Edinburgh Festivals 2024: the 50 best shows to see this August
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Art
Style and Society: Dressing the Georgians
The Georgian period introduced the first stylists and influencers, and revolutionised shopping by turning it into a leisure activity. This exciting exhibition showcases Georgian style and society, from glittering ball gowns to swords and snuff boxes. Explore 18th-century British life through artworks by Gainsborough, Zoffany, and Hogarth.
The King’s Gallery (edinburghartfestival.com), until Sept 22, 9.30pm-6pm
National Treasures: Vermeer in Edinburgh
In celebration of the National Gallery’s bicentenary, Johannes Vermeer’s masterpiece A Young Woman Standing at a Virginal will be on show at the National Galleries of Scotland this summer. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see it alongside an early Vermeer from Scotland’s national collection.
National Galleries Scotland: National (edinburghartfestival.com), until Sep 8, 10am-5pm
Adam Bruce Thomson: The Quiet Path
Adam Bruce Thomson was one of the first students at Edinburgh College of Art in 1908 and taught there for 40 years. Despite being exhibited widely, his impact on 20th-century Scottish art has remained unexplored. This major retrospective of over 100 artworks revives his understated legacy.
City Art Centre (edinburghartfestival.com), until Oct 6, 10am-5pm
Books
Margaret Atwood: Practical Utopias
Her name may conjure dystopian visions, but the novelist’s latest project is about making paradise on Earth. Here, appearing remotely, she discusses how we can make it happen, from new eating habits to inventive architecture.
Venue T, Edinburgh Futures Institute (edbookfest.co.uk), Aug 10, 3.15pm
Ella Frears & Holly Pester: What Property Ladder?
Two superb young writers, whose novels are woven around the housing crisis, explore the defining question for a whole generation – and for the parents (or grandparents) forced to bail out the young.
Venue NW, Edinburgh Futures Institute (edbookfest.co.uk), Aug 11, noon
Sarah Perry: On Faith
Enlightenment, the latest novel from the author of The Essex Serpent, is a beautiful meditation on religion, science and modern life. In this event, Perry asks: how might literature and faith be intertwined – and together, can they offer more than many people realise?
Spiegeltent, Edinburgh Futures Institute (edbookfest.co.uk), Aug 12, noon
Marianna Spring: Adventures in Conspiracyland
The BBC’s first “disinformation and social media correspondent” has dived into the murkiest depths of the Web, faced terrifying hostility, and returned to explain how digital platforms are shaping our future – perhaps for the worse.
Courtyard Theatre, Edinburgh Futures Institute (edbookfest.co.uk), Aug 15, 12.30pm
Merve Emre: The Critic and Her Publics – Live
What does criticism look like today? Come and try it for yourself with the US academic and New Yorker writer, as she takes an unfamiliar object and opens the floor to exhilarating discussion about it.
Spiegeltent,, Edinburgh Futures Institute (edbookfest.co.uk), Aug 24, 1.30pm
Children’s Shows
Olaf Falafel’s Stupidest Super Stupid Show So Far
The master of daft puns, host of Art Club, and author of eight children’s books (including Blobfish) stages an hour of unbridled nonsense. Equally indebted to Harry Hill and Tommy Cooper, Falafel will have parents chuckling along, too.
The Ballroom, Laughing Horse @ The Counting House (edfringe.com), Aug 1-25 (not 14, 20-21), 11.30am
Alice Oseman in Conversation with Lauren James
The latest Heartstopper instalment became the fastest-selling graphic novel in British history; Netflix’s TV adaptations are already hits. Oseman discusses her tale of young gay love with fellow writer Wren James.
McEwan Hall (underbellyedinburgh.co.uk), Aug 13, 1.30pm
The Amazing World of Julia Donaldson & Axel Scheffler
Songs, stories and drawing, featuring the Gruffalo and others, welcoming everyone from age 3 upwards – what’s not to like? Plus, Donaldson and Scheffler introduce their newest creation, a brave little penguin called Jonty Gentoo.
Venue T, Edinburgh Futures Institute (edbookfest.co.uk), Aug 24 & Aug 25, 11am
Comedy
Lorna Rose Treen: Skin Pigeon
The funniest sketch show of last year’s Fringe returns for a victory lap. Diving into an enormous onstage pile of clothes like a kid playing dress-up, Treen re-emerges as a host of hilarious characters: from a feral Girl Guide to a flirty femme fatale.
10 Dome, Pleasance Dome (edfringe.com), July 31-Aug 12, 9.50pm
Trygve Wakenshaw: Silly Little Things
Calling him “New Zealand’s funniest mime” sounds a little bit like damning with faint praise, but Wakenshaw really is just that – and his first Fringe show in seven years is sure to be another wonderful, wordless treat.
Upstairs, Assembly Roxy (edfringe.com), July 31-Aug 25 (not Aug 12), 8.15pm
Huge Davies: Album for My Ancestors (Dead)
Davies has the keyboard-twiddling musical chops of Bill Bailey, and a dour, deadpan stage presence that’s all his own. The conceit for this hour is that he’s recording a new album - and we’re all joining him in the studio.
Upstairs, Pleasance Courtyard (edfringe.com), July 31-Aug 25 (not Aug 14), 9.40pm
Jazz Emu: Knight Fever
It’s the night of the Royal Variety Performance. Can world-renowned pop star Jazz Emu dazzle the King, and bag himself a knighthood? Jazz Emu is the alter-ego of young character comedian Archie Henderson; we declared his Fringe debut “a work of genius” in a five-star rave, and this follow-up doesn’t disappoint.
Pleasance One, Pleasance Courtyard (edfringe.com), July 31-Aug 25 (not Aug 12), 9pm
John Luke Roberts: John-Luke-A-Palooza!
A cult hero of the alternative scene, Roberts is constantly trying new things. His latest wild folly: reviving his last 10 shows, in rep, back-to-back. We particularly recommend All I Wanna Do Is... (Aug 7, 20 & 25), a sketch show in which he plays dozens of forgotten Spice Girls, and A World Just Like Our Own, But... (Aug 10, 23), a surprisingly moving hour about love and parallel universes, packed with clever one-liners.
Monkey Barrel 4, Monkey Barrel Comedy (edfringe.com), July 31-Aug 25 (not Aug 5, 12-13, 19), 2.10pm
Lara Ricote: Little Tiny Wet Show (Baptism)
Funny Women Award-winner Ricote is blessed with funny bones. The Mexico-born, Amsterdam-based stand-up’s new hour is a kooky, offbeat look at love and long-distance relationships.
Monkey Barrel 3, Monkey Barrel Comedy (edfringe.com), July 31-Aug 25 (not Aug 12, 19), 4.15pm
Luke Rollason, Luke Rollason, Let Down Your Hair
Fresh from a superb turn as a shape-shifting cat in Disney’s Extraordinary, and with an excellent, wordless short film for the BBC under his belt, Rollason is back on stage with another hour of whimsical props-based comedy.
10 Dome, Pleasance Dome (edfringe.com), July 31-Aug 25 (not Aug 13), 7.10pm
Emma Sidi Is Sue Gray
Talented character comedian Sidi (Ghosts, W1A, Pls Like) steps into the shoes of Partygate inquisitor Sue Gray, now Labour’s eminence grise.
Upstairs, Pleasance Courtyard (edfringe.com), July 31-Aug 25 (not Aug 7, 14, 17), 4.15pm
Elf Lyons: Horses
After her hit horror-comedy Raven (“praise her genius – and go,” wrote our critic, in a five-star review), the always-unpredictable Lyons returns with a fresh hour of off-the-wall clowning. This is, she says, “the first ever comedy show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe performed entirely by a horse.”
Above, Pleasance Courtyard (edfringe.com), July 31-Aug 26 (not 13), 9.20pm
Troll
One of the most charming and memorable shows of 2023, this is ostensibly a lecture on trolls presented by two of the much-maligned mythical creatures themselves - but it immediately descends into delightful audience-interactive nonsense.
Belly Laugh, Underbelly Cowgate (edfringe.com), Aug 1-11, 5.50pm
Larry Dean: Dodger
A supremely charismatic stand-up with a huge following north of the border, Larry Dean was shortlisted for the Edinburgh Comedy Award with his last show, the superb Fudnut. Expect a mix of warmhearted anecdotes and risque gags.
Monkey Barrel 3, Monkey Barrel Comedy (edfringe.com), Aug 1-25 (not 7, 13), 8.30pm
Stamptown Comedy Night
Hosted by the irrepressible Zach Zucker, this wild, raucous alternative cabaret attracts some of the Fringe’s best performers, for a madcap showcase that seems to exist in its own parallel universe (with a host of recurring characters).
Grand, Pleasance Courtyard (edfringe.com), Aug 3-24 (not 4, 18), 11.15pm
Natalie Palamides: WEER
Palamides made a splash with Netflix’s Nate – a wild hour of taboo-busting comedy, in which she played a he-man in a handlebar moustache. Here, she appears as both halves of a star-crossed couple in a spoof of 1990s romcoms.
Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh (edfringe.com), Aug 5-25 (not 12, 19), 9.30pm
Ahir Shah: Ends
The show that won the Fringe’s top comedy award in 2023 returns. The story of Shah’s grandfather’s journey from India to the UK, it’ll move you to laughter and tears.
Pleasance One, Pleasance Courtyard (edfringe.com), Aug 12-23, 7.30pm
Amy Gledhill: Make Me Look Fit on the Poster
Previously best known as one half of League of Gentlemen-ish sketch group The Delightful Sausage, Gledhill made her solo debut in 2023. That show was a soaring, saucy success - hopes for this follow-up are high.
Monkey Barrel 1, Monkey Barrel Comedy (edfringe.com), Aug 13-25, 6.10pm
Dance
Taiwan Season 2024
A tantalising mini-festival within the Edinburgh Fringe, A Glimpse of Taiwan sets out to give dance fans exactly that, through four completely different shows in four highly approachable afternoon slots. Dive in!
Various Edinburgh venues (edfringe.com), Aug 1-25
Grupo Corpo
The celebrated Brazilian troupe comes to the Edinburgh International Festival with two pieces – Gil Refazendo and Gira, both by choreographer Rodrigo Pederneiras – designed to plunge you into the sounds and rhythms of their homeland.
Edinburgh Playhouse (eif.co.uk), Aug 5-7
Songs of the Bulbul
Back in Edinburgh two years after delivering his piece Samsara, Aakash Odedra returns with a new work, designed to create “a sensitive dialogue between Sufi Kathak and Islamic poetry”, and named after a songbird found in Africa and Asia.
Lyceum (eif.co.uk), Aug 9-11
The Flock and Moving Cloud
A nice chance for Fringe-goers to see Scottish Dance Theatre in a double-bill of works by fast-rising choreographers Roser López Espinosa and Sofia Nappi.
Zoo Southside, Edinburgh (edfringe.com), Aug 13-25
I’ll Drink to That!
The States’ marvellously named troupe Wild Rumpus Jazz Co come to the Fringe with an interactive show that’s out to “raise a glass to laughter, dance and the relatable moments that bring us together”. Encouraging punters to “share a drink” at 11.30 in the morning – why not?
Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, Edinburgh (edfringe.com), Aug 20-25, 11.30am
Assembly Hall
No, not the hefty Fringe venue of the same name on Edinburgh’s Mound, but the latest, genuinely mind-bending slice of five-star dance theatre from Canadian wonders Crystal Pite and Jonathon Young – based on, of all things, a historical re-enactment gone haywire.
Festival Theatre, Edinburgh (eif.co.uk), Aug 22-24
Film
The Outrun
The relaunched and refreshed Edinburgh International Film Festival opens with something close(ish) to home: a windswept Orkney-set drama starring Saoirse Ronan, adapted from Amy Liptrot’s 2016 recovery memoir.
Various venues (edfilmfest.org), Aug 15-16, times vary
The Substance
After (aptly) splitting audiences at Cannes, Coralie Fargeat’s grisly satirical horror, with Demi Moore as a fading pinup who turns to a grotesque new anti-ageing treatment, makes its hotly anticipated UK debut.
The Cameo, Aug 20, 11.59pm (edfilmfest.org); Inspace, Aug 21 (HOH subtitled), 3pm
Alien: Romulus
Fede (Evil Dead) Álvarez directs this return to first, blood-curdling principles for the Alien franchise, in which a crew of tender young colonists discover a lab overrun with ravenous xenomorphs.
The Cameo (edfilmfest.org), Aug 15, 11.59pm
Music & Opera
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
The Edinburgh International Festival’s rich musical offering includes the RSNO playing two Passions – Bach’s masterpiece arranged by Mendelssohn, and a contemporary piece by Osvaldo Golijov – as well as a new concerto by the American jazz supremo Wynton Marsalis, featuring the marvellous Alison Balsom on trumpet.
Usher Hall, Edinburgh (rsno.org.uk), Aug 3, 4 & 18, times vary
The Marriage of Figaro
One of the greatest operas receives a radical contemporary makeover in this German production – expect surprises, including a new character. The dissident Russian filmmaker and playwright Kirill Serebrennikov directs the Komische Oper, from Berlin, with Peter Kellner and Tommaso Barea in the title role.
Festival Theatre (eif.co.uk), Aug 16-18, times vary
Mahler’s Fifth Symphony
After leading the Hallé Orchestra for a quarter-century, the great Mark Elder bows out with a farewell concert that intriguingly contrasts Mahler’s masterpiece with a setting of Psalm 130, by Lili Boulanger, the French composer who died in 1918 aged just 24.
Usher Hall (eif.co.uk), Aug 17, 8pm
Cat Power Sings Dylan ’66
Dylan “went electric” for his 1966 tour – which infamously provoked a heckle of “Judas!” from the folk-loving crowd. Power, the acclaimed singer-songwriter, re-creates that momentous tour’s setlist song by song, from Like a Rolling Stone to Mr Tambourine Man.
Edinburgh Playhouse (eif.co.uk), Aug 18, 8pm
The Magnetic Fields
Across two nights, Stephin Merritt and his loveable band of indie misfits play their magnum opus 69 Love Songs (1999). Regularly ranked as one of pop’s greatest concept albums, its witty rhymes are up there with Sondheim’s.
The Queen’s Hall (eif.co.uk), Aug 24-25, 8.30pm
Theatre
Mythos: Ragnarok
The welcome return of 2023’s bonkers but brilliant hit. It’s a surprisingly detailed and respectful version of the Old Norse Edda, retold by a cast of 10 wrestlers in Viking gear, body-slamming each other to pounding rock music.
Gordon Aikman Theatre, Assembly George Square (edfringe.com), July 31- Aug 25 (not 7,13, 20), 8.55pm
Why I Stuck A Flare Up My Arse For England
A return Fringe run for Alex Hill’s much-admired comic monologue, loosely inspired by the real-life viral sensation of the sloshed Euro 2020 finals fan who did exactly as the title says, with unexpected depths emerging as laddism reveals its mental health crises.
Friesian, Underbelly Bristo Square (edfringe.com), Jul 31-Aug 26 (not 12), 12.50pm
The Outrun
Amy Liptrot’s bestselling memoir about returning to the Orkney sheep farm where she grew up after unravelling in London – which has also inspired a new film (see above) – is adapted for the stage by Stef Smith. Vicky Featherstone directs.
Lyceum, Edinburgh (eif.co.uk), July 31-Aug 24, 8pm (and 3pm matinees Aug 8, 10, 17 & 24)
Rebels and Patriots
This Israeli-Palestinian collaboration by Floating Shed theatre company follows four friends and how mandatory conscription to the IDF affects them. Expect “scenes of violence” and more.
Pleasance Upstairs, Pleasance Courtyard (edfringe.com), July 31-Aug 26 (not 7,14, 21), 3pm
Revenge: After the Levoyah
Set in “2018 Jewish Essex”, Nick Cassenbaum’s comedy two-hander finds twins Dan and Lauren recruited to kidnap then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, and will examine, we’re told, “anti-Semitism in the diaspora [plus] the dangers of collective hysteria”.
Anatomy Lecture Theatre, Summerhall (edfringe.com), Aug 1-26 (not 12,19), 3pm
Terf
Already the talk of the Fringe after struggling to find a venue, US playwright Joshua Kaplan’s debate-stirring trans-era satire imagines Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint deciding to stage “an intervention” against JK Rowling because of her “gender-critical” views.
Ballroom, Assembly Rooms (edfringe.com), Aug 1-25 (not 8,9,10), 11.4am until Aug 14, then 3.35pm from Aug 15
VL
The producers of Fleabag bring us another exploration of sexual discovery. This time Kieran Hurley and Gary McNair unpick the hormonal angst of a small-town Scottish secondary school, where “there’s no hiding when you’re a VL. [VL = Virgin Lips.]”
Roundabout @ Summerhall (edfringe.com), Aug 1-26, 8.10pm
A Letter to Lyndon B Johnson or God: Whoever Reads This First
Previously hailed as giving us (in the award-winning And Then the Rodeo Burnt Down) “Rosencrantz & Guildenstern meets Fight Club, but with lesbian rodeo clowns”, US duo Xhloe and Natasha return with an absurdist two-hander about the idealised American childhood and the boys it left behind.
Upper Theatre (Round), TheSpace @ Niddry St (edfringe.com), Aug 2-24 (not 11), times vary
Margolyes & Dickens: The Best Bits
A quarter of a century on from her 1989 Edinburgh hit Dickens’s Women, the irrepressible Miriam Margolyes, 83, embodies Dickens’s characters once again, before sharing stories from her life and inviting questions from the audience.
Pentland, Pleasance at EICC (edfringe.com), Aug 7-15, 4pm
Dear Billy
A chance to see one of last year’s best-loved shows, in which Gary McNair incarnates and celebrates the Big Yin. A National Theatre of Scotland production, it’s as much a love letter to the people of Scotland as it is a paean of praise to Billy Connolly.
Music Hall, Assembly Rooms (edfringe.com), Aug 13-25 (not 14, 21), 4.50pm
Contributors: Dominic Cavendish, Tristram Fane Saunders, Ivan Hewett, Mark Monahan, Evgenia Siokos, Robbie Collin, Nicholas Kenyon, Cal Revely-Calder