What are the best shows of the Edinburgh Fringe 2019?
The Stage
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2019 is now underway. Our expert, resident reviewing team pick the best theatre shows of the Edinburgh Fringe so far. This selection will be updated throughout the festival, as more Edinburgh Fringe shows are reviewed.
Yuck Circus
Underbelly Circus Hub, 16.00
★★★★★
Joyful explosion of contemporary all-female circus
An Evening Without Kate Bush
Voodoo Rooms, 16.40
★★★★★
Joyous celebration of fandom, performed with warmth and authenticity
An Evening Without Kate Bush review at Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh – ‘joyous celebration of fandom’
Baby Reindeer
Summerhall, times vary
★★★★★
Comedian Richard Gadd moves into theatre with a stunning, intense performance
Baby Reindeer review at Summerhall, Edinburgh – ‘a stunning, intense performance’
Fishbowl
Pleasance Grand, 13.00
★★★★★
Acutely observed piece of physical theatre suited to an international audience
Fishbowl review at Pleasance Grand, Edinburgh – ‘acutely observed physical theatre’
Mouthpiece
Traverse, times vary
★★★★★
Provocative, brilliantly written and performed piece about art, appropriation and the ownership of stories
First Time
Summerhall, 16.15
★★★★★
Vibrant piece of confessional theatre that’s both moving and educational
First Time review at Summerhall, Edinburgh – ‘moving and educational’
Sh!t Theatre Drink Rum with Expats
Summerhall, 20.05
★★★★★
Sh!t Theatre’s irreverent, energetic, rum-fuelled new show is the company’s best yet
Pink Lemonade
Assembly Roxy, 15.45
★★★★
Mika Johnson’s got the juice in this fully squeezed spoken-word theatre piece exploring sexuality, queer desire and sour relationships
Pink Lemonade review at Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh – ‘Mika Johnson’s got the juice’
Typical
Pleasance Courtyard, 16.30
★★★★
Wrenching monologue about the death of a black man by police brutality with an excellent performance from Richard Blackwood
Typical review at Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh – ‘makes you want to shout at the injustice’
Are We Not Drawn Onward to New ErA
Zoo Southside, 11.00
★★★★
Palindromic show from Belgian theatremakers Ontroerend Goed explores climate change in a fascinating way
Do Our Best
Underbelly Cowgate, 14.50
★★★★
Bizarre and brilliant monologue about a narcissistic Girl Guide written and performed by Remy Beasley
Do Our Best review at Underbelly Cowgate, Edinburgh – ‘bizarre and brilliant’
Pops
Assembly Roxy, 18.35
★★★★
Devastatingly downbeat depiction of a father-daughter relationship, featuring two fine performances from Sophie Melville and Nigel Barrett
Pops review at Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh – ‘devastatingly downbeat’
The Incident Room
Pleasance Two, 14.30
★★★★
An intelligent and interesting docu-drama about the hunt for The Yorkshire Ripper from London’s New Diorama Theatre
The Incident Room review at the Pleasance, Edinburgh – ‘intelligent and compelling’
Hitler’s Tasters
Greenside Infirmary Street, 18.35
★★★★
Slick, smart, intriguingly anachronistic play set in Nazi Germany
Hitler’s Tasters review at Greenside, Infirmary Street, Edinburgh – ‘slick, smart and unsettling’
The Last of the Pelican Daughters
Pleasance Beyond, 16.40
★★★★
Moving, devised play about the complexity of sibling relationship that contains some beautiful moments
The Last of the Pelican Daughters review at Pleasance, Edinburgh – ‘beautiful moments’
Shit
Summerhall, 16.50
★★★★
Riveting performances of women who have nothing left to lose in dark, daring play
Shit review at Summerhall, Edinburgh – ‘riveting performances’
Sea Sick
CanadaHub, 12.30
★★★★
Informative, eloquent and galvanising performance lecture about climate change
Sea Sick review at CanadaHub, Edinburgh – ‘eloquent and galvanising’
All of Me
Summerhall, 15.10
★★★★
Caroline Horton’s astonishing show evokes the cyclical nature of depression
All of Me review at Summerhall, Edinburgh – ‘astonishing and overwhelming’
Bost-Uni Plues
Greenside Infirmary Street, 19.35
★★★★
A riotously fun, clown show about post-uni blues from Liverpool-based company Ugly Bucket
Bost-Uni Plues review at Greenside, Infirmary Street, Edinburgh – ‘riotously fun, clown show’
Wild Swimming
Beneath at Pleasance Courtyard, 12.45
★★★★
A confident, comedic, time-travelling exploration of gender rights, power and history
Who Cares
Summerhall, 18.20
★★★★
Another vital, vibrant show from verbatim theatre company Lung, about the difficulties faced by young carers
Who Cares review at Summerhall, Edinburgh – ‘tear-jerking throughout’
Bobby and Amy
Pleasance Courtyard, 12.45
★★★★
Moving story about foot-and-mouth disease with two superb performances
Bobby and Amy review at Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh – ‘moving and nostalgic’
Crocodile Fever
Traverse Theatre, times vary
★★★★
Gleefully dark and gory comedy set in Northern Ireland in the 1980s
Crocodile Fever review at Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh – ‘gleefully dark and gory comedy’
Until the Flood
Traverse Theatre, times vary
★★★★
A sensitive and moving exercise in documentary theatre about the Ferguson shooting and its aftermath
Until the Flood review at Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh – ‘sensitive and moving documentary theatre’
Collapsible
Assembly Roxy, 13.20
★★★★
A hypnotically performed play about one woman’s gradually unravelling
Collapsible review at Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh – ‘Breffni Holahan is mesmeric’
Cotton Fingers
Summerhall, 12.15
★★★★
A crisp production and moving performance give voice to a Belfast teen changing her path in light of Ireland’s referendum on abortion
Cotton Fingers review at Summerhall, Edinburgh – ‘powerful and poetic’
A Table Tennis Play
Underbelly, 12.30
★★★★
An offbeat, distinctive and moving play that reaffirms Sam Steiner as one of the most exciting new writers around
A Table Tennis Play review at Underbelly, Edinburgh – ‘studded with moments of magic’
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