Listings & Preview Mon 24 – Sun 30 March 2025
What’s on Edinburgh’s stages this week?
Musicals and work by young companies dominate the listings this week, with a special mention to Nessie – the second new Scottish musical of the Spring season.
A Capital Theatres – Pitlochry Festival Theatre co-production, Nessie opens at the Studio on Friday (ends Sat 5 Apr: tickets) and uses puppetry to tell of an 11-year-old budding biologist who encounters the Loch Ness Monster and survives to tell the tale.
Dawn Sievewright and the Wild Rose company. Pic: Mihaela Bodlovic
The other sparkling new Scottish musical is Wild Rose at the Lyceum (ends Sat 19 Apr: tickets) which is just about the perfect Jukebox musical of country music you could want. With a braw cast telling a great big Scottish story to boot.
One young(ish) company putting on a musical of sorts themselves is Showchoir, with the portmanteau production Down the Hatch (Thurs – Sat: tickets) at the Pleasance. We’ve seen the set list for this and are much looking forward to this apparently semi-immersive production, set in an old, homey, run-down tavern.
And so to more straight theatre offerings from young companies. Top of the list is Strange Town, whose Youth Company is staging a new play, The Dark Up Close (Wed/Thurs: tickets) at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, devised with Jack MacGregor. Set in a near-future Scotland on a pre-war footing, it looks at a world where national service is reinstated for all young people.
At the Traverse, the students of the Performing Arts Studio, Scotland (part of Edinburgh College) are putting on a double bill of shows on Weds and Thurs. After Life by Jack Thorne (tickets) and Counterpunch by Clara Bloomfield (tickets) are ticketed separately but can also be seen together.
French dressing
The final young company on stage this week is Les Escogriffes, Edinburgh University’s French Theatre Society, who are staging Lorenzaccio by Alfred De Musset in French at the French Institute (Thurs – Sun: tickets). Written in France in 1834, but set in 16th-century Florence, it is a cynical criticism of those who instigate the overthrowing of established power but fail to support the people.
Postponed by the pandemic, Ghost Stories has at last arrived in Edinburgh, playing the Festival Theatre (Wed – Sat: tickets). It’s probably best to know as little as possible of this one before you go – but it is written and co-directed by Jeremy Dyson who was one quarter of the League of Gentlemen and Andy Nyman, who is a longtime collaborator with Derren Brown for his stage shows.
This week’s lunchtime theatre session at the Traverse from A Play, A Pie and A Pint is Wasps by newcomer Cameron Forbes (Tue-Sat: tickets), which is a bitter-sweet coming-of-age monologue, performed by Yolanda Mitchell, exploring grief, fear, and the life cycle of a wasp.
And finally, the Playhouse has a clutch of one-night stands before it goes into hiatus ahead of the opening of Moulin Rouge the Musical (Fri 25 April – Sat 14 June 2025: tickets).
On Wednesday it is rising Strictly star, Nikita Kuzmin with Midnight Dancer (tickets), you can Sing-a-Long-a The Greatest Showman on Thursday (tickets) laugh with Russel Kane: HyperActive on Friday (tickets) and get healthy with Dr Rangan Chatterjee: The Thrive Tour on Saturday (tickets).
Listing
Click on the name of the show or the Book here link to go to its ticketing site.
Festival Theatre
13/29 Nicolson Street EH8 9FT. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000.
Ghost Stories
Wed 26 – Sat 29 Mar 2025
Wed & Fri: 7.30pm; Thu & Sat: 5.30pm & 8pm.
Æ review: ★★★★☆ Supernatural thrills
When Professor Goodman, arch-sceptic out to debunk the paranormal, embarks on an investigation of three apparent hauntings – as recounted by a night-watchman, a teenage boy, and a businessman awaiting his first child – Goodman finds himself at the outer limits of rationality, and fast running out of explanations. Book here.
Institute française d’Écosse
W Parliament Sq, Edinburgh EH1 1RN.
Lorenzaccio (Les Escogriffes)
Thurs 27 – Sun 30 Mar 2025
Evenings: 6pm.
Three plots interweave in this dynamic fresco of 16th century Florence by Alfred De Musset and performed by Les Escogriffes, Edinburgh University’s French Theatre Society. Lorenzo de Medici, cousin and favourite of the Duke Alexandre, is publicly perceived as a sodden disgrace. Only Philippe Strozzi, leader of the republicans, knows his true goal: to kill the Duke. Book here.
Lyceum Theatre
Grindlay Street EH3 9AX. Phone booking: 0131 248 4848.
Wild Rose
The Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh, Caledonia Productions and Gavin Kalin Productions
Ends: Sat 19 Apr 2025
Daily (not Sun/Mon): 7.30pm. Wed, Sat mat: 2.30pm.
Æ Review: ★★★★★ Triumphant.
There is only one thing in Rose-Lynn’s life that has ever made sense: country music. Fresh out of jail for past mistakes, and bursting with incredible raw talent, charisma and cheek, the free-spirited Rose-Lynn dreams of escaping Glasgow to make it as a singer in Nashville. Book here.
Playhouse
18 – 22 Greenside Place, EH1 3AA. Phone booking: 0844 871 3014.
Nikita Kuzmin – Midnight Dancer
Wed 26 Mar 2025
Evening: 7.30pm.
Æ news: Nikita Midnight Dancer
Rising Star of Strictly Come Dancing and Celebrity Big Brother, Nikita Kuzmin brings his brand-new show to the stage on his first ever solo UK and Ireland Tour. Book here.
Sing-a-Long-a The Greatest Showman
Thurs 27 Mar 2025
Evening: 7pm.
Cheer on Hugh Jackman, lust after Zac Efron as you experience The Greatest Showman in the greatest way possible – with lyrics on the screen so you can join in as loud as you want. Book here.
Russel Kane: HyperActive
Fri 28 Mar 2025
Evening: 7.30pm.
Whirlwind, FitBit-breaking comedian, presenter, actor and author Russell Kane is out on the road again, setting it on fire with his unique recipe of sharp wit and physical comedy. Safety warning: wear strong underwear – pants will be spoiled. Book here.
Dr Rangan Chatterjee: The Thrive Tour
Sat 29 Mar 2025
Evening: 7.30pm.
Join Dr Rangan Chatterjee, host of Europe’s biggest health podcast Feel Better, Live More, author of 5 Sunday Times Bestselling Books and star of BBC One’s Doctor In The House for two hours that will transform the way you feel about your own life. Book here.
Pleasance Theatre
60 Pleasance, EH8 9TJ.
Down the Hatch (Show Choir 2025)
Thurs 27 – Sat 29 March 2025
Evenings: 7.30pm.
A magical night of musical storytelling set in an old, homey, run-down tavern where many have come together to tell their story over a few pints. From familiar musical theatre numbers to traditional Gaelic songs, this heartwarming semi-immersive show is going to leave audiences completely captivated by this insight into the individual lives of people in a community. Book here.
Scottish Storytelling Centre
43-45 High St, EH1 1SR. Phone booking: 0131 556 9579
The Dark Up Close (Strange Town Young Company)
Wed 26/Thurs 27 Mar 2025.
Daily: 7.30pm.
Æ review: ★★★★☆ Stark warning
Two teenagers digging graves, an island full of conscripts and puffins. The guns are silent on the eve of World War III. A near-future Britain, a country in crisis with national service reinstated for all young people. The old world is dying, and the new world has been delayed indefinitely. By Jack MacGregor. Book here.
Studio Theatre
The Studio, 22 Potterrow, EH8 9BL. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000.
Nessie (Cap Theatre & PFT)
Fri 28 Mar – Sat 5 Apr 2025
Wed – Fri: 7pm; Sats: 1.30pm & 6pm; Sun: 1.30pm.
New musical with book, music and lyrics by Shonagh Murray.
On the scenic banks of Loch Ness lies the town of Bruachness, a place steeped in mystery and folklore, where the local residents live in cautious awe of the legendary Loch Ness Monster, believed to bring misfortune to those who glimpse it. Until young biologist Mara meets Nessa – and survives to tell her tale. Book here.
Traverse
10 Cambridge Street, EH1 2ED. Phone booking: 0131 228 1404.
Wasps (PPP)
By Cameron Forbes.
Tue 25 – Sat 29 March 2025
Lunchtime: 1pm (Trav 1).
Æ review: ★★★★☆ Emotional clarity
Rianne is your typical 16-year-old girl, aside from an obsessive phobia of wasps, trying to survive the hellhole that is high school. As with getting the grades she needs, some heartbreaking news sends her life spiralling out of control in ways she could never have imagined. A bitter-sweet coming-of-age monologue exploring grief, fear, and the life cycle of a wasp. Book here.
After Life (PASS)
By Jack Thorne.
Wed 26/Thur 27 Mar 2025
Daily: 2pm & 7pm (Trav 2).
In a waiting room, suspended between life and death a group of recently deceased strangers are given six days to consider all the precious moments of their lives, and decide which single memory they will take with them for all eternity. Book here.
Counterpunch (PASS)
By Clara Bloomfield.
Wed 26/Thur 27 Mar 2025
Daily: 3.30pm & 8.30pm (Trav 2).
How far would you go to keep your world from falling apart? In a run-down gym on the edge of town, a close-knit group of boxers fight against the odds. Loyalty is everything, but second chances are rare. Book here.
*NB: This is intended to be a complete listing of all public theatrical productions on in Edinburgh. If you are staging a show which is not listed, or a listing is inaccurate, please get in touch through the contact page, here.
ENDS
