1.        

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo (*****)

This huge gathering of bands and dancers warrants seeing if you have not.  The production values are high, the bands first rate, and the dancers fun.  The rifle twirling and tossing of the United State Nave Ceremonial Guard had the audience regularly gasping in awe.  Note: I realize that comparing the Tattoo with Fringe shows is like comparing ripe apples to young oranges, but I had to mention it, so I have restarted the ratings below.

Edinburgh Castle

21:30

23:00

1

   2.        

Edinburgh's Old Town--History and Tales (*****)

Our guide, Kofe, gave us a thorough tour, starting with a view of Carlton Hill, then High Street and two of its closes, then Grassmarket, and finishing in Greyfriars cemetery.  He was knowledgeable, well spoken, and personable.  As a former teacher, I appreciated how he used cliffhangers to prepare us for an upcoming highlight.  Note: As with the Tattoo, comparing a tour with shows doesn’t make sense so I restarted the numbering below.

Hot Toddy

10:00

12:00

18

   1.        

Cyrano (*****)

This updated version of the long nosed master orator has a woman playing the lead, and the references firmly grounded in the 21^st century.  The chorus of three disparate actors is a constant source of wit besides.  From the beginning to end this is a joy to watch, though the last few minutes lack some of the wit of the rest.

Traverse 1

19:00

20:20

6

   2.        

A Knock on the Roof by Khawla Ibraheem (*****)

A Gazan mother repeatedly practices trying to evacuate her seventh floor apartment to prepare for a potential Israeli bombing.  Though we also hear of regular Gazan life with its privations, it is each unsuccessful attempt to reach safety in five minutes that ratchets up the stress in the play.  We cannot but help but sympathize with her as the little things she easily forgets would leave her in stranded as her apartment collapses.

Traverse 1

10:30

11:50

13

   3.        

David William Bryan: In Loyal Company (*****)

After the blitz of Liverpool, a young man joins the army, fights in Singapore, and becomes a Japanese POW in a “Bridge Over the River Kwai” camp building a railroad in Thailand.  The actor proves up to the task of blending the roles of the soldier, narrator, and a few secondary characters into a powerful whole.  While the privations of the POW camp take up much of the play, it is his tales of the air attacks on his transport that stand out for me.  Note: I had seen this twice before, and recommended it to my wife, and feel it deserves another entry here.

Pleasance Courtyard

15:00

16:10

20

   4.        

David William Bryan: Fragility of Man (*****)

A 12-year-old orphan, with a devastating right hook, spends much of his life in and out of prison.  This is a literally a tour de force as the actor/playwright muscles his through his alliterative script of fights, drugs, prison, and love.  Whether fighting a ferocious man or drug addiction there are no cheap shots here—it may be a one man show, but it fills the stage.

Pleasance Courtyard

15:00

16:10

19

   5.        

Dissociation (*****)

This clever play is about the competing aspects of a person’s personality, and their relative strengths and weaknesses.  From the initial mime sequence through real and dreamed scenes, it consistently explores the issue without psychobabble, nor easy solutions.  The simple use of sweaters and coats served to unobtrusively and effectively differentiate the characters and personalities.

theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall

11:25

12:35

2

   6.        

Alice Diamond and the Forty Elephants (*****)

When her brother and his London gang leave to join the World War I British army, at the behest of her mother, Alice takes over his criminal territory, and uses the women left behind to shop lift and steal instead of armed robbery.  The leads and huge cast all flawlessly recreated the many crimes and parties of the historical gangs and their “queen”.  The family dynamics and her relationship with her second-in command added depth to the story.

Pleasance Dome

13:30

14:30

4

   7.        

/ and Her (*****)

This lovely show follows the lives of two girlhood friends, one of whom is Jane Grey, the betrothed of King Edward VJ, and destined to rule England for nine days before being executed because of her religion.  From Grey’s initial, shy introduction to her new friend to sharing a love of Plato to the effort of tightening each other’s corsets we feel their times and their love for each other.  The scene of a tween Grey baptizing two dolls sets the tone for much of the rest of her life.

C ARTS | C venues | C alto

20:15

21:15

22

   8.        

Casting the Runes (*****)

A professor who prides himself on debunking supernatural frauds seemingly accidently comes to posses a paper containing some unusual runes.  This big show in a small space combines a cleverr set, scattered full size puppets, fine acting, and a properly mysterious plot to give you would want from a spooky Fringe show.  The changing image in a book was a simple, but effective trick, but having lamps go out as he walks by seemed inappropriate to the supposed level of supernaturalism.

Pleasance Courtyard

11:35

12:35

-31

   9.        

Polishing Shakespeare (*****)

Based on a true story, an American billionaire offers a theater’s artistic director and a playwright a grant to “translate” Shakespeare’s plays into “American” English.  The show uses finely wrought prose to explore the unavoidable battle between a donor’s power of the purse, and art’s criticism of such power.  I appreciated that the playwright character provides a legitimate, albeit short, example of a proposed adaptation of “Henry VIII”, which was Shakespeare’s own homage to his benefactor’s family.

Assembly Rooms

15:30

16:30

18

  10.       

Born in the USA (Leaving Vietnam) (*****)

This one man show has a Vietnam veteran tell of his experiences in Vietnam as an enlisted Marine, and how they continued to influence his life for decades.  His bond with a medic provides a touchstone for the taciturn autoworker’s tale.  While I am not a veteran, his confrontation with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. mirrored my own deep appreciation of those soldiers.

C ARTS | C venues | C alto

16:00

17:05

10

  11.       

Frankenstein (On a Budget) (*****)

Take a single actor trying to recreate the whole Frankenstein book, a host of cardboard props, and penchant for puns, and you get a bonkers comedy a la Rock Horror Picture Show.  We were in the mood for some whimsical comedy, and he delivered on the cheap without veering too far from the original plots.  It’s probably a 4-star show, but it just tickled our funny bones.

Pleasance Dome

11:50

12:50

26

  12.       

Tiny Little Town (*****)

When the mayor of a very small town mistakes a grifter for a federal inspector, he organizes the civic leader s to roll out the red carpet for the impostor.  This music is snappy, and the choreography out of this world.  The mayor, with his Ronald MacDonald hair cut sets the tone for this fun show.

Bedlam Theatre

18:05

19:35

8

  13.       

Radium Girls (*****)

In the late 1920s, young women who had been painting watches with radium began to contract cancer at an inordinate rate, but their employer asserted that they had proof that it wasn’t due to the radium.  With one worker and the president leading this large cast, this show maintains the legal and medical tension throughout the year of their struggle.  The show does a remarkable job of presenting the facts both from her medical treatments, and the university research in a clear and riveting fashion.

Greenside @ George Street

13:50

14:45

10

  14.       

I am George Massey (****)

A fellow suffers from depression (PTSD?) after experiencing 9/11 when he was eight years old.  Despite counseling and prescribed medications, he slowly becomes radicalized and slides to the edge of society.  His portrayal is riveting without sensationalism.

theSpace on the Mile

10:20

11:25

16

  15.       

Across a Love Locked Bridge (****)

The playwright reads his beautiful, evocative poems from four phases of his life.  His introduction to each phase provided the background that made some of the poems even more wonderful.  Since he doesn’t have a book of the poems available, I cannot cite lines for examples. 

Pleasance Courtyard

10:55

11:45

23

  16.       

Spy Movie: The Play! (****)

This spoof of the James Bonds films had me laughing from the outset, and I rarely laugh outload.  As my wife would say, “it is absolutely bonkers”, without going overboard into the chaos of zaniness.  A perfect example is when two people are driving, and a card says they are now in England, the two actors switch places.

Pleasance Courtyard

12:00

12:50

25

  17.       

5 Mistakes That Changed History (****)

A sequel to last year’s play of the same name, the historian found five other “mistakes” to elaborate on.  These ranged from Alexander the Great leaving no heirs to tomatoes thought to be poisonous to the emperor of Japan sending five women to be educated in USA in the 19^th century.  His research is thorough, and entertaining.

George Square Studios

16:40

17:40

25

  18.       

Via Dolorosa by David Hare (****)

A playwright recounts his meeting with the people, both famous and average, of Israel and the Palestinian Territories in the mid-1990s.  From his dinner with a British cultural exchange consul in a tony Tel Aviv restaurant to the illegal settlers in their California-like suburbia homes to the Arab leader ensconced in a posh hotel amid the Gaza Strip squalor, he finds fervent opinions among the Jews and Arabs that cannot be reconciled—even among themselves.  Somehow, a heated argument at the settlers’ dinner table about the age of a girl in the Bible who carries water for camels seems a perfect metaphor for the intractable nature of the dilemma of the area.

theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall

9:45

10:55

2

  19.       

Playfight (****)

Three fifteen-year old girl friends deal with their blossoming sexuality in very different ways.  While that sounds like just another coming of age story, the frank discussions of their new sexual feelings as well as the unspoken changes in their friendships separates this from such mundane stories.  One scene up in their home tree is both dramatic and wonderfully subtle.

Roundabout @ Summerhall

17:30

18:30

5

  20.       

The Lady Boys of Bangkok (****)

This rite of passage for Fringe goers has ten lady boys, one drag singer/comedienne, and four male dancers who dance and lip sync to pop hits with two aerialists added for a little circus feel.  The costumes are great, the lip syncing perfunctory at times, and the dance routines fairly good.  One male dancer/singer was particularly energetic and personable, but, unlike in 2003, it seemed that many of the “ladies” had had breast implants.

The Sabai Pavilion

20:15

21:55

20

  21.       

Avenue Q (****)

In a world populated with people, puppets, and puppet monsters, a puppet who is unsure of his purpose in life rents a room in a mixed race apartment house, and falls in love with a monster puppet.  The music was mundane, but the lyrics were good, if not witty.  The variety of relationships that develop help to keep the play interesting.

Saint Stephen's Theatre

21:25

23:40

17

  22.       

NeuroChatter (****)

For the actress, she really has three split personalities that actually know of each other, and are quite verbal as they argue about who should dominate the next piece of her life.  In this show we see how the three work together to help her to be effective in life.  This is a remarkable show because each of the three must act their parts for the hour of the show.

theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall

23:15

0:10

21

  23.       

Trawled – When Adventure Becomes Survival (****)

Eion Ryan tells of his six weeks working aboard a trawler in the South Pacific when he was 25.  From unlashing a boom in shark infested waters during a raging storm to having to fight the captain he makes the harrowing journey come alive for us.  I have had cracked ribs, and his vivid description having to do brutal work with broken ribs had me sympathizing with his plight.

theSpace @ Venue45

16:05

17:05

12

  24.       

After Shakespeare – Richard III (****)

This two hander has ten scenes from Richard’s life that argue that, despite Shakespeare’s characterization, he was an honorable man who advocated for the masses at the expense of creating enemies among the ruling class.  Nonetheless, the play does not ignore that he ordered a number of people executed on the advice of Buckingham.  Each scene is well chosen, well acted, and well scripted.

theSpaceTriplex

18:05

19:05

10

  25.       

RUM by Joe Mallalieu (****)

This one man show has a man plaster a wall as he tells tales of his trade and its history in his family.  He paints a portrait of hard mens’ lives with an ethos from the past.  Having been a general contractor, I relished the verisimilitude of his plastering and description of tradesmen.

Underbelly, Cowgate

17:50

18:50

20

  26.       

Is the WiFi Good in Hell? (****)

We follow a fearful gay 13-year old with a speech impediment from the slum seaside of Margate through a London university student career as he tries to cope with a world in which he has few safe places.  Though he has a close childhood friend, and a lover later, he never seems to fit in.  We cannot but empathize with the plight of the sensitive outsider.

Underbelly, Cowgate

12:40

13:40

14

  27.       

Amazing Stories of Blues and Soul: The Road Trip (****)

A blues band of now old men, complete with a horn section, describe the background and then perform songs from ten American cities that demonstrate distinct strains of blues and soul music.  Despite their age, these guys can really rock their tunes, and get the audience moving.  Their little lessons about the songs’ source is the icing on the cake that makes this a completely wonderful experience.

theSpace @ Niddry St

16:50

17:50

3

  28.       

Bonding (****)

An actor combines exploring the James Bond films with the audience, and describing his own life from grandson of a coalminer to sharing Bond films with his father to how his acting career developed and was perceived by his friends and father.  The fact that the room only holds 16 people, and was half full made this a particularly personal experience where he often sat on the stage and told his stories as if in a conversation.  As we approached the end, it became apparent that a second interpretation of the title referenced his deep feelings for his father.

Greenside @ Riddles Court

18:25

19:20

3

  29.       

Influenced (****)

A shy young fellow finds his place in the world as a political influencer.  As he tells his tale we see him blossom, and then learn of his own misperceptions of the world.  His revelation serve as a good reminder of the power and naivete of such people now.

Greenside @ Riddles Court

20:45

21:35

9

  30.       

Italians in England by Action Theatre (Italy) (****)

A young man connives to have a tryst with the young wife of a rich old man by arranging a dinner at the villa of a shared old doctor friend.  From an abused fool to a cowardly captain to the rich cuckold, all of the elements of Italian commedia dell’arte are here, and performed perfectly and exuberantly.  The bawdy jokes, broad humor, and ribald plot form a perfect blend.

theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall

12:25

13:15

13

  31.       

Shellshocked – An Explosive New Play (****)

During World War I, a young, fragile veteran applies for an apprenticeship to an artist.  The play moves slowly, but this reinforces the sense of underlying cunning of the painter.  The soundtrack and late twists keep the show taut throughout.

Pleasance Courtyard

10:50

12:00

21

  32.       

Out of the Blue (****)

The twelve guys from Oxford are back with their great harmonies and fun choreography.  I didn’t enjoy the song selection as much as I use to because they are selecting newer songs.  However, their final medley of older rock songs got the crowd and me really going.

Assembly George Square

14:10

15:10

26

  33.       

Slash (****)’

This murder mystery has three friends accidentally meet in the bathroom at their high school reunion only to find a fourth friend murdered.  The plot evolves nicely; as the facts are revealed our suspicions shift to each friend.  The plot twists are fun, except that the “solutions” never explain how they came to be in the bathroom at the same time.

Bedlam Theatre

16:55

17:45

8

  34.       

Rogues So Banished (****)

We heard this story of the travails of three escaped convicts in the jungles of 19^th century New South Wales penal colony right after we saw “Bonding”, and it was also in small room with only eight audience members.  Unlike in “Bonding”, the actor did not break the fourth wall, but the small crowd made it somehow like a group around a campfire hearing a ghost story—except this seemed like an absolutely true story of deprivation and resourcefulness.  The text, his bare chested visage, and his movements made the story come alive with nary a dull moment.

Scottish Storytelling Centre

20:00

20:55

3

  35.       

Jive Aces (****)

This hot band, complete with a horn section, delivers what it promises—jive.  The rhythm section keeps a toe tapping beat, and the vocalists do a serviceable job with the lyrics.  When the pianist has solos, you can see Jerry Lee Lewis’ influence.

Pleasance at EICC

20:00

21:00

18

  36.       

Sex Lives of Puppets (****)

The show lives up to its title.  Puppets without genitals nor breasts have all sorts of sexual encounters with humor pervading them all.  Debbie loved the orgy finale, while I liked the straightforward talking old couple.

Pleasance Courtyard

21:30

22:30

11

  37.       

Every Brilliant Thing (****)

When six years old, to combat his mother’s depression, the playwright/actor began making a list of the brilliant things in the world, and then kept at it.  As we entered he gave each of us a slip of paper with a numbered item from the list, and during the show he would call a number and the member holding that item would read it out loud.  There is a building momentum of joy as we learn of his life as the list grows, so it is hard not to enjoy this show.  Note: I saw this show in 2014, when it was 98^th out of 165, which is evidence of nothing in particular.

Roundabout @ Summerhall

11:45

12:55

5

  38.       

Olga Koch Comes From Money (****)

As the title indicates, Koch explores the impact of coming from a wealthy family had on her life.  She successfully mined many different effects for humor.  My poor hearing often interfered with my understanding her fast talking, and much of her pop culture references were lost on this Yank.  Note: This was a preview, which by their very nature are a bit rough and humorless at some points.

Monkey Barrel 3

17:40

18:40

-30

  39.       

The Sound Inside (****)

An English Writing professor at an Ivy League university has an unexpected visit from one her freshman students with whom she shares articulate and knowledgeable views on a variety of books.  Though there is an undercurrent of need, is their love of words that really drives this story.  It is the lyrical choice of words that makes this show both engrossing and challenging

Traverse 1

10:00

11:20

6

  40.       

A Singular Deception (****)

Two actors portray Dr. James Barry, who revolutionized 19^th century military medicine, and his manservant as Barry held posts throughout the Empire.  From carrying out the first successful Caesarian births to developing treatments of sexual and mental diseases to challenging the medical quality of the British establishment, Barry was at the forefront of medicine, but made a lot of enemies along the way.  From the opening scene, it is apparent that a woman is playing the lead, but she hides her gender well, as did Barry.

The Royal Scots Club

19:00

20:15

9

  41.       

Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show (Menu 1) (****)

The premises of the five short plays are: garden gnomes discuss whether they should leave the garden; two super heroes, Blunt Woman and Captain Polygraph, go out on a date; a pompous actor pontificates to his understudy; a woman who plays role playing games plays chess for the first time on a date; and a TV game show host encounters his ex-girlfriend as a contestant.  This menu is the lightest and most fun of the three.  The gnomes skit is a great start, and the RPG woman’s approach to chess is perfect.

Pleasance Courtyard

10:20

11:30

12

  42.       

Masquerade Mask (****)

Three performers from Bologna, one of whom spoke perfect English, introduce the traditional characters of the Italian Commedia dell’arte using that very style.  The combination of education and meta demonstration proved quite winning.  It was fun to see the antecedents of MacBeth’s witches, Shylock, and Shakespeare’s many fools.

C ARTS | C venues | C aquila

11:30

12:20

1

  43.       

Kev Campbell Was He (****)

This one man show has a young working class Glaswegian crosses paths with a gay ,erudite college student who is impressed with his insights into “The Great Gatsby”.  I was impressed by the surprisingly subtle approach the story took in dealing with conflicts encountered as the protagonist deals with his possible enlightenment.  This is a Glasgow of words and feelings, and not violence.

theSpace @ Symposium Hall

19:15

20:05

2

  44.       

Why Did I Crush My Balls? And Other Tales from the Generation of Too Much (****)

A man seriously argues that nis need to have his balls squeezed to achieve orgasm is like any other fetish.  This sounds like a premise for a zany, sex-oriented show, but it is not.  While it is somewhat surreal with squirted blood pelting him, the plotting and his character are quite serious.  His life’s story and interactions with his girlfriend are gripping.

Bedlam Theatre

21:30

22:20

8

  45.       

Dick (****)

The play starts with a discontented fellow at his 26^th birthday party asking his four friends for their strangest sexual experience.  As the play continues the interesting conversations reveal over time that two of the friends seem to have their lives together, and the other two are still trying to find themselves.  I found the final advice to “do the work”, didn’t sit well with me as much “learn to be thankful for what you have” would have, but I’m 71.

Paradise in The Vault

17:05

18:05

23

  46.       

Little Deaths (****)

Two childhood best friends grow up sharing all aspects of life.  While I couldn’t always understand them, I never doubted the depth of their friendship.  Though they both love to dance, they differ in health, family, and career paths which causes some fiction, but mostly was lovingly shared between them.

Summerhall

20:55

22:05

16

  47.       

Conspiracy (****)

Based on real documents, this play recreates a meeting in Berlin of 14 German military and civilian leaders that determined the best way to deal with Jews.  The discussion is chilling, and pragmatic with the need for forced labor workers arguing against execution.  Though their anti-Semitism was universal, they used the word “evacuate” when they knew it meant to put Jews on trains to death camps.

Hill Street Theatre

20:15

21:45

19

  48.       

Ruby Carr: ebae (****)

Ruby is a bright, gentle soul who has worked card to create this comedy routine based on her obsession with e-bay.  She found humor in everything from auctioned unwanted gifts to Victorian collectibles to losing an auction.  Her show proves that a good comedian can mine anything, and find laughs.

Underbelly, George Square

19:20

20:20

13

  49.       

Sleepover (****)

Three tweens have a sleepover with the appropriate childish concerns and behaviors.  Whether its telling the 8-year-old sister that menstruation is bleeding from her butt, or gasping about a celebrity divorce their portrayals of the girls’ naivete was perfect.  While I was originally put off by a bizarre dream or look inside a young mind, I came to appreciate how it tied into the earlier imagery of the girls.

Greenside @ George Street

10:10

11:05

17

  50.       

Breathe (****)

Three puppeteers populate a miniature forest where an oak seedling roams both above and below ground until it finds the perfect spot to lay down its roots.  Beside the seedling, there are insects, birds, leaves, worms,, and roots that come alive.  While the large video screen facilitates us imagining his world, watching the camera work deal with the many miniature sets was fascinating.

Pleasance Dome

12:00

13:00

12

  51.       

27 (****)

The “Glasgow Three” are three twenty something men who met at drama school, and now live together going nowhere while they hold dead end jobs.  Though we hear how one earned his nickname, and how the group initially met, the meat of the play is how all three now deal with one of them planning on committing suicide at the party the night before his 28^th birthday to garner noteriety for the other two.  While there are a couple scenes of drunken parties, the explicit demonstrations of caring raise this above your typical frat boy show.

C ARTS | C venues | C aurora

21:05

22:00

2

  52.       

The Glasstown Conspiracy (****)

This appropriately young cast portrays the Bronte children as they each develop their own style of character for their literary creations.  Each must deal with unruly characters the demand their author’s attention, with Charlotte at one point finding herself surrounded by a mob of her characters.  I reveled in the unexpected quality of acting of the tween and younger cast.

Space on The Mile

9:40

`10:10

19

  53.       

Edgar Allan Poe: The Murders in the Rue Morgue (****)

In 1841, a private detective and friend try to solve how a woman could be murdered and stuffed into a chimney inside a room that has its windows nailed shut, and its door locked from the inside.  I could not but help but notice served as the original template for modern detective stories.  The explanations of precise deductions of the detective are closely echoed by Sherlock Holmes.

theSpace @ Symposium Hall

12:05

12:55

23

  54.       

Screen Test (****)

In 1935, an ingenue arrives in Hollywood from England, and starts out at the bottom of the stardom ladder with a lineless part until an anvil drops on the girl with two lines.  That sets the stage for a comedy of screen tests with one liners, slowly growing arts, and a few dance numbers.  It is all good fun with a seven year plot that touches on all the expected scenarios, with only the macabre ending out of place.

Pleasance Courtyard

15:10

16:10

24

  55.       

Per-Verse (****)

A sexually confident woman offers doggerel on many aspects of dealing with men.  The rhymes are fun, but her disdain for the ineptness and affection of her pursuers makes her seem heartless.  I was reminded of my age by her seemingly now acceptable lack of interest in emotional ties.

C ARTS | C venues | C aquila

23:10

23:50

16

  56.       

Fire Ignites (****)

This short show has an Iranian you woman demonstrate in several scenes the plight of lesbians and women in general in Iran.  The scenes run from a hidden lesbian’s homelife to songs of protest written by actress to her burning her hajab in public and then suffering beatings and imprisonment.  Each scene has a searing sincerity with an occasional real tear.

theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall

9:20

10:10

23

  57.       

Planetarium Lates: You are Here (****)

This live astronomer narrated show starts with an aerial view of the building, and then slowly zooms out to Earth, then Solar System, and on until we see the observable universe of innumerable separate galaxies.  He id a great job without a script.  I’d seen this when I was young, but it was a good reminder of our place in reality. 

Dynamic Earth

18:00

18:45

21

  58.       

Will Pickvance: Wonky (****)

Pickvance tells of his life playing the piano while giving examples of his expertise.  His initial, classical piece demonstrated his virtuosity, and the range and blending of his medleys was impressive.  I wish he had fewer songs in his medleys so they could be longer.

Summerhall

17:55

18:55

11

  59.       

Tones: A Hip-Hop Opera (????)

This rating is simply a place holder.  We had to leave after five minutes because I simply could not understand enough of his words with music masking them from my hearing aids.  I just wanted to have some historical note for myself.  Please ignore this.

Roundabout @ Summerhall

18:50

19:50

5

  60.       

History of Paper by Oliver Emanuel and Gareth Williams (***)

A man and his wife go through a box full of papers they found in his recently deceased father’s house.  Each paper makes a touching contribution to a picture of a the man’s life.  The script is wonderful, but the music and lyrics leave a lot to be desired.

Traverse 2

20:00

21:20

10

  61.       

Highly Suspect Murder Mystery – The Great British Bloodbath (***)

A woman is found dead in her dressing room for a TV baking contestant, and the groups in the audience must figure the who and how of the murder when given a folder of clues.  This is an escape room quest adapted into a play.  My wife and I had a good time solving the various puzzles, but failed to figure out the how. 

theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall

17:05

18:10

16

  62.       

Naomi Grossman: American Whore Story

Naomi tells of her love life, and the wide range of jobs she held until she became a star on the American Horror Story TV show.  Whether she is tending a lover in a coma, teaching Spanish as an Argentinian native, or driving a Red Bull Mini this overachiever finds something funny to say about it—even if she never was a prostitute.  Nonetheless, her love life pales in comparison to her employment.  

Gilded Balloon Patter House

21:00

22:15

23

  63.       

MacPlebs (***)

Two actors, who play messengers in “MacBeth”, take on the whole play when the rest of the cast are killed in a “tram related accident.”  By asserting that they have never read the play, they permit the show to veer off the rails in wonderful ways.  All of the plays highlights are here, with even a few key lines, but their twist keep it all fun and yet within the bounds of a good farce.

theSpace on the Mile

21:45

22:35

12

  64.       

Casual Encounters (***)

A middle aged couple decide to try wife swapping to solve their marital troubles by inviting a couple from a swapping website into their home.  Thing go quite awry in the invited couple are not what they expected.  The plot is well crafted to have a variety of scenarios to mine for comedy.  The other couple provided a great contrast to the staid homeowners.

Hill Street Theatre

15:30

16:20

23

  65.       

Jeromaia Detto: MUSH (***)

An almost mute fellow involves the entire audience step by step in a series of fun tasks.  He masterfully guides individuals to behave in a given manner through sometimes subtle gestures.  He worked hard to successfully turn the entire audience into an orchestra that he could conduct.

Underbelly Cowgate

17:10

18:10

22

  66.       

Planetarium Lates: Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon (***)

This is a 2023 animation that was combination of the first visit to the moon and a psychedelic trip that I saw last year, and joined my wife this year.  It was well done, the music has held up over time, and I gave it four stars last year.  There is one scene of an approaching sandstorm that again had me on the edge of my very comfortable seat.

Dynamic Earth

19:00

19:45

21

  67.       

Love's a Beach (***)

A gay couple are influencers in separate spheres who try to deal with a public separation when one agrees to work in Dubai for a month.  The initial ad for incontinence underwear confused me, but once I understood the theme of a loving couple that panders to their followers and sponsors, I could appreciate the bitter sweet satire.  The ending is a perfect recapitulation of the story.

Pleasance Courtyard

12:45

13:45

  68.       

State of Grace (***)

An actor portrays the Australian prostitute Grace Bellavue who made a name for herself advocating for sex worker rights.  Between her sex work, social media, singing, and writing magazine articles shw was very busy.  There was a quick portrayal of a day in her life that was quite informative, but the play pretty much ignored the depressive side of her bipolar disease that caused her suicide.

Assembly Rooms

19:05

20:10

23

  69.       

Dead Mom Play (***)

An 18-year old man barely tends his dying mother in last weeks while the grim reaper makes several appearances.  This fast moving, self-conscious play is a too witty approach to his denial.  The technique of quickly alternating, almost overlapping, soliloquies was impressively acted, but I found that it forced me to concentrate on one actor at the expense of the other, which as dissatisfying.

theSpace @ Niddry St

9:40

10:40

15

  70.       

Eric's Tales of the Sea – A Submariner's Yarn (***)

A real submariner tells of his career in the silent service, and his great friendship with sailor.  Whether talking about his harrowing experience with the practice emergency dive tank, or the antics of he and his friend, he made it all come alive.  His encounters with sharks, particularly landing on one with his bare feet are particularly memorable.

Just the Tonic at The Caves

14:50

15:50

21

  71.       

Daughters Of Roisin (***)

In the `910s, a seventeen-year-old unwed Irish girl is pregnant, and her family has such disdain that they refer to the fetus as the illness.  The play wants to draw our attention that many such girls are still sent away, and their babies whisked away right after birth.  Though touching, she often spoke too softly to be understood by my wife and me.

Pleasance Courtyard

13:00

14:00

24

  72.       

Outpatient (***)

This true story has a thirty-something decides to write an article on dying by interviewing people who are dying, but then finds out she may be.  The excerpts from the interviews provide the range of approaches taken, and provide a reference for her own approach.  She handled the acoustics of the circular room pretty well, but I still missed many of her words.

Summerhall

10:30

11:30

25

  73.       

Negare (***)

This short physical theater piece has a mute clown stuff towels in his shirt to become fat, and then present a beautiful, skillful interpretative dance.  It wasn’t until now that I realized that the carrots that we and he eat may symbolize a diet that allows him to lose the towels and then transform into a slender, sleek, golden godlike figure.  This is one of those works where I really appreciated the artistry of the performer, but didn’t enjoy the piece as much as others because it was short, and I missed the text of regular theater.

C ARTS | C venues | C aquila

14:40

15:10

12

  74.       

Heartbreak Hotel (***)

A woman discusses the physiological aspects of the phases of heartbreak with a a backdrop of her own break-up with a man.  The couple’s interactions were right on point, and the science interesting.  However, the musical interludes were a waste of our time.

Summerhall

16:10

17:25

11

  75.       

Birdwatching (***)

After hiking five miles from the legal campgrounds, three young women pitch their tent in a remote clearing.  As night approaches they play a variety of games that  reveal the fragility of their relationships as well as their fears as little sounds in the dark portend ill.  I found their acting superb, and the devolution into horror legitimate though unnecessary and unexpected on my part.

theSpace on the Mile

9:55

10:55

4

  76.       

Sisyphean Quick Fix (***)

Two Maltese sister, one of whom lives in London, must care for their alcoholic father.  The play does a good job of exploring how the share responsibility can impact the sibling’s relationship.  They each reach their breaking points in different, but dramatic ways with one by stealing his shoes.

Pleasance Courtyard

11:05

12:00

24

  77.       

Is There Work on Mars? (***)

A young Chinese woman applies to become a worker on Mars for a Elon Musk  company by participating in a semi-automated application process in a room with only two chairs.  Though the process is supposed to be neutral to cultures and neurodiversity, she soon finds that the job she wants actually has cultural requirements.  The her final disposition is appropriately chilling.

theSpace on the Mile

21:50

40 minutes

22

  78.       

My Mother’s Funeral: The Show (***)

An impoverished playwright must write a new play in two weeks to pay for her mother’s funeral.  As her artistic director keeps imposing his vision on her developing play, the stress of the situation builds at the same time she and her brother deal with their different experiences with their mother.  She conveys her desperation perfectly, while the ending seems valid.

Roundabout @ Summerhall

14:40

15:50

5

  79.       

Shroud Maker (***)

An old shroud maker in present day Gaza retraces her life from being a daughter of a Palestinian who lives with a British couple until the British leave in 1948, then becoming a U.N. refugee in Gaza, and finally a shroud maker.  Her young life, and that of her adopted son provide two different takes on the privations of the Palestinians.  The play is a bit wearing, but that may well be because of the depressing subject. 

Pleasance Dome

11:05

12:05

19

  80.       

Cosmologist's Guide To Life and Love (***)

Using a well-crafted multi-media PowerPoint presentation a cosmologist explores competing views of the universe, with a minor diversion to love.  All the big names are there—Einstein, Shrodinger, Hawkings, and Sagan, but in a very accessible way.  There was lots of laughs, and mental light bulbs lit.

Greenside @ Riddles Court

17:30

18:25

4

  81.       

VL (***)

This has two high school seniors work out strategies for one to lose his VL (virgin lip) status.  This raucous two-hander is fun, and yet touching at times, as we are introduced to several characters from their school.  The misapprehension of one and his coming out are the keys to making it so satisfying.

Roundabout @ Summerhall

20:10

21:20

5

  82.       

So Young (***)

To the dismay of his two closest friends, a recently widowed middle aged man falls in love with a self-assured twenty-year old woman.  The play makes the source of the wife’s displeasure pretty clear early on, but that didn’t help me enjoy seeing her misguided treatment of the lovebirds.  Nonetheless, her final solution to the roiling disagreement is well plotted, and brought tears to my eyes.

Traverse 1

16:00

17:20

6

  83.       

Ambiguous Proposition (***)

This one woman show has a human resources arbitrator step in to defend her son against sexual harassment charges.  Her constant restatement of “My son would never do that” started to ring hollow as she does not produce the real evidence that may have been available.  The ramifications to her own career seemed a bit of a stretch.

theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall

9:55

10:45

20

  84.       

Confessions of a Teletubby (***)

A woman who played a Teletubby for six years recounts how she got the job, and life inside and outside those huge and cumbersome costumes..  She is a delight, and has the personality and squeaky voice you would hope for.  If found it fascinating that the Teletubbies costumes had to be so large so that their proportions would match that of a 3-year old, and that the films on their bellies always repeated so that three-year-olds would feel empowered whey they could predict what would happen.

theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall

10:30

11:35

8

  85.       

My Mother Doesn't Know I'm Kinky (***)

A happily married middle aged woman finds that something is missing from her life, and decides to dip her toe into the BDSM scene without her spouse.  Her slow exploration was perfectly suited to here cautious temperament.  On the other hand, her graphic description of her encounter with a dominatrix perfectly suits that latent side of her.

theSpace @ Niddry St

22:15

23:15

18

  86.       

Sun, the Mountain, and Me (***)

To address his artist’s block, a seemingly bipolar fellow looks at books for inspiration, and finds that the tale of Icarus resonates with him.  Besides Icarus the story of an escaped World War II Italian POW in Kenya is introduced with little justification.  Both the Icarus and POW tales are beautifully told, but have tenuous lessons for the painter, and use time better spent on his mostly ignored depression.

Underbelly, Cowgate

12:20

13:30

21

  87.       

Did You Mean to Fall Like That (***)

A 38-year old poorly hands a trial separation from his wife that she had sought.  The actor does a great job of subtly differentiating the many characters he meets  The play works well except that the crucial meeting with his wife was way too short and belied all that had led up to it.

Pleasance Courtyard

11:35

12:35

22

  88.       

The Scot and the Showgirl (***)

Frances Ruffelle and Norman Bowman combine to sing show tunes, love songs, and a few Scottish oldies.  They both have great voices, and chemistry to burn.  As it happens, I didn’t know many of the songs, and their style of prolonging the last word made it difficult to understand many of them.

Pleasance Dome

15:50

16:50

26

  89.       

James Whale: Beyond Frankenstein (***)

A single actor creates more than twenty characters to tell of the life story of Whale, who directed “Frankenstein”, “The Invisible Man”, and “Showboat”.  Though the many characters proved breadth from the his English childhood to directorial experiences to retirement life, they were also confusing because the scenes were not in chronological order.  I thought the scene of Whale directing the young girl and Karloff’s Frankenstein at the lake was the best at showing Whale’s personality and generosity.

ZOO Southside

18:45

19:45

16

  90.       

Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show (Menu 3) (***)

The five stories for this show are: NASA attempts to gin up support by sending celebrities into space; a gay woman chooses to marry a gay man; an unfamiliar daughter returns from college for Christmas; two foreign airline baggage clerks give a customer a hard time; and a fortune cookie predicts the death of a diner.  Though a little darker than in the past years, most are skits are fun.  The plot twist at the end of the returning daughter added a lot.

Pleasance Courtyard

10:20

11:30

11

  91.       

Until the Next Wedding (***)

A handsome man and a large woman are surprised to meet other at a wedding after having not seen each other for five years.  At the same time that they alternately draw closer and move physically apart we learn what attracts them to each other, and, more importantly, what seem to be insurmountable differences.  The final scene is both touching, and well justified.

Paradise in Augustines

10:00

10:55

3

  92.       

Buckets of Blood - Fairy Tales Not for Kids (***)

A storyteller presents the original Grimm’s tales with all their original gore.  I was surprised how many stories involved chopping people up and cooking them in a big pot.  I found the storyteller wiining, and his discussion of various versions of the same fairy tale enlightening.

Pleasance Courtyard

15:40

16:40

-31

  93.       

Beach Boys Sounds (***)

Three strings and two vocalists gave their renditions of the pop group’s hits.  Their performance was workmanlike, and definitely entertained the crowd.  The lack of a keyboard, and attenuated vocals did detract from out enjoyment.

Le Monde

13:00

13:50

18

  94.       

A Montage of Monet (***)

Monet sits with a projection screen behind him to describe his life, and display the works of him and his friends.  His tale is clear, informative, and full of little tid bitts that make him come alive.  In particular, I had not known of his repeated dependence on his stepdaughter/daughter-in-las.

Greenside @ George St

14:00

14:55

17

  95.       

Lies Where It Falls (***)

The Ulster actor, Downton Abbey’s Ruairi Conaghan, tells of his roles, focusing on a play about the Brighton IRA bombing, and “Hamlet”.  Though for the bombing play, sitting across from the pardoned bomber was vexing for him, dealing with a sudden case of fibromyalgia that sapped his strength for one hundred performances of “Hamlet” had a much greater impact.  He seemed to need to prove his thespian chops by repeatedly yelling at the top of his lungs in our small room.

C ARTS | C venues | C alto

14:30

15:40

15

  96.       

It's the Economy, Stupid! (***)

A fellow explains economic theory of Thatcher’s privatization, and the later Clinton/Blair approaches while his partner offers more conservative interpretations as well as magic tricks.  They work together well to present understandable critques without getting buried in jargon.  I learned how the plan to have renters purchase their social housing made economic sense until the money didn’t go to building more housing.

Pleasance Dome

13:10

14:10

12

  97.       

Jobsworth (***)

A woman holds three jobs to make ends meet, including supporting her snake obsessed, alcoholic father.  While the plot was well fashioned to fit the post-Covid Zoom employment opportunities, her consistent failure with her dog watcher seems out of character.  The outrageous actions by her philandering boss make him look more stupid than he would be.

Pleasance Courtyard

13:45

14:45

20

  98.       

Behind the Curtain (***)

A large, very young cast take on the roles of the back stage crew as well as the diva for whom they are preparing.  What they lack in volume and talent they make up for with their exuberance.  The music and lyrics are mundane, but audience composed of family members didn’t care.

C ARTS | C venues | C aquila

11:00

11:45

9

  99.       

The Billie Joel Story (***)

This four piece rock band produced a workmanlike tribute to Billie Joel by covering all of his hits and providing bits of his personal history as well as snippets from his interviews.  The whole band played and sang well, but it had the feel that it was the end of the Fringe, and they were happy it was over.  The young bassist/occasional keyboardist in particular never cracked a smile.

theSpace @ Symposium Hall

18:05

18:55

25

100.     

Main Character Energy (***)

A bit-part actress decides to create a show to demonstrate her self-professed talent.  The whole audience really got into supporting her decidedly average  efforts at singing, acting and dancing.  Though not a classic beauty, in the last act her sexiness really showed through to us.

Roundabout @ Summerhall

21:40

22:40

5

101.     

Adequate Abridgement of Boarding School Life as a Homo (***)

As the title suggest, we follow a gay young man through his time at a boarding school.  The show depicts a wide range of his activities from his initial hazing to classroom learning to his lovemaking.  His long term relationship allowed the story to have more depth than I had expected.

Just the Tonic at The Caves

11:30

12:30

3

102.     

Momma Drama presents Stretchmarks! (***)

We follow three women with Mother Nature advising them,, through their pregnancies and the first three years of their children.  Mixed with the many complaints and a few joyful moments are some sage advice.  The last, in particular, seemed very important: “If mommy is not happy, then baby is not happy—find time for yourself.”

Greenside @ Riddles Court

19:30

20:30

4

103.     

Wallace (***)

A shackled Wallace tells of his battles, capture, and execution.  His stories are appropriately grizzly for his time.  I wish he had softened his brogue so I could better understand him.

Hill Street Theater

13:00

14:00

15

104.     

Plotters (***)

A company of four grave robbers banter while going about their business in the early 19^th century.  Despite having had a cup of coffee this show failed to hold my attention.  The plot was just too thin, and the characters one-dimensional.

Assembly Rooms

14:10

15:10

18

105.     

Same Team (***)

Five homeless women form a team to play in an international football tournament in Milan.  The variety of their backgrounds and physiques provided many opportunities to explore their lives, and approaches.  In many ways, this was your typical “team” show with the pulling together and overcoming obstacles, but for me my hearing made the many loud football games difficult to understand, and repetitive.

Traverse 1

13:00

14:20

6

106.     

In Two Minds (***)

A daughter must deal with her visiting bipolar mother.   While the mother’s portrayal of mania and depression were spot on, and the daughter’s reactions seemed appropriate, the lack of new insights or information disappointed.  The shared dancing to her manic mother’s tape seemed to be the one time we see a real link of love instead of just filial obligation.

Traverse 2

15:30

16:50

1

107.     

Nation (***)

An actor stands in the middle of the stage and says something like, “Now, the speaker stands in front of the audience…”, which establishes that we are supposed to be aware of our place in the world.  As his story continues, we learn of a dead body in a little town and how the townspeople react to the events that led to it.  The unusual approach to storytelling served the moral of the story well.

ROUNDABOUT @ Summerhall

10:30

11:30

5

108.     

And They Played Shang-A-Lang (***)

Four tween boys and four tween girls must figure out how to deal with the opposite sex while their understanding teacher often looks on.  From a boy bragging a girl let him see tissue filled bra to single sex songs at a school dance to dates negotiated by friends the show feels well attuned to the stress of early sexual interactions.  I was impressed by how much the British audience sang along with the many pre-recorded songs—not something I’d see in the USA.

Hill Street Theatre

13:35

14:35

23

109.     

Surrender (***)

This solo show has an incarcerated woman trying to explain to her estranged daughter the events that led to her conviction.  The actress does a good job of portraying a mother who doesn’t handle the challenges of rasing a child well.  Her character seems real enough, but I grew weary of her whining—even if it was in character. 

Summerhall

13:55

15:05

11

110.     

How I Learned to Swim (***)

A woman, who had always feared the water, finally decides to learn to swim for deeply personal reasons.  Her scary interactions with water, both as a child, and adult convey the phobia perfectly.  The plot is a bit thin, and the final scene relies on an uninspired literary device.

Roundabout @ Summerhall

16:10

17:10

5

111.     

Camile O'Sullivan Loveletter (***)

The passing of two close friends this year has Camile devote this concert to their music with a constant undercurrent of melancholy.  Since many of the songs were new to me, I had trouble understanding the lyrics, and her repeated straying from the microphone didn’t help.  One song in particular was way out her vocal range, and just sounded like yelling a screeching.

Assembly Roxy

21:35

22:55

-31

112.     

Last Incel (***)

A Zoom group of four incels must deal with a woman who has had a one night stand with one of their members.  The intial interaction among the group and later with the woman seem true to form, but her lie is dismissed too easily.  The use of metal rectangles as monitors for dance worked well, but the show would be better served with more character development, and less dancing.

Underbelly, Bristo Square

17:30

18:30

-31

113.     

Addict (***)

After receiving a reply to a very popular text that threatens to rape his girlfriend, a man plots his revenge.  As his texting plot evolves, we learn how texting can be abused.  The story is fine, but he repeatedly lowered his voice which made much of what he said impossible for both of us to hear.

theSpace on the Mile

13:05

14:10

16

114.     

Bucket List (***)

This show has a young man announce that he is dead to his girlfriend followed by many, many short scens of them catting.  While the two characters are incredibly likable, and each interaction enjoyable to watch, the show as a whole was a mess.  We cannot easily tell when he is a ghost, if it is before or after he is dead, and, more importantly, what are his ghostly physical characteristics—eating, sex?

theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall

10:00

10:45

14

115.     

What The Veck? Songs in the Key of Strife! (***)

A personable former primary school teacher takes up his guitar and sings short songs about such things as dumpster diving and people’s self confessed embarrassing moments.  He creates a friendly ambience that reminds us of the simple, non-judgmental joys of childhood.  He had one song that is a collection of questions his four year old son asked, and another of incomprehensible jokes from his friends kids that put the wonder back in our structured adult world. .

theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall

17:55

18:45

2

116.     

Four More Short Plays Loosely Linked by the Theme of Crime (***)

Three actors perform four humorous plays with  the following premises: a pair of wild West train robbers trying to figure out what to do with an usual cargo; a pair friends trying to decide whether to help their friend commit a crime; a spiritualist hippie tries to convince his conventional wife to commit a crime to fulfill the prediction of three witches; and two thugs extorting money from a butcher constantly confusing their statements with Cockney rhyming slang.  I found the first and last play quite amusing, but the middle two seemed uninspired and weak.  In particular, the cargo of the first story was both realistic and fantastic, and its three characters each keenly drawn and novel

theSpace on the Mile

15:15

16:15

3

117.     

Garrett Millerick Needs More Space (***)

Millerick is pessimistic about the UK’s current and future condition, and offers fanciful solutions with a bit too much ardor, and volume.  His proposal for a new space race to mimic the effects of the Space Race of the 1960s based on the many parallels was creative.  I had hoped that he would tie in his daughter’s humor to that of Apollo 8’s plumbing problems, but he didn’t.  Note: This was a preview, which by their very nature are a bit rough and humorless at some points.

Monkey Barrel-The Tron

16:25

17:25

-30

118.     

Beyond Krapp (***)

The spirit of a recently deceased 15-year old Catholic man looks back with regret at not being able to plan his own funeral.  While pathos permeates the show, it still has a light feel as he tells of oa living mother and estranged girlfriend.  In the end, his imagined funeral of strippers and bands must lose out to his mother’s ritualized one with her euology.

Pleasance Courtyard

13:45

14:45

-31

119.     

Dara O Briain : My Entire Life is a Work in Progress (***)

O Briain is clearly a well established stand-up comedian who talked about a variety of subjects including snow skiing and trying to find his birth mother.

Most of the time he spoke so fast I couldn’t understand him.  However, his tale of finding his birth mother has a nice twist.

Assembly Rooms

18:50

19:50

19

120.     

MILF and the Mistress (***)

A married, middle-aged lesbian was happily married but found something lacking, and looks into BDSM.  It is an interesting story with nudity and sexual recreations, but, oddly, not arousing.  Her matter of fact approach to the subjects makes it all the more real, and more an exploration than exploitation.

theSpace @ Niddry St

20:20

21:10

12

121.     

John Wayne Gacy, the Killer Lown: Born Evil? (***)

An actor assumes the role of Gacy arguing that he was innocent of all charges.  He plays the psychopath perfectly with his sincerity being all the more disquieting because we know he is lying.  It was a great reminder that I cannot tell when someone is lying.

theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall

19:55

20:45

14

122.     

Tartan Tat (***)

An Edinburgh souvenir shop suddenly becomes an internet sensation when its stock worker inadvertently makes a pro-trans statement.  This show is a slice of retail store life mixed with ridicule of media frenzies.  Without more character backstory, the workers are just stereotypical stand-ins for which we don’t care.

theSpace @ Niddry St

14:10

15:00

14

123.     

Plenty of Fish in the Sea (***)

For this physical theater piece has a shipwrecked man awakes to find that he is being attended by a French nun, and her aid.  With some French, and a little English, he learns to fish, and of passion.  I never really understood what was happening, but maybe fishing, eating, and then indulging was all there was.

Assembly George Square Studios

11:25

12:10

14

124.     

Tom Lawrinson: Buried Alive and Loving it (***)

Lawrinson is engaging and obviously enjoys interacting with the audience.  He pokes gentle fun at his family, recounting the time they spent as expats in Spain.  Tales of schooldays, being the only brother to three sisters, and, later, having to meet all their boyfriends makes for an entertaining hour.  Note: due to my poor hearing I had real trouble understanding much of what he said so I had my wife write this review, but we agreed on the rating.

Underbelly, Cowgate

21:05

22:05

7

125.     

Go to Your Womb (***)

A mother with her actual teenage daughter as an assistant cover motherhood from trying to have the perfect birthing to raising a child who is happy with their upbringing.  The initial scattered clothes across the stage reflects the range of approaches used by the performer.  Though at times fun, the general shambolic nature left me cold.

theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall

12:00

12:55

8

126.     

Little Beast (***)

Lady Caroline Lamb pursues Lord Byron, and then is jilted while her modern day counterpart deals with the same fate.  One of those plays that left little impression on me.  I just didn’t care about either woman.

theSpace on the Mile

18:25

19:15

7

127.     

Sara Pascoe: I Am A Strange Gloop  (WIP) (***)

Pasco was definitely in the early stages of developing her act, and made use of that fact as a source of humor.  She spent much of her time complaining about the hard work of raising two young children.  While the children’s antics provide some funny stories, her repeated whining wore on me.  Note: This was a preview, which by their very nature are a bit rough and humorless at some points.

Monkey Barrel 2

12:00

13:00

-30

128.     

Loose Ends (***)

A shoplifter invites a man to stay at his flat after the fellow inadvertently helped him.  This sparse show centers on the talkative shoplifter with the taciturn fellow providing a fine contrast.  The songs of Roy Orbison offer a haunting backdrop the shoplifter’s fragile mental state.

theSpace on the Mile

10:05

10:50

7

129.     

Caged: The True Story of Isabella MacDuff (***)

The woman who crowned Robert the Bruce stands in an outdoor cage for four years where travelers could abuse her.  She is unrepentant, and tells of the Scottish events that led her to being there.  The actress delivers her tale with the courage and bite of a dangerous revolutionary.

Hill Street Theatre

22:05

22:50

19

130.     

44 Sex Acts In One Week (***)

A website publisher hires an author to implement the 44 sex act in a sex guru’s book.  The actors stayed fully clothed for the dozen acts they demonstrated with fruit often involved.  Besides a sex book we have the sex guru promoting her lifestyle, and an animal rights warrior involved in concurrent stories that create too much zaniness for me.

Pleasance Dome

16:40

17:50

15

131.     

Whisky and Tales (***)

A fellow leads the tasting of four whiskies, and provides the background of whiskey and the four regions represented.  He is personable, and made the two hours fly by.  It was all could hope for from a simple whiskey tasting.

Hot Toddy

17:15

19:15

26

132.     

Iain Dale: All Talk with Miriam Margolyes (***)

A substitute for Dale interviewed the Jewish Scottish octogenarian comedienne/actress., and then posed questions from the audience.  My wife liked her directness and self-confidence, but I, who knew little of her, found little of interest.  Though I did find that her dealing with other celebrities, particularly Maggie Smith, did catch my attention.

Pleasance at EICC

13:30

14:40

9

133.     

Margolyes & Dickens: The Best Bits

For my second encounter of the day with Margolyes she started by reading passages said by her favorite Dickens characters, and then for the second half she answered questions from the audience.  I’m sorry to say that most the accents she adopted in her readings made her unintelligible to me.  For the second time in the day, I heard her tell of the story of her crossing the Edinburgh Meadow late at night, and helping a soldier in a tree relieve his sexual tension.

Pleasance at EICC

16:00

17:10

9

134.     

Psyche (***)

In the early 19^th century a younger sister is raped by the husband of her older sister as that sister is giving birth which sets her on a path of promiscuity.  Despite her frequent sexual encounters described in the show, her icy tone keeps the whole story dark and dreary.  She tells much of the tale while lying in a bathtub which I’d guess may have represented a desire to cleanse herself, but was never clear.

theSpace on the Mile

13:15

14:05

8

135.     

One More (***)

Two men repeatedly try to make time with two women, and fail.  The show does not differentiate the characters whey they are suppose to be different people in some scenes.  On top of that, one of the actors rarely changes characterization throughout the show which adds to the confusion.

Pleasance Courtyard

15:45

16:45

13

136.     

Fear and Misery of the Third Reich (***)

This well intentioned show about the life and times of the people of Germany during the 1930s has a large cast that just couldn’t fill the huge hall with intensity of the experience.  Each aspect of the tale was broken into several parts that were then mixed with the parts of the other tales which made for a chaotic feel to the whole show—which may have been the intention.  Presenting excerpts of text on white sheets on a clothesline was acceptable, but having three people reading/singing them contributed nothing.

Central Hall

21:15

22:30

4

137.     

Traditional Tales from Scotland (***)

A woman combines traditional tales from different parts of Scotland with short songs in a pleasing fashion.  She accompanied herself with a Scottish squeeze box that was set to a single long note for sections of a tale.  All in all it was an enjoyable, if not  memorable, hour.

Scottish Storytelling Centre

14:00

15:00

25

138.     

Psychobitch (***)

After her lover accuses a woman of crying four times during the yearlong relationship, she prepares a PowerPoint presentation explaining each of the four.  Her reasons are varied, and permit the play to comment on a range of issues.  The character was too polished for me to care about her tale.

Summerhall

19:45

21:00

15

139.     

Shakespeare for Breakfast (***)

This version sets Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” in a small contemporary university on a remote island.  With a smattering of Will’s words, the transfer is less zany, and less witty than I have come to expect from this franchise.  I did find the cast personable and capable, but they just had a dull script to perform.

C ARTS | C venues | C aurora

10:00

10:50

1

140.     

My English Persian Kitchen (***)

An Iranian woman cooks a traditional Iranian dish, ash, while providing short snippets about her life in Iran and London.  The food smelled great, but the brevity of the text failed to engender much sympathy with her plight.  For example, she never said how her husband abused—just that he had.

Traverse 2

18:00

19:20

1

141.     

At Home with Will Shakespeare (***)

Pip Utton tries to apply his talent for impersonating celebrities to William Shakespeare, but it didn’t work well because, unlike Hitler and Dylan, the author does not have a recognizable public persona.  Instead, Utton just dons an Elizabethan costume and spends most of his time reciting from the Bard’s works.  The most memorable aspect were quotes that sounded like Shakespeare, but were from the likes of Ben Johnson and Marlowe.

Pleasance Courtyard

13:10

14:10

22

142.     

Evolutionary and Inescapable Rotting of Girlhood (***)

This university production has three girlfriends supported by three fellows explore the issues adolescent girls confront.  The issues ranged from wishing for “boobs” to bemoaning rashes from thongs to dealing with boys.  The entire production felt very amateurish, but very sincere.

Greenside @ George Street

11:25

12:25

15

143.     

Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show (Menu 2)

Five of the plays were: an attempted armed robbery goes wrong; an urban couple laments moving to the suburbs; a bride is polled about her certainty on her wedding day; a first time parachutist is joined by a woman without a chute; and a man discovers there are people living in his attic.  The first and last were fun, but, on the whole, the show seemed much darker than their usual fare.  Having a cold blooded murder, a discussion of suicide, and lamentation of the death of son is not what I had expected early in the morning.

Pleasance Courtyard

10:20

11:30

10

144.     

4 Girls The First Letter E (***)

Four tweens play a strange video game in a room that is in a vacant building.  By mixing hallucinated voices with an evil voyeur this tale is either spooky, or non-sensical.  With interactions among the girls being realistic for their age, I found the blend of real and unreal confusing.

Greenside @ George Street

21:55

22:55

14

145.     

Zelda and Hadley: Together at Last (***)

Two women assume the roles of Hadley Hemingway and Zelda Fitzgerald putting on a radio play based on one their famous husbands’ books that is chosen by the audience.  Their gin from glasses sloppily refilled by an assistant transforms a potentially biting critique of “The Great Gastsby” into a sophomoric farce.  The two leads seem to have fun, but I tired of their unneeded hijinks.

Paradise in The Vault

15:25

16:20

8

146.     

The Selkie's Wife (***)

A nice young woman talking about seal/women who are captured and turned into slave/wives.  She tells a couple of tales, plays violin, and sings ballads all in a less than riveting fashion.  Her talent, and the script are just too thin.

theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall

14:05

14:55

7

147.     

BATSHIT (***)

An Australian woman attempts to show how her grandmother, and all women, have been differentially diagnosed with mental illness throughout history using a wide variety of evidence.  The show brough out the debater in me, and I found the much of her evidence inconclusive whether excerpts from 1960s TV interviews of pedestrians, or her grandmother’s mental treatment record.  From her opening gagged song, to her contrived moving uterus, to its final list of demonized women the show was quite creative, but didn’t prove its thesis.

Traverse 2

13:00

13:50

1

148.     

Dream of Being a Madame (***)

A money hungry woman wants to marry a man who will spend money on her repeatedly meets with her friend to complain about her plight.  I really didn’t like her, and her friend’s life was given just cursory time.  So, I had little interest in either woman’s tale. 

theSpace on the Mile

11:05

11:55

7

149.     

Rita Lynn: Life Coach (***)

This slice of life of a cocaine addict who finds that assuming the role of a life coach permits her to maintain her drug dependent life.  While she portrays her cocaine addiction well, her character has 90% of the lines, and we see no interesting development of the character, nor plot.  Without more character development, I grew bored with the hyper antics of her and her addicted secondary characters.

Pleasance Dome

19:00

20:00

-31

150.     

Mark Nelson: Getting Better Man (***)

Nelson is an edgy comedian who is not afraid of presenting offensive opinions and ideas.  Regretting Trump’s assassin’s poor aim is a hidden thought of many, but suggesting a law to permit him to shoot his son in his face was particularly humorless.  On the other hand, his story of taking his son to the Euros was both funny and heartwarming.  Note: This was a preview, which by their very nature are a bit rough and humorless at some points.

Monkey Barrel-Hive

19:05

20:05

-30

151.     

Badger (***)

An administrative assistant holds the whole office together as a badger disrupts a wedding on the lawn.  When an actor enters the office in the first scene wearing a badger mask, I knew I was in for a zany show, and, unhappily my fears were confirmed.  I rarely enjoy farces, with their penchant for way too over the top antics and situations, and this one was no different.

theSpace on the Mile

15:10

16:20

7

152.     

Michael Odewale: Of Mike and Men (***)

Of the five comedians I saw the first day, Michael’s set seemed the roughest, and unmemorable--even the same night.  Note: This was a preview, which by their very nature are a bit rough and humorless at some points.

Monkey Barrel-Hive

14:50

15:50

-30

153.     

Cherry (***)

A young woman who is unsure of her sexuality asks almost everyone for advice.  The whole play seems like it sole purpose is to educate her, and us, how to be comfortable with such confusion with a tilt towards lesbianism; it is like one of those films you would see in a high school health class, but with swearing.  In particular, her willingness to reveal problem to virtually everyone she meets seemed quite unrealistic.

theSpace on the Mile

20:15

21:05

21

154.     

Signalman (***)

This Dickens story has a railroad signalman respond to an apparition that appears before and after a terrible passenger train derailment.  I don’t know what it was about his delivery, but this ghost story never gripped me, and I repeatedly dozed.  I do know that he repeatedly yelled at the top of his lungs which my ears could not bear.

ZOO Southside

14:55

15:45

16

155.     

Catafalque (***)

A civil celebrant is tired of her job giving eulogies for strangers until this one.  While her reason for caring is deep, the play spends too much time showing us why she is bored.  The final scene with the coffin is touching, but has too much drivel with little movement before it.

Summerhall

12:25

13:25

11

156.     

Leni's Last Lament (***)

This one woman show has her portraying the German actress/filmmaker, Leni Riefenstahl, trying to put a positive light on her affiliation with Hitler and the Nazis.  On a large screen behind her we see photos her with many Nazi leaders, and scenes from her propaganda films include “Triumph of the Will”.  Her efforts to cleanse her record falls flat, as does the play.

Assembly Rooms

17:25

18:25

18

157.     

Apricot (***)

Two 18-year-old girls deal with apricot sized fetuses induced when one girl has repeated abortions.  From an inexplicable mitre, to a sudden childish demand for a plea for mercy to her waiting slightly longer each time, the show treated abortion with a disconcerting lightness that the topic doesn’t deserve.  If the goal of the show was to show how childish 18-year old girls can be, then they missed an opportunity to provide a counterpoint when the young father complains that he wasn’t consulted, but, instead he was dismissed out of hand.

rotheSpace @ Surgeons' Hall

12:05

12:55

4

158.     

Any Day Now (***)

After the death of a childhood friend, a young woman has more encounters with death.  With hospice experiences at the center of this story, it is not surprising that this piece is fairly downbeat until the end.  I suppose that hearing of the revelations of a twenty-something is pretty tame for someone like me who has repeatedly dealt with cancer.

Greenside @ George Street

17:30

18:20

9

159.     

Sardines (***)

William Wordsworth drunkenly agrees to accompany Samuel Coleridge on a 500-mile voyage in an inflated life raft to Germany.  The premise is crazy, and so are there non-sensical experiences.   Some loved this show, but its general incoherence left me cold.

Paradise in The Vault

20:30

21:20

8

160.     

SOS BRN (***)

Three friends try to help a fellow who feels guilty for contributing to his best friend being in a coma.  Their efforts are misguided, and the introduction of ghosts is a cheap trick to allow us to hear his thoughts.  Why they would cast a woman to play the role of his male best friend is beyond me.

theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall

16:20

17:30

21

161.     

Suzette (***)

On the downside of her career a silent screen star is invited for an audition that takes a surrealistic turn.  The actress carries off the challenging role with great skill, except that she spoke so softly most of time that neither of us could hear her, and we were sitting in the first row!  I was impressed with how she bent down on one stiletto heel and then slowly swept her other leg around without losing her balance.

Greenside @ George Street

13:00

13:40

10

162.     

I'd Like a Job Please (***)

A woman repeatedly tries out for jobs, and gets involved in a scam.  Her mother’s unexpected participation in a company getaway adds humor to the otherwise depressing story.  While searching for a job is rarely fun, this slice of life didn’t provide much new.

Paradise in The Vault

17:00

18:00

7

163.     

Peep (***)

Two women stake out the apartment of the man who jilted them both.  Their uneasy relationship feels right, but is not worth spending most of a play on it.  Unhappily, the naïve actions of one of the women at the end of the play makes no sense.

theSpace @ Symposium Hall

9:45

10:35

21

164.     

Sammy Blew Up a Toilet (***)

A large cast of university students play a kindergartner class and their teacher.  They did a fair job of playing a chaotic group of kids during recess with only the antagonist overplayed and too loud.  The teacher had a tinny voice that was difficult to understand, and the interactions with the antagonist were as false as his characterization.

theSpace @ Venue45

21:50

22:50

21

165.     

Knowledge from the Future (***)

A young Chinese woman repeatedly consults a fortune teller for advice on how to try to improve her life.  The show moves so slowly that I lost interest half way through.  Just not much there.

Paradise in The Vault

14:20

15:10

8

166.     

Importance of Being... Earnest? (**)

I generally think audience participation is a waste of valuable dramatic time, and from the start this version of Wilde’s play has an abundance of audience participation.  By the final scene five members of the audience had speaking roles on stage.  The show was so poorly constructed that the show ran longer longer than was promised.

Pleasance Courtyard

16:40

17:50

19

167.     

Gwyneth Goes Skiing (**)

Six years after having a skiing accident Paltrow was sued by the other skier.  The show uses several audience members to help recreate the day of the accident and the trial.  The show tries to derive humor from the audience participants and ridiculing Paltrow’s persona, as well some forest creature characters, but it wears thin quickly, and runs way too long.

Pleasance Courtyard

15:30

16:50

22

168.     

Greatest Musical the World Has Ever Seen by Randy Thatcher (**)

An insecure 21-year-old fellow presents his own musical that is set on two alien planets.  He’s a very mice guy, but I am sorry to write that the story, lyrics, and his singing are pretty weak.  The music is mediocre with it all sounding similar.

Pleasance Courtyard

16:40

17:50

24

169.     

Elizabeth I: In Her Own Words (**)

Just as the title states, Queen Elizabeth I stands in front of us and recites words she wrote or said during her reign.  By having the actress stay in unmoving, regally staid character throughout, the play is doom to be boring.  Only her speech to rouse the crowd before the battle wit the Spanish armada did she offer anything other than a monotone talking queen.

theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall

13:55

14:50

13

170.     

Journey to Long Nose (**)

It starts with a boy asking her why she has a big nose, and another person asking her for her race.  From there, her very personal search for identity follows a circuitous route through her different cultural heritages just put me to sleep.  Between songs without melodies and her “revelations” this came across as a classic Fringe vanity project, except that she is a middle aged woman instead of a twenty-something woman.

Greenside @ George Street

16:05

16:55

14

171.     

Why Do We Lie (**)

This show has a large number of short scenes of examples of when people lie.  Few are funny,, and few are instructive which leaves the play with almost nothing worthwhile.  It was a bad idea poorly scripted.

Greenside @ Riddles Court

18:30

19:20

22

172.     

Love's Concordia Bar (**)

The audience enters a bar full of scantily clad actors who are supposedly couples, including a half man/half woman.  Their dance numbers are well choreographed and performed, but their social interactions are too broad to be believed.  The “Cinderella”, and little girl screamed so loud we wanted to leave, but we were on the other side of the room from the exit.

C ARTS| C Venues|C Aquila

21:20

22:50

24

173.     

milk teeth (**)

A young Black woman carries a Black baby doll with her on the advice of a counselor.  I was tired, and this show failed to hold my attention.  Two days later I have no memory of it.

theSpaceTriplex

22:40

23:40

23

174.     

Verbal Diary (**)

A new housemate keeps a diary for a year that his three housemates constantly secretly read.  This low budget show has broad acting and poor songs.  There just is nothing worth watching here.

Greenside @ George Street

18:25

19:25

17

175.     

Loft Clearance (**)

Just as the title states, this is simply a description of what a woman found when she boxed up her loft.  If you are about to clear you own, and want to know how to dispose and consolidate your stuff, then this is the show for your, otherwise skip it.  It was interesting to see the board games that her grandfather created on large pieces of paper just for her family enjoyment.

Greenside @ George Street

11:40

12:30

17

176.     

Yes, We're Related (**)

Two sisters plan a party for the one year anniversary of their mother’s death.  Actors wearing squirrel masks, throwing her ashes, and splattering trifle all happen in this shambolic mess.  The final reproachment seems like a cheap feel-good ending.

Greenside @ Riddles Court

16:20

17:10

17

177.     

Refugee! (**)

This mostly mute physical theater piece has four actors portraying the experiences of four refugees—I guess.  I understood none of it.

Roundabout @ Summerhall

23:10

0:20

22

178.     

Loose Lips by Lucy Frederick (**)

Two office workers make video calls, catty comments, and spread gossip as quickly as possible.  Between a death, and charges of interoffice adultery there was plenty of gossip to keep the office interested, but not us.  The short, initial audience participation section served no purpose except to put non-volunteers on the spot.

Laughing Horse @ 32 Below

17:30

18:30

13

179.     

Waitin’ 4 Gaia (**)

I came in five minutes late to this adaptation of “Waiting for Godot”, but from that start it seemed that it had all the meandering and seemingly interminable dialogue as the original.  The arrival of a third character didn’t help clarify the mess.  In the end, it seemed to be 50 minutes of nothing—which, in a way, was the theme of the original.

theSpace @ Niddry St

17:20

18:10

12

180.     

Lynn Faces (**)

A woman who cannot play guitar gathers three other non-musical women together to form a rock band, and then put on a concert for us.  The four have no talent, and their songs are worthless.  I am guessing the idea is to see how bad a band could be, but, to me, it was a waste of my time.

Summerhall

19:35

20:45

11

181.     

Natalie Palamides: WEER (**)

Palamides plays a person whose left side was a woman, and the right side was a man who think of each other as completely separate people  She mined the possibilities of the situation for more than it was worth.  This should have been a half sketch instead of a piece that repeats ideas, like the characters of the death scene of Romeo and Juliet re-animating four times, until each idea was beaten into a boring gag.

Traverse 1

21:30

22:45

6

182.     

Bellringers (**)

Two men in a bell tower during a lightning storm wait to ring the bells to cause the storm to magically end, and die doing it.  That is much of this play that either my wife, or me could fathom.  There are snippets of the friendship that make sense, but, on the whole, the story was incomprehensible to us.

Roundabout @ Summerhall

13:15

14:20

5

183.     

Tycho: Mankind's First Hotel on the Moon! (**)

A teenager falls asleep, and dream that he is a special guest in the first motel on the moon described in one of his comic books.  Though the bulk of the set in the hotel it seemed that nothing happened there that was relevant to the final reveal.  My wife didn’t like the show, and I kept falling asleep from boredom (and not lack of sleep).

theSpace @ Niddry St

16:25

17:10

4

184.     

A Series of Apologies (in Response to an Unfortunate Incident in the School Lavatories (**)

The title perfectly describes this play performed by twelve high school girls.  Initially, the various ways the school administrators and politicians try to duck responsibility for their previous apologies are biting and sometimes funny, but the one trick show quickly becomes boring.  The large cast performs well, but they cannot overcome the repetitive nature of the script.

C ARTS C Aquila

13:55

14:55

3

185.     

Disco Dick (**)

A daughter is caught in bed with her girlfriend by her mother just before her grandmother was due to arrive for dinner.  This sophomoric farce is rife with inexplicable behavior, including a father who suddenly delights in wearing a discovered strapon, an actress who doesn’t move a muscle for ten minutes, and an instruction sheet that flies from a bedroom to a dining room.  It seemed that playwright took some funny parts from other farces without providing the accompanying backstory to justify them.

theSpace @ Symposium Hall

13:10

13:55

2

186.     

Addiction: The Truth (*)

A former alcoholic argues that alcoholism is a moral issue, and not a disease.  As with “Divine Invention”, his absolute sureness in his opinion grated on me.  Many of  the things he asserted as absolute facts, differed from my understanding of the world. 

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50

18:30

19:30

12

187.     

Divine Invention (*)

A playwright warns us that he is going to simply sit and read 30 short treatises he has written about love.  I quickly tired of his self-referential stories and assertions using absolutes like “only”, “must”, and “always”, often combined with unpleasantness like “pain”, “trapped”, “death”, “suicide”, and “loss”, along with some false dichotomies.  What made this particularly unenjoyable was that I was sitting in the front row, and I couldn’t bear to publicly walk out and disabuse him of his sincerely held opinion that his opus was of great service to his audience.

Summerhall

14:30

15:35

2

188.     

3 Couples, 2 Breakups, 1 Barbie and The Berlin Wall (no stars)

I really cannot tell you what this about because it is only the second Fringe show I have ever walked out of.  From the beginning it was loud, with a bass saxophone playing loudly whenever someone spoke.  Then, seemingly to overcome the saxophone, the actors started to scream into microphones so loudly that it hurt both Debbie and my ears, and we left.

C ARTS | C venues | C aquila

12:55

13:40

3