What's on in Edinburgh today? 11 things to do, from author events to an open mic night in a nuclear bunker
With the Edinburgh International Festival just around the corner, there will be a preview of Make It Happen on tonight at the Festival Theatre. Starring Brian Cox - who returns to the stage in Scotland for the first time in a decade - as 18th century economist and philosopher Adam Smith, the play charts the downfall of Royal Bank of Scotland boss Fred Goodwin. | David Viniter Photo: David Viniter
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Scotsman
5 hours ago
- Scotsman
Edinburgh festivals diary: Flying chandeliers and venue closures as amber wind warning hits Edinburgh
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... As I write this, it is late Monday morning and I'm sitting in Assembly's below-ground Club Bar, where I often base myself to work between events. What I hadn't accounted for - or noticed before - was that the roof of this bar, which is adorned with fabric hangings and ornate lighting, is actually a tent. The winds are picking up in Edinburgh and the 60mph gusts are making the structure rock. Staff have been running around picking up bits of (plastic) chandeliers, which are flying off at increasingly regular intervals - and are currently up a giant ladder trying to dismantle the potentially lethal decorations. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Today's amber weather warning driven by Storm Floris is the talk of the festivals. The Pleasance cancelled 72 shows on Monday and closed its main hub, not helped by The Green venue in the Pleasance Courtyard resembling a temporary, tent-like structure. Meanwhile, the Edinburgh International Festival scrapped its Ceilidh Sessions event tonight because of the city council's decision to close Princes Street Gardens due to the storm. North Berwick's Fringe by the Sea has also been forced to cancel its entire programme for Monday. The Edinburgh International Book Festival, preparing for a Saturday opening, has had to reschedule some of its planned building work on its outdoor tents, but people there tell me there is 'plenty to be getting on with inside' and there will be no delays to the event. Pleasance Courtyard, where The Green is situated. | Pleasance Courtyard, where The Green is situated. Other venues are having a more relaxed attitude to the gusts. I've been watching and waiting for Underbelly's purple cow to take off and fly into the Edinburgh skies like some kind of bizarre hot air balloon. But so far it has remained on terra firma, with the venue's PR team repeatedly insisting it is 'business as usual'. Hopefully the collective weight of sell-out audiences looking for an indoor activity on this breezy day will hold it down. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad For one Fringe performer, however, there are no problems, just opportunities, as my dad would say. Climate comedian Matt Winning, who has a daily show at Assembly on the climate crisis called Sostalgia, has emailed journalists offering commentary on the extreme weather. Wrong city At the weekend, I met singer Hannah Rose Platt, who is performing her entire album, Fragile Creatures, at Surgeon's Hall. She admitted to me she accidentally booked her gig in the wrong city - but is happy she did. Given the material, about women's fight for bodily autonomy, Ms Platt, from Bristol, was looking for a medical-themed place to perform and online, came across what she believed to be the Royal College of Surgeons in London. 'I was looking for a place to perform and something popped up, saying they were looking for artists at Surgeons Hall,' she explained. 'I filled it in without realising it was in Edinburgh and then got an email offering me a venue for a Fringe show. I can't believe it, I've always had a childhood dream of bringing a show here.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Evacuation
Edinburgh Reporter
6 hours ago
- Edinburgh Reporter
Fringe 2025 – Raise the Barre rock Leith Theatre
A burst of energy from Fringe show, Raise the Barre, was introduced into Leith Theatre on Monday morning – the rock ballet spectacular which is part of Assembly Festival's 2025 programme. Cast members from the Masters of Choreography production lit up the venue with a short, high-energy performance, bringing the show's signature blend of ballet, jazz, street and break dancing to the historic venue. The performance paid tribute to the rich musical and cultural legacy of Leith Theatre. Leith Theatre shares much in common with Raise the Barre's ethos – a venue where rock music and ballet have long shared the stage. From hosting legendary acts like AC/DC and Kraftwerk to presenting ballet and opera as part of the Edinburgh International Festival, the theatre embodies the same spirit of boundary-pushing creativity and genre fusion that defines the show. Now in its first full week, Raise the Barre continues its Fringe run at Assembly Rooms until 24 August (excluding Wednesdays), with audiences praising its creative choreography, infectious energy and feel-good atmosphere. Beats on Pointe, its sister show and popular Fringe Festival favourite, returns this year and is running at the same venue until 24 August (weekends only). Show Title: Raise the Barre Raise the Barre Venue: Assembly Rooms, Music Hall Assembly Rooms, Music Hall Time: 15.20 Dates: 31 July – 24 August, except Wednesday 15.20 31 July – 24 August, except Wednesday Tickets: from £16 from £16 Bookings: or 0131 623 3030 Underbelly Preview event, McEwan Hall, Bristol Square Underbelly Preview event, McEwan Hall, Bristol Square Underbelly Preview event, McEwan Hall, Bristol Square All photos Ian Georgeson Raise the Barre at Assembly Gala launch © 2025 Martin McAdam Raise the Barre at Assembly Gala launch © 2025 Martin McAdam Like this: Like Related
Telegraph
7 hours ago
- Telegraph
Edinburgh comedy reviews: The best shows at the 2025 Fringe
Recommendations and the latest reviews from the Telegraph critics on the ground at Edinburgh International Festival and Edinburgh Fringe. This article will be updated on a rolling basis throughout the festival. Our picks: Famous faces Performing at the Fringe is a rite of passage for young artists. There's not much in it for established stars – so when they do choose to appear, it's often as a way of giving something back to the festival that made them famous. (Although in the case of some of this year's unexpected Fringe comebacks – I'm looking at you, Bobby Davro – it's hard not to think of the old music-hall joke: They say you play this place twice in your life. Once on the way up… Well, it's nice to be back!) Rosie O'Donnell: Common Knowledge ★★★★☆ 'I couldn't tell you my story without my tragic Irish beginning,' drawls Rosie O'Donnell, as she recalls losing her mother on St Patrick's Day in 1973 when she was 10. The mood is sober, but then O'Donnell pops a confetti cannon to reassure us that this is, after all, a comedy show. In her Edinburgh debut, the 63-year-old New York comedian and talk-show host shares a raw yet richly witty account of her life – including the ongoing feud with President Trump that led her to flee the US and move to Dublin with her adopted child after his re-election. The pair's war of words escalated last month when Trump threatened to revoke her US citizenship and described her as a 'threat to humanity'. O'Donnell retorted by calling him 'King Joffrey with a tangerine spray tan.' In this show, O'Donnell addresses their fractious relationship by showing off her anti-Trump art, depicting a red-faced. 'The orange menace had been in for four years. I was depressed,' she explains. She's made over 700 pieces in total. A multi-Emmy and Tony Award winner, O'Donnell is, unsurprisingly, a masterful storyteller. Though the show is supposedly autobiographical, with a chunk dedicated to her relocation to Ireland, it gradually becomes as much a tribute to her child, Clay, whom she adopted when she was 50. Diagnosed with autism and hyperlexia (a condition which means their reading ability is far beyond their years), Clay regularly corrects O'Donnell on facts they consider to be 'common knowledge'. 'I had to stop watching Jeopardy! with when she was six,' O'Donnell quips. A few references fall flat for a largely British audience; a visual gag involving an American news anchor is lost on most, and some cultural touchpoints don't quite land. But these are minor stumbles in an otherwise beautifully constructed show. Common Knowledge is tender, wise, and at times heart-wrenching. A warm hour that lingers long in the memory after the final laugh. LP Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, Aug 10, 8.45pm Alan Davies: Think Ahead ★★★★☆ Returning to stand-up for the first time in a decade, Alan Davies – star of Jonathan Creek and long-serving QI panellist – ventures into edgier, darker territory than those familiar with his affable screen persona will expect. Having lifted the lid on the childhood sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of his late father in his acclaimed 2020 memoir Just Ignore Him, Davies is now finally, bravely, broaching the subject on stage. A barrel-load of laughs? At points, no. But he's raising a sensitive, under-discussed issue that demands attention and makes you admire more fully his ongoing achievement in seeing the funny side of life after what was plainly a lasting trauma. DC Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, until Aug 10, 7.15pm Bill Bailey: Thoughtifier The bearded wonder (and former Strictly champion) returns with more ingenious musical comedy and whimsical flights of fancy. Nobody makes intelligent nonsense look quite so effortless. Edinburgh Playhouse (Auditorium), Aug 23-24, 3pm/8pm Smack the Pony Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan and Sally Phillips – the creators of Channel 4's classic all-female sketch show – reunite after more than 20 years apart for this chummy in-conversation event hosted by Kirsty Wark. Gilded Balloon at the Museum (Auditorium), Aug 17-20, 2.45pm Margolyes and Dickens: More Best Bits After trotting through Dickens's best-loved characters in an acclaimed 2024 Fringe show, the mischievous, potty-mouthed character actress returns for an encore. Pleasance at EICC (Pentland Theatre), Aug 9-24 (not Aug 18, 21), 6pm Our pick: Comedy stars of tomorrow Already well-known among committed comedy fans, each of these acts is on the cusp of breaking through to the mainstream. This year might be your last chance to catch them in an intimate venue, so don't miss it. Lou Wall: Breaking the Fifth Wall ★★★★★ Off the back of several highly-rated shows, Lou Wall returns to Edinburgh with a manic, musical, PowerPoint-aided hour that questions how much truth a comedian owes their audience. It is a meta-commentary on the nature of stand-up storytelling, and a tightly engineered show that repeatedly pulls the rug from under you… deliberately, and delightfully. It opens with the Australian comedian's now-viral 'Facebook Marketplace' bit, a musical routine about trying to sell a bed frame for free online and the resulting ridiculous interactions with an illogical customer. Wall recounts the story beat by beat, rhymes landing in sync with perfectly timed visuals, before addressing the question raised by countless commenters: did this really happen? Where the line lies between fact and fiction forms the backbone of Breaking the Fifth Wall. It feels like a pertinent time to tackle this topic with the recent controversies around Richard Gadd's Baby Reindeer and Raynor Winn's The Salt Path, both of which have come under scrutiny for how 'real' they really are. Wall dives straight into the debate. But rather than retreat into earnestness, this show goes the other way: embracing artifice, subversion, and sleight of hand. Over the hour, Wall fuses anecdotes, musical numbers, and gloriously silly audience participation, including a crowd-pleasing round of 'Stand-up Comedian or Serial Killer?', with an exhausting number of technical cues (well over 300). The result is a tightly orchestrated onslaught that never drags. This is the kind of all-singing, all-poetry-slamming gem that the Fringe is made for. LP Multiple venues, until Aug 24, 10pm Thor Stenhaug: One Night Stand Baby ★★★★☆ A fast-rising name on the circuit, Norwegian comedian Thor Stenhaug is making his Edinburgh Fringe debut in an intimate 56-capacity Pleasance bunker. 'In Norway, this would be classed an arena show,' he quips. It might be a bit early to tip him for a best newcomer nomination but Stenhaug's material is razor-sharp; he could very well be destined for real arenas in the future. One Night Stand Baby, as the name suggests, is about growing up as the product of a one-night stand, with parents who are not together… as well as the high expectations placed upon you when you're named after a Nordic God. Stenhaug's observational storytelling is effortlessly compelling. He speaks with relatable ease about the class-based imposter syndrome of dating someone posher than you, the jarring similarities in standards of living between a flat share in London and what he imagines Scandi jail to be, and the quiet, cringing angst of being a late bloomer. It's funny material with a warm, heartfelt undercurrent: the show reads as a subtle love letter to his parents for the stable, warm home they provided despite its complexities. The hour zips by with confident pacing, confirming Stenhaug as a comedian with serious potential. You can easily picture him holding court on a panel show, quick-witted, personable, and armed with a point of view. As a final gimmick (it's the Fringe, so it's allowed), Stenhaug hands out condoms with his face on at the exit to remind the crowd to be safe, or face the consequences. LP Pleasance Courtyard, Bunker One, until Aug 13, 8.40pm Ahir Shah: Work in Progress Shah has one of the sharpest minds in stand-up; even his half-written shows are better than most other people's finished work. The last time he brought a work-in-progress show to the Fringe, in 2023, it won the Edinburgh Comedy Award. Monkey Barrel Comedy (Monkey Barrel 3), Aug 14-24, 12pm Gianmarco Soresi: The Drama King Tour An Edinburgh debut for one of the most buzzed-about names in American stand-up, whose snappy crowd-work has won him a large following online – and ensured that his Fringe run sold out long in advance. Keep your fingers crossed for last-minute returns. Monkey Barrel Comedy (Monkey Barrel 3), Aug 18-24, 2.50pm Jacqueline Novak Ninety minutes of exquisitely written gags about sex, Novak's Netflix special Get on Your Knees ingeniously balanced low-brow filth with high-brow literary flourishes. Hopes are high for this New Yorker's follow-up hour of stand-up. Monkey Barrel Comedy (Monkey Barrel 4), July 30-Aug 23 (not Aug 12,19), 5pm Lorna Rose Treen: 24 Hour Diner People Treen is fun on the radio (as creator/star of Woman's Hour spoof Time of the Week) but far better on stage; her previous Fringe show was a masterclass in sketch comedy, with shades of French and Saunders. Pleasance Courtyard (Beneath), July 30-Aug 24 (not Aug 12), 6.20pm Jazz Emu: The Pleasure Is All Yours The funniest musical comedy act in the country, preening pop star Jazz Emu is the wonderfully odd alter-ego of character comic Archie Henderson. He returns with more of his smoother-than-smooth funk-pop. Pleasance Dome (Queen Dome), July 30-Aug 24 (not Aug 12), 9.50pm Our picks: Guaranteed Gold Our picks: Guaranteed Gold A number of shows The Telegraph has recommended in the past are returning to this year's Fringe for a victory lap. I've seen each of these myself, and would pay to watch any of them again in a heartbeat. How to Win Against History This exceedingly witty little musical biography of Henry Cyril Paget, the eccentric Marquess of Anglesey, makes a welcome return to the Fringe, where it was a word-of-mouth hit nine years ago. Underbelly George Square (Udderbelly), July 30-Aug 24 (not Aug 4, 11, 18), 7.15pm Julia Masli: ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Trained at École Philippe Gaulier (the fearsome French clown school where Sacha Baron Cohen learnt his tricks), Julia Masli is a mercurial comic talent. In this brilliant, semi-improvised show she tries her best to solve the problems of every person in the room, one at a time. It's a magical experience – although perhaps not for people who are terrified of audience interaction. Pleasance Dome (Queen Dome), Aug 11-24, 11.15pm Trygve Wakenshaw and Barnie Duncan: Different Party The drudgery of office work is given a surreal spin in this inventive hour of physical comedy from two of New Zealand's top alternative comedians. At the 2017 Fringe, it had me doubled-over with laughter. The pair are also staging a new show, Hot Chips, which they describe as 'verbose mime'. Assembly George Square Studios (Studio Two), July 30-Aug 17, (not Aug 6, 11), 5.10pm Elf Lyons: The Bird Trilogy The mercurial comic – whose work ranges from stand-up to clowning – revives three shows: her breakthrough ballet spoof Swan, her cabaret-lecture on economics Chiffchaff; and Raven, a Stephen King tribute which earned her five stars from The Telegraph. Pleasance Dome (King Dome), Aug 12-25, 8pm
