Preview & Listings Mon 27 May – Sun 2 June 2024
What’s on Edinburgh’s stages this week?
It’s the big week for Edinburgh’s children’s theatre with the Edinburgh International Theatre Festival (full details here) in town, featuring no less than four Scottish productions among the 14 shows in venues around town.
Elsewhere, plenty of kids – young and old – will no doubt be delighting at the arrival of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Playhouse (Tue – Sat: tickets.) Elaine C Smith is getting all villainous as the Childcatcher, while Adam Garcia is Caractacus Potts, Emmerdale star Liam Fox is Grandpa Potts, and Ellie Nunn is Truly Scrumptious.
Elaine C Smith as the Childcatcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang touring to the Playhouse this week. Pic Danny Kaan
The Lyceum’s co-production with Dundee Rep of Sunset Song has arrived in Edinburgh (Tue 28 May – Sat 8 June: tickets). The production’s Ensemble and Music & Sound have already been nominated in this year’s Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland – so we are expecting very good things here then.
This is Morna Young’s adaptation of Lewis Grassic Gibbon, directed by Finn den Hertog with music by Finn Anderson. Danielle Jam plays Chris Guthrie in a production which boasts a rich Scots language text, dynamic and physically charged staging, and raw and vivid live music.
Alan Bissett’s acclaimed Moira Trilogy is at the Scottish Storytelling Centre (Sat: tickets). This is a rare chance to catch all three of the Bissett’s hilarious one-man shows featuring Falkirk’s Hardest Woman in one go.
Cleaner and single-mum Moira lets rip about her neighbour’s dug, blasting oot Diana Ross at the Scotia karaoke night, watching Scotland get gubbed (again), dealing with cheeky c**ts on the train, cleaning posh folks’ hooses, and, of course, surviving lockdown with only vodka, fags and her long-suffering BFF Babs for company.
CYMERA – Scotland’s Festival of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Writing, is at the Pleasance over the weekend and offers a trio of theatrical opportunities.
Top of those is local company Strawmoddie Theatre doing another Terry Pratchett – Men at Arms (Thurs – Sun: tickets) after the success of their Hogfather (★★★☆☆ Well-turned) in December. This is the second of Pratchett’s Discworld tales of the Ankh-Morpork City Night Watch – again adapted by Steve Briggs for the stage.
Also at Cymera Dan Collins is doing his comedic Dune! The Musical (Sat/Sun: tickets) and the always watchable Dave Robb, whose The Devil in the Belfry (★★★★☆ Turbo charged)was a particular hit at last year’s Horror Festival, is giving work-in-progress performances of a new script: A Rose Appears (Sat/Sun: tickets).
Listings for week ending Sunday 2 June 2024:
Click on the name of the show or the Book here link to go to its ticketing site.
Assembly Roxy
2 Roxburgh Place, EH8 9SU
Univers (Engruna Teatre)
Part of the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival 2024.
Mon 27 – Wed 29 May 2024
Daily: 10am, 11.30am, 2pm.
Target age: 0-2 years
A sensory experience for early childhood where performers and beautiful objects move around and slowly draw the children into the space to observe or interact. Tickets and details.
So Far So Good (SUPERFAN)
Part of the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival 2024.
Thurs 30 May – Sun 2 June 2024
Thurs: 4pm; Fri10.30am, 2.30pm; Sat/Sun: 11am, 2pm.
Target age: 3-6 years (50 mins)
An adventurous circus show which celebrates the joy of dancing along the edge, scaling the heights and discovering the secret places and views along the way. Tickets and details.
Dance Base
14-16 Grassmarket, EH1 2JU.
Black (Oulouy)
Part of the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival 2024.
Thurs 30 May – Sat 1 June 2024
Thurs/Fri: 10am; Thurs 1pm; Fri/Sat: 7.30pm.
Target age: 12+ years (45 min)
An emotional dance, visual and music chronicle of the freedom movement which reflects on the violence and emancipation of being Black in today’s world. Tickets and details.
Festival Theatre
13/29 Nicolson Street EH8 9FT. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000.
I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue
Mon 27 May 2024
Evening: 7.30pm.
The multi award-winning antidote to panel games will be recording part of its 81st series for the BBC at the Festival Theatre. Join chairman Jack Dee, Colin Sell, Fred MacAulay, Pippa Evans, Milton Jones and Rory Bremner for an unmissable evening of inspired nonsense. Book here.
Uncanny Live: I Know What I Saw
Tue 28 May 2024
Evening: 7.30pm.
Danny Robins and his team of experts with a terrifying and thought-provoking evening, featuring chilling real-life stories of the supernatural experienced by ordinary people from ordinary places, brought to life on stage through thrilling theatrical invention in a mix of projection, sound and spellbinding storytelling. Book here.
Country Roads
Thur 30 May 2024
Evening: 7.30pm.
Leave your 9 to 5 worries at the door and get ready to celebrate the Kings and Queens of country music with the stars of our hit show Islands in the Stream, returning in this brand-new production. Book here.
Iain Stirling – Relevant
Fri 31 May 2024
Evening: 7.30pm.
The BAFTA-winning comedian, iconic voice of Love Island, star and writer of sitcom Buffering on ITV, hits the road once more with a brand-new hour (of jokes) for 2024 in his biggest tour yet. Book here.
Simon & Garfunkel Through the Years
Sun 2 June 2024
Evening: 7.30pm.
Fronted by Dan Haynes and Pete Richards, the show recreates the unmistakable sound of Simon & Garfunkel, featuring all the iconic songs to make up a most authentic tribute. Book here.
Lyceum Studio
30b Grindlay Street EH3 9AX.
Suppose you Had a Portable Gramophone (Teatret Gruppe 38)
Part of the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival 2024.
Mon 27 – Wed 29 May 2024
Daily: 11.am, 1.30pm.
Target age: 8-13 years
A magical tale created out of (almost) nothing. Three performers sitting at a table tell the story of a tiny village in the far north, where people dressed in black look down and speak quietly… until a stranger comes to town. Tickets and details.
Kish Kush (Teatrodistinto)
Part of the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival 2024.
Thurs 30 May – Sat 1 June 2024
Thurs: 1.30pm, 6pm; Fri: 10am, 4pm; Sat: 11.30am, 2.30pm.
Target age: 5-10 years (50 mins)
Separated by a paper wall bisecting the space, two performers face cultural and linguistic differences, unable to communicate. Through shadow games and sounds, they gradualy get to know each other. Tickets and details.
Lyceum Theatre
Grindlay Street EH3 9AX. Phone booking: 0131 248 4848.
Sunset Song
By Morna Young, after Lewis Grassic Gibbon
Tue 28 May – Sat 8 June 2024
Tue – Sat: 7.30pm; Mats Weds & Sat: 2.30pm.
Scotland’s most loved literary heroine Chris Guthrie is brought to the stage in this thrilling contemporary adaptation. From harrowing family roots and crushing poverty, to stirring love and the awakening of self, Chris’s coming-of-age journey to womanhood is one of enduring strength, persistent survival and joyful renewal. Book here.
Lyra
Artspace, EH16 4NX.
The Unexpected Gift (Barrowland Ballet)
Part of the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival 2024.
Tue 28 – Fri 31 May 2024
Tue-Fri: 10.30am; Tue-Thurs: 1.30pm.
Target age: (ASN) 7-15 years (45 mins)
This show for children with complex needs such as autism, is a multi-sensory wonderland bursting with acrobatic dance, textures, sounds and colour. Tickets and details.
Playhouse
18 – 22 Greenside Place, EH1 3AA. Phone booking: 0844 871 3014.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Tue 28 May – Sat 1 June 2024.
Evening: 7pm; Wed, Sat: 2pm
The most fantasmagorical award-winning musical of all time, bursting with unforgettable songs by the Sherman Brothers, is flying into Edinburgh Playhouse for one week only in a brand-new production directed by Thom Southerland, choreographed by Karen Bruce and designed by Morgan Large. Book here.
Pleasance Theatre
60 Pleasance, EH8 9TJ.
Terry Pratchett’s Men at Arms (Strawmoddie Theatre)
CYMERA: Scotland’s Festival of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Writing.
Thurs 30 May – Sun 2 June 2024.
Thurs: 7.30pm; Fr/Sat: 8.30pm; Sun: 5pm.
Scarcely a year on from the events of Guards! Guards!, the Ankh-Morpork City Night Watch find their services are once more needed to tackle a threat to their city. A threat at least as deadly as a 60-foot dragon, but mechanical and heartless to boot. It kills without compunction. It is the first gun on the Discworld. Strawmoddie with another of Steve Briggs’ Pratchett adaptations. Book here.
Dune! The Musical (Dan Collins)
CYMERA: Scotland’s Festival of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Writing.
Sat 1 – Sun 2 June 2024.
Sat: 6.30pm; Sun: 3pm.
A memoir in song by the Earl of Caladan, trusted adviser to the Padisha Emperor and beloved troubadour-warrior, the bard Gurney Halleck. Sing along with little Paul Atreides on his journey to Sietch Tabr; can he tame the worm, save the world AND get the girl? Book here.
A Rose Appears: Test Phase (Dave Robb)
CYMERA: Scotland’s Festival of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Writing.
Sat 1 – Sun 2 June 2024.
Sat: 6.30pm; Sun: 4.30pm.
Work in progress: A shadowy organisation hires three scientists to experiment with an extra-terrestrial element which might hold the key to teleportation. When one of them is unexpectedly killed by the machine, it is up to her colleagues to solve the puzzle – or face the consequences of failure. Book here.
Scottish Storytelling Centre
43-45 High St, EH1 1SR. Phone booking: 0131 556 9579
The Yellow Canary (Tashi Gore)
Part of the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival 2024
Tue 28 – Sat 30 May 2024.
Tue: 1pm & 7pm; Wed/Thurs: 10am & 1pm.
Performance maker Tashi Gore uncovers the real-life journey her uncle Bernard took as a young Jewish boy, forced to leave his home city of Paris with just his parents and his pet canary for company. Book here.
The Moira Trilogy (Alan Bissett)
Sat 1 June 2024.
Evening: 6.30pm.
Alan Bissett performs the complete, hilarious story of Falkirk’s Hardest Woman Moira Bell. Cleaner and single-mum Moira lets rip about her neighbour’s dug, blasting oot Diana Ross at the Scotia karaoke night, watching Scotland get gubbed (again), dealing with cheeky c**ts on the train, cleaning posh folks’ hooses, and, of course, surviving lockdown with only vodka, fags and her long-suffering BFF Babs for company. Book here.
Studio Theatre
The Studio, 22 Potterrow, EH8 9BL. Phone booking: 0131 529 6000.
Cabinet of Miracles (The Naive Theatre Liberec)
Part of the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival 2024.
Mon 27 – Wed 29 May 2024
Daily: 10.45am, 1.15pm.
Target age: 5-9 years
An introduction to the miracle of life and planet Earth, as a team of scientists examine some curious objects which come to life via puppet tricks and theatrical magic. Tickets and details.
Be Kind (Emilie Weisse Circustheater)
Part of the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival 2024.
Thurs 30 May – Sat 1 June 2024
Daily: 10am, 11.30am, 2pm.
Target age: 6-18 Months (40 mins)
A performance of sound, colour and movement where babies experience acrobatics and juggling up close, following the rhythm of the day. Tickets and details.
Summerhall
1 Summerhall, EH9 1PL.
An-Ki (Cia. Ortiga)
Part of the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival 2024.
Mon 27 May – Sun 2 June 2024
Mon – Thurs: 9.30am, 11.30am, 2pm; Sat/Sun: 11am, 1.30pm, 3.30pm (4pm Sun).
Target age: 7-10 years (60 min).
An immersive promenade performance about humankind, greed and deforestation, set in an intimate and magical tent featuring intricate puppetry and stunning visual design. Tickets and details.
Traverse
10 Cambridge Street, EH1 2ED. Phone booking: 0131 228 1404.
Shō and the Demons of the Deep (EAP/NTS)
Part of the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival 2024.
Mon 27 – Thurs 30 May 2024
Mon/Tue: 10am, 1pm; Wed: 1pm, 7pm; Thurs: 9.45am.
Target age: 8-13 years. 70 mins. Trav 2.
Shō’s city has been plagued by nightmares for as long as she can remember, but hers are the worst of all. One day, Shō has had enough. She throws her nightmares away into the river, where they wash out to sea. A visual adventure story about overcoming fear, climate crisis and how the actions of one generation can affect the next. Tickets and details.
TRASHedy (performing:group)
Part of the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival 2024.
Mon 27 – Thurs 30 May 2024
Mon/Tue: 7pm;Tue/Wed 1.15pm; Wed/Thurs: 10.15am.
Target age: 11-15 years (50 min) (Trav 1)
Two performers explore the story of our strange evolution and take a humorous look at our freedom of choice and consumerist behaviour, encountering an ever-growing mountain of rubbish along the way. Tickets and details.
An Ant Called Amy (Julie Sharkey Production)
Part of the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival 2024.
Fri 31 May – Sun 2 June 2024
Fri: 9.45am, 11am, 3.30pm; Sat/Sun: 11am, 1.30pm, 3.30pm.
Target age: 5-9 years (40 mins) (Trav 2)
A charming and moving story that sensitively explores sibling loss, through the tale of a hard working ant who learns to slow down. Tickets and details.
By Trial and Error (Le Cirque Content Pour Peu)
Part of the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival 2024.
Fri 31 May – Sun 2 June 2024
Fri: 10am, 6pm; Sat: 2pm, 6am; Sun: 11am, 2.30pm.
Target age: 4-10 years (45 mins) Trav 1.
A delightful show full of humour, where two disorientated circus artists stumble to try and save a seemingly well-oiled routine gone wrong. Tickets and details.
*NB: This is intended to be a complete listing of all public theatrical productions on in Edinburgh. If you are staging a show which is not listed, or a listing is inaccurate, please get in touch through the contact page, here.
