With just a week to go until the start of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2023, we’re taking one last look at some great shows to check out this year.
This Fringe round-up includes stand-up comedians, a Shakespeare play performed by pupils from King Charles’ old school, a one-woman show on an open top bus, hard-hitting dramas and the chance to enjoy an intimate sound-experience that invites you to plant a wildflower meadow in Edinburgh.
9. Topless: The One Woman Musical
Topless - The Musical is an imaginative reimagining of Miles Tredinnick's original one-woman show, first performed in London in 1999. Set on the open-top deck of a double-decker hop-on hop off bus, this production offers an unprecedented level of intimacy, drawing audiences into close-contact drama that is both highly dramatic and entirely unique. It is a remarkable theatrical experience, blending Harry Styles as well as dark, funny, and at times disturbing elements, telling the story of Sandie, an eccentric tour guide with emotional issues and a wayward husband whose fate hangs in the balance. Big Bus Betty, Regent Road, EH7 5BL, August 4-13, 15, 17-20, 22-27, 2pm & 6pm. Photo: Submitted
10. Simon Brodkin – Xavier
Following two sold-out, critically-acclaimed Fringe shows and a 120-date international tour that was extended to meet huge demand, the TikTok record-breaker, Lee Nelson creator and world-famous prankster returns to Edinburgh with his third stand-up show performing as himself. This brand-new show sees Simon contemplate God, guns, Matt Hancock, Ayatollah Khamenei and a man called Xavier. Last year “the world’s most famous blagger” whose pranks on Donald Trump, Sepp Blatter, Theresa May and Kanye West grabbed headlines around the world, broke records on TikTok with clips of his stand-up routines, one reached more than 40 million views, making him the most-viewed British comedian ever on the platform. 2 – 27 August (excl 15th) at Pleasance Courtyard, Forth at 8.30pm. Photo: Avalon
11. 1000 Miniature Meadows
1000 Miniature Meadows is an atypical Edinburgh Fringe event in that it can be experienced anywhere in the city, at any time of day. Part letter project, part sound project, and part city-wide planting project, this fizzy triptych will begin with you collecting a Listening Pack from the Pleasance Courtyard. An invitation to step into nearby nature and listen to what it has to say. Expect an intimate soundscape, expert interviews and a conversation with a bumblebee. A new perspective on Scotland’s biodiversity crisis through sound, 1000 Miniature Meadows is an ambitious attempt to invade our outdoor spaces and explore our connection with biodiversity and nature. This will involve the planting of 1,000 wildflower meadows across the city of Edinburgh; participants will sign up to take part via the Pleasance or Edinburgh Fringe website. They will then collect a Listening Pack from the Pleasance Box Office which contains a letter with detailed instructions on how to participate, along with a link to the soundscape, and a pack of indigenous Scottish meadow seeds. Pleasance Courtyard (Info Shed) - Listening Pack Collection between 11am-7pm each day, August 12-28. Photo: Fergal Styles
12. The Rob Auton Show
Marking his 10th hour at the Edinburgh Fringe, this year award-winning comedian and podcaster Rob Auton turns the pen on himself in The Rob Auton Show, a show about Rob Auton. Exploring the memories and feelings that create his life on a daily basis, Rob’s tenth show follows on from his previous nine hit Fringe comedy/theatre/spoken word shows on specific themes that have earnt him a cult Fringe following, including yellow in The Yellow Show, sleep in The Sleep Show, and time in The Time Show. 2 – 26 August at Assembly Roxy, Upstairs at 2.25pm. Photo: Avalon