Edinburgh festival 2024: the best comedy, theatre and dance already reviewed
Five-star standup, late-night debauchery, staggering circus tricks … as the arts spectacular approaches, here are some of the shows rated by our writers
October 2023
Nae Expectations: Andy Arnold on a gallus Dickens, Glasgow’s Tron and ‘catastrophic’ arts cuts
As he stages Gary McNair’s twist on the tale of Pip, the director reflects on 16 years of spotting and developing raw talent while running the Tron
May 2023
Dear Billy review – brilliant tribute to the Big Yin
Gary McNair delivers verbatim interviews and misremembered Connolly routines from ordinary people in this love letter
October 2022
Jekyll and Hyde review – Stevenson’s shocker rewired as a riveting solo
Playwright Gary McNair turns the gothic novel into a brilliantly bewitching show performed by Audrey Brisson
July 2021
Black Diamonds and the Blue Brazil review – love, loss and lower-league footie
Camels, clowns and sex education: what to see at Edinburgh fringe 2021
July 2020
Theatres that made us
Theatres that made us: from Shakespeare's Globe to Leicester's Curve
Arts venues have been hit hard by the pandemic and are still unable to stage live performances. In the second part of a new series, we celebrate their essential role
August 2018
After the Cuts review – DIY healthcare in a post-NHS era
Gary McNair’s darkly humorous drama asks how far we’d go to save the person we love
In Gary McNair’s uncomfortable show – staged at the Edinburgh fringe for one performance – four women repeat the sexist ‘banter’ of anonymous men
Trans tales and rogue cabarets: Edinburgh festival 2017 – in pictures
From Sara Pascoe’s new standup to a strange evening with Martin Creed, via acrobats, Samuel Beckett and a wild girl from Borneo, here are the sights so far
Letters to Morrissey review – this charming fan's teenage tribute
Gary McNair’s play about a lonely misfit’s one-sided correspondence with the Smiths frontman makes for a touching hour
June 2017
Theatre blog
Edinburgh festival 2017: what to see and where to go
From Fleabag to Forced Entertainment, with Shakespearean puppet shows, a dance marathon and a love letter to Dolly Parton, here’s a look at some of this year’s highlights
February 2017
Locker-room banter is not just about Trump – it's men everywhere
Gary McNair has created a show using verbatim testimonies from hundreds of interviewees to reveal the prevalence of a hidden, misogynistic male language
October 2015
Theatre blog
Plan your week’s theatre: top tickets
Finding the unfunny: a year of watching standups die on stage
August 2015
Theatre blog
Plan your week's theatre at Edinburgh: top tickets
A Gambler’s Guide to Dying: Edinburgh festival review – warmly comic tale of a bet against death
July 2015
This week's new theatre
This week’s new theatre
The Heresy Of Love | A Gambler’s Guide To Dying | Enlightenment | Briefs | Light Boxes | Blake Remixed
June 2015
Theatre blog
The closure of the Arches in Glasgow will be felt around the world
Theatre blog
Edinburgh fringe festival 2015: what to see and where to go
