Set in the iconic former Veterinary College, Summerhall's programme is packed full of exciting and challenging theatre, dance, visual art and music from across the world and Scotland for people of all ages. Delicious food and drink is served in The Royal Dick bar plus al fresco bars and street food in our vibrant and buzzing courtyard. There is a café open all day too. Full programme available at summerhall.co.uk.

'Storytelling at its best!' ***** (Playbill). This highly awarded, internationally toured, inspirational true story is about overcoming obstacles, pursuing passions, and the healing power of the arts and is told with warmth, humour and banjo music! This show has donated 100% of ticket sales to cancer and theatre charities totalling over $1,000,000 (CAD) since 2018 and all proceeds from this Edinburgh Fringe run will benefit Summerhall. Sold out run in 2023 and 2024. Mervyn Stutter's Pick of the Fringe 2023! 'A sold-out Fringe classic!' (BritishTheatreGuide.info).

Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me but Banjos Saved My Life

A glistening new stand-up show from the LSQ Theatre New Comedian winner and Chortle Awards nominee about losing your mind, finding it again and the hunt for the perfect skirt suit. During a stressful house move, burgeoning trans icon Sam Nicoresti felt themselves leave their body. From a comedy night in a care home to the standing stones of Cornwall, this is the story of the journey home. Baby Doomer is the follow-up to the acclaimed Wokeflake: 'One of the definitive documents of the trans experience in stand-up' (Chortle.co.uk). Best Show nominee, Leicester Comedy Festival 2025.

Sam Nicoresti: Baby Doomer

DARKFIELD presents DOUBLE, VISITORS and ETERNAL. Three award-winning 360-degree sound experiences, from the DARKFIELD Radio project. DOUBLE is a troubling exploration of the Capgras delusion, an uncommon condition in which the sufferer is convinced a loved one has been replaced by an evil replica. VISITORS explores why the dead find so little comfort in the world of the living. Experienced lying down in bed, ETERNAL asks what price would you pay for eternal life? Choose your story: three shows play out in the same space, allowing audiences to choose which world unfolds around them.

DARKFIELD RADIO: DOUBLE, VISITORS and ETERNAL

This performance lecture examines the UK's colonial legacy in Palestine, focusing on Arthur James Balfour, Prime Minister (1902-1905) and Foreign Secretary (1916-1919), and his role in denying Palestinian political rights. Utilising speculative choreography and Afrofuturism, Saleh intertwines history, fiction, and fantasy, drawing inspiration from archival materials. Set in 2045, the lecture reflects on a fictive apology letter issued by the UK in 2025, promising reparations to the Palestinian people. The audience become members of the reparations' evaluation committee created on the 20th anniversary of the apology and are invited to participate in the performance. MadeInScotlandShowcase.com

Balfour Reparations

PAINKILLERS delves into physical and emotional pain through magic tricks and romantic memories. Mamoru, a magician's assistant who enjoys her large knitted body, is at the mercy of knives, saws and guns, on and off stage. 'So much wily humour and visual wit. An incarnation of what is raw, visceral and unprotected about the selves we harbour behind clothes, relationships, even the names we assume' (Mary Brennan, Herald). 'Plenty offbeat charm as (s)he(!) treats a booty load of themes... showbiz magic/gender metamorphosis/penetration/death' (Donald Hutera). Award-winning performance maker returns to Summerhall with his acclaimed show.

PAINKILLERS

Welcome to the jar. Here, tragedy floats and the wail of an abandoned tomato cuts through the salty atmosphere. Come hear the lament of lives not lived, watch the chaotic energy of the search for meaning and find connections between these decaying vegetables and your own existence. Be prepared, bring a hankie, will you laugh or cry? Who knows. You'll leave stirred up but none the wiser. A surreal theatrical cabaret for adults with puppetry, masks, and perhaps a poem that promises more vegetables per pound than any supermarket. Don't worry about inflation when there is disintegration. MadeInScotlandShowcase.com


Pickled Republic

A gloriously stupid show of bad animal impressions and a wildly playful nature safari. How do you do an Uglyface Scorpionfish? What's a Darth Vader Giant Pill Millipede? Tom and Xavi create a wickedly feral duet between body, sound and species in this nature documentary on steroids. Herald Angel award-winning Mechanimal returns to Edinburgh with a sequel to its hit show, Vigil. More animals, more madness, more soul: Wild Thing! is a bittersweet meditation on life in an age of extinction. ***** (Stage). 'Beautiful, contemplative... a remarkable and urgent show' (Guardian on Vigil).

Wild Thing!

One of Europe's most exciting female choreographic voices comes into its own, in this uncompromising and surrealistic piece. Plunged into an absurd world, In the Bushes celebrates the incomprehensible and magnificent contradictions of life. Quirky and witty, it mocks the idea that we are exceptional and questions our humanity with ferocious joy. 'Masterfully choreographed’ (BroadwayWorld.com) 'Powerful' (WritingAboutDance.com).

In the Bushes

'I loved this brilliant new working-class play' ***** (Edinburgh Evening News). It's Derby Day. A violent Hibs football casual returns home to tell his brother something bad has happened. But has something far worse happened in their past? A new gritty dark comedy by BBC Scottish Voices writer Mikey Burnett. Directed by Grace Ava Baker. Produced by Staci Shaw. Starring Ruaraidh Murray and Sean Langtree. Supported by Traverse Theatre and Royal Lyceum Theatre.

Colours Run

Welcome to The Restaurant where Chef's final service goes up in flames. While he melts down, he'll prepare actual food and drink – if he can serve you before he's cooked. Cavin is a two-time Emmy award-winning comedian. Credits include Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Bon Appetit Test Kitchen, and Epicurious. He created Late Night Eats, a cooking series featuring Anthony Bourdain, David Chang, Nick Offerman, Alton Brown, Questlove, Giada De Laurentiis and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and has worked with chefs like José Andrés, Ina Garten and Binging with Babish.

Enjoy Your Meal

At a party in their hometown, Charlie is confronted by fragmented memories and a growing mystery: who is Max? Inspired by lived experiences, Imprints explores underrepresented aspects of memory loss, queer identity and the fragile process of piecing together the past. Through live cinema, puppetry and dreamlike soundscapes, the Palimpsest Project reconstruct memories in real time to create a haunting, coming-of-age mystery about rediscovering self amid uncertainty. It's a story that is both personal and universal – a meditation on nostalgia, identity and the delicate threads that shape who we are. 'Ingenious' **** (Scotsman).


Imprints

A '...rip roaring tour de force' (TheReviewsHub.com) from the co-writer behind Two Fingers Up. Winner of Solas Nua New Voices Award at Dublin Fringe Festival 2024. Irish Twins, Sarah and Jamie, are about to hit 30. Before they do, they're reliving their greatest hits: credit crunch, austerity and free school meals... Benefits Britain never sounded so good! A soundtrack packed with Oasis, Springsteen and Sam Fender in this euphoric, working-class celebration of the power of live music, teenage angst, sibling rivalry and love. An electric and hilarious, coming-of-age anthem for anyone who ever wanted more.

Anthem for Dissatisfaction

Lena, Ollie and Joey are having a baby. Lena's bought a pinstripe suit. Ollie's gone out on a night he'll regret. Joey's soaking wet. A show about queer family making and what it takes to make one. Baby in the Mirror is the debut show of Second Adolescence, a new theatre company from Stella Marie Sophie and Sammy J Glover, Director and Co-creator of The Last Show Before We Die ***** (Guardian).

Baby in the Mirror

Why is it easier to talk about a bowel disease than mental illness? Darkly comedic and life-affirming, this one-person play reveals the reality of living with chronic mental and physical health conditions. We follow a young genderqueer person through a Crohn's Disease diagnosis, hypo-manic episode, colostomy bag fears, queer sex, group sex, morality, mortality, blood, shit, laughter and tears. Hayley Edwards brings their multi award-winning debut play to Summerhall with the Edinburgh Touring Award after two highly acclaimed, sold-out, extended seasons in Melbourne. Think Fleabag but with more queer shit (literally). ***** (Lilithia.net). **** (Age).

Shitbag

Step into a world of flappers, cocktails, and jazz as you embark on an enchanting time travel adventure to the Roaring Twenties. Whisper the secret password at the door and slip through the hidden entrance of an exclusive bar, where the atmosphere is electric with the sounds of smooth jazz and the clinking of vintage glassware. This is not merely a night out, it's a passport to a time when elegance ruled the night.

The Speakeasy Experience

A cutting-edge, immersive physical theatre experience combining live physical performance with smartphone interaction. Using La Fura dels Baus' Kalliópê app, the show transforms audience members into active participants, exploring identity, belonging and intergenerational connection. Visually striking and sonically rich, this production is designed to captivate both teens and adults. La Mecànica crafts a unique, high-impact theatrical journey that resonates with contemporary audiences. Please bring your phone fully charged!

A Teen Odyssey

The award-winning endurance-based dance work to the booming techno album Nocturbulous Behaviour by Suburban Knight is the atmosphere and culture of a three-day rave condensed into an hour. Relentless movement, seamless without pause, detailed down to every beat. Exploring the movement used in techno and rave culture, witness the destruction of three humans. Indulge in the pain, the sweat: a display of pure endurance to achieve a goal. A spectacle of the human body as a victim to music, to passion, to our endless desire to achieve more. To win and win again.

The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave

Daddy's hired the venue, paid the deposit and organised the photoshoot. Our first fringe show in six years. So, this is fate. This is our PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD – inspired by the best worst band of all time, The Shaggs. We'll play the band. You play the audience. It'll be perfect. Load up on guns, bring your friends. (Free soda on admission.) Previous reviews: 'Late night theatre... a bit like a party and a bit like a nightmare?' (ExeuntMagazine.com). 'Anarchic, unclassifiable performance' (TheStage.co.uk). 'Might be brilliant or might be shit' (Fest).

PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD

In 2011, fresh out of a psychiatric facility, Rich Hardisty flies to NYC with no money or plan, hoping to find his biological father. Desperate, he searches everywhere, helped by endearing strangers along the way. Unfortunately for Rich, when he does finally find his father, it doesn't go as anticipated. POP is a hilarious and heartbreaking exploration of family trauma and redemption. A nostalgic, emotional rollercoaster that leaves you believing dreams can come true... just sometimes not in the way we imagined. 'Eye opening, deeply affecting, hilarious' **** (Scotsman). 'A thrilling life story... brilliantly told' (Richard

Rich Hardisty: POP CANCELLED

1993, Mum won't let Alice go to Funderland because Belfast is burning. 'How about Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves and Chinese chicken balls instead?' 2023, Alice falls for Tim, but can she escape the legacy of a childhood shaped by conflict or will everything blow-up in her face? A tale of love, death and division – told with tea and biscuits. Troubled blends story, projection and humour, reckoning with the past and offering hope for the future. 'An excitingly honest depiction of the power of human connection, told with daring vulnerability' (Haley McGee, Olivier Nominee, Fringe First Winner 2022).

Troubled

An existential PhD student hunting dark matter, a disillusioned illusionist, a medium with a secret and a murdered mathematician star in the greatest unsolved mystery of the universe. Following their acclaimed and award-winning Her Green Hell and Sisters Three, TheatreGoose presents AETHER, a show about the unknown and our insatiable desire to define it, asking why are we so desperate to know what happens behind the curtain and who gets to decide what lurks there? Part-science lab on the cusp of discovery, part-Victorian seance, part-unauthorised Nobel Prize Ceremony, AETHER explores faith, physics and magic in rich theatrical spectacle.

AETHER

It’s about nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing. For tonight, here, together, we are free – we promise. From the creators of 2023’s cult-hit CREEPY BOYS (***** (Fest), ***** (SomewhereForUs.org), ***** (InDaily.com.au), ***** (WhyNow.co.uk), ***** (ToDoList.org.uk), **** (BritishTheatreGuide.info), join us for a technocolour acid trip where you’ll meet puppet Joni Mitchell, a two-person horse and every body part we have. A techno-punk concert, a play, a clown show, a basement puppet nightmare all rolled into one, SLUGS is about trying to have a good time while the world burns.

SLUGS

Waxen Figures is an immersive audiovisual experience – a supernatural fever dream, where live contemporary dance, Gaelic singing, and cutting-edge technology collide. This Cryptic Commission by audio-visual duo Muto Major plunges into Scotland's folklore, exploring the chasm between ancient rituals and modern lives. Clay, wax, and the human form intertwine, summoning the mythic and the mystical. Projection mapping and augmented reality bring Pictish carvings to life, blurring the line between past and present. Waxen Figures invites you into a multisensory world, where innovation and tradition dance together, reawakening forgotten truths through a bold, poetic lens. MadeInScotlandShowcase.com

Waxen Figures

What if your anger just simmers underneath? If it never quite reaches boiling point, but it's present, burning your insides? Combining spoken word, football chants, live art and theatre, Chat Sh*t, Get Hit dives into women's anger: how it fuels, how it festers and how it is swallowed. A funny and uncompromising new show about recovery, solidarity and the suppression of women's rage. Edinburgh Fringe debut from Martha Pailing. Directed by Ursula Martinez with dramaturgy by Annie Siddons.

Chat Sh*t, Get Hit

FATAL FLOWER, an ode to the hysterical woman. In this tragicomic musical and over-the-top one-woman show, Valentina explores the boundaries and clichés of the female image in society. With a mix of opera, theatre, musical, cabaret, classical music and comedy, she introduces various hysterical women, including the Queen of the Night, a vengeful bride-to-be, and a strict Russian piano teacher (or is that her mother?), all leading to Valentina herself. Armed with remarkable musicality, humour, social criticism and larger-than-life characters, Fatal Flower keeps the audience on edge, evoking either sympathy or bewilderment – either way, it's a triumph.

FATAL FLOWER

After enduring torture in the Ministry of Love, Julia is finally released and reunited with her sister. The two women rejoice but they are closely monitored by a telescreen and are unable to speak freely. Nonetheless, Julia is determined to seek revenge and wants to find out who reported her and her lover Winston to the police a year ago. To discover the truth, she returns to her ex-torturer, Thought Police officer O'Brien, but things take an unexpected twist, and she finds herself entangled in a dangerous mind game.

Julia. 1984

A contemporary circus solo that embarks on a trans woman's journey. The show explores the haunting feeling of having murdered one's former self, a common experience for many trans people when leaving their assigned gender behind. Through a multidisciplinary repertoire such as aerials, dance, singing and physical theatre, Diana Salles invites us to reflect on the physical and emotional strength it takes to honour one's truth. The combination of aerial silks, beautiful images and mesmerising music makes you want to hug the artist. A heart-stopping circus show that unravels the beauty of self-discovery.

Delusional – I Killed a Man

Addict to icon: the story of Miles Davis and the biggest selling jazz album of all time. Presented by acclaimed theatre company :DELIRIUM: and Lauren Reed Productions, this show delves into the life of the famous jazz trumpeter Miles Davis through the making of his seminal 1959 album Kind of Blue which changed the course of music forever. With live music from the UK's foremost jazz trumpeter, Jay Phelps, colliding with :DELIRIUM:'s multi-disciplinary theatrical style, this new piece of theatre is a smokey, atmospheric, fever dream routed in the Birth of the Cool.

MILES.

It's a solo show. A mockery and celebration of performance. Absurd. Simple. Outrageous. Stupid. Fun. It's terrible. An important waste of your time. It's great. Please strongly consider all of this information before coming. John Norris is a man whose absurd comedy is singular and oozes mountains of stupidity and silliness. Based out of Los Angeles and Las Vegas, John brings his word-of-mouth cult hit, sold-out, five-star, award nominated debut show back to the Edinburgh Fringe. Also, in 2009, he ate and digested an entire Kia Forte.

Mr Chonkers

Bennett Cooper Sullivan, gentleman adventurer and rakish raconteur, returns with an astonishing tale of derring-do (and don'ts!), that puts the cad back in cadaver. Hearts will flutter. Monocles will plummet. Corsets may become strained. Combining the finest elements of a Sherlock Holmes novel, an Oscar Wilde soirée, and the best night between the sheets you've ever had, The Cadaver Palaver is a ripping yarn, sumptuously told by a master storyteller. 'Erudite, eloquent and deliciously fast and funny... a rollicking, rousing one-man show' (WeekendNotes.com). 'A master of his craft' ****½ (TheBarefootReview.com.au).

The Cadaver Palaver

Stirring, electrifying soundscapes usher you through the cosmos as K Mak fuses live cello, violin, synths, beats and vocals with sumptuous, tailored visuals. Continually selling out homeland Australia, her arresting show now comes to Edinburgh where a legendary festival venue becomes an enthralling, immersive planetarium. 'I had an outer body experience at K Mak'. 'Truly immersive and cathartic'. 'It was really good except it made Mum cry'. 'We’ve travelled the world and never experienced anything like it'. 'I’d go again in a heartbeat'. 'K Mak is AMAZEBALLS' (Audience Reviews). 

K Mak at the Planetarium

Set following the Strangeways Prison Riot, meet recovering addict Frankie, played by renowned political comedian Mark Thomas as he enters the brave new world of a liberal prison experiment. None of Frankie's fellow convicts are what they seem. In the most unexpected of places he discovers: the revolution is not dead. It's just sleeping. A new play from the writer of Fringe First-winning England & Son and A Political History of Smack & Crack, Ed Edwards and Mark Thomas tell a tale of freedom, revolution and messy love. Directed by Charlotte Bennett.

Ordinary Decent Criminal

Suburbia is Jonny Woo's most personal show to date. A return to his spoken word, story-telling and performance art roots, Suburbia is a poetic memoir about his life from childhood in the Medway Towns, to discovering ecstasy in the 90s, the clubs of New York and a queer community in London. Now in his fifties, Woo is more reflective and honest about the secrets he harboured and the lessons he learnt. Woo's wit is as sharp as ever and his desire to shock and surprise is evident throughout. Suburbia is everything but suburban.

Jonny Woo: Suburbia

Pick of the Week, Adelaide Fringe 2024. The Ceremony returns... Welcome. Thank you. You're welcome. An improvised, interactive ritual – part sermon, part group therapy, part comedy show. Not a cult. Crafted afresh from audience responses, the show is completely different every night. Who are we? What are we doing? Does this mean anything? What does meaning mean? Hmm. Let The Ceremony begin… 'Exhilarating' ***** (BingeFringe.com). 'Brilliantly funny' ****½ (GlamAdelaide.com.au). 'Quintessential Fringe experience' **** (List). **** (Scotsman). 'If I were not being held to a demon schedule, I'd book to see The Ceremony every night' (Lyn Gardner, Stage).

The Ceremony

Was Kurt Cobain trans? Was Kurt Cobain a trans woman? What if? No Apologies delves deep into internet discourse and classical mythology – radically mis-remembering Nirvana's iconic 1993 MTV Unplugged concert. It fights back against the pressure to mould ourselves into images that are acceptable to society and the danger that lies when we are not able to live as our full, vibrant selves. 'Emma Frankland is the punk rock angel of your dreams and nightmares...' (Stage).

No Apologies

Dark, theatrical comedy meets nostalgia in Goblin, written and performed by Derek Mitchell. Set in 2007, it tells the story of Eliot, an emo kid with an imaginary goblin who just wants to be loved. Peppered with period details, Eliot's life takes a series of turns when he meets a much older reality TV star and begins transforming into something truly horrifying... the co-owner of a spin studio. Named one of The i Paper's best shows of the 2024 Fringe.

Derek Mitchell: Goblin

Chronicling a moment of intergenerational exchange. Based on discussions between creator Roger White and his grandmother, Marianna Clark, about a hidden life under the Nazi regime. Blending a haunting soundscape, featuring recorded conversations of grandmother and grandson, with evocative choreography that embodies memory. A cautionary tale highlighting the perils of anti-immigrant narratives, through stories that pivot between humour and darkness, documenting the slow march toward authoritarianism. A heartwarming reminder to honor the wisdom that came before us and hold on to the memory of those we cherish most. From the creators of 2023's hit Papillon.

Because You Never Asked

Flick is a nurse, Mark has cancer, the kind you can't come back from. He's also dangerously attractive. When Mark asks Flick for a favour it doesn't take long for boundaries to blur and lives to intersect. From award-winning writer/performer, Madelaine Nunn, Flick is a darkly funny thriller about life, death, and really bad decisions. Shortlisted for the 2022 Rodney Seaborn Playwrights Award. 'Brilliantly written, with a humanly comedic through-line' ***** (WhatsTheShow.com.au). 'Nunn is outstanding' ***** (StageWhispers.com.au). 'One of the best single actor shows... her comic timing is impeccable' (TheatreTravels.org). **** (List). Director, Emily O'Brien-Brown. Sound Design, Christian Biko.

Flick

Step into the club. It's hot, it's dirty, it's sweaty. You feel his hands creeping up your body. You feel sexy, desired, on edge. Pump drops you in the middle of a nightclub dance floor in a desperate search for validation, intimacy and identity. Following successful seasons at Melbourne Fringe (2024) and Adelaide Fringe (2025), emerging artist and VCA graduate Isabella Gilbert makes her Edinburgh Fringe debut with this immersive and explosive solo show. Pump is an honest and shameless exploration of club culture, vulnerability and the artist experience. **** (TheClothesLine.com.au).

PUMP

Blowjobs, bleach and beef bourguignon. A women's domestic life crumbles as she is pushed to the breaking point by her boyfriend's relentless domestic incompetence... and you've been cast as the boyfriend. She navigates the full weight of cooking, cleaning, planning and hosting while questioning how much more she can take. Clean Slate doesn't let you sit comfortably in the dark, it drags you into the mess. You're not merely watching, you're a witness, confidant, unwilling participant. One moment, you're laughing, the next, the air's thick with something unspoken. How many plates can pile before they start being thrown?

Clean Slate

A love letter to the queers, the weirdoes, the trailblazers, the fringes and the night-walkers. An exploration of personal identity through a reflection of memories from queer and club spaces. Remembering the energy that can be drawn from these spaces and trying to sustain the sensation while understanding the longevity of a moment in time that is so communally charged. This show is a storytelling of any night, told through the use of dance, runaway show, spoken word and lip-syncing. It is an exploration of gender, queerness and camaraderie of different spaces.

Anatomy of a Night

ROSE is an AI chatbot that gives advice for the end of the world, powered by a black box of memories from people whose worlds have already ended. Tonight, ROSE unboxes her training data of human memories (and fabricates some in true AI fashion), to learn about the woman who created her. Stampin' in the Graveyard is an immersive headphone experience fusing physical theatre and live music to draw audiences into an ephemeral, apocalyptic world. Developed by the critically acclaimed and award-winning Elisabeth Gunawan and Kiss Witness behind Unforgettable Girl: ***** (Stage). ***** (TheReviewsHub.com). ***** (TheatreWeekly.com).

Stampin' in the Graveyard

Auntie is a sweet old dear and a jolly good raconteur. All she wants to do is regale us with tales of dear old Blighty – but her body is falling to bits. Oh dear. Best not mention it. Someone ought to clean that up. By turns an absurd and rambunctious bouffon comedy and a bloody, messy, sing-along satire on Britain and nationhood, Auntie Empire is an unmissable collaboration between award-winning Scottish companies Disaster Plan and Jordan & Skinner.

Auntie Empire

EULOGY is a surreal, otherworldly journey through a dreamlike, labyrinthine hotel that exists entirely in your mind. How you arrived is a mystery and why you're there remains unclear. Just make sure you read the pamphlet. Performed in complete darkness, this exhilarating ride uses binaural sound and speech recognition technology to deceive the senses and transport audience members through the bowels of this strange hotel. How your dream unfolds is, in part, up to you. EULOGY premiered as part of the London BFI Film Festival 2021 and has toured venues in the UK and Australia.

EULOGY

An earthy, delicate and devastating concept album about things that vanish; a strange, rich and lyrical exploration of ritual and the underland. Fringe First-winning writer Casey Jay Andrews and musician Jack Brett fuse spoken word and urban legend with music and experiments in sound. It's a descent into the darkness of a cave in South Wales, an attempt to piece together broken fragments of porcelain, and a rite of closure. 'Into the underland we have long placed that which we fear and wish to lose, and that which we love and wish to save' (Robert Macfarlane).

The Quiet Earth Beneath

1995. Holidaying on the Isle of Skye, Annie and her siblings glimpse their father across the beach. Which seems impossible, because he died four years ago. What follows is a relentless search for the truth, on a rugged island where real people and ghosts seem to walk hand in hand among the mountains and lochs. A chilling, propulsive debut thriller by Sunday Times bestselling author and Olivier-nominated producer, Ellie Keel, whose Summerhall hits include SAP, An Interrogation, Bullring Techno Makeout Jamz and The Last Show Before We Die. Winner: The Stage Producer of the Year 2024.

SKYE: A Thriller

A real-life ghost story from award-winning writer-comedian, Kirsty Mann. Do you believe in ghosts? No? You will. 'Heart-racing' *****(Scenestr.com.au). 'Unmissable' ***** (FringeWorld.com.au/fringefeed). 'A rising star in the comedy world' ***** (NorthWestEnd.co.uk). 'See it now – you'll be claiming you were there in years to come anyway' (Mix Adelaide). 'Charming' **** (Chortle.co.uk). 'A joy to watch' **** (List). 'Incredibly engaging' **** (Fest). Winner Best Comedy, Fringe World 2024. Nominee Best Comedy, Adelaide Fringe 2025.

Kirsty Mann – Corpse (WIP)

Megan and Kevin are close friends bonded by their love of takeaways, Rick and Morty and Jeremy Paxman – a match made in adult heaven. But after a desperate one night stand is unwittingly caught on camera, Kevin and Megan realise that perhaps there's something more to their friendship... Written and created by BAFTA Rising Star Winner David Jonsson, Paldem explores the amateur porn industry from the perspective of those who produce it. An anti-romantic comedy that crosses the murky lines of interracial dating, fetishisms and hook ups in the digital age.

Paldem

A focus group. A pitch meeting. A multiverse imaginarium. Having received critical acclaim for a show about grief, addiction and mental breakdown, Maxwell is stuck on how to up the ante with her next confessional solo show. She needs you for some intensive audience research: which of her personal traumas is most fundable, marketable and ripe for TV adaptation? In an era hungry for the next smash-hit overshare, BABYFLEAREINDEERBAG kicks over the bucket of ideas Maxwell can't yet bring herself to make a show about, interrogating the risk and cynicism in telling one's own story onstage.

BABYFLEAREINDEERBAG (WIP)

Drawing from the classic Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare and romantic-themed songs by the 'king' Roberto Carlos, in a back-and-forth between the plagiarised love story and the unauthorised music, the show is critical, acerbic, tragicomic... it is almost ridiculous! In its title, the company, originally from São José do Rio Preto in the countryside of the state of São Paulo, alludes to how the combination of these two ingredients is curiously known in Brazil, uniting traditional British literature with the cuisine from its homeland, with some sweetness and a touch of saltiness.

Cheese and Guava or Romeo and Juliet

Queer performance legend Katy Baird has spent the last decade chasing pleasure, trying to make sense of the chaos. Fusing pounding techno, personal footage and razor-sharp humour, Get Off rips into what we crave, what we hide and the lengths we'll go to feel something in a world that won't slow down. This isn't theatre for the faint-hearted. It's a confession booth with a bassline. A party at the edge of collapse. A raw, funny, painfully honest trip through desire, distraction and survival. If you've ever felt you're raving through the apocalypse, this late-night show is for you!

Get Off

A wandering theatre show, inspired by T.S. Eliot's poetry, follows a contemporary everyman through a single day. Using striking visuals, dynamic choreography and grotesque humour, it reveals the traps of modern life, where many lose their individuality without reflection. The performance, blending satire and spectacle, questions our fate: does the collective possession of the Peregrinuses ever end? Are we victims of the dybbuks, or do we become them? This journey forces us to confront whether we still control our identities or if we surrender to the forces shaping us. A thought-provoking, visually captivating experience.

Peregrinus

'This has never been done before. No person, no woman, no young woman has ever admitted to being the Centre of the Universe.' Fifteen year-old Mary has no discernible talent but she can't ignore the glaring signs that she is destined for greatness. When a TikTok influencer comes to her school, she embarks on a journey. By the age of twenty-three, she will make it to the top. No matter the cost. Centre of the Universe is a laugh-out-loud search for meaning in a success-obsessed society.

Centre of the Universe

An oasis of peace and calm in a sea of festival chaos. Burst is a sensory escape from the intensity of the Fringe. Designed with, and for, neurodivergent families and their friends, Burst aims to explore and soothe anxiety. Creative Electric's bubble doctors prescribe a short stay in one of their infamous bubble beds where you will listen to a track over wireless headphones... slowly throughout your experience bubbles will appear and you'll feel your anxiety float away. In collaboration with Refuweegee, Burst is available in Arabic, Farsi, Ukrainian and English. MadeInScotlandShowcase.com

Burst

I grew up playing classical piano, but failed my conservatory audition at 18. After some time focusing on MDMA, I started stand-up in 2011. During the pandemic I came back to the piano and now I've combined them. It's my favourite piece, Chopin's Nocturne in Eb Major, presented with jokes by a bald, Australian dickhead with a beard. Best Comedy Adelaide Fringe (Weekly). 'This should not work, but it does' ***** (List). 'Punchlines that will leave you laughing for days on end... This is what a well-crafted comedy set looks like!' ***** (Advertiser, Adelaide).

Chopin's Nocturne

Discover the real Amazon (not the online store!) Plant-sitting and live-streaming from her friend's flat, Gayara unearths the untold history of her Amazonian ancestors, from those who watched the first Europeans lay claim to her land to the women fighting to defend the forest today. Buckle up for a gripping new show by the winners of the Guimarães Rosa Institute Award 2025. Previous work: 'Connected to me viscerally and at so many levels' ***** (Scotsman on Frida Kahlo: Viva La Vida!). 'Hypnotic' ***** (The Times on Camille Claudel). 'Emotionally powerful and aesthetically beautiful' ***** (Broadway Baby on The Other).

Amazons

Come for the music, stay for the existential crisis. Genre-blurring jester, Karen Hall peels back the layers of formality leaving you with only the humanity and insanity of the artist behind the instrument. Featuring Bach's Cello Suite No. 1. Winner – Tour Ready Award, San Diego Fringe; Winner – Best of the Broadwater encore, Hollywood Fringe; Winner – Weekly Judges Pick, Sydney Fringe; Top 10 LA Theatre Pick – Stage Raw Los Angeles. **** (Everything-Theatre.co.uk ). **** (SydneyArtsGuide.com.au). **** (Tagg.com.au). Sold-out at Vancouver Fringe.

Delusions and Grandeur

In 2021, Sydney comedian Sam Kissajukian decided to quit stand-up, rent an abandoned cake factory, and become a painter. Over the course of a six-month manic episode, he created 300 large-scale paintings, unknowingly documenting his mental state through the process. In this hilarious, fascinating, and wildly original show, Kissajukian brings audiences on a rollercoaster ride that explores the ties between art, mental health, and creativity. Following last year's celebrated run at the Fringe and an acclaimed run at New York's Vineyard Theatre this fall, the show returns to the Fringe by popular demand.

300 Paintings

Niusia was a Holocaust survivor. Her granddaughter, Beth, only remembers an angry, dying woman. She's ready to learn her stories, but what she discovers is all the questions she didn't know existed and wasn't allowed to ask. Through NIUSIA, Beth weaves together memories, handed-down stories and interviews to examine the precarity of identity and the haphazard cultural legacy second, third and fourth generation immigrants are handed. It asks: what does remembrance look like when all I remember is the space where questions should go? ***** (List). ***** (StageWhispers.com.au). ***** (SeeDoEatReview.com).

NIUSIA

Fringe First and Total Theatre award-winning Song of the Goat Theatre present an exploration into the origins of Hamlet. With groundbreaking polyphonic vocal technique, this Shakespearian vigil turns pagan ritual, honouring spirits of the dead.

Hamlet – Wakefulness

Ill Behaviour: a deviation from the habits of the well and able. An interdisciplinary performance exploring the act of auscultation and the visceral body turned inside out, playing with qualia, the collective clinical, moving through disembodiment and discomfort to reach for tenderness and reciprocity. Amplifying the body's interior transmutes the act of listening inwardly into an act of care and intimacy. Ill Behaviour holds an unanswered question: How do we live in and listen to the (ill) body we are given? First presented by *SCAPE Singapore's COMMA Festival 2024. Supported under the Dance Nucleus' ARTEFACT Creation Residency.

Ill Behaviour

The pianist is dead. Stuck in a cosmic waiting room, he contemplates the show he never quite managed to make. Will Pickvance returns for two nights only with his signature blend of improvised piano and theatrical storytelling. An immersive hour of virtuosity, humour, and poignancy… A singular blend of virtuosity and humour, this is what a pianist in the 21st century looks like' (List). 'Charming, inventive and diverting, guaranteed to cheer up even the most jaded Fringe-goer. The overriding emotion is simple joy in watching Pickvance as a raconteur and a pianist' (AllEdinburghTheatre.com).

Piano Noir: Will Pickvance

King tells the story of Geok Yen, a public relations executive who seemingly has it all – a stable job and a boyfriend who is about to propose. This safe stable life gets upturned when on impulse, she attends the party in the guise of a man, Stirling da Silva. Emboldened by the alter ego, Yen discovers a newfound confidence to speak her truth and be whatever she could be without self-judgement. In this one-hander, Jo Tan delivers a tour de force performance playing multiple characters, navigating expertly through a host of social stereotypes.

King

A series of political interviews and debates at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. With the Holyrood election looming, we speak to First Minister John Swinney, Labour leader Anas Sarwar, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes and leading pollster Professor Sir John Curtice, among others. Herald journalists and columnists will lead the discussions, asking big questions about the future of Scotland, the shape of UK politics and the international forces reshaping our world. Expect sharp analysis, lively conversation and a chance for the audience to have their say. Please see venue website for daily line-up.

The Herald: Unspun Live at the Fringe

This wonderfully weird comedy puts the daft cult into underground occult with music, poetry, a vampire rabbit with a taste for travel and other unexpected tales of love, death and Teesside. Alongside elements of physical theatre and clowning, Scott Turnbull creates strange and beautiful worlds using felt-tip pens and an old overhead projector. Expect handmade animations, lo-fi special and absurd storytelling. Written, devised and performed by award winning theatre maker and nincompoop Scott Turnbull. Directed, and co-written by award garnering idiot Ed Gaughan. Original music by celebrated halfwit Jeremy Bradfield. Be entertained. Be very entertained!

Scott Turnbull presents... Surreally Good

Join Undone Theatre for a sharing of their 'engaging and humorous' (BroadwayBaby.com) show, The Butterfly Project. A Japanese stewardess and a British pilot walk onto a plane. 25 years later, their son Joey is thinking of ending things with his Italian boyfriend. Turning to his parents' interracial relationship for guidance, he embarks on a journey to connect with his roots. But as Joey learns more about his family, a pattern begins to emerge: the notes of Puccini's Madama Butterfly underscore a century of Asian misrepresentation, orientalism and exoticisation.

The Butterfly Project

We're Wright&Grainger, multi award-winning, internationally acclaimed storytellers. We went to school together and grew up on some seminal albums. A Grand Don't Come For Free by The Streets is top of that list. It's inspired us to make everything we've done since. So we're gonna play it live, in full. It's full of bangers (Dry Your Eyes, Fit But You Know It, Blinded By the Lights) and it's full of love, mates, heartache and hope. We're playing it for three nights only. The dance floor will be rammed – see you at the bar.

A Grand Don't Come for Free

Dave is single. He's stood at the bar. Eurydice is a tree nymph. And Bruce Springsteen is on the karaoke. Enter a world of dive bars, side streets and ancient gods. Internationally acclaimed storytellers Wright&Grainger weave a tale of impossible, death-defying love told through hair-raising spoken word and soaring acoustic soul music. Originally made to play five performances, 600 shows later it still feels as fresh and exhilarating as when it began. After touring the world for almost a decade, Orpheus returns to Edinburgh. 'Theatrical magic. I laughed, I cried, I loved it' (GlamAdelaide.com.au).

Orpheus

When you think of me, do you think of me? Or the me you made up in your head? The one who's words you write… A self-destructive writer struggles to construct a play that unfurls the secrets of her broken friendship. But as passion blurs into obsession, she loses grip on the narrative. Should she let truth get in the way of a good story? Mind-bending and heart-wrenching, this romcom meets psychological thriller is a nonlinear love-letter to the creative process. Handcrafted by award-winning, multidisciplinary artists, heartbreak and hyperreality spiral in Hannah Caplan's unmissable debut.

THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME.

Pussy Riot need little introduction – the Russian protest art collective have one of the most important voices of the last 10 years, whose lyrical themes include feminism, LGBT rights and opposition to Vladimir Putin. They gained global notoriety in 2012 when three members, Maria Alyokhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Yekaterina Samutsevich were imprisoned for 'hooliganism motivated by religious hatred' for their performance inside Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The accompanying piece to Alyokhina's memoir of the same name (Penguin Books), the touring play Riot Days (Revolution) merges punk, electronica, theatre, documentary footage and protest.

Pussy Riot: Riot Days

Ivory Cutlery is a 50-minute visual, musical storytelling performance, inspired by iconic Scottish artist Ivor Cutler. Ivor was a unique man from Govan, born in 1923, famed for songs/lyrics such as Women of the World Take Over and Why Don’t a Woman Love a Woman? Other songs are about quirky animals, everyday food or elements of Scotland’s natural environment such as I Believe in Bugs. The show will tempt adults to reconnect with their wilder imaginations and include traditional Scottish music, movement and BSL.

Ivory Cutlery

Jazz trumpet player, Jay Phelps (MILES.), will be hosting the final night of Summerhall Art's inaugural programme with some of Edinburgh's hottest jazz musicians on the scene. Think cool cats in a jam session ending in a DJ set by Phelps himself as we dance the Fringe experience away.

Late Night at Summerhall with Jay Phelps (MILES.)

The UK's foremost trumpet player, Jay Phelps, has performed with some of the world's top artists such as Wynton Marsalis, Shabaka Hutchings, Amy Winehouse and Wizkid. Phelps is a household name on the international Jazz scene and is making his acting debut at the Festival this year. This evening is an opportunity for jazz fans to come and ask questions, listen to anecdotes and enjoy some acoustic offerings of some old favourites, as well as get an exclusive opportunity to buy Jay's new album ahead of general sale in October.

Summerhall

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