Until Next Year!
The Language of Dreams: A Crash Course
Inspired by the legacy of Charles McPhee's syndicated Dream Doctor Radio Show, the amusingly named REM Doula and his team of REMniacs channel the same spirit, mixing sketches, songs and game-show parody with a quirky, surreal sense of humour to unpack the logic behind our dreams.
It's a hard tone to strike, a unique blend of educational and entertaining, but the show pulls it off, sending you out with real tools for interpreting your own dreams and a smile on your face.
★ ★ ★ ★
The Upwards Journey of a Champagne Bubble
I gave an enthusiastic five stars to this company in 2023, so was excited to see what disturbing delights they were bringing to Fringe 2026. It’s safe to say I was not disappointed.
While dipping into similar thematic and stylistic waters as previously, this is by no means a retread, pushing the envelope a little further while exploring ideas around class, sexuality and the blackest of humour. Writer/Director Harry Daisley’s expertly and densely written script takes gloriously deranged left turns every time you begin to feel settled, and saying almost anything about it feels like a spoiler.
I can’t recommend this enough. It’s not for the easily offended, perhaps, but should probably be compulsory viewing regardless.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Girlz
There has been something of a glut of post-SIX girl-group musicals at this year's Fringe, and Girlz certainly arrives with all the ingredients you'd expec. Unfortunately, while the production is polished and the cast are consistently good, I found the writing and music frustratingly familiar, and rarely as engaging as the concept suggests.
Girlz trades heavily on the audience's affection for pop and girl groups, with obvious nods towards the likes of the Spice Girls, Girls Aloud and Little Mix, yet seems to regard much of that music with a degree of disdain. There's nothing wrong with eviscerating the vapidity of the pop machine but Girlz seems caught between wanting to celebrate pop and sneer at it, and never quite commits convincingly to either.
★ ★ ★
00:45:00
The central premise of 00:45:00 - a scientist testing how far an audience will let an ethical thought experiment go in real time - is intriguing, clever and gripping. The pre-show staging, including crowd work within the queue, was inventively immersive and the atmosphere enjoyably unnerving from the moment you walked in.
Unfortunately, after this strong introduction it doesn't quite follow through, becoming for the most part a more conventional dramatisation. There is a fantastic idea in here, however, and with a few adjustments it could easily become a must-see.
★ ★ ★
Mythos Ragnarök
I first saw this awesome extravaganza of Viking smackdowns in 2022 and have returned several times over the years, with it becoming bigger, better and even more action-packed each time. Mythos Ragnarök is a thrilling fusion of Norse mythology and professional wrestling that delivers a spectacular and unique theatrical experience.
This is a raw, bold and wildly entertaining must-see for anyone looking for something different at the Fringe.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Innsmouth Crown
Sherlock Holmes: The Adventure of the Innsmouth Crown is an interesting original idea, combining a classic Sherlockian (literal) mystery box with an uncanny occult curse.
Although effective in their characterisation, the cast didn't seem fully confident with the material yet and there were a few fumbled lines and cues. With these minor issues smoothed over, however, this will be a great little play for anyone who is tempted by the idea of a bit of genre-bending intrigue
★ ★ ★ .5
Homunculus
Written by Santiago Mallan, Homunculus is a gloriously chaotic collision of old and new: a classic farce built on Elizabethan and Jacobean screwball mechanics, written in loose iambic verse and set in the present day. Mistaken identity and accidental alchemy combine with more than a dash of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to make a Frankenstein for the Jeremy Scott generation.
Homunculus is exactly the kind of weird, auteur insanity that the Fringe is for. It won’t be everyone’s jar of hex-goo, but if you like your comedy both cerebral and slapstick, please do not miss out on it while it’s here.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Bachelors of Fine Arts
My Bachelor of Fine Arts was in visual art, not theatre, but it was its own particular kind of hell at times, so I could relate to much of the material in this blackly hilarious musical about trying to get an education in the face of faculty failings and spiralling social chaos.
Crammed full of songs with witty, whip-smart lyrics and catchy chorus hooks I can’t imagine anyone not having a good time watching this show. I’m sorry if Johansen and McCarthy did have to go through such an absolutely shit time to find inspiration for the material, but out of a load of bitter lemons, they definitely made some great-tasting lemonade.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
★ ★ ★ ★ .5
Pajama Talks
Pajama Talks is a warmly melancholic piece of theatre that follows best friends Abby and Nina as they revisit their childhood sleepovers, facing up to some difficult memories alongside the ‘fun’ ones.
A small, tender show that doesn't overreach itself, dealing with its subject matter with sensitivity and emotional intelligence.
★ ★ ★ ★
Girlbosses and Billionaires
The grind never stops even in space.
Girlbosses and Billionaires throws a vacuous influencer, a thinly veiled Katy Perry space-tourist, an aging actress named Edna, and a hapless nepo baby into a rocket and documents the farcical outcomes of girl power repackaged as a branded space mission.
Satirising surface-level takes on fourth-wave feminism and the ethics of influencer culture, the show does a great job of skewering social politics and celebrities as deep as a puddle without slipping into lecturing or losing sight of the laughs.
★ ★ ★ .5
Cabin
Cabin is a cleverly constructed piece of new writing giving a creepy and unique spin to the well-worn cabin-in-the-woods trope. I don’t want to say too much about the story as it will spoil it, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it was an original script given how tightly plotted it is, with some unexpected twists along the way.
Some additional lighting or sound effects could have helped enhance the atmosphere and sense of suspense, however the cast do well to convey the mounting paranoia and confusion, and this is a solid piece of theatre that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys horror and psychological thrillers.
★ ★ ★ ★
Sodom, The Quintessence of Debauchery
Based on the Restoration closet drama of the same name, Sodom, or The Quintessence of Debauchery is a frenzied farrago of filth and ‘fucking’.
The direction, staging and visuals are all fantastic and the cast superb. Unfortunately, the source material itself, while an interesting historical curio, was neither artistically nor comically engaging enough to hold my attention for the 50-minute runtime. Had this been a 15-20 minute sketch, it could have been magnificent, but as it was, I found myself surprisingly bored by the end despite the well-executed outrageousness on display.
★ ★ ★ ★
Carrie: The Musical
As both a fan of the original Stephen King novel and the 1976 movie, I was keen to experience this musical adaptation. Unfortunately, my seat meant I was unable to see much of the show, and for that reason I don’t feel I can give a balanced account or a fair rating.
That said, from what I could see and hear, this seemed to be a competent and well-produced staging of the material, and it certainly seemed like a show that most fans of musical theatre would enjoy.
The Last Girl There
The Last Girl There is an engaging piece of theatre based around an intriguing murder-mystery premise soaked in sisterhood, loyalty and buried resentments.
The script is well written and tightly constructed, meaning that although the eventual reveal is perhaps somewhat unsatisfying, the journey there remains enjoyable and worthwhile.
★ ★ ★ .5
Unexplained Live
I've been a listener of the Unexplained podcast for a while now, so I was excited to see how its fantastically unsettling, too-spooky-to-fall-asleep-to atmosphere would translate to the stage.
Richard MacLean Smith's storytelling is simple but hugely effective, and he makes clever use of lighting, sound and a few small props to build mood and tension without ever feeling overdone. Whether you’re already a fan of the podcast or coming to it completely fresh, this is a great example of classic storytelling done well: no unnecessary distraction, no irony, no forced humour. Just a well-told, eerie tale, delivered with real craft.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Operation Market Garden
Operation Market Garden is a quietly powerful piece of theatre, drawn from the wartime diary of Welsh paratrooper Neville Neads, who took part in the Arnhem drop during Operation Market Garden in 1944.
A thoughtful, sensitive production that trusts its material rather than hammering home its themes, showing a mature restraint that lets the story’s weight speak for itself.
★ ★ ★ ★
The Yellow Wallpaper
This darkly atmospheric dance thriller takes Charlotte Perkins Gilman's 1892 story and turns its interior horror inside out through movement. The unnamed narrator, confined to a room after the birth of her baby and diagnosed with a “hysterical tendency”, becomes a study in claustrophobia. The piece builds a nightmarish atmosphere, switching between exhaustion, delirium and hysterical ecstasy as her grip on reality slips. Hauntingly staged, sharply danced, and quietly furious underneath: highly recommended.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
The Body I Left in Susquehanna National Forest
An enjoyable, unsettling piece of dark comedy springing from a deceptively simple setup. Two newlyweds are driving late at night on the way to their honeymoon when they hit a deer. Only, it’s not a deer. To say much more would spoil the surprises, but there were several for me - both in how the plot develops and in how the tone shifts throughout.
The comedy manages for the most part not to undercut the tension, but the show remains funny enough to enjoy in the moment and dark enough to think about on the walk home.
★ ★ ★ ★
Parking Spot: The Musical!
Parking Spot: The Musical! takes a wonderfully petty premise - five Jersey City neighbours scheming over one open parking space - and mines it for a lot of laughs.
Some of the more American-centric gags didn’t land with the Scottish/international audience, but the broader threads (marriage, friendship, the insufferability of trying to park in a modern city) are things most can relate to, and this is a fun little show filled with quirky characters, catchy original music and dayglo road-safe fabrics.
★ ★ ★ .5
Elba
Following his abdication in 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to the small Mediterranean island of Elba, where he was made sovereign. This dynamic and engaging two-hander follows the former general and André Pons de l'Hérault, a French revolutionary turned administrator, living on Elba during these months.
Never boring, Elba races through its runtime, taking what could be a dry or uninviting subject matter and making it hugely entertaining while still remaining thoughtful and smart.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
★ ★ ★ ★ .5