The Pleasance Reveals Fringe highlights in Best of Edinburgh Season

Hot off the heels of another successful year at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Pleasance Theatre Trust present a London season of some of the best and brightest theatre and comedy from the festival.  For audiences that didn’t make it up to Edinburgh, or for those who want to see their favourite shows again, this is the perfect chance to catch the magic of the Fringe at Pleasance’s London home.  From Kate Butch to zombies, jellicle PowerPoints to comedy & cabaret, the best of Edinburgh is on in full force this autumn.

Breaking The Castle (17th/18th October) is a true story of addiction brought movingly to life in a hilarious, uplifting and poignant one-man show by writer and performer Pete Cook.  From comic playwright Hughie Shepherd-Cross, Ringer (18th/19th October) is a dramatic comedy in which a heart-throb actor’s reputation is left in the hands of his idiotic stunt double.  An award-winning evening of queer chaos from the team behind Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story is how to live a jellicle life: life lessons from the 2019 hit musical cats (20th/21st October) – expect jellicle laughs, jellicle dance and a very jellicle PowerPoint presentation.  Watch a chilling new adaptation of M.R. James' classic ghost stories featuring remarkable puppetry and a haunting original soundtrack in Casting the Runes (19th – 21st October).

All Aboard! At Termination Station (25th/26th October) is the Edinburgh Fringe debut from performer, writer, and creative activist Lilly Burton – a brash, bracing, and booming autobiographical tale about abortion.  Bridging the gap between comedy and theatre are more alternative works challenging style and form.  Join Dave in MUSIC (25th/26th October) as he accidentally swallows the Stripefy algorithm and becomes a global mega-star, temporarily.  The outrageous and riotously funny one-woman comedy Bad Teacher (25th – 27th October), created by real teachers, highlights the outrageous expectations that our current educational system sets for students and teachers alike.  Fishing 4 Chips are back with Burning Down The Horse (26th/27th October), a brand-new immersive comedy set onboard the most iconic wooden animal in history – the Trojan Horse.

Actress-comedian Lubna Kerr explores her family’s journey sharing the challenges encountered with humour and emotion in Tickbox 2 (27th/28th October), raising issues about race, perception and identity.  The multi-award-winning Fringe hit Two Fingers Up (28th October) is a journey back to your teenage self – buckle up for the best sex education class you'll ever have.  Come to the movies with Scaredy Fat (28th October), as they poke fun at fat and queer representation in the horror genre, asking what it means to love a genre that doesn’t love you back.  The Anti-Slam: Halloween (31st October) is a trick-or-treat from the underground Fringe sensation celebrating their ten-year anniversary, featuring incredible acts from the performing arts world getting into their alter-egos.

Award-winning poet Luke Wright tries to celebrate his 25 years of service on the literary frontline but ends up taking a deep dive into himself and the England that raised him in Luke Wright’s Silver Jubilee (2nd November).  From Elisabeth Gunawan and Created a Monster, Unforgettable Girl (2nd/3rd November) is an award-winning, irreverent, no-holds-barred bouffonesque myth about the violence our culture inflicts on bodies of colour, with a £19.99 mail order bride at its centre.  52 Monologues for Young Transsexuals (3rd November), an hour of verbatim and cabaret theatre to get the sleep-over honest truth about bodies, sex and love.  Mixed bills can be a great way to sample a host of different acts.  In Late Night Magic (4th November), expect the unexpected as award-winning magicians blow your minds in this late-night magic extravaganza every weekend across the Fringe.  Join magician and mind reader Tom Brace for a trip down memory lane that you simply won't forget in A Trick Down Memory Lane (4th November).

Coming to Pleasance with a new kind of storytelling, OommoO (9th November) explores the life of a first-generation immigrant as she navigates the duality of two cultures, her Habesha (Eritrean/Ethiopian) heritage and British identity through interweaving language and customs with innovative high tech storytelling tools like the wearable tech MiMu gloves.  Baklâ (9th/10th November) is a daring one-person physical theatre show about how intergenerational trauma takes shape in the modern Filipino.  Hospitality agency work is never as stunning as we want it to be but sometimes it can be particularly deranged as we see in Chatham House Rules (10th/11th November) with secret cults, Brexit revenge, dark web, Birkin handbag prices and the trial of David Cameron.  Featuring drag superstars Kate Butch (as seen on Rupaul's Drag Race UK Series 5) and Crudi Dench, Drag Queens vs Vampires (14th/15th November) and Drag Queens vs Zombies (14th/15th November) will delight audiences with Haus of Dench's infectious brand of camp humour, audience interaction and fabulous musical numbers.

Back by popular demand is award-winning The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much (16th November) from Voloz Collective; Wes Anderson meets Hitchcock meets Spaghetti Western in this multi-award-winning caper of accusations, accidents and accents. From the same company comes an explosive new show, The Life Sporadic of Jess Wildgoose (16th November); with virtuosic acrobatics and live music, this unexpected hero’s journey unnerves and astounds in a genre-defying cinematic adventure.  Aidan Sadler: Melody (17th/18th November) invites audiences to spend an evening with this award-winning queer cabaret icon, as they take audiences on a 'fervently funny' joyride into the apocalypse!  Weird Wood (17th/18th November) is a late-night alternative variety show boasting the biggest award winning stars on the scene, and featuring a tornado of the hottest talents to come from the cabaret and variety circuit.

Comedy also features prominently within the season, with Edinburgh favourites such as Fiona Allen (20th/22nd November) and Marcus Brigstocke (8th November) back to delight the capital’s audiences. A sparkling web of comedy magic comes from Amy Matthews (2nd November), with an hour of side-splitting observational comedy from Christopher Macarthur-Boyd (17th November) and the debut offering from Breakthrough Comedian of the Year, Dan Jones (22nd November). Harriet Dyer (18th November) brings the absurd MOTHER to the Pleasance stage and smash hit comic Susie McCabe (20th November) and Jo Griffin (10th November), who returns with her Power Hour, alongside sixteen additional hilarious hours of comedy from outstanding acts.

It’s a season not to be missed this autumn at The Pleasance – get those tickets while you can! Tickets are available at www.pleasance.co.uk, and book two or more theatre shows within the Best of Edinburgh Season and save 20% off tickets.

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