know. I’ve seen him testing material at his regular Moth Club night over the past few months and he consistently has me absolutely crying with laughter. I can’t wait to see the finished show, and neither can my mum and dad.

 Ele McKenzie: Bringing It All Back Home, Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 August, 8.10pm; Freddie Meredith: Need A Light?, Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 August, 5.50pm.

CHRIS FORBES

I went to see the cult, absurdist comedy and clown show Mr Chonkers back in 2022 and I’ve been dying to see John Norris perform again ever since. If you’re like me and enjoy discovering something very different at the Fringe, this is the show for you.

 Chris Forbes: Father Christmas, Monkey Barrel, 4–30 August, 1.30pm; Mr Chonkers: Work In Chonkers, Monkey Barrel, 10 August, 11.55pm; John Norris hosts Piggy Time, Monkey Barrel, 6–8 August, 11.55pm.

ADI PARMAR

Marty Gleeson is so funny and original (online), but tragically I have never seen her perform live (gasp). We’ve been chatting about our Fringe preparations and it’s been fun sharing our experiences in the lead-up. I’m positive her show is going to be a banger.

 Adi Parmar: Sunny Boy, Gilded Balloon Teviot, 5–31 August, 7pm; Marty Gleeson: Dog Ear, Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 August, 7.15pm.

ADELE CLIFF

I can’t wait to see Katie Pritchard as Sir Elton Scone. She’s so brilliantly funny and inventive and unique, and every show of hers is such a special silly adventure. Katie is an act who completely embodies the spirit and creativity of the Festival; her comedy is simply joyous.

 Adele Cliff: Work In Progress, Hoots Potterrow, 7–30 August, 2pm; Adele Cliff’s Topical Early Late Show With Adele Cliff, Hoots Potterrow, 7–30 August, 7.20pm; Katie Pritchard Is Sir Elton Scone, Hoots Nicolson Square, 7–30 August, 3.40pm.

ADAM RICHES

 Adam Riches: The Critic’s Way, Underbelly Cowgate, 5–30 August, 3.10pm; Adam Riches: The Captain, Summerhall, 6–31 August, times vary.

ABBY GOLDFARB

I’m not going to do the usual ‘pick a friend’ routine. Most of them have got huge machines working to get you to see them anyway. Instead I’m going to encourage picking a venue you haven’t been to, arriving at a random time, and just seeing whoever’s on. That’s the real Edinburgh Fringe.

I saw Alex Edelman’s show Just For Us on Broadway and was amazed by the way he weaved storytelling, comedy and stand-up to create a play with a full dramatic arc. His work has helped inspire me to play with structural ideas for my own show. I can’t wait to see what he’s got up his sleeve now.

AARON O’NEILL

 Abby Goldfarb performs in Most Of My Moms Are Gay, Greenside George Street, 7–29 August, 6.25pm; Alex Edelman: What Are You Going To Do, Pleasance Courtyard, 18–31 August, 5.30pm.

My pick is Ontroerend Goed’s show, Handle With Care. Just the audience in a room with a box. That’s all I know and I think that’s all I need to know. Their show Smile Off Your Face was the weirdest sensory experience I’ve ever had. If you want to see theatre pushed to the edge, then these guys are ones to check out.

 Aaron O’Neill performs in The Pigeon Factory, Underbelly Cowgate, 5–30 August, 12.55pm; Handle With Care, Zoo Southside, 24–30 August, 1.30pm.

PICTURE: KARLA GOWLETT

PICTURE: DAVID PICKENS

From top: Frisky, Adam Riches, Adele Cliff

3.00pm 05 - 30 AUG

Catherine Opie To Be Seen

8 August–1 November 2026

Friends and under 18s go free

Royal Scottish Academy building, Edinburgh

Catherine Opie, Divinity Fudge, 1997. Chromogenic print © Catherine Opie. Courtesy the artist, Regen Projects, Los Angeles, Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, London, and Seoul, and Thomas Dane Gallery. National Galleries of Scotland is a charity registered in Scotland (No.SC003728).

EVA ROTHSCHILD

The acclaimed Dublin artist takes over three spaces at Fruitmarket for The Void Presses The Wall. Highly suggestive of the urban landscape, her sculptures aim to create ‘bodily encounters in space’ and platform the spatial relationship between the viewer and the object. Rothschild represented Ireland at the 2019 Venice Biennale, and from 2012 there’s fun footage online of some young boys ‘engaging’ with her art when they think no one is looking. (Brian Donaldson) n Fruitmarket, until 11 October.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

In the frame

TThe legacy of two female photographers who captured community life in the city during the 80s and 90s is being celebrated by Edinburgh Art Festival. Neil Cooper finds out how Sandra George and Lee McCormack’s archives were rediscovered and why the stories their pictures tell still resonate today

he day Edinburgh photographer Sandra George’s vast archive landed on the doorstep of the then recently established Craigmillar Now organisation changed things for everyone who was there. Craigmillar Now opened in 2020 and had just set up a weekly archiving initiative, with an eye on the neighbourhood’s past in the form of Craigmillar Festival Society, the globally recognised community arts organisation. A chance encounter with George’s former partner Jimmy Hewitt led to her archive being rescued from a garden shed where it had sat since her death in

2013 and put into Craigmillar Now’s care. As thousands of negatives were digitised, a vital portrait of Edinburgh life in the 1980s and 90s seen from the frontline of George’s lens was revealed.

Also there that day was Lee McCormack, another photographer tending to her own neglected archive after working in the city around the same time. Where George worked on community newspapers, McCormack’s work charted community projects in Pilton and Craigmillar, including work with long-lost organisations such as Craigmillar Festival Society, Womenzone and the Magic Lantern Van initiative.

‘What a day!’ Craigmillar Now director Rachael Cloughton reflects. ‘The series of coincidences were amazing. It was the very first archive group at Craigmillar Now and I’ve got a photo of Lee and Jimmy together. Talk about serendipity.’ Six years on, the result of what happened that day is two major exhibitions by George and

McCormack. While Lee McCormack: A Magic Lantern will run at Craigmillar Now, Sandra George: Start From The Level will see more than 200 of her works occupy the City Art Centre. This follows several smaller exhibitions by George that began when Craigmillar Now programmed a show at The White House Community Café in Craigmillar. Most recently, her work appeared at the 2024 edition of Glasgow International.

As well as the pair’s Art Festival exhibitions, there will also be an event hosted by Wester Hailes-based Community Wellbeing Collective, a kindred spirit of Craigmillar Now and champion of the sort of local culture that George and McCormack’s work was rooted in. This will be led by Craigmillar Now’s head archivist, Anna Mayhew. Craigmillar Now will also stage Level Up: Block Party, a social gathering with music, food and dancing to celebrate George’s legacy. Seen together, the work by George and McCormack captures a time

and place in 1980s and 90s Edinburgh. This was an era when it was still possible for those from working class backgrounds to make art through photography, aided by a civic and political will that recognised the significance of such ground-level activity.

For McCormack, revisiting her work has become a fascinating experience. ‘It brings up a lot of memories,’ she says. ‘You would always like to try and take a good picture of all your pals and stuff. But you could hide behind a camera as well. If you were on your own or with a group, as soon as you put the camera up, people would come and speak to you. It was like a solitary thing but communal as well.’

According to Cloughton, McCormack doesn’t recognise her own extraordinary talent as a photographer. ‘It’s such an important collection that Lee has created over decades alongside all her work with community organisations. She’s not somebody that craves the limelight, but I think

Every picture tells a story:

‘Pilton Gala Day’ by Lee McCormack (left) and ‘Family Centre’ by Sandra George

everything that’s happened with Sandra, and seeing the communities that appreciate seeing that work so much, has maybe changed her perspective.’

As far as George’s work is concerned, for City Art Centre curator Stuart Fallon, she has left behind a vital collection. ‘Her work is remarkable at every level,’ he says. ‘First and foremost I want to foreground her as a brilliant photographer.’ As a way of getting art out beyond the gallery, City Art Centre and Edinburgh Art Festival have teamed up with poster-based organisation Jack Arts to show George’s work on a series of billboards around Edinburgh, putting her work on the streets from where it came. As with McCormack, George’s work is rooted in personal observations of life around her.

‘Sandra had such a vast network,’ Cloughton observes. ‘She did so much work with so many people and so many communities. Even when we’ve had small shows, people have come forward and said they knew her or donated things or brought their own collections. Something on this scale is bound to bring more people forward who have a connection with her. We’ve always tried to integrate local knowledge and lived experience into the archive. I think that will be the case with Lee’s exhibition as well.’

There is plenty more to come. ‘We’re only two thirds of the way through digitising Sandra’s work,’ says Cloughton. ‘It still feels like we’re building this archive and I’d love to be able to track more of the impact that she had, collect those stories and for that to enrich the collection that we’ve got. I think that was so integral to who Sandra was and what she did. It’s about the people she worked with and the lives that she changed.’

Sandra George: Start From The Level, City Art Centre, until 27 September; Lee McCormack: A Magic Lantern, Craigmillar Now, 6–20 August; Common Thread: Sandra George, Wester Hailes + Community Action, Community Wellbeing Space, 15 August; Level Up: Block Party, Craigmillar Now, 21 August.

'Greendykes' and (above)

'Unemployment Demo' by Sandra George

Blind children visit a farm with volunteers from the Environmental Resource Centre, and Mary, Niddrie (below) by Lee McCormack

ASSEMBLY ROOMS: BALLROOM

Sgàire Wood is on double duties at Jupiter Artland this summer, with the opening of her latest exhibition and curation of the Jupiter Rising X EAF festival. She talks hard choices, heraldry and hedonism with Greg Thomas

I want it to be a narcotic experience! “

I‘’ve attended Jupiter Rising for years and always loved the psychedelic effect of being there, in this absurd sculpture garden in the middle of the countryside, casually walking past peacocks and sheep and goats.’ Artist and model Sgàire Wood is talking about her plans for Jupiter Artland’s highsummer festival of art and music over a Zoom connection that won’t show her face. Instead, a sparkly red heart with oversized cartoon eyes appears in the middle of my screen. A very appropriate avatar.

Jupiter Rising is a night of ‘wild, experimental performance’, ‘unmissable music and artists’, and ‘late-night dancing in the woodland’. That’s according to Kim McAleese, director of Edinburgh Art Festival (EAF) with which Jupiter Rising annually pairs up. Held at Jupiter Artland sculpture park in West Lothian, in the grounds of country pile Bonnington House, the event represents a crossover between the fine art scene and the world of drag and performance, with which Wood (whose first name is pronounced ‘scara as in mascara’) is more familiar. She moved to Glasgow 13 years ago to study fashion and textiles at art school but, she says, ‘I very quickly realised I wouldn’t be fulfilled in that space and made my practice in nightlife and events spaces, particularly queer spaces.’

Since then, the Irish-born artist has become both a much-loved fixture of Glasgow’s cultural landscape and something of a burgeoning celebrity. Using her body as a canvas, like Leigh Bowery before her, Wood makes herself over into a range of fantastical, surreal, creepy and erotically charged alter egos. One of her signature moves involves painting huge, porcelain-doll eyes over the tops of her cheekbones, her face transformed into something from a toy-shop slasher flick. A quick Google search reveals a 2020 video on Vogue’s website showing the artist’s ‘Camp Babydoll Extreme Beauty Transformation’. Last year she graced the cover of AnOther magazine modelling Prada. Amid it all, she’s carved a furrow as a performer and club organiser, notably setting up Bonjour, a profit-sharing and worker-run queer club in Saltmarket.

Big talent and big success notwithstanding, there’s a tiny note of diffidence in the way Wood talks about the brief from Jupiter Artland. Curating is not necessarily ‘my wheelhouse’, she says. She felt unsure for a while whether to ‘make the festival this big conceptual thing’. In the end, however, she decided she’d rather ‘make sure people can feel what I’ve loved about Jupiter Rising in the past and to share the work of performers that I love, who are also my friends’.

That means the nod has been given to Poisonous Relationship, the musical project of multimedia artist Jamie Crewe, and to Princessa Mangione III, the stage name of writer Shola von Reinhold whose novel Lote was a breakout success in 2020. ‘That will be an amazing spectacle. She plays the harp, often with wind (literal wind) accompaniment, blowing her hair around.’ Wood will revive her audience-led Sgàireoke sessions from previous festivals, with DJ sets in the woodlands from Plantainchipps and Junglehussi, the latter a persona of photographer Matthew Arthur Williams.

Congenially enough, Wood’s exhibition at Jupiter Artland opens the week before the Jupiter Rising X EAF bash. Titled In Pride, In Piety, In Vigilance, it will explore themes from medieval heraldry while considering the ways in which we assign human qualities to non-human life. ‘Being involved with Jupiter Rising in the past is part of what allowed me to validate what I do as an artform,’ Wood says, ‘to the point where it is now evolving into a more traditional contemporary art practice. That’s kind of what the show represents.’ Still, she’ll be taking the night of the festival as a chance to ‘party and let loose. I want it to be a narcotic experience!’

Sgàire Wood: In Pride, In Piety, In Vigilance, 14 August–18 October; Jupiter Rising X EAF, 22 August, 5pm; both at Jupiter Artland, Wilkieston.

DEL LAGRACE VOLCANO

Displaying photography from Volcano’s time in Edinburgh, this exhibition challenges traditional notions of sexuality and gender in an era (1980s/90s) when being out and proud was even more treacherous than it is in today’s regressive environment.

n EAF 92, 14–30 August.

KATIE PATERSON

With Afterlife, Paterson reimagines ancient amulets (carved by the likes of Vikings, Egyptians and Celts) using materials from endangered environments and fragile ecosystems. For the artist, these newer objects serve as a bridge between the past and the present.

n Collective, until 6 September.

JAMIE FITZPATRICK

The splendidly named Memorials To Sausage Politics exhibition has Southport-born Fitzpatrick holding a funfair mirror up to reality while heavily critiquing authority, power and history through his ‘comic monstrosities’.

n Edinburgh Printmakers, 24 July–25 October.

PALESTINIAN SOUND ARCHIVE

Actor, filmmaker and archivist Mo’min Swaitat of Majazz Project and Palestinian Sound Archive hosts a collective listening session, exploring rare audio from across Palestine and the wider region, all of which was captured from the 1960s on.

n Palestine Museum, 30 August.

JILLIAN EDELSTEIN

South Africa-born photographer Edelstein has collected up four decades of imagery for Among People, featuring icons such as Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu and Vanessa Redgrave, as well as regular folk sitting on trucks or imitating swans.

n Stills, 31 July–24 October.

EMII ALRAI

British-Iraqi artist Alrai has created a colossal relic inspired by icons of ancient civilisations and seemingly ruptured into spectral fragments. Guardian should make the viewer think of preservation and decay in a piece that engages with excavation and empire.

n Calton Hill, 14–30 August.

GWEN

JOHN

This Welsh painter (who died in 1939) was among the first generation of British women to be formally educated in art. She relocated to Paris and made a name for her herself, and Strange Beauties is a long-awaited retrospective.

n National Galleries Of Scotland: Modern Two, 1 August–4 January.

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MEERA SODHA

If you’ve followed Meera Sodha’s food column in The Guardian, you might already be looking to try and replicate one of her veggie or vegan recipes (or begging someone else to) even before this opening sentence is done. For these two events, Sodha will chat about her book Dinner (and, yes, prepare a dish from it) with Chitra Ramaswamy. Then later, alongside Julie Lin, Sodha will discuss the meals she prepared which helped her recover from burnout. (Brian Donaldson)

 Edinburgh Futures Institute, 19 August, 1pm, 5pm.

BOOKS

“

Self-awareness is important but so cringe

Many children’s authors appearing at the Book Festival will have written stories that are remembered by their young readers for decades to come. But what about some of those scribes themselves: what are the children’s books they read as wee ones (or later in life) which had an enormous impact?

RASHMI SIRDESHPANDE

One of my all-time favourite reads is Please Mrs Butler, a poetry collection by the wonderful Allan Ahlberg. It’s funny, clever, memorable and full of the most fantastic observations about primary school life, little meaningful details that are just so spot on for children and teachers alike. It has a timeless, enduring quality to it too. It still makes me smile and still resonates with readers of all ages. Amazing when you think about it!

 15 August, 10.15am, 1pm, 4.30pm.

NAT LUURTSEMA

More trains. More choice. More getaways.

direct

I was raised mildly Church Of England but not really. And yet, as an anxious, controlling child, I used to pray all the time and I have NEVER felt more seen than when I read Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret and realised Margaret and I treated god like a meek friend we could ramble at and never feel obliged to go, ‘anyway, enough about me, how are you? Hair looks nice’. It was like Judy Blume knew me. Self-awareness is important but so cringe.

 15 August, 4.30pm.

HARRIET MUNCASTER

One of my absolute favourite books is The Borrowers by Mary Norton because I absolutely adore books about miniature people, and the borrowers’ world is so cosy and heavily detailed. It’s almost as though the author had experienced being a tiny person herself! I find these books absolutely enchanting and they are always a comfort read for me. Plus the nature descriptions, once the borrowers venture into the outdoors, are beautiful too.

 16 August, 11.45am.

MARIA ISABEL SÁNCHEZ VEGARA

My favourite children’s book was Gnomes by Wil Huygen and Rien Poortvliet. I found it under the Christmas tree when I was seven. Filled with maps, diagrams, measurements, habits and extraordinary details, I didn’t read it as a story but as a fact book. There was so much information that I became convinced it couldn’t have been invented. Surely no one could make up that much. It had to be true. Looking back, I think it taught me one of the most magical things a book can do: make the impossible feel real.

 16 August, 2pm.

DEAN ATTA

My favourite children’s book is Julián Is A Mermaid, written and illustrated by Jessica Love. The illustrations are so beautiful: Julián and his grandmother and the other cast of characters are drawn with such love and care. The story of a little black boy being supported by his grandmother to explore his identity and express himself through costume and play speaks strongly to my inner child. I love stories that explore children’s relationships with close and supportive adults beyond their parents, such as aunts, uncles and grandparents. Another wonderful example of this is Grandad’s Camper by Harry Woodgate  17 August, 11.15am; 18 August, 11.15am.

ANNA JAMES

The first time I read Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland I was fascinated and baffled, but it’s a book I’ve come to love and appreciate more every time I go back. Lewis Carroll began a new era of children’s fiction, putting nonsense, wonder and wit at its heart instead of moralising and didacticism. Wonderland and its inhabitants invite readers and writers to return again and again, including myself: Alice With A Why is a novel where I imagined what might happen if Alice’s granddaughter found herself at a very familiar tea party.

 23 August, 4.30pm.

ALEX MILWAY

I have to choose Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson. The Moomins hold such a dear place in my heart and this book has everything you could want from a story. In a glistening world of snow-laden trees and frozen seas, there’s comedy and adventure, sadness and hope, not to mention creepy little creatures dancing around bonfires. And then there’s the beautifully perfect illustrations. This is a story to prove you can find love and friendship even in the darkest, loneliest of places.

 29 August, 1pm.

CRESSIDA COWELL

As a child, my favourite book was The Ogre Downstairs by Diana Wynne Jones. When I was eight I read it so many times that it fell apart. It made me realise how wonderful books could be, with chemicals that make you fly and magic that is true. When I was nine, I read it aloud to my younger siblings, and they laughed and begged to hear the next chapter. Thirtyfive years later, I read it to my own children. The reason I am a children’s book writer is partly that I want the children of today to experience the joy I had as a child. I have never met a child who does not love this book.

 30 August, 1.30pm.

All events at Edinburgh Futures Institute

More trains. More choice. More getaways.

To be Frank

THis latest book examines what life is like for children in modern-day Britain, but Frank Cottrell-Boyce has had his fingers in many creative pies over the years. Allan Radcliffe takes a look at the genial author’s bulging CV ahead of his Book Festival appearance

hese days, Frank Cottrell-Boyce is best known as an award-winning children’s author. But his current role as the inaugural chair of the Children’s Booker Prize and his tenure as the Children’s Laureate (ending this year) are the crowning glories of a long and varied writing career. How many novelists can say that they have also written successfully for the stage, small and large screens, the opening ceremony of the Olympics . . . and as a teenager worked as a Punch and Judy puppeteer?

Cottrell-Boyce took on his first job while still a postgraduate student at Oxford, joining the writers room on Brookside, the flagship Channel 4 soap, alongside Jimmy McGovern and series creator Phil Redmond. Cottrell-Boyce drew on his experiences growing up in suburban Liverpool to script a number of memorable storylines for the show, including writing its spin-off miniseries, Damon And Debbie. In the late 1980s he switched channels to ITV and the cobbles of Coronation Street, where he revelled in writing for the likes of Bet Lynch, Reg Holdsworth and Curly Watts.

The author has enjoyed fruitful collaborations with filmmakers, none more so than his enduring relationship with Michael Winterbottom. Having first teamed up for the 1990 film Forget About Me, Cottrell-Boyce wrote screenplays for five further movies for the director, including the thriller Butterfly Kiss, the drama Welcome To Sarajevo and 24-Hour

Party People, which chronicled the Madchester music scene of the late 80s and early 90s from the perspective of Factory Records proprietor Tony Wilson. Cottrell-Boyce would later go on to work with Danny Boyle, the Oscar-winning director of Shallow Grave, Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire. The pair created the opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympic Games in London, with its memorable scenes depicting the Industrial Revolution and NHS, as well as a famous sequence involving the Queen and James Bond parachuting out of a plane.

In recent years, while keeping his hand in with screenwriting, Cottrell-Boyce has focused mainly on his career as a prolific children’s author. His debut, Millions, won the 2004 Carnegie Medal and he is a recipient of numerous awards, including The Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize.

His latest book, A British Childhood, is the focus of his upcoming Book Festival event. It pulls together aspects of his fiction-writing career with initiatives created as part of his role as Children’s Laureate, to explore the nature of childhood in a steadily declining Britain. It is sure to be a sobering discussion, leavened with some of Cottrell-Boyce’s signature optimism and humour.

Frank Cottrell-Boyce: A British Childhood, Edinburgh Futures Institute, 17 August, 11am.

DOUGLAS STUART

The Booker winner is part of a line-up hosted by Edinburgh Makar Michael Pedersen while Jackie Kay hosts the special Front List event at Bristo Square. n Edinburgh Futures Institute, 29 August, 8.30pm; 30 August, 7pm; McEwan Hall, 30 August, 1pm.

DAISY FANCOURT & WAYNE MCGREGOR

The author of Art Cure discusses the science of how the arts can improve our physical as well as mental health with the acclaimed choreographer (pictured) who put his own thoughts on the subject into print earlier this year with We Are Movement: Unlocking Your Physical Intelligence

n Edinburgh Futures Institute, 22 August, 10.15am.

OYINKAN BRAITHWAITE

Her Lagos-set debut that mixed crime, love story and family saga brought Braithwaite to readers’ attention in 2019, and she has followed up My Sister, The Serial Killer with Cursed Daughters, the tale of a family curse, reincarnation and female rivalry.

n Edinburgh Futures Institute, 15 August, 3.15pm.

SIMON ARMITAGE

The UK Poet Laureate teams up with his Welsh equivalent Hanan Issa and our own Makar Peter Mackay to discuss whether poetry has a national identity. For his second gig, Armitage muses on a new graveyard near his home.

n Edinburgh Futures Institute, 17 August, 3.15pm; 18 August, 8.30pm.

BOOKS HIGHLIGHTS

KIRAN DESAI

The Booker-winning author of The Inheritance Of Loss reflects on the two decades which passed without another novel until last year’s The Loneliness Of Sonia And Sunny. And back at the Book Festival’s base, she talks about The Book That Changed My Mind alongside Fiammetta Rocco and Claudia Rankine. n McEwan Hall, 25 August, 1pm; Edinburgh Futures Institute, 25 August, 8.30pm.

KAE TEMPEST

Michael Pedersen (he gets about) hosts this event with the poet, playwright and songwriter whose new novel Having Spent Life Seeking took a decade to complete. Chat and performance will merge as we hear about family, forgiveness and the allconquering power of love.

n McEwan Hall, 18 August, 1pm.

HAMISH HAWK

Edinburgh lad Hawk channels the eccentric Ivor Cutler for the Book Festival-commissioned Life

In A Scotch Sitting Room, Vol 0, featuring his very own take on some of the Govan-born iconoclast’s writings.

n Edinburgh Futures Institute, 26 August, 9pm.

Whether you want to laugh or cry, sing and dance, or marvel at the wonders of the human body, you’ll always find the perfect show at the Edinburgh Fringe. Explore our showcase and get booking!

CALL HER THE RINGMASTER

CABARET & CIRCUS

Muse At Braw Venues @ Hill Street 7–30 August, 5pm brawvenues.com/call-her-the-ringmaster

‘Beneath the mirage of smoke and mirrors, the world we live in is not as it appears.’ An Enchantress from Beyond the Bounds of Time shares a fable with the Earthlings about a Ringmaster navigating the circus of dating in the 21st century. Can she tame the ‘tigers’ or will she be thrown to the lions in the quest for love? Featuring a wide array of musical genres (from original comedic rap songs to iconic musical theatre numbers), poetic vignettes and a universal theme of self-acceptance, this is a journey you won’t want to miss!

OVERTONE

THEATRE & DANCE

Pleasance Dome | 5–30 August, 2.40pm pleasance.co.uk/event/overtone

When two teenagers meet after choir practice, they begin the most important relationship of their lives. From Fringe First award-winning theatremaker Tom Brennan (The Wardrobe Ensemble) comes an intimate, funny and un inching new play about love getting older –the adventures we were promised, the choices we think we made and the cost of nally being honest. Presented by double Fringe First awardwinner The North Wall (Brown Boys Swim, E8) in association with Humphrey Battcock. Praise for previous shows by The North Wall: ‘A runaway success’ AAAAA Whatsonstage ‘A moving, witty play’ AAAA Financial Times

5 HEADLINERS FOR £10

COMEDY

Hoots @ The Apex, Hoots @ The Wee Red Bar and Just The Tonic At The Caves| 7–31 August | Daily at 1.30pm, 3.50pm, 6pm & 7.30pm rgb.monster/headliners

Five top-level stand-up comedians and strictly no picking on the audience! The biggest-selling line-up show at the festival, now with four daily performances and four different casts of headline-level acts. No MC asking you where you’re from, and no banter with the front row: stand-up comedy as it should be. A great way to have a giggle, many festival-goers use these shows as a way to discover new acts, all of which have solo shows in their own right.

IAIN ANDERSON: TRAUMEDY

COMEDY

Hoots @ The Apex | 7–31 August, 3.10pm iainandersoncomedy.com

The award-winning debut stand-up show written and performed by Iain Anderson. A fast-paced, brutally honest and riotously funny account of his life so far. From the gay scene in Glasgow to rock bottom in Barcelona, this is a celebration of resilience and the saving power of laughter. It’s not a sob story; it’s a reminder that even the messiest lives can still be fabulous. Come laugh, cry, feel uplifted and leave feeling more connected to those around you. An experience not to be missed that’s unlike anything else in comedy today!

A BETTER MEMORY

THEATRE & DANCE Pleasance Courtyard 5–30 August, 6.30pm lubnakerr.com

Eleanor switches on an AI replica of her late husband for comfort, only to discover memories that don’t match her own. Mia is young, disillusioned with dating men and in love with an AI chatbot. When secrets surface and the past begins to unravel, both women are forced to question what they thought they knew. Ihsan Kerr’s rst play for the Fringe, following his mum Lubna Kerr’s footsteps.

THAT’S A GREAT DEAL!

COMEDY

Home Bar | 6–30 August, 1.45pm instagram.com/daddy_herwitz

Want to watch an American dad unravel? Not particularly? That’s ne. Comedian Ben Herwitz doesn’t want that for you either. That’s A Great Deal! is a stand-up show written, directed, and everything else by New Yorkbased comedian Herwitz. Ben tells jokes and stories about his family life and a bunch of other stuff too. You’ll laugh from start to nish.

festival showcase

BORGES AND ME

Based on the 2020 ‘novelised memoir’ by Jay Parini of a Highlands road trip he took with Jorge Luis Borges in the early 70s, Marc Turtletaub’s film covers this meeting of two very different people who nevertheless bonded and got up to all sorts. Such as getting lost in a maze in Scone and having a close shave while rowing on Loch Ness. Fionn Whitehead and Luis Gnecco are the two leads accompanied by a fine supporting Scottish cast including Morven Christie, Peter Mullan, Alan Cumming (been very quiet recently so it’s nice to see him busy again), Stuart Bowman and Freya Mavor. (Brian Donaldson) Cameo, 15 August, 6.30pm; 16 August, 6.15pm; Cineworld, 17 August, 4.30pm; Filmhouse, 18 August,

6.30pm.

Uncomfortably numb

I‘think in some ways there’s a bit of Dylan in all of us,’ remarks writer-director Paul Wright. He’s talking about the caustic protagonist, played by the ever-brilliant George MacKay, in his new film Mission. Receiving its world premiere in Edinburgh, Mission takes audiences deep into the psyche of a young man whose life is spiralling out of control. Having endured a near-fatal experience as a youngster, Dylan has something of a death wish. Numb inside from doing a soul-destroying job in hospitality, he finally snaps, plucking up the courage to tell his boss how much he hates his work. From here on, he’s living every day like it’s his last. ‘He really wants to live, but by doing that, you need to throw yourself into the flip side of it,’ says Wright. ‘It’s that idea of trying to live more intensely.’

Wright began brooding on the story years ago, when he read Colin Wilson’s 1956 book The Outsider in which the author explored the idea of social alienation. ‘That really struck a chord with me,’ he says. Tapping into ‘people who don’t feel they completely belong in the world the way it is’, Wright was hooked. ‘It’s the old-school romanticism, almost, of feeling you want more in life. I think that’s something that doesn’t go away, that feeling of “is there any more than this?”’

He was fascinated by exploring the idea of how we’ve been left emotionally stultified in today’s capitalist society. ‘It doesn’t allow much space for euphoria and moments of intense sensation. We’re living in a way we don’t want to live, but that’s what we’ve all bought into. In some ways that was just the starting point: what if? What if you stopped doing that, and you started prodding at the modern world and provoking?’ Reuniting with MacKay (they previously collaborated on Wright’s 2013 Bafta-nominated directorial debut For Those In Peril), the director started swapping cultural references with his actor to

Paul Wright teams up once more with actor George MacKay for a work that looks at the damaging impact of social alienation. Wright talks to James Mottram about his fearless leading man and the pride of seeing his fi lm premiere in Edinburgh

Scottish fi lmmaker

help him get into character. ‘Things like performance artists and Situationists and Dada . . . this idea of just doing anything to somehow cut open the modern world, the way we’re all living; just to give that little bit of a feeling, whether good or bad, of something other.’

During production, the impressionistic script was billed as a ‘punk exploration of the psyche’, something that can be seen in the musical nods. While MacKay’s Dylan goes full Norwegian death metal at one point as he descends into anarchic chaos, his adventures are also scored by Throbbing Gristle’s ‘Something Came Over Me’ (‘they always had one foot in transgression and one foot in transcendence,’ says Wright, alluding to the 70s experimental English punk band).

Once again, Wright’s film shows just what a full-blooded, fully committed actor MacKay is. ‘He’s just kind of fearless, isn’t he? He’ll go to that limit and give his all to every role.’ He’s joined on screen by Rosy McEwen, the Bifa-winning actress from Blue Jean, who plays the ‘emotional anchor’ of the story (no spoilers here). ‘She was maybe only on set for three days but she’s the real deal,’ adds Wright, who elicits terrific performances from both. Raised in Fife, Wright moved to Edinburgh to study film and photography, shortly before he worked on Until The River Runs Red which won a Bafta for Best Short Film in 2011. Little wonder he’s so delighted to have Mission play at EIFF. ‘It’s great having that homecoming. I’m proud to be a Scottish filmmaker, obviously, and it means a lot to be involved with Edinburgh. I look forward to the Scottish crowds and to see what they make of it.’

Mission, Filmhouse, 15 August, 9pm; Cineworld, 16 August, 3.15pm; 18 August, 7.30pm; Cameo, 17 August, 8.45pm.

T‘AMERICAN BEAUTY

Ahead of a special anniversary screening of Little Miss Sunshine, Kevin Fullerton considers how its loveable family of losers became a worldwide hit

he limpest dick in the world’ is how Quentin Tarantino recently described Paul Dano, a singular acting talent who, for whatever reason, seems to have profoundly hacked off the divorced dad’s director of choice. While intended pejoratively, there was an element of truth in Tarantino’s sideswipe against Dano who, for all his range, remains at his best when playing a wilting, anti-tumescent presence. His gangling frame, doughy features and charming moonface have made him the archetype of the limp-dick leading man.

2006’s Little Miss Sunshine was his breakout role and it plays to his strengths, setting him against a family of men grappling with their profound failure to fulfil longheld ambitions. Dano is joined by Greg Kinnear (as a wannabe celebrity life coach) and Steve Carell (playing a once-brilliant academic whose career is toppled by a misguided romantic tryst and a suicide attempt). Rounding off the male cast is the late Alan Arkin whose character is, by contrast, a single-mindedly priapic figure besotted with drugs and sex. The women of Little Miss Sunshine are no less troubled: Toni Collette plays a mother and wife quietly labouring through the rapid disintegration of her homelife, while Abigail Breslin gives an incredible performance as a seven-year-old desperate to win big at the beauty pageant which gives the film its title.

Their journey to that pageant forms the structure of the film which, thanks to its Oscar-winning screenplay, spawned a huge number of indie-aesthetic movies featuring stark colour palettes, dour but relatable humour, tense road trips and anti-Republican sensibilities (Captain Fantastic, Nebraska and The Darjeeling Limited would strike up similar though less fondly remembered atmospheres).

In its day, Little Miss Sunshine was one movie among others (Juno, Garden State and Napoleon Dynamite for three) released in the 2000s that touched on similar topics. Yet its motley crew of underdogs and wildly funny finale carved a unique place in the mainstream, inspiring hundreds of hastily cobbled-together TV documentaries about the curious obsession with child beauty pageants in the US.

As it turns 20 years old, this simple comedy drama is a reminder of the firm grip that a mid-budget feature can have on the public consciousness, an alien concept in the risk-averse corporate bowels of contemporary Hollywood. Limp dicks they may be, but these losers are as resonant now as they were in 2006, in part because they navigate the same narrative arc that propelled authors such as John Steinbeck and William Faulkner: a small family grappling with the grand myth of the American Dream.

Little Miss Sunshine, Cameo, 16 August, 3.30pm.

EDUCATION OF JANE CUMMING

This period drama by Sophie Heldman is based on the true story of two pioneering 19th-century Edinburgh teachers who were victims of a homophobic campaign by the Scottish establishment.

 Cineworld, 17 & 18 August, 6pm; Filmhouse, 18 August, 9.30pm; 19 August, 11.30am.

HUNGRY

As part of the Midnight Madness horror strand, a raging and famished hippo is on the loose and terrorises a group of tourists. This survival thriller should have you clutching anything and anyone (of your acquaintance) close to hand for comfort.

 Cameo, 16 August, 11.55pm; 19 August, noon; Cineworld, 17 August, 7.30pm; Filmhouse, 18 August, 9pm.

DOUGLAS GORDON BY DOUGLAS GORDON

Normally fully in charge of the camera’s gaze, the Glasgow-born Turner Prize-winning visual artist puts himself in the glare for Finlay Pretsell’s film in which his creativity, humanity and persona all brush up against each other.

 Filmhouse, 17 August, 8.30pm; 18 August, noon; 19 August, 2.30pm, 3pm.

SKINTOWN

Set in mid-90s Northern Ireland with an IRA cease re in place, Kieron J Walsh’s lm tracks a bunch of young pals planning to free themselves from smalltown life. A banging era-appropriate soundtrack features Prodigy, Elastica, Happy Mondays and Carl Cox.

 Filmhouse, 16 August, 10.20pm; Cineworld, 17 August, 5.30pm; 18 August, 11am; Cameo, 18 August, 10pm.

FILM HIGHLIGHTS

TRAINSPOTTING

No surprise that Danny Boyle’s landmark movie based on Irvine Welsh’s equally epoch-de ning novel should be honoured this year for its 30th anniversary. This screening is also accompanied by a club night and an in-conversation event.

 Cineworld, 15 August, 3pm.

I WANT YOUR SEX

Just prior to its national cinema release, EIFF gets its mitts on Gregg Araki’s tale of a sexually timid twentysomething (Cooper Hoffman) and his S&M-loving art gallery boss (Olivia Wilde). Daveed Diggs and Charli XCX also find their way in here.

 Cameo, 17 August, 9pm; Filmhouse, 18 August, 3.30pm; Cineworld, 18 August, 8.30pm; 19 August, 6.30pm.

BEL

The festival’s closing night film is Louise Lockwood’s tender documentary about the late Beldina Odenyo, the Kenyan-Scottish musical artist whose 2021 death resulted in a vast outpouring of love and grief from within the Scottish arts community.

 Cameo, 19 August, 9pm; Filmhouse, 19 August, 9.30pm; Cineworld, 19 August. 10pm.

CHARLENE KAYE

This Hawaii-born, Arizona-bred comic and musician has collaborated with the likes of Margaret Cho and Darren Criss, but most amusingly has fronted some parody bands. See if you can guess who they might be in ‘homage’ to: No Gout, Guns N’ Hoses and Labiahead (if you need more of a clue for the latter, their slogan is Hail To The Queef: smart). Now, Charlene Kaye is doing a full Fringe run with Diversity Shredder, all about her days in the biz and the sad but depressingly predictable attitudes she’s had to confront. (Brian Donaldson)

 Gilded Balloon Teviot, 5–30 August, 8.20pm.

FRINGE

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

“

The world is horrible and beautiful

YOU USED TO BE MAD FOR IT

YOU’RE STILL MILDLY ENTHUSED

PICTURE: ALEX BRENNER

You can’t accuse cabaret artist Salty Brine of lacking ambition. His latest show is an improbable fusion of cult indie album, the writings of a Holocaust victim and his own adolescent musings. Brine chats to Jo Laidlaw about unexpected joy, confused Annie Lennox fans and the ‘madness’ that led to his trademark style

Y‘es, it is my real name,’ explains Salty Brine, who was so called after a character played by his grandfather in a 1950s kids’ TV show. It’s a fitting origin story for the writer/director/performer whose 2024 show These Are The Contents Of My Head, based around Annie Lennox’s album Diva, took the Fringe by storm. Like all his Living Record Collection body of work, Brine’s latest creation, How Strange It Is (The Neutral Milk Hotel Show), is inspired by an album.

‘I’d been working in New York for many, many years, throwing things against the wall and seeing what stuck. Ten or 11 years ago, I started to play with albums. I remembered falling in love with whole albums and I felt that they were kind of disappearing with the digital world. I’m a storyteller and I could hear stories and albums mixed together, so I started playing with that.’

‘Playing’ doesn’t seem quite the right word as he recalls early years of creating a brand-new show every month to perform in a 30-seat space each Wednesday. ‘I truly didn’t understand what I was signing myself up for. And no one asked me for it! I did it to myself. I said, “this will be fun”. But I made a show and made a show and made a show. There was no time to think: first thought, best thought, put it up. Some were amazing. Some were good. Some were real bad. But it was a playwriting bootcamp and, after two years of churning them out, I came out strong. It was madness, but part of the fun was that people would come see me try.’

Madness or maybe even magic, this apprenticeship led to a trademark style that blends cabaret with theatre, densely layering music with story and finding new meaning in songs (it’s no surprise to find out Brine is a musical theatre obsessive). Importantly, his takes on songs are reinventions rather than mere covers, which led to some confusion in 2024. ‘We had a lot of people expecting an Annie Lennox tribute show. We don’t really have that in the United States; we didn’t realise it was a thing. But we won people over,’ he laughs.

How Strange It Is weaves together a cult 1998 album by Neutral Milk Hotel (In The Aeroplane Over The Sea) and Anne Frank’s The Diary Of A Young Girl (the album contains many references to that iconic book, some hidden, some obvious) alongside Brine’s own diaries. His take emphasises Frank’s humanity and the universality of her journal which, of course, is one of the reasons it has had such an impact across generations. ‘I did think, “oh, now I’m making a show about Anne Frank. This is a terrible idea because she’s utterly important; I can’t fuck this up, I have to honour her”. But what has emerged, very unexpectedly, is theatre of joy. We’re talking about Anne, her family, the boy she’s falling in love with. And you’re hearing my diary entries from the first time I fell in love and they are extremely embarrassing and very funny. That gives us this levity.’

After the slight audience confusion over his Annie Lennox show, Brine is careful to avoid a repeat with this new one. ‘The little dance I’m doing is not to say, “I’m like Anne Frank”; rather, “Anne Frank is like us”. Remember what it was like when you fell in love, how silly you got? Her too, and that can happen even in the most horrible circumstances. The show’s title is taken from a lyric on the album: “how strange it is to be anything at all”. How is it possible that we are here, how is any of this possible? Let’s take a moment to wonder. The world is horrible and beautiful; there’s no explaining it, but here we are. We are here.’

Salty Brine: How Strange It Is (The Neutral Milk Hotel Show), Summerhall, 6–30 August, 9.30pm.

festival showcase

Whether you want to laugh or cry, sing and dance, or marvel at the wonders of the human body, you’ll always find the perfect show at the Edinburgh Fringe. Explore our showcase and get booking!

15 MINUTES OF SHAME

THEATRE & DANCE

Zoo Playground

7–30 August, 7.20pm 15minutesofshameplay.com

Why not do OnlyFans? Plunge into the desperate world of a young London couple facing the brutal reality of nancial struggle. Tired of watching others’ curated success online, they decide to chase the elusive dream of fame and fortune by launching an OnlyFans account. But as subscribers grow, their connection in reality drops. Balancing sharp wit and biting comedy, acclaimed artist Adébayo Bolaji sensationally directs this provocative and un inching mirror to our times.

IRONING BOARD MAN

COMEDY

Underbelly Bristo Square

6–30 August (not 17, 25), 6.40pm ironingboardman.com

One man. Twelve ironing boards. One epic soundtrack. Get ready to be amazed as physical comedian Jody Kamali masterfully transforms everyday household items into the tools of a Hollywood-style, action-packed movie. With heart-pounding moments and emotional depth, this show thrilled audiences during its packedout Fringe runs in 2024 and 2025, earning numerous standing ovations. There’s gun re, there’s a wedding, there’s more gun re and there’s revenge – plus plenty of laughter along the way.

THANK YOU, F*CK YOU, AND I’M SORRY

CABARET & CIRCUS

C Aurora | 5–16 August, 7.50pm instagram.com/jonnyforever_

Part ritual, part requiem: an intensely intimate solo musical performance in which song entwines with VHS tape to conjure a grief portal, both personal and universal; for ghosts, tears and un nished love to co-mingle; for the exquisite pain of loss to be revered. Charting a voyage through bereavement, TYFY&IS is at times charred black with desolation, at others colourful and surging with energy, as Jonny Forever metabolises every nutrient that remains of a love that no longer lives. Drawn in crayon and dirt, ringed with ash and lye, gut-strung and electri ed. For anyone who’s lost someone.

JODY KAMALI: THIS IS MY DAD

COMEDY

Assembly George Square

5–30 August (not 17, 25), 2.40pm instagram.com/jody_kamali_

Come and meet an extraordinary man who never played by the rules, rarely made sense and left behind a story too remarkable to be ction. When his father suddenly dies, Jody searches through his belongings, hoping for answers about the man he thought he knew. Playing both himself and his father, Jody tries to piece together a life that never quite added up. Funny and moving, this is the true story of one man’s attempt to understand a father who always remained just out of reach.

THEATRE & DANCE

Dovecot Studios

VAN GOGH & ME

13–30 August (not 17, 24), noon; extra shows 21–23, 27–30 August, 3pm edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/vangogh-me instagram.com/vangogh_and_me

A new play by Olivier Award-winning theatre maker John Retallack from an original idea by acclaimed actor Jack Ellis. It explores the intense nine-week collaboration between Van Gogh and Gauguin in Arles in 1888 through more than 20 paintings. Ellis embodies all the characters in this encounter between two temperaments and two visions of what art can be. The play thrillingly traces how this imbalance leads to the deterioration of their relationship, as their story unfolds into something vivid, human and deeply uncertain.

BELLY

THEATRE & DANCE

Greenside @ George Street 7–29 (not16, 23), 1.45pm reillykathleen.com/belly instagram.com/get_reilled_up

Belly is a one-person play about girls, eating, grief and control. Told through Ellie, a highschool swimmer groomed into an eating disorder by a well-meaning, incredibly harmful coach; Katie, her pregnant aunt, trying to ‘do everything right’ for her baby inside of wellness culture and medical fatphobia; and Susan, Katie’s mother, newly widowed and learning how to live with grief and appetite in an empty house. Performed by a single actor, the piece moves between sharp, funny monologues and scenes, and more heightened, poetic sequences.

JUSTIN ELIZABETH SAYRE IS A 40-YEAROLD WOMAN

COMEDY

Underbelly Bristo Square 5–30 August, 6.10pm instagram.com/justinelizabethsayre

After 2022’s hit Lottie Platchett Took A Hatchet, comedian and writer Justin Elizabeth Sayre returns with their new show, Justin Elizabeth Sayre Is A 40-Year-Old Woman! A show about stepping into your prime with a cocktail in hand, it’s a celebration of attitude, Elizabeth Taylor and carving a path toward being a ‘40-Year-Old Woman’. With wit, wisdom, and whimsy, Sayre proves that it’s not about the candles on your cake, but the party you’re throwing around it!

DOOM AND GLITTER: A TRIBUTE TO TOM WAITS

CABARET & CIRCUS

The Street Nightclub, 9, 10, 13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29 & 30 August, 9pm; Voodoo Rooms, 16–22 August, 5.30pm instagram.com/mrbrakedown instagram.com/doomandglittermusic

In its fifth year at Fringe, Mr Brake Down’s incredible live band explores the wit, wisdom, and unstoppable force of cult icon Tom Waits. This award-winning live experience gathers outcasts, oddities and visionaries for a soulful fever-dream. Gloriously odd and experimental, the show takes audiences on a melodic journey through Waits’ seminal works, where you get to be part of the music and enjoy special guests from the world of drag and burlesque.

5 LESBIANS EATING A QUICHE

THEATRE / COMEDY

Paradise In Augustines

7 August (preview), 8.10pm; 8, 10–15 August, 1.25pm cheeseplatterproductions.com instagram.com/cheeseplatterproductions

It’s 1956 and The Susan B Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein is having their annual quiche breakfast. As the widows await the announcement of the society’s prize-winning quiche, the atomic bomb sirens sound! Has the Communist threat come to pass? How will the widows respond as their idyllic town and lifestyle faces attacks? Secrets come out as they wrestle with hysteria, survival and a fate worse than death: a world without quiche!

SECRETS SECRETS SHHH!

COMEDY

Underbelly George Square 5–31 August (not 17), 3.45pm instagram.com/grumbletheatre

May I take your coat? Step into the backroom where a lonely cloakroom attendant invades her customers’ pockets and acts out imagined versions of what their lives could be. The only thing stranger and stickier than these deeply personal objects are the thoughts in her own head. A wild character sketch show following the one woman brave enough to stick her hands where the rest of us are too afraid to look. Zip up your pockets!

FEMPATHS: TRANSISTOR RADIO HOUR

CABARET & CIRCUS

Underbelly Bristo Square 5–30 August, 8.45pm instagram.com/fempath

A kaleidoscopic cabaret written and conceived by Fempath (Mari Moriarty), who leads the show on vocals and piano. It features original music with lyrics from texts by trans icons past, present and future. The evening explores queer history, bathroom politics, deep-throating, tarot, Alzheimer’s, sexual assault, PTSD, immigration, fascism, addiction, disability and Kim Petras. From ‘saints’ to ‘slags’, Fempaths: Transistor Radio Hour loudly demonstrates the radically different paths trans people forge today. We are never just one thing (and neither is this cabaret!).

RAMSEY SMITH: KEEP THE RECEIPT

COMEDY

Hoots @ Hilton (Bread Street) 7–31 August, 6.50pm edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/ ramsey-smith-keep-the-receipt

Join Ramsey Smith, a Leicester Square new comedian of the year and Raw Comedy NSW State Finalist, for his debut comedy hour. A mix of observation and storytelling, Ramsey tries to make sense of a world around him he doesn’t quite understand. Laugh with, or at, him: it’s your call.

festival showcase

LEGEN-DAIRY CIRCUS AND CABARET

Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett

YOAH

Sophie’s Surprise 29th

The Wing Scuffle Spectacular

Circa: Wolf

The Pieces Splash Test Dummies

The Palestinian Circus

3 To See magic

Are you being served?

Sarah Hester Ross is not pussyfooting around with the title of her new one-woman show. She talks to Marissa Burgess about calling out hate and how so-called taboo words can empower us

Just when we thought we’d got it sorted, big sections of the western world are rolling back on women’s and LGBTQ+ rights. A welcome antidote comes in the form of US cabaret performer and comedian Sarah Hester Ross who frequently goes viral with her no-holds-barred takes on feminism and eschewing prejudice. ‘As an artist with a large platform, if I wasn’t using its reach to call out injustices, I don’t think I would deserve that platform. It’s on all of us to use the tools and gifts we have to challenge sexism, racism, homophobia and all of the hate and ignorance out there.’

Hester Ross has been performing since she was a child and describes herself as having ‘basically come out of the womb performing’. She’s played across America and gone viral on TikTok with songs such as ‘Finally Old Enough (To Not Give A Fuck)’ and ‘Stop Giving Men Microphones’. Serving Cunt sees her return to the Fringe for a second time with a joyous hour of bite-back entertainment, specially curated for Edinburgh. ‘It’s energising as an artist to be surrounded by so many brilliant performers and interesting shows. Fringe audiences are the best crowds, with impeccable taste. This is a true cabaret variety show, and is actually inspired by the last time I was in Edinburgh and the incredible shows I was privileged to experience. I was blown away by artists who were so free and original.’

And that title? To Hester Ross, it’s about ‘living your truth unapologetically, which in turn inspires others to do the same’, and stems from her parody of ‘I’m Coming Out’ by Diana Ross (‘I’m Serving Cunt’, for the uninitiated). ‘I talk about the phrase’s origin from black, queer ballroom culture and how it should be something that empowers us all. In a fun and musically catchy way, I’m calling out misogyny and highlighting patriarchal hypocrisy.’ And what a fabulous way to go about it.

Sarah Hester Ross: Serving Cunt, Gilded Balloon Teviot, 5–29 August, 4.20pm.

Back in 2009, Malmö magician Charlie Caper (Free Fringe Liquid Room, 8–30 August, 6.30pm) conquered all in competitive telly show Talang, essentially Sweden’s Got Talent. He’s performed a lot of magic tricks in the interim period so he comes back to Edinburgh fully formed with sleight-of-hand trickery. Christian Lavey is the mentalist behind Mindreading And Other Freaking Wonders (Braw Venues Hill Street, 7–30 August, 3.45pm) for which you should prepare to get involved. Truth and trust are on the line in Hoax, the latest Colin Cloud (Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 August, 7.30pm) extravaganza to hit the very big room just off Pleasance. You may well leave that room a very different person from the one who entered it. Bold claim.

Colin Cloud

NOT BLACK ENOUGH NOT BLACK BLACK ENOUGH ENOUGH

THE BLACKEST ONE MAN SHOW EVER PERFORMED ON STAGE

Ahead of three massive gigs at Edinburgh Playhouse, comedian Daniel Sloss reflects with Jay Richardson on how the rigours of the Fringe formed him, the price of integrity in comedy and mending fences with UK television

Conscience-led, instinctively bolshie, Daniel Sloss’ awkward relationship with the Edinburgh Fringe reflects his wider suspicion of Britain’s comedy industry. Despite having performed in 55 countries, he’s impeccably local, having watched Festival shows from nine years old. He made his stand-up debut at the Fringe in 2008, aged just 17, and has returned every year except two. But he hardly seems part of the Festival, existing outside its awards, reviews and parochial politics, contemptuous of comics being pitted in competition, ‘something that took me 15 years to unlearn’, he says.

His latest show is titled Bitter, yet the man himself remains philosophical. ‘Whether I like it or not, the Fringe made me,’ the 35-year-old admits. Not in terms of recognition or career opportunities but the intensity of doing the same hour every day for 25 days. Characteristically, he dismisses his first five shows as ‘sucking shit’.

‘I could have done the cowardly tactic of delaying my debut for four years when I’d been going for seven,’ he states. Those early, decent but unspectacular reviews devastated him. However, he urges would-be comics ‘to just get on and do it; the sooner you put in 10,000 hours, the faster you’ll get better’.

Notwithstanding an ill-judged BBC sitcom pilot and encouragement from the likes of Russell Howard and Jimmy Carr, the London-born, Fife-raised comic’s unwillingness to relocate to the English capital meant that television commissioners ignored him, he says. Instead, in his twenties, Sloss sceptically accepted Suzy Eddie Izzard’s advice to perform where English is a second language, universalised his material and toured Europe relentlessly. Attracting the patronage of US late-night host Conan O’Brien and ultimately, Netflix, his statement specials for the streamer, Dark and Jigsaw, changed everything and he became one of the few British comics to crack America.

Recently, he’s had security at US gigs on occasion, following the Channel 4 documentary Russell Brand: In Plain Sight. Ahead of Brand’s trial for sexual offences in October, Bitter explores Sloss’ ‘shocking’ realisation that he was the sole UK comedy figure willing to go on the record about the former stand-up, who denies all charges, leaving the Scot feeling frustrated and naïve. Beyond being ‘the right thing to do’ after talking in his 2018 show X about a friend’s rape, Sloss reasons that it’s ‘very rare in life you get to walk the walk when you’ve talked the talk . . . I thought about conversations that I’ve had with my wife. I wanted to live with myself and not undermine what X was saying.’

Consequently, when offered £80,000 in October to appear at the Riyadh Comedy Festival, he rejected it, wary of culturewashing Saudi Arabia’s appalling women’s rights record. ‘Their biggest get would have been Hannah Gadsby but they weren’t going to get them,’ he says. His integrity-based decision proved very easy. ‘But what if they’d offered £5m?’ he wonders. ‘What price is your soul?’ Carr and Jack Whitehall chose differently and Sloss continues taking pot shots at fellow comics. ‘Only those more successful than me,’ he stresses. ‘When they bite back, I tell them I’m not doing it to be a dick.’ He hesitates. ‘Absolutely, I am doing it to be a dick. But grow up, it’s a joke. It’s petulant jealousy, the version of me in the fucking name of my show. Maybe the irony is lost on some.’

The huge Taskmaster fan has spent ‘so long burning bridges’, not least with the Channel 4 format’s powerful production company, that he accepts he won’t appear on the hit show anytime soon. But he’s happy spending more time at home with his kids. And he’s edging towards some kind of rapprochement with UK television, having just shot QI. In his nine months not touring after his daughter’s birth in 2024, he also co-wrote two sitcoms and is enjoying developing them. ‘One is about an angry Scottish comedian. The other is about being an angry Scottish person in America.’ He laughs. ‘Look, I’m not a great actor!’

Daniel Sloss: Bitter, Edinburgh Playhouse, 14 August, 8pm; 15 August, 4pm, 8pm.

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Despite touching on serious issues, Jessica Aszkenasy insists her eye-catchingly titled clowning show is mainly fun. She chats to Evie Glen about her experience of clown guru Gaulier and finding joy in the darkest places

Show Breast In

Jessica Aszkenasy is a performance artist whose show sits at the intersection of two planes of her working life: clowning and OnlyFans. It’s a good hook and Aszkenasy knows it, though Titclown: Daddy’s Little Girl hinges on more than mere provocation or the promise of potential nudity for the sake of ticket sales. ‘I’m trying to show that a woman can be an OnlyFans creator and a serious artist,’ she says. ‘Coming up through social media, people can sometimes see it as a shortcut, but I see it as a

way to take control and be able to perform on my own terms. I’ve been sexualised pretty much constantly since I was 11, so it’s kind of a way for me to take some of that power back and put it into something I find really joyful.’

She made her Fringe debut last year with the first iteration of Titclown, inspired by her experience at the renowned French clown school, École Philippe Gaulier, which boasts alumni including Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter. Aszkenasy was

a student in one of the final cohorts to be taught by Gaulier, the white-haired and red Lennon-spectacled master clown who passed away in February. Gaulier was infamous for his uncompromising and sage-like tutelage that some viewed as a pilgrimage through humiliation towards completely free and enlightened clowning. Aszkenasy, however, was less convinced. For female students, the line between pseudoritualised shame and sexism is narrow. ‘Last year my show was quite angry because it was the result of me processing some stuff I saw in clown school, seeing the way women were treated there and how women were perceived.’

This year, though, her new Titclown is more sentimental and softer in places. A year of heartbreak, therapy and the passing of Gaulier can do that to a clown. ‘It’s more to do with the politics of being loved and so that relates, I guess, to clowning and clown school because you always want the audience to love you.’ Yet that love is beyond her

clowns 3 More To See

Frankie Thompson

With askew spectacles and a menacing glare, Frankie Thompson (Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 August, 8.45pm) sets her sights on more chaotic glory in August by considering a bunch of Horrible Things We’re shuddering at the very thought. A similar reaction may be inspired by Dog Funeral as Zoe Wohlfeld (Underbelly Cowgate, 5–30 August, 5.25pm) helps us to tap into the appropriate way we should be grieving the loss of a loved one, ie canine companion. Mighty Boosh meets Leigh Bowery for The Nearly Naked Show led by one Fanny Bleach (Assembly Roxy, 5–30 August, 9.50pm). A creepy cabaret and daring drag show shall ensue.

control, influenced as much by a crowd’s temperament as by their socially ingrained biases.

Though Titclown’s 2025 outing was well-received, she noticed the bewilderment it induced in some male reviewers. ‘There was a lot of not wanting to say the wrong thing but also not wanting to take it completely seriously or see the double meaning in things.’ That bewilderment is precisely what she aimed for: a sign she was doing something different. Despite her often heavy subject matter, Aszkenasy’s work is driven above all by a desire to bring the audience an hour of fun. ‘The amazing thing about clowning is you get to find the joy even in really dark places and just be really silly. The fact I even have the opportunity to do this . . . I feel like I’ve already won.’

Titclown: Daddy’s Little Girl, Summerhall, 6–31 August, 10.45pm.

You do have a brilliant ass “

Sketch comedy was once flavour of the month every August but the Burger And A Pint pair are aiming to get it firmly back on the Fringe menu. Rachel Morrell talks to them about their dynamic as a duo and how they came up with that name

Hungry for sketch comedy? A new show by James Trickey and Ted Milligan, whose bantering as Burger And A Pint sits somewhere between Fresh Meat and Mitchell And Webb, should help satisfy your cravings. But who is Burger and which one is Pint? ‘We ask people and they always get it right. Everyone somehow manages to identify Ted as Pint and me as Burger,’ says Trickey. Milligan responds: ‘I’m not trying to objectify James, but you do have a brilliant ass. Those buns very much make it the burger.’

Trickey explains how this distinctive duo first came into being, suggesting they haven’t always been in satirical sync. ‘We met at the University Of Bristol nearly ten years ago when we were cast in the same sketch show. My first impression of Ted was pretty poor. I was quite upset when I saw him on the cast list but then we got to know each other. We kept doing sketches and a bit of improv together. We went our separate ways but were still mates. Then Ted entered the Leicester Square Theatre Sketch Off! competition and we thought, “let’s just get the band back together”.’

‘We then won that and we couldn’t believe it,’ adds Milligan. Unphased by Trickey’s initial disdain, Milligan talks about their history with a disposition as light as the foamy head on a lager: ‘We’d both done comedy solo and on a bit of a whim . . . even the name was on a whim. We thought, “Ted And James sounds boring: let’s call it Burger And A Pint”. And we’re here now, doing a debut show at the Fringe.’

GOLF BOWLING YOU NAME IT

Citing Harry Hill as an inspiration, the duo have the same chaotic energy baked into their process. ‘Ted will vomit loads of really funny stuff and I will say, “we can’t say that”,’ notes Trickey. ‘Then we sit down and try to make each other laugh. Sometimes the session can just be a check-in on how we are doing. We’re just trying to showcase that we’re friends, even if it seems like we aren’t. It’s that dynamic when you’re really good mates so you jab them at every opportunity. And if we can replace actual burgers and pints in people’s consciousness that would be great.’

Burger And A Pint: Treats For The Soul, Pleasance Courtyard, 5–30 August, 4.15pm.

Raise a glass

Here’s cheers to Stina Otterström and Arttu Lahtinen whose circus duet tests the humble wine glass to its limit. Claire Sawers finds out how the couple balance the risks of working with such fragile props and discovers just how many were smashed in rehearsals

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3 To Seecircus

The Revel Puck Circus are back in the big Meadows tent with The Wing Scuffle Spectacular (Underbelly Circus Hub, 8–29 August, 4.10pm) featuring high-octane acrobatics, dizzying aerial feats and physical comedy aplenty. Created and directed by Sadiq Ali, Tell Me (Summerhall, 6–31 August, 7pm) is a fusion of dance, circus and storytelling that explores HIV through a contemporary lens. Following the glory of The Chosen Harem, this feels like another pending surefire hit for the Edinburgh-born circus artist. After a while away, Ockham’s Razor return with an intimate duet crafted and performed by Alex Harvey and Charlotte Mooney. Collaborator (Pleasance EICC, 6–22 August, 5pm) features two performers, a suspended metal frame and a stage.

Sadiq Ali Company

Some wines improve with age. Some people improve with wine. For SwissSwedish circus performer Stina Otterström, her handstand routine improved when she began balancing on wine glasses. After training in aerial acrobatics at Stockholm’s School Of Dance And Circus and the Ukrainian Circus Academy, she and a friend had been dabbling in a routine with singing wine glasses. It gave her an idea. She decided to ditch the sounds but hone her skills for balancing directly on the rims. Her solo handstand show with glasses has since evolved into Soft Spot, a uniquely choreographed duet with her Finnish boyfriend, juggler Arttu Lahtinen.

In the show, the pair perform with 300 wine glasses, weaving and flexing around one another, using planks of wood that seesaw, slope and flip. They gracefully line the glasses up, roll them, make pyramids and towers out of them, walk over them and toss them in the air for an incredible, elegant modern circus work. Otterström remembers developing the show and discovering the loadbearing limits of the glasses, as well as her and Lahtinen’s own physicality, testing how far they could push things. ‘In the beginning, we started walking on the glasses with shoes on,’ she recalls. ‘Then gradually we moved onto woolly socks, then eventually bare feet. Then, when it felt safe, I moved onto my hands.’ Lahtinen smiles: ‘We have broken a lot of glasses . . . we broke 317 in the creation process.’

‘We had a book,’ adds Otterström. ‘Every time we broke a glass, we made a mark in it. After the show’s premiere, we stopped counting. Breaking glasses was part of the creation and it’s part of the show. It happens in rehearsals and sometimes on stage. We also keep the shards, they are a part of the show now; we’ll keep that as a secret for the audience to see.’

‘There is subtle humour in the show,’ says Lahtinen. ‘So when a glass breaks, it’s not always clear whether it was on purpose or an accident.’ Otterström continues: ‘We’re not fearless people; we take risks for sure, but we evaluate the risks. For example, if we are performing outside and it starts to rain, the glasses won’t slide in the same way; it’s more grippy. Plus the glasses themselves develop structural weaknesses over time, so we are careful to swap them after a certain time.’

The couple performed Soft Spot on over 100 occasions before bringing it to Edinburgh for their first Fringe. They’ve enjoyed watching how audiences respond, with people usually wanting to ask whether they’ve been injured, or if they can touch the glasses to check they’re real. ‘I think that’s partly why we were interested in working with these objects in the first place,’ explains Otterström. ‘Wine glasses are a familiar object that most people have in their home. A lot of circus props and equipment are not. It makes people question how what they are seeing can be possible; and how these everyday objects can be pushed to these limits.’

Soft Spot, Zoo Southside, 7–30 August, 8.30pm.

PICTURE: JIMMY SUNDIN

Growing up in outback Australia and later experiencing a life-changing accident, choreographer Marc Brew was always told he either couldn’t or shouldn’t dance. Lucy Ribchester finds him turning that negativity around in a show that galvanises young dancers of all body types

Every artist has their naysayers to overcome, but it’s safe to say choreographer and dancer Marc Brew had more than his fair share of being told, ‘no, you can’t dance’. The first time came when he was a boy, in 1980s rural Australia. Gender roles were rigidly defined and boys were destined for football and cricket, certainly not grooving to Whitney Houston or leaping around to Footloose. Brew defied these small-town prejudices, however, and went on to train as a professional ballet dancer. Then, while working in South Africa in 1997, a drunk driver hit a car he was travelling in, killing three of his friends and leaving him paralysed from the chest down. He began fielding a fresh round of negativity, this time focused on the idea that disabled people don’t dance.

Brew chronicled his accident in 2024’s outstanding dancememoir An Accident/A Life. But even after the success of that show, he still felt he had more of his autobiography to explore. ‘I started thinking that there’s an interesting connection there and potentially a powerful story for young audiences to witness and experience,’ Brew says over Zoom, ‘to learn about the power of the human will and also the inspiration to fulfil one’s dreams even though there are obstacles in the way.’ After writing his ideas down, he shared them with children’s theatre producers Imaginate, where they were initially turned down for funding. Yet another ‘no’. But if Brew has learned anything, it’s to push back at every barrier, regardless. Eventually the Imaginate team came back to him with a commission. The piece became Boys Don’t Dance and headlined the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival earlier this year.

‘If you’ve watched the movie Billy Elliot,’ Brew says, ‘I was sort of like the Aussie outback version.’ A dance teacher would come to his village once a week on Fridays and Brew would go along to the local jazz ballet class. But that was also when the prejudice began. ‘Having a boy dance wasn’t common at all. I was teased and bullied and bashed up many times by local kids, but also their parents called me names as well.’ The bullying was relentless but Brew found solace with a group of girls who encouraged him to keep going to classes. In turn, he used to teach them routines at school.

In Boys Don’t Dance, a version of young Brew is played by able-bodied dancer Ross Malloy, while wheelchair World Latin Dance champion Piotr Iwanicki takes the role of older, post-accident Brew. The duets they perform together are exhilarating, full of spins, balances and mirroring, with Malloy spending some of the time on a BMX, mirroring Iwanicki’s wheels. Brew hopes attitudes have changed since he was a boy or a young, disabled artist, but nevertheless feels strongly that there is always room to celebrate difference. ‘That’s what I wanted this piece to really be about; that difference is ok, and through difference there’s beauty and there are possibilities.’

Boys Don’t Dance, Assembly Dance Base, 7–23 August, 1.15pm.

Body language

3 To See comedians

A trio of comics here who have two productions this Fringe: one for the grown-ups and these shows aimed directly at the little ones. By his own admission, award-winning Olaf Falafel (Laughing Horse Counting House, 6–30 August, 11.30am) delivers pretty stupid shows. This hour, he claims, is the most stupid one yet. Strap in. Silent clown and juggler Darryl J Carrington (Underbelly George Square, 5–31 August, 1.20pm) is Out Of The Box as he delivers a raucous toothbrush-wielding finale. There are a few things we’ve come to expect with shows by Spencer Jones (Pleasance Courtyard, 7–16 August, 11am) and they’re here by the bucketload for his Experimental Kids Show: daft music, surreal props and wild energy. Tick, tick and, indeed, tick.

Darryl J Carrington

House of the drag

Railing against toxic masculinity, Fuccbois are a quartet of parody performers disguised as an all-conquering boyband. Danny Munro meets the foursome to talk about endings and how to tackle bad men in the wild

The Fuccbois are breaking up. Once the biggest boyband in the world, the four-piece are calling it a day and they’ve decided Edinburgh is the place to end it all. Here for 24 nights (and 24 nights only), Fringe-goers have the chance to catch the frosted tips that drove crowds wild in Adelaide and Melbourne, before the group splinters off into solo careers of, no doubt, varying success.

‘Fuccbois: Live In Concert is a big comedy boyband concert extravaganza,’ explains Bridie Connell who wrote the show and stars as Brandon, one quarter of the toxic pop group. ‘It follows them into their final ever show. And it all slowly falls apart because we get to see their rivalries and egos as they sort of derail the entire thing.’ A satirical jab at the modern dating world and the straight men who reside in it, this drag king spectacular sees Brendan (Vidya Makan), Brandon (Connell), Tyler (Megan Walshe) and Also Brendan (Clara Harrison) deliver an hour of original music while reflecting some of the worst traits Connell encountered while navigating ‘the apps’.

‘I started writing it in 2019 and I’d just had a real run of encountering fuckboys in the wild at weddings and on dates,’ recalls Connell of the inspiration behind this musical. ‘Everywhere I looked they were there with some sort of new crazy behaviour. I was up to my neck in it, and was like,

“nope, I’ve had enough”. And so the only way I deal with my problems is to write satirical songs.’

Though The Fuccbois are a parody group, Harrison was taken aback by the genuine fanfare they generated during the show’s first run at the Adelaide Fringe earlier this year. ‘I think because we play the whole show as if it is a big stadium spectacular, we really see the audience as our super fans. And as the season continued and we got a bit of press and chatter, audiences really did sort of play the character of fans. People dressed up and made posters!’

‘We had some actual fuckboys attend as well,’ adds Walshe. ‘It was fun to watch the reactions because they got read for filth, and I don’t think they ever thought they would.’ This Fringe run marks an Edinburgh debut for the Aussie troupe, which is particularly exciting for Harrison who spent the first decade of her life in Elgin before moving down under. ‘We like to call our fans the “fuck buddies’’,’ Harrison smiles. ‘We can’t wait to meet our Scottish fuck buddies!’

Fuccbois: Live In Concert, Assembly George Square Studios, 5–31 August, 5.05pm.

Piano by Candlelight

Flower power

Wildflowers have inspired great Scottish folk music through the generations. From ‘Flower Of Scotland’ and ‘Wild Mountain Thyme’ to ‘Flowers Of The Forest’, indigenous plants are deeply rooted in our folktales and national identity. Scottish singer-songwriter Siobhan Wilson is adding to the canon with her three-volume epic Flowercore, each inspired by her discovery of wildflowers during regular lockdown walks in the Borders with her dog McTavish.

‘I was forced to retreat into the countryside because I couldn’t afford the city rent so I ended up in a really rural place,’ she recalls. ‘I would go outside with McTavish all the time and his nose was always on the floor. He was a puppy and really interested in new things. Every time he came across a new wildflower and started sniffing it, I would vicariously discover it through him.’ Wilson began photographing and even drawing the different species of flowers she came across before eventually penning her Flowercore discography.

‘A lot of the flowers I’m writing about people may call weeds; that’s actually what inspired me about them the most,’ she explains. ‘They create their own path. They’re essentially nonconformists and rebels.’

Now the source material for three albums and a brand new Fringe show, her love of native flora seems to be the creative gift that keeps on giving. ‘This is the first time that Flowercore has been brought onto a stage. It’s a chance for me to transfer this obsession

The natural world is a huge inspiration to singer-songwriter Siobhan Wilson. After a few years of olfactory research, wildlife photography and song crafting, she tells Megan Merino that the time was right to get her new work in front of an audience

with wildflowers and this vast source of inspiration onto the live stage and communicate that with an audience.’ The show will feature live vocals and instrumentals by Wilson while projections dance around the room. ‘Some of the videography that’s been supplied is by Edge Photography who is a Glasgow-based videographer, and I’ve also got some colourful flower pieces by painters who live in Scotland that I’m going to show.’

Special guests will join her on stage throughout the run, including Scottish rising star Niamh Corkey and Australian duo Charm Of Finches. ‘Corkey has got an absolutely beautiful voice. She’s written music herself inspired by nature, such as a song called “The Garden”. But she’ll join me to add some ethereal harmonies. Then the same thing will happen with Charm Of Finches. When we all sing together, it blends really nicely, so I feel really spoiled that I’ll get all these amazing women to sing on stage with me for a whole week.’

In what will surely be a breath of fresh air amid the Fringe chaos, Flowercore functions as Wilson’s ode to the natural world; a thank-you note to the wildflowers that got her through difficult times. ‘I went for months without really seeing friends and family, and the flowers became like my little friends. I would get to know their rota and which spots they appear in every season. If you can tap into nature’s calendar, there’s this really spooky thing that happens: you just feel profoundly happier.’

Siobhan Wilson: Flowercore, The Gilded Saloon, 17–22 August, 3pm.

3 To See at La Belle Angele

Mary Lattimore

After bringing a fine slate of indie, pop and alternative gigs to the city centre last August, the just-off Cowgate venue flings its doors wide to another strong array of contemporary music makers. LA-based harp genius Mary Lattimore (7 August, 1pm) strings us along in a wonderful way. Bone up on her superb Silver Ladders album ahead of time. Antony Szmierek (26 August, 7pm) unleashes his ‘poetry pop’ on the crowd, channelling a touch of The Streets but with added perm and mouser vibes. Difficult to fully appreciate the summer buzz that The Magic Numbers (22 August, 7pm) brought to the UK charts back in 2005 when they first arrived and while this quartet (comprising two pairs of siblings) have been fairly quiet in the last eight years, their return is most welcome.

PICTURE: JAMIE KELTER DAVIS

Bryony Kimmings has a complex relationship with nature but a move to the countryside forced her to confront it. Returning to the Fringe after seven years away, the fearless theatre storyteller tells Zara Janjua how she finally faced up to her anxieties

Eco worrier

PICTURE: CHRISTA HOLKA

Did Bryony Kimmings move to the countryside because she cared about the environment?

‘No. That makes me sound like some kind of good person,’ she laughs. In fact, when the award-winning writer and performer swapped Brighton for a tumbledown cottage in rural East Sussex, she wasn’t searching for ecological enlightenment. She was following love with a new partner and hopes of building a blissful blended family.

Instead, she found herself face-to-face with old trauma, climate anxiety and a realisation that would eventually become Bog Witch, her first Edinburgh Fringe show in seven years. For a while, Kimmings carried a lingering sense that nature had betrayed her after her son became unwell and she experienced a psychotic episode, both of which became so entangled in her mind that the natural world itself felt hostile: ‘I had beef with nature,’ as she puts it.

For anyone familiar with Kimmings’ work, that confession feels entirely on brand. Over the past two decades she has built a reputation as one of British theatre’s most fearless autobiographical storytellers, mining her own life for material with startling honesty and humour. Her shows have tackled everything from sex and depression to cancer, motherhood and mental health, earning acclaim from the National Theatre to Sydney Opera House. Since her last Fringe outing, she’s also forged a successful screenwriting career, co-writing Last Christmas with Emma Thompson and adapting Liz Jensen’s 2009 novel The Rapture into a BBC One eco thriller due to air this year.

But Bog Witch may be her most surprising transformation yet. The title conjures images of an earthy eco guru dispensing wisdom from a moss-covered hut. The reality of moving to the countryside, however, was rather different. ‘I could hear my own thoughts. I could hear my own trauma. I could hear my own capitalism. It was deafening.’ Kimmings viewed the

natural world as something that had let her down. Yet it was also the thing helping her son thrive. Now diagnosed with autism, he struggled with school and daily life in the city. In the countryside, he seemed transformed. ‘He’s a nature boy,’ she says. ‘He says hello to bugs. He hugs trees.’

Meanwhile, life with her partner introduced her to permaculture, sustainability and the endless stream of environmental facts that would eventually fuel the show.

‘My partner doesn’t have a filter,’ she says. ‘“Did you know we’ve only got 12 harvests left before the soil is completely eroded? Did you know this? Did you know that?”’ For someone already prone to anxiety, it wasn’t always welcome information. ‘I’ve had mental breakdowns,’ she laughs. ‘Let’s not feed the anxiety.’

Yet climate anxiety became impossible to ignore. What captured her attention wasn’t simply the fear, but what happens when people push through it. Kimmings isn’t interested in doom-mongering or lecturing audiences about ecological collapse. She deliberately set out to make a climate show that didn’t feel like a climate show. The title itself was part of the strategy, changing name along the way from Soil And Water because, according to Kimmings, ‘no one’s coming to see that’.

Instead, Bog Witch became a way into a bigger conversation about community, connection and healing. It’s climate change viewed not through statistics or policy, but through one woman’s deeply personal reckoning with grief, fear and belonging. Seven years away from Edinburgh have clearly done little to diminish Kimmings’ appetite for turning life’s messiest experiences into compelling theatre. Bog Witch sounds like the natural next chapter for an artist who has always been willing to venture somewhere uncomfortable and report back.

Bog Witch, Traverse Theatre, 8–30 August, times vary.

PICTURES: ROSIE POWELL

Peter Mandelson... in his own words

Puppet master

For well over a century, Bram Stoker’s vampire tale has been done to death on both stage and screen. Isy Santini ventured to Paris and witnessed Plexus Polaire’s very different kind of Dracula

A3 More To See

puppets

frightened, red-haired waif in a nightgown wanders onstage, weaving between the gravestones amid a background of ethereal music. This is Lucy Westenra, one of the most captivating characters in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and the most difficult to pin down. In over a century of adaptations, Dracula’s first victim is portrayed as a death-obsessed goth, a capricious heiress or a lustful vixen. A new stage adaptation from theatre company Plexus Polaire, however, hits upon a rather novel approach. In Dracula: Lucy’s Dream, Westenra is simply a person. ‘I wanted to give her the force to exit the role of victim,’ explains director Yngvild Aspeli. ‘I wanted to change the perspective without changing the story.’

The show achieves this by using puppetry, sound and lighting, rather than dialogue, to delve further into Lucy’s psyche while keeping to the original novel’s story beats. Following critically acclaimed productions of Moby Dick and A Doll’s House, Plexus Polaire have become known for their skilled and innovative puppeteering. ‘Puppetry allows you to really create a different world,’ says Aspeli. ‘But I think it also allows us to look at ourselves with a bit of distance, and with that distance you can go even closer.’

The psychological language of puppetry is a key element of Dracula: Lucy’s Dream. ‘I’m interested in these things within us that we cannot necessarily explain but that we can very much feel,’ states Aspeli. ‘I think that puppetry allows us to visualise those intangible, existential things in a very concrete way.’ Instead of a single actor playing any one character, they all move fluidly between actor and puppet. At times, multiple Lucys occupy the stage at once, puppeting and manipulating each other. Through her interactions with herself, we glimpse the

Putting some heart and soul into Cervantes’ classic, Dik Downey gives us Don Quixote (Is A Very Big Book) (Pleasance Dome, 5–31 August, 3.25pm), a puppetry tale about the inevitable ravages of time and finding companionship in odd places. One online comment suggests that the puppetry affair from Glenn & Flenn (Paradise In The Vault, 24–30 August, 8.40pm) is a bit like ‘Sesame Street having a breakdown in a David Lynch film’. Well, we’re sold. From Half A String comes Tiny Planet (Pleasance Dome, 5–23 August, 12.25pm), a show for all the family as we go on an adventure to discover what truly matters in the often chaotic solar system.

different sides of Lucy, and we see that she is a willing participant, a helpless victim and a resistant heroine all at once. ‘To combine actor and puppet is to create the complexity of the situation,’ continues Aspeli. ‘It’s a situation where what you thought was good actually turns out to be bad, and what you thought was bad is maybe what saves you.’

Dracula: Lucy’s Dream is more than just a character study, however. It’s also a highly relevant tale of trauma, abuse and addiction. ‘Abuse of power never stops happening,’ she says. ‘It may shift form but the essential core of it happens again and again.’ The vampire, Aspeli argues, is also the perfect figure with which to explore these themes. ‘He’s the manipulator, the one who draws all your energy and finally your life.’ She sees him too as a manifestation of trauma and PTSD. ‘It’s over but it changed your mind and body and it still controls you. How do you get out of that kind of possession?’

This rich symbolism is also what made Dracula a prime candidate for puppetry. Aspeli draws a comparison between the dead vampire depending on the living to survive and the inanimacy of the puppet. ‘But it’s also his capacity for transformation: he’s one thing and then he’s another, and I think this is very true for the theme.’ In this production, Dracula transforms from man to dog to bat right before the audience’s eyes, as if by magic. When asked about these miraculous transitions, Aspeli is careful not to give away the tricks of the trade. ‘We work a lot with the light corridor; what you see and what you don’t see. But it’s really the work of the actor puppeteers, who constantly go between the technical choreography and playing a role.’

Dracula:

Dream, Pleasance EICC, 6–29 August, 5.30pm.

Lucy’s

Tiny Planet

PICTURES: CHRISTOPHE RAYNAUD DE LAGE

BETTER

Rianne Downey has been forging her own musical path while simultaneously finding new fans as the vocal sparring partner of a national treasure. She chats to Fiona Shepherd about channelling Streisand and pumping up the fun

Rianne Downey is known for her mellifluous country voice and effervescent stage presence. But in a previous life she was a musical theatre student on a James McAvoysponsored scholarship to his alma mater, the Royal Conservatoire Of Scotland. Although she could never be accused of forgetting her roots, Downey is surprised to be asked about those teenage hoofer days. Like a consummate professional performer though, she takes the question and runs with it. ‘That’s still what I sing in the shower,’ she enthuses. ‘When I need to find myself again and remember why I’m doing this, I retreat to belting out some Barbra Streisand.’ Finding her artistic identity has been an important step for Downey. The Bellshill-born, Liverpoolbased singer-songwriter is an all-rounder with an eclectic style and taste forged through hard busking experience. She probably could sing anything, such is the richness of her tone, but she has found her lane in country music with a misty-eyed Celtic twist. ‘I tried different things to be liked by everybody,’ she says, ‘but when it was time to write my debut album I had to try and shut out all the outside noise and ask, “what feels like my true calling?” I just let a song, “Nothing Better”, come out and it just felt

DAYS

like me. It was country, it was folky; you could two-step to it. I knew it was never going to be a big single but I was so content with it.’ However, by the time she came to release her 2025 debut album, The Consequence Of Love, she was already fixed in many fans’ minds as Paul Heaton’s new vocal foil. Downey was recruited, thanks to her online cover of ‘Rotterdam’, to take the reins when Heaton’s longtime musical partner Jacqui Abbott stepped back from touring in 2023.

Her first hometown appearance with the former Beautiful South frontman was at TRNSMT that year. ‘Before that, my biggest headline show was in King Tut’s to 300 people and then I went on in front of 30,000 people, which was crazy. I’ll never forget that gig. It was all so surreal. I was taking things a moment at a time but I was absolutely shitting myself. I thought, “sing your heart out and see what happens”. The energy just sprung out of me and I was dancing and doing all these things I’d never had the courage to do in front of anybody so it was almost as if I’d stepped into my happy place.’

Downey cannot speak highly enough about her musical mentor. ‘He’s brilliant to work with, plain and simple. It can be easy to get intimidated in front of someone like Paul but he’s just so lovely and down to earth and encouraging that all those feelings go away. He really likes to make people feel like they belong.’ Their collaboration continues on Heaton’s forthcoming album Jenius and Downey will be performing with him on his autumn arena tour.

Before then, she has a summer of her own festival shows, including a visit to her childhood holiday destination of North Berwick. Downey also has her sights set on a second solo album, to be recorded early next year. ‘This next album is definitely country and folk again but on steroids this time,’ she insists. ‘I’m going to work hard to take it up a notch. I feel like I’ve lived ten lives since I first started my debut album so I’ve got a lot more to say and I’m not so scared of it this time. I know that will translate into the music and be a lot more fun.’

Rianne Downey, The Famous Grouse Lodge, North Berwick, 1 August, 7.30pm.

3

Sphere of influence

There’s a pretty strong case to be made for Louis Theroux being the most famous documentary maker of modern times. Ahead of his North Berwick appearance, Paul McLean looks back at the bespectacled one’s prodigious career

The manosphere, Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, porn stars: the list goes on. No, these are not a demented man-baby’s VIP guests for the grand opening of his big, beautiful ballroom: they’re a tiny snapshot of the subjects documentary big-hitter Louis Theroux has tackled across more than three decades. But the tables will be turned at Fringe By The Sea with Theroux facing the questions in front of a sure-to-be-packed Big Top. From his earliest days in the business, Theroux’s polite, awkward, fish-out-of-water persona disarmed extremists of all stripes, while using his whip-smart mind to give them enough rope to hang themselves. Starting on Michael Moore’s TV Nation in the US, he soon graduated to his own show, Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends. Embedding himself with subcultures and fringe groups, he gave us eye-opening insights into, among others, the adult entertainment industry, UFO hunters, survivalists and WWF (the wrestlers, not the wildlife charity). When Louis Met . . . followed, with its now skin-crawlingly legendary Jimmy Savile episode.

He’s created more than 50 documentaries for BBC Two since 2003, mixing social issues such as disability, mental health, eating disorders and addiction into his previous more ‘colourful’ repertoire, alongside feature-length investigations of scientology and this year’s Inside The Manosphere. That show probed the narcissistic world of male influencers and content-creating grifters pedalling misogyny under the guise of ‘traditional’ masculinity: just another bunch of man-babies.

Louis Theroux: In Conversation, Big Top, North Berwick, 2 August, 11.45am.

2026 has turned out to be a big year for Maggie O’Farrell (The Famous Grouse Lodge, 1 August, 12.20pm) with Hamnet doing huge, tear-stained business in the film world followed by the publication of her latest epic, Land. She’s back on home soil here given that she attended high school in North Berwick. Historian, writer and broadcaster David Olusoga (Big Top, 6 August, 11am) also has family connections to East Lothian and here he reflects on how Britain’s present is inextricably linked with its past. Winner of the Gordon Burn Prize, Jenni Fagan (The Dome, 2 August, 1.15pm) is on the coast to talk about The Delusions, her fifth novel which we described in our review as ‘a scatological Scottish The Good Place with Orwellian overtones’. Who could resist that?

FRINGE BY THE SEA

Maggie O’Farrell

FRINGE HIGHLIGHTS

FLAMENC OH!!

THE RAFT OF THE CRAB

Merging puppetry, pole work and contemporary dance, Ninon Noiret explores her experience with cancer and what it has taken for her to get onto the road to recovery.

n Assembly Roxy, 18–31 August, 2.30pm.

From the funny folk who brought you A Comedy Of Operas comes this clash of physical theatre, the world’s most Spanish dance form, and wild humour with eclectic live music to boot.

n Assembly Rooms, 6–30 August, 2.15pm.

MAKING LOVE WITH DAVID MAGIDOFF

Esteemed telly actor Magidoff doesn’t just chat to a celeb live onstage about a real love story, he then turns it into a full-on improvised musical right before us. Among those confirmed for this run so far are Fran Healy, Fatiha El-Ghorri and Tim Burgess.

n Assembly George Square Studios, 7–23 August, 8.05pm.

GLOB

A circus for everyone to dream together’ is the tagline for Les Foutoukours. This Quebec company have been doing highly dramatic things since 1997 and their new show features two ageless and very fluffy characters. n Underbelly Bristo Square, 5–30 August, 3pm.

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN

These beloved indie popsters have a few things going on in North Berwick this summer but for this show they’re recreating in full their If You’re Feeling Sinister album which charmed many an ear in 1996.

n Fringe By The Sea, 6 August, 8pm.

DOKTOR KABOOM

The good Doktor spins his Wheel Of Science to determine which of his frenetic experiments will be let loose upon the crowd that day, making each performance potentially unique.

n Pleasance Courtyard, 5–16 August, 1.30pm.

ANATOMY OF SURVIVAL

A wild incident in a coffee shop sparked this theatre-dance piece created by Vivienne Franzmann and Frauke Requardt, and which features two dancers, an actor and a drummer.

n Assembly Dance Base, 25–29 August, 7.45pm.

ROLEPLAY

In terms of solo-show Fringe success, could this be the next Baby Reindeer or Fleabag? Maybe. Hannah Reilly plays a down-on-her luck progressive podcaster who takes quite the career U-turn to try and make a breakthrough.

n Summerhall, 6–31 August, 5.50pm.

MAYFLIES

The powerful Andrew O’Hagan novel about childhood friends facing up to a tough decision in later life was equally as strong on TV, and here it is given the Grid Iron treatment in a unique venue.

n Brown’s Of Leith, 7–30 August, 4pm.

JACK ROOKE

A lot has happened in the decade since Rooke performed Good Grief at the Fringe (he produced an unstoppable Channel 4 hit with Big Boys for one thing) so in a much larger room, we’ll find out how it has endured.

n Underbelly Bristo Square, 27–29 August, 7pm.

KINDER

One of the barnstorming hits from 2025 makes a swift return with this List Festival Award-winning hour (we can pat ourselves on the back sometimes, surely?) tackling identity and the power of words.

n Underbelly Cowgate, 5–30 August, 2pm.

PATTI HARRISON

The avant garde US comic delivers yet another strange and wholly uncomfortable experience for audience members and for anyone who joins her on stage. Just Ironing Things Out is the least appropriate title for her fare.

n Pleasance Courtyard, 24–29 August, 10pm.

LIBERACE AND LIZA: A TRIBUTE

Going doing a storm at the Brighton Fringe, this will surely do similar business in Edinburgh, as two fabulous showbiz legends are brought together to recreate a show which, sadly, never actually happened n Underbelly Bristo Square, 5–30 August, 8.25pm.

PALESTINIAN CIRCUS

Fuelled by vibrant rhythms and uplifting traditions, this will be a hugely popular circus experience as the non-profit organisation delivers a message of hope and connection.

n Underbelly Circus Hub, 8–29 August, 2.05pm.

SCARAMOUCHE JONES

Directed by Fringe icon Guy Masterson, aged clown Scaramouche pops on several masks and takes us down a very long memory lane studded with some of the darkest hours in history.

n Assembly Rooms, 6–30 August, 4.10pm.

IFRAH QURESHI

1998 self-help book The 48 Laws Of Power became a bestseller which wound a lot of people up. Rising stand-up Qureshi delivers her own twist on the edicts therein (she’s changed ‘Laws’ to ‘Flaws’ for one thing).

n The Stand 4, 6–30 August, 8.15pm.

MADAME CHANDELIER

Opera figures Carmen, Tosca and Madame Butterfly are unleashed to try and save a young girl who has become trapped in a video game. Will the nasty Queen Of The Night be vanquished? Probably.

n Pleasance Courtyard, 5–16 August, 12.15pm.

PENELOPE

Broadway star Grace McLean takes on the role of Odysseus’ very patient partner who waited quite a while for his return after the Trojan battles. This chamber musical tells the tale from her perspective, at long last.

n Underbelly Cowgate, 5–30 August, 3.45pm.

FRINGE HIGHLIGHTS

TETHER

From Wonder Fools comes Tether, a ceilidh crossed with a storytelling affair for which they team up with South Korea’s Theatre San to tackle love, migration, oppression and time.

n Summerhall, 6–31 August, 4.30pm.

ONE HOUR WEDDING

Audience members as wedding planners? What can go wrong? Like an escape room you can’t get out of, 60 minutes (hence the name) is all everyone has to concoct a dream ceremony with the assistance of hosts Roz Pappalardo and Rachel Terry.

n Underbelly Bristo Square, 5–23 August, 9.50pm.

TIA KOFI

A successful competitor from the Drag Race universe, Kofi delivers a cabaret delight by chatting to some personalities about the moments that made them and the guilty pleasures they may harbour.

n The Gilded Saloon, 21 & 22 August, 7.40pm.

CLOWN SHOW

Geoff Sobelle is no stranger to the International Festival having previously brought us immersive works about notions of the domestic (Home) and consumption (Food), and now he’s turning to the idea that clowning represents the chaos and collapse of society, most specifically that of the USA. As Sobelle himself puts it, ‘this is a show of/about chaos, things falling apart, the centre not holding, the slow-moving and sometimes fast-moving shitshow of disaster, failure and catastrophe . . . also, it’s a comedy. Sort of. It’s certainly a clown show.’ (Brian Donaldson)

 King’s Theatre, 27–29 August, 8pm; 29 August, 2pm; 30 August, 3pm.

Even I am afraid of running into ICE “

YAfter a big year following his award-winning turn in The Secret Agent, Wagner Moura’s star is firmly in the ascendant. James Mottram looks at the outspoken Brazilian actor’s slow-burn career as he prepares to lead a modern-day sequel to Ibsen’s An Enemy Of The People

ou might say that 2025 was finally the year the world woke up to Wagner Moura. Starring in Kleber Mendonça Filho’s The Secret Agent, the oft-surreal portrait of state corruption in a sweltering 1970s Brazil, it was a head-spinning moment. Claiming Moura the Best Actor prize at Cannes, it sent him right into the heart of awards season. A Golden Globe win followed. And then came an Oscar nomination, making Moura the first ever Brazilian male actor to receive such an accolade.

This is the absolute definition of an overnight success some 30 years in the making. After taking acting classes in his teens, Moura began working in professional theatre in 1996. Despite a brief detour into journalism as a showbiz reporter in the early 2000s, he first came to attention in 2007’s Elite Squad, a stark look at Brazilian police brutality that won the Berlin Film Festival’s Golden Bear. It felt like the first step for Moura using his work to express his beliefs. As he told Time magazine last year, ‘I’m very vocal. I say things. I’m not afraid. I never was afraid to say what I believe because that’s how I am.’ Gaining career traction in Netflix drama Narcos, in which he played Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar opposite Pedro Pascal, he also featured in Alex Garland’s equally incendiary 2024 film Civil War

Audiences will now have the chance to see Moura up close in Edinburgh when he stars in A Trial: After An Enemy Of The People. Created by Brazilian director Christiane Jatahy, the piece takes on Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 iconic play which told the story of Thomas Stockmann, a man facing shame and exile after exposing a water pollution scandal in his home town. Relocating the story to modern-day Brazil, Jatahy’s reworking combines filmed footage and, uniquely, audience participation. With no lawyers or judges present, each night 11 audience members, who register in advance, will be randomly selected as the jury to preside over the case, shaping the ending of this politically driven show in which Moura stars as Stockmann.

Its provocative nature looks entirely suited to Moura, as he returns to the stage after a long absence. An outspoken critic of both the Brazilian political scene and Trump’s administration, he told El País recently: ‘We’re in a very ugly time; even I am afraid of running into ICE. I’m saying that because I react in a very explosive way when there is a situation of injustice or authoritarianism before me.’

Looking further ahead, Moura has already wrapped Flesh Of The Gods, alongside Kristen Stewart, the new film from director Panos Cosmatos who made the utterly bonkers Nicolas Cage thriller Mandy. This promises to be just as wild, with Moura and Stewart playing a 1980s couple in Los Angeles who join a hedonistic group, indulging in excess and violence. Far removed from Moura’s own quiet life, living with his wife and three sons, it sounds like another masterstroke for this talented rabble rouser.

A Trial: After An Enemy Of The People, Lyceum Theatre, 7–10 August, 7.30pm; 8 August, 3pm.

The quiet life: Wagner Moura in The Secret Agent

Apocalypse when?

Hollywood loves a good old end-of-days blockbuster. Now, through physical theatre and captivating visuals, Scottish ensemble Groupwork bring us the true tale of a 1950s US cult which was convinced that Armageddon was coming, as Dom Czapski discovers

At some point in recent history, thanks to documentaries streamed by American entertainment conglomerates, the inner lives of doomsday cult followers entered into public consciousness. ‘I think it’s always felt like the end of the world, for whatever cult, whatever time you’re living through. It’s become a bit of a meme to go, “we’re living through the end times”,’ says Finn den Hertog, co-director of dance theatre ensemble Groupwork. Still, is it challenging to humanise cult followers? ‘What we don’t want people to think is that they are crazy,’ insists co-director Vicki Manderson. ‘We want people to think that what they believed is maybe true.’

In 1954, a New Age spiritualist from Chicago called Dorothy Martin told her followers (a group called The Seekers) that on 21 December the entire world would be submerged by a gigantic flood and a flying saucer would come to rescue them. The flood, of course, never came (spoiler: neither did the UFO). Social psychologists studied the group, which led to the publication of a seminal book that lends its name to Groupwork’s latest show, When Prophecy Fails

The study famously found that the most devout cult members grew more convinced of the prophecy and it established the idea of cognitive dissonance (the psychological balancing act of holding contradictory beliefs). Although written back in the 50s, to Manderson and den Hertog, the concepts it describes remain relevant today. Given their ensemble’s idiosyncratic and multidisciplinary way of working, the otherworldliness of the subject material felt like an asset. Unusual casting is part of it: unlike other dance theatre companies, the performers are primarily actors who dance.

‘When I got into theatre and saw how actors moved, I was really excited by it,’ says Manderson, who also choreographs the show. With actors, she explains, ‘I’m getting more of a story, not just, you know, how high is my leg.’ To den Hertog, the drama is in those liminal moments. He tells how, working on the play Lear at Pitlochry recently, he remarked to an incredulous stage manager how much he enjoyed the scene changes, almost more than the scenes themselves.

The pivotal place of imagery is reinforced by the script and visuals of Groupwork’s third co-founder, Lewis den Hertog, which underscore the show (there is text in the piece but almost no spoken words on stage).

‘I think you would be straining the definition of dance to call it dance,’ suggests Finn, ‘but that’s the beauty of it. Someone just walking across the space and picking up a cup can be dance. It has an electricity to it. And I think that’s where our work lives’.

When Prophecy Fails, Studio Theatre, 27–29 August, 7.30pm; 29 August, 2.30pm; 30 August, 5.30pm.

Rough ride

America’s devastating opioid crisis is the grim inspiration for a bold and very personal new opera from composer Missy Mazzoli. She talks to Carol Main about her mission to avoid being moralistic and why she chose a magical carousel as the vehicle to tell her story

With her much-praised Breaking The Waves being a major highlight of the 2019 International Festival, composer Missy Mazzoli returns to Edinburgh with another ambitious new opera. This time it’s not the island landscapes of Scotland that provide the story’s setting, but a small town in Mazzoli’s American homeland, where a carousel arrives to entertain the locals, magically promising to cure them of all their ills. The reality is somewhat different.

As an allegory for a societal crisis that claims multiple lives on a daily basis, it’s an opera that’s dark and troubling while still having lighter touches. ‘My librettist Royce Vavrek and I have always been interested in writing about the opioid crisis,’ says Mazzoli, ‘but not with a heavy hand or being preachy. It’s about approaching it in a way that’s theatrically thrilling.’ The subject matter is not in the abstract for Mazzoli: two of her cousins, both under the age of 25, have overdosed and died. ‘It’s a very common experience in the USA with the struggle of opioid addiction affecting everyone through friends and family connections. Our aim with this work is to bring a sense of compassion and love.’

As an art form, Mazzoli feels that opera is a good fit for telling this narrative of addiction and what comes with it, especially through the shared commonality of complexities and complications. ‘The crisis itself is an operatic tragedy,’ she says, ‘full of villains and heroes and other people just trying to live their lives. There are so many different layers going on. There’s a lot happening with the triangulation of staging, costumes and the richness of the music. It’s the stuff of good opera and we’re approaching it from the human angle.’

The music itself is scored for orchestra with what Mazzoli describes as fun additions. ‘There’s a moment when the teens of the town turn an abandoned movie theatre into their club. At this point, an electronic landscape pops up, with crazy, awesome technology representing the sound of the carousel, which is so vivid and evocative. It’s a very unconventional and electronic score.’ Taking as its starting point a short story by American writer Karen Russell (which in turn was inspired by Franz Kafka’s ‘A Country Doctor’), the opera is set in an unspecified small town. ‘A man comes to the town with his carousel, and the local doctor is at first sceptical but sees the effect of taking a ride. Her daughter is petulant and tetchy but becomes addicted to it. This isn’t an adaptation of the Kafka story but inspired by some of the crazy things encountered in it.’ Like singing sheep and dogs barking in English as people become high: ‘It’s very surreal and opera is perfect for that.’

Mazzoli is keen that audiences don’t see the piece as moralistic, aiming instead for people to leave the opera talking about it and asking questions. ‘I’m not interested in “drugs are bad”. It’s more about having the discussion. My job is to provide a new language to talk about these things and keep them in public conversation.’ Although Vavrek and Mazzoli are the respective creators of the words and music, the team behind The Galloping Cure very much includes Russell and director/dramaturg Tom Morris. ‘The four of us really created this,’ says Mazzoli. ‘It’s my sixth opera and feels completely different from the others. And Scottish Opera is my favourite company in the world to work with.’

The Galloping Cure, Festival Theatre, 9, 11 & 12 August, 7pm.

Breaking The Waves at Edinburgh International Festival in 2019; (opposite) composer Missy Mazzoli

Basic instinct

IAcclaimed jazz multiinstrumentalist Corto. Alto (aka Liam Shortall) is not a man to be boxed in by labels. He talks to Claire Sawers about remaining creatively openminded, his love of the Glasgow music scene and why he’d perform to an empty room

then,

also

t’s hard to know what to expect from a Corto.Alto set. Even Liam Shortall (aka Corto.Alto) doesn’t always see what’s coming. ‘Sometimes festivals will ask for a rigid setlist in advance; we often don’t make one until ten minutes before. It’s instinctual; we get a vibe on the night. It’s fun to go in and out of lots of different styles,’ he understates. ‘I play with really old friends so we trust each other. We also try and trip each other up onstage by going in unexpected directions.’

The Glasgow multi-instrumentalist’s 2023 debut album Bad With Names fizzed with experiments in jazz, hip hop and club music, earning it a 2024 Mercury Prize nomination. Since then, Shortall and his band have played 250 live shows, including sell-outs at Glasgow’s Barrowlands and London’s Koko, a Glastonbury set and tours of Europe, America and Australia. He’s been credited with making jazz popular with a new, Gen Z audience, thanks to his blurring of dub beats, classical instrumentation and live loops. He’s chatting today from his girlfriend’s place in Peckham, after

London’s girlfriend’s place in Peckham, after

shooting a music video in Lagos for single ‘Go’ with Nigerian rapper Vector. ‘It was mental. We weren’t in the rich, touristy bit, we were in a dangerous area where Vector grew up. We needed security and a driver. It was intense! So crazy to be there with this famous rapper but such a good time.’

Shortall trained at Glasgow’s Royal Conservatoire Of Scotland, playing trombone. He lived on Sauchiehall Street for years, soaking up death metal, art pop, reggae, post-punk: whatever was playing in the music venues where he was hanging out most nights. ‘There was always some mad performance on. There still is. We have such breadth. I feel really lucky to have grown up in Glasgow, with all these amazing artists. Walt Disco, Pippa Blundell, Doss: so many.’

Shortall began writing and producing his own EPs and that cross-pollination of styles couldn’t help but creep in. He’ll release album three, Some Small Fortune, on Ninja Tune this autumn. ‘I don’t sit down and say, “ok, I’m going to make a drum and bass track”. I listen to gabba, country, jungle, blues. It’s all interesting to me, some cool chord choice or a feeling in a lyric. It all goes into my brain and then when I write and produce, it just comes out how it comes out. I think by saying that one genre isn’t good, you’re blocking yourself off from potential creative inspiration.’

For Corto.Alto’s performance at The Hub, Shortall will be joined by Graham Costello (drums), Mateusz Sobieski (saxophone) and Fergus McCreadie (keys). ‘Everyone is at such a high level in their own musical projects; Fergus is working on a score for a Spike Lee film, Graham is an amazing composer, Mateusz runs LayLow jazz nights at The Rum Shack. I’ll write all the parts for them and they’ll come into the studio and make it a million times better. A lot of my role is curator, bringing really talented folks together.’

Shortall says the International Festival set might lean in an R&B, hooky pop direction; they’ve been playing around lately with a remix of Justin Bieber’s ‘Yukon’ as well as some Ice Spice and Kendrick Lamar. ‘People can come have a dance or nod along and be jazz heads; it’s all good. We would make music if there was no audience there; we just have fun. I’ve watched jazz crowds at festivals, ten people at the front with stern faces and arms folded. I come on in my kilt, with my random samples, and we turn them around. I’ve been to gigs where you feel the band thinks they are above the audience. We all have our insecurities, we all get on a level with the audience, and we’re all there to enjoy ourselves.’

Corto.Alto, The Hub, 18 August, 8pm.

Battling ingrained prejudice and fighting for their rights in Rwanda are just some of the barriers that the women of drumming ensemble Ingoma Nshya have had to overcome. Founder Kiki Katese tells Isy Santini why she hopes audiences will embrace their show and its message of equality

stop the beat

Over two decades ago, actor, playwright, director and cultural entrepreneur Kiki Katese had a mission: to empower women in Rwanda through the arts. But in an environment where a woman’s creative life was undervalued and overlooked, funding was impossible to find. Then, suddenly, her eyes settled on some drums. ‘The moment we touched the drum, something happened,’ says Katese, whose all-female drumming ensemble Ingoma Nshya are bringing their musical talents to Edinburgh with Ingoma!: A Revolution In Rhythm. ‘I like to say that it was destiny,’ she suggests.

The show takes the form of a narrative concert, weaving together music, dance and song from across Africa. ‘It’s a story of women inscribing themselves in a space that was not made for them and finding incredible joy,’ explains Katese. ‘It’s a journey of 22 years of failures, of arguments and of overcoming.’ And Ingoma Nshya certainly had much to overcome. Having been raised in exile in the DRC, Katese did not expect the backlash she received. ‘I didn’t know much about my own culture. People started saying that it’s a taboo. You know, good things are not allowed for women.’

Outside disapproval certainly wasn’t going to stop the women of Ingoma Nshya. Using their remote location as a shield, they honed their craft and grew the project, creating their own festivals and teaching drumming to young girls in local schools. Now, they teach over 500 girls across ten schools and perform internationally.

‘We are not necessarily considered cultural actors,’ adds Katese. ‘You will never see us in those meetings; we don’t have a platform where we can voice our concern.’

She pauses, then says: ‘We created our own.’

After years of perseverance, Katese now believes she is in a position to begin pushing for real change. She hopes that policymakers in Rwanda will provide funding and introduce quotas to increase the number of women in the arts, as well as integrating Ingoma Nshya’s drumming programme into school curriculums across the country.

As she champions women’s rights back home, Katese is eager to take Ingoma Nshya’s story of empowerment across the world. ‘As an African female artist, it’s very, very difficult to access global platforms and to share our stories, and I am really thankful to the festival that they have room for that.’ Katese has no doubt that the themes of Ingoma!: A Revolution In Rhythm will resonate with audiences everywhere. ‘I hope that people will leave the show with the feeling that equality is not something to fear. When we embrace it, it only makes people stronger and somehow things get easier because we share the same opportunities, the same responsibilities.’

Ingoma!: A Revolution In Rhythm, Lyceum Theatre, 14 & 15 August, 7.30pm; 15 & 16 August, 2.30pm.

Zinnie Harris

MERE MORTALS

The legend of Pandora’s Box is brought bang up to date by San Francisco Ballet in this tech tale of obsession and AI. It all involves a meeting of great talents: choreographer Aszure Barton, with Floating Points performing his score live, accompanied by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

n Edinburgh Playhouse, 28–30 August, 8pm; 29 August, 3pm.

Back in Edinburgh after a much spoken about International show last year, Dan Daw and co bring us a piece about the values placed on individuals by society. Whatever else, you’re guaranteed provocation and humour whenever Daw is around.

n King’s Theatre, 23 August, 7.30pm.

ORCHESTRA BAOBAB

These Senegalese legends began making music in 1970, and after enormous success in Africa, split up for over a decade, finally getting back together again in 2001.

There’s even a new album to mark this occasion, the appropriately titled Made In Senegal n The Hub, 28 August, 7pm.

TAVERNA MIRESIA

A wordless exploration of memory and bereavement, this new theatre work by rising European star Mario Banushi has haunting singing, dreamlike flashbacks and a take on domestic spaces that verges on the surreal.

n Church Hill Theatre, 26 & 27, 29 August, 8pm; 28 August, 5pm, 8.30pm.

ANGELS IN AMERICA

At almost five hours (leavened by one lengthy interval), this will be one of those EIF productions that is certain to linger long in the mind. Writer Tony Kushner insists that this Dutch take from Ivo van Hove and Internationaal Theater Amsterdam is the best version he’s seen.

n King’s Theatre, 15 & 16, 18 & 19 August, 6pm; 20 August, 1pm.

A MASKED BALL

Verdi’s 1859 opera is brought to vivid life by Zurich Opera. At its centre is a rather grim dilemma: Riccardo, the governor of Boston, is in love with his best friend’s wife. How far is Riccardo willing to go and how much is he prepared to risk for his happiness?

n Lyceum Theatre, 20–23 August, 7.30pm.

GLOBAL IDEAS

Continuing its reputation as a city of ideas and debate, the EIF welcomes ex-PM Gordon Brown, documentary-maker Ken Burns, social justice activist Bryan Stevenson and journalist Amy Goodman, all of whom are hosted by Harvard professor and author Sarah Lewis (pictured).

n King’s Theatre, 11 August, 4pm.

JESSE NORTH IS BROKEN

ROKEN

By Martha Godber

NDING PIECE O

“AN OUTSTAN N P C OF CONTEMPORARY THEATRE”

PLEASANCE COURTYARD, UPSTAIRS 16-20 AUG, 11:50AM

A Starcatchers production by Kerry Cleland and Company

An immersive shimmering world for babies from birth to 12 months and their grown-ups

SOWETO KINCH

Marking the grand finale of this year’s Jazz & Blues Festival is a performance from the MC and composer who’s scooped some shiny awards in his time: Mobos and Urban Music gongs adorn his mantlepiece while he also received a Mercury nomination in 2003 for his debut collection Conversations With The Unseen. Here, he teams up with Joshua Vadiveloo on bass and Louis HamiltonFoad on drums for a spellbinding night of bebop and hip hop. (Brian Donaldson)

 George Square Spiegeltent, 26 July, 8.30pm.

Rising star Sultan Stevenson talks to Megan Merino about the truthfulness of playing jazz and why he loves putting ego aside to make others sound good

Sultan of swing

One conversation with jazz pianist Sultan Stevenson is enough to convince you that the phrase ‘wise beyond his years’ could have been created just for him. Beyond his musical accomplishments (two critically acclaimed albums, a Best Newcomer title from the Parliamentary Jazz Awards, numerous international festival appearances and a mentor role at the jazz talent incubator Tomorrow’s Warriors), the 25-year-old exudes quiet confidence. His performances have been described as ‘restrained’, ‘poised’ and ‘thoughtful’, and he’s regularly praised for showing immense skill without overplaying. Such control of your talent can take a lifetime to hone, but was Stevenson’s a product of practice or simply a natural state of being?

‘It’s just kind of how I am,’ he explains. ‘What’s beautiful about jazz is that it’s very hard, bordering on impossible, to lie about who you are. The personality of the player is reflected in the way they play. I think of Wayne Shorter, for example. He was always a very philosophical, deep, spiritual kind of person, and you really hear that in his compositions. I would like to think it’s the same thing with how I play. I’m naturally introspective, I don’t like to overcommunicate different ideas and I think that really comes out in my playing.’

Stevenson began learning piano where he grew up in north London, thanks to the Haringey Young Musicians initiative. ‘I was very fortunate to have that fantastic regional music service. I went on to play in the big band and the jazz big band and I met loads of different musicians from that. I started playing with my bassist at age 14!’

The bassist in question, Jacob Gryn, remains in Stevenson’s trio to this day, alongside drummer Joel Waters (now also playing in Olivia Dean’s band) who Stevenson met during his Guildhall School Of Music years. ‘We still get along really well and have a great playing relationship,’ says Stevenson, so much so that Gryn and Waters have become intrinsic to his composing process.

‘Songs are like universes and it’s the composer’s job to showcase everything that’s great about that universe. I like to compose 40% of the material because I want the other 60% to come from the guys themselves. With other trios, there might be more emphasis on the virtuosity of the individual instrumentalist. We’re really concerned with dynamics. We’re always looking to the Ahmad Jamal Trio’s use of pacing and contrast, the light and shade.’

This collaborative spirit allows egos to take a backseat, a philosophy Stevenson believes is fundamental to mastering the language of jazz. ‘First and foremost, the piano is an accompanying instrument. It’s important to learn the skill of making other people sound good. Sometimes that means putting what you want to one side in place of making someone else’s idea sound really amazing. I’ve learned a lot from the masters, people like Herbie Hancock, Bill Evans, Scott Joplin. By studying them you can learn how you want to sound and where you sit in the lineage of jazz piano.’

more emphasis on the virtuosity of the individual from very excited. The onstage experience, there’s no better feeling,

the

Sultan Stevenson, George Square Spiegeltent, 22 July, 6pm. and who you are. The personality of the player is reflected in the way for

Following in the footsteps of many greats before them, the trio head for Edinburgh to mark Stevenson’s debut appearance in the capital. ‘We’re very excited. The onstage experience, there’s no better feeling, really,’ he enthuses. ‘It’s also just everything that comes with it; flying into a country, commuting to the venue, waiting in the green room, the sound check. I love the afterwards, meeting the patrons and meeting the people who come to see me play. I enjoy all of that as much as the actual performance.’

In the groove

Jazz-curious kids will get a chance to blow their own horn at a pair of special shows, as Evie Glen discovers

Over ten days and 110 concerts, the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival programme ranges across the entire history of the genre, from modern to ragtime and Chicago blues. Among the action, Tenement Jazz Band For Kids makes sure no burgeoning jazz lover is left behind. The one hour-show is designed for younger fans taking their first shaky steps into the world of early jazz. Alongside the main event, organiser Sue McKenzie runs instrumentation workshops for children. On why young ones are drawn to the genre, McKenzie says: ‘Jazz naturally appeals to kids. It’s got good tunes with loads of great grooves and rhythms. It’s a truly living music that they can get involved in. Our Jazz For Kids shows are fully interactive and children can explore different instruments and sounds through tunes, games and movement.’ Improvisation is a crucial facet of that exploratory learning, just as it’s a cornerstone of jazz performance. ‘Improvisation incorporates great listening and decision-making skills as well as learning to collaborate with others,’ McKenzie explains. While fostering these attributes, she says the workshops aim to build confidence in young musicians, giving them ‘skills for life, with a lot of fun and great music along the way’. There are two chances to catch the show, delivered with the workshops as part of the festival’s learning and participation programme. The aim is to break down access barriers to music and the arts, ensuring everyone can become a cool cat (or kitten).

Tenement Jazz Band For Kids, North Merchiston Club, 19 July, 2.15pm; North Edinburgh Arts, 21 July, 11am.

Top 5 quartets

We pick out five of the finest four pieces in town

EVAN AND CAROLINA’S SUPER DUPER GROUP & FUN

Part of a Netherlands jazz strand, this collective come to Edinburgh fresh from dominating Amsterdam’s jazz and soul scene. Leaders Carolina Gemmell (vocals) and Evan van der Feen (piano) are joined by David Guerreiro (double bass) and Ludvig Søndergaard (drums). n Jazz Bar, 17 July, 6pm.

ROB LUFT QUARTET

Guitar man Luft is making strides in the game with his merging of West African grooves and Euro-jazz vibes, and won Instrumentalist Of The Year at the 2025 UK Parliamentary Awards. You can just picture Lindsay Hoyle scatting along. n St Bride’s Centre, 20 July, 6pm.

IMMANUEL WILKINS QUARTET

Blue Note member Wilkins is gaining much traction for his brand of avant-swing emboldened with soulful melodies. Micah Thomas (piano), Ryoma Takenaga (bass) and Kayvon Gordon (drums) join him. n George Square Spiegeltent, 21 July, 9pm.

HIDDEN WAVES QUARTET

Guitarist and composer David Series is accompanied by pianist Paul Harrison, bassist Elie Afif and drummer Doug Hough for a set imbued with the heavy influences of northern Spain. n Jazz Bar, 25 July, 8pm.

HARBEN KAY QUARTET

After releasing a new EP, Kay continues their rapid rise through the jazz ranks. Tonight’s quartet is completed by Tom Gibbs (piano), Ali Watson (double bass) and Alyn Cosker (drums). n George Square Gardens Piccolo, 25 July, 9pm.

Evan And Carolina’s Super Duper Group & Fun

ALEX JAMES’ BRITPOP CLASSICAL

SAT 1 AUG 2026

LOU SANDERS

WED 5 AUG 2026

MARIBOU STATE SAT 8 AUG 2026

RUSSELL HOWARD

TUES 4 AUG 2026

MICHELLE OGUNDEHIN

WED 5 AUG 2026

BELLE AND SEBASTIAN THURS 6 AUG 2026

DAVID OLUSOGA

THURS 6 AUG 2026

CIRCOBELLO

MON 3 AUG 2026

RUDIMENTAL (DJ SET) • KOOL & THE GANG • LEVI.SCT • CAPERCAILLIE

ERLAND COOPER • PLANTS CAN DANCE

TINDERBOX ORCHESTRA WITH SPECIAL GUEST KATHRYN JOSEPH • RIANNE DOWNEY

AUNTIE FLO: FULL LIVE BAND & DJ SET • BOMBSKARE • COLONEL MUSTARD & THE DIJON 5 BIG TOP CEILIDH WITH THE JACOBITES • BAY CITY ROLLERS • SEABASS VINYL LISTENING PARTY PHILIP CONTINI • DAVE KELLY & PAUL JONES • ALI AFFLECK AND THE QUEENS OF SWING HAMISH McGREGOR & THE JAZZMEN • VOICES & SISTER SISTER CHOIRS

LOUIS THEROUX • KATE ADIE • IAN HISLOP • BEN FOGLE OFF AIR WITH JANE & FI & JAN RAVENS

FRED MACAULAY & GREIG LAIDLAW • HANNAH LAVERY & MICHAEL PEDERSEN • SARRA HOY & KYLIE REID

JOSEPH COELHO • MAGGIE O’FARRELL • JENNI FAGAN • DOUG JOHNSTONE

MARJOLEIN ROBERTSON • CORBETT’S COMEDY CABARET • GREG HEMPHILL FLOP! THE BEST SONGS FROM THE WORST MUSICALS THE BLACK BLUES BROTHERS • MASSAOKE • KEVIN QUANTUM

SCOTTISH SEABIRD CENTRE NATURE DAY • THE FLOCK • ARTIE’S SINGING KETTLE • HANSEL & GRETEL

PAULINE BLACK: A 2 TONE STORY • RAVE CULTURE: A NEW ERA BELLE & SEBASTIAN ON FILM • TEENAGE SUPERSTARS/GRANT MCPHEE/RADHIKA THE HERRING QUEEN - EILIDH MUNRO & ADRIAN LEUNG • UNFORESEEN DREXLER • I WAS A TEENAGE SEX PISTOL

Over 300 music, comedy, book, film and family events over 10 days. Free to enter Hub plus wellbeing, workshops and new restaurant Còmhla by the Sea

KIDS

EDINBURGH TV FESTIVAL

After several decades of hosting the International TV Festival, Edinburgh is (reluctantly) passing the baton over to Manchester from 2027. This industry event is going out with quite the bang though as Gary Oldman will be in town to receive the Global Icon Award. The Slow Horses star was quoted as saying that being bestowed with such a prize was ‘enormously flattering and faintly alarming’. Davina McCall will also be smiling for the cameras when she gets the Outstanding Achievement gong while YouTube executive Pedro Pina is set to deliver the James McTaggart Memorial Lecture.

(Brian Donaldson)

n EICC, 25–28 August.

OTHER FESTIVALS

“Williams makes cultural criticism a performance in its own right”

DAZED

Portobello mushrooming

There’s a vibrant new kid on the Edinburgh Festival block this August, as Danny Munro reports

Joining the eclectic collection of arts festivals in the capital throughout the month is Porty Fringe, a 12-day-long celebration taking place on the periphery of the city in Portobello Town Hall. The new festival will be spearheaded by Stage Door Entertainment (SDE), the company responsible for the increasingly popular Porty Panto. ‘The Fringe can sometimes feel overwhelming or out of reach,’ explains Tommie Travers, who co-founded SDE with Aidan O’Brien. ‘So Porty Fringe is about making it accessible, giving people the chance to experience brilliant live performance on their doorstep in a welcoming, community setting.’

Included in the inaugural line-up is a takeover led by The Stand. Across two nights, the iconic comedy club will send a volley of comedians towards the seaside, including local stars such as Gail Porter and SNL UK writer Ayo Adenekan. The Daniel Martinez Flamenco Company will inject some Spanish flair into proceedings with their award-winning production Art Of Believing, and trad masters Blazin’ Fiddles are all set to close out affairs. ‘We’re excited to transform the town hall into a vibrant, creative hub, with bars and a lively buzz throughout the day,’ reflects Travers. ‘Whether you’re an emerging artist or an established act, we’d really encourage people to get involved. We’re building a vibrant, supportive programme and would love to include as many acts and styles as possible.’

Porty Fringe, Portobello Town Hall, 5–16 August.

Garden party

Rachel Morrell checks out the return of Edinburgh Folk & Food Festival and its strong roster of culinary and trad music big hitters

This year’s Edinburgh Folk & Food Festival welcomes bands and cuisines from around the world in a celebration of melody, flavour and kinship. The free-to-enter food festival includes local Scottish artisans and live cooking demonstrations, alongside smokehouse legends from the butchery at Bowhouse in Fife. Chefs appearing include Scott Smith (formerly of Fhior and Norn) and Tom Greer from Levantine-inspired Baba, as well as Edinburgh Food Social showing how to get creative with everything from oysters to fried chicken. For music lovers, An Dannsa Dub (pictured) bring their distinctive crossover of Gaelic song and digital dub to the festival. There’s also a chance to catch The Greatest Magic Show, featuring award-winning family-friendly illusions as part of a new programme for young ones. So whether you’re looking to tuck into a steak, soak up the musical vibes in the Palais Du Variété Spiegeltent or just have a snifter of Scotland’s local spirits, this should be a week to remember.

Edinburgh Folk & Food Festival, Assembly George Square Gardens, 24 July–2 August.

Porter in Porty

THE GREATER GOOD

Jo Laidlaw takes a look at a new venture from the Neighbourgood team who are bringing their popular Stockbridge street food concept into the heart of the city for festival season

Grab your spork and pull on the elasticated trousers because there’s a brand-new festival food destination in town. Neighbourgood Gardens is a new street food hub from the people who’ve made Stockbridge’s Neighbourgood Market an essential pre-festival warm-up over the past few years. Come the end of July, they’re moving up town to Princes Street Gardens for five and a half weeks of good food, cold beer and epic tunes, all set against the background of the Ross Bandstand.

The street food will roll seven days a week from 11am to 10pm, with the likes of Flame To Fork (let’s face it, nothing will put the ooh in your la la like steak frîtes in the sun) alongside wood-fired pizza from Wanderers Kneaded. Glasgow’s Loop

A& Scoop will be bringing their small-batch gelato and churros combo over the M8, while Cold Town Brewery are responsible for the pints.

The gardens can sometimes feel a little detached from festival goings-on, so it’s good to see local faves Paradise Palms taking charge of the tunes. They’ll be behind the decks most evenings to get the crowd going, plus there’s also a mini-series of gigs planned for the bandstand. Well-priced tickets are now available for folk ensemble Scottish Fish and the cross-genre Tinderbox Orchestra, with more performances to be confirmed.

Neighbourgood Gardens, Princes Street Gardens West, 23 July–31 August.

Military and cultural acts from across the globe will gather once more on Edinburgh Castle Esplanade for the famous Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Marissa Burgess finds out what’s in store for this year

t the Fringe, you frequently get noise bleed between venue spaces. But if there’s one show in Edinburgh that manages to bleed into virtually everyone else’s, it’s the Tattoo with its thundering cannons and fireworks . . . and we wouldn’t be without it.

The Tattoo owes its origins to a show staged by Lieutenant Colonel George Malcolm of Poltalloch called Something About A Soldier, performed at the Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens during the Edinburgh International Festival of 1949. He also produced The King’s Men on Edinburgh Castle Esplanade for a standing audience of 2500, resulting in Lord Provost Sir Andrew Murray asking him to

present a military ‘show’ each year during August.

This year’s theme is A Call To Gather and answering that call from across the world will be the likes of the German Army Band Koblenz, New Zealand Army Band, Qatar Police Academy Band And Drill Team, and 154 (Scottish) Regiment Royal Logistic Corps. The full line-up is yet to be announced but, rest assured, they will all be bringing their own heritage and cultural identity to the glorious mix.

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, Edinburgh Castle Esplanade, 7–29 August, 9.30pm; plus 8, 15, 22, 29 August, 6.15pm.

Vital signs

Up for debate

As we enter the shiny new Burnham era, the Festival Of Politics makes a timely advance, with academics and experts sounding off on the issues that matter to Scotland. Afreka Thomson casts her vote on some highlights

Come August, everywhere in Edinburgh becomes a venue. Living rooms, church halls and pubs throw open their doors to performers and speakers . . . and the Scottish Parliament is no exception. The Festival Of Politics rolls up to Holyrood with two days of ticketed talks, free exhibitions, workshops and entertainment, and a programme tackling topics that range from hopeful to enraging. One highlight to look out for is The Soft Power Of Culture And Sport, which explores how festivals, sporting events and the arts can build bridges where traditional diplomacy often can’t. The discussion will consider how consuming art and cheering on our poorly performing sports stars can actually strengthen international relationships, especially at a time of growing global tension.

Closer to home, A Scotland Of More Homes: Growing Prosperity And Shrinking Poverty asks why, despite years of political promises, Scotland remains in a housing crisis. With homelessness at record levels, home ownership falling and private rents continuing to rise, the panel will explore whether bold political reform is finally on the horizon. Alongside these talks, visitors can also dip into free exhibitions and installations such as One Hundred Voices, an immersive audio experience created as part of the Caring Scotland project, sharing the experiences of people who have grown up in Scotland’s care system. And if there’s anyone in your party who’s a little bit more into story time than Question Time, a free crèche will be available on the festival’s opening day, with places bookable in advance.

Festival Of Politics, Scottish Parliament, 27 & 28 August.

Back for its fifth edition, organisers hope Edinburgh Deaf Festival can create a sense of belonging, as Ananya Patankar finds out

Edinburgh Deaf Festival returns with its most ambitious programme to date, bringing together more than 80 events celebrating deaf culture, language and creativity. Produced by Deaf Action in collaboration with the Fringe, it has become an important platform for artists while welcoming deaf, hard of hearing and hearing audiences into a shared cultural space. The festival spans theatre, comedy, music, visual storytelling and community events, reflecting the breadth of contemporary deaf creativity. It’s the first programme under newly appointed festival director Nadia Nadarajah and features artists from here and abroad.

Highlights include Fuse Theatre’s A Night In Sign hosted by Nadeem Islam; Brazil’s interactive Sign Slam; William Grint’s The Deaf Bard; Sarah Adedeji’s Pray For Me; and the bilingual family production The Librarians

For Nadarajah, the festival’s greatest strength lies beyond its programme.

‘What makes the festival truly special is the sense of home and belonging it creates,’ she says. That spirit also extends beyond the stage through BSL tours of the Botanic Gardens, a National Museum Of Scotland takeover and a range of creative workshops across the city.

Edinburgh Deaf Festival, various venues, 7–16 August.

PICTURE: PAUL JENNINGS

One Hundred Voices

Edinburgh’s festivals are a feast for the heart and the head, but still: you gotta eat sometime. Whether that’s 15 minutes to grab and go or a long evening lingering over something delicious, these pages are full of ideas to keep you well fed, well watered and, well, happy. Our recommendations are arranged by area, so you’re never too far away from your next pint between shows, and we’ve thrown in some extra recs for the quieter parts of town too. We’ve also asked the folks in the know, our brilliant (and hungry) team, for their top tips in our Family Meal column. They live, write and eat here year-round so you better believe their spots are worth trying. Ready for the greatest show on earth? First, let’s eat . . .

CITY GUIDE

the stand

While the New Town isn’t quite as venuepacked as the Old Town, there’s still plenty to explore. As well as The Stand, you’ll find Edinburgh Playhouse, Assembly at the Assembly Rooms (complete with outdoor garden) and loads of bars, shops, galleries and other spaces that have been pressed into service as venues.

This part of the city has been carefully preserved, which means there’s plenty of history to enjoy alongside your pint. Café Royal and The Guildford Arms (both West Register Street) are stunning examples of Victorian pubs, all panels and tiles and handsome back bars. Around St Andrew Square and George Street, you’ll find gorgeous spots in buildings that used to be bank HQs, like The Dome or The Spence at Gleneagles Townhouse.

Starting at The Stand gives you access to two of the city’s most vibrant eating and drinking streets. Broughton Street is home to longstanding favourites like The Basement Bar (a boozer with Mexicaninspired food), Lucky Yu (pan-Asian small plates) and Vinette and Vivien, a duo of cocktail bar and French resto from leading chef Stuart Ralston. The French theme continues with L’Escargot Bleu and Bistro Coco both offering different takes on the cuisine. Alternatively, head down Leith Walk for a smorgasbord of cheeky wee international joints. Favourites here include Mirin, for some of the best (and most talked about) Asian-Scottish dining in town, a newly buffed-up Eleanore and Kawaneko, a tiny Japanese café slinging great katsu.

BARS

Folly Spirits Lab

2–6 Calton Road, follyspiritlabs.com/bar

You won’t regret stumbling on this little gem of a tucked-away bar. Their focus is eau de vie, with tasting flights including their own version made from locally scrumped apples. But don’t stop there: with a concise cocktail list, draught beer on rotation, wines and sake, bar snacks and sharing boards, there’s plenty to explore.

Good Brothers Wine Cellars

34 Northumberland Street, goodbrothers.co.uk

The team here are super knowledgeable but far from wine bores. If you want to geek out on vintages, they’re here for it, especially on Thursdays when you can try something special from the cellar at cost price. Cheese, charcuterie and a basement New Town setting add to the interest.

The Keller Taproom

23–27 Broughton Street Lane, kellertaproom.com

One of the prettiest pubs for a pint in the area, The Keller lures you down

FAMILY MEAL

The List’s Eat & Drink team choose their favourite spots

AILSA SHELDON

I love the festival but after a day of shows I like a little more breathing room, so tend to skip the city centre. If that sounds about right, join me and start the evening at Ardfern for oyster happy hour with a cold glass of on-tap chardonnay. For dinner, it would be next door to The Little Chartroom if feeling fancy, or to Barry Fish for sea trout pastrami and lobster agnolotti (if I’ve managed to get a table). Keeping it casual means Nobles By Bellfield for upmarket pub food or, without a booking, Brown's Of Leith for a thin and crisp Civerinos pizza. The next morning, fuel up with brunch at Roseleaf before heading back into town for more festival mayhem.

a dark alleyway with promises of delicious, micro-brewed hefeweizens and rich porters. Inside, you’ll find German beerhall-style long tables in the centre, a verdant greenhouse garden, cosy window nooks with a mini-library and swinging chairs suspended from the ceiling.

Lady Libertine

25 West Register Street, ladylibertine.co.uk

Darkly glamorous drinking den downstairs and bright café/lounge upstairs, Lady Lib pulls off the tough task of being a place that suits most occasions without tipping into being bland or boring. The comfy upstairs bar is perfect for a booth-based lunchtime chat, while downstairs comes alive after dark. The cocktails are banging, either way.

Nightcap

3 York Place, instagram.com/nightcap2016

As the name suggests, Nightcap is that rarest of beasts in Edinburgh: a proper bar that’s open late, every night. Subsequently, it’s developed a well-deserved name for itself as a bartenders’ bar: expect excellent and innovative cocktails and a laid-back vibe in a suitably dark basement setting.

Spry

1 Haddington Place, sprywines.co.uk

The focus at Spry is on natural and organic wines by the glass. Pull up a stool at the bar or find a cosy corner; elegant small plates can be built into a five-course tasting menu with matching wines. There are bottles to take away, plus downstairs café Ante starts your day off right with coffee and bakes.

Uno Mas

4 Picardy Place, unomasbar.co.uk

Low ceilings, low lighting and late nights are the order of the day at this underground bar. Don’t let the 1970s sauna vibe of its pine-clad roof put you off; closing at Uno Mas isn’t until 3am and the cocktails are

always on point. There’s also an extensive whisky list as well as Pilot beers on draught.

Vessel

73 Hanover Street, vesselbars.co.uk

An uptown hangout for fans of community-spirited Leith brewery Pilot. The bar has a decent food menu with smart snacks such as softbaked pretzels and a grilled sausage of the week. Pilot beers are on draft, in cans or served hauf and a hauf (a half-pint with a dram of whisky).

CAF É S AND QUICK BITES

Ada

9a Antigua Street, adarestaurant.co.uk

With all the conviviality and atmosphere of a friendly neighbourhood lokanta, Ada is a top spot for a kebab when you want to enjoy a sit-down dinner. Nicely spiced iskender kebabs are served on a bed of flavoursome chickpea rice and shish kebabs are delightfully tender. And it’s right opposite Edinburgh Playhouse; who doesn’t love a pre-theatre ’bab?

Bonnie & Wild

Level 4, St James Quarter, bonnieandwildmarket.com

You’ll find around a dozen food vendors clustered together in this top-floor food hall with a buzzy atmosphere and plenty of seating. Newest recruits include Flùr, focusing on New York-style pizza, and Malaysian/Mexican fusion tacos from Julie Lin’s Tacos Lah. Sweet treats come from Glasgow’s Eusebi Deli and El Perro Negro’s burgers are among the best in town.

Down The Hatch 13 Antigua Street, downthehatchdiner.com

There’s little chance of leaving

hungry with the generous portions at this Canadian diner. The dining room is tucked through the back in a church-like space where huge bowls of poutine dripping with gravy and cheese curds are served alongside towering burgers and chicken wings. This is not impress-your-date territory: it’s going to get messy.

Edinburgh Street Food Omni Centre, Leith Street, edinburgh-street-food.com

This indoor/outdoor street food hub works for every size of crowd, with any kind of dietaries, in all sorts of weather. The current line-up of vendors includes cult favourites Razzo Pizza Napoletana, Fred’s Backyard Barbecue and excellent Japanese street food from Harajuku. App-based ordering makes the whole thing simple; you’ll be in and out in no time.

Greenwoods

61 Frederick Street, greenwoods. eu/restaurant/edinburgh

All the way from the Netherlands, this city centre café serves brunch all day so it’s handy to know about if you’re emerging from a late night. Pancakes are piled high and soda bread is worth the walk. From full Scottish to kimchi benny, it’s all fast, fresh and filling.

Maki & Ramen

37 Leith Street, makiramen.com

Maki & Ramen have sites around the city (including one in the basement of St James Quarter). The Leith Street branch was the first to fully embrace the no-frills joy of ramen though. Super-spicy noodle fans should try hell ramen while black tonkotsu ramen is so garlicky, a bowl could ward off vampires.

Urban Angel

121 Hanover Street, urban-angel.co.uk

This long-standing favourite for coffee, breakfast and lunch adds up to so much more than the sum of its parts. Always busy, there’s plenty

NEW FOR 2026

Two of the hottest openings since last Fringe are a mere 15-minute stroll from each other but couldn’t be further apart stylistically. Dogstar is a former old-boy pub sympathetically restored into a tiny, buzzy restaurant, jointly led by the Nauticus team and James Murray (exTimberyard). Murray’s food is set loose in this bistro-type setting, where everything’s made for sharing and resolutely Scottish. That plays out as plenty of shells, game and fish; a sort of fever-dream sitting right on the boundary of casual and fine dining. Fabulous (do not neglect to order the focaccia). The same crew pop-up again back along the Shore in The Keelson, a brand new pub devoted to cocktails, beer, wine and rotisserie chicken alongside one of the biggest terraces in the whole city. We’re here for it.

Butter-yellow Norah, slap-bang on the Newhaven shore, is a wee café dedicated to chef and co-owner Claire Hanrahan’s Irish grandmother. Rarely open for dinner, it’s been enthusiastically adopted by the neighbourhood not least for its wholesome breakfasts and always-on main of sausage, egg and chips. Two wines (red and white) on tap complete a picture of warmth and generosity; it’s like a wee spa break for your tummy.

Eleanore isn’t exactly a new opening, but a recent refurb and refocus means it more than qualifies as fresh for 2026. Gone are the small plates; in their place is a two or three-course set menu with a trio of choices for each course. Lunch and pre-theatre especially offer a chance to sample Roberta Hall-McCarron’s trademark precision for a remarkably fair price. Not far away is The Cottage At Royal Terrace, a tiny fairytale house and garden brought back to life by Peter Adshead and Jamie Stapleton. Expect lots of home-grown produce served by candlelight on communal tables. Finally, eagle-eyed returning diners will no doubt be lamenting the loss of Aizle, Stuart Ralston’s fine-dining restaurant. But worry not: he’s been busy with Vinette, a French-inspired affair on Broughton Street, and next-door Vivien, a cocktail bar with snacks.

of seating inside so don’t be put off if there’s a crowd round the door. While it’s all good to eat, it’s hard to look beyond baked eggs with goat’s cheese, Aleppo oil and dukkah.

Valvona & Crolla

19 Elm Row, valvonacrolla.co.uk

Established in 1934, this emporium of Italian deli delights never fails to charm. It’s a tourist attraction in its own right, with shelves stacked high with olive oils, wine and pasta. Lesser-known is their caffé bar up the back serving simple antipasti and lunches, as well as scrummy breakfasts and strong coffee.

RESTAURANTS

Café St Honoré

34 North West Thistle Street Lane, cafesthonore.com

Squint and you’re in Paris: white tablecloths, dark wood, candles and a great wine list. Despite the French approach, chef Neil Forbes ensures only the best of Scotland’s larder appears on his menus. The à la carte changes daily and the ‘café classics’ menu is always excellent.

Dishoom

3a St Andrew Square, dishoom.com/edinburgh

Yes, the breakfasts at Dishoom are worth the fuss, but so is dinner. Biriyani speckled with dried cranberries and topped with juicy chicken is moreish and the pau bhaji transports you to hot evenings in Mumbai. There’s plenty of room inside and the downstairs bar is lovely for an end-of-evening cocktail infused with Indian spices.

Ka Pao

St James Quarter, ka-pao.com

Whether perched at the bar or tucked into a booth, Ka Pao feels like somewhere you can stay all night. Experimental small dishes are inspired by the flavours of southeast Asia merging with Scotland’s larder: try Arbroath smokie miang with galangal, spinach and peanuts. If there’s a crowd of you, their feasting menu is an absolute steal.

L’Escargot Bleu 56 Broughton Street, lescargotbleu.co.uk

Snails in garlic butter, spicy steak tartare and beef bourguignon that falls apart as soon as the fork touches it mark this out as the epitome of French dining. Chef Fred Berkmiller also integrates produce from his kitchen garden into many dishes. An Edinburgh institution.

Simply Greek

8 Union Street, simplygreekedinburgh.com

Dreaming of a sun-drenched island taverna, but spent your cash on festival tickets instead? With a menu of classics, it’s easy to build a groaning table for a crowed or dine solo on a couple of juicy chicken thigh skewers and a traditional

Greek salad. Extra points for the all-Greek wine list.

Sushisamba

1 St James Square, sushisamba.com

Might this be the best afternoon tea in town? Perhaps surprisingly, yes. Their sushi-inspired tower with Japanese desserts and steamed scones is varied, beautifully presented and steers away from too much sugar. That said, it’s all good in this glamourous, dressy spot with spectacular views for days and a unique take on Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian food.

Tipo

110 Hanover Street, tipoedinburgh.co.uk

Tipo blends the ease of an elegant small-plates restaurant with confident Italian cooking. Generous and gently rustic, it’s known for dishes like strozzapreti with Calabrian sausage and zeppole (fried dough strips buried under a mountain of pecorino). The set lunch is excellent value.

Under The Table

3a Dundas Street, underthetable.uk

This unassuming basement bistro is a sister restaurant to high-end The Table upstairs and offers the same attention to detail for a much more accessible price. The set lunch is terrific value, while evening delights like venison are perfectly cooked. It’s a great choice for Scottish produce without the tartan hoo-ha.

Tipo

The Cottage At Royal Terrace

Take the tram to Ingliston Park and Ride for the Summer Sessions, with extra tram services before and after shows

You must Tap Off to pay the cheapest adult single City Zone fare, otherwise an Airport Zone fare will be charged.

Right by Pleasance Courtyard, you’ll find student standby BBL, a cute café with a great line in homemade vegan staples like square sausage: great if you’re self-catering. The Richmond Café is a good shout for breakfast, lunch or takeaway and the sunny outdoor seating is a bonus.

The Pleasance is deceptively close to Waverley Station, so if you’re heading in for day of shows it’s not a bad place to fuel up first. Room & Rumours does decent coffee but it’s their doughnuts that keep Team List coming back for more: fluffy and light, filled with decadent flavour combinations. Cappuccino on Jeffrey Street has plenty of seats as well as simple breakfast and lunch options, while Tempting Tattie is the last baked potato shop in town (yes, despite the Insta-fame, we were there first). One of those bad boys will keep you going all day.

If you’re planning to scale Arthur’s Seat, a pit-stop at The Pakora Bar will set you up for the hike: it’s a roomy spot with lots of outdoor space specialising in Indian street food, but really all you need to know is ‘pakora wrap’. For drinks, your best bet is to head back down to the Royal Mile where a few bars have managed to balance the demands of tourism with holding onto their venerable histories, like The Waverley and Jolly Judge. Salt Horse is a credible bar with a bewildering array of beers and a garden, while nearby Slow Progress is a coffee and record shop that still feels undiscovered by the masses.

courtyardpleasance

BARS

The Abbey Whisky Bar

65 South Clerk Street, abbeybar.co.uk

With up to 700 whiskies on the back bar, including a selection of their own single-cask bottlings, The Abbey is a fine place for a dram. Or enhance your whisky knowledge with a flight, curated by region, age, decade or distillery, or grouped by blend or grain; the possibilities are endless.

The Burrow 19 Blackfriars Street, theburrowbar.com

This gorgeous bar still feels like a bit of a secret thanks to its basement location below pizza restaurant 3 Blind Mice. The cocktail menu is well-designed and there’s enough of a whisky list to make things interesting, while the art deco styling and bluesy soundtrack make it worth a second round. Also, the loos are lush.

The Dog House 18–24 Clerk Street, instagram.com/ thedoghouseedinburgh

This quirky and LGBTQ+ friendly bar has been adored by Edinburgh students for years. There’s always a plant-based pop-up residency in the kitchen (right now it’s vegan chippy The Happy Fish) and the bric-a-brac décor means there’s always something to look at. All that, before we even start on the £5 Spicy Margs . . .

Edinburgh Gin Distillery Bar Arch 16, The Arches, East Market Street, edinburghgin.com/distillery-bar

A slick, bright bar right on the

back doorstep of Waverley Station. Edinburgh Gin Distillery’s bar has a strong cocktail list but it’s all about the Martini here: have it made to your own spec or try one of their many serves. Their fabby rooftop is a particular draw on sunny days.

The Holyrood 9A 9a Holyrood Road, theholyrood.co.uk

Beers from five top Scottish breweries are on tap here, with interesting global options on rotation including cult summer sipper Lonkero. Big two-handed burgers keep you well-fed and it’s one of those places that works equally well for a quick bite, making a night of it or a swift pre-show half.

Tipsy Midgie

67 St Leonard’s Hill, tipsymidgie.com

Colin Hinds’ reimagination of the typical whisky bar conveys all the fascination of the water of life without the, well, nonsense. You can be as structured or as loose as you like: book a tasting, work your way through a flight or simply ask for a recommendation. Their Midnight Treats Fringe events sound fun too.

CAF É S AND QUICK BITES

Edinburgh Larder 15 Blackfriars Street, edinburghlarder.co.uk

This Old Town stalwart has been setting the good folk of Edinburgh up for the day for over 15 years now, with an all-day breakfast menu that’s the stuff of legend. Lunch is along the lines of sandwiches and soup, and both menus are unswervingly focused on Scottish produce. We’ll take an extra tattie scone, please.

FINE DINING

With the highest concentration of Michelin stars in any UK city outside London, Edinburgh’s fine-dining scene shines brightly. And while it’s true that the buzz and bustle of festival-going means a long, luxurious tasting menu might be the last thing on your agenda, think of it as just another form of theatre (or explore one of the shorter, more accessible formats that are increasingly common).

In Leith, Restaurant Martin Wishart has held a Michelin star since 2001, its hushed dining room setting the tone for assured, classically rooted cooking with subtle twists. The Kitchin offers a slightly more traditional feel, with a focus on the Scottish larder in dishes like pastryencased Orkney scallops. Heron balances lightness and technical flair with subtle Japanese touches, while The Little Chartroom showcases Roberta Hall-McCarron’s precise, micro-seasonal cooking.

In the city centre, Number One (at The Balmoral Hotel) continues to offer skilful, polished cooking. For something more contemporary, Timberyard brings a Scandinavian sensibility to Scottish ingredients, with ferments, fire cookery and foraged accents in dishes like Moray Firth squid with dulse and heritage potatoes. Sibling Montrose in Abbeyhill follows a similar ethos at a gentler price point.

In Stockbridge, Avery, relocated from San Francisco by chef Rodney Wages, blends Californian and Japanese influences with local produce in bold, precise dishes like razor clam with anchovy and citrus. Nearby Moss is a farm-to-table restaurant supplied in part by the chef’s own Angus farm, with a strictly Scottish, hyper-seasonal approach. Expect inventive plates shaped by what’s available that day, from wild meats to delicately handled vegetables. Cardinal offers an even more theatrical setting for tasting and market menus from chef Tomás Gormley, while intimacy defines Eòrna, where a chef and sommelier duo curate the evening around a curved dining bar. Similarly, Condita in Newington seats just 12 guests a night for Tyler King’s imaginative tasting menu, while a mere ten can enjoy Sean Clark’s creations at The Table. Finally, for a true blowout, Lyla, perched beside Calton Hill, showcases Stuart Ralston at his most refined, with a delicate, seafood-led tasting menu that is as precise as it is visually striking.

Eòrna

Edinburgh Gin Distillery Bar

Gorse

207 Pleasance, instagram.com/gorseedinburgh

This cute-as-a-button café and bakery takes its cues from Northern Ireland and is building up quite the cult following. Unusually, the savoury choices here are as good, if not better, than the sweet options, like their Tayto-inspired pastry and soda farls. Belfast’s Established Coffee is in the hopper.

Ikigai Ramen

29–30 South Bridge, ikigairamenuk.co.uk

It’s always worth trying to grab a table here, especially when the east wind howls down the Bridges so hard that you can’t feel your fingers. Yep, keeping warm is a year-round occupation in Edinburgh: cue Ikigai’s specialities of huge, steaming bowls of tonkotsu or tantanmen with a brilliantly spicy kick.

Kampong Ah Lee

28 Clerk Street, kampongahlee.co.uk

Kampong Ah Lee is a busy little place where you can grab flavourpacked Malaysian food. The chicken satay is drowning in sauce and spicy bowls of laksa warm the back of the throat. Order a cooling bottle of Tiger beer or BYOB. Fun, fast and casual.

Noodles Home

14a Nicolson Street, noodleshome.shop

The interior is functional and you’ll need to pay cash, but the abruptly served bowl of hand-ripped noodles here might be the best of your life. Thick, flat noodles glistening with salty-sweet sauce, egg noodles sopping in soupy bowls; it’s all good.

Piggs

276 Canongate, piggswinebar.co.uk

Piggs offers an excellent selection of wine and traditional tapas dishes to share. Charcuterie boards of serrano ham, black pudding and manchego cheese are piled high and there’s a sausage, eggs and chips dish that is sure to fill you up. The staff are unfailingly friendly; there’s also a second branch in Bruntsfield if you’re up that way.

Santu Coffee Bar

126 Canongate, santucoffee.com

Skip the chains: Santu Coffee serves a super-fresh brew in this achingly cool café. Beans are sourced from Brazil, there’s bossa nova on the record player and the coffee machine is sunshine-yellow, adding a touch of exotic colour to the Canongate.

Tapas3

6–8 Howden Street, tapas3.co.uk

Ditch the Pleasance hubbub for some calm at this tucked-away tapas bar. Head for classics like chorizo in red wine or more adventurous dishes like crisp tempura aubergine with sticky sugarcane treacle. The sharing aspect (and sangria) makes this a solid choice for larger groups.

RESTAURANTS

The Black Grape 240 Canongate, theblackgrape.co.uk

Sleek and sophisticated, this wine bar is where Scottish produce like sea trout and wild mushrooms are crafted into a delectable selection of sharing dishes, accompanied by a varied and delightfully affordable wine list. Their cocktails are worth talking about too.

Macau Kitchen

93 St Leonard’s Street, macaukitchen.uk

This is Scotland’s only Macanese restaurant, a unique cuisine created in the former Portuguese colony of Macau that blends Chinese, Goan and Malaysian influences. Expect fascinating and well-flavoured dishes such as crisp coconut duck or sweet-sour-spicy squid. Corkage is reasonable.

Mother India’s Café 3–5 Infirmary Street, motherindia.co.uk

One of Edinburgh’s OG Indian restaurants, Mother India’s dishes come out tapas-style so it’s great for sharers and groups. It’s not fancy and it’s always busy (there may well be a queue, but it moves fast). The food is great: paneer dosa is light and crisp, spiced haddock is oven baked and tender, and chana dhal is beautifully aromatic.

Solti

10 Drummond Street, soltiedinburgh.co.uk

Go Nepalese at Solti where highlights include Himalayan specialities like tangy Hamali hot pot. Dishes aren’t just tasty, they’re pretty too, like mango sorbet adorned with edible flowers and samosa chaat dotted with pomegranate seeds. And there are plenty of crowd-pleasers, like butter

chicken and a fiery rogan josh. Inventive cocktails are also worth a pic or two.

Soul Vegan

46 West Richmond Street, soulvegan.uk

This tiny vegan Malaysian is just a hop, skip and jump from Pleasance Courtyard so be sure to book if you’re slotting food around a show. With links to long-time fave Kampong Ah Lee, the menu ticks all the comfortfood boxes with giant bowls of laksa or hearty katsu curries.

Tuk Tuk Indian Street Food 16 Drummond Street, tuktukindianstreetfood.com

The spicing is solid at both Tuk Tuk branches (the original is in Tollcross) and their tiffin set lunch is bargainous, filling and reliably tasty. But when it comes to groups this place really shines, thanks to a generous BYOB policy and familystyle set menu (hardly any decisions needed). It’s roomy and the staff are good-natured.

Wedgwood The Restaurant

267 Canongate, wedgwoodtherestaurant.co.uk

Paul and Lisa Wedgwood have been looking after people for almost two decades now, and it shows in every little detail. Never fussy or overly formal, yet always special, Wedgwood exemplifies Scottish hospitality: fabulous ingredients (often foraged), treated gently and served in a room full of heart. Restorative, in other words.

White Horse Oyster & Seafood Bar

266 Canongate, whitehorseoysterbar.co.uk

A compelling Fringe-adjacent option that works for cocktails and fresh oysters, a combo meal of small plates or splashing out on a hot shellfish platter. The décor is simple

and sleek, with dishes to match: think buttermilk cod, hake ceviche and crab scotch egg.

FAMILY MEAL

The List’s Eat & Drink team choose their favourite spots

DONALD REID

Soup, I say. Not for any Calvinistic foreboding around Edinburgh’s August weather, nor for frugality in the face of £1.50 booking fees, but because you can’t go wrong with soup. Soup nourishes you, consoles you and relocates your equilibrium. In the provision of such restorative liquid food lie the origins of the restaurant. If you have any sense for soup at all, make sure that Union Of Genius is on your radar. A slip of a shop, they offer a daily choice of four soups as standard, most dietaries easily covered off. If you can nab a perch to eat in, it’s served in a rustic tureen with sourdough bread. Alternatively, takeaway to the nearby Meadows for some welcome green space to spoonfeed your soul.

The Black Grape

Back as a full-blown venue after a lengthy restoration and refurbishment, Teviot (or Teviot Row House, to give Edinburgh University Students’ Association’s hub its government name) is back at the heart of the Fringe fun.

Nearby Teviot Place is great for a speedy bite. Longtime Thai fave Ting Thai is always bustling: there are no reservations but the queue does move quickly. Salut Coffee and The Foodies Bistro are also reliable for a quick bite. Or head in the other direction towards Chapel Street for a bunch of cheap lunch options.

Africano Wrap Place and Nile Valley Café are both great for a fast, fresh and filling takeaway, while San Chuan is big and buzzy, with plenty of Szechaun heat in generous portions.

Don’t disregard the corridor between Teviot, George Square and Summerhall, lined with street food vendors. While none are exactly cheap, there’s always plenty of new talent to enjoy. The area is also home to year-round local favourites, like Alby’s Southside, the absolute GOAT if you’re after a giant sandwich to keep you going between shows.

Lady & The Bear focuses on innovative brunches, decent coffee and very pretty bakes. For more traditional breakfast rolls, Snax Café on Buccleuch Street never fails, while Millers Sandwich Bar is a traditional café for builders’ tea and a fry-up. Truth be told, this isn’t a hotspot for bars; The Dagda Bar is an honourable exception, while 56 North has a decent gin selection alongside a massive terrace.

teviot

BARS

The Bow Bar

80 West Bow, thebowbar.co.uk

The Bow Bar has a sort of magical force-field around it that repels the Potterheads and TikTokkers who swarm Victoria Street on the daily. Inside, it’s the same as it’s always been: a quietly traditional bar with one of the best whisky collections in Edinburgh, the odd pie at lunchtime and not much else. Bliss, in other words.

The Devil’s Advocate 9 Advocate's Close, devilsadvocateedinburgh.co.uk

Plunging down or up Edinburgh’s closes is an exercise in travelling hopefully; thankfully the vast whisky collection which gleams amber and tawny behind a huge, steel bar is ample reward for the steps. The food’s along the lines of classic Scottish and the covered outdoor terrace has heaters for an al fresco dram even on a dreich night.

The Gilded Saloon

47 Lothian Street, thegildedsaloon.co.uk

Launched for Fringe last year, The Gilded Saloon has more than earned its stripes as an all-round venue thanks to an elevated pub grub menu that’s quite simply stonking value. The bar’s good looks are part of the draw, as well as the large outdoor terrace, but it’s the huge pies that are the talk of the town.

Paradise Palms

41 Lothian Street, theparadisepalms.com

This funky, friendly and inclusive bar has long been a List team haunt. Antojitos Cantina have recently taken over the kitchen, with a flavour-packed vegan Mexican menu making yet another reason to settle in for the night. The cocktails are good

Super-reasonable, especially if you stick with the veggie options, this wee Indian café will send you on your way with a full belly and a sense of gratitude that quirky places like this still exist.

Civerinos Slice

49 Forrest Road, civerinos.com

With half a dozen branches in the city, Civs has become a byword for reliable pizza that doesn’t break the bank. Their nearby Hunter Square joint does pasta, but Forrest Road is all about slices (great for a quick pit stop) and thin New Haven-style pies. Always fast and always fun.

Fruitmarket Café

45 Market Street, fruitmarket.co.uk/cafe

The List’s Eat & Drink team choose their favourite spots In association with

FAMILY MEAL

and if you fancy going retro, their French Martinis are the best.

The Royal Dick 1 Summerhall, theroyaldick.co.uk

Summerhall’s house bar is a Fringe hub, but its quirky vet-school curiosities and traffic-free courtyard attract locals and showgoers yearround. Dick's Scrannary dish up burgers and pizzas, with drinks from in-house brewer Barney’s Beer and distiller Pickering’s Gin. Try the frickles: dill pickles in an Irn-Bru and Barney’s Beer batter combo.

Sköll & Hati

3a Merchant Street, skollandhatibar.com

This new Norse-themed bar/café leans into its exposed brick and dark corners. From The Cocktail Geeks team, the immersive touches like axe heads plunged into the walls and the odd death mask are done with a light enough touch. Naturally, the cocktail game is strong with a refreshing focus on low and no-alc alternatives.

Zero Zero Wines

18 South Clerk Street, zerozerowines.co.uk

Natural wine and funky ferments are the order of the day here. The name is a nod to the amount of intervention, so it’s one for wine adventurers. Try something unusual while snacking on charcuterie, olives and prettily packaged tinned fish.

CAF É S AND QUICK BITES

10 To 10 In Delhi

67 Nicolson Street, 10to10indelhitakeaway.com

A (very) unassuming shopfront leads to a riot of colour on the walls and ceiling as well as on the plate.

This stylish gallery café couldn’t be closer to the train station and it’s a lovely, peaceful spot to start your day. Breakfast handily runs until noon and lunches go beyond the run of the mill, with interesting toasties, good veggie and vegan choices, and creative soups. There’s a great bookshop too.

The Gruff Goat

19–20 Teviot Place, thegruffgoat.co.uk

Is this the best shakshuka in the city? Maybe. The eggs are runny, it leaves a spicy tingle at the back of your throat and the tomatoes are fresh. Joining the shakshuka on the menu are other brunch classics and a selection of hot and cold mezze, leading into burgers, pasta and the like in the evening.

Sichuan House

37–39 George IV Bridge, sichuanhouse-edinburgh.co.uk

Noodle dishes lean heavily towards thick, filling udon with intriguing ingredients like golden needle mushrooms. Focusing on flavour from northern China, chilli heat and intense spice are a given. It’s a brisk in-and-out place, popular with Edinburgh’s Chinese community

Beat the crowds and hang out in Leith with the lovely folks at Newbarns Brewery Taproom for a huge range of regular brews and collabs; next door, grab a slice of crisp Roman-style pizza and a pot of tiramisu from stylish takeaway Pala. Hop on the tram to The Port Of Leith Distillery Bar: it’s eight floors up with stunning views across the Forth and up to the city skyline. While Stockbridge is outside the main festival maelstrom, it’s really not far away and has heaps to offer. For wine lovers, Smith & Gertrude is hard to top, Sotto excels for relaxed Italian dining and a keenly priced Negroni, or go old school at traditional Edinburgh boozers like the St Vincent Bar or Clark’s Bar.

The Gilded Saloon

Sköll & Hati

PAUL MCLEAN

which tells you everything you need to know about its authenticity.

Söderberg Pavilion

1 Lister Square, soderberg.uk

You’ll find a bunch of Söderberg bakeries around town, all of them worth a visit for a quick morning cardamom bun and strong Swedish coffee. The Pavilion is the one to head to if you want to linger though. Set in a quiet courtyard away from the traffic and open into the evening, they serve sourdough pizza and interesting salads.

Union Of Genius

8 Forrest Road, instagram.com/unionofgenius

If you just need a speedy lunch to sustain you between shows, without too many choices and certainly without any faff, then this is the kind of place you need in your back pocket. This tiny soup café is perfect for refuelling: nice folks, soup, salads, coffee, in and out, quick bite, done right.

RESTAURANTS

Beirut 24 Nicolson Square, beirutrestaurant.co.uk

This surprisingly commodious casual restaurant pioneered mezzestyle dining in Edinburgh. Dips and starters are hearty and come with their excellent bread, while skewers of lamb and chicken are generous, smoky and well-seasoned. A simplified lunch menu translates to a choice of five platters, all with hummus and bread.

Divino Wine Bar & Restaurant

5 Merchant Street, divinoedinburgh.com

This basement wine bar and restaurant serves dishes from across Italy, with an excellent wine list that you’ll want to linger over. Expect linguine pasta

tossed with chilli, tomato and king prawns, and Puglian burrata with grilled peppers. A bottle-lined private dining room makes it a strong choice for groups.

Khushi's

61 Forrest Road, khushis.com

The Khushi name holds a lot of sway with Edinburgh’s diners, given they opened the city’s first Indian restaurant back in 1947. Still familyrun, this new, shiny incarnation is a big and buzzy spot, with comfy booth seating ready for settling back in as you peruse a menu that hits all the classic notes.

Kim’s Mini Meals

5 Buccleuch Street, instagram.com/ kimsminimeals

Kim’s has earned a bucketful of love from students and locals over the years, thanks to serving sizzling bowls of excellent bibimbap, topped with a traditional raw egg (and instructions in how to eat it, if necessary). No bookings, no takeaway; show up and queue to feel like you’re eating in someone’s living room.

The Outsider 15–16 George IV Bridge, theoutsiderrestaurant.com

Yes, their lunch menu remains among the best bargains in town (where else can you eat for under a tenner these days?) but it takes more than a lunchtime crowd to keep a place ticking over in the current climate. The Outsider’s formula is simple: bistro classics, laid-back vibes, goodlooking space, quirky wine list.

Satoru

45 St Patrick Square, satoru-edinburgh.square.site

Japanese cuisine as it should be: a select menu specialising in one delicacy. In Satoru’s case, it’s tempura and udon noodles. Light and crisp battered prawns and vegetables are the stars, topping warm bowls of thick noodles. Décor is simple yet effective, just like each perfectly presented dish.

Sen 41 West Nicolson Street, senrestaurant.co.uk

With deep-blue walls and glowing golden lanterns, everything about this place says ‘relax’. Sen specialises in Vietnamese dishes mainly from Nam Dinh province. Get hands-on and roll your own rice paper rolls (the grilled prawn mousse cooked on sugar cane is a must) or slurp down slippery turmeric rice noodles with chicken and prawns, bursting with lemongrass. Great veggie options too.

Uncle Tiger

3 Bristo Place, uncletiger.co.uk

Cameron Laidlaw (of the muchmissed Junk) is on the pass in this new pan-Asian restaurant. It changes menu every six weeks, with each rotation taking inspiration from a specific country or style of eating. So, for example, you might find yourself tucking into Japanese izakaya or a menu inspired by Hong Kong’s night markets.

Antojitos Cantina

PLANT-BASED

It’s safe to say that plant-led food entered Edinburgh’s dining consciousness with a whimper rather than a bang, but hey, it’s here now. It’s rare to find a menu without at least a couple of plant-based options (although the trend towards veganification means dairy-eaters might miss their cheese). Any café should hero the hearty veg-based soups that are part of Scotland’s thrifty heritage. Or maybe centre your dining around the city’s multitude of Indian restaurants for solid veggie choices. Kalpna has been fully vegetarian since 1975 and although Tanjore does serve meat, veggie dosa and idli are the main draw.

Hendersons pioneered plant-based food in the city. They’ve changed location and passed through the generations over the years and have now landed on Barclay Place (handy for the King’s Theatre). Expect pretty dishes like wildflower-speckled salt-baked celeriac and foraged mushroom risotto which don’t just look the part; they prove natural plant-based trumps faux-meat menus any day. Heading back towards Tollcross and Brougham Street leads you to a plant-based hub. Nón Viêt Vegan’s summer rolls are the vitamin boost you’ll need come mid-Fringe and the lunchtime banh mi are a good deal. Black Rabbit is a reliable plant-based deli and coffee shop and the estimable Curran Geal’s soups are hearty and wholesome.

For Mexican classics, you’ll find Antojitos Cantina at Paradise Palms where the taco highlights include soya carnitas with a chillicitrus ping (they’re also at Edinburgh Street Food). Soul Vegan is a pretty-as-a-picture Malaysian near Pleasance Courtyard, or head up Causewayside to Sora Diana, a vegan Italian with Roman leanings that’s cosy enough to kick back and linger. Novapizza Vegan Kitchen also takes a plant-led take on Roman cuisine, with solid pasta and pizza that can be made gluten-free. Down in Leith, head to Sly Fox for a community vibe and hearty dishes like spicy goulash with potato pancakes, while FacePlant Foods does an excellent line in hangover-busting mac’n’cheeze.

The Black Grape

Edinburgh’s

Unwind at Victorian Baths across the city

best kept secret

Take a break from the festival crowds and discover one of the city’s best-kept secrets. Loved by locals, Edinburgh’s Victorian pools, Warrender, Leith Victoria, Glenogle and Portobello Swim Centre offer a calm, spacious setting throughout the city centre - perfect for a casual swim, a sauna, or simply switching off for a while.

No pre-booking is necessary. Simply find your favourite Victorian bath, step inside for a striking historic architecture, and have a moment to reset before heading back out into the Fringe chaos and fun.

Check timetables and plan your visit today

The Grand Old Lady of Leven Street is back after a major modernisation, once again taking her rightful place at the centre of the Edinburgh International Festival. She sits between the green spaces of Bruntsfield and the urban bustle of Tollcross, the latter a hub for plant-based food (see page 161), with Hendersons, Nón Viêt Vegan and Curran Geal all close by. The Cameo is just across the road if you fancy mixing the international and film festivals. It has a cute retro cinema bar too, or pop into Home Bar before you cross the road.

The other side of the Meadows hides a scattering of quiet dinner options. The Rabbit Hole is family-owned, specialising in French-inspired cooking made with Scottish ingredients, while Argile is home to fine-dining technique around a nine-seater chef’s table. Nàdair is the Gaelic word for nature, which is the theme for this calm restaurant prioritising local and foraged ingredients.

The bustle of Bruntsfield Place supports a spread of food and drink. Piggs is great for grazing and is practically next door to Decanter Winery And Dinery, an unstuffy neighbourhood choice for a glass of wine and a little nibble or two. Café Grande is one of those local café/restaurants that works for almost any time of day, or join generations of Southsiders and head to Montpeliers for casual drinks and well-priced set menus.

BARS

The Belfry 1–3 Barclay Place, thebelfryedinburgh.co.uk

A bar for locals as well as whisky enthusiasts. Their selection of around 100 bottles isn’t the biggest in town but it’s been carefully thought through, scouring auction sites and specialist dealers to find those one-off bottlings and delicious drams you just won’t find anywhere else. Head here for a surprising snifter.

Bennets Bar

8 Leven Street, kilderkingroup.co.uk/bennets

As the King’s emerges from its massive refurb, the bar next door still matches its historic ambience; in fact, there’s been a pub on the site since 1839. There’s plenty of lovely period details to enjoy, like stained glass, tiles and brass taps, as well as cask ales, whiskies and contemporary cocktails.

The Blackbird 37–39 Leven Street, theblackbirdedinburgh.co.uk

There’s lots to like about The Blackbird. There’s a huge cocktail menu to work your way through (including some excellent alcoholfree choices), plus a £10 lunch menu definitely hits the spot. Best of all, there’s a surprisingly sizeable beer garden tucked through the back, which is a bit of a best-kept secret.

Cloisters Bar

26 Brougham Street, cloistersbar.com

In a former parsonage, this is one of the city’s proper real-ale locations, with up to ten cask choices, ten on keg and a bunch of drams besides. Heavenly Scran is in charge of the kitchen, so expect classic pub dishes like fish and chips, burgers, and mac and cheese.

Lauri

105–107 Lauriston Place, instagram.com/lauri_edinburgh

Self-deprecatingly calling itself ‘a dilapidated auld tenement bar’, local breweries are on tap here alongside new-wave Scottish ciders and natural wines. Well-kept beers change frequently so there’s always something new to try, with the odd tasting event too. Food comes from the pizza van on the next corner.

Seamus’s 15 Brougham Place, auldboypubs.co.uk/seamuss

The team behind Auld Boy Pubs (motto: old man pubs for all ages) might just be onto something here. The formula is simple: comfy pubs with regular live music, decent drinks, plenty of games, a week-round student discount and, crucially, a laser focus on snacks through their wine and crisps pairing menu.

The Wildcat 11–13 Tarvit Street, thewildcatbar.com

This cocktail bar has speakeasy secrecy even though it’s on the street right beside the King’s. Classic cocktails are served with finesse but keep an eye out for their inventive signatures and don’t forget to peruse the blackboard on the way in, as there’s usually a bargain to be had.

EAT AT FRINGE BY THE SEA

Fringe By The Sea (Friday 31 July–Sunday 9 August) takes over the pretty seaside town of North Berwick with a community-grown festival that balances big names with more local talent. Extremely well-supported by the community, it’s worth turning up hungry; their Street Food Village features some of the best Scottish traders around. Planet G are some of the nicest folks in food and it shows on their plates: tasty, big flavours, always plant-based, you’ll come for the grub and stay for the chat. Dumpling Mama’s Cantonese-style potstickers are packed with flavour, while Truck Sri spices things up with Sri Lankan delights like kottu.

Keeping things local are Big Blu, a pizza van that’s a familiar sight around the coast at weekends, where they sling simple, crisp pizza. Steampunk Coffee’s roasts will put the pep in your step; their yearround café is not far from the festival hub if you fancy a change of scene. New for this year is Còmhla By The Sea, a pop-up experience from a local team that specialises in supper clubs, events and collabs. They’ll offer a more leisurely three-course lunch/dinner, with a funky looking brunch at the weekend.

If you want to explore the town before or after your show, there’s plenty of food and drink to divert you, especially if you like seafood. The Lobster Shack draws punters from far and wide for takeaway lobster, crab and the like, all daisy-fresh, and they’ve got some covered seating for when the weather refuses to play ball. The Rocketeer is also seafood-focused, with classic fish and chips available alongside half or whole local lobster. If you want to stretch your legs, Drift makes a great destination for stunning views over Canty Bay as well as substantial brunches, lunches and cakes. Herringbone is good for a pint on the way back home or join the locals at traditional bars The Auld Hoose or The Ship Inn

The Wildcat

Planet G

CAF É S AND QUICK BITES

A Wee Taste

36 Leven Street, aweetaste.co.uk

This owner-run operation is ideal for a quiet drink before a show, or equally you can make a night of it with a grazing board of local cheese and meat alongside pinchos-style bites of tinned fish, padron peppers or a scotch egg. Hits that ‘casual, cool, cozy’ nail firmly on the head.

Artisan Roast

138 Bruntsfield Place, artisanroast.co.uk

This dinky café is one of four Artisan Roasts: you’ll find them in Broughton Street, Leith Walk, Stockbridge and a van at St James Quarter too. You’ll also end up drinking their wares in other venues around the city. Open from 7am, this is the place to start your day.

Beatnik

2 Brougham Place, beatnik.cafe

Blink and you’ll miss this ultra-cool coffee shop. It may be small but it’s got a Tardis-like quality: pure minimalism makes it feel spacious and light. Hand-poured and espresso machine coffees are served on platters with a glass of water, just like the hip coffee bars of Berlin. Pastries tend to sell out around lunchtime, so get in quick.

Confelicty Bakery

167 Bruntsfield Place, confelicitybakery.co.uk

Being diagnosed with coeliac disease led to a career pivot for chef

familiar dish is done well with rich sauces that have simmered for hours. Stylish décor and towering ceilings keep things feeling classy.

RESTAURANTS

Fin & Grape

19 Colinton Road, finandgrape.com

An unpretentious Southside neighbourhood bistro that’s quietly made a name for itself. The main menu is relatively compact, with carefully crafted fish dishes to share along with a daily market special and some exceptional wines. The bar snacks tilt to Mediterranean tinned-fish choices along with nibbles and sides.

Harajuku Kitchen

10 Gillespie Place, harajukukitchen.co.uk

A hybrid of endearing neighbourhood bistro and morethan-sushi Japanese specialist, this is a place to explore new flavours, eat well and feel looked after. Go beyond sushi to try their gyoza, curries and donburi. You’ll also find them at Edinburgh Street Food, as well as popping up at local markets.

Kome Izakaya

13a Brougham Street, komeizakaya.co.uk

James Chapman. This new bakery is dedicated to experimentation, creating fantastic gluten-free breads, cakes and cookies that are a clear departure from the ultra-processed alternative baked goods you’ll find on supermarket shelves.

Kuba

1 Dundee Street, kubaedinburgh.com

Edinburgh Printmakers’ striking red-brick building is home to galleries, workshops and a spacious café. Kuba’s brunch/lunch menu of colourful, freshly cooked options seem conventional enough but deeper exploration reveals a number of African touches such as Ghanian shakshuka or ful medames stew. Keep an eye on their extra-curricular events including a monthly jollof Sunday roast.

Starter Culture

43 Argyle Place, startercultureedinburgh.com

2026 arrival Starter Culture is an expansion of a concept born in Glasgow. A sleek, all-day and all-evening café and wine bar, their specialities are cheese and meat platters with select wines. Coffee, pastries, toasties, oysters or even ice-cream are also available at the appropriate time of day or evening.

Tempo Perso

208 Bruntsfield Place, tempoperso.it If you’re looking for some filling, no-fuss Italian food with an excellent selection of wine from the length of Italy, Tempo Perso is a solid choice. The menu doesn’t stray far from the classics, but each

The List’s Eat & Drink team choose their favourite spots In

Casual Japanese bar-dining culture is de rigueur at Kome Izakaya: small bowls of seaweed-infused rice topped with runny egg, mini yakitori skewers in a sweet-salty glaze and sandos on soft shokupan. Craft cocktails are as prettily presented as the food and there’s a vast choice of sake for connoisseurs.

Leftfield

12 Barclay Terrace, leftfieldedinburgh.co.uk

The kind of neighbourhood restaurant everyone wants in their ’hood. Perch at the bar or take in calming views from the modest main room. Chef Phil White’s speciality is seafood but you can equally be charmed by plates centred on roast cauliflower or venison. Sister venue Margot is brilliant for a coffee or casual wine.

Muna’s Ethiopian Cuisine

8 Gillespie Place, instagram.com/ munasethiopiancuisine

A little slice of Ethiopia in the Southside, where meals are based around injera: a sour, yeasty and delicious pancake-like bread which serves as an edible plate to tear, dip and dunk into deeply flavoured wots (spicy stews). Order a combo platter to try as many as you can; eating with your hands recommended.

Pomelo

27 Sciennes Road, pomelocafe.co.uk

A tiny restaurant with a huge personality that’s big on flavour and well worth the table squeeze. It could be mistaken for a funky wine bar but there’s an infectious youthful earnestness in the contemporary, panAsian food. The combinations are

rich, tingling and filling, including chewy, slippery, spicy signature hand-ripped noodles.

Three Birds Restaurant

3–5 Viewforth, threebirds.co.uk

Three Birds belies its compact size with a big plate-glass frontage and a multi-faceted and adaptable menu. Brunch, a set-priced lunch deal and dinner options are complemented by varied sides and nibbles, kids' picks, blackboard specials and a decent wine and drinks list. Well-cooked and well-flavoured meat, fish and vegetarian dishes span the menu, with a reasonable variety of vegan options and, handier still for many, most dishes are gluten-free.

Yamato

11 Lochrin Terrace, yamatoedinburgh.co.uk

This masterclass in relaxed yet serene Japanese fine dining is the perfect way to escape the hustle for a while. Expect top-notch sashimi, nigiri and maki rolls alongside izakaya (small plates) and the chance to sample high-grade tuna, wagyu beef and sake.

FAMILY MEAL

SUZY POPE

Noodles are my go-to Fringe fuel and Edinburgh’s Southside is awash with them. Despite my aversion to TikTok trends, I’m completely won over by the handripped noodles in rich and spicy broths at Noodles Home: flavourpacked food slurped up fast. Crisp tempura topping steaming bowls of kitsune udon at Satoru is a close second (and the décor is a little more welcoming). Near Pleasance, Tiger Dragon is a little takeaway spot serving savoury eggy pancakes with a sweet, spicy sauce I dream of regularly. For fancier dining without the full-blown tasting affair, it’s Under The Table on Dundas Street or L’Escargot Bleu on Broughton Street. At the end of the night, you’ll find me in the cosy confines of Jolly Judge, sipping a real ale or a tot of whisky.

Leftfield

Standing proudly in Edinburgh’s year-round cultural quarter, the revitalised Filmhouse faces off towards the Usher Hall, Royal Lyceum Theatre and Traverse Theatre and is just around the corner from the EICC, all packed with performances come festival season. It’s on Lothian Road, which has a few handy, reliable chains and casual places if you’re looking for a fast feed: Pho, Topolabamba, Wagamama and Taco Libre are all within easy reach.

Nearby, the Bread Street/Lady Lawson Street/Spittal Street triangle is a bit of a bakery bonanza: delicious cakes from Lovecrumbs, sweet treats from Tasty Buns Bakery and traditional Scottish bakes plus chonky subs from Preacher’s Patisserie. Heading back towards Haymarket Station, Morrison Street tends to be overlooked when discussing the city’s dining but there are a bunch of straightforward dining options to explore, like Greek grill Ola Kala, Pomo Pizzeria, new sushi spot Yutori and Vietnam House, which for many years was the only Vietnamese restaurant in town.

Queensferry Street is also worth a wander: Dulse is a seafoodfocused restaurant that’s both contemporary and cosy or try newcomer Evergreen Bar & Kitchen for basement drinks or brunch. Following Charlotte Lane brings you to old faithful Indigo Yard, still buzzing after all these years, or Downstairs

At Betty’s, a live piano showtune bar that’s always a lot of fun but will (naturally) be packed with theatre kids. Just go with it: the cocktails are on point, the staff are lovely and if you can’t bust out a Hamilton rap in Edinburgh in August, then what’s the actual point?

BARS

1820 Rooftop Bar

Johnnie Walker Princes Street, 145 Princes Street, johnniewalkerprinces street.com

In a city packed with good-looking views, the Rooftop Bar at The Johnnie Walker Experience still has the ability to drop jaws and flabber gasts. And that’s before you dive into the punchy small plates and excellent drams and cocktails. In an August packed with things to do, their Journey Of Flavour experience more than holds its own too.

The Beverly 81–83 Lothian Road, thebeverly.co.uk

This new bar couldn’t be closer to the West End’s cultural centres. It promises laid-back vibes, decent cocktails, a reasonable wine list and quality pizza: in short, everything you

FAMILY MEAL

The List’s Eat & Drink team choose their favourite spots

My neighbourhood of Portobello might not have an obvious restaurant scene, but it’s not short on great food and it’s off the festival beaten track. I make lunch a choose your own adventure-style food crawl, treating the high street (with brief excursions onto the seafront) like a giant rolling buffet of global cuisines. Maybe a falafel wrap from Syrian-run Haven, followed by a trip to Ethiopia via coffee roasted on-site at Tanifiki to wash down a sweet piece of baklava (or savoury borek) from Greek Artisan Pastries. A sandwich? Will it be Miami/Cuban style from Mamacita’s, a fish finger sarnie from ShrimpWreck or (more Greek) gyros from Nixos Greek Street Food? Or maybe I just want cheese? Smith & Gertrude have that covered. With a crisp glass of fancy wine? Oh, go on then.

need to grab a chilled half-hour before a show or indeed to host a post-show sit-down and debrief.

Encore

2–4 Hope Street, encoreedinburgh.com

This basement bar fully leans into its lack of light with plenty of red velvet, booth seating (with a push-for-service button) and a secret entry. It’s a load of fun, a place for glamming up and kicking back. Straightforward bar snacks keep the wolf from the door, the staff are sweeties and there’s frequent live entertainment.

Filmhouse Bar

88 Lothian Road, filmhouse.org.uk

There’s absolutely no excuse for arriving after the film’s kicked off at this place. A comfy 100-capacity café and bar, dishing up soups, fish and chips, assorted wraps and nachos, where the beef chilli is the star. It’s big enough to act as a group muster point, yet friendly enough for a pint on your own.

Hey Palu

49 Bread Street, heypalu.com

Aperitivo and Negronis are the main focus at Hey Palu, thanks to an Italian owner. That means there’s an Italian twist on nearly all the innovative signatures, plus cute wee nibbles like a mortadella and anchovy toastie. Everything’s done very well and the welcome and service are slick.

Panda & Sons

79 Queen Street, pandaandsons.com

This speakeasy-style bar has secured a place on many ‘best bar’ lists since opening in 2013. Descend the stairs to find a fun, cocktail bar where drinks are created with the precision of a Michelin-starred chef. Their experiments in freezing techniques are lauded by mixology geeks, but even the most casual cocktail drinker will find something delicious.

CAF É S AND QUICK BITES

Cairngorm Coffee

1 Melville Place, cairngorm.coffee/pages/locations

Opening at 7am for all your caffeination needs, Cairngorm Coffee boasts sunny pavement seating and is handy for Haymarket Station too. The food is simple and good, but it’s their thoughtfully sourced and carefully poured coffee that keeps commuters and local office workers coming back for more.

Chaakoo Bombay Café 117 Lothian Road, chaakoo.co.uk/chaakoo-edinburgh

Grilled Irani kebabs and around 20 curries (tomatoey railway chicken, rich garlic lamb bhuna, coconut and ginger-laced kerala monkfish) are the core offering or try their pretheatre and ‘naanwich’ options.

Konj

15–17 Grindlay Street, konjcafe.com

Tucked underneath the Lyceum Theatre, Konj has become a byword for the kind of friendly service that makes you feel like you’re visiting someone at home. Mezze plates are delivered swiftly for curtain-up, but if you have a little longer the grills and signature dishes are well worth exploring.

Milk

232 Morrison Street, cafemilk.co.uk

The Morrison Street corridor between Haymarket and Lothian Road throws up some of Edinburgh’s most interesting dining options. Milk is a case in point: a micro-chain (branches are also at Edinburgh Sculpture Workshop and Inverleith Park) that’s an oasis of calm offering surprisingly sophisticated coffee, lunch and breakfast options.

Old Pal Bar & Kitchen

28 West Maitland Street, instagram.com/oldpal_edin

This relative newcomer has quickly lived up to its name. It’s an easygoing bar/restaurant set-up, with little marble tables, decent cocktails and a warm welcome. Picture windows are perfect for watching the Haymarket bustle while snacking on wellflavoured small plates.

Paesano Pizza

77a George Street, paesanopizza.co.uk

Paesano keep it simple, with no

more than ten pizzas on the menu alongside a handful of wines, beers and straightforward aperitivo. Their newest Edinburgh branch is deceptively spacious and more than a little bit swish, with speedy service that’ll feed you well in time for your show.

Ting Thai

55–57 Lothian Road, tingthai.co.uk

Vibrant Thai flavours shine in spicy coconut curries and umamirich noodles, served in street food-style boxes. Ting Thai have been slinging noods in Edinburgh for almost 20 years now and more than deserve their reputation for making hungry diners happy in super-quick fashion.

RESTAURANTS

Baba

130 George Street, baba.restaurant

This big, bright George Street resto is that rare beast: somewhere that works for almost every occasion. Feasting dishes mean it’s great for groups, but you’ll be equally delighted with a solo lunch (sharing is overrated). Inspired by the Levant, expect dishes like harissaroasted cauliflower, punchy chicken thighs or well-balanced mezze.

Chizuru Tei

278 Morrison Street, chizurutei.co.uk

While cheap sushi is to be avoided at all costs, it’s equally too easy to

Cairngorm Coffee

JOHANNA DERRY HALL

spend a fortune on a quick lunch. Chizuru Tei avoids the frills, has a generous BYOB policy and is cash only: the focus is on the food and it’s all the better for it. The set menus might be the best bargain in town.

Contini George Street

103 George Street, contini.com/contini-george-street Carina and Victor Contini have had an enormous impact on the Scottish eating and drinking scene: this picture-perfect restaurant exemplifies Italian roots melding with Scotland’s larder to produce food that bursts with flavour (think chicken Milanese with accompaniments of almond purée and capers, or homemade pastas). The terrace is perfect for peoplewatching and their breakfasts make early mornings bearable.

Dine Edinburgh

1st Floor, 10 Cambridge Street, dineedinburgh.co.uk

You’d be hard pushed to find a handier place for pre or posttheatre/movie dining, plus the team have the knack of feeding you well at a relaxed pace, while being mindful of an imminent curtainup. Try the fixed-price, threecourse menu (lunch or pre-show), with the likes of wild mushroom strozzapreti and, for afters, poached rhubarb tart.

Fava Greek Kitchen

248 Morrison Street, favarestaurant.co.uk

This airy spot around the corner from Haymarket does a roaring trade, particularly with larger groups who appreciate its flexible seating and crowd-pleasing options. There’s an extensive selection of mezze if you want to dip and share, including plenty of veggie options, while the streetfood selection majors on wraps and great-value gyros.

Frizzante Proseccheria

95 Lothian Road, frizzanterestaurant.uk

Once upon a time, Edinburgh in general and Lothian Road in particular were stuffed with this kind of homely, mom and pop Italian restaurant. Frizzante has updated the formula just enough, while keeping the details like giant pepper grinders and possibly the most comforting lasagne in town.

Nishiki

151–155 Morrison Street, nishikiedinburgh.co.uk

Less is more at Nishiki, where a beautifully minimalist interior is complemented by a small menu honed to precision. Kitsune udon is an umami delight, pork tonkotsu is perfectly crisp and sides like smacked cucumber don’t feel like an afterthought. Their Japanese-style breakfasts are a welcome addition to Edinburgh’s brunch scene too.

The Palmerston 1 Palmerston Place, thepalmerstonedinburgh.co.uk

Proper dining in a beautiful building, from people who know their stuff and can’t wait to share it with you. The Palmerston fully deserves its position on all those ‘best of’ lists, yet when you’re here, you’ll forget about the razzle dazzle and simply relax into generous hospitality that’s exactly as it should be. Booking essential.

Patatino 5–21 Grosvenor Street, thehoxton.com/edinburgh/patatino

Hotel restaurants get a bad rap but this modern trattoria inside The Hoxton works hard to bring southern Italian warmth to locals and guests alike. Colourful décor and a short but focused menu of sourdough pizza and house-made pasta make it a good bet for a quick lunch. There’s also brunch at weekends.

TAKE A WANDER ROUND STOCKBRIDGE

Stockbridge has always been home to solid eating and drinking but the past couple of years have seen a resurgence, with a flurry of new openings that have made things feel a little livelier and even, dare we say, a little more Leith. A flourishing bar scene blends favourite traditional bars like The Antiquary, The Bailie and the legendary Kay’s Bar with the newly spruced-up Stockbridge Tap Crybaby is a neon-lit bar promising good food, strong drinks and loose morals (we approve), while Smith & Gertrude is a classy, stripped-back neighbourhood wine bar. St Bernard’s Bar is basically an explosion in a Victorian knick-knack emporium but the cocktails are solid and the staff sweet. The Last Word has built a city-wide reputation for excellent whisky and cocktails, while St Vincent Bar is that rare beast: an old-school local that’s moved with the times without becoming a parody.

Now under new(ish) ownership, Skua has held onto its identity as a cool-for-cats basement bar/restaurant that’s much frequented by Edinburgh’s hospo workers. Cata is perfect for taking time out with a big plate of Spanish charcuterie and an equally big red wine. Relative newcomer Stockbridge Eating House has taken the town by storm; chef Dale Mailley’s self-imposed simplification project has led him to create a café feel, communal tables, generous portions and one of the best lunch deals around.

Sotto is exactly the sort of restaurant you’d want in your ’hood: hearty pastas, plenty of snacks, a comprehensive Italian wine list and bargain Negronis in a groovy space. Heading towards town and sticking to the Italian feel is Little Capo, a cult favourite that’s utterly approachable yet finely tuned; they keep space for walk-ins and perching at their bar sipping a vermouth while fighting your dining companion for the last sliver of pasta is a very fine place to be. Finally, don’t forget the oldtimers who made the area what it is: Paul Gunning’s Purslane remains a great choice for a luxe dinner while Venezuelan basement Sabor Criollo is cheap and cheerful fun.

Patatino

Skua

PICTURE: STEPHEN LISTER

SCANFORDETAILS

As well as a hub for Edinburgh Art Festival, Brown’s Of Leith is one of the city’s hottest new dining destinations, its shared industrial space exemplifying Leith’s reputation for doing things a little bit differently. It’s surrounded by atmospheric eating and drinking, particularly when the sun comes out and folk flock for a pint and a chance to dangle their feet over the Water Of Leith. Malt & Hops is a case in point, a traditional boozer dating back to 1747 with a handful of tables outside. In contrast, the paint’s barely dry on The Keelson, a brand-new bar from the team behind Nauticus and Dogstar (both worth a look). The Shore Bar & Restaurant is lovely for a drink that lingers into dinner, while Malmaison has a huge outdoor space away from traffic.

Leith is also a bit of a hotspot for brewery taprooms, with Campervan, Moonwake and Newbarns all nearby. A short walk brings you to cool community pub The Finch or stop off at The Lioness Of Leith for a stonking burger to fuel your journey back to the city.

There are plenty of cafés for a quick bite, notably Printworks Coffee, the original Rocksalt Café and super-pretty The Old Spence. But it’s the Shore’s fine-dining credentials (see page 156) that draws discerning diners, with Michelin-starred Restaurant Martin Wishart, The Kitchin and Heron all within a five-minute walk; a reservation and enough time to enjoy the experience are pre-requisites for all three.

brown's of leith

BARS

Diggers Leith 7 Bernard Street, instagram.com/ diggersleith

An offshoot of the long-established Gorgie original (The Athletic Arms, known as The Diggers), this traditional pub is excellent for cold pints and single malts.

It’s a small space but does a well-priced pint with beers on tap from local breweries and an impressive wall of whiskies to choose from. They also sell proper pub pies.

The King's Wark 36 Shore, thekingswarkpub.com

The King’s Wark’s history spans smugglers and royalty. Dating back to the 14th century, the building was originally designed as a storehouse and armoury for James I before taking a turn as a plague house and then wine merchant. Now, the pub is all about real ales and fresh seafood in a laid-back, casual atmosphere.

Nobles By Bellfield 44a Constitution Street, bellfieldbrewery.com/pages/ nobles

Good pub, good beer, good food: it’s surprisingly rare to find all three done well so all hail this reboot of a well-loved bar by local brewery Bellfield. A chalkboard lists a rotating line-up of Bellfield beers and chef Hugh Brown (formerly of The Palmerston) delivers a menu driven by local produce. Dishes are simple and hearty yet full of flavour and interest.

Port Of Leith Distillery Bar 11 Whisky Quay, leithdistillery.com/the-distillery-bar

You don’t have to book the fascinating distillery tour to have a drink in this smart skyline bar which is perfect for a pre or post-dinner dram. The views of the city and docks are outstanding, as are the whiskies and cocktails; try a flight

to experience the best of modern Scottish distilling.

Roseleaf 23–24 Sandport Street, roseleaf.co.uk

A strong contender for Leith’s friendliest pub, this brilliant all-day hangout has a tasty and pun-tastic bar food menu. Think big burgers, truffled macaroni cheese or steak frîtes with skin-on chips. The Sunday roast is a highlight: purists might be disappointed that the beef comes fully cooked in the middle, but there's no denying that the trimmings are exactly as they should be.

The Ship On The Shore 24–26 Shore, theshipontheshore.co.uk

This excellent seafood restaurant also hosts a gorgeous bar that’s just fancy enough to scratch the elegance itch. Get there early on sunny days to bag a seat outside, where oysters, fizz and a range of creative spritzes flow. Good oldfashioned hospitality and a slice of Leith history in one.

Teuchters Landing

1a Dock Place, teuchtersbar.co.uk

This unpretentious, good-looking bar has local beers on tap including Paolozzi lager and Moonwake IPA, brewed just a few yards away. Outside is a generous riverside beer garden and heat lamps, with warming mugs of stovies and a particularly fine whisky range to keep you nice and snug if the weather turns.

Three Marys 63–65 Henderson Street, instagram. com/threemarysleith

With dark floral décor, stained-glass windows and plush velvet seating, Three Marys is a lot lovelier than your average boozer. Better still, the cocktails are cracking, the local beer selection is strong and there’s frequent live music by local jazz bands. Charcuterie and cheese platters are an ideal accompaniment to an evening in this stylish neighbourhood favourite.

Lannan Bakery

GRAB AND GO

Sometimes you just need something fast to plug the hungry gap as you criss-cross the city, something munchable to sustain you as you battle the crowds to find a bench that’s not yet been pressed into service as a venue. Lannan Bakery is very much worth the hype but, let’s face it, you’re going to be queuing all day so standing in a line for a pastry probably isn’t on your to-do list. Instead, pre-order in advance (well in advance) and pick up your laminated treats plus a few grocery bits and pieces from Lannan Pantry next door. The Pastry Section also does a mean line in morning goods without the lines, alongside some truly beautiful cakes. You’ll find them in Stockbridge, Leith and the West End. If you’re looking for a vegan sweet treat, Considerit is a great shout: they’re by Summerhall and everything is plant-based and made in-house. For lunch, how about a huge sandwich? Mootz General Store in Raeburn Place does home-baked schiacciata sandwiches that easily feed two. They have regular specials but the classic Mootz with mortadella never fails. Panificio is one of the city’s best-kept secrets: huge focaccia sangers made to order, plus a whole cabinet of cannoli if you fancy something sweet and handy near Haymarket Station. Finally, if only a big kebab will do then point yourself to Kebabish, a huge canteen-style restaurant in Dalry, where the grilled meats do not disappoint.

The King's Wark

DISCOVER THE MONKEY OLD FASHIONED

CAF É S AND QUICK BITES

Ardfern

10–12 Bonnington Road, ardfern.uk

A wee bit off the beaten track (and right next door to sister restaurant The Little Chartroom), Ardfern is worth seeking out at any time of day. That’s thanks to a thoughtful all-day-into-evening menu that hits all the spots all the time, including an oyster happy hour. Brunch lasts until 5.30pm on Sunday and features one of the best roasts in the city.

Brown's Of Leith

4–6 Shore, customlane.co/browns-of-leith

An achingly cool, flexible space in an old metalworking building, housing three great places to eat: Haze for morning coffee and pastries then tinned fish and natural wines later; Civerinos for New Haven-style thin, crisp pizza; and Shuck Bar by ShrimpWreck for oysters and local seafood.

Café Domenico

30 Sandport Street, cafedomenico.co.uk

Domenico’s has a sandwich bar at the front and a traditional Italian restaurant at the back. Pick up loaded focaccia to go or pull up a chair for a menu of Italian favourites, including chicken saltimbocca, venison ragù with tagliatelle, and gnocchi with burrata and basil pesto.

Razzo Pizza Napoletano

59 Great Junction Street, razzopizza.co.uk

Don’t ask for pineapple: the pizza toppings at Razzo are straight outta Napoli. The small restaurant is dominated by a huge copper pizza oven and the sourdough pizzas are among the best in the city. The Napoletana is hard to beat: simply crushed San Marzano tomatoes

with anchovies, capers, basil and oregano. Delivery drivers buzz in and out, but you won’t care.

San Ciro's

148 Leith Walk, sanciros.com

Napoli rules at this pizzeria which has quickly moved up the hotly contested pizza rankings in Leith. On the menu are delicious Neapolitan-style pizzas with classic toppings and a few more out-there specials (like smoked mozzarella, bacon, pineapple and chilli jam). Share hot arancini or crisp calamari while you wait. Service is chatty and fun, and the takeaway and restaurant space are divided so it’s easier to settle in for the evening.

Toast

65 Shore, toastleith.co.uk

With sunny window seats and outdoor tables, Toast makes Leith feel almost Mediterranean. The brunch menu helps too, with avocado toast, halloumi focaccia and generous plates of huevos rancheros and shakshuka. Later in the day, explore the wine list with the last of the rays.

Williams & Johnson

1 Customs Wharf, williamsandjohnson.com

Delicious Williams & Johnson coffee is available across Edinburgh, but it’s best enjoyed at the source in this contemporary roastery and café. The airy room leads into the vibrant Custom Lane exhibition space or take a sunny table by the river. Don’t miss the homemade sourdough pastries.

RESTAURANTS

Barry Fish

62 Shore, barryfish.co.uk

From the cheery wave from the eponymous Barry as you enter to the very last bite, this stylish green-hued restaurant gets everything right. Unapologetically

is Edinburgh’s floating hotel with accompanying restaurant and bar. The hammered-metal ceiling reflects light around this beautiful space and makes everyone look, and feel, a bit more special. Afternoon tea is particularly recommended.

Nami

63 Shore, namiedinburgh.com

From the sisters behind Mimi’s Bakehouse, this friendly Asianinspired restaurant brings something fresh and fun to Leith diners. At Nami, share dishes of miso-grilled fish, shiitake dan dan noodles and very moreish Korean fried chicken. Reasonably priced and family friendly, Nami fills a hungry gap on the Shore.

Tapa

19 Shore Place, tapaedinburgh.co.uk

fish-forward, ‘big snacks’ serve as sharing plates or starters and always include their take on trout pastrami, or head straight to mains for the likes of lobster agnolotti in a rich brown butter sauce.

Cutting Chaii

18–20 Salamander Street, cuttingchaii.co.uk

It’s slightly off Leith’s main drag, but Cutting Chaii is worth seeking out for a for a low-key Indian feast inspired by the traditional Iranian cafés and food carts of old Bombay. Designed to share, the street chaats are a speciality. Try chickpeas steeped in Darjeeling tea or fried fish and crushed samosas with chaat masala, yoghurt and chutney.

Dùthchas

187 Great Junction Street, duthchas-restaurant.co.uk

Entering Dùthchas from bustling Great Junction Street is like entering another world, one dedicated to foraged ingredients and Scottish game. If the sixcourse tasting menu doesn’t work with your show schedule, their ‘wee’ (three-course) alternative or precision à la carte lunch is worth the diversion. The little space is packed with plant life, a fitting backdrop to picture-perfect plating.

Fishers Leith

1 Shore, fishersrestaurants.co.uk/ fishers-leith

This handsome and historic building is home to some of the best seafood around, served without fuss or pretension. Whether you’re pushing the boat out with a whole lobster or bass, or want to keep it simple with the classic ‘Fishers Favourites’ (fishcakes, soup, mussels and the like), this is a place for all seasons.

The Lighthouse

Fingal, Alexandra Dock, fingal.co.uk

Evoking the old-world glamour of an ocean liner, you don’t need to come in a tux to eat here. Fingal

A spacious tapas bar that has been keeping diners happy with piled plates of patatas bravas, pimientos de padrón and hot gooey croquetas for years. Lunch deals are good value and it’s a fun place to go with a big group.

FAMILY MEAL

The List’s Eat & Drink team choose their favourite spots

Festival eating means either cramming something down while I chase my late tail up and down the Old Town’s closes, or staying well out of it. The latter means dinner at my local, Rogue Brothers At The Boathouse in South Queensferry, for terrible chat and great grub. Los Hermanos Picaros, their upstairs tapas bar, is a good shout for wine and a snack and, if the sun shines, there’s an outdoor deck and seafood shack too (you can see how one place ticks all this food editor’s boxes). If I’m in the city, it’s Africano Wrap Place all the way for a fast hit of spicy lunch goodness. And when it all gets a bit too much, which it will, a hot macaroni pie from The Piemaker cures all.

The Lighthouse

JO LAIDLAW

W Deck is Edinburgh’s destination 360° seasonal rooftop bar, located on the 12th floor of W Edinburgh

festival hot shots

2 3

One year ago, New York theatre practitioners Xhloe And Natasha were preparing to put on three of their Fringe shows across the month. This time, they’re limiting themselves to just the one, but what a doozy it promises to be: Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It (Summerhall, 6–30 August) features a community under siege. Olivier Award-winning choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui tackles destruction and regeneration with Ihsane (Festival Theatre, 18–20 August), a moving testament to the power of connection even in the most horrifying of circumstances. The piece acts as a tribute to Ihsane Jarfi, a gay Moroccan man murdered in Belgium in 2012.

For 20 years, Wendy McMurdo has been documenting childhood, imagination and the tech universe through her experimental use of photography. The Digital Mirror (National Galleries Of Scotland: Portrait, until 25 October) is a response to the impact of screens and social media upon children and their ability to learn and play.