Eilidh stares out to sea and dreams of a new life beyond her lonely island. Myth and reality collide when the tide washes a mysterious stranger onto her beach, changing her life forever.
In the overwhelming, desolate landscape of the Faroe Islands, a young person is found. Washed ashore. Adapted from Johan Harstad's acclaimed novel into a thrilling verbal, musical and visual experience by multiple Fringe First winners Kopergietery.
The story of a young man from the north of Scotland who tries to prove the Earth is flat: a tale of friendship, loss and conspiracy that will take you on a journey to the outer limits of common sense, and beyond.
What makes a home for you? Victor Esses is Jewish-Lebanese, Brazilian and gay. Start your day with a tender exploration of how to find your place in a rich, complex world of identities. Emerge Performance Prize shortlisted.
Taiwan's award-winning Chang brothers (co-creators of Bon 4 Bon, a five-star hit at the 2018 Fringe) bounce back with a new trio that reveals fresh facets of their fraternal relationships and inherent conflicts of male bonding.
Sparkle, who loves to dress in tutus, tiaras and sparkly dresses, finds on his first day of school that not everyone wants to let him shine. In this playful and poignant show, Sparkle discovers the joy of standing up for himself and being unique.
By Charley Miles. One sister stayed at home to care for Dad. The other set out to "make a difference". A beautiful, ferocious play from Charley Miles about the bonds that tie us and how we sometimes need to break them.
The concert on the Moon is about to start. But where's the pianist? Solos, storytelling and theatrics from creator of critically acclaimed Anatomy of the Piano.
A Windrush generation boxer, a Polish migrant marked with a tattoo and a man with a bottle of gin and a television in his shopping trolley. Playfully serious and seriously playful.Last seen at the Fringe with Cathy in 2017, Cardboard Citizens return with an eye opening collection of homeless histories. Are we mere bystanders?
Twin Peaks is an honest and fearless account of being diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 30. Faced with her own mortality, Mandy laughs into the cleavage of cancer.
One teacher. Five students. Five desks. A powerfully compelling show about dogma. Inspired by personal experience of a cult, this meticulous ensemble piece explores the seductive power of discipline, hierarchy and the search for an ultimate truth.
Sign language meets puppetry in this engaging, BSL-signed production based on Taiwanese author Huang Chunming's novel. Conflicts between a grandfather and grandson unfold in a touching, richly sensory experience aimed at, but not limited to, hearing-impaired audiences.
From makers of The Bookbinder comes a lo-fi wi-fi fable in the vein of Stranger Things, combining storytelling, projection, and puppetry. 'Merging magic realism, sharp writing and brilliant performances' ★★★★★ - FringeFeed.com.au
Aoife's hungry and bored. Cillian makes a mean toastie. After boredom and hunger are satisfied in Cillian's bed, Aoife's life changes forever. As social and political upheaval grips her country, can Aoife regain control over her future?
The ocean contains the switch of life. Not land, not the atmosphere. The ocean. And that switch can be turned off... Acclaimed science journalist Alanna Mitchell performs her terrifying, laugh-out-loud and ultimately hopeful story about climate change.
A bold, imaginative response to the stories of those seeking refuge in the UK, The Claim asks what happens when your life is at stake and all you have to save it are your words.
A prayer group? A 12-step meeting? A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? (Unless you go back the next day?) 'Blew me away. An absolute masterclass in comedy performance' (Scotsman). '100% gag-free. Clever without being a smartarse. Go' (Mirror).
Imagine the moment of waking up is actually the moment when your dream begins. In light of this new and strange reality, how can we save you from the unspeakable horrors which lurk in the dark tunnels of your mind?
Life is No Laughing Matter's a performance about mental illness, suicide and radical cures attempts. Expect a selfish woman, her reluctant, shy doesn't-want-to-be-there partner, a f*ck ton of bananas, holy water and Yoko Ono.
Chris Goode's new solo show uses the life and death of River Phoenix to look back on the turbulent experience of queer life in the 90s, including the intense summer of his first Edinburgh Fringe, twenty-five years ago.
Catherine Graindorge – writer, violinist and actress – distils emotions with words, images and music to construct a moving story about the loss of her father. Acclaimed by press and audience in Belgium. Universal and emotional.
Clara and Nyri. Two very different women. Two complicated lives. Both having a very bad day. Interweaving and unexpected connections collide in this fast-moving, touchingly funny one-woman show by Alan Harris.
Alaska is a funny, singing, dancing, magical trip to the moon: one woman's extraordinary story of surviving growing up with severe depression. A raw, powerful performance, with humour, heart, and soul, stunning vocals and beautiful imagery.
Inspired by true stories of animal language experiments. A funny and touching show about love and communication in human (and not-so-human) relationships, performed by a real couple.
By Daf James. A single Dad meets his adopted daughter for the first time. Then he agrees to meet her birth mother. A tender, funny, hopeful play about being a mum when your name is Dad.
Jonny Donahoe is the co-creator and performer of the international smash-hit Every Brilliant Thing. This is his first new solo show in five years. 'Painfully honest, funny, joyous – indeed, brilliant' (Guardian).
Meet Jonny: teacher, father, artist. He loves music, festivals and nightclubs. He longs to sing. Jonny is deaf. This is a moving, funny story of disconnection, difference and desperation to belong. British Council Showcase.
'My name is Lila and I am a proud Blackfoot woman. What I am doing is illegal.' So begins Deer Woman, a solo warrior-woman story of righteous vengeance created by ARTICLE 11, presented by Indigenous Contemporary Scene.
Multi award-winning writer Kit Redstone ('multi-layered and gripping' Lyn Gardner on previous show Testosterone) and director Jessica Edwards explore the epic battles within the mind and the incredible power of the psyche to protect itself from pain.
FrontX shows a range of international hip-hop street artists who combine exceptional energy and resilience. Their fascinating personal life stories are the main theme of the show. How do these atypical individuals transcend their difficulties through their artistic practice?
An absurd exploration of wanting to live, wanting to die and what can happen if we sit together with the dark. Written and performed by Olivier Award nominee Caroline Horton, directed by Alex Swift (Mess).
Rachael Young and her badass band of superhumans embrace Afrofuturism and the cult of Grace Jones in Nightclubbing; an explosive new performance bringing visceral live music and intergalactic visions to start a revolution.
Siân Owen's one-woman play, produced by the company behind fringe hit Sugar Baby, is about what we're made of and learning to be brave when your world’s falling apart.
Leaping barriers of age, sexuality and gender, Gloria prepares to dance the Can-Can one last time. Written and performed by the pioneering Claire Dowie and directed by Colin Watkeys.
Introducing Bobby Awl: Edinburgh urchin, poor, half-starved, violent yet beloved. Bobby, once robbed of his place in Scottish mythology, here resurrected by Brian Catling, author of the Vorrh trilogy.
Two performers, one story, one life... One speaks the truth, one lies. Part-spoken, part-sung, intimate production. Previous Herald Angel winners: The Gardener.
'Remember your first time? I can't forget mine...' HIV+ theatre-maker Nathaniel Hall presents a funny, frank autobiographical show about staying positive in a negative world.
Everything I Do is the award-winning, music-driven theatre show about love, loss and floating in space. Performed by Zoe Ní Riordáin and directed by Maud Lee. Winner of Best Performer at Dublin Fringe Awards 2018.
A performer steps out of the show for personal reasons. Every day, a different stand-in takes on the central role to replace her. A live green screen is the backdrop for this show about the weather.
A musical feast for the ears, eyes and heart, Brigitte Aphrodite and Quiet Boy’s new show lands from Margate. Find your flock, ruffle some feathers and discover empathy is the new punk.
December, 1998. Dunedin. Bottom of New Zealand, bottom of the world. High summer in a town where there isn't lots to do. A comedy about death, revolution, unfulfilled love, and a possum.
One girl's story about losing her mum to a cult. A funny, honest, teen-spirited and gangsta rap-fuelled survival guide to growing up with an actual twat for a mum. Written and performed by Anoushka Warden.
Daddy Drag is a show about dads, good dads, daft dads and dads who are not very good dads at all. How do the relationships with our fathers affect us for the rest of our lives?
A man gives a thought-provoking and humorous lecture about all the people he has met in his life, but as he delves deeper his mind begins to unravel.
A compelling study of female empowerment and shifting generational attitudes to sex and feminism, fusing theatre, aerial performance and shibari – the erotic art of Japanese rope bondage. Provocative and unforgettable.
A new documentary play by LUNG (Trojan Horse, E15, The 56 and Chilcot), Who Cares examines our failing care system, the impact of austerity and what happens when a child becomes the parent.
Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner Richard Gadd has a chilling story to tell about obsession, delusion, and the terrifying ramifications of a fleeting mistake. An unmissable debut play, directed by Olivier Award Winner Jon Brittain.
Eight spectators. Eight ordinary people. But how ordinary are they really? What makes someone a suspect? Featuring original choreography and whispered secrets, this intimate play of appearance and reality challenges the judgements we make every day.
Cree-Canadian playwright Tomson Highway is one of history's most important Canadians (Maclean's Magazine). Presented by Indigenous Contemporary Scene, he is accompanied by singer Patricia Cano and saxophonist Marcus Ali in this vivid compilation.
A live jam of music, video and poetry, Drone is part weapons system, part office worker, part background hum. Drone's bleak humour and tender fury asks how anxious people live as part of systems of such astonishing destruction.
One parent refuses to talk about sex. The other buys their child gay porn DVDs. Sex Education blends startling performance, moving storytelling, a no-holds-barred interview with Harry's mum and some good old-fashioned gay porn.
Darkly comic tale of finding love in rural Ireland, a lifelong quest to settle down and a bride that flees her own reception. Can Sorcha ever go back?
This is a show about having sexual fantasies that don't align with your politics. Award-winning performance artist Louise Orwin presents a surreal joyride through female sexuality to uncover the power of asking for what you want.
Inspired by real events and influenced by true crime podcasts and horror films, this dance-theatre piece explores what happens when a group of young women is stricken with a mysterious affliction that infects their bodies, minds, and souls.
The award-winning Middle Child present The Canary and the Crow, brand new gig theatre about the journey of a working class black kid who is accepted to a prestigious grammar school.
Celebrating their final year as Europeans, ‘the rising stars of performance art’ (Telegraph) Sh!t Theatre travelled to Malta and found mystery and murder in the fight to be European.
Kim is an actress. She is also a sex worker, a bartender, German, Polish and more. Which identity is most important? Traumgirl explores female sex work and who pays the price. Performed in response to Daniel Hellmann's Traumboy.
Last seen at Summerhall in 2016 with Putting The Band Back Together, Unfolding Theatre return with a new show about memory and what we pass on.
Miscommunication and confusion are often things to be avoided, but what if you just lay into them? What if there's actually nothing else? Big questions. Existential meanderings. Don't worry. I have a PowerPoint.
Is female ejaculation the last taboo? Performance about sexuality and desires, based on interviews with women from various backgrounds. Through a personal journey, the performance creates safe space for self-discovery and explores the collective.
A sexy French clown goes on a blind date with a willing gentleman from the audience. Expect improv, naughty clowning, strong language, spiritual nudity and hilarity.
Experience James's joyous hymn to friendship in all its messy glory across three stories in one night. You'll laugh. You'll cry. A unique Edinburgh experience. 'A master storyteller' ★★★★ - WhatsOnStage.com
Fierce, witty and uncompromising – Contra draws from circus, stand-up and live art to interrogate personal, social and historical occupations of the female body: exploring, literally, where such bodies are positioned and how we're meant to look at them.
The unmissable, Fringe-First-award-winning show from Kieran Hurley and Gary McNair returns. A raucous play about playground violence, myths of masculinity and the challenge to step up or run.
A fun, provocative foursome raises the heat on the dance floor. They've questions for you, things on their minds, an awesome playlist... Expect sweat, sequins, and a playful take on what unites or divides us in uncertain times.
Breaking the rules, the patriarchy and the time/space continuum. A search for a feminist futurism and a gesture toward the impossible. An ode to utopia. Or just some moves in the night.
Take a gin jolly with Pickering’s Gin in their home at Summerhall Distillery. Pickering’s and Tonic in hand, discover how the former kennels of the Royal (Dick) Vet School came to be Edinburgh’s first exclusive gin distillery in 150 years.
When did you turn 21? Featuring interviews with 200 people from around the world about becoming an adult, video installation 21 is an urgent reminder that we have more in common than sets us apart. 'Addictive' (Guardian).
Join us inside a converted 1970s caravan for puppetry, shadows, absurd object theatre and live soundscapes to get lost in. Escape into a wildly different world where no experience is ever the same.
A one woman show about heartbreak, madness and how condiments are the ultimate coping mechanism from award-winning playwright & performer Eva O’Connor.
One human. Twenty-six thousand animals. A wildly intimate, inter-species meditation on mass animal disappearance. From the 2018 Herald Angel award-winning Mechanimal.
'At first you feel a winding pain... you get used to it, then you develop a liking to it...' The Happiness Project explores our need for non-sexual physical contact in our highly digital era.
Limbo is where art and theatre blur. Where memory, history and literature collide. Where the audience wait and judge, judge the waiting and wait for judgement.
Native Girl Syndrome is inspired by the experience of Lara Kramer's own grandmother’s migration from a remote Canadian First Nations community.
Comic dance-theatre conceived and performed by Yukon born ‘Intrepid’ Jen. This is the story of Jen’s life and survival in the remote wilds of the Yukon Territory, Northern Canada... and her ultimate escape.
Step behind the old horse stable doors and discover Summerhall's very own brewery: Barney's Beer.
Free Love is the latest manifestation of Scottish duo Suzanne Rodden and Lewis Cook (FKA Happy Meals) - a continuation and progression of their utopian dance pop experiments.
A herstory about women warriors; weaving verbatim testimony of contemporary army servicewomen with the true story of Flora Sandes, heroine on the Allied front line in the First World War, set to music by Rose Miranda Hall.
Green & Blue explores the painful and humorous realities faced by the individuals who patrolled the Irish border during the height of the conflict. Written by Laurence McKeown.
Daniel is an artist. He is also a sex worker. Traumboy explores why he chose this profession and why having sex for money is still considered taboo. Where do your boundaries lie? Performed in response to Anne Welenc's Traumgirl.
Footnotes is a parody of an academic lecture whose verbose and dense language is frequently derailed by footnotes that could entail any number of diversions including, but not limited to, dancing, oversharing, surreal narratives or flirting.
Double Bill. Wild Women - a hilarious, irreverent journey of feminine stories. Oneironauts - a sensorial journey into the mysteries of the dreamscape.
When Tom is diagnosed with cancer, he asks best mates James and Sarah to give him a viking burial. This is the hilarious heart-lifting story about them doing just that. 'Joyous' ★★★★★
Queer stalwart' (Dazed and Confused), Shoot Your Shot will be throttling into Summerhall for their Fringe opening party! feat. Lezzer Quest, Cormac.
By Nathan Bryon. When Dexter’s mum is sent to jail for getting mixed up in a jewellery robbery, it’s up to Dexter and Winter to get her out. A madcap adventure by Nathan Bryon (CBeebies' Rastamouse).
Shit is an award-winning, compelling, raw and powerful play which examines the intersections of class and misogyny. It is provocative, tragic, heartbreaking, bracing and bitterly funny.
Performed by four former child-refugees from Afghanistan, Eritrea and Albania. Having told their stories repeatedly in the asylum system, they're now reclaiming them. A unique exploration of masculinity and forced migration. Powerful, celebratory, authentic.
In a collage of music, text, photography and animation, Miss AmeriKa tells the story of a New York misfit's experience of immigration, loneliness and dislocation.
Five years ago, James met the love of his life. Two years later, they broke up. A story about love, words and the word love. 'Stunning' ★★★★★ - The Reviews Hub
Rhythm Machine is a night of dance music and performance art. Each week in August DJ's Yves, William Francis and special guests play unboundaried dance music across genres.
A beautiful wordless dialogue between Iraqi traditional music and Finnish contemporary dance. The piece touchingly draws out the human experience and the consequences of an increasingly restrictive asylum policy.
How do you stay friends when people change? Join Amy, Becca and Keisha in Gemma Bedeau's The Ladies Room on a girls' night out. Alcohol, resentments and revelations lead to a confrontation that cannot be ignored.
Scottish writer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Wasylyk brings his acclaimed new record The Paralian to Edinburgh. Conceptualised as part of an extended residency at arts centre and historic house Hospitalfield, The Paralian was released in April to rave reviews.
A show about food. From primitive struggle, through baroque excess to technological perversion, how has our relationship with nourishment changed throughout history? This one-woman show employs physical theatre, clowning and multimedia to delve into consumerism's excesses and extremes.
Edinburgh songwriter Siobhan Wilson plays a hometown show, bringing songs from her new record The Departure. 'Magical, beautiful, haunting' - BBC Music
Two of Scotland's finest live artists spew out their dark, humorous take on modern communication as doppelganger DJs Barry and Barry, trapped in a surreal phone-in talk show.
Saartjie Baartman is the proud embodiment of the Khoisan women. But in London 1810, she is the Hottentot Venus, alluring and primitive. A powerful story of race and sexual commodification.
Scottish singer-songwriter and Chemikal Underground co-founder Emma Pollock made her name in indie pop outfit The Delgados and is known for her unique brand of lavishly lyrical songwriting, all elevated by the honeyed liquid clarity of her voice.
Two years ago James' best friends, Sarah and Emma, asked him for his sperm. A storytelling show about trying to do the right thing. 'Flooded with love' ★★★★ - The Stage
Niteworks blur the lines between Scottish traditional, folk and Gaelic music with contemporary electronica, creating a unique and exhilarating sound.
Renowned for their visionary and exploratory musical approach during DJ sets, as well as throwing some of the best parties on the planet, the legendary duo of JD Twitch and JG Wilkes return to Summerhall with another Optimo (Espacio).
A mother and daughter's relationship through transition... A funny, compassionate and modern drama about family relationships from award-winning performer and writer, Kate O'Donnell.
Rachel Sermanni returns with her new record So It Turns, a collection of songs inspired by her time studying & volunteering at a Buddhist monastery.
New York's art rockers Bodega come to Summerhall this August for the Festival. 'Riot grrrl rant meets deadpan satire' ★★★★ - The Observer.
Total Theatre Award-winning Rachel Mars returns with a gloriously intimate, funny new show, unearthing the filthy letters that make sexts ashamed.
Cyst-er Act. A messy live art musical about the bloody realms of the womb. What's it like to have your fallopian tube hacked off or to birth a 10lb cyst? Find out through gospel, death metal and punk.
A verbatim play about ordinary young men in extraordinary times. Bomb Happy evocatively brings to life the powerful testimonies of five Normandy Veterans, inexperienced young conscripts, who find themselves part of one of the most dangerous operations of World War II.
Men Chase Women Choose is an informative and uproarious feminist romp that features fruit flies, film, physical theatre and a flute solo.
Challenging homophobia and transphobia within our communities, Out is a conversation between two bodies; a live art/dance performance, reclaiming dancehall and celebrating queerness amongst the bittersweet scent of oranges. Performed with marikiscrycrycry.
This Time It Will Be Different denounces the Canadian government's discourse on Indigenous people and takes a critical look at the national reconciliation industry.
From Serbian snowfields to deserts in Afghanistan, four women unite across a century.
Comedy duo Ridiculusmus reclaims humankind's last taboo from imminent eradication in a paper-fine portrait of a timeless trio: cursed to eternal life without eternal youth. Part of British Council Showcase 2019.
An Afrofuturist tale about identity, familial relationships and the ever encroaching surveillance state, by award-winning writer Matilda Ibini.
An intimate and provocative live performance that 'evolves into a hypnotic whirlwind of warring emotions' (Herald), Cryptic's critically acclaimed, poignant staging of award-winning singer Kathryn Joseph's second album returns by popular demand. www.madeinscotlandshowcase.com
Bearing sharp knives and shooting fireballs into the air, Emma Frankland (double Fringe First award-winner) tackles the current fascination with transgender lives and interrogates the controversial bio-technology of HRT. It's messy, it's on fire and it's politically charged.
By mixing fiction and non-fiction, this performance transports the audience to the moment before the inevitable eruption, allowing them to understand and feel the causes that led to the revolution, within a specifically designed visual and soundscape.
In this new piece, Bert and Nasi dance the end of their relationship, imagining what a future without each other might look like.
Three students, one underground tunnel and some very scary sounds... An exploration of what happens to the mind in an age of surveillance. What is the mind capable of when all you have is your imagination?
Funny, intimate, political, a bit livid, powerful, powerless and patient. Sonia and Jo host a series of conversations that happen over 6 minutes. They have questions about how it’s all going.
Tom McGuire & The Brassholes are an eclectic modern-soul-funk 8 piece band from Glasgow. Taking inspiration from classic 70s funk and soul as well as the likes of modern funk purveyors Vulfpeck and Snarky Puppy.
Cora is at the festival, living with Anabelle and her two children. When Cora returns from seeing her ex-boyfriend perform, she is no longer just a lodger.
Experience Motown and soul classics all performed live by the outstanding, full 16-piece Voices of Virtue Gospel Choir band and horn section.
Heat will rise for one night only (for a second time…) to ignite The Dissection Room with fed-after-midnight electro disco, homegrown in Summerhall’s last industrial graveyard. Featuring: MISS WORLD, The Royal Dick, Gnomatron, Dozen Draft.
Imagine you can travel through time. What would you do? A tangled, contradictory stream of consciousness performed by Tyrone Huggins, shifting from the everyday to the fantastical; comic, absurd and melancholic.
It's Khush's wedding day but she's confronted by a group of men objecting to her marriage as a Sikh with a non-Sikh in the Gurdwara. Can she persuade them to back down, to salvage her wedding and her faith?
Sean Mahoney returns to the Fringe after last year's critically acclaimed run with Until You Hear That Bell. A story about finding love.
This one-woman show takes an honest, funny and revealing look at the everyday pressure of women squeezing themselves into uncomfortable outfits and situations and the marks this leaves behind.
Presented by Indigenous Contemporary Scene, Miijin Ki is a new work from Lara Kramer. Witness four bodies navigating colonial values of land ownership.
A celebration of the music of the great experimental cellist & songwriter Arthur Russell. This performance follows on from an acclaimed show at Celtic Connections, featuring Peter Broderick and a live band made up of members of Scottish acts C Duncan, Admiral Fallow, Monoganon, Yous and WOLF.
Part of the British Council Edinburgh Showcase 2019 and presented by Contact and STUN. The award-winning Man on the Moon journeys through space and time to explore the impact of mental health on family dynamics.
Extremely Pedestrian Chorales celebrates the commonplace experience and movement language of the pedestrian as an act of beauty, meaning and gentle comedy.
When a teenage tech genius has a racist word shouted at her, she decides to delete the word from the entire internet. It's a sensation. But what will she delete next? And where will it end?
Kanata Cabaret Hour: a radical offering of dance, music, and live art from uniquely Indigenous and Scottish perspectives. This isn’t your coloniser’s cabaret, it's self-determined Indigenous badassery!
Carlson’s musical explorations can be traced back to his pioneering work with the minimalist ensemble Earth—from the groundbreaking drone metal of Earth 2 to the ominous instrumental twang of Hex. His solo work under drcarlsonalbion veered into English folklore.
Taking as its point of departure the polarisation of politics today, One begins amid the ruins of an unresolved conflict. Nasi’s on a ladder. He’s not coming down any time soon. It’s time for Bert’s solo career to begin.
During a Radio 3 live broadcast, a private detective stuns the audience by accusing a best-selling author of murder. The author denies the accusation and sets out to prove her innocence to the audience.
Broken Records come to Summerhall for their only live date in 2019 to put on a special show celebrating the bands four album back catalogue as well as a look forward to future releases. Expect old songs, new songs and a few surprises.
Back for one show only, Give Me Your Love is a seriously funny play informed by medical research and real-life testimonies.
Cate Le Bon comes to Edinburgh's Summerhall this August, as part of Summerhall's Festival programme. She brings songs from her latest record, Reward.
A last chance to see Ridiculusmus’s 2014 Fringe hit and the first part of their mental health trilogy. The Eradication of Schizophrenia in Western Lapland is informed by a treatment for psychosis that has seen amazing results in Western Lapland.