Edinburgh Festival

Come Dine With Me: The Musical. is an adaptation of the hit television series that has four strangers cook meals for one another, ranking them in order to win the grand prize by the end. The show follows not only the contestants on the show but also those filming it, particularly the producer, Mary, camera operator, Roy, and sound man, Teddy.

Alex Prescot: I’ve Got A Song About That has quite the explanatory title - Prescot, a musical comedian, claims to have a song for every situation, and he is here to prove it through a show. We begin with crowd work, with Prescot asking audience members a range of questions.

With a book by Laura Kleinbaum, music by Jeff Daye and lyrics by both Kleinbaum and Daye, House of Cleopatra brings audiences into the world of the iconic queen through pop music in a club-like atmosphere. Audience members stand and watch as most of the action takes place on stage, though it does sometimes spill out into the crowd.

Cook is passionate about bathroom graffiti, and she’s not afraid to tell the world about it. Her thesis for her Master’s degree at Oxford was over 300 pages on bathroom stall graffiti, defining it as the oldest form of art and proving it through cave paintings and other examples.

Larry Dean: Dodger begins with Dean joking about what he thinks will be the first thing that people notice about him - his appearance. The audience is introduced to one of the central characters in his story, his nan, with her description of Dean, saying that he looks “left-handed.”

As soon as you enter the venue for Michelle Brasier: Legacy, you are greeted by Brasier herself, who welcomes you with a smile and asks for your name. She then asks others entering if they have the same name and, if so, what their last name is, hoping to find two that match.

Erin Farrington-Think Better: Manifesting Money, Real Estate and Hot People is a seminar in which audience members will “learn how to manifest a better life by simply just thinking hard and good.” Led by Farrington, we are going to learn how to properly manifest and become one with the universe, able to achieve whatever we want with thought alone.

As you are taking your seats for Eleanor Morton: Haunted House, you are greeted by a spooky voice, reminiscent of Disney’s Haunted Mansion attraction. Some of the disembodied voice’s comments include “There’s something watching you from the darkness . . .” and “Many a tech has gone mad down here,” setting the mood for the rest of the hour.

BWW caught up with Catinca Maria Nistor about bringing The Second Coming of Joan of Arc to the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Six Chick Flicks, less commonly known by its full name, Six Chick Flicks . . . or a Legally Blonde Pretty Woman Dirty Danced on the Beaches while writing a Notebook on the Titanic, written and performed by Kerry Ipema and KK Apple, takes audiences through the world of some of their favourite chick flicks, lovingly parodied by two fans.

Plastic Jeezus: Leave Them Wanting Less, a musical comedy by Simon and Aaron, is an hour of the duo playing ukuleles and singing, all while keeping a deadpan expression on their face.

Walking into Bishops: Farewell Bruce Porcelain, you are greeted by the titular bishops, Chris Curran and Noah Matthews, welcoming you to the funeral of Bruce Porcelain and handing out booklets with the order of service as an organ version of Toto’s “Africa” plays. However, this might not be the kind of funeral we are expecting!

The Conductor is a piece of physical comedy by Amadeo Fusca that tells the story of Salvatore Giovanni, a famous conductor known for his over-the-top performances. Amadeo Fusca has taken the character and fleshed it out into an hour-long show, giving audiences insights into the world of the “world-renowned conductor.”

Ellie MacPherson: Babe Lincoln begins with MacPherson, dressed as Abraham Lincoln, walking into the room on a pair of stilts, attempting to replicate the height of the iconic historic figure. We then receive a rendition of Smash Mouth’s “All Star,” which is quite the surprise for a cabaret from a historical figure!

A Jaffa Cake Musical, written by Sam Cochrane, is a new musical inspired by a tribunal in 1991 that focused on the titular snack, asking a question that would change history - “Is it a cake or is it a biscuit?”

Huge Davies: Album For My Ancestors (Dead) is a musical comedy hour in which Davies takes audiences through his family tree using songs, though the stories may not be what you expect.

A Letter to Lyndon B Johnson or God: Whoever Reads This First, created and performed by Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland, tells the story of two young Boy Scouts, nicknamed Ace and Grasshopper, who are living in the 1960s. Through physical and verbal storytelling, we are thrown into a world of rope swings and playing pranks on camp counsellors.

Séayoncé, portrayed by Dan Wye, is “the greatest mystic the world has ever known,” living in “a quiet little village in the woods” and on trial for witchcraft. She is joined by Leslie-Anne (Robyn Herfellow), her friend behind the keyboard with a tendency to use murder as a solution to their problems.

Alex Kealy: The Fear begins with Kealy talking about politics, discussing not only the low bar that has been set for the Labour government but also his concerns about the American election, having a conversation with an audience member about Trump’s chances of winning this year’s presidential election.

Willy’s Candy Spectacular, written by Richard Kraft and Andy Fickman is a musical parody of the infamous Willy Wonka immersive experience in Glasgow back in February, in which families paid £35 for tickets and were greeted with an empty warehouse, two jellybeans for each child and a bizarre character known as The Unknown.

The Emu War: A New Musical, written by Lotte Pearl, tells the true story of the Great Emu War of 1932, in which the Australian military tried to stop emus from eating the crops of farmers using Lewis guns. These efforts were unsuccessful and seen as a failure, as the emus continued to destroy crops after the month-long “battle.”

Dylan Mulvaney: FAGHAG, written and performed by Mulvaney herself and directed by Tim Jackson, tells Mulvaney’s life story, focusing on her journey with her gender and the transphobia she has been forced to face.

Directed by Cal McCrystal and Georgia Murphy, Garry Starr: Classic Penguins takes audiences on an adventure through as many Penguin Classics books as possible with our host, Garry Starr (Damien Warren-Smith). There’s just one thing that’s a bit unusual - Starr is in the nude. Well, not exactly. He is wearing a tailcoat and flippers, but that’s it.

Written by Joey Richter, Brian Rosenthal and Corey Lubowich, Solve It Squad is a loving parody of Scooby Doo, in which the titular Solve It Squad, a group of teenagers, go around solving mysteries in the town of Mayberry.

The friendship at the heart of Knives and Forks is almost as vivid and messy as the show's backdrop. As the story of Iris and Thalia unfolds, their body doubles decorate the back wall with paint, ink, spray cans, chalk, paper, and more. Written by Danielle James, this abstract, expressive piece explores female friendship with a bold new approach.