Jake Mace
It’s World Fringe Day! We’ve taken the chance to celebrate by shining a light on five artists that caught our reviewers’ attention in previous years, and who also happen to be returning to EdFringe next month.
These artists are among the crème de la crème of lifting up stories, themes and voices that would otherwise go unheard. Our reviewers reckon their shows in previous years were so spot on that they deserve five whole stars – put simply, as close to perfection as you can get. We’re sure that these shows will bring something exciting, challenging and exuberantly fun to your EdFringe 2023 calendars.
Joe Venable with Georgia Rawlins & Chordstruck Theatre – Jingle Street
Writer Joe Venable certainly struck a chord back in 2021 as part of Cambridge University Musical Theatre Society with hit gig economy-cum-gig parody On Your Bike. The show grabbed five well-deserved stars from myself for its’ thematic uniqueness, narrative storytelling, and musical quality. We are sure, then, you’re unlikely to be disappointed with Joe’s new offering, with music composed by Georgia Rawlins.
One day, ad writer Colin Hollins wakes up to find he can only speak in TV jingles – can a chance meeting with idealistic activist Jasmine lift the curse? Capitalist critique and musical comedy collide in this all new piece by Chordstruck Theatre.
Jingle Street – Gilded Balloon – Patter Hoose (Other Yin), Aug 2-13, 15-20, & 22-27 (16:15). Tickets are available through the EdFringe Box Office.
Xhloe and Natasha – What If They Ate The Baby
Something of a 2022 Fringe sensation, performers Xhloe and Natasha brought their unbridled originality and flair to Edinburgh with their queer cowboy meta concept piece And Then The Rodeo Burned Down. It certainly caught our reviewer Aditi’s eye at the King’s Head Theatre in London earlier this year, when she described it as “precise and perfect and so luxuriously compelling.”
Now the Fringe First winners are working overtime, bringing back their much-loved piece alongside an all new show, What If They Ate The Baby, described as an absurd take on the 1950s American Lesbian Cannibal housewife. What’s not to love?
What If They Ate The Baby – theSpace @ Niddry St (Lower Theatre), Aug 15-19 (17:50), and theSpace on the Mile, Aug 21-26 (21:15). Tickets available through the EdFringe Box Office.
F-Bomb Theatre – The Beatles Were a Boyband
Also back for second helpings are fellow Fringe First award winners F-Bomb Theatre and their show The Beatles Were a Boyband. I loved this piece last year which takes on the prescient issue of women’s safety with a lot of heart, charm and panache. The journeys of three flatmates on different paths to campaign, protest, and above all protect themselves and those around them flit between sit-com humour and serious dramatic talent.
It’s a fantastically well put together piece that takes on challenging themes with purpose. I’m so pleased to see it back for another year.
The Beatles Were a Boyband – Gilded Balloon – Patter Hoose (Doonstairs), Aug 18-27 (19:30). Tickets available through the EdFringe Box Office.
The Hairy Godmothers – Dizney in Drag: Once Upon a Parody
I’ll let you in on something – the entire Binge Fringe team got together at Prague Fringe to see Dizney in Drag: Once Upon a Parody, and every single one of us fell about laughing, had a wonderful time and enjoyed the thought provoking ethos behind The Hairy Godmothers’ wild performance. It’s sure out there – certainly one you’d have to be brave to bring your mum along to – but every detail of this show, from the drag, to the musical performances and carefully crafted narrative carries you along in it’s buoyance and brilliance.
Be sure to catch some of the most exciting and hilarious fresh drag performances when they land in Edinburgh next month.
Dizney in Drag: Once Upon a Parody – Gilded Balloon – Patter Hoose (Big Yin), Aug 18-27 (19:30). Tickets available through the EdFringe Box Office.
Lyle Productions and ramblemill – A Manchester Anthem
I certainly meant it when I said that this show is some of the best storytelling I’ve ever seen on a Fringe stage. No surprise then that VAULT and the Pleasance have teamed up to bring Lyle Productions and ramblemill’s totally engrossing and utterly captivating show A Manchester Anthem north of the border for EdFringe. The show follows Tommy on a coming of age, class-disrupting story that catapults him into a world of disorder, drugs and family drama over one night out in the iconic city.
Sure to be unforgettable, the performance and production design of this piece make it an unmissable addition to our celebration of World Fringe Day.
A Manchester Anthem – Pleasance Courtyard – The Green, Aug 2-6, 8-15, & 17-27 (19:50). Tickets available through the EdFringe Box Office.
Eilidh McKenzie
