We’ve picked out 17 great theatre, circus and cabaret shows to catch in Edinburgh next month, including Cyrano, starring Edinburgh-born David Tarkenter, and a virtual reality musical.
There is also an interesting Fringe show by American singer Victoria Mature, who pays tribute to her late father, the original Hollywood hunk Victor Mature in an intimate cabaret performance.
While, eight world-class acrobats investigate physical skill; how we obtain it, how we perfect it, and how it can transform our lives, in thrilling circus show Ten Thousand Hours.
And, the Olivier Award-winning West End hit ‘Showstopper! The Improvised Musical’ is back for a 15th year. 18 stand-up comedy shows at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024.
13. Gogo Boots Go
Interrogating the incomprehensible connections shared between women and the way people construct sexuality through first experiences, Gogo Boots Go is a new show exploring the shame people carry through childhood, queerness, womanhood and religion. With fast-paced dialogue and poignant humour, its inspired by co-writers and performers Rosalie Roger-Lacan and Amber Charlie Conroy’s experiences of growing up in Catholic cultures and the intense bond in friendship they share with each other. Gogo Boots Go follows two women who meet in Charlie’s bridal shop and instantly build a rapport as they search for Clelia’s perfect wedding dress, spilling secrets, laughter and desires with a familiarity that defies logic. Gogo Boots Go. at Zoo Playground, Playground 3, August 2-25 (not 12 & 19), 2.40pm. Tickets £12- £13, https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/gogo-boots-go?day=06-08-2024. | Vicky Hussey
14. Murder She Didn't Write
‘Murder, She Didn’t Write’ makes a welcome return to the Edinburgh Fringe this year to their biggest venue yet, the 500 capacity Assembly George Square Gordon Aikman Theatre, for the month of August. Now celebrating its 10th year, this is a massive Fringe success story. The show started in a 60-seater venue with the cast lodging five to a room, sleeping on floors, sharing beds, risking their own money and flyering all hours of the day. Now 10 years on the brand has truly cemented a loyal fanbase and is a runaway hit. Don your deerstalker, grab your magnifying glass and get your finger of suspicion at the ready for your sleuthing pleasure with Degrees of Error. They'll create a classic murder mystery on-the-spot every afternoon in this ingenious and original improvised comedy production. You, the audience, become the author as the cast act out your very own Agatha Christie-inspired masterpiece live on stage. Murder She Didn't Write, at Assembly George Square Gordon Aikman Theatre, July 31 - August 26, 3.50pm. Tickets £20, https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/murder-she-didn-t-write?day=06-08-2024. | Lee Pullen
15. 100% My Type On Paper
Sammy and Clyde are on their first date. It’s cute. It’s awkward. It’s bad jokes, forced laughter. It’s sweaty hands, it’s ‘who’s going to pay for this pint then?’ It’s ‘I really want to kiss her’ and ‘I hope he doesn’t try to kiss me’. It’s excruciating. But hey, it’s a first date... Right? But as reality fragments around them they begin to lose touch with their understanding of love, the media and the world as we know it. In this world, where dating has become increasingly defined by social media, dating apps, and Love Island, 100% 'My Type on Paper' poses the question: what does ‘love’ mean today? As Sammy and Clyde get to know each other, again, and again, and again, reality fragments around them, as ‘Reality’ takes its place. Missed jokes become hilarious one-liners, awkward silences become witty repartee. The pub becomes the studio. The waiter becomes the producer. The customers become an audience. Everything becomes a camera. And Sammy and Clyde? They become disposable. Creeping sinisterly from realism to absurdism, this piece critiques a system that puts entertainment before authenticity, and money before lives. 100% My Type On Paper, at C ARTS | C venues, Victoria Terrace, August 12-25, not 18th, 1.20pm. Tickets £9, https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/100-my-type-on-paper?day=13-08-2024. | Drop Dead Theatre
16. Surrender
Mother is in prison. Daughter – from whom she has been estranged for 13 years – has come to visit. Closely watched by security personnel, they have one hour. As unreliable as she is charming, mother recounts her version of events, knowing this is their last chance to reconnect. Along a blurry journey of sleep deprivation and abandoned love, we discover the true reason for her imprisonment and ask: how can you keep a hold of yourself when you’re forced to get lost in your keeper. Surrender looks at the system of social care, which catches people in its web – often saving lives – but in this case, things may have fractured beyond repair. Surrender, at Summerhall, Edinburgh, August 1-26, except 12th and 19th, 1.55pm. Tickets £17, https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/surrender?day=06-08-2024. | Ali Wright