Pleasance Theatre Trust Heads To The States And Welcomes US Talent This Summer

International exchange and collaboration are more important than ever before and the Pleasance Theatre Trust's Edinburgh Fringe programme seeks to celebrate artists from across the globe. 28 shows will journey from the States to Edinburgh this summer and, meanwhile, the Pleasance is also presenting work in America in this a cross cultural dialogue.

Pleasance's Edinburgh Fringe 2023 hit Dark Noon has just opened at St Ann's Warehouse in New York!  Written and directed by acclaimed Danish director Tue Biering, co-directed and choreographed by South African theatre-maker Nhlanhla Mahlangu, and produced by Glynis Henderson Productions and The Pleasance, this show is a subversive reimagining of the history of the American West through a carnivalesque vision of the genre that glorified it: the Western. Having played at the Spoleto Festival in South Carolina it runs at St Ann's Warehouse throughout June.

Following a sell-out run at the Pleasance Dome in 2023 where it was a finalist for the Popcorn Award, The Brief Life & Mysterious Death of Boris III, King of Bulgaria transferred to 59E59 Street Theatre in New York earlier this year having already played a successful run at London's Arcola Theatre.  This darkly comic retelling of the life of Bulgarian King Boris III combines historical theatre and folk music with a modern revisionist twist.

Viral sensation Gwyneth Goes Skiing from Awkward Productions and the Pleasance Theatre started life at Pleasance's London space. It has just completed a sold out two week run in The Egyptian Theatre in Park City, Utah, where the story all began.  It'll head to the Edinburgh Fringe this summer.

The summer programme in Edinburgh is filled with incredible US names and there are some unmissable highlights in the comedy programme. Demi Adejuyigbe Is Going To Do One (1) Backflip is a very special show featuring original comedic songs, presentations, bits, and one (1) single backflip. After selling out shows across America, New Yorker Rachel Kaly brings Hospital Hour to the Fringe to perfectly explain why she is so mentally ill.  Comedian Ashley Gavin is known for her top charting podcast We're Having Gay Sex; now she brings her confidence, authenticity and unrelenting energy to the Edinburgh stage.  After a stalking incident forced Anna Akana into retirement for six years, she's back - and armed with a restraining order and a plethora of new stories to tell in It Gets Darker.  

And there's more amazing American artists in the theatre programme too: Julliard playwright Yilong Liu's The Book of Mountains and Seas will have its UK premiere; a California dad teams up with his deceased son's last boyfriend in New York on an impossible mission to visit all the restaurants reviewed on his son's Yelp page - an adventure filled with clashing cultures, unlikely friendships, and the review of a lifetime.  The critically acclaimed, sold-out comedy from New York makes its UK premiere; Hold On to Your Butts is wildly inventive tour de force of comedy, physical theatre, and live foley.   In Ni Mi Madre, an over-the-top Brazilian woman with too much botox scrambles to raise her queer son in a backwards American culture.  The Greatest Musical The World Has Ever Seen by Randy Thatcher comes from Matt Haughey, the singer-songwriter with 10+ million streams and is all about heartbreak, friendship and intergalactic warfare.  

Pleasance Theatre Trust

As a registered charity in Scotland, England and Wales, the Pleasance Theatre Trust aims to create a compelling platform to discover, nurture and support fresh artistic talent from across the globe.  As a not-for-profit organisation, all proceeds from the Festival and our London base are invested back into the development of new people and new ideas.  This artist development strand is called Pleasance Futures.  The Pleasance Theatre Trust receives no regular funding and do not run our own bars, therefore we rely almost entirely on the income from our artistic programme.

The Pleasance Theatre Islington has been one of the most exciting Fringe theatres in London since it opened its doors in 1995, providing a launch pad for some of the most memorable productions and renowned practitioners over the past two decades, staying true to the Trust's mission of providing a platform for the talent of the future.  This year-round programme compliments our world-renowned operations in Edinburgh.

Since opening in 1985, the Pleasance has become renowned for delivering an inspiring programme year on year that uniquely embodies the spirit of the Festival Fringe. 

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