EdFringe22 – Youth & Student Theatre
Edinburgh-made Youth & Student Theatre at EdFringe 2022
Edinburgh’s theatre companies have come back strong after the pandemic with 116 theatrical productions at the Fringe including many new shows and a handful of returning favourites.
Of the 77 theatre shows a good 19 are made by youth and student companies. There are a lot more in the Musical Theatre section – and one in the theatre for children section. However, this listing is primarily for theatre-based shows.
In order to make things easier to navigate, we have divided the theatre listing up into four parts. On this page you can find an alphabetical listing of all the productions being staged by the city’s youth and student theatre companies.
The rest of the theatre productions are listed here (click on the link to go to the page):
Theatre by Edinburgh’s Amateur companies
Theatre by Edinburgh’s Grassroots companies
Theatre by Edinburgh’s Professional & Funded companies.
These distinctions are sometimes slightly arbitrary, and professional companies also mentor youth companies so do look through the different sections. Also, don’t forget to look at what is on in the Musical Theatre & Opera, Children’s Theatre and Dance, Cabaret & Spoken Word sections.
Listing
20 Minutes of Action
Lionheart Theatre
Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)
3 – 29 Aug (not 17, 23): 12:15 (1 hour)
The most controversial sexual assault case in recent American history. The exact words of the victim, perpetrator, and their families. This unflinching case study scrutinizes one of the most pertinent conversations of our time: women’s safety. Further details.
Beneath
Lighter Fluid Theatre Company and New Celts Productions
theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39)
7 – 27 Aug (Odd dates only): 11:30 (1 hour 15 minutes)
Æ review here: ★★★☆☆ Post-apocalypse absurdity
Tess, Jo, Kris and Dani find themselves trapped in a vault 100 metres underwater. With time and resources running out, each character begins to question who they can trust and how they plan to survive. Further details.
Born Under a Bad Sign
Raw Toast Productions and New Celts Productions
theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39)
6 – 26 Aug (Even dates only): 17:10 (1 hour 10 minutes)
Æ review here: ★★★☆☆ Lively
Post-game – and the podcasters are live! But after a few beers (and a few revelations!) they begin to wonder: Has their football passion blinded them to what’s really going on around them? Further details.
Boys Who Punch Holes in Walls
Lex Joyce / PBH’s Free Fringe
PBH’s Free Fringe @ CC Blooms (Venue 171)
20 – 28 Aug): 13:45 (55 minutes)
Æ review here: ★★★☆☆ Heartfelt
A heated argument and an all-night conversation caused suppressed emotions to explode. To save their childhood friendship, Max and Kieran have to wrestle between how they want to be seen and who they are. Further details.
Cheeky Girls
The Counterminers
theSpace @ Niddry St (Venue 9)
22 – 29 Aug: 18:05 (50 minutes)
Æ review here: ★★★★☆ Unbounded promise
Imagine if Jesus was resurrected again. Ugh. So Hot. It’s Freddi’s world – we’re just living in it. With Flick and Molly by her side, she’s unstoppable, unflappable and uncompromising. It’s magnificent mayhem – until it’s not. Further details.
Contact
Broadsword Theatre
Greenside @ Infirmary Street (Venue 236)
15 – 20 Aug: 13:55 (1 hour)
Æ review here: ★★★☆☆ Energetic
Welcome to the Pharmtec contact centre, where a crack team awaits every query! However, when the incoming phone calls start to take a sinister turn, the staff soon have something far worse than irate customers to worry about. Further details.
Crossing the Void
koi collective and New Celts Productions
theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39)
6 – 26 Aug (Even dates only): 15:35 (1 hour 10 minutes)
Æ review here: ★★★★☆ Spookily real
Hannah’s been dead for a year. Hoping a seance will bring the friend group together again, ghosts of many forms emerge, and life will never be the same. MacAlister’s latest comedy marks koi collective’s Fringe debut. Further details.
Fire Signs
Edinburgh University Theatre Company
Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)
3 – 15 Aug (not 9): 11:45 (1 hour)
Æ review here: ★★★☆☆ Relatable
Second year is going to be Bobbie and Emma’s year. Probably. This new comedy follows two flatmates through a chaotic semester, as new boyfriends and ghosts-of-Freshers-past test whether their friendship is written in the stars. Further details.
Floodgate
Theatre Paradok
theSpace @ Niddry St (Venue 9)
22 – 27 Aug: 20:00 (50 minutes)
Æ review here: ★★★★☆ Surprising
It’s 2061. A coastal town is quiet, deserted by those seeking higher ground. Three siblings clear out their grandma’s belongings, finding a diary left behind that will change everything. When the floodgates open, will they sink or swim? Further details.
One Week in Magaluf
Napier Musical Theatre Society
theSpace @ Symposium Hall (Venue 43)
15 – 20 Aug: 12:55 (1 hour)
Æ review here: ★★★★☆ Enthusiastic
Set during a girls holiday to Magaluf in the late 00s, this is a familiar fable about friends on the verge of becoming foes when paths change directions, sometimes in the opposite direction you wanted. Further details.
Paradok Platform
Theatre Paradok
Just the Tonic at La Belle Angele (Venue 301)
4 – 28 (not 15): 17:00 (1 hour)
Æ review here: ★★★★☆ Original Shakespeare
Edinburgh’s premiere experimental theatre society present our newest innovation, Paradok Platform! This year, we’ve created the opportunity for student theatre to catch-up after the last few years of darkness! More than ten brand new experimental pieces of theatre, ranging from comedy and drama to musicals and movement – check out festival.theatreparadok.co.uk for the full line-up! Further details.
Prometheus Bound (Io’s Version)
Myths Unbound Productions and New Celts Productions
theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39)
7 – 27 Aug (Odd dates only): 16:45 (1 hour 15 minutes)
Æ review here: ★★★☆☆ Frustrating
An adaptation of Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound, this version (Io’s Version) feasts on the liver of power and injustice while pecking at the core of what it means to be human (because seriously, we’re all confused). Further details.
Tales of Vomit, Trash and Broken Glass
Not So Nice! and New Celts Productions
theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39)
7 – 27 Aug (Odd dates only): 15:05 (1 hour 15 minutes)
Æ review here: ★★★☆☆ Ambitious
Following an ecological disaster, two people are forced to confront the parallel between destructive relationships and environmental destruction, asking the question: in a world full of toxicity, how do we heal? Further details.
The After-Dinner Joke
Agree to Disagree Theatre and New Celts Productions
theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39)
7 – 27 Aug (Odd dates only): 13:15 (1 hour 25 minutes)
Æ review here: ★★★☆☆ Serious funny
A kaleidoscope of chaos that follows a well-meaning woman’s journey down the rabbit hole of trials and tribulations of charity work. Further details.
The Macbeth Inquiry
Edinburgh University Shakespeare Company
theSpace @ Niddry St (Venue 9)
15 – 20 Aug: 15:55 (50 minutes)
Æ review here: ★★★☆☆ Hit-and-miss
Shakespeare’s great tragedy is reimagined in a modern political context asking how politics is shaped from, and tarnished by, a pursuit for power. It’s time to see the Scottish Play through a whole new lens! Further details.
The Murder Club
Pear Productions and New Celts Productions
theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39)
6 – 26 Aug (Even dates only): 12:25 (1 hour 10 minutes)
Æ review here: ★★★☆☆ Psychologically troubling
What happens when you put two convicted murderers in charge of the entertainment scene at Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum? A play within a play and a trail of manipulation, lies and deception. Further details.
The Rip Current
Edinburgh University Theatre Company
Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)
18 – 29 Aug (not 23): 11:45 (1 hour)
A Scottish boy from Campbeltown re-discovers himself and a troubled past. Challenging conventional theatrical boundaries, whilst amplifying Scottish representation and incorporating elements of smell and touch, this show promises a unique theatrical experience. Further details.
The Weird Sisters
BUFF. and New Celts Productions
theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39)
6 – 26 Aug (Even dates only): 14:00 (1 hour 10 minutes)
Æ review here: ★★★★☆ Special stuff
This is a tale of sisterhood, society and sausages. A lost couple find themselves in the company of unusual sisters who have taken them in for the night. As drinks are poured, secrets are spilled… Further details.
Water Fruit Loops
Theatre Paradok
theSpace @ Niddry St (Venue 9)
22 – 27 Aug: 11:00 (1 hour 10 minutes)
Æ review here: ★★★☆☆ Engaging
Richard, a student, finds himself stuck in a time loop after hooking up with his ex. Rather than utilise the period for self-reflection, Richard jumps at the opportunity to keep hooking up with his ex. Further details.
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