Here you’ll find our write-ups of all the theater (or if you must, theatre) we’ve seen at the Edinburgh Fringe so far this year. We’ll keep updating it throughout the month.
Black Faggot
This is the best thing I’ve seen at the Fringe so far this year. This two-man play is comprised of short scenes from interwoven story lines, some funny and some moving, depicting the lives of gay Samoan characters. There are no sets, no costumes, just two incredibly powerful performances. The scenes transition beautifully one to the next.
Venue notes: It’s warm in this upstairs venue, but bearable. Comfortable seating with good sight lines.
Black Faggot is on most days at 17:30 at Assembly Roxy through 25 Aug.
★★★★★ from Julie
link to this review
The Importance of Being Earnest as Performed by Three F*cking Queens and a Duck
This one is so much fun. Our protagonists are out to stage a 3-person version of The Importance of Being Earnest, but the venue keeps shortening their allotted time. Hilarity ensues. Excellent performances all around (although the duck was a bit stiff). You don’t have to be familiar with The Importance of Being Earnest to enjoy this play, but it helps (you could always go see one of the other two versions at the Fringe first).
Venue notes: So f*cking hot. As much as I loved the show, I was also kind of eager for it to end so I could escape the heat. UPDATE, UPDATE! I hear that they’ve found ways to ameliorate the heat, which is such good news. Go see the f*cking queens!
The Importance of Being Earnest as Performed by Three F*cking Queens and a Duck is on most days through 23 Aug.
★★★★½ from Julie
link to this review
Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho
Before the show we were amused to walk by Maggie (in full costume and character) in George Square – she was helpfully giving someone directions to another venue and instructing them to come back to her show afterwards. Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho’s reputation clearly preceded her, as the house was packed and enthusiastic from the start. During the show we overheard some audience members telling their friends how good the next bit was.
High-energy from start to finish, this show kept us entertained and even taught us a bit about British history (the story line offers an alternative reality based around the real vote on Section 28). If you grew up outside of the UK and/or are too young to remember much about the Thatcher era, you’ll miss some of the references and punchlines, but you’ll still probably have a good time, especially if you enjoy disco music and jokes about gay sex.
Venue notes: A big tent with stadium seating, everyone can see well, but if the show is sold out you’ll be packed into the (backless) benches like sardines.
Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho is on most evenings at 21:10 at Assembly George Square Gardens (Venue 3) through 24 Aug.
★★★★½ from Julie
★★★★½ from Scott
link to this review
Hot Cat
Hot Cat is a delightfully quirky and somewhat surreal retelling of Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. This production features mod 1950s aesthetics and a clever sense of humor. It could possibly be classified as ‘experimental theater’, but it wasn’t boring or hard to follow, so I suppose we could say it was a unique blend of experimental and accessible. I thought five of the six roles were very well-cast, with Big Daddy not quite feeling like the right fit.
One needn’t be familiar with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof to appreciate this production. One of us knew the story of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof going in, and one of us didn’t; we enjoyed Hot Cat equally.
Venue notes: comfortable padded benches with good sight lines.
Hot Cat is on daily at 15:30 through 25 Aug.
★★★★½ from Julie
★★★★ from Scott
link to this review
Outings
In Outings, five actors read personal stories and snippets of history about coming out as homosexual and transgendered. It’s beautifully read and performed, keeps a good pace, and manages to tell at times highly dramatic stories without resorting to melodrama. It brought tears to our eyes without making us feel manipulated. We were familiar with Zoe Lyons from her stand-up show at last year’s Fringe, and Outings had us eagerly looking up the other cast members, as well, hoping they too have individual shows here this year (they do!).
Venue notes: rows of seats are uncomfortably close together. Stage visibility is good.
Outings is on most days at Gilded Balloon (Venue 14) through 25 Aug.
★★★★ from Julie
★★★★½ from Scott
link to this review
Bette Davis Ain’t for Sissies
I’ve seen more one-(wo)man plays in the past week than I had in my whole life previous. Jessica Sher returns to the Fringe for a second year with this compelling performance as a young Bette Davis on Oscar night 1939. The story takes us through a series of episodes from her career and life up to this point. Elegant, sassy, emotional, and strong, Sher’s Bette Davis is evocative without being camp or over-the-top. The production is visually striking, especially as Bette makes her way through a series of costume changes.
I wished throughout the show that I had seen some of the Bette Davis movies referenced, but I was still able to follow and enjoy without these reference points.
Venue notes: A small converted ballroom/conference room. The view is much better from the front than the sides, so endeavour to arrive early to be able to get one of the better seats. Unfortunate noise pollution from the show in the next room over is somewhat distracting.
Bette Davis Ain’t for Sissies is on daily at 14:45 through 24 Aug.
★★★★ from Julie
link to this review
Sweater Curse: A Yarn about Love
Elaine Liner love a good yarn, written or knitted. She has been a knitter since she was a child and embraces it as part of her identity. With this piece she shares some very personal stories about her love life through the years and how she has struggled with the “sweater curse”: the fear that once you start knitting something for a lover, the relationship will end. Along the way she touches on the history of knitting, literary references, and basic knitting terminology. Elaine puts a scarf in the front row of and encourages knitters in the audience to add to it or work on their own knitting during the show. It felt as if Elaine was telling her stories just for us.
Venue notes: small and intimate, with just a couple rows of seats. Blissfully air-conditioned.
Sweater Curse is on most days at 14:00 at Sweet Grassmarket (Venue 18) through 24 Aug.
★★★★ from Julie
★★★★ from Scott
link to this review
Naked in Alaska
This is one of those plays you leave feeling someone has just shared a part of her soul with you. Naked in Alaska is based on the true story of Valerie Hager’s experiences stripping in an Alaskan oil town. In this one-woman show we are introduced to a cast of compelling characters in a well-paced narrative. There’s also some incredibly skillful pole dancing.
Naked in Alaska is on most days at 19:00 through 25 Aug.
★★★★ from Julie
link to this review
The Hive
The Hive is a five-person theater piece set in a dystopian future where war is prevented by eliminating all physical human contact. The plot is fairly predictable, but it’s secondary to the engrossing atmosphere created through sound and visuals. Movements, lighting, props, percussion, and music all worked together. It was the first show we saw of the Fringe this year, and it got us off to a very good start.
Venue notes: a touch too warm and muggy, but not as bad as many other venues.
The Hive is on most days at 12:10 at Pleasance Dome (Venue 23) through 25 Aug.
★★★★ from Julie
★★★½ from Scott
link to this review
Away From Home
Away From Home is a one-man play about a call boy’s relationship with a famous soccer player (or footballer, rather, given that it’s set in the UK). Our protagonist Kyle, the escort and soccer fan, is well-developed and beautifully acted. The other characters who appear intermittently are less convincing – the stage feels a little too empty at times – and some of the plot twists are a bit soap-opera-y. Still, this is an engaging hour of theater. It’s an interesting twist to see a man in the stereotypical ‘kept woman’ role in a relationship with a certain transactional profile.
Venue notes: It’s a box, literally a large container converted into a small theater. Given that, it’s surprisingly comfortable and suitable for this intimately-scaled performance.
Away From Home is on most days at 15:20 through 25 Aug.
★★★★ from Julie
link to this review
Party in the USA!
This is a weird one, but in a good way. It starts out like an aerobics VHS tape from the 1980s, all coked-up energy and enthusiasm. Set mostly in New York City, the story is a humorous drug-fueled tour through the ridiculous banking practices which led to the financial collapse. (As someone who used to work on credit default swaps, I was kind of wishing they had gone even deeper into their fun explanations of the technicalities, but I am fully aware that I am the only one who thinks this way. You don’t need to understand anything about finance to enjoy this show.) The energy levels stay high throughout – this definitely won’t be one you’ll fall asleep in, even if you’ve been seeing Fringe shows non-stop for days.
Party in the USA! is on most days at 15:00 through 25 Aug.
★★★½ from Julie
link to this review
The Immigration Lottery
The show starts in Chinese, and I briefly panic that I’ve somehow managed to choose a show in a language I don’t understand (I needn’t have worried, as the switch to English came quickly). The Immigration Lottery is the story of one woman’s absurd day being interviewed by authorities after winning an immigration lottery. The premise was interesting and some passages were delightfully humorous, but we found ourselves a little lost throughout the play. It was hard to determine if certain parts were purposefully surreal, or if we were just failing to follow along properly. Which I suppose makes our experience of this play not entirely unlike a day at an immigration office.
The Immigration Lottery is on daily through 9 Aug.
★★★ from Julie
★★ from Scott
link to this review