Best Fringe Theatre: Here are all the four and five star theatre shows at the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe - according to the Scotsman critics
If you are looking to book a show during the remainder of the Fringe, our critics have been busy dashing between performances to give you the inside scoop on what’s worth your time.
These are all of the theatre shows that have received a four or five star review from the Scotsman thusfar – and what our arts experts had to say about them. Click on the title of the show to read the full review.
They can all be booked at www.edfringe.com.
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Hide Ad"With abortion rights on the international agenda, this careful, nuanced, gripping work depicts women exercising control over their own bodies without flinching from the cost of the experience." (David Pollock)
"Set amongst the concrete slabs of a high-rise strapped with explosives, soon to be demolished to make way for expensive luxury apartments, Hive is a pacy two-hander laced with peril from the jump." (Katie Hawthorne)
"The five-strong ensemble gallop through history with an unstoppable vim and vigour." (Susan Mansfield)
"A stellar performance from Dawn Sievewright as Lana - with strong support from John McLarnon as Jesse - draws a huge response from the audience; and guarantees a soaraway Fringe hit for the Dundee Rep team, and co-directors Andrew Panton and Tashi Gore." (Joyce McMillan)
"Jim Culleton’s fine production finds two performers who bring it to life to perfection, delivering 90 minutes of beautiful, eloquent and deeply satisfying theatre, full of humanity and truth." (Joyce McMillan)
"Whatever we make of the play, though, what’s certain is that Keti Dolildze’s beautiful production for the Tumanishvili Actors Theatre of Georgia uses all the magical power of theatre to transform it into an interlude of wit, elegance and tremendous style." (Joyce McMillan)
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Hide Ad"A collective ceremony of mourning and remembrance, in which the company lead an audience of perhaps 60 people through a performance in which we are invited both to remember individual people we have lost, and to consider the transience of all things." (Joyce McMillan)
"Over the course of 75 minutes, without losing a single thread, forgetting a single word or dropping a single ounce of energy, she blazes a trail through this multi-layered Greek myth." (Kelly Apter)
"On a small-scale level of his own relationship with his class and masculinity, and on a wider level humanity’s acquisitive grasp on the planet, this clear-sighted piece speaks softly but says a lot." (David Pollock)
"It may be bananas, but this is also dense and inventive theatre-making that uses simultaneously intricate tech and scrappy DIY to craft a play that wrongfoots the audience at every turn." (Anahit Behrooz)
"McPherson’s new show is an examination of male friendship, a certain kind of camaraderie forged in recklessness and risk-taking which is hard to give up." (Susan Mansfield)
"Echlin captures all too well how random acts – an off-the-cuff observation by the narrator’s professor, a chance encounter with her school crush in a pub – explode with existential significance when you’re infatuated with someone you know nothing about." (Deborah Chu)
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Hide Ad"A wild and sometimes beautiful farce of slamming doors, lustful or raging guests, and wild misunderstandings." (Joyce McMillan)
"Alexa Davies delivers a searing and heartbreaking performance, as a woman struggling for survival in a society beset by a terrible loneliness, where real connection often seems like an impossible dream." (Joyce McMillan)
"Alison Skilbeck’s new one-woman show can’t have been made without effort, but as she flits between characters with poise and precision, she sure makes it look that way." (Susan Mansfield)
"June Carryl’s incredibly tight, tense two-handed play takes an urgent subject which has been explored often in dramatised form in recent years, and offers a fresh spin on it with the pace of a classic interrogation room crime thriller." (David Pollock)
"It’s part autobiographical monologue, part dance show, part performance art, and at its core even a very odd jukebox musical. It’s also a damn good night out, best enjoyed with friends and (if you indulge) a drink at the in-room bar." (David Pollock)
"The exuberant young cast, who are clearly having a great time at what may be their first Fringe, animate the ghosts of the many other young companies through the decades." (Sally Stott)
"Though slow in pace at the outset, Trevaskiss and Gillett’s performances are superlative." (Josephine Balfour)
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Hide Ad"Plenty of people will think this is a weird mess of a show. Some – including this reviewer – will think it is a wonderful, exhilarating, uncomfortable mess of a show." (Fergus Morgan)
"The show emerges as an emotional, atmospheric hour of Second World War drama." (Fergus Morgan)
"Even despite the plague of perpetual backache, Lily’s debut introduces a playful, talented storyteller." (Katie Hawthorne)
"A funny, provocative and oddly comforting exploration of the physical and psychological challenges of dying." (Joyce McMillan)
"Time flies, and it also heals – in the same way embalming a man’s body does in Alexandra Donnachie’s When We Died." (Joyce McMillan)
" A joyous and sometimes sad show about endings, be these lives, relationships, household chores, or this evening." (Joyce McMillan)
"The strong cast of six is led by Larry Mitchell as the stoic, stubborn Rubens." (Susan Mansfield)
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Hide Ad"It’s a well-worked play for home fans predominantly, and football historians in general." (David Pollock)
"It is good, infectious fun throughout." (David Morgan)
"It's all so delightful and clever." (Anahit Behrooz)
"Among all the teeming possibilities of the 21st century Fringe, there is still the occasional show that somehow feels like the year’s main event, the one every Fringe-goer should not miss. (Joyce McMillan)
"The result is a heartbreakingly powerful, sharp and tragic monologue for a man full of wise-guy working-class energy." (Joyce McMillan)
"Remarkable acting makes all this philosophising feel fascinating and twisty, which is no small feat: in less skilled hands, an hour of waiting would surely feel interminable." (Katie Hawthorne)
"Kinevane writes beautifully and delivers his words with wit and gravitas in equal measure, but it’s his connection with the audience that impresses most." (Kelly Apter)
"Actor/writer/producer Hill and director Sean Turner deserve a lot of credit for a pacey, involving show which gets to the heart of the lack of direction and meaning which brings young men together to cause trouble." (David Pollock)
"Delivered entirely in Polish, this is an audacious, exhilarating, and thrillingly creepy physical performance from Lubuski Teatr." (Sally Stott)
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Hide Ad"The silly humour is all well pitched, and doesn’t outstay its welcome." (Fiona Shepherd)
"It’s witty and charming but also astonishingly moving." (Anahit Behrooz)
"While powerful, the piece can also prove overpowering at times." (Josephine Balfour-Oatts)
Is It Art? *****
"If you’re lucky enough to have seen it once, double your luck - go again." (Josephine Balfour-Oatts)
"Adults can read The Way Back for its parallels to the war in Ukraine, and all those around the world who are forced to flee the places they love best." (Deborah Chu)
"Delivered direct to audience, it has the confident, authoritative, direct-to-audience address that many a solo male monologue, particularly at Summerhall, seems to deploy." (Sally Stott)
"It’s powerful and affecting stuff – and unlike the hours passed in its namesake, watching Woodhill is time well spent." (Kelly Apter)
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Hide Ad"Kudos to writer and director, Emma Howlett of London-based company TheatreGoose for imbuing this show with meaningful words and energetic movement." (Kelly Apter)
"Dark Noon challenge us to look again, and to accept, once and for all, that the story of the West was not all Grace Kelly and Gary Cooper, but something much darker, bloodier, and more ominous." (Joyce McMillan)
"An English poet who portrays the post-colonial landscape of his country with exceptional honesty and grace." (Joyce McMillan)
"She radiates the zeal of the fresh convert, issuing a Debbie Allen-from-Fame-style motivational speech, offering a quick fire introduction to the terminology of the class and playful observations on the different exercyclist stereotypes." (Fiona Shepherd)
"Jamie-Lee Money makes her impressive Fringe debut with Spin Cycles in which she plays a take-it-or-leave-it spinner who writes reviews for an online lifestyle magazine, the very definition of the got-it-all girl." (Fiona Shepherd)
"The frustrations of looking after somebody with Alzheimer’s aren’t sugar-coated, but this talented company finds humour in unlikely places." (Kelly Apter)
"Guilty of Love is a proper tearjerker." (David Kettle)
"Like putting this summer’s Barbenheimer discourse into a blender, Body Show pokes and pinches at our obsession with binaries, and how we use them to control ourselves and others." (Katie Hawthorne)
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Hide Ad"A seasoned circus-goer rarely gets the chance to say “I’ve never seen that before”. You will here." (Kelly Apter)
"The experience is akin to that of a sound bath in an Aesop, but far more gratifying." (Deborah Chu)
"It might feel more soap-like than Shakespearian at times, despite its nods to King Lear, but it’s emotionally affecting stuff." (Sally Stott)
"An hour in his company is one of life’s good things. Go treat yourself." (Kelly Apter)
"All three tellers are as gut-wrenching as they are humorous and the circularity of show is breathtaking in its final moments." (Laura Cameron-Lewis)
"Seeing forensic anthropologists solve the mystery and literally put the pieces together is deeply moving." (Kelly Apter)
"Ibrahim (the excellent Thierry Mabonga) is a Malian translator who’s learning English from the internet. He’s paired with Scottish UN officer Kelly (Rebecca Wilkie) to investigate the lack of communication from a remote base on the edge of the vast Sahara." (David Pollock)
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Hide Ad"In this personal story he has found a way to confront the messiness of ageing and dying, lightening the load with humour and by creating a portrait of the extraordinary man that was Lorenzo Wong." (Susan Mansfield)
"This solo show by the artistic director of disability-led company Graeae is very much about family, in particular about the secrets families keep, sometimes from one another." (Susan Mansfield)
"If it all sounds grim and harrowing, the stark and relentlessly uncompromising sense of humour permeates everything happening on stage, creating a striking, moody piece of work which is as captivating as a disaster happening in real time." (David Pollock)
"A Fairie Tale made its first debut as work-in-progress at the Scottish International Storytelling Festival 2022 and been reworked into a tight work that exudes confidence and style." (Laura Cameron-Lewis)
"The clowning prowess of Solomons and her endless supply of hilarious facial expressions keep us highly entertained." (Kelly Apter)
"It’s a frank and involving piece, one which surely presents a more nuanced look at the contradictions of masculinity than almost any other on this year’s Fringe." (David Pollock)
"Tom Moran Is A Big Fat Filthy Disgusting Liar is essentially an hour-long therapy session for its Dublin-based writer and performer – but a smartly written, wryly witty and profoundly piercing one." (Fergus Morgan)
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Hide Ad"Written and performed by Elle Dillon-Reams, MEAT is a lesson in saying ‘no’. It is an invitation to shout at the world. It is a note of permission, and it tears up the rulebook. MEAT is perfectly disobedient." (Josephine Balfour-Oatts)
"Although set over a century ago, its exploration of the cost of living, class divides, low wages, morals and what we are willing to do to get by, are all still very much relevant topics in today's society. In fact, it's interesting and saddening to see how little has changed." (Suzanne O'Brien)
"Rest assured you don’t need no holy dove to transcend, Growler prefers pigeons anyway." (Laura Cameron-Lewis)
The real highlight of the piece is actor Josh Brock. He plays against the stereotype inherent in a character of Fraser’s size with a performance marked by boundless agility and energy. (David Pollock)
"Lovefool takes us from the clunky dialogue of an audition and into a new relationship with a man seeming entirely comprised of red flags." (Sally Stott)
"Strategic Love Play questions whether online dating is creating or killing connection, by replacing it with something colder: the search for self-affirmation and power." (Sally Stott)
"It feels cheesy at first, meaningless midway through, but by the end it has turned into something more real." (Sally Stott)
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Hide Ad"It is the very tension that lies at the heart of Piece of Work: the tragic flaws we are bound to, the hurts we cannot escape, the people and places that leave behind indelible marks." (Anahit Behrooz)
"Despite the sense of warmth and camaraderie that Glover expertly conjures up, the piece is also a warning about the dangers of ignoring oneself to appease others, of the difference between “quirks” and red flags, and of the phenomena known as ‘gaslighting.’" (Sally Stott)
"Brilliantly performed, thought-provoking and, at times, deeply moving." (Kelly Apter)
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