Edinburgh Festival

Murder, She Didn’t Write is an improvised murder mystery show that has been welcoming audiences for the past ten years at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. As someone who has a love for both improvisational comedy and murder mysteries who had yet to see the show, I was very interested in seeing it at this year’s Fringe.

Written by Matt Chiorini and Travis Newton, Kafka's Metamorphosis: The Musical! With Puppets! is pretty much what is written on the tin - an adaptation of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis told using songs and puppets. Audience members are greeted by a performer sitting on stage, facing away from them towards artwork of a cockroach.

Imagine this, if you will. Scientists have discovered that they are capable of cloning humans, giving them the ability to bring deceased geniuses back through new life. They have chosen to clone Mozart, but, in a twist, the hair retrieved from Mozart is actually his pubic hair, leading to the clone being a much more immature version of the man.

Ania Magliano: Forgive Me, Father begins with a bit of relatable comedy - stalking people on Instagram you aren’t able to follow. For Magliano, the person she stalks is her partner’s ex, and she tells us about the different posts she has seen from her.

Celya AB: Of All People begins with a topic that some might see as taboo - money. Celya declares that she is going to be very open about money. In keeping with the themes of money and value, Celya guarantees the audience 100 jokes throughout the show, each one worth sixteen pence, though she warns that some may be more valuable than others.

Amy Matthews: Commute with the Foxes begins with a surprising topic for a comedy show - conspiracy theories. And the one Matthews chooses to focus on isn’t one of your typical theories. Instead, she tells us about her belief that Francis Bourgeois, a viral trainspotter, is a government plant.

Spy Movie: The Play!, written by Matthew Howell and Jack Michael Stacey, is “The Greatest Spy Movie (n)Ever Made.” The show has quite the interesting (and meta) concept - what we are going to see is meant to be seen on the silver screen but, due to financial reasons, we are going to be seeing it staged as a play.

While living in New York, I was first introduced to comedy shows through 2/3rds of A Threesome (and Friends). The show is hosted by AJ Holmes and Caitlin Cook, two singer-songwriters who created the duo known as 2/3rds of A Threesome. Holmes and Cook have brought along their “friends,” fellow comedians who are performing at the Fringe.

Have you ever seen someone in a gingerbread costume give the drag performance of their life? No? Well, you should definitely consider seeing it sometime. Swamplesque, the Australian “ogre-inspired burlesque and drag parody,” arrived at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year in the iconic Assembly Hall.

BriTANick: Dummy, a self-described “nonlinear, freeform sketch show” is performed by Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher, the two members of BriTANick who are most well-known for their online sketch comedy as well as being writers for Saturday Night Live and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Paul Williams: Mamiya 7 has a description that leaves much to the imagination. All we are told is that “Paul bought a second-hand film camera last year and it turned out the previous owner had left a used-up roll of film in it” and that this will be the theme of the show. And indeed, the description is not lying.

Eddy Hare: This One’s On Me begins on the topic of male pattern baldness, with Hare explaining that he first had a bald spot at the age of twenty, promising to reveal it to us by the end of the show, which had already been requested by one eager audience member. But, we soon delve into the main subject of the show - uncles.

Jake Roche: Neporrhoids certainly has one of the more interesting show starts of the Fringe. Roche kneels in front of a keyboard on the stage, pulling down his trousers and simulating having an orgasm while staring directly at the audience member in front of him.

Walking into Michael Kunze: Infinity Mirror, audiences are greeted by Kunze himself, who is standing on the stage making sandwiches. After taking a few orders from audience members, he then begins some audience participation, tossing slices of fake ham into the audience and encouraging them to throw them like a Frisbee onto the slice of bread.

As someone who has seen versions of Stamptown in both Edinburgh and London, I was very much looking forward to seeing the show at the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the Pleasance Courtyard - Grand, a 750-seat venue.

Catherine Cohen: Come For Me is self-described as a “openly glamorous, decidedly horny comedy cabaret,” and that is certainly accurate! Cohen also compares her show to Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More, an immersive theatrical experience, and she’s not wrong.

Sheeps: The Giggle Bunch (That's Our Name For You) has been performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for over a decade, and now they’re bringing what may be their final show to the Pleasance.

Alexander Bennett: Emotional Daredevil is certainly a show that presents reviewers with a challenge - how do you discuss a show that the performer asks you to not spoil in any way? This request is not unreasonable for this particular show, as it does heavily depend on audience members coming in with no idea of what to expect.

Character Flaw, written and performed by Philippa Dawson, takes audience members into the mind of Dawson, particularly looking at her experiences with ADHD and queer identity. We begin with Dawson telling us about some of her experiences with embarrassing moments, which then leads into one of the main themes of ADHD.

The Greatest Magic Show begins with a bang as the incredibly energetic ringmaster, Magnus, bursts on stage, singing a parody of Aladdin’s “Arabian Nights” with lyrics about him travelling the world to find what he considers to be the “greatest show.” Now, he’s here to present all of the great things he has seen, with help from Sam and Justin.

Alex Kitson: Must I Paint You A Picture? is a show with a strong hook - Kitson, who has been told to be more personal in his comedy, has a big secret, and he is going to reveal it by the end of the show. But, before that secret is revealed, we’re going to be treated to some fun standup comedy.

Ivo Graham: Grand Designs is a show, according to Graham, made up of lists to deal with the chaos that the comedian has been facing. Throughout the hour we have with him, Graham discusses his love for football, his family and friends and how music has made an impact on his life.

‘It was great to entertain families while teaching them a lot about culture, from dance moves to cocoa' Her Royal Majesty Queen Angelique-Monet on bringing Ventriloquist Queen: A True African Queen to the 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe

From the beginning of Reuben Kaye: Live and Intimidating, you know you are in for something different than your usual Fringe show. This is something that Kaye acknowledges himself as he wanders through the crowd, declaring that he will be starting with the dark stuff, saying that his attitude is like “they recast Jaws with Camila Parker-Bowles'

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.