83 Reviews (so far) for 2022 the Edinburgh Fringe (In order from most enjoyable to least)

Welcome to the 2022 version of my Fringe reviews. This year is unlike any other because my 49-year old stepson, Breck, will choose most of the shows for the first week. He loves comedy and magic much more than I do so I won’t get to see much theater until the 11^th. As usual, my incredibly knowledgeable friend, Tim, will choose our plays for a week, Aug 22-26. If you want suggestions for strong plays before I have a chance to write many reviews, I suggest you look at my schedule for those dates. You can see my schedule at 2022 Schedule.

I hope to have the time to write my traditional three sentence reviews for all the shows I see. I try to have a consistent star rating across the years with 5-stars indicating a show that is excellent in all aspects of its production. Usually only around 10% of the shows meet that criteria. Four star shows are usually excellent in many aspects, but have area(s) that were problematic for me. A three star rating is not a condemnation, and just indicates that the show had provided normal enjoyment for me. Shows that I give less than three stars have serious problem(s) for me. Nonetheless, I have no desire to hurt the feelings of the people who made the effort to put on shows this year. So I will only be posting reviews of the better shows to edfringe.com.

You can find out about me, and my extended thoughts about reviewing at the bottom of this page. I think that the most useful aspect for my readers is the rankings. I base the rankings on my enjoyment of the show, so they may not reflect the quality of the script and/or acting. I prefer plays to comedy acts, but work in a little of the latter for diversity. I have discovered that I have a penchant for true stories. The comments are usually only three sentences long because I have little time between shows, and, after all, I am here for the shows. You can also see my 15 reviews for 2021 Fringe, 171 reviews for 2019 Fringe, 177 reviews for 2018 Fringe, 151 reviews for 2017 Fringe, 171 reviews for 2016 Fringe, 189 reviews for 2015 Fringe, 165 reviews for 2014 Fringe, 152 reviews for 2013 Fringe, 135 reviews for 2012 Fringe, 175 reviews for 2011 Fringe, 200 reviews for 2010 Fringe, 177 reviews for 2009 Fringe, 153 reviews for 2008 Fringe, 162 reviews for 2006 Fringe, and 151 reviews for 2005 Fringe. I always enjoy chatting with both audience members and dramatic artists. If you wish to contact me, send e-mail to Sean Davis.

You can change the sorting column of the table below by first clicking anywhere in its header. Each succeeding click in the header sorts the table by the column clicked. Succeeding clicks of a column will reverse the previous sort order. I have now added a Date column on the right so that returning viewers can sort by it to see my most recent reviews.

Fringe Festival Reviews

Rank	Review	Venue	Begins	Ends	Date
1.	The Choir of Man (*****) This musical is set in local tavern in which the men chose to sing rather than form sports teams. This is classic revue that mixes upbeat singalong songs with dance with solo ballads with audience members invited on stage to be the center of attention. I saw this show in 2019, and the vibe was just as great this time, as the audience joyfully joined the pub men.	Assembly Hall	20:40	21:40	4
2.	Mitch Benn: It's About Time (*****) Benn mixes poignant stories from his life with observations about spending time wisely with well written, short songs in a way that I just loved. Whether it is dealing with his dying mother during Covid, or railing against the politicians, his humanity and wit are always plainly evident. I particularly appreciated his reminder that rather than repeating itself, events are often similar, but each is an opportunity for change.	Underbelly, Bristo Square	16:00	17:00	5
3.	Police Cops: The Musical (*****) The energetic and talented cast of six young people smoothly perform the songs, choreography, and hi-jinx of this send-up of rookie cop movies. Though I missed a few lines because of my poor hearing, what I did hear was clever and tuneful. It was joy to watch each of them tackle their many roles so effectively.	Assembly George Square Studios	19:00	20:25	9
4.	Intelligence (*****) In the basement of the United States State Department, three women take turns enacting meetings between an envoy and a leader of an Islamic terrorist organization. The writing is taut, and the evolution of the three characters intriguing. A date/time clock above the proceedings adds a subtle urgency to the proceedings.	Assembly Roxy	12:40	14:00	11
5.	Joshua (and Me) (*****) A young woman relates the true story of how growing up with an autistic brother influenced her and her normal brother. This is not a simple tale of an undervalued daughter, but rather of how her brother’s improvement impacted her over the years. Though I found her looped background difficult to understand with my poor hearing, it was an effective way to convey the changing atmosphere of the house.	Pleasance Dome	10:55	11:55	11
6.	Camille O'Sullivan: Dreaming (*****) Loud at times, but still great. A force of nature in the mold of Janis Joplin wihttout the drugs.	Underbelly Bristo Square	19:20	20:35	16
7.	Out of the Blue (****) The thirteen Oxford men are back with their smooth acapella and loose choreography. I always make time to see them each year, and they again brought tears to my eyes with their harmonies and camaraderie. Normally I give them five stars, but this year’s selection of songs had fewer songs that I knew than ever before.	Assembly George Square	15:00	16:00	10
8.	Kevin Quantum: Dark Matter (****) Kevin starts off successfully guessing drink an audience member is thinking of, and from then on continues with a polished show of patter and new magic. I am reluctant to use the word “tricks”, because my cynicism took such a beating. While Breck and I could figure out some of the magic, there were some that left us astounded.	Gilded Balloon Teviot	15:30	16:30	6
9.	Happy Meal (****)	Traverse	10:30	11:45	14
10.	Fanboy (****) A thirty something nerd whose life revolves around Star Wars et al, interacts with his 8-year old self on a video cam, and a mysterious being who resembles the Emperor, as he deals with his own world view conflicts. On the first day of the Fringe, with Breck choosing only comedy shows, only this piece brought tears to my eyes because of its sincerity and depth. Despite the low budget, and maybe because of the low budget, the multi-media worked surprisingly well to convey the pureness of childhood.	Pleasance Dome	12:15	13:15	3
11.	Card Ninja (****) This is not a magic or sleight of hand show, a man who can throw cards with amazing speed and power. Though he is a one trick pony, his skill, his Ninja persona, and his interaction with the audience were wonderful. Breck stood out as a participant who finally caught a thrown card, and then counted how many cards were thrown at him in ten seconds.	Gilded Balloon Teviot	16:15	17:15	3
12.	Cassie and the Lights (****)	Underbelly Cowgate	12:30	13:30	13
13.	Love Them to Death (****)	Underbelly Cowgate	15:30	16:30	14
14.	Starship Improvise (****) With the audience only providing the title, initial emotion, and starting location on a starship, this show has a predefined structure that gives it a big leg-up on other improvised shows. The pre-filmed credits and introductions tell us who their characters are within the Star Trek well defined command structure. With this as a starting point, the actors easily slide into their well worn roles to exploit the seams of fun in the given premise of the day.	Pleasance Dome	15:00	16:00	7
15.	Ari Eldjárn: Saga Class (****) Eldjarn populates his stand-up routine with comments about Covid, his native Iceland, and his two young daughters. His gentle humor warmed my heart throughout his show. Imagining an Icelandic man trying to cook some ham on a new lava flow only to see his expensive skillet melt is something I will never forget.	Monkey Barrel 4 Blair St.	17:00	18:00	8
16.	Somethiing About Simon (****)	Assembly Rooms	13:00	14:00	15
17.	Christopher Bliss: Captain Words Eye (****)	Pleasance Courtyard	18:40	19:40	13
18.	Are You Being Murdered? (****) Arthur Bostrom beautifully executes this one hander about a murder that takes place on the set of the old Brit sitcom, “Are You Being Served?” The acting, staging, pacing, and murder tale, are all top notch. Besides Bostrom’s winning characterization, I appreciated how the playwright had given nicknames to the supporting characters so we could easily keep track of them.	Pleasance at EICC	12:00	13:00	6
19.	Pip Utton as Dylan (****) As usual, Utton dons a character, and uses his research to allow us to present him as a real person rather than just a celebrity. In this case, we are treated to a man who is first, and foremost a singer/songwriter who has no desire to be an icon of a generation. I found it most telling, that he spent many days at Woody Guthrie’s bedside as he died of Huntington’s disease.	Pleasance Courtyard	13:30	14:30	7
20.	Pete Firman: Bag Of Tricks (****) With his likable persona, and smooth patter, Firman makes the most of his bag of well-worn magic tricks. Other than the first trick involving a chair in a carton that mysteriously turns upside down, I had seen all of the tricks before. Nonetheless, even from the first row, his sleight-of-hand was top notch, and a joy to watch.	Gilded Balloon Teviot	20:00	21:00	3
21.	What the Heart Wants (****) Woody Allen and Frank Sinatra try to collaborate to write a film treatment starring themselves. Sinatra’s excellent singing combined with their discussions of possible plot variations combine for a unique exploration of relationships. Unhappily, the last line of the play was so badly delivered that the power of its revelation was lost.	Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose	14:00	15:00	6
22.	Foundations (****) Touching.	Underbelly Cowgate	11:05	12:05	13
23.	Fiji (****) Complex throughout.	Pleasance Courtyard	13:55	14:55	14
24.	An Audience with Stuart Bagcliffe (****) This tale has a naïve, sickly teenager present an autobiographic Fringe show about his protective mother and his naivete. The actor is perfect at conveying his awkward awakening to the opposite sex, while dealing with his offstage mother. I loved his quiet, subtle performance until the director spoiled the atmosphere with a superfluous cacophony of light and sound to needlessly highlight the boys already traumatic experience.	Zoo Playgound	10:55	11:50	7
25.	Pip Utton is Adolf (****) First section as great as ever. Second section doesn’t have the punch of his 2003 verrsion (through no fault of his own.)	The Stand's New Town Theatre	21:00	22:00	15
26.	ALOK (****) Great poetry.	Traverse	21:00	22:00	11
27.	Shelton on Sinatra (****) Piano too loud.	Le Monde Hotel	16:30	17:30	15
28.	Mark Watson: This Can't Be It (***) Funny, but too scattered for me.	Pleasance Courtyard	21:00	22:00	14
29.	Bad Clowns: Invasion (***) This delightful show has three agents using an alien detector gun to find an alien in the audience who will disarm a ticking time bomb on the stage that will destroy the Earth in less than hour. Their frequent misuse of a memory washer straight out of “Men in Black” keeps the plot jerking along in a most amusing fashion. I was really impressed the complex Rube Goldberg bomb with its moving lights and elevating whatever.	Gilded Balloon Teviot	13:30	14:30	4
30.	Arthur Smith: My 75 Years at the Edinburgh Fringe (***) The well travelled comedian covers the Fringe from its beginnings, and his shows there from 1977. His shows have varied from early zany comedy with plates crashed on people’s heads to Leonard Cohen homages. His mix of laconic humor goes down well.	Pleasance Courtyard	14:40	15:40	11
31.	Dragons and Mystical Beasts (***) A trainer of heroes asks the children for help at becoming a hero himself by completing six quests involving magical creatures. The beautifully made puppet creatures vary from a tiny fairy to a three-person dragon. The minions within the larger creatures made them come alive for the entire audience.	Underbelly Bristo Square	11:20	12:20	5
32.	Caligari (***) This adaptation of the 1920 landmark horror film “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” has four musicians trying to deal with both the evil doctor, and their own tenuous grip on life. The production, including an appropriately bizarre cabinet conveys the macabre feeling of the movie perfectly. Their own ambivalence about their fate adds an extra dimension to the show.	Underbelly Cowgate	18:30	19:30	12
33.	Agent November: Indoor Escape Game – Murder Mr E (***) Ten of us were tasked to determine who of six suspects had killed Mr. E by solving seven or eight multi-level puzzles. Since the three of us worked on only one, I can only speak of it, and can say it required a mix of skills, and benefited from teamwork. On the whole it was a very satisfying puzzle solving experience.	The Stand's New Town Theatre	15:00	16:00	8
34.	Mischief Movie Night (***) Tasked with creating an action movie involving a grandma in a kitchen, the moon, and a dystopian future, the troupe created a story that was fun for the audience. I found the professional improv group a vast improvement over the cringe worthy amateurs at the Fringe. Nonetheless, I would only recommend this for people who can find ad hoc wit an acceptable substitute for a well written script.	Pleasance at EICC	18:30	19:30	4
35.	Pete Heat: Blimey (***) The Wee Room seems like the perfect room for Pete’s casual, intimate approach to magic presentation. Using only small props like dice, cards, and soda cans, he still explores a wide range of magic tricks including mind reading, object creation, and object transformation. All in all, it was a lot of fun.	Gilded Balloon Teviot	20:40	21:40	6
36.	Flo & Joan: Sweet Release (***) The musical pair combine witty songs, audience interactions, and humorous tales from their lives to create a delightful show for their audience. Though their personas are strikingly different, the two sisters clearly enjoy working together to create a sharp show. I must admit that I was too old for many of their pop culture references, but still had a fine time.	Assembly Roxy	20:10	21:10	10
37.	Angela Barnes: Hot Mess (***)	Pleasance Courtyard	19:00	20:00	11
38.	Tiff Stevenson: Sexy Brain (***) Stevenson combines tales of her episodes of ADHD (Sexy) brain, with feminist observations. Whether it was thwarting her partner’s marriage proposal with endless guesses, or society’s backhand negation of women’s concerns she keeps things light. My favorite was her mind bending revelations after smoking marijuana during her mid-life “crisis” (“breakdown” for women) in Los Angeles.	Pleasance Courtyard	20:00	21:00	8
39.	Seann Walsh: Is Dead. Happy Now? (***) The comedian tells of his life since the newspapers published a photo of him passionately kissing his married Strictly Come Dancing partner outside a club. Whether it was dealing with the career crushing aftermath, the poop of his dog, or his heroin smoking father, he strove to create tales with an amazing mix of pathos and humor. I found myself alternating between empathizing with his plight, and laughing out loud with him.	The Stad Comedy Club	22:00	23:00	3
40.	Kafka and Son (***) The Czech author writes a letter to his overbearing father expressing his anguish. His acting, the use of props, and only occasionally overloud music all impressed me. However, the unrelenting dour tone needs an occasional uplifting moment—maybe from his courtships.	Pleasance Courtyard	10:30	11:30	4
41.	Tim Vine: Breeeep! (***) The king of one-liners is still going strong after all these years mixing in in puns, visual gags, and ditties to create a clever mélange of humor. With my poor hearing, I did miss many of his quips, but those I heard were worth it all. The rest of the audience had a great time; like Laugh-In of the sixties, if you didn’t like that joke, just wait a few seconds, and there will be another.	Pleasance Courtyard	18:00	19:00	3
42.	Nic Sampson: Marathon, 1904 (***) Combining facts with his a bit of fictionalized backstory, Sampson provides a lively account of an real, bizarre Olympic marathon. He focuses on three racers, and their amazing obstacles including wild dogs, strychnine, and enforced dehydration. My one complaint was that he chose Breck without warning to participate at several points in the show without instead of asking for a volunteer. I should note that Breck acquitted himself admirably, and added a lot to the fun of the show.	Pleasance Courtyard	16:40	17:40	7
43.	Richard Hardisty: Silly Boy (***)	Pleasance Below	16:30	17:30	10
44.	Benjamin Alborough: Absolute Monopoly (***) Alborough polls the audience for rule changes that would allow Monopoly to be completed in an hour. I would expect this premise would rarely work as well as did this time. The two volunteer players, one a big relaxed guy, and the other a small, effete fellow interacted in wonderfully unexpected ways, including dancing together, and threatening the host.	Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose	21:15	22:15	5
45.	Silkworm (***) Too slow.	Assembly Roxy	18:50	20:05	14
46.	In Pursuet (***) Great acting.	Underbelly Cowgate	15:50	16:50	16
47.	The Trial (***)	Pleasance Courtyard	15:00	16:00	12
48.	Dreamgun: Film Reads (***) For this day, the invited actors read a re-worked “Breakfast Club”. I found most of the edits amusing, and the occasional bloopers from the un-rehearsed readings by the capable cast to be fun. The disjoint of a bearded undercover cop playing a high school girl didn’t work well, but the small woman playing a dumb brute had great lines throughout.	Underbelly, Bristo Square	18:50	19:50	7
49.	Watson: The Final Problem (***) Tim Marriott portrays Doctor Watson talking about his military career, how he met Sherlock, and the events leading up to Sherlock’s death. Much of the text is straight out of Conan Doyle’s story, and is well told. It does suffer from a lack of movement on the stage.	Assembly Rooms	13:10	14:10	9
50.	Richard Stott: After Party (***) Stott tells of his personal experiences as both a person with a small, deformed hand, and a man in his mid-30s who is behind his advancing friends. He presents an odd mix of woe-is-me, and guilt about achieving so little. The best of his tales explored the definition of “disabled”, and how he was clearly hindered by his hand and the mental issues arising from his treatment, but is not disabled enough to be used as “disabled” in films.	Underbelly Bristo Square	16:15	17:15	9
51.	The Endling (***)	Underbelly Cowgate	14:10	15:10	13
52.	Exodus (***) Great acting, but too much of a mash up. Killing a baby can never be funny.	Traverse	10:30	11:55	16
53.	Irvine Welsh's Porno (***)	Pleasance Courtyard	16:50	17:50	14
54.	Americana: A Murder Ballad (***)	Assembly Checkpoint	13:20	14:35	12
55.	Any Suggestions, Doctor? The Improvised Doctor Who Parody (***)	Pleasance Dome	18:30	19:30	10
56.	Garrett Millerick: Just Trying to Help (***) Millerick is a passionate, often angry man who wants to share his take on topics ranging from Margaret Thatcher to Covid to the Queen. His slant on history is both funny and harsh. Though he held a microphone, it was unneeded because he shouts almost all the time.	Monkey Barrel 4 Blair St.	18:25	19:25	8
57.	This Moment in America (***) Collection of excerpt was good, but text had no drama.	Underbelly Cowgate	12:40	13:40	16
58.	Foil Arms and Hog – Hogwash (***) Three fellows provided a few sketches interspersed with a lot of inconsequential audience interviews. It just didn’t seem a good value for the high price we had to pay. The running gag about re-uniting long lost people fell flat for me, but their routine of two suitcases on an airport carousel did work.	Underbelly, Bristo Square	21:15	22:15	7
59.	Paddy Young: Laugh, You Rats! (***) Young presents stand-up comedy about a wide range of topics which were shortly forgotten by my two friends and me. We could only remember his long discourse on how Northerners are always portrayed as simple, dumb people in commercials. He just isn’t exceptional.	Gilded Balloon Patter House	17:40	18:25	5
60.	Character Building Experience (***) Sasha acts as dungeon master for three fellows she invited to complete a quest in an hour. Their quest this day was to deal with a town in which the humans have been replaced with intelligent cows. As a weekly dungeon master, Breck offered many helpful suggestions to the novice adventurers as they whimsically journeyed through the weird world.	Laughing Horse@The Counting House	13:45	14:45	5
61.	Boris the Third (***) Sophmoric	Pleasance Courtyard	16:10	17:10	13
62.	Something About George (***) Lounge act.	Assembly Rooms	14:30	15:30	15
63.	Muller's Last Tape (***) Too little	Assembly Rooms	11:40	12:40	15
64.	Let's Talk About Philip (***)	Pleasance Courtyard	16:00	17:00	11
65.	1972: The Future of Sex (***)	theSpace on North Bridge	13:20	14:10	10
66.	Adults Only Magic Show (***) After seeing eight magic shows, I am afraid that Breck and I had become jaded. Other than their contrived escape routines, and one card trick, we had seen all of their tricks at the Fringe already, and many were better executed by others. Their dialog was fun, and it did take me a while to figure out their new card selection trick which depends on some nifty shuffling.	Assembly George Square Studios	21:15	22:20	9
67.	Fire Signs (***)	Pleasance Courtyard	11:45	12:45	12
68.	Crybabies: Bagbeard (***) If you like the idea of a fellow wearing a blue plastic shopping bag as a beard throughout a show, then this is for you. It is zany, chaotic, and sophomoric. Not my cup of tea, but Breck loved it.	Pleasance Dome	17:50	18:50	6
69.	Mind Mangler: Member of the Tragic Circle (***) This show has an obviously inept mind reader try unsuccessfully to convince the audience that he could read minds with the aid of an equally obvious planted assistant. He did do some magic tricks, but his patter and less than deft execution didn’t help matters. Even Breck found this shtick tedious.	Pleasance Courtyard	21:30	22:30	8
70.	The Oxford Imps (***) Six Oxford students and their keyboardist fed audience suggestions into their prescribed scenario blanks. There were a few comedic gems, and, thankfully, no really weak actors, but floundering seem too prevalent. It became all the more apparent as they would choose to repeat a good idea that had gotten a laugh until had worn desperately thin.	Gilded Balloon Patter House	13:40	14:40	3
71.	Badass (***) If you haven’t dealt with cancer, then this is informative. I have, and there was nothing new here.	Pleasance Courtyard	14:05	15:05	16
72.	Handbook of Civilian Defense (What Every Loyal American Can Do To Help the United States Win the War)	Greenside Nicholson Square	20:50	21:40	12
73.	The Greatest Hits of Lily and John (***)	Pleasance Courtyard	16:30	17:30	12
74.	Hound of the Baskervilles (***)	theSpace on North Bridge	12:05	12:55	10
75.	Men With Coconuts (***) This was another show that seemed to believe that louder is necessarily funnier. With my hearing loss and their keyboard, I rarely could understand them, and left.	Gilded Balloon Patter House	19:45	20:45	5
76.	Richard Herring: RHLSTP (**) Through no fault of the ever-engaging Herring, I thought this would be one of his stand-up gigs instead of an interview for his podcast. His interviewees Flo and Joan from “Flo and Joan: Sweet Release” were nice enough, but it just wasn’t what we came to see.	Assembly Rooms	13:00	14:00	8
77.	Destiny (**) Walked out because we couldn’t understand them through their thick Wiltshire accents.	Underbelly Cowgate	17:20	18:20	16
78.	Hey, That's My Wife! (**) Sophmoric.	Hill Street	17:50	18:50	15
79.	Gash Theatre Needs Some Space (**) Low budget weirdness.	Assembly Rooms	22:25	23:25	15
80.	Pauline (**) Self centered Fringe trope.	Pleasance Courtyard	12:20	13:20	14
81.	Scottish Falsetto Socks: Eurovision Sock Contest (**) The puppeteer presents places eight costumes on his socks to create signers from eight different countries. This overloud show comes across as an improv show with its tuneless, witless songs. It seemed that the puppeteer spent a day creating the eight sock sleeves, and then decided to just wing the rest of the show.	Gilded Balloon Teviot	16:30	17:30	4
82.	General Secretary (*) For no apparent reason, two young women are made rulers of the entire world. As they unsuccessfully deal with the problems of the world we can see that not only are they incompetent, but so was the playwright. There is nothing here worth your time.	Gilded Balloon Patter House	15:00	16:00	4
83.	Janeane Garofalo: Pardon My Tangent (*) Janeane seems to have taken the title to heart, for she could not stay focused for the whole show. She bounced from commenting on people’s hair to half told stories about talking with her brother to incomplete political diatribes. Occasionally she would have a witty asides, but they were lost in her scatter brained show. We came away guessing that she was on some medication that went horribly wrong.	Gilded Balloon Teviot	19:15	20:15	6

I am a 69-year old retired Computer Science lecturer from the University of California in Davis who thinks even a bad play is better than no play at all. I have been to the Fringe fourteen times before. In 2005, I fulfilled a dream of seeing an entire Fringe Festival. Since then, I have been here for the whole Fringe every year except 2007, and 2020. I have learned to devote most days to only venues that are close to each other to maximize the number of performances I can see. I expect this year to be better than last—Covid is under control, more shows, and many new friends.

After attending more than 1000 performances, I have a much better idea of my biases and prejudices in the role of a critic. To limit my analyzing shows during their performances as much as possible, I have intentionally avoided any training in criticism and the dramatic arts, both formal and informal. I find that I prefer fact to fiction, innovation to repetition, coherence to creativity, the concrete to the symbolic, and cleverness to depth. I realize that many of these are antithetical to the spirit of the Fringe, but I cannot deny my nature. In particular, I just do not like shows that push the bounds of creativity beyond my ability to make sense of them. Because I choose to fill time slots with whatever is available, I still expose myself to such shows, and do not mind. However, I do feel a little guilty giving a low rating to a show on which a company has worked so hard, and with such commitment. Nevertheless, I envision that that is my role—to accurately report my enjoyment so that others may better use my ratings. In all but a very few cases, I admire the effort of each company, and wish them well.