A stalwart of the Edinburgh Fringe for many, many years, News Revue takes the hot topics of current affairs and turns them into comedy skits often including parody songs played out by a small cast who swap and change between characters. It’s a popular choice for fringe goers who, perhaps bogged down by the news (and let’s be honest, who isn’t at the moment), wish to see it turned on its head and to be given a chance to laugh at it. News stories being covered and joked about i

What happens when you activate a super spy making machine, in the depths of the Second World War, without realising that there is a moth trapped inside the mechanism? Well, what doesn’t happen is the creation of a super spy. Instead, out steps a beast, part human part moth, 100% mystery and a creature that becomes a myth, lurking in the woods of West Virgina, hunted for years but never found. Flash forward and three friends following in the footsteps of the explorer they love

Years ago, libraries acted as community hubs, abuzz with activities and much loved by their visitors. Now, for the most part, they are lonely long forgotten relics of time gone by plodding along and clinging to life as the modern world moves on without them. And this idea forms the premise of The Librarians A Very Serious Comedy written by Matthew Howell and Jack Michael Stacey, a brand new show from A. Cabbage Presents, fresh off the back of their previous fringe success Sp

Flighty - ‘someone who is silly, irresponsible, and not serious’. That is how Philomena McGuinness is described, and the way in which she has been described since birth. With her cheeky smile, bright eyes and determination to state that she is, in fact, a poet despite having never written a thing, Philomena never pictured herself as a nurse. But that is exactly what she becomes, moving from Dublin to London, helping her patients and moving from hospital to hospital throughout

Oh, the ordinary life of Buck Creek, wooden cabin village in the shadows of the Smokey mountains, all harvest moon celebrations, couples chosen and promised to each other by their parents and there’s silver in them there mountains. Quaint, simple, and oozing with superstition. There’s a rumour of strange magical beings in the mountains, and a story from long ago of a mountain man with magic and exceptional guitar skills coming into town. Barbara Allen (Lauren Jones) doesn’t w

The irony isn't lost on me when one of the coolest places to be during a blistering London heatwave is ancient Greece, otherwise known as Hercules at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, the theatre still glistening from its refurbishment and the Disney musical still delighting audience members with its comedy, big dance numbers and fun. Born to Zeus and Hera (Joel Benjamin and Ellie Mitchell), Hercules (Luke Brady) is a god destined for greatness, or that's how it should have been.

Whilst it is Agatha Christie who holds the famous title of the Queen of Crime, if the writers of crime dramas and whodunnits is seen as a royal court, then Arthur Conan Doyle would be in high standing. And his most famous creation, the dashing, absurdly intelligent and wickedly unique Sherlock Holmes, is perhaps one of the world’s best-known detectives, able to deduct anything and piece together the most complex of mysteries. Nearly 95 years after Conan Doyle’s death, the sto

Leonard Vole: handsome, charming and an all-around nice young man just simply trying to get by in life. But now he finds himself standing in the dock, accused of murder. Emily French, a wealthy spinster, has been found dead in her home, the exact home Leonard has been visiting on a regular basis having formed a friendship with the older woman, but he insists that he is innocent. He stands in the dock as experts, Ms French’s housekeeper and even his own wife Romaine are called

What do burnout, Sexy KFC, and your homophobic Aunt Sharon have in common? Well, up and coming musical theatre comedienne Tammy Woodburn is determined to find out as her potential new manager challenges her to be more honest on stage. Using original songs, stand up, and painfully awkward family conversations (hello Aunt Sharon), she finds the line between truth and the punchline in SMILE, a sharp one-women musical comedy about burnout, identity and the pressure to always keep

Sunday 23rd March 1997, a brand new crime drama premiered on television starring John Nettles and Daniel Casey as two police detectives in the quaint English countryside. Those detectives; Barnaby and Troy. The show; Midsomer Murders. The pilot episode, The Killings at Badger's Drift became the highest rated single drama of 1997, and say they say, the rest is history. Nearly 29 years on, Midsomer Murders remains incredibly popular and is perhaps the epitome of cosy crime thes

Happy international Swing Day, and no I am not talking about seats on ropes that you find in the playground and how that one person would always say that they once swung on it all the way around. No, I am talking about the often hidden heroes that are swings in the theatre industry, those talented performers ready to jump on stage in a different role at a moments notice and how we would be completely lost without them. Whilst the word Understudy (or Thunderstudy if you are lo

Just as I made a ‘if I had a nickel’ joke between ‘Vagabond Skies’ and ‘Saving Mozart’ just a few months ago, I feel compelled to make another, for if I saw two shows that push the once hidden stories of musically gifted sisters overshadowed by their brothers and forced to be the traditional wife, I would have two nickels, which wouldn’t get you far in today’s expensive world, but it is a little odd. But, whilst ‘Saving Mozart’ celebrated the story of Nannerl Mozart with soar

Is a man innocent until proven guilty? How do you prove a case of murder without a corpse? And how exactly do you solve a crime that happened 400 years ago? All of these questions are picked apart and truly explored in ‘The Daughter of Time’, a fascinating and interesting production currently playing at the quaint Charing Cross Theatre. Inspector Alan Grant (Rob Pomfret) is laid up in hospital with a broken leg after another case went wrong in the 1950s and in order to stav

75 years ago, the imagination of countless readers was captivated by the creation of Narnia, fresh from the mind of C S Lewis, that invited them through the wardrobe into the land of eternal winter, ruled by the evil White Witch and rescued by four brave children. It is a story that has stood the test of time, and now under the directorship of Mike Fentiman, the stage production of ‘The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe’ continues to enchant both children and adults looking t

If I had a nickel for every time I saw a musical about a troubled artist who died too young, died before they really had the chance to see their own fame, which featured a heavy focus on the close and touching relationship of said artists with a sibling and the women who greatly influenced the lives of said artists, I would have two nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice. I joke in attempt to fit in with some social media trend. I don’t like to d

Returning once more to Assembly’s Gordan Aikman Theatre, Fringe favourites ‘Murder She Didn’t write’ are back creating murder mysteries, complete with twists, turns, and increasingly ridiculous manners of committing the crime, all on the spot, based entirely on the suggestions of the audience. Improvised comedy is a big hitting genre at the Edinburgh Fringe, with it feeling as if every other person flyering is inviting you to come and see something made up for one night and

Six people who used to be the best of friends at University, but have subsequently grown apart, are all mysteriously invited to take part in an escape room in the Caves at the Edinburgh Fringe. They used to love solving puzzles together, but no one knows why they are suddenly here to solve one last mystery, or do they? In ‘Escape Room: The Musical’ by Grown Up Playhouse Productions, we see the six friends, joined by Pierre, an enigmatic French man who doesn’t seem to know w

Back at the Edinburgh Fringe for the fifth time due to phenomenal demand, Say It Again Sorry’s ‘… Earnest?’ Continues to deliver its unique and boldly brave style of interactive theatre where audience interaction is taken to the extreme in an hilarious laugh out loud retelling of Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’. When the leading man fails to make his appearance as Earnest, leaving Terry as Algernon (Ashley Cavender) and Graham as Lane (Rhys Tees) flummoxed,

There are over 3000 shows playing at the Edinburgh Fringe over the month of August, lots and lots to discover and whilst you may wish to fill your schedule with new things that you have never seen before, sometimes it can feel nice to return to a favourite and make a repeat visit, and that is what I did here. As an avid fan of those cosy murder mysteries, where you always know that the baddie will be caught and some of the clues stand out like sore thumbs, I couldn’t resist

With an introduction along the lines of ‘I’m known for having a big smile’, Alex Prescot instantly creates a warm and welcoming environment in his new one-man show ‘Cosy’, playing at Dexter Underbelly Bristo Square. In a combination of storytelling and brilliantly improvised songs, Prescot showcases not only his musical skills and improv talents but also his natural friendly flair and style as he effortlessly talks to audience members and rewards good and funny responses wi