Federica Balbi
Don’t Frighten the Straights
★★★☆☆ Homo-ironic storytelling:
Turan Ali is a great storyteller. Maybe too good – when he told his partner that he wanted to do a show about ʻwhat gay men really get up toʼ, the reply was, well, Don’t frighten the straights…
India Flamenco – A Gipsy Tale
★★★★☆ Absolutely fascinating:
Three women, three styles and three different sensualities – combined with their shared joy for dance, are the main ingredients of this stunning production.
Barry
★★★☆☆ Smiling engagement:
Barry, Shrinking Violet’s devised play which is at the Bedlam for five days only, attempts to find out who Edinburgh’s famous Doctor James Barry really was.
Never None (but She)
★★★☆☆ Modern tale:
Never None (but She) is a story of magic and female power from Asterglow Theatre at theSpace Triplex that reminds of Ovid’s Metamorphosis as well as folk tales.
The Understudies
★★★☆☆ Amusing. Hopefully!
Before the start of Magic Door Productions’ improvised musical show, The Understudies, each audience member is asked to write down the title of any musical, one of which will become the title of that date’s production.
Umbrella Man
★★★★☆ Aye, amusing, man!
Duke wants to demonstrate the Earth is flat in Umbrella Man, Teuchter Company’s funny and sweet story performed by Colin Bramwell at Summerhall until the end of the Fringe.
Burns for Brunch
★★★★☆ Anti-Brexit Rabbie:
Robert Burns wakes up hungover among empty bottles. He’s the real Rabbie, even though he talks about Brexit in Theatre Objektiv’s hilarious Burns for Breakfast at the Scottish Storytelling Centre.
The Happiness Project
★★★★★ Queering the scene:
The first thing that strikes about The Happiness Project is the colours. Shocking pink and neon yellow on a plain background and plastic-grass floor.
1902
★★★☆☆ A game on stage:
It’s 2016. Hibernian F.C. haven’t won the Scottish Cup since 1902. Now, four guys in their early twenties would do anything to see the final against the Rangers…
Atlantis
★★☆☆☆ Attempted Utopia:
In Atlantis by Broadsword Theatre, playing at Greenside @ Infirmary Street for week two of the Fringe only, the myth of the lost city has been recreated on an island, home to a strict community.
