Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2017

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• Central @ Ed Fringe, Episode 1: ARRIVAL
• Central @ Ed Fringe, Episode 2: PARTY
• Central @ Ed Fringe, Episode 3: SHOWS
• Central @ Ed Fringe, Episode 4: PLACES

1 WOMAN, A HIGH-FLYER AND A FLAT BOTTOM: SAMANTHA BAINES

Hannah Layton Management. Solo show from Samantha Baines (MA Acting for Screen 2009)

Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33), Aug 2-14, 16-28 @15:30

Award-winning comedian Samantha Baines (The Crown, Sunny D, BBC Radio 4) returns to Edinburgh after a smash-hit, sell-out run in 2016. This year she’s exploring the lost women of science. Expect facts, puns and an ear trumpet attached to a whiskey bottle. It’s science meets funny. ‘One of the ones to watch’ (Evening Standard). ‘Very funny’ (BeyondTheJoke.co.uk). ‘One of the punniest comedians in the land’ (Metro). ‘One of the best comedians on the circuit’ (ComedyCoroner.WordPress.com).

2 GIRLS 1 CUP OF COMEDY

Just the Tonic at The Mash House (Venue 288), Aug 3-13, 15-27 @23:00

Kate Lennon Productions.  Solo show from Samantha Baines (MA Acting for Screen 2009)

Award-winning comedian Samantha Baines (Lee Nelson’s Well Funny People, Call the Midwife, The Crown, BBC Radio London) brings you a selection of the best comedians at the Fringe. A supersized cup of comedy with TV names as well as the very best new comedians. There will always be at least two ladies on the bill, sometimes more! Join us for some late-night laughs!

300 TO ONE

Solo show from Corin Rhys Jones (MA Advanced Theatre Practice)

Bar Bados Complex (Venue 32), Aug 5-13, 15-27 @21:35

Escaping his war poetry homework, a schoolboy re-enacts the movie 300 to the spirit of Wilfred Owen. Prior to a tour, award-winning Corin Rhys Jones premieres a new production of award-winning Matt Panesh’s comical and moving one-man-show.

ABOVE THE MEALY-MOUTHED SEA

Unholy Mess in association with Omnibus, with production assistance from Anthi Kyriakaki (MA Applied Theatre)

Underbelly, Cowgate (Venue 61), Aug 3-15,17-27 @14:00

A woman stands at a microphone. She’s forgotten the punchline. Fusing poetry and song, award-winning Unholy Mess return with a funny, strange and poignant play about growing up and inescapable truths. Performance poet Jemima Foxtrot takes you on a powerful journey exploring memory, childhood and what happens when we can’t quite get the story right.

ADVENTURERS WANTED: A 250-HOUR EPIC TABLETOP ROLEPLAYING GAME

Total Party Kill! in association with Sweet Venues, with stage management from Naomi Heathcote (BA (Hons) Drama, Applied Theatre and Education)

Sweet Holyrood (Venue 94), Aug 2-23, 26-28 @Times vary

Watch the most ambitious tabletop role-playing game ever attempted: an improvised epic brought to life over a whole month. Experience live storytelling at its most legendary in a fun and informal setting. Adventurers Wanted is designed to be accessible – whether you’ve played role-playing games before, or have no idea what they are, the adventure is open to all to watch and play. What happens is down to the players: there’s no way of knowing where the adventure will end up, but it’s guaranteed to be unlike anything else at the Fringe!

ALEX SALMOND… UNLEASHED

Cahoots Theatre Company, with lighting from David Howe (Stage Management)

Assembly Rooms (Venue 20), Aug 13-27 @13:45

A festival of fun, friends and freedom. Join Alex Salmond and friends in an afternoon of chat, stories, a little bit of music and lots of fun. Have you ever wondered what Scotland’s longest-serving First Minister really thinks? Well, now’s your chance. Alex Salmond, unleashed from the restraints of public office, will appear at Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms for a bit of light-hearted banter and a few behind the scenes revelations about his time in power. Each performance will involve a different celebrity guest from the world of politics, showbiz and sport. To be revealed.

AMY CONWAY’S SUPER AWESOME WORLD

RiotBox Productions, with Sarah Wilson (MA Creative Producing) as Production Manager

Summerhall (Venue 26), Aug 10-13, 15-27 @17:40

Join Amy on a video game adventure like no other. Battle the minions of fear, loneliness and despair using your collective powers of human connection and emotional resilience. Only together can we slay the Darkness! Become Amy’s allies in an interactive experience that quests for elusive sparks of joy in the deep dark multi-user dungeons of the soul. A powerful, moving and humorous show for adults, teenagers and anyone that has ever battled their own demons. ‘…if good theatre is about changing our consciousness, then (Amy Conway) certainly achieves that…..’ **** (Scotsman).

ASSASSINS

Finishing the Hat Productions, including performance from Oliver Leach (MA Music Theatre)

theSpace @ Venue 45 (Venue 45), Aug 21-26 @19:05

Thirteen people have tried to kill the President of the United States. Four have succeeded. Stephen Sondheim’s musical Assassins presents a darkly comic vision of the lives and characters of these men and women and attempts to understand their actions within the context of an America that marginalised, mistreated and emboldened them. In our modern political climate of divisive and radicalised discourse, Assassins holds more relevance than ever before and yet manages to present its message alongside majestic melodies, captivating dance numbers and ferocious humour. This Fringe, roll up to the presidential shooting range and try your luck!

AUSTEN’S WOMEN

Dyad Productions in association with TTI, including costume design from Kate Flanaghan (BA (Hons) Theatre Practice)

Assembly Roxy (Venue 139), Aug 3-6, 9-13 @16:00

They’re back! Thirteen of Jane Austen’s most celebrated heroines in a bold revisiting of some of literature’s most celebrated works. This much-loved international hit (Dyad’s first ever production), returns for an unmissable limited run.  

ALAN, WE THINK YOU SHOULD GET A DOG

Mad Like Roar Theatre Company. Produced by Heather Pasfield (MA Creative Producing), Co-Director Sam Hardie, Co-Director/and sound design from Lucas Button, performances from Sophie Dessauer, Rachel-Leah Hosker, Abe Buckoke, Jamie Chandler (all BA (Hons) Acting CDT)

Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33), Aug 2-13, 15-28 @15:30

A tough yet tender devised show from Central’s emerging graduate company Mad Like Roar, exploring a family breakdown in communication and responsibility. ‘They came to my funeral, but I wasn’t quite dead… yet’. Daisy has grappled with holding things together her whole life. Her brother Ollie only sees stars in shots, while she finds herself alone caring for her father. Now, with parenthood thrust upon her, she is fighting for communication and family. But when that leaves her with blood on her hands, it’s frightening.

BECOMING SCHEHERAZADE

The Thief of Baghdad. Solo show performed by Kamaal Hussain (MA Advanced Theatre Practice)

Summerhall (Venue 26), Aug 2-27, except Mondays @15:00

Magic and reality collide as one British Arab navigates the voyages of Sindbad and tries to make sense of his own family’s relationship to their migration from Iraq to the UK. ‘One wants to tell a story, like Scheherazade, in order not to die. It’s one of the oldest urges of mankind. It’s a way of stalling death’ (Carlos Fuentes).

BLACK MOUNTAIN

Written by Brad Birch. Paines Plough, Theatre Clwyd and Orange Tree Theatre, including performance from Hasan Dixon (BA (Hons) Acting), and sound design from Dominic Kennedy (BA (Hons) Theatre Practice)

Roundabout @Summerhall (Venue 26), Aug 5, 7, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19, 21, 24, 26 @13:25

Rebecca and Paul are running away from memories and mistakes. An isolated country house seems the perfect escape. But you can’t run forever, especially when you’re being followed. A psychological thriller about betrayal and forgiveness. 

BOY IN A BOTTLE

Stargaze Theatre, including set and costume design and making, as well as assistant stage management from Tazmin Burr (BA (Hons) Theatre Practice 2012)

theSpace @Surgeons Hall (Venue 53), Aug 7-12 @17:10

A boy washed up on the tide. Still alive. Inside a bottle. As the bottle is found, the locals argue what to do. As they do their souls show through. But when he sinks into the sand and the sea rises, can they save him - or even themselves?

BRODSKY STATION

274 Theatre Company, produced by Konstantin Kamenski and with associate direction from Stella Christodoulopulou (both MA Advanced Theatre Practice)

Novotel Swimming Pool (Venue 188), Aug 21-27 @22:00

Brodsky Station is a site-specific performance based on the Noble Prize winning, Soviet-American author Joseph Brodsky’s poetry, which helps characters to tell a story of the struggle against circumstance, finding one’s place in the world and discovering the will to find freedom. 

BRUTAL CESSATION

Michelle Barnette Productions Limited. Written by Milly Thomas (BA (Hons) Acting)

Assembly George Square Theatre (Venue 8), Aug 3-13, 15-28 @16:20

‘I have fantasies… I lead you to a table… and I hurt you.’ A relationship rotting. Purgatory. Is having no reason to stay a reason to leave? At what point does the abuser become the abused? Two actors, one couple, swapping roles. 

BUNKER GIRLS

Raiser Theatre, including Tim Hyam (PGCE Drama)

theSpace @Surgeons Hall (Venue 53), Aug 22-26 @15:05

Underground and under fire, Hitler’s secretaries wait for the end of their world. As monumental events of history unfold around them, two young women huddle together, seeking to understand their place in it all. Downfall meets Waiting for Godot in this darkly comic epic yet intimate story of friendship, betrayal and innocence.

CARAVAGGIO: BETWEEN THE DARKNESS

Theatre Department, with performance from Danny Hetherington (MA Acting)

theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39), Aug 4-12, 14-26 @14:55

Rome, 1600, a city pulsating with artists, writers and powerful religious leaders. Caravaggio kills a love rival. Forced to flee, Caravaggio secures a commission from his patron, Cardinal Del Monte, on the isolated Christian outpost of Malta. After painting the portrait of the grand master of the Knights of St. John, he learns this powerful man has one desire – to purify Caravaggio’s wretched soul. Caravaggio escapes torture, finding refuge with his artistic nemesis, Annibale Carracci. He waits, longing for the pardon that must surely come… This new writing debut focuses on storytelling, movement and music.

COGNITIONS

SpeakUp Theatre. Directed by, and including performance, from Ruth Phillips (MA Movement Directing and Teaching)

Greenside @Infirmary Street (Venue 236), Aug 4-5, 7-12, 14-19 @18:40

‘I have them too. Faulty cognitions.’ This newly devised piece examines the effect of bipolar disorder on family life, as Joanna and her daughter Niamh face every challenge together. A play about co-dependency, relationships and learning to be OK on your own. 

COMEDY OF ERRORS

Raiser Theatre, including Tim Hyam (PGCE Drama)

theSpace @Surgeons Hall (Venue 53), Aug 22-26 @12:55

Two pairs of identical twins cause havoc in Shakespeare’s hilarious comedy of mistaken identity. Raiser Theatre’s vibrant young cast bring the story right up to date in this fast-paced production of the knock-about classic, turning Ephesus into a modern city obsessed with status and blighted by Xenophobia. 

COSMIC SCALLIES

Graeae Theatre Company and Royal Exchange Theatre, including Richard Delight (PG Cert Learning and Teaching) as Production Manager

Northern Stage at Summerhall (Venue 26), Aug 10-15, 17-22, 24-26 @18:30

A witty and touching new play about class, friendship and absence, set in the forgotten town of Skelmersdale by award-winning writer and comedian Jackie Hagan. Shaun and Dent grew up best friends on the same council estate in Skem. Dent left, full of ambition, but 10 years later she’s back. Can Shaun convince her Skem is an inheritance better than any house? Directed by Amit Sharma of Solid Life of Sugar Water: ‘Startlingly good’ **** (Times). All performances include creative captioning and audio description.

CREATIVES

Written by Irvine Welsh & Don De Grazie. Lead role played by Omar Baroud (MA Acting 2016)

Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33), Aug 2-14, 16-21, 23-28 @16:00

Paul Brenner’s songwriting class is a cross-section of the Chicago music scene, with all its incestuous dysfunction, navel-gazing narcissism, bitterness and occasional brilliance. When former student, pop star Sean O’Neil, visits this group of musicians to judge a contest, the stakes are suddenly raised to new levels when both revenge and jealousies come to the fore. 

DATES - AT THE SPEED OF SOUND

Ace – Production/ From Start to Finnish, with performance from Sarah McCardie (PG Dip Acting Musical Theatre)

Summerhall (Venue 26), Aug 2, 4-13, 15-20, 22-27 @19:45

From Helsinki, a brand-new speed-dating concept for theatre lovers! First relax, enjoying one of two sparkling comedies about first dates in restaurants from prolific Finnish screenwriter John Lundsten. Then participate in a session of super-sonic, high-energy, low-risk speed-dating hosted by our actors. The perfect way to find that soulmate/casual partner/festival pal, or simply experience some encounters with random fellow humans in a congenial setting (delete where applicable!). Price includes show, speed-dating and fast-track notice of your mutual attractions. All genders and ages (18+) welcome!

DEADLY DIALOGUES

Quilliam, with performance from Becky Banatvala (MA Acting)

C Venues – C (Venue 34), Aug 4-14, 16-28 @16:15

We have a divine loyalty reward scheme! A guaranteed one-way trip to paradise! A shopping channel touts the Caliphate, with all the cheeriness of a tangle-free garden hose. A young man battles his inner djinns. Two girls exchange destinies from Daesh to Dartford and Dartford to Daesh, while the Muslim Banksy sprays colourful outrage across the night. From an award-winning creative team, based on real-life experience and research by Quilliam, this is dark, wry, and lyrical writing about the layered processes of radicalisation and extremism in Britain today. The Teleshopping Dream Channel repackages the best version of you!

DEAR HOME OFFICE: STILL PENDING

Phosphoros Theatre, founded by Kate Duffy (BA (Hons) Drama, Applied Theatre and Education) 

Gilded Balloon Teviot, Billiard Room (Venue 14), Aug 21-27 @14:30

A new play created with and performed by 10 refugee young men; 2016 Amnesty Freedom of Expression Award nominees explore the lives of young asylum seekers in real talk. Funny, raw, unforgettable: a coming-of-age in unique and extreme circumstances. 

THE DELIGHTS OF DOGS AND THE PROBLEMS OF PEOPLE

Written by Rosalind Blessed (BA (Hons) Acting) 

SpaceTriplex (Venue 38), Aug 4-5, 7-12, 14-19, 21-26, times vary

Terror. Joy. Rage. Jealousy. What does it cost to love? When does partner become possession? What is the price to be free? Who is gonna let the dog out? A harrowing but darkly funny look at the descent of a loving relationship into misery and abuse. There is a dangerous animal in the house, but it’s not canine.

DESPERATION BINGO

Creative Electric, featuring performance from Nicholas Alban (BA (Hons) Acting 2016)

The Biscuit Factory (Venue 173), Aug 15-19 @19:30

Desperation Bingo merges verbatim theatre with our favourite seaside game – bingo! However, we’re playing for high stakes. We’re playing for the last 69p in Heather’s account. We’re playing for the cost of her public liability insurance. We’re playing for the story of when she used to steal birthday cakes from work which would feed her and her flatmate for a week. We’re playing for Creative Scotland funding, 25p vodka at the Jaffacake in 1999, we’re playing to stop Heather’s Mum having her disability benefits cut. It’s just for fun. But it might just change your life.

DIGS

Theatre with Legs, co-founded by Lucy Bairstow and Jessica Murrain (both BA (Hons) Acting CDT)

Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33), Aug 2-25, 27-28 @13:45

Wanna crash at ours? Swinging sledgehammers and cutting loose to 70s pop, Theatre with Legs are pushing through grime, through grief, through the wall. They’re clawing for space and searching for answers about shared living, love and loneliness. DIGS is a devised performance laced with dark comedy about Generation Rent and surviving your 20s. 

DUST

Solo show written and performed by Milly Thomas (BA (Hons) Acting) 

Underbelly, Cowgate (Venue 61), Aug 3-14, 16-27 @16:40

‘I’ve been dead for three days.’ A woman. A suicide. A choice. A fly on the wall. A funeral. A Bakewell tart. A life. A lie. A truth. An ending. Of sorts. Life, Alice thinks, isn’t worth living. So, Alice kills herself. Sort of. Forced to watch the aftermath of her suicide and its ripple effect on her family and friends, Alice quickly learns that death changes people. 

EVERY BRILLIANT THING

Paines Plough and Pentabus Theatre Company. Written by Duncan Macmillan (MA Advanced Theatre Practice) 

Roundabout @Summerhall (Venue 26), Aug 21, 23-27 @12:00

Duncan Macmillan’s worldwide smash-hit is back. You’re seven years old. Mum’s in hospital. Dad says she’s ‘done something stupid’. She finds it hard to be happy. You make a list of everything brilliant about the world. Everything worth living for. A play about depression and the lengths we go to for those we love. Based on true and untrue stories.

THE FLYING LOVERS OF VITEBSK

Kneehigh with Bristol Old Vic, including performance from Audrey Brisson (BA (Hons) Acting Musical Theatre)

Traverse Theatre (Venue 15), Aug 15-20, 22-27 @Times vary

Partners in life and on canvas, Marc and Bella Chagall are immortalised as the picture of romance. But whilst on canvas they flew, in life they walked through some of the most devastating times in history. Daniel Jamieson’s The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk traces this young couple as they navigate the Pogroms, the Russian Revolution and each other. Emma Rice’s production is drawn in a theatrical language as fluid as Chagall’s paintings and woven throughout with music and dance inspired by Russian Jewish tradition.

FRANKIE VAH BY LUKE WRIGHT

Underbelly Productions and Paul Jellis, co-directed by Alex Thorpe (BA (Hons) Theatre Practice)

Underbelly, Cowgate (Venue 61), Aug 3-13, 15-27 @21:20

We all want something to believe in. It’s 1987 and Frankie Vah gorges on love, radical politics, and skuzzy indie stardom. But can he keep it all down? Following the multi award-winning What I Learned From Johnny Bevan, Luke Wright’s second verse play deals with love, loss and belief, against a backdrop of grubby indie venues and 80s politics. Expect frenetic guitars, visceral verse, and a Morrissey-sized measure of heartache. Written and performed in deft verse by Fringe First and Stage Award for Acting Excellence winner Luke Wright. ‘Pulsating, poetic story-telling’ **** (Lyn Gardner, Guardian).

THE F WORD

CH Productions, written, directed and produced by Conor Hunt, with performance from Jack Tricker (both BA (Hons) Drama, Applied Theatre and Education)

ZOO, Aviary (Venue 124), Aug 4-28 @15:05

Seventeen-year-old Jacob and Tommy are ordinary teenage boys with an ordinary friendship, who happen to find themselves in a rather extraordinary situation. Why? Because Jacob is dying. A comedy drama exploring the wonder of teenage friendship and youthful positivity, even when the odds are set against you. It’s a story about life, friendship and a funeral.

A GIRL AND A GUN

Produced and performed by Louise Orwin (MA Performances Practices and Research)

Summerhall (Venue 26), Aug 2, 4-6, 8-13, 15-20, 22-27 @18:00

‘All you need to make a movie is a girl and a gun’ (Jean-Luc-Godard). Witty, fun and unflinchingly provocative look at women and violence in the media, starring Orwin and an unprepared male performer. Expect gun twirlin’, play-actin’, Nancy Sinatra-dancin’.

THE GREAT BIG BEAUTIFUL SKY

C Theatre, directed by Evi Stamatiou (PhD in Actor Training and Direction)

C venues – C too (Venue 4), Aug 3-13, 15-28 @12:45

Captain Zarg and Williamina Foxx are Guardians of the Universe. They tirelessly battle to keep the galaxy safe from the Thaaarg (after they’ve finished their homework). In real life Max and Emma are struggling to make sense of school, their parents, skincare routines, and life, really… If only they had real friends, in the real world. A heart-warming multimedia experience about growing up in the virtual age.

HOW TO BE A KID

Written by Sarah McDonald-Hughes. Paines Plough, Theatre Clwyd and Orange Tree Theatre, including performance from Hasan Dixon (BA (Hons) Acting), and sound design from Dominic Kennedy (BA (Hons) Theatre Practice)

Roundabout @Summerhall (Venue 26), Aug 4-7, 9-14, 16-20 @10:45

Molly cooks. Molly does the dishes. Molly gets her little brother Joe ready for school. Molly is only 12, but she doesn’t feel much like a kid anymore. Now Molly’s mum is feeling better, maybe things will get back to normal. For ages 7+

HOW TO DROWN A FISH

Written and performed by Grace Gibson, with lighting design from Dadiow Lin (both MA Applied Theatre Practice)

ZOO (Venue 124), Aug 4-16 @16:25

Offstage a cassette is taken out of its box and put into the player. The music crackles and she bounds on to stage. With hairspray in her saliva, she dances on an uneven floor. She is drowning in a moment. Unpacking personal experiences involving children’s dance competitions, and inspired by a moment of failure, we watch a girl with a hairspray-fixed smile do her best to stay afloat.

I LOVE YOU, YOU’RE PERFECT, NOW CHANGE

The Stodge. Directed by Andrew Chessell (PGCE Drama)

C Venues – C (Venue 34), Aug 21-25 @21:05

A wonderful, quirky, off-Broadway musical that met with huge success when first produced. I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change is presented in the form of a series of vignettes connected by the central theme of love and relationships. Everything you have ever secretly thought about dating, romance, marriage, lovers, husbands, wives and in-laws, but were afraid to admit.

I’M ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID

PBH’s Free Fringe, with performance from Corin Rhys Jones (MA Advanced Theatre Practice)

Bar Bados Complex (Venue 32), Aug 5-8, 10-15, 17-22, 24-26 @16:15

I’m Always the Bridesmaid centres around three bridesmaids, meeting for the first time in the wedding venue changing room. All three are single and as they get ready they reflect on their love lives, discussing past relationships and whether the one has passed them by. As each woman describes various exes, the women will pop over to the other stage and act with the boyfriend and address the audience as the reflection takes place. Through the good, bad and the ugly we will hear the funny stories. Written and Directed by David Tsonos.

JOAN

Alumni start-up ‘Milk Presents’, in association with Derby Theatre and Underbelly Untapped. Milk Presents was founded by Ruby Glaskin (BA (Hons) Theatre Practice), Adam Robertson and Lucy J Skilbeck (both BA (Hons) Drama Applied Theatre and Education)

Underbelly, Cowgate (Venue 61), Aug 21-25, 27 @Times Vary

The multi award-winning show about Joan of Arc returns! History’s greatest gender warrior takes the stage dragging up as the men she defies in this smash hit show. Packed with guts and heart, Joan is the latest daring fusion of lyrical new writing and cabaret prowess from the award-winning Central alumni-led theatre company, Milk Presents.

JUST WILLIAM’S LUCK

Shedload Theatre, including performances from Lucy Telfer (BA (Hons) Acting) and Davey Nicholas-Green (MA Acting)

Underbelly, Cowgate (Venue 61), Aug 3-15, 17-27, @10:50

The invincible William Brown considers he is jolly well equal to solving most of life’s trickier problems, although devising a plan to get the elder brothers of the Outlaws married off might be a considerable challenge…Shedload Theatre presents a love letter to Richmal Crompton’s classic characters in a fresh and dynamic adaptation. 

LAST OF THEIR GENERATION

Bhumi Collective, produced, written and performed by Mohamad Shaifulbahri (MA Creative Producing), with Nicholas Tee (BA (Hons) Theatre Practice) as Assistant Producer. 

ZOO Southside (Venue 82), Aug 4-13 @12:40

‘The more I try to remember her, the more I’ve forgotten her.’ Bhumi Collective returns to Edinburgh with the world premiere of Last of Their Generation – a solo-show by Singapore-UK theatre-maker Mohamad Shaifulbahri about the encounters we have with the people, places and things in our lives.

LATE NIGHT LIP SERVICE

Gilded Balloon Presents, with Deirdre McLaughlin (MA Creative Producing)

Gilded Balloon at Rose Theatre (Venue 76), Aug 5-6, 12-13, 19-20, 25-27 @0:00

Ferocious queens and fierce divas of the world, unite! Hosted by Gingzilla, the giant, ginger, award-winning Glamonster, Late Night Lip Service features the wildest acts from across the fringe, lip-sync battles, debauched drag, catwalk-offs and midnight madness! Open wide, hunties, and wrap your lips around this! Let go. Get Loose. Late Night Lip Service. ‘If you’re planning to go to one drag show this season – make it this!’ ****½ (GlamAdelaide.com.au). ‘Legs for days…an even more amazing voice’ (Advertiser, Australia). Gingzilla – winner of the Innovation Award and Weekly Best Cabaret Award, Adelaide.

LETTERS TO MORRISEY

Traverse Theatre Company in association with Tron Theatre, including design from Ana Inés Jabares-Pita (MA Scenography 2012)

Traverse Theatre (Venue 15), Aug  9-13, 15-20, 22-27 @times vary

It’s 1997. You’re 11. You’re sad, lonely and scared of doing anything that would get you singled out by the hopeless, angry people in your hometown. One day you see a man on telly. He’s mumbling, yet electrifying. He sings: ‘I am human and I need to be loved, just like everybody else does’. You become obsessed with him. You write to him. A lot. It’s 2017. You find those letters and ask yourself: ‘Has the world changed, or have I changed?’

LISTS FOR THE END OF THE WORLD

Presented by fanSHEN, co-devised and performed by Clare Dunn (MA Advanced Theatre Practice)

Summerhall (Venue 26), Aug 2-13, 15-20, 22-27 @13:45

Things I pretend to be interested in. Times my 8 year old self would be proud of me. Places I would hide a body. This is a show composed entirely of crowd-sourced lists, from all kinds of people in all kinds of places – including from you the audience as you queue up to take your seats. In Lists…, the ordinary and the extraordinary, the profound and the ridiculous sit playfully side by side. Includes: laughs, music, sadtimes, romance, some dancing, a look at the world through other people’s eyes, fish sticks. Winner of the 2016 Live Lab Empty Space Bursary, and co-commissioned by ARC Stockton.

LOCKER ROOM TALK

Traverse Theatre Company, with direction from Orla O’Loughlin and including performance from Rachael Spence (both MA Advanced Theatre Practice)

Traverse Theatre (Venue 15), Aug 21 @14:45 & @19:00

During his controversial presidential campaign, Donald Trump regularly made statements considered by many to be misogynistic and offensive. Gary McNair is having honest conversations with men about women to explore what locker room talk really means today. 

LORD DISMISS US

Boys of the Empire Productions, including performance from Joshua Oakes-Rogers (BA (Hons) Acting – Musical Theatre) and Jonathan Blaydon (BA (Hons) Acting CDT)

the Space @Surgeons Hall (Venue 53), Aug 10-12, 14-26 @18:05

A homophobic new headmaster and his devoutly religious wife bring a reign of terror to a boys’ boarding school, with hilarious and tragic consequences. Prefect Terry Carleton is madly in love with fourth year Nicholas Allen, the chaplain has paintings of naked youths in his study, while English master Eric Ashley fights the good fight with his own inner demons. Will morality be restored? Glenn Chandler, creator of Taggart, writes and directs this first adaptation of Michael Campbell’s wickedly funny 1967 novel to mark the 50th anniversary of the partial legalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales.

NAMING CULTURE

In Sight Theatre. Directed by Roma Brown ( MA Applied Theatre), and written and performed by Zara Jayne Arnold (Diploma in Performance Making for Learning Disabled Adults)

theSpace @Jury’s Inn (Venue 260), Aug 8-12 @15:15

This interactive one-woman show is an autobiographical journey through life labelled as “disabled”. Zara’s honest stories draw you into her world as she playfully calls stereotypes into question, leaving you with a few things to think about!

NEXT BEST THING: HOW TO BE GOOD AT EVERYTHING

Next Best Thing, written and performed by Katie Davison (MA Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media)

Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33), Aug 2-14, 16-28 @16:45

Being a millennial in the modern world is hard. But best friends Jay and Katie have all the answers. Luckily, they’re willing to share their wisdom with you. Over a riotous hour of absurd, grotesque and boldly original sketch comedy, these two idiots will make you good at everything. No refunds.

NEWSREVUE 2017

Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33), Aug 2-14, 16-28 @18:30

Canal Café Theatre/ Emma Taylor, with performance from Sam Sheldon (BA (Hons) Acting CDT)

Guinness World Record-breaking, Fringe First-winning, Perrier finalist, news-based song and sketch show. In need of a cathartic dose of comic exasperation? Book now for the longest-running live comedy show in the world. Flawlessly delivered by a four-strong, tooth-achingly talented cast expertly accompanied by an on-stage musical director. All in the spirit of free expression with brand new material each year. 

ORDINARY DAYS

Streetlights, People! Productions. Directed by Jen Coles, and including Producers and Performers Nora Perone, and Neil Cameron (all MA Music Theatre 2015)

C-Venues, C Royale (Venue 6) Aug, 2-14, 16-28 @20:55

Following the parallel lives of four New Yorkers struggling to find meaning in the madness: Claire, who can’t let go of her past; Jason, determined to begin their future together; Warren, an artist who’s lost his sense of purpose; and Deb, a student who’s lost her thesis notes. A witty, poignant, and ultimately very relatable story about human connection and finding beauty in unexpected places. 

OUT OF LOVE

Written by Elinor Cook. Paines Plough, Theatre Clwyd and Orange Tree Theatre, including performance from Hasan Dixon (BA (Hons) Acting), and sound design from Dominic Kennedy (BA (Hons) Theatre Practice)

Roundabout @Summerhall (Venue 26), Aug 4, 6, 9, 11, 13, 16, 18, 20, 23, 25, 27 @13:25

Lorna and Grace do everything together. They share crisps, cigarettes and crushes. That’s what happens when you’re best friends forever. But when Lorna gets a place at university, and Grace gets pregnant, they suddenly find themselves in starkly different worlds. Can anything bridge the gap between them? 

OUT OF THE BAD

Fair Pley/ Salt ‘n’ Sauce Promotions. Adapted and directed by Sarah McCardie (PG Dip Acting Musical Theatre)

New Town Theatre (Venue 7), Aug 4-14, 16-27 @15:25

A black comedy dealing with complicated lives, loves and buried secrets. Mary has the hangover from hell after last night’s reunion for the women of the Caterpillar Occupation’s 30th anniversary. The last thing she needs is her daughter Danni bearing bad news. But Mary soon becomes determined that Danni should know her heritage. As she reminisces, she soon realises the factory closure may not have been the disaster it was in 1987… and life must go on. Written by Anne Hogg. Directed and adapted by Sarah McCardie. 

OYSTER BOY

Haste Theatre, including performance from Tamara Saffir (BA (Hons) Acting Musical Theatre).

Assembly George Square Theatre (Venue 8), Aug 3-16, 19-28 @12:40

It’s the 1950s and chorus girls are doowapping, everyone is jiving and Italian ice cream seller Jim and young Alice fall in love whilst strolling along the beach in a whirlwind romance. Their lives are soon turned upside down by the arrival of their first son, born with an oyster shaped head! 

PANILLA ICE ICE BABY

Underbelly Med Quad (Venue 302), Aug 2-14, 16-28 @13:40

Solo show performed by Pernilla Holland (BA (Hons) Acting CDT)

Pernilla is a Norwegian on a journey through her past. Join her as she reflects on being a foreigner, running away and not owning a cow… and most importantly, how she has learnt to stop, collaborate and listen!

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY

Box Tale Soup, which includes Laura Darrall (MA Classical Acting)

Underbelly, Cowgate (Venue 61), Aug 3-14, 16-27 @11:10

What does it profit a person if they gain the whole world and lose their own soul? Dorian Gray, young and beautiful, sinks deep into a frivolous lifestyle of selfish abandon, seemingly unchanged by corruption and untouched by age. But, behind a locked door, beneath a heavy curtain, Dorian’s portrait tells a different story… Oscar Wilde’s classic novel is brought to life in a new adaptation by award-winning Box Tale Soup, featuring puppetry and a powerful original score. ‘They are wonderful’ (Times). 

POLYPHONY

Solo show written and performed by Ola Aralepo (MA Performance Practice as Research) 

theSpace @Jury’s Inn (Venue 260), Aug 4-5, 7-13, 15-19, 21-26 @22:05

Award-winning public speaker, comedian and psychotherapist Ola Aralepo presents his innovative practice, Stand Up Therapy: featuring jokes, storytelling, singing, TED Talks-style performance lecture and self reflection. For those who prefer a non boozy, quiet, playfully introspective late night solo performance that might make you question your sanity.

PRISON PSYCHOLOGIST

274 Theatre Company, produced by Konstantin Kamenski and with associate direction from Stella Christodoulopulou (both MA Advanced Theatre Practice)

Paradise in the Vault (Venue 29), Aug 21-27 @9:55

A one-woman verbatim performance after the mono play by the leading Russian documentary drama author, Elena Isaeva. Based on real interviews with a Russian prison psychologist and devoted to the place of women in contemporary Russia. 

RACHEL TUCKER: UNPLUGGED

Nicholas Abrams and Richard Williamson present. Directed by Guy Retallack (Stage Management)

Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33), Aug 8 @22:20

West End and Broadway sensation Rachel Tucker makes her debut at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Rachel rose to fame on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s BBC show I’d Do Anything. Since then her many theatre credits include Elphaba in Wicked (London and Broadway) and a leading role in Sting’s musical The Last Ship (Broadway). Fresh from her first UK Tour, promoting her second album – On The Road, join Rachel and her pianist, for what promises to be an unforgettable and intimate evening – featuring an eclectic mix of songs that once heard will never be forgotten.

REPLAY

DugOut Theatre. Written and performed by Nicola Wren (BA (Hons) Acting CDT)

Pleasance Courtyard, Bunker One (Venue 33), Aug 2-14, 16-28 @14:15

When a fiercely independent, workaholic police office finds herself on the street where her brother once lived, she is propelled back to her vibrant childhood and forced to confront a tremendous loss. An uplifting, moving and funny monologue written and performed by Nicola Wren (“Sparkling writing” The Scotsman) and brought to you by fringe favourites, DugOut Theatre. 

SAD GIRLS

Troika Theatre, produced by, and including stage management from Anne Mulleners (MA Theatre Criticism and Dramaturgy)

Greenside @ Nicholson Square (Venue 209), Aug 21-26 @13:50

After hard hits of humiliation and rejection, three friends Miley, Lottie and Flo find themselves in Miley’s aunt’s basement, having kidnapped former X-Factor winner Charlie McKinnan. A play about love, friendship and famous pop singers. 

SEAGULLS

Volcano Theatre, including performance from Gethin Alderman (BA (Hons) Acting CDT)

The Leith Volcano (Venue 183), Aug 8-13, 15-20, 22-26 @18:00

Take a decaying church and a classic play by Chekhov. Add water. Throw in a sensational soundtrack and a few surprises, as five lost souls fall in and out of love. Russian misery has never been this much fun. 

SÉANCE

Darkfield, co-founded by David Rosenberg (Tech), and including production from Andrea Salazar (BA (Hons) Theatre Practice) and assistance from Victoria Eyton (BA (Hons) Drama, Applied Theatre and Education) 

Summerhall (Venue 26), Aug 2-26 @ Times vary

An intense sonic performance for 20 people at a time inside a completely dark shipping container. It lasts for 15 terrifying minutes. 

SECRET LIFE OF HUMANS

New Diorama Theatre in co-production with Greenwich Theatre, cast including Richard Delaney (MA Applied Theatre), Rakhee Sharma and Stella Taylor (both BA (Hons) Acting CDT), and Andrew Strafford-Baker (MA Acting)

Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33), Aug 2-13, 15-28 @18:30

Inspired by the Yuval Harai’s international bestseller, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. In 1949, Dr Jacob Bronowski installs a secret, alarmed room in his house. Fifty years later, his grandson discovers his secrets, unearthing echoes from across six million years of human history.

SINK

Performance Infinity, run by Joanna Dong, written and directed by Xinxi Du (both MA Theatre Studies) and including set design from Minglu Wang (MA Scenography) and Dramaturgy from Huiyi Lu (MFA Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media)

The Space @Surgeons Hall (Venue 53), Aug 4-5, 7-12,  14-19, 21-26, Times vary

Based on the true story of the Chinese writer Lao She, who was given the title of People’s Artist before being criticised as reactionary during the Cultural Revolution. The sudden changes in society and family seemed ridiculous, but maybe not.

THE STARSHIP OSIRIS

Willis & Vere, and including performance from Leonora Fyfe (MA Advanced Theatre Practice)

Underbelly, Cowgate (Venue 61), Aug 3-26 @17:20

Despite a cast that despise him, the arrogant actor, writer and director, George Vere, will endeavour to bring you his sci-fi masterpiece. A new, award-winning, five-star sci-fi comedy farce from Willis & Vere.

THE STARSHIP OSIRIS: SPECIAL PERFORMANCE

Willis & Vere, and including performance from Leonora Fyfe (MA Advanced Theatre Practice)

Underbelly, Cowgate (Venue 61), Aug 27 @17:20

Despite a cast that despise him, the arrogant actor, writer and director, George Vere, will endeavour to bring you his sci-fi masterpiece. A new, award-winning, five-star sci-fi comedy farce from Willis & Vere.

START SWIMMING

Young Vic Taking Part. Written by James Fritz (MA Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media)

Summerhall (Venue 26), ​Aug 2-5, 7-13 @14:40

It’s small versus big. It’s pressures of the future. It’s everything being stacked against you and all options feeling equally terrible. A show about occupation, revolution and the future of our youth. One step away from disaster, there’s only one instruction: start swimming.

SUSPICIOUS MINDS

Pleasance Theatre, written by Tom Fowler and produced by Rachael Smith (MA Advanced Theatre Practice)

Pleasance Dome (Venue 23), Aug 2-8, 10-15, 17-28 @17:30

It’s been a particularly tough year for Mark and Fran. Mark’s Dad died of cardiac arrest whilst playing squash. Fran f*cked someone. In a last-ditch attempt to fix their relationship, they book a commercial time-travel holiday. Spanning from Ancient Rome to an Elvis Concert in Hawaii, this is an honest and dark romantic-comedy about wrestling with the past and working on the future. A Pleasance co-production, developed at the Battersea Arts Centre.

SWEETMEAT

Written by Ivo de Jager (MA Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media)

theSpace @Surgeons Hall (Venue 53), Aug 7-13 @17:05

‘I was born to feel my blood vessels burst under your teeth.’ How far would you go to fulfil your fantasies? Sigmund longs for more closeness than any of his partners has been able to offer.  Christian wants to be consumed, to disappear completely and utterly inside someone else. 

 When the two men are brought together by chance, their relationship soon reaches dizzying heights of morbid passion as their desires start to be fulfilled. Bold and stylised but not dark or edgy. Shocking but never played for shock value. Inspired by the true story of consensual cannibal Armin Meiwes, Sweetmeat is a play about loneliness, romantic intensity, and the purity of love.

THRILL ME: THE LEOPOLD AND LOEB STORY

C Venues – C too (Venue 4), Aug 9-13, 15-27 @16:05

Richard Williamson and Climar Productions with Nicholas Abrams present. Directed by Guy Retallack (Stage Management)

Chicago, 1924. Shocking true story of two law students who kidnapped and murdered a 14-year-old boy in their desire to commit the perfect crime. Electrifying winner of the 2014 Broadway Baby Bobby Award returns to the Fringe this summer. A relationship fuelled by domination, manipulation and sexual pleasure is put under the spotlight in this captivating musical thriller. Nominated for ‘Best Off-West End Production’ (WhatsOnStage.com). ‘There is no production more intelligent, atmospheric and haunting’ ***** (Sunday Telegraph). Critic’s choice **** (Evening Standard). ‘Go straight out and buy a ticket’ ***** (Gay Times).

THE TIME MACHINE

Dyad Productions, including costume design from Kate Flanaghan (BA (Hons) Theatre Practice)

Assembly Roxy (Venue 139), Aug 3-14, 16-28 @11:10

In this age of uncertainty, where shadows of tyranny, intolerance and war darken human progress, how much time do we have left? If civilisation fell today, what would become of us? In Rebecca Vaughan and Elton Townend Jones’s reinvention of the HG Wells classic, a Victorian explorer travels through time into tomorrow, discovering the fate of our endeavours, uncovering our darkest fears.

TODD & GOD

By Richard Marsh. Including performance from Sara Hirsch (BA (Hons) Acting CDT) and movement direction from Emma Webb (MA Movement Studies 2015)

Pleasance Dome (Venue 23), Aug 2-14, 16-28 @14:50

Fringe First-winner (Dirty Great Love Story) puts the mess into Messiah. Rebooting religion, God picks atheist Todd as her Chosen One. Now Todd’s doing good… badly. Comic drama about why we believe. How would you change the world? 

TRIBE

Temper Theatre, including performance from Joshua Griffin (BA (Hons) Acting CDT)

ZOO Southside (Venue 82), Aug 4-12 @16:50

Returning to Edinburgh before an international tour. Ru’s tribe comes for him and opens his eyes to a truth that connects us all. Through ensemble movement and fragmented imagery, Temper unleash a world between worlds. Lightning-fast, cinematic-style sequences skilfully bound together with fluid, muscular movement, vivid lighting and soul-shaking soundscapes. Temper continue to develop their dynamic, multidisciplinary approach to physical theatre. 

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT BOBBY (OFF EASTENDERS)

Paperback, including performance from Tom Bulpett (MA Acting Classical)

ZOO Southside (Venue 82), Aug 14-28 @12:40

‘I’m not like most actors. I’m not acting.’ Annie’s 13 and she wets the bed. After landing a huge role in a late-night television drama, she’s left alone in an adult world, struggling to make sense of the things she is told to say on camera. Soon, Annie’s comfortable childhood begins to fall apart. Charting the decline of a young TV actress, this daring new play explores society’s uneasy relationship with child violence.

WOYZECK

FramBag, produced by Dorothy Englert (Adv Cert Speech and Drama 1989)

Greenside @ Nicholson Square (Venue 209), Aug 14-19 @12:40

Woyzeck ekes out a living on a meagre wage, earning pennies by eating peas for a dodgy clinical trial, while his wife cheats on him and everyone finds him pathetic. It’s enough to drive a person mad! FramBag is fizzingly back on top form for the festival this year with another twist on a classic.

YEAR ZERO

Drama Arts Ltd, solo show performed by Jazz-Kane Flaherty (BA (Hons) Theatre Practice 2014).

theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39), Aug 21-26 @20:05

A man in his fifties looks back at growing up in postcolonial South East Asia. Leaving his country of birth, Malaysia, to migrate to greener pastures in Singapore. The difficulty of not fitting in as a minority within a minority wherever one goes. How sometimes personal ambition and goals get hijacked by the nationalistic dogma of the society one lives in.

If you are a current student, graduate or staff member of Central, and your show has not been listed here, then contact [email protected] with the details. Please include the show title, venue, dates and times, as well as the names of the alumni or students involved in the production.