Better half way through than never, that's what we say - at least this year. The Edinburgh Fringe is in full swing, but if you're unsure as to what to see, or what to see next, we thought you might find some inspiration from Scots Whay Hae!'s pick of the Fringe.
Click on the highlighted links for more info and tickets.
Critically acclaimed writer and performer Kevin P Gilday (Suffering from Scottishness, Sonnet Youth) takes a verbal sledgehammer to lazy stereotypes and attempts to deconstruct what it really means to be "working-class" in modern Britain. Spam Valley is a hilarious, autobiographical monologue exploring what happens when a working-class upbringing gives way to a middle-class career path. Blending theatre, stand-up and contemporary spoken word, Gilday delves into his own Glaswegian upbringing to chart his journey, from Spam Valley to the stage, with trademark wit and delivery. Spam Valley is politically charged theatre at its best.
* Today is the last day of Spam Valley, so get in quick to avoid missing out!
She’s back! Following two hilarious instalments of The Moira Monologues (Fringe First Winner 2017) Falkirk’s Hardest Woman faces her toughest challenge: surviving a pandemic with only vodka, fags and BFF Babs on Zoom. Take that, Bear Grylls! Journey through the highs and lows of lockdown with writer-performer Alan Bissett returning as 'the most charismatic character to appear on a Scottish stage in a decade' ***** (Scotsman) as she lusts after Joe Wicks, rages at Cummings, and grows her own weed (might as well, seeing as the f*ckin' world’s ending, eh Babs?). Directed by Sacha Kyle.
Darkly comedic one-woman show about our natural inclination to go with the flow. If you’ve ever agreed to do something you’re supremely unqualified to do, or looked across the table at someone and wondered why the hell they're still in your life, it probably started with your unwillingness to Say If It's Not Okay. Following a year of psychotherapy, award-winning writer Angela Jackson is now supremely qualified to reflect on the havoc caused by her own reluctance to speak out. 'Dry northern wit... Comic genius... A brilliant storyteller... Life-affirming warmth and generosity of spirit' (EdinburghFestival.org).
Sense of Centre is a moving dance solo from award-winning choreographer Jack Webb. Dance, object manipulation and projection combine to explore our longing for home, need for connection and the body as a place of sanctuary from the modern world. A compelling meditation of our increasing sense of loneliness and isolation and the basic human need for a centre of gravity. In a world that is fractured and breaking apart, Sense of Centre, is a powerful return to the simplicity of nature and the importance of belonging. In association with Feral. Part of MadeInScotlandShowcase.com
Likened to Kate Bush, Anna Meredith and Bjork, Esther Swift combines her love of folk, jazz, classical and all things in-between in this brand-new commission from Celtic Connections. Joining Esther (harp and voice) are masterful instrumentalists Emma Lloyd (viola and violin), Patrick Kenny (trombone and alphorn) and Owen Williams (multiple percussion and drums) who together share the stage with electronic musician Matthew Collings to explore intimate and epic soundscapes through rich harmonies, flowering textures, improvisations and pre-sampled recordings. Featuring settings of poems by Rachel McCrum, William Butler Yeats and Glasgow's own Edwin Morgan. MadeInScotlandShowcase.com
Come! Welcome to the inaugural Book Festival Fringe. Show. Authors, performers, social activists/active socialists, Stacey & Phil, do the funniest, wildest, most happening book festival/book launch-launch ever... it's either the most comic literary event or the most literary comic event. Literally... Stacey Clare – stripper, performance artist, writer, activist, Buddhist and co-founder of The East London Strippers Collective. Presenting her Book: The Ethical Stripper: Sex, Work and Labour Rights in the Night-time Economy. Phil Kay – fast talker, fast writer brings along his three latest volumes of Psycho-Geographical Travel Memoirs...
If all the best people are in all the best jobs, why is Britain such a f*cking bin fire? Orwell prize-winning author, BAFTA nominated broadcaster and celebrated hip-hop artist Darren McGarvey poses this awkward question and more in a new show centred around his recent book, The Social Distance Between Us. With its unpredictable ask-me-anything format, audience members shape the performance and no two nights are the same. McGarvey’s 60-minute high-wire act confronts the scandal of class-inequality with passion, humility and an optimal dose of humour.
In 1828, Burke and Hare killed 16 people in Edinburgh and they sold the bodies to an anatomist. Burke's wife, Helen MacDougal, was unaware until the final murder at a Halloween party, which she witnessed and tried to prevent. Burke and his wife were arrested, but she refused to say anything that might incriminate him. Hare turned King's evidence, so just Burke and his wife went to trial. The case against her was not proven while Burke was found guilty and sentenced to hang. Afterwards, she was driven out of Scotland. This is her story.
Kazumi is hunting a sea monster. Arriving on a remote Hebridean island, he meets Coblaith, a local woman whose family have lived there for generations. But there's something strange about Cob's obsessive affection for the lochs and something even stranger about the way the other islanders treat her. Could it be that Coblaith is the mythical creature he has been searching for? Or are humans the real monsters after all? MadeInScotlandShowcase.com
Saved is a multi-layered, retro-mechanical music show built around rescued 70s home organs. Turned inside out, their internal spinning speakers are exposed for us to see as well as hear. Along with cassettes, a turntable, AM radios and a modified whisk, Saved celebrates an analogue era where A-B-C Fun Block and One Finger Chord buttons captivated our imagination. Leak, of Spaghetti Western Orchestra fame, gently transports us to a curious sound-world where the mundane becomes surprisingly beautiful. 'It knows exactly what it's doing and it does it sublimely' (Lyn Gardner, StagedoorApp.com).
Check out the full Fringe festival programme here - edfringe.com