Edinburgh Festival Guide

Listings: Before 9pm, Theatre

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Sorted by popularity / rating / date.

Tiddler and Other Terrific Tales

  • 3 stars

Brand new show from award-winning Scamp Theatre (Stick Man). Adapted from the bestselling books written by Children’s Laureate Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler (creators of The Gruffalo). A magical collection of Julia Donaldson’s most popular titles including Tiddler, The Smartest Giant in Town and A…

Underbelly Bristo Square, Edinburgh

Thu 1 Aug

£6 / 08445 458252

Preview

Fri 2 Aug

£11 (£10) / 08445 458252

Sat 3 Aug

£10 (£9) / 08445 458252

…and 22 more dates

Maddy's Many Mouths

Maddy’s Many Mouths is the hilariously surreal story of a woman with a compulsion to mimic strangers. Gliding through an unbelievable array of characters, Maddy embarks on a riotous quest to find out who she really is.

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, Edinburgh

Fri 2 Aug

£5 (£3.50) / 0845 508 8515

Preview

Sat 3 Aug

£5 (£3.50) / 0845 508 8515

Preview

Mon 5 Aug

£7 (£5.50) / 0845 508 8515

2 for 1

…and 5 more dates

The Graveyard Slot

A spooky, silly radio play live onstage! Hecate return to the Fringe with a feast of fun and fright, featuring six actors, original music and a smorgasbord of silly voices. ‘Very funny, very intriguing’ ★★★★ (RemoteGoat.co.uk).

theSpaces @ Surgeons Hall, Edinburgh

Sat 3 Aug

£7.50 (£6) / 0845 508 8515

Preview

Mon 5 Aug

£9 (£7.50) / 0845 508 8515

2 for 1

Tue 6 Aug

£9 (£7.50) / 0845 508 8515

2 for 1

…and 10 more dates

Catastrophe/Rough for Theatre II/Breath

Beckett on Film: Catastrophe: Directed by David Mamet and starring Harold Pinter, Rebecca Pidgeon and John Gielgud. Rough for Theatre II: Directed by Katie Mitchell and starring Jim Norton, Timothy Spall and Hugh B O’Brien. Breath: Directed by Damien †Hirst.

The Hub, Edinburgh

Sat 31 Aug

£4 / 0131 473 2000

Part of Beckett on Film.

Eilish O'Carroll: Live Love Laugh

Winnie McGoogan from Mrs Brown's Boys. Eilish O'Carroll tells her own life story with unflinching honesty and humour in this award-winning play. ‘Heart-warming, funny and thought-provoking … a tour de force.’ (Cork Echo). Book early!

Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh

Wed 31 Jul

£10 / 0131 556 6550

Preview

Thu 1 Aug

£10 / 0131 556 6550

Preview

Fri 2 Aug

£10 / 0131 556 6550

Preview

…and 21 more dates back to top

First Love

Adaptation of an early Beckett novella about a man, cast out from the family home, who hooks up with a woman, with darkly comic consequences.

Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh

Wed 28 Aug

£8–£20 / 0131 473 2000

Part of Beckett at the Festival.

Thu 29 Aug

£8–£20 / 0131 473 2000

Part of Beckett at the Festival.

Fri 30 Aug

£8–£20 / 0131 473 2000

Part of Beckett at the Festival.

…and 1 more date

And They Played Shang-A-Lang

Number one hits from the era accompany this tale of growing up in 1970s Edinburgh.

The Stand Comedy Club III & IV, Edinburgh

Thu 1 Aug

£10 (£9) / 0131 558 7272

Fri 2 Aug

£10 (£9) / 0131 558 7272

Sat 3 Aug

£10 (£9) / 0131 558 7272

…and 21 more dates

Faulty Towers: The Dining Experience

Basil, Sybil and Manuel open for their sixth Fringe. Always a sell-out, only a third of the show is scripted, so everything stays fresh. ‘Best comedy show I've ever seen' (Sunday Express)

B'est, Edinburgh

Thu 1 Aug

£46.50 / 0131 556 4448

Fri 2 Aug

£43 / 0131 556 4448

Sun 4 Aug

£43 / 0131 556 4448

…and 20 more dates

Kafka and Son

Canadian actor Alon Nashman has been acclaimed across Canada, the USA and Europe for his performance as writer Franz Kafka, in this five-star adaptation of Kafka's extraordinary and never-delivered letter to his own father.

The Carriageworks, Leeds

Mon 3 Jun

Prices to be confirmed / 0113 224 3801

  • 19:15

Wed 5 Jun

Prices to be confirmed / 0113 224 3801

  • 19:15

Radlett Centre

Thu 6 Jun

Prices to be confirmed / 01923 859291

  • 20:00

Kenneth More Theatre, Ilford

Mon 10 Jun

£12.50 (£10) / 020 8553 4466

Bothwell's Bride

Nominated for MTM UK Best Composer 2007, Peter D Robinson's new musical is set in 1565, the final months of Mary Queen of Scots’ reign. Carpe Diem’s reputation for powerful drama and singing make this one to see.

Stockbridge Parish Church, Edinburgh

Tue 6 Aug

£10 (£8) / 0131 332 0122

2 for 1

Wed 7 Aug

£10 (£8) / 0131 332 0122

Thu 8 Aug

£10 (£8) / 0131 332 0122

…and 2 more dates back to top

Ohio Impromptu/Rough for Theatre I/Not I

Beckett on Film: Ohio Impromptu: Directed by Charles Sturridge and starring Jeremy Irons. Rough for Theatre I: Directed by Kieron J Walsh and starring David Kelly and Milo O’Shea. Not I: Directed by Neil Jordan and starring Julianne Moore.

The Hub, Edinburgh

Sat 31 Aug

£4 / 0131 473 2000

Part of Beckett on Film.

Rockaby/Act Without Words I/That Time

Beckett on Film: Rockaby: Directed by Richard Eyre and starring Penelope Wilton. Act Without Words I: Directed by Karel Reisz and starring Sean Foley with music by Michael Nyman. That Time: Directed by Charles Garrad and starring Niall Buggy.

The Hub, Edinburgh

Sat 31 Aug

£4 / 0131 473 2000

Part of Beckett on Film.

According to Oscar

The Mercators celebrate the life of Oscar Wilde and his wife Constance with their dramatised readings.

Mayfield Salisbury Parish Church, Edinburgh

Mon 5 Aug

£8 (£7) / 0131 667 1522

  • 18:00

Tue 6 Aug

£8 (£7) / 0131 667 1522

  • 18:00

Wed 7 Aug

£8 (£7) / 0131 667 1522

  • 18:00
…and 2 more dates

Agnes of God

Multi award-winning EGTG (Edinburgh Evening News Spirit of the Fringe 2012) return with Agnes of God. A miracle or murder? A virgin birth or rape? Innocence or insanity? Even with the strongest faith, nothing guarantees absolution.

The Royal Scots Club, Edinburgh

Mon 5 Aug

£10 / 0131 556 4270

Tue 6 Aug

£10 / 0131 556 4270

Wed 7 Aug

£10 / 0131 556 4270

…and 3 more dates

All That Fall

‘A life of unending misery in a world devoid of God, now that’s funny.’ Maddy Rooney is in her seventies – unsightly, ungainly and unwell – laboriously to-ing and fro-ing between her home and Boghill Station. This is a landscape whose details are drawn from the suburbs of Foxrock and Leopardstown from Beckett’s youth, but…

The Hub, Edinburgh

Sun 25 Aug

£15 / 0131 473 2000

Part of Beckett at the Festival.

Mon 26 Aug

£15 / 0131 473 2000

Part of Beckett at the Festival.

back to top

Art and Technology

Professor of Epistemics Jon Oberlander, Professor of Composition and Electroacoustic Composition Peter Nelson, and Chris Speed of the Edinburgh College of Art discuss historical, conceptual and philosophical relationships between the performing arts and technology. Chaired by theatre specialist Olga Taxidou.

The Hub, Edinburgh

Thu 29 Aug

£6 / 0131 473 2000

Part of Edinburgh University Events.

As You Like It

Arkle Theatre Company play out the twists and turns of Shakespeare's pastoral comedy.

The Royal Scots Club, Edinburgh

Mon 12 Aug

£12 (£10) / 01786 440077

  • 18:00

Tue 13 Aug

£12 (£10) / 01786 440077

  • 18:00

Wed 14 Aug

£12 (£10) / 01786 440077

  • 18:00
…and 3 more dates

Beckett and Contemporary Art: Make Sense Who May

Derval Tubridy, Goldsmiths, University of London, explores the vibrant interplay between Samuel Beckett’s work and contemporary art with a particular focus on bodies and technology. Chaired by Octavian Saiu.

The Hub, Edinburgh

Wed 28 Aug

£6 / 0131 473 2000

Part of Beckett at the Festival.

Beckett on Film

Producer of the Beckett on Film project, Michael Colgan discusses the challenges in creating this extraordinary film collection.

The Hub, Edinburgh

Fri 30 Aug

£6 / 0131 473 2000

Part of Beckett at the Festival.

Canticles

For four voices by Peter D Robinson, nominated for MTM UK Best Composer 2007. The Canticles of Zachary, Mary, and Simeon: Benedictus, Magnificat, and Nunc Dimittis, praise God from varying perspectives and have long been integral to Christian worship.

Stockbridge Parish Church, Edinburgh

Sat 10 Aug

£10 (£8) / 0131 332 0122

back to top

Ceilidhs in Lauriston Hall

With caller Ken Gourlay and ceilidh bands Flaming Heather, HLI, Scott Leslie, Willie Fraser and piper. All dances walked through and called. Cheap bar. Hall has air-conditioning! Fringe groups welcome. www.edinburghceilidhs.co.uk.

Lauriston Hall, Edinburgh

Fri 2 Aug

£8 (£6)

Sat 3 Aug

£8 (£6)

Mon 5 Aug

£8 (£6)

…and 17 more dates

Cest Gelabert Conversation

Choreographer and solo performer Gerhart Bonher on the making of Im (Goldenen) Schnitt I.

Edinburgh Festival Theatre

Sun 18 Aug

Free / 0131 473 2000

Part of Dance Odysseys.

Circa: Wunderkammer

Seven performers tantalisingly blend of circus, cabaret and vaudeville as Circa come back to the Fringe for the first time in four years.

Underbelly Bristo Square, Edinburgh

Wed 31 Jul

£12 (£11) / 08445 458252

Preview

Thu 1 Aug

£12 (£11) / 08445 458252

Preview

Fri 2 Aug

£12 (£11) / 08445 458252

Preview

…and 21 more dates

The Colour Ham

Magical comedy sketch group comprising Colin McLeod, Gavin Oattes and Kevin McMahon, making good use of absurdity, magic and mentalism. Member Gavin Oattes allegedly once licked Paul Daniels' face, so anything could happen, really. Over 18s only.

Just The Tonic at the Caves, Edinburgh

Thu 1 Aug

£5 / 0131 556 5375

Preview

Fri 2 Aug

£8 (£7) / 0131 556 5375

Sat 3 Aug

£8 (£7) / 0131 556 5375

…and 13 more dates

Contemporary Classics

Exciting contemporary classics from established choreographers each of whom challenged their own genre of dance. Featuring Christopher Bruce’s 'Shift', an energetic study of 1940s factory workers during the war; Jirí Kylián’s 14´20˝ – a sensual duet of feral beauty and human entanglement taken from the choreographer’s…

Edinburgh Festival Theatre

Fri 16 Aug

£12 / 0131 473 2000

Part of Dance Odysseys.

Sat 17 Aug

£12 / 0131 473 2000

Part of Dance Odysseys.

Mon 19 Aug

£12 / 0131 473 2000

Part of Dance Odysseys.

back to top