Edinburgh is a cool 19 degrees when I land on Thursday night, a welcome reprieve from the 38 degrees in London, but still what the locals would likely refer to as ‘a heatwave’ (jk). The airport is buzzing with visitors, and I am buzzing with the anticipation of experiencing the incredible creativity of August in this city.
The city is exploding with the arts: August is the month for Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the Edinburgh International Book Festival, the Edinburgh Art Festival, AND PBH’s Free Fringe. Oh, and to my surprise and delight, Burlesque Festival too! It’s a veritable cornucopia of theatre, cabaret, art, music, and literature – oh my!
There are many ways to tackle the Edinburgh Fringe – 2026 alone hosts a mere 3,649 productions. You can select shows to see by going through the inch-thick guide, go see performers/writers you know, select by reviews, or let your time be guided by what intrigues you as you meet all the artists flyering around the city, inviting you into their worlds.
I prebooked my shows based on interest and artists whose work I know personally.
Shows start as early as 10 am, and so do the crowds. Give yourself ample time to navigate the city, as you will be slowed down by foot traffic and you are going to want to talk to a few of the performers about their shows. On my way into my first show, a tall French man with a ginger beard stops me to talk about his show, Dracula: Lucy’s Dream, a re-imagining of Stoker’s Dracula with life-size puppets by the French-Norwegian company Plexus Polaire. Instantly I wish I was going to be in Edinburgh for more than 3 days!
Day One
First up, a show at the Pleasance Courtyard. The bars are set up, and the energy is high.
THE SECOND BEST SCHOOL SHOOTING
by Alice Stanley Jr, a former public school teacher, developed with March for Our Lives, the political student group formed by students who were in the 2018 Parkland tragedy, as well as by working with survivors.
This show surprised me. Having spent 8 years living in Colorado near Columbine, with my elementary school daughter doing active shooter drills and being locked down due to a shooting at the high school a mile away, I anticipated something quite heavy. Instead, it’s an exploration of two teenage girls trying to find their place in a violent and unpredictable world. Ava and Parker have experienced a shooting at their school, where luckily no one was injured. Meanwhile, another shooting at a nearby school left 15 people dead.
Ava’s reaction is to go extreme, demanding a place in the limelight. Her extremism is quite funny and absurdly self-centred as she chats with Parker, whose trauma response is to keep her head down, and try to be as small as possible. Ultimately, both of them want to know that they matter in a world full of mixed signals – worry about your future, but remember, life is fragile in the wake of someone with a gun.
The chemistry between Rachael DeBoer (Parker) and Shaylaren Hilton (Ava) is terrific, and the play culminates in a lovely coming together of two friends, who know without a doubt that they matter to each other.
4 out 5 stars
The Second Best School Shooting runs at Pleasance Courtyard from 5 to 30 August 2026. For more information and tickets, visit pleasance.co.uk.
Now onto the next major hub: theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall. I park myself at a picnic table to wait. This is a more relaxed way to chat with the flyering performers – they’ll approach to have a conversation. I love hearing about how they developed their show, what they are doing – even though I don’t have time to go to any of these shows, these interactions are a fantastic opportunity to meet the artists, and a big part of the Fringe experience.
THE GREAT SHAKESPEARE SHOWDOWN
by Dennis Elkins
When asked to participate as an audience member, I always say yes, and it’s usually a great deal of fun. So, when asked to read a role in The Great Shakespeare Showdown, I accept my kangaroo cowboy hat and my place behind a music stand with a script.
Six other audience members are cast as they settle, and we are invited into the theatre of a mining town in Leadville, Colorado, where Sir Charles Goodknight is welcomed by master of ceremonies Billy Dee.
It soon devolves into a competition, think “anything you can do I can do better” when Harriet Twelvetrees joins the stage.
This is a fast, fun and silly (and family-friendly!) hour, especially for Shakespeare lovers. All three performers, Dan Morrison, Kate Poling and Mel Schaffer, are high-energy and excellent speakers of the Bard.
4 out of 5
The Great Shakespeare Showdown runs at theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall from 7 to 22 August 2026. For more information and tickets, visit thespaceuk.com.
Next hub – Gilded Balloon @Teviot. This is the oldest purpose-built student union building in the world, opened in 1889. It’s a gorgeous building with eight bars/cafes, eight performance venues and spiral staircases. The inside is moody with yellow and pink lighting, and a little maze to get to your venue.
Sam Morrison: DUCK
The ADHD! The Jewish Jokes (which audiences apparently don’t know what to do with but Sam refuses to cut)! The Science! The Grief!
Sam allows us into his healing process, in this big, in your face, hilarious stand up show. Using the science of animal evolution (such as ducks with spiral vaginas and dick-throwing octopuses) as a guide, Sam illuminates how, in his view, his unprocessed grief turned into type 1 diabetes. He thinks his way through his childhood, his coming out, the death of his partner and falling in love again – and in an hour packed full of punchlines and tender moments, Sam eventually starts to feel everything.
Sam is a deft and captivating performer – he is full of sharp wit and sex and gayness and ADHD and grief, and is able to play with us in the moment, and slip right back where he left off.
I am most struck by Sam’s guilelessness. His sincerity and openness about his processing are refreshing. It’s a very funny, very gay, very sexual exploration of his own mind and his learning to sit with whatever emotion comes up, rather than explaining it away.
4 out 5 stars
Sam Morrison: DUCK runs at Gilded Balloon Teviot from 5 to 31 August 2026, except 17 August. For more information and tickets, visit gildedballoon.co.uk.
Coming out of this show, Bristo Square is now bustling like a nightclub. It’s full of people chatting, drinking, and raving about shows.
PBH’s FREE FRINGE
TRUDY CARMICHAEL’S SPONTANEOUS VEGAS!
Improvised Cabaret at Fingers Piano Bar
Note: this is a very cool and very LOUD venue – some may need loops or earplugs.
Robin Rothman plays Trudy Carmichael in this entirely improvised performance, prompted by interactions with the audience and skilfully accompanied by David Nehls. Robin has a big set of pipes on her, and with her massive red wig and slinky black dress, she is a commanding performer.
Taking cues from the audience, she vamps songs about unrequited love, a thruple with a Jude Law look-alike, and a German couple who have been together 35 years, having fallen in love in their teens. It’s seamless and she’s funny, pulling details to come full circle at the end of the hour.
No fault of hers, but this venue does not need the amplification, and it is at times painfully loud. Hard to enjoy this wonderful performer when your ears hurt!
3 out 5 stars (mainly for sound!)
Trudy Carmichael’s Spontaneous Vegas! ran at Fingers Piano Bar from 8 to 15 August 2026 as part of PBH’s Free Fringe. For more information and tickets, visit edfringe.com.
Day Two
I venture out to the grounds of St John’s Church, where there is the West End Fair – 120 artists selling their own goods over 5 levels; it’s a labyrinth of gorgeous wares: pottery, paintings, jewellery, food. Each artist chats about their craft, their process and the attention and love that goes into making each piece.
UNDERBELLY COWGATE
Edinburgh is a city with levels, and Cowgate is at the bottom, under the vaults. I end up directly above Cowgate even though my GPS tells me I have arrived. I ask a friendly stranger, find the stairs, go three levels down and whew! Just in time for the next show.
GOODBYE DANDELION
by Maddie and Marcus Rice
In this charming two-hander, our warm and friendly narrators are Maddie and Marcus, siblings. Marcus tickles the piano, Maddie tells us the story.
A more conventional show, with direct address to the audience, this is a delicate story about life, death and figuring out what’s really important.
Maddie befriends an 87-year-old, Darcy. She’s lived the way she wants to, she’s an artist, her wife, Vera died 37 years ago, the same year Maddie was born. Darcy is feisty and lets Maddie in on a secret: she’s ready to die, and has chosen the date. She’s lived the life she wanted to and now wants to die as she wants to.
A lonely Maddie doesn’t want to lose Darcy – and she makes a choice that changes their friendship.
It’s a story we’ve heard before, and still, it’s very moving. The contemplation of death hones our priorities, and you’ll leave feeling wistful, and in good company.
Let yourself relax in Maddie’s and Marcus’ capable hands. Your heart will be full after. It’s well worth it.
5 out of 5
Goodbye Dandelion runs at Underbelly Cowgate from 5 to 30 August 2026, except 18 August. For more information and tickets, visit underbellyedinburgh.co.uk.
Back to the lively Bristo Square, this time, Underbelly COWBARN.
WOODY SEZ
devised by David M. Lutken
I came into this knowing almost nothing about Woody Guthrie, and came out in awe.
Four actor/singer/musician virtuosos (David M. Lutken, David Finch, Nyssa Grant, and Raquel Chavez) take the instrument-filled stage.
They are all warm, relaxed and welcoming. An affable David Lutken plays Woody, and we give over to him immediately. He invites us into this world, part Thornton Wilder’s Our Town and part Hootenanny.
Woody says he knows the people of the world by the music they play, and as such, we get to know Woody by his music: he writes what he sees, and folk music is about knowing what’s wrong and wanting to make it right.
I am struck by how relevant it feels to today: the memories of the dust bowl, the depression, the deportation of Mexican workers, the rise of fascism – all feel like he could be talking about today’s climate crisis, MAGA and the ICE raids. Woody Sez reminds us that there is still much to be done, and many ways to fight injustice.
5 out 5 stars
Woody Sez runs at Underbelly Bristo Square from 5 to 30 August 2026, before transferring to Underbelly Boulevard Soho from 8 to 19 September 2026. For more information and tickets, visit woodysez.com.
There is a lot of wonderful food to be had in Edinburgh, and I treated myself to Ting Thai, amazing Thai Street Food. Since I was solo, I got seated at the window bar immediately, and was soon enjoying Crispy Tofu Bites and Sweet Corn Fritters.
Back to COWBARN for the last show of the day.
HOLE!
by Jake Brasch and Nadja Leonhard-Hooper
This inventive, silly, sincere and joyful two-hander is bound to be a cult favourite with repeat audiences.
HOLE! is written and performed by Jake Brasch and Nadja Leonhard-Hooper, aka American Sing-Song (or ASS). Featuring several keyboards and a whole lot of foley, the chemistry and timing of these two is pure delight and you are in for a ride.
The story is intricate and the characters plentiful: The Great Sucking has come, and only Pastor Garth’s butt plugged pious congregation and a smattering of other sinners remain. Two closeted teenagers, Luke (Garth’s son) and Connor are sent on a mission involving the “Cincinnati Daddies” (a gay community), but their growing attraction to each other complicates everything.
This show is really a love story between Luke and Connor, and between Jake and Nadja. Their pleasure at performing together is infectious.
5 out 5
Both Nadja and Jake spend a lot of time saying hello to their audience. This is one of the things that makes the Fringe so special – access to the artists. They laugh and hug their fans, and take pictures, interacting with the same joy they display onstage.
HOLE! runs at Underbelly Bristo Square from 5 to 30 August 2026. For more information and tickets, visit underbellyedinburgh.co.uk.
Departure Day
I only have one show Sunday, and the city is quieter. I meet a friend for breakfast before heading to Assembly George Square Gardens. This hub is full of food trucks, picnic tables and spaces for kids to run around.
FLIGHT by Darkfield (checkout our interview with the creators here)
TW: this involves being in complete darkness, which can be disorientating.
You are handed a boarding pass, and enter a shipping container, decked out like a plane. Find your seat and buckle up.
This is a binaural, immersive experience with a 360 soundscape design in a pitch black shipping container. Subtle movements suggest two worlds, one safe and like a normal flight, the other where everything goes wrong.
It’s weird and cool and short, the opening safety video is strange and unsettling, and for me, the best part of the experience.
After effects: I’m personally still impacted by it a couple of hours later: a faint headache and an unsettled stomach. I found my brain disoriented by the darkness, and it had to work extra hard to hold onto reality.
3.5 out of 5
FLIGHT runs at Assembly George Square from 5 to 31 August 2026. For more information and tickets, and to find out about the other Darkfield experiences, visit darkfield.org.
I leave Edinburgh in awe of the variety of theatre on offer, the talent and passion on display in the streets and on the stages. I’m also inspired to do a little of my own writing. Who knows, maybe I’ll take a chance and present something next year! Or at the very least, head up with one or two shows booked, and allow myself to choose what to see in the moment. After all, the true magic of the Fringe lies in discovering talent you did not even know you were looking for.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe runs from 7 to 31 August 2026.
For more information and tickets, visit edfringe.com
Words by Rachel Fowler
