4

	Gilded Balloon Teviot (venue website) Comedy 31 Jul, 1-12, 14-26 Aug, 10:45pm-11:45pm Reviewed by Mathilda Gregory
Recommended for age 16+ only.

Nicolson peddles that kind of downbeat comedy that forms the staple of acts like Andrew Lawrence and Stewart Lee – but he does it with a stylish and camp twist, that makes the misery feel fresh and even fun. Effete, impeccably-styled and sex-obsessed, he delivers laughs here around the unique problem that, despite building a whole persona on grumpy cynicism, he suddenly finds himself living contentedly with a new boyfriend… and feeling distinctly happy.

4

	Globe Comedy 3-12, 14-24 Aug, 3:30pm-4:30pm Reviewed by Mathilda Gregory
Free and unticketed. No pre-booking required.  Recommended for age 16+ only.

Chris Coltrane, bisexual political activist, is back in Edinburgh – in the same room, in fact – with more tales of his left-wing derring do, presented with boisterous charm and high-energy wit.

4

	Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters (venue website) Comedy 1-25 Aug, 12:15pm-1:15pm Reviewed by Mathilda Gregory
Free and unticketed. No pre-booking required.  Recommended for age 16+ only.

It seems an injustice Greg Akerman isn’t better known. His Fringe shows are cleverly-constructed, convoluted rides, which waver between stand-up and spoken word, and throw away more clever ideas than some workaday comedians have in a decade of Edinburghs. But perhaps that is part of his charm. And with so much of his material focused on his desire to become famous, it’s worrying what will become of his comedy if he achieves it.

3

	Zoo (venue website) Theatre 2-17 Aug, 9:30pm-10:30pm Reviewed by Richard Stamp
Family-friendly. Suitable for all ages.

When was the last time a news story moved you to tears? For me it was back in 2010, when thirty-three men were dragged back to daylight from the depths of a Chilean mine. A billion people watched, so they say, and this ambitious piece of theatre from the Bristol-based Wardrobe Ensemble tracks backwards and forwards from that moment – rewinding to the point when the mine collapsed and the men were entombed, and spooling onward to life after their dramatic release.

4

	Northern Stage at St Stephen’s Theatre 3-5, 7-12 Aug, 8:05pm-9:05pm Reviewed by Richard Stamp
Recommended for age 14+ only.

As you’ll learn within the first few moments of this heart-warming one-man play, every superhero has to wear a cape. But that’s the only thing that’s conventionally “super” about the titular Captain Amazing. Yes, he can fly, but he’s astonishingly uncharismatic; he often gets tongue-tied, and he’s going rather bald. He is, in short, a perfectly average bloke: a husband, a father, a shop assistant. Those are the things which define this particular superhero’s secret double life.

4

	C venues - C nova (venue website) Dance and Physical Theatre 31 Jul, 1-11, 13-26 Aug, 2:00pm-3:10pm Reviewed by Jane Bristow
Family-friendly. Suitable for all ages.

Performed by Strung Up Theatre, a new company based in Cambridge, I was intrigued by a show that promised both fourteenth-century literature and aerial acrobats. Still, I was surprised by what turned out to be a lively, thoroughly engaging and frequently surreal adaption of one of Chaucer’s less famous Canterbury Tales.

2

	theSpace @ Surgeons Hall (venue website) Musicals 2-3, 5-10 Aug, 10:30pm-12:30am Reviewed by Ellen Macpherson
Recommended for age 16+ only.

You know you're at the Fringe when you come across a rock-opera adaptation of an Oscar Wilde play, done by sixth-formers. And as appreciative as I am of innovation and youth theatre, I'm just not sure this production matched the right music and atmosphere to the right play. Quite frankly, I found it a little sacrilegious, with very little of a Wildean quality to it. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if I saw some familiar faces in Fringe productions in a few years: once their voices mature a little more, this cast will be a musical force to beat.

4

	Gilded Balloon Teviot (venue website) Comedy 31 Jul, 1-11, 13-18, 20-26 Aug, 5:30pm-6:30pm Reviewed by Mathilda Gregory
Recommended for age 16+ only.

The good Rev Obadiah Steppenwolfe has been around on the comedy circuit, and at the Edinburgh Fringe, for a while. If you’ve seen him before, you will know what to expect; and this is the kind of show it’s probably better to see with at least an inkling of what to expect, because this particular comic is certainly an acquired taste. His brand of super-shocking comedy works well here, as he plays host to that Edinburgh staple, the celebrity chat show.

4

	Bedlam Theatre (venue website) Theatre 2-24 Aug, 9:00pm-10:00pm Reviewed by Richard Stamp
Parents or guardians should consider the content of this show if children are attending.

This loveably eccentric new play from last year’s Fringe darlings, DugOut Theatre, blends together the comic, the tragic and the somewhat absurd. Its shamelessly intelligent plot sees a young theatre columnist, Danny, arrive to interview an up-and-coming film director – only to discover that man himself has slightly different ideas. Along the way, Danny rekindles an old romance, visits a far-off island, and even takes on the Bard – but there’s a hint of darkness to his story too, which never quite fades away.

4

	Gilded Balloon Teviot (venue website) Theatre 31 Jul, 1-13, 15-26 Aug, 1:30pm-3:00pm Reviewed by Mathilda Gregory
Recommended for age 14+ only.

Choose Your Own Documentary, a smart show from Nathan Pennington, deftly combines film, storytelling and the choose-your-own-adventure format many of us will remember from our youth. The result is a neat, sweet show, which delivers plenty of heartwarming character despite its high concept.