Reviews & features: Hitlist

Hitlist - the best Festival events for kids

Modern Cautionary Tales For Children Poetry, dark tales and lots of fun participation from the very wonderful Murray Lachlan Young. Gilded Balloon Teviot, 668 1633, until 27 Aug, noon, £6–£7 (£5–£6). Aesop’s Fables With the aid of three hugely…

Hitlist - the best Festival dance

Ballerina Who Loves A B-Boy The finest Korean breakdancers in town – treat yourself to headspins, streetdance and a wee bit of ballet in this five star show. clubWEST@Hilton, 0772 028 5550, 7.45pm, until 24 Aug, £12 (£9). Trisha Brown Dance Company…

Hitlist - the best Festival music

Thomas Truax and Paul Vickers & The Leg American eccentric Truax, who does his own one man pop thing, is unequal parts Syd Barrett, Aphex Twin, Frank Sidebottom and Frank Zappa. A real trip. Underbelly, 0870 745 3083, 22 Aug, 9pm, £8. Tom Tom Club…

Hitlist - the best Festival comedy

Kristen Schaal Winston Churchill roamed the Assembly Rooms last year in the guise of Mel Smith. He’s back for a ghost appearance in this superb show from one of America’s most delicate new comic talents. Assembly Rooms, 623 3030, until 27 Aug (not 20)…

Hitlist - The best Festival art

Richard Long: Walking and Marking As one of this country’s important land artists, long takes over the SNGMA with works that record and relate to his treks around the world. Paintings and photographs fill the gallery, as sculptures and land art…

Hitlist - the best Festival dance

Into the Hoods London’s Zoo Nation are back at the Fringe for another helping of hilarious five star hip hop dance theatre. Truly unmissable. Pleasance Courtyard, 556 6550, until 27 Aug, 7.30pm, £15.50–£19.50 (£13.50–£15.50). Impressing The Czar…

Hitlist - the best Festival book events

Alan Warner One of our finest scribes takes part in a pair of events this Festival, one on his own in association with The List while the other has him hanging out with another totemic figure of Scottish letters, Janice Galloway. 17 Aug, 8.30pm, £8…

Hitlist - the best Festival events for kids

Men of Steel Mad puppetry and messy food combine in this chaotic Australian show. Assembly Rooms, 623 3030, until 27 Aug (not 20), 11am, £8–£9 (£7–£8). The Elves and the Shoemaker The most beautifully crafted puppets in town, from Fringe favourites…

Hitlist - the best Festival music

International Festival Opening Concert: Candide Jonathan Mills kicks off his first Internataional Festival at the helm with a concert that aims to bridge the gap between the Fringe and the Festival, featuring Bernstein’s vivacious Candide with Laura…

Hitlist: Theatre

• Damascus David Greig’s play will be the toast of the Fringe. A comedy of manners set in the city of the title, the piece involves a Scot on a business visit, and the effects of his cultural assumptions on those he encounters. See review, page 79.

Hitlist - Look Who's Talking

Rabbi Lionel Blue: Godly and Gay The much-loved broadcaster talks about his experience of coming out as a gay man in religious circles and a religious man in gay circles. Part of the Festival of Spirituality and Peace. See…

Hitlist - the best Fringe comedy

Stewart Lee Still surfing on his own wave of post-Springer glory, the 41st Best Stand-Up Ever delivers a routine would rocket him further up that chart if they had another poll today. Hilarious and confrontational. UdderBELLY’s Pasture, 0870 745 3083…

Hitlist - the best kids' Festival shows

Aesop’s Fables With the aid of three hugely talented performers, former Children’s Laureate, Michael Morporgo transforms Aesop’s morality tales into a fun five star show for both adults and children. Assembly Rooms, 623 3030, until 27 Aug (not 13)…

Hitlist - the best Festival dance

With four programmes and a kids show to pick from, you’ll be spoilt for choice at Scotland’s National Centre for Dance. Contemporary, Indian, hip hop, dance theatre – it’s all here and more.

Hitlist - The best Festival theatre

Romeo and Juliet, Fuerzabruta, England, Life in a Marital Institution, Damascus, Exits and Entrances

Hitlist - The best dance

Leitmotif Andrew Dawson follows up 2005’s stunning Absence & Presence with this multi-media one-man show, created with eight different collaborators. Assembly Aurora Nova, 623 3030, 4–27 Aug (not 7, 14), 6.05pm, £12–£13 (£9–£10). Previews 2 & 3 Aug, £5.