HEART BEATS STRONG to Make Edinburgh Fringe Debut at Pleasance Courtyard
Performances will run Wednesday 5th - Monday 31st August 2026.
Heart Beats Strong will be presented at Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker 2), 60 Pleasance, Edinburgh, EH8 9TJ Wednesday 5th - Monday 31st August 2026 (not 12th, 18th, 25th), 12:20.
Three cultures. Three birthdays. Three boys on the cusp of adulthood. One night that will change each of them forever. Based on the performers' own teenage diary entries, Heart Beats Strong is a pounding, youthful burst of theatrical energy that fuses physical theatre, dance, handheld lighting and storytelling into a raw, explosive antidote to the so-called crisis of masculinity. Funny, deeply personal and full of life, it
follows three young men as they navigate the moments that shape who they become, a rhythmic exploration of identity, friendship and becoming.
Written and performed by Kickdrum, formed by Alfie Wickham (National Youth Theatre REP Company), Kai Porter (Romeo and Juliet, The Venue) and Noah Manzoor (East is East, National Theatre; The Good Boy, Amazon Prime), the company first met on a summer course at the National Youth Theatre and have since become close friends, a connection that sits at the heart of the work. On stage, that closeness allows three very different characters who don't even meet to share space with warmth and generosity.
The show began with a simple challenge: write something you'd be scared to say out loud. That idea became the foundation of the creative process. Through personal writing, improvisation, dance and music the company find electrifying humour in the messiness of class, race, sexuality and family. With infectious energy, Heart Beats Strong confronts the identities bestowed on us by our upbringings and family relationships, as it searches for those qualities that are worth holding onto; openness, friendship, vulnerability and care.
Drawing on British South Asian, queer and working-class experiences, this pulse-racing celebration of youth brings together three interconnected stories of people who would never normally meet on stage. Created by performers from across the UK and developed with clowning expert director Cal McCrystal (One Man, Two Guvnors, National Theatre; Paddington, Studio Canal), it offers a joyful and compelling look at manhood through the eyes of young people themselves.
Created with no funding and devised in borrowed rehearsal rooms, parks and school classrooms, the production is a testament to the resourcefulness and determination of a new generation of theatremakers, a bold, urgent work that is not to be missed.
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