ONE MAN POE to Return to Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Stephen Smith performs six Poe stories daily at Greenside Venue's Riddles Court through the Fringe run.
Award-winning actor Stephen Smith will return to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this August with One Man Poe, presenting six of Edgar Allan Poe's short stories across three separate solo performances at Greenside Venue @ Riddles Court.
Directed and performed by Smith, the productions celebrate the life, work, and enduring legacy of the pioneering American author while exploring the significant influence Scotland had on Poe's life and writing.
"Lurking in the shadows behind everything from the cases of Sherlock Holmes to the films of Alfred Hitchcock is the Irvine-educated 'Godfather of horror' Edgar Allan Poe," Smith said. "So much great literature would not exist without Poe's writing. And Poe's writing would not have happened without Scotland."
Born in Boston in 1809, Poe spent part of his childhood in Scotland after being taken in by Scottish merchant John Allan and his wife. In 1815, he attended grammar school in Irvine while Allan conducted business in Scotland, an experience Smith believes helped shape the landscapes, atmosphere, and imagination that would define Poe's work. Poe was also heavily influenced by Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, whose celebrated "tales of terror" informed many of his own stories.
The 2026 Fringe season features three rotating programs. The Tell-Tale Heart and The Pit and the Pendulum pairs two of Poe's best-known psychological horror stories. The Black Cat and The Raven combines the classic short story with Poe's iconic poem, while The Business Man and The Case of M. Valdemar introduces audiences to two lesser-known works, including a new addition to Smith's repertoire for 2026.
The productions follow sold-out Fringe runs in 2024 and 2025, where One Man Poe received both the Derek Award for Best Overall Show and the Spookies Award for Best Horror Solo Show.
The productions are staged in the historic surroundings of Greenside's 16th-century Riddles Court complex, a venue with its own connection to Edinburgh's history and one that Smith notes Poe himself may have seen during his childhood visit to the city.
Smith's solo performance has toured extensively since premiering at Watford Palace Theatre in 2021, with engagements across the United Kingdom, Off-Broadway in New York, Dubai, Malaysia, the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival in Baltimore, the Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia, and Edgar Allan Poe's Cottage in the Bronx.
One Man Poe is written by Edgar Allan Poe, directed and performed by Stephen Smith, with music by Joseph Furey and sound design by Joseph Furey and Django Holder. The production is supported by Watford Palace Theatre and Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA) and produced by Threedumb Theatre.
The three productions will run on alternating dates throughout the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from August 7 through August 29 at Greenside Venue @ Riddles Court.
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