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Blip Blarp: An Alien Love Story – Just The Tonic at The Mash House

3Sep

By David NicaudieNo Comments

Scotland

Blip Blarp: An Alien Love Story – Just The Tonic at The Mash House

Confident, rehearsed, and gloriously unhinged, Blip Blarp lands on Earth with an ambitious mission: conquer the planet and produce 1,000 offspring. Unfortunately for our intergalactic heroine, the real challenge isn't planetary domination, it's dating. Through “burlesque” flair, sci-fi absurdity, and plenty of comedy, showing how dating can be completely alien. The central joke is simple but effective: if an alien can understand the complexities of invading Earth, why can't she understand how to get a human to commit? Located in The Snifter Room at Just The Tonic at The Mash House as the last show of the day, the chaotic nature of that time slot and the difficulty in finding the venue adds to the mystery of the show. One of the show's greatest strengths is its confidence. Blip feels ...

Berliner Philharmoniker Residency — Usher Hall

3Sep

By Saira KunjuvalappilNo Comments

Scotland

Berliner Philharmoniker Residency — Usher Hall

The Edinburgh International Festival closed in spectacular fashion with a performance by the world-renowned Berliner Philharmoniker, an orchestra described by the Los Angeles Times as “the greatest orchestra in the world.” At the Usher Hall, the orchestra was conducted by Kirill Petrenko, its Chief Conductor since 2019, in a programme featuring two major works of the orchestral repertoire: Elgar’s Enigma Variations and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F minor. The concert lasted around two hours, with one interval, and provided a magnificent conclusion to the festival. Elgar — Enigma Variations The first half began with Elgar’s Enigma Variations, Op. 36. The work opens with the theme, marked Andante, followed by fourteen variations, each portraying someone from Elgar’s circle. Rath...

3Sep

By Saira KunjuvalappilNo Comments

Scotland

Mere Mortals – Edinburgh Playhouse

Mere Mortals, which opened in San Francisco in 2024, is an ambitious and visually striking dance production choreographed by the internationally acclaimed Aszure Barton, who has been praised as a brilliant choreographer. Barton, a Bessie Award honouree, has collaborated with renowned artists including Mikhail Baryshnikov, and her experience and creativity are clearly visible throughout this production. At its heart, Mere Mortals explores the fascinating and increasingly relevant theme of artificial intelligence. The production is inspired by the ancient Greek myth of Pandora’s Box. However, rather than imagining a box that releases the evils and sorrows of humanity into the world, Barton reinterprets the myth through the lens of AI. The result is a thought-provoking exploration of what ...

Ten Ways to Die Happy – Underbelly Cowbarn

3Sep

By Ella BeckleyNo Comments

Scotland

Ten Ways to Die Happy – Underbelly Cowbarn

Coming to the Fringe for the first time, Italian company Sisifo production presents Ten Ways to Die Happy, an adaptation of the Italian production Dieci Modi per Morire Felici, written and directed by Emanuele Aldrovandi and presented in collaboration with Emilia Romagna Teatro Fondazione. As you enter the theatre, you’re given a slip of paper with a number next to a skull and cross bones – morbid! The set is...

Frisky’s Remix Roulette – Bijou at Assembly @ St Andrew Square

3Sep

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

Scotland

Frisky’s Remix Roulette – Bijou at Assembly @ St Andrew Square

Miss Frisky Laura Corcoran is an Australian -born British cabaret singer, MC and comedienne and music lovers are in for a treat with Frisky’s Remix Roulette. This popular comedic show has the Edinburgh Fringe audiences laughing, singing and joining in with the musical mayhem. A full throttle of an evening with audience participation and a mash up of songs to different genres. From funk to punk, Bavarian oom-pah-pah to Bollywood and a fabulous jazz version of Abba’s Waterloo. You have never heard Amazing Grace ‘Frisky’ style, and you probably won’t ever hear it again. Miss Friskys commands the room from the moment she enters on stage. Her voice withstands the brutal choices by the audience as she ‘bends genre boundaries’ and adapts the...

Sam Morrison: DUCK – Gilded Balloon Teviot

3Sep

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

Scotland

Sam Morrison: DUCK – Gilded Balloon Teviot

Written and performed by Sam Morrison Sam Morrison kicked off his fourth solo performance at the Edinburgh Fringe with his uniquely titled show DUCK. Sam is an acclaimed Edinburgh Fringe American comedian who featured on Late Night with Seth Meyers Comedy Central. He is the Named Just for Laughs New Face and his show “Sugar Daddy presented by Billy Porter and Alan Cummings, extended its run off Broadway four times and transferred to off West End in London”. DUCK the feathered winged and web feet variety have unusual spiral vaginas and given that their main purpose biologically is to survive, reproduce and pass on their genes. It seems a perfect comedic launchpad to explore the evolutionary science of reproductive practice of other animal species, including humans. D...

3Sep

By Christina SchmidtNo Comments

Scotland

Double Take – Underbelly Bristo Square

After watching Peregrinations, Dutch Kills Theatre’s other show, Double Take, unfortunately did not meet expectations. As a silent mime show, the movements should be incredibly precise whilst also conveying emotion and creating characters. Instead, it often felt like the actors focused so much on technique (which was still sloppy at times) that the characters felt superficial. They eased more into it towards the end of the show, and we got moments of clowning and some very funny bits, but most of the time both movements and transitions were not refined enough. The concept is nice: eight little stories told entirely through mime. Some of them were definitely more interesting than others, The Whole Shebang in particular gave included some interesting images and hand puppetry. But many...

Bliss – Grand Theatre: The Pleasance Courtyard

3Sep

By Michelle KnightNo Comments

Scotland

Bliss – Grand Theatre: The Pleasance Courtyard

From the Olivier Award - winning producers of Cabaret and Benjamin Button, BLISS a musical fantasy story which follows four sister princesses who are locked up in a Tower under the caring protection of their father. Time spent studying and their desire to experience the world outside the castle, overwhelms them and they embark on a scheme to leave. Chasing Comets and encounters with a fairy Godfather, Prince. Piper, Carmella, Faye and Holly soon discover that life on the outside is not exactly kind. At its heart, the musical explores the fragile collision between innocence and adversity, placing its characters in a world where anything less than perfection can feel like failure. What begins with hope, naivety and the belief that achievement is simply a matter o...

Verdi’s A Masked Ball – Festival Theatre

3Sep

By Jessie MartinNo Comments

Scotland

Verdi’s A Masked Ball – Festival Theatre

As the Edinburgh International Festival draws to a close, Zurich Opera has their final performance of Verdi’s A Masked Ball at the Festival Theatre. Based on preexisting libretto, Giuseppe Verdi adapted and added the love triangle aspect we see in this production. Given the assassination in the opera (originally written as the murder of a King) Verdi had to combat numerous censorship attempts. Despite several setting changes, with Verdi eventually settling on 17th century Boston as the location, each adaptation was followed by real-life assassination attempts and political unrest which called for Verdi to keep adjusting details of the opera so it would seem a little less close to reality. Director Adele Thomas has kept the Boston setting but moved the timeline sligh...

2Sep

By Stewart Who?No Comments

London

Sunrise for the Blind – Cockpit Theatre

Sunrise for the Blind by Lee Thomas doesn’t shy away from the mood of the material. On the Camden Fringe website, it’s described as a “raw, naturalistic portrayal of life in a bleak North Manchester town centre”. Many might give such a prospect a sharp swerve. One friend said to me, “I’m sorry, but I can’t face any more bleakness right now.” It’s a valid sentiment in the current climate, so I was shocked, but buzzed to see busy pews for a 4pm matinee. While some of Grey Brigade were out in force, it was cheering to see a surprisingly young audience lapping up new writing in a fringe theatre. As someone who once squatted in a derelict Hulme council estate in 1990, I regard Manchester as my second home. And as for bleakness, I’m drawn to it like a junkie to a meth pipe. The author ...