Will Pickvance: Piano Diaries
★★★★☆ Enticing
Pianodrome at St Oswald’s Centre (Venue 344): Thurs 6 – Sun 30 Aug 2026
Review by Hugh Simpson
Piano Diaries, from Will Pickvance at the Pianodrome, is a genuinely lovely entertainment from the raconteur and musician.
An attempt to memorise a Bach fugue leads Pickvance off into a variety of tangents about life, libraries, Glastonbury and garden fences, all illustrated by music ranging from the aforementioned JSB to the Beatles and Fats Waller.
Will Pickvance plays the piano at the Pianodrome Edinburgh. Pic: Peter Dibdin.
It is performed in an engaging, relaxed way that conceals its structure. You could say that the various threads are pursuing each other like the voices of a fugue, but that would be reductive (not to say pretentious) and anyway, the overall effect is more of a fun series of stories punctuated by some genuinely astounding music.
While Pickvance’s deceptively gentle musings and startling improvisatory piano collisions are always refreshing and fun, this one gains immeasurably from the setting. The Pianodrome could have been made for Pickvance, and anyone who hasn’t experienced it yet should take this opportunity.
entrances and exits
The space is perfect for his wandering around, with scope for entrances and exits, while the various pianos that have survived being melded into the guts of others can be played. They may sound a little tinnier than the grand in the centre of the area that is the main focus, but sometimes that is the right effect.
It also means that there is none of the intrusive noise from other nearby venues, revellers or traffic that can affect a show at Fringe time. And Piano Diaries – a rumination, an escape, a thing of odd beauty and lightly-worn virtuosity – needs to be savoured.
Running time: One hour and 5 minutes (no interval).
Pianodrome at St Oswald’s Centre (Pianodrome), 41 Montpelier Park EH10 4NB (Venue 344).
Thursday 6 – Sunday 30 August 2026.
Daily (not Mon, Tues): 16pm.
Tickets and details: Book here at EdFringe.com.
Tickets direct from venue: Book here.
Will Pickvance website: www.willpickvance.com
Facebook: @pickvance
Instagram: @willpickvance
Linktree: @willpickvance.
Will Pickvance plays air piano at the Pianodrome Edinburgh. Pic: Peter Dibdin.
ENDS
