Theatre, Cabaret & Spoken Word

From a drag show for kids to a multi-generational circus act, there are many unexpected hits and hidden gems to be uncovered amongst the 3,548 shows at this year’s Fringe.

Loki, the Scottish rapper (as opposed to Loki, the Norse god of devilment?), aka absorbing, thoughtful Scotsman columnist Darren McGarvey, has seen his stock rise considerably since the publication of his acclaimed book Poverty Safari – alongside a corresponding spike in the number of people who want to have a go at him on social media…

Tackling the power dynamics of sex in the confines of the city’s tenements leads to rich, unsettling drama, writes Sally Stott

There’s no one quite like Dandy Darkly at the Fringe – or anywhere else.

With the poise and power of a 1950s screen legend, Cherie Moore is blasting out a song, accompanied by her two-man live band, to such an extent that it feels like it’s going to burst through the walls and bring down Summerhall’s ceiling. Meanwhile, the audience is still traipsing in. The show hasn’t even started yet.

Disappointment, depression and death aren’t your typical ingredients for an enjoyable hour’s entertainment, but then Adèle Anderson isn’t your typical performer.

The Scotsman Fringe Firsts recognise outstanding new theatre writing premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – here are our second group of 2018 winners

Perhaps it takes a stand-up comedian of Mark ­Thomas’s experience to create a show as perfectly balanced between laugh-a-minute entertainment and hard-edged political commentary as his latest monologue Check Up, designed to mark the 70th anniversary of the NHS. For the past year,­ ­Thomas has been researching the state of the service, visiting operating ­theatres, accident & emergency departments and GP surgeries, mainly around London.

Wagner’s Ring cycle is fine and all that but if you would rather see an alternative reading of Norse mythology – where the fabled Ragnarok is adapted as a musical theatre romp about equality, diversity and open borders – then Thor and Loki is probably more up your fjord, and somewhat pithier in the telling.

When Henry Naylor brought his sell-out show ‘Borders’ to last year’s Fringe, he made waves as one of only a handful of playwrights honing in on the migrant crisis.

“There’s only one thing worse than finding out you’re related to your fiancé,” says Layla. It becomes clear that she has discovered that her partner Andy’s ancestors “owned” her ancestors as slaves.

Here’s our guide to the best theatre shows at the Edinburgh Fringe, as recommended by our critics.

A few wrinkles need to be ironed out of this triple bill by London-based Hack Ballet Company – some of them literally.

To those who remember Mark O’Rowe’s visceral early plays, Howie the Rookie and Terminus, his latest work might come as a bit of surprise.

Undoubtedly one of the greatest variety artists at work today, Mat Ricardo is an outstanding juggler and much more beside.

“Sean! Jesus! It’s been ages.” “Oh, my God. You are gorgeous.” These are the kind of greetings you can expect as you make your way into Assembly’s The Bubble for this extremely funny, high-energy reworking of the story of seductive hedonist Don Juan.

“Maybe madness is always a little seductive,” muses La JohnJoseph, a short way into this elegant, incisive and intoxicating solo show. It’s a latter-day riff on the Orpheus myth, with JohnJoseph a wry and glamorous Eurydice, part golden-age Hollywood vamp, part witchy aristo, part street-savvy queer.

The family members who look after ill and disabled people are often only spoken about in terms of news stories and statistics. We rarely hear from them directly or individually – something that makes Christina Murdock’s one-woman show, based upon her real-life experiences of growing up with a disabled sister, feel like both a fresh new perspective and a universal tale.

The star quality of Cora Bissett has been a driving force in Scottish theatre for at least 15 years.