EDINBURGH 2023: Pick of the Programme - Theatre

With nearly 3000 shows now on sale for the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, trying to narrow down what to see can be a bit of a task. BWW reviewer Natalie O'Donoghue has selected her top ten picks across the festival programme to highlight the shows you really don't want to miss this year!

Let The Bodies Pile

What connects two seemingly unrelated killings, 27 years apart? In 1993, Steve's mother dies suddenly; can he trust GP Harold Shipman's 'Natural Causes' diagnosis? And in 2020, when dozens die in a Yorkshire Care Home; is Covid responsible, or something more sinister? Three-time Fringe First winner Henry Naylor has won over 45 major international fringe theatre awards, and currently holds the IFES World's Best Fringe Theatre title. Bobby Award-winning, and Outstanding Theatre Award-winning (Brighton Fringe) actress Emily Carding stars, and it's directed by the SoHo Playhouse (New York)'s Artistic Director, Darren Lee Cole.

Wonder Drug: A Comedy About Cystic Fibrosis

Charlie has cystic fibrosis, a condition that causes a build-up of mucus. Lovely. But with a new girlfriend and a Wonder Drug called Kaftrio coming soon, what can stop him now? A rollicking course of intravenous antibiotics set to 80s bangers! VAULT Festival 2023 sell-out show which transferred immediately to King's Head Theatre.

Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story

Do you know the story of Diana? Probably. But do you know our story of Diana? We very much doubt it. Join Diana in heaven as she shares the untold and untrue tale of her extraordinary life. Combining drag, multimedia, audience interaction, puppetry and a lot of queer joy – this unique celebration of the People's Princess is as hilarious as it is tasteless.

Santi and Naz

Best friends Santi and Naz live in pre-partition India. One Sikh, one Muslim, they have little understanding of how religion will divide them. As the political situation in their country worsens and the threat of separation looms large on the horizon, they decide to take drastic action. Award-winning company The Thelmas explore queer love, identity and loyalty, set against the backdrop of a country soon to be changed forever.

The Grand Old Opera House Hotel

A heart-filling ensemble comedy from Olivier Award-winning writer Isobel Mcarthur (Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort Of), Kidnapped) and directed by Traverse Theatre Artistic Director, Gareth Nicholls (Ulster American, Crocodile Fever), this world premiere of The Grand Old Opera House Hotel is a story of art bringing us together in hopeless circumstance, to the tune of some of the most popular opera songs ever written.

ADULTS

A black comedy full of unexpected tenderness, ADULTS, is the highly anticipated new play from Kieran Hurley, following his TravFest19 smash-hit Mouthpiece.
Amongst a raft of anonymous Air BnBs in Edinburgh’s New Town, thirty-something Zara is running her own business and trying to make her way in the world. A new client has just arrived, but her colleague is running late. Tensions are high.
Oh, and the business is a brothel, the client is her old teacher, and her colleague is having a panic about his fear of the inevitability of ageing.
They’re all convinced that they’re the most hard done by, and that the mess of a world that’s around them definitely isn’t their fault. But they soon discover that they have more in common than they first realised, and together might even be able to find some meaning in the modern madness.

The Collie's Shed

Based in a Men's Shed in East Lothian, The Collie's Shed follows four retired miners as they discover how a review into the policing of the '80s mining strikes and a potential Miners' Pardon Bill by the Scottish Government suddenly affects them, their friendships and their relationships. Journey with us through time as we hear how one unforgettable and violent day of striking at Bilston Glen Colliery leaves our characters wrestling with what is right and wrong. Learn who our characters are, who they once were and where they stand on the picket line...

Sean and Daro Flake It Til They Make It

Returning after a critically acclaimed run at the Traverse in April, the Whippy Bros are back! Looking for a way out of their humdrum lives in the outskirts of Glasgow, straight-laced Sean, fresh from dropping out of uni, and the gallus Daro, overflowing with charisma and business ‘acumen’, reckon they can be the dream team of frozen treats.

Following in the footsteps of their business heroes Bannatyne and Branson, full of tall tales and cunning plans, and fuelled by Irn Bru and baccy, the two go from the heady heights of summer to the perilous cold of winter in their slightly clapped-out van of destiny. But surely it’s always ice cream season? However, they quickly discover that conquering the ice cream business will be anything but a sundae stroll…

As the bills, admin and brain freezes build up, Sean and Daro’s relationship is put to the test and their friendship gets frosty. Will they stay solid, or will they melt under the pressure?

I Hope Your Flowers Bloom

Flitting between romantic obsession and botanical description, this semi-autobiographical piece by Raymond Wilson offers a raw, moving and genuinely humorous exploration of healthy masculinity, self-worth and working-class access to nature. Through his friendship with Flo and her modern nomadic lifestyle, Raymond attempts to escape the greyness of the Glasgow scheme into Scotland's natural world, with some unflinching self-reflection along the way. Directed by Fiona Mackinnon. Part of the Made in Scotland Showcase. 

The Ballad of Truman Capote

New York's Plaza Hotel, 1966: the American writer Truman Capote throws the party of the century. As A-list guests arrive, Capote retires to his suite to drink martinis and gossip with himself about celebrity life and the meaning of self-invention. In a bantering oral ballad, he focuses on his Alabama childhood and creating a new kind of art form with In Cold Blood. From three-time Booker-nominated author Andrew O’Hagan (Mayflies), a cautionary tale of literary life, a hilarious a brilliant new play.

The full programme is available at www.edfringe.com

Image: Laurence Winram

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