3

	Sweet Grassmarket (venue website) Theatre 12-17 Aug, 2:35pm-3:35pm Reviewed by Richard Stamp
Recommended for age 12+ only.

I’ve been intrigued by the concept of Playback Theatre ever since I first heard about it, a couple of years ago. Part show, part group discussion, the idea is to invite the audience to describe scenes from their lives – and then for actors trained in specific techniques, accompanied by a musician, to enact them immediately on the stage. I’m not sure it quite holds together as a show, but it’s well worth considering as an interesting diversion from the mainstream of the Fringe.

4

	Underbelly, Cowgate (venue website) Theatre 1-13, 15-25 Aug, 6:40pm-7:45pm Reviewed by Richard Stamp
Recommended for age 16+ only.

A pleasant-seeming man from the north of England welcomes us into the theatre. And he tells us a secret – a little secret, but a secret nonetheless; an admission of something he’s found himself tempted to do. It’s an engaging start to this extremely professional show, which introduces us to three men and three women who all have something to keep hidden.

3

	Underbelly, Cowgate (venue website) Theatre 1-11, 13-25 Aug, 8:05pm-9:05pm Reviewed by Ellen Macpherson
Family-friendly. Suitable for all ages.

Highlighting the vast, hidden issue of people who disappear, Missing is one of this year's Very Important Pieces – and it’s a fairly difficult one to review objectively. Despite having a lot of time for theatre that broadcasts social issues, I generally dislike being preached to. So while I’m certainly conscious that this is a vital point to discuss, I'm not sure that Missing manages to cross the line between information and activism over to art. It has promise as a show but it doesn't quite hit all the right notes for me.

5

	Pleasance Dome (venue website) Theatre 1-4, 6-11, 13-18, 20-25 Aug, 5:45pm-6:45pm Reviewed by Mathilda Gregory
Recommended for age 16+ only.

Bryony Kimmings’ latest show – about her attempt to create a celebrity role model for young girls, with the help of a her nine-year-old niece Taylor – is a charming, heartfelt success. At times disturbing, at others sweetly silly, it’s an ambitious piece that challenges and inspires.

4

	Pleasance Courtyard (venue website) Theatre 31 Jul, 1-6, 8-12, 14-19, 21-26 Aug, 5:55pm-7:10pm Reviewed by Ellen Macpherson
Family-friendly. Suitable for all ages.

Blam! has both the most delicious and most inaccurate tagline of any show this Fringe: "The Office meets Die Hard." I say inaccurate, because it hardly prepares you for the real spectacle. Blam! fuses hints of The Office with every badass action movie ever made, with stunts that are, quite frankly, better than anything I've seen in Rambo or The Matrix. This is the pinnacle of physical theatre, putting most other shows in that category to shame, and although there is a distinct lack of plot or complexity Blam!’s daring stunts make it a highlight of the Fringe.

4

	Gryphon Venues at the Point Hotel (venue website) Theatre 2-10, 12-17, 19-24 Aug, 5:30pm-6:30pm Reviewed by Richard Stamp
Recommended for age 16+ only.

It’s a strange thing, American Gun Show. Half of it tries to make you laugh, but the other half – the more memorable half – really isn’t funny at all. The programme blurb promises “Brecht” and “standup”, two words which simply don’t belong in the same sentence, and it’s a tiny bit ironic to bring a rallying-cry against gun ownership to a country where handguns are already banned. But despite all that weirdness – or maybe because of it – Chris Harcum’s one-man production is among the most compelling shows I’ve seen at this year’s Fringe.

3

	C venues - C nova (venue website) Theatre 31 Jul, 1-26 Aug, 2:15pm-3:15pm Reviewed by Richard Stamp
Recommended for age 12+ only.

This simple, sad play from Brighton-based Out Of The Trunk Productions explores the world of our imagination – the metaphorical island to which we can retreat, turning our backs on the real world. There’s some good acting and some fine wordsmithery on display, but the plot is rather one-note, making it difficult to truly engage with the human tragedy that forms the story’s core.

2

	Assembly George Square (venue website) Theatre 6-26 Aug, 11:00am-11:00pm Reviewed by Mathilda Gregory
Recommended for age 14+ only.

After success last year with a similar set up, Peep are once again presenting sex-themed short plays in a rudimentary peep show – this year in George Square. Sitting alone on a rickety stool, in a private, anonymous booth, is an odd way to watch a show. And as it turns out, it’s mostly an unsatisfying one. It’s just not comfortable; surely everyone is well aware that the reason peep shows were designed that way wasn’t because it was a great way to watch something.

5

	Pleasance Dome (venue website) Theatre 31 Jul, 1-12, 14-26 Aug, 12:10pm-1:10pm Reviewed by Richard Stamp
Recommended for age 12+ only.

Set in the not-too-distant future, this entertaining but thought-provoking play imagines a world where anyone can change their gender: overnight, as often as they like, and with no ill-effects at all. But cleverly, it’s pitched at the moment of transition, when being male is losing its meaning but males still have some advantages in the world. It opens the way for an intriguing piece of theatre, which strikes the difficult balance of being morally thought-provoking and delivering an approachable plot.

4

	theSpace on Niddry St (venue website) Theatre 2-24 Aug, 8:20pm-9:45pm Reviewed by Ellen Macpherson
Recommended for age 16+ only.

It's difficult to stage an adaptation of something that’s not only a beloved piece of literature, but which has also been made into a similarly revered film. Fourth Monkey's production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest manages to nail the fine line between paying respect to the traditional story and film, while tweaking the story just enough to make it their own. It's an intense piece of theatre, but done very well.