First blog post

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So Hi anyone looking at this. Never done anything like this before but have been musing on doing a fringe blog for, oo, the last four years. So finally I’m taking the plunge! The first fringe show I saw was way back in 1985, The Bald Prima Donna at Buster Browns on Thursday 22nd August for £2. That Prima Donna keeps coming back every year, still bald as a coot. So if you fancy a stroll along the byways and alley ways of my Fringe experiences, feel free to drop in.

Like I said, I’m new to this so there’s gonna be plenty mistakes (though at least my typing seems ok for a moose) as I’m not really up with this modern technology stuff. So wish me luck and do check in again!

Bruce

 

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A scare, a scam and some Sam

bruceonthefringe 2026, Comedy, Edinburgh Fringe 2026, Theatre Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

I’m currently on a train heading to Glasgow, thought I’d use the time to start a new post, a look back on the first full week of the Fringe. It’s been rather good, some fair and some absolutely cracking shows; and a return visit to Edinburgh for some of my favourite Irish musicians. But first, a very welcome return to the Fringe, they had to cancel their run last year, the waiting was finally over for…

Crybabies: The Scaring Wow, just wow! A comedy horror, there’s plenty of silly, even the sinister bits are silly, often thanks to Ed Jones; he takes his characters so far but never tips over the edge. Then there’s the ridiculously funny and really rather creepy too, character of a young boy played by James Gault (a wonderful visual gag that just became more hilarious every time he appeared). The other third of the comedy trio, Michael Clarke, plays a former priest having to deal with all the strange oddities played by Jones and Gault within the setting of an old hotel (plenty of horror in one of those). Crybabies have pushed the boat out to ensure the visual and sound effects are a match to their performances; a masterclass in funny, an absolute hoot! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

From a comedy trio at the top of their game to a most august Fringe institution, the Tuck. The Wolf of Poyais is the perfect role for Thom Tuck, a deliciously dark, conniving character from the early nineteenth century (while some actors somehow look too modern to play historical figures, Tuck fits older times perfectly). The Wolf refers to a Gregor MacGregor who lived a very eventful life, which included conning hundreds of people into investing and emigrating to a country he made up, that’s Poyais.

The story is told as MacGregor turns motivational speaker delivering his “Eight steps to success” with flip chart! But here’s the thing, it’s true! Thom Tuck with his marvellous eloquence and talent for voices and accents, charms us into liking MacGregor as he tells his life story, laughing at his exploits even when he’s recounting very terrible things he did, now justifying it all to himself (I say himself, these are more sober moments for the audience, as we’re aware there’s still many very successful conmen around). An hour of rollicking adventures, audacious lies anoh, and Id thoughts to ponder about human nature. Bloody magnificent and I got a badge! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

And so from the silly to the sublime to the “could someone please tell me what I just witnessed?!” I went to see Flabbergast Theatre in the Pleasance at EICC. Always on the unnerving side, Flabbergast are, for me, the theatrical version of The Tigerlillies, creepily entrancing, creatures from elsewhere, a realm apart; Endgame by Samuel Beckett is already a realm apart, so with added Flabbergast! Hmmm, yeah, I picked it on account of the theatre company, note to self, check everything. Beckett is not for everyone and that includes me, at ninety minutes long, the bleakness drained all my joy. Having said that, while it wasn’t really my mug of tea, I could appreciate that it was great theatre.

Beckett’s world was well realised, I felt was there (though for me, wrong venue, odd, old places are where the Flabbergast world shines through the brightest). Centre stage Henry Maynard (the creator of Flabbergast) holds court as Hamm, unable to move from his chair but desperate to control his small, contained world, including his parents who live in two dustbins and Clov, a young man who’s incapable of sitting down. Clov is the one moving part, and though that’s done in pain, there is a bitter humour to it. Yup, an odd play but then it’s Fringe, a good time to dip your toes outside your comfort zone; while I probably won’t go see another Beckett play, I will go see Flabbergast Theatre next time they’re in town ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Next time, the antidote for Beckett malaise.

Toodle pip!

Six of the best, plus one

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Hey, the first Monday of the Fringe, I took myself into Holyrood Park this morning, up along Moose Ridge, on to the Nether Hill and down the steps, such a beautiful day for it! Nicely warm with a balmy breeze, and it’s set to get warmer this week, sweet. Here’s hoping Fringe venues have good air-conditioning or at least plenty of ventilation. Fringe Tip: say yes to a sturdy flyer for use as a fan. Oo, also beware of having a large lunch – a warm, dark room, smooth, relaxing tones, nodding off is deceptively easy (so make that a two shot coffee).

Anyhoo, six of what, who’s best, huh? Or have I been a very naughty moose?! And why plus one? As Fringe starts go, this has been brilliant for me, and, well, I don’t reckon (though I would love to be wrong about this) I’ll see anything that will knock these shows down my list of favourites. Okay, so I have two coming up this week that will definitely be joining them (oo, then one more will complete my top ten), but these are Fringe gems to this moose.

First off, proving my Fringe-dar is working fine, A Foot is Not an Appropriate Prize for the Tombola was delightful romp that starts when a dismembered foot is discovered in the tombola stall at the village fete. Lydia is determined to get to the bottom of it, despite being told to leave well alone by the local policeman, things soon escalate in unexpected ways! The audience participate a lot in this, but hey, tombola prize for all those do! I was at the second preview, still a bit shaky and Lydia (Daniel McVey) did refer to the script, ahem, the fete schedule a fair bit, but for me it all added to the hilarity; McVey was brilliant, he’s created a true piece of Fringe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Crimes of Pete had me grinning from the start, authors being hauled off by the state (black comedy, btw), the purgatory of each other’s company and the reason Pete was taken; dark, sharp humour all round. Then a chink of hope appears for Pete from an unlikely ally, but what about his cellmates? Another hour of pacy writing and great performances from Tinned Laughter; definitely worth seeing, Shepherd-Cross is in danger of becoming a Fringe institution! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So good to have Tom Neenan back at the Fringe, it’s been awhile. The last time was in 2018 with It’s Always Infinity still sitting high in my Hall of Fringe Favourites! Since then Neenan has taken up painting, there’s regularly new portraits on his Instagram, so the topic of this year’s show isn’t too surprising, Tom Neenan: Portrait of a Tom as a Young Neenan with a self-portrait as the publicity shot. I could listen to him for well more than an hour, an amusing wit, he moved almost seamlessly between his two narratives, never losing his audience, a thoroughly lovely show ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

Hudson Hughes: At Your Service is a completely different kettle of kippers, a wickedly funny show, silly with a big dollop of horror. Of course, there was going to be plenty of props and animatronics (and Aidan Pittman turning up on video), did it matter that there were technical difficulties? Nope, for one, it was second preview so it’s allowed, almost inevitable, and second, watching Hughes keeping his composure and artfully keeping everything on track was an extra layer of hilarity, he done good! It’s a very silly, full-on hour of ridiculous. Totally Fringe ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½

I’ve never cared for the film Top Gun, never particularly liked Tom Cruise, but as Top Gunchained is by the guy behind Yippee Ki Yay, oh yeah; and he’s back in the Wine Bar at Gilded Balloon Teviot, one room that looks pretty much as it did. Richard Marsh has created another great double narrative, the (unauthorised) retelling of a film, and healing familial issues. There’s plenty of effects and props, audience participation (all good fun), big laughs and heartfelt moments, and all done in verse. Most excellent ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Another unauthorised retelling, another very long title, Goodbye Horses: An Unauthorised Solo Retelling of The Silence of the Lambs. Ye gods, this was intense! Michael Kinnan‘s portrayals of Starling and Lechter are brilliant, but especially the sense of Lechter’s dark calculating humour. The atmosphere created was so creepy, so tense; it’s been a while since I saw the film, parts only coming back to me as it unfolded, but I wonder what it would be like to see this without ever seeing the film (or read the book). Oh, and you might need to go have a drink afterwards, a nice chianti, perhaps? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Last one, but definitely not least. I knew this would be good, the new play by the Voloz Collective (another long title), REDACTED: The Cover-up of a Cover-up of a Cover-up everything about it is a sheer delight, not least the incredible synchronicity between the actors, physical theatre surely doesn’t get any better than this?! An action-packed comedy thriller, with an elegance and style like some classic Hollywood movie, especially with the accompanying live music. Magnifique! Possibly the best thing I’ll see this Fringe! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (⭐️)

Really, I don’t know how the rest of my Fringe can measure up to a start like that. Anyhoo, my bed is calling. G’night!

I wrote this last night

bruceonthefringe 2026, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe 2026, Fringe Venues Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

Oh dear lord, it’s wet out there! I would just stay in, take a night off, but I’m meeting a friend. According to the forecast it’s going to be rainy until tomorrow late afternoon. I’ve already decided to bake a cake in the morning, haven’t made one in ages and I have a few pears will need eating , so a pear sponge cake it will be!

After saying in my last post that I hadn’t yet been in Teviot I popped in yesterday afternoon after seeing a show in George Square, it is very different, I’m kind of ambivalent to the changes, apart from one, I’m annoyed! The old Library Bar is now exclusively for performers, dammit. At least the room that I think used to be called the Refectory has another name but yay, the upper balcony area is still accessible, that could be a writing spot again. I have a show there tomorrow afternoon, I should the refurb will have included reasonable temperature controls.

So far the warmest venue has been ZOO Playground 1, the heat kind of added an extra uncomfortable edge to the feverish dream quality of the play (not nightmarish, just that unease that you dreamt something awful but can’t recall, and your body shudders when you try). The fact that The Last Drop might be in Brazilian Portuguese (being from Brazil) had not occurred to me, no worries folk, there are subtitles, but this again added to the otherness. I didn’t always follow what was happening but am not sure if that was me or how the play plays; very much like a David Lynch film, just sit back and go with it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️½

This afternoon I headed to the Westend, off Princes Street, to a place I didn’t know existed. It was to see Mistakes on Maps, I assumed the venue name, Library of Mistakes was just a joke to go along with the show, nope, it’s a real place (dedicated to the study of financial history) tucked away down along a back lane. Historical maps and facts, some quirkier than others, that’s it, interesting if that’s your thing; okay, I thought the presentation was a tad lame, but these are map nerds sharing their passion, fair enough. If you’re not rushing away afterwards there are plenty of maps laid out to peruse and chat about. If you’re a secret map nerd, this may be for you, you’ll need a map to find it!

I would also mention St Mary’s Episcopal Cathedral nearby, that bloody huge building at the end of Melville Street. Definitely worth a look if you have time!

Toodle pip!

So far so good

bruceonthefringe 2026, A good audience, Badges, Edinburgh Fringe 2026, Fringe history Tags: , , , Leave a comment

Thursday evening, six shows in, and it’s just occurred to me that I haven’t had a ganders round Teviot yet (Gilded Balloon) despite going past at least twice, I don’t think my head has properly registered that it’s open again. Past years I would definitely have been in by now, even without shows to be seen, a first drink in the Library Bar, oh, I do hope they haven’t ruined it with their refurbishments. I’ve not bought one preview ticket for anything in there, but then previews have generally been cut down to just Wednesday and Thursday; time was when many previews ran right up to Saturday (no wonder I crammed in so many shows). Mind, the 241 days were originally the first Sunday and Monday, the Sunday was a very busy day! Fun times.

Safety warning for The Dark Room

On fun times, John Robertson’s The Dark Room was an excellent end to my first day, love his energy and wild glee as he interacts with the crowd. Last night’s audience was ready to have fun, the Darrens were all great, funny how things can go with these shows, but Robertson is a master of his art, he just wears it lightly, teasing the potential chaos. Now I’m a relative newcomer to The Dark Room but the folk behind me, ha, they were joining in Robertson’s retorts to players’ option choices; he has quite a number of loyal fans, the shows will sell out. Of course he’s doing a free Fringe show too, Excitable Boy! He most certainly is.

Time to head for a late night show; I’ll do a round-up tomorrow of shows seen so far. I’ll leave you with a pic of my first badge this Fringe, I say first, I do hope more shows will have badges to hand out. Toodle pip!

The eyes have it

Another Fringemas Eve

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I’ll be going out shortly but first a quick post. Where? I got me a ticket to see W.I.T.C.H. at La Belle Angele, support by some local band called Logan’s Close. There’s going to be some serious rhythms and grooves going on! I suspect it won’t be the only hot sweaty room I’ll be in this month, even with improvements over the years, some Fringe venues still get incredibly warm and stifling. I wonder which room will take the max oven setting prize this year, hmmm. If anyone thinks they’ve sat in the winner, do let me know!

I was back at the cinema last night to see Toy Story 5 on the big screen, I think i may well go see it again, at least once more. Yes, another excellent film, one of the very few film franchises that has always delivered, for me, anyway. Oh, there’s so much that makes this movie an absolute joy. Of course, the main themes are around new tech toys replacing old toys, but I was touched by the little note that you shouldn’t change and be less of who you are in order to fit in with the popular crowd; really, there’s no point, one slip up and they will turn on you, they don’t generally like different. Oh, that got dark! Hey, it’s a cracking film, way more than a kids movie.

Up close with the Close

Okay, so at that point I left to go the gig, the lads were awesome!! After starting with Babestation, the rest of the set was new stuff on the upcoming second album. They went down well with the crowd, hopefully picking up a few new fans. I was at the front so managed to get some good vids, best ones I’ll put on Instagram; I just took one vid of the headliners W.I.T.C.H, but as I was much further back it’s not the best visually. For me, they were a mixed bag, from just okay to some really intoxicating grooves. Overall a fine evening, including a wee chat with Mr Marah about LC‘s time recording in London and what’s comes next.

Ha, another late night, despite all my best intentions. Thankfully my first show isn’t until midafternoon, the first of four tomorrow. Oh yay, one more sleep, then its Fringe ’til September!

Toodle pip!

A bugbear, minions and music

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As the Fringe gets ever closer, the rain gods are once again perfecting their sudden deluge from nowhere techniques, so don’t forget to bring a brolly (a sturdy one, it can get very windy here). Oh, and don’t forget to bring some commonsense too, honestly, you would not believe the number of people wandering around Edinburgh who clearly leave theirs at home (we have enough local numpties, and, well, it looks bad when the headline says “tourist in Edinburgh….”, okay?); but that’s a rant I’ll save for another time.

The town is noticeable more bustly now, not what I’d consider busy yet just bustlier (not bustier as spellchecker tried to insist). Heck, there were even people drinking after ten in George IV Bar on Friday evening – it’s busy through the day while people are coming in to eat, but it does seem be very quiet once the kitchen close. Oh yeah, that reminds me! A bugbear. Pubs that have that sign “Please Wait To Be Seated” just inside the door and don’t remove it after dining is over? Sure, some of us know when to ignore it, but some hover, glancing around, trying to appear nonchalant but we can all see the embarrassment in their eyes. A quick timely removal of that sign wouldn’t take a minute, well, maybe two or three.

I’d been to the cinema to see Minions & Monsters, wow, such bloody good fun and so many cheeky wee film references, had me grinning and guffawing right the way through it. The voice cast was perfect with Christopher Waltz and Jeff Bridges in there, and of course, Pierre Coffin (the man is a genius); the story skips and trips along, aided by hilariously wonderful montages. There’s been plenty of films about the beginnings of Hollywood, honestly, this could be my new favourite (Friday evening was the second time I’d seen it, so ).

Feel that passion, yeah!

Anyhoo. It made sense to head to George IV Bar – bluesman Louis Crosland was playing there before heading to Whistlebinkies for the midnight slot (plus band), total sense. How good to hear acoustic then electric versions of All Along the Watchtower, brand new to Louis’s setlist and an old favourite of mine (I do incline towards the Hendrix version). I’ve put a reel that incorporates both on my Instagram, please do check it out. I was also treated to Gilbert O’Sullivan’s Alone Again Naturally, another new one on the setlist, nice, I liked Louis’s take on it. FYI, Louis will be playing the Canons’ Gait at nine o’clock on Wednesday nights through August.

The Canons’ Gait and Whistlebinkies are once again venues for PBH’s Free Fringe along with plenty other pubs in the city, the rest are part of the Laughing Horse stable, nah not really, but it can feel like every pub in Edinburgh becomes a Fringe venue! Of course, it helps if there’s an actual separate room available and plenty of the old pubs have weird and wonderful spaces!

Time I was creeping off to bed. Back to Fringe nuggets tomorrow.

Sweet dreams, mes amis!

It draws ever closer

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Just a week to go now! The poster boards are going up everywhere and this afternoon I was handed a flyer! Yes, the earliest ever. To be fair I was dawdling as I passed the Pleasance Courtyard as they have boards outside listing all the shows in all of their venues, a lady was obviously making some content with her phone by one of the boards….I was nosey, she was lovely, A Better Memory has been added to my pile of possibilities. But what of my certainties?

Hooray, the ridiculously talented Voloz Collective are back again, another double bill, REDACTED: The Cover-up of a Cover-up of a Cover-up and the brilliant The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much. I’ll be kicking off my Fringe with REDACTED, yay, and ending my first day yelling “Ya die, ya die, ya die!” at someone called Darren (if you know you know). My second day starts with another promising production The Crimes of Pete and finishes with Hudson Hughes: At Your Service which I’m confident will bookend the day very nicely. Friday will start with the return of Tom Neenan, it’s so important to start your Fringe well, you know. At least, I’m pretty damned certain these will all be great, not sure about the others, time to see if my Fringe-dar is still in working.

How to start your Fringe well

Wonderfully silly and totally Fringe Will BF is back with space epic Moon Team IIIV again, no doubt he’s most likely made a few changes since last August (I wonder how Swimothy is getting on). There’s also new show Will & Noah: Dinner Dinner Chicken Winner with Noah Geelan, oh yes, I’ll be seeing that for sure, loved them together last year. Ironing Board Man is back for a third year, an 80’s action movie homage with an excellent soundtrack and more ironing boards than you’d ever ordinarily see at once; but I’ve seen it twice already, so it’s the new show Jody Kamali: This Is My Dad that I quite fancy seeing, hmmm.

My Fringe-dar favours these

One return that I can’t decide whether to see is Jeremy Lion, some things are best left as memories. He was achingly funny the first couple of times I saw him, but the third time was not as good, that was, oh, fifteen or so years ago! To go or not to go? [Edit. Turns out its cancelled, debate over!] No such question about Thom Tuck’s latest theatrical outing The Wolf of Poyais, and, of course, the Tuck has two more shows (and maybe the odd other thing, too), a WIP stand-up show and a chat show, huh, if he announces who the guests will be each day, maybe.

The Tuck, a most august institution

It’s very late again. Toodles!

Possibilities of laughter

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I’ve been away to Yorkshireland again, got back Sunday evening, a very drizzly drive up, but hey, the rain was needed, and looking at the forecast, the rain gods are getting some practice in ready for August! If you’re coming to Edinburgh for the Fringe don’t forget your brolly, and don’t go leaving it in a pub like I almost did Sunday evening; well, after that long drive I needed a drink and it just so happened that Louis Crosland was playing in George IV Bar. It’s a nice enough bar but it’s very much a place folk eat then head off elsewhere, few stay longer. Louis will be back there on Friday evening, then, contrary to any websites, he’ll be playing in Whistlebinkies with whoever he can round-up at short notice. That’s my Friday evening sorted.

Yes, very nice, moose, but what about Comedy? Well, there’s a lot of it, and it does seem like prices have increased plenty. Yes, I know there’s plenty of good reasons, I get it, but I also want to see shows, whittling them down to even fewer is really hard. And all the lovely flyerers, what to say to them? Yes, that sounds great but which other show should I drop from my list in order to afford it? Actually, that could be quite interesting, kinda mean but a fun experiment, hmmm.

Surprisingly, I have only Free Fringe show cut-outs from Comedy, unsurprisingly one is John Robertson’s latest stand-up show; and there’s another magic show by David Alnwick, like why? Why isn’t that one also listed in Cabaret and Variety with the other two? Any logic there?! Oh yeah, on C&V, I missed mentioning (overlooked, it was a double-sided cut-out) Bad Clowns and Good Friends, their late night show with various guest comedians is back at Eve, I might get round to popping in this time round, I kept saying I would last year but,!? (it’s in the Cowgate, not exactly a tricky location)

The majority of my Comedy possibilities are the hybrid PWYC and PWYW, take a gamble that you’ll get in without a ticket and pay when you leave. Two shows I won’t just chance are Ed Byrne: Work In Progress and Luke Rollason: Alas! (WIP), both short runs and no doubt will sell out. John-Luke Roberts and Nish Kumar have full Fringe runs at Monkey Barrel so I reckon I’ll be fine seeing them early on. Then there’s the ticketed shows I’d like to see, well, some only if they get listed on the Half Price Hut. Unfortunately way too many of my choices clashed timewise, so they wouldn’t all fit during the preview period (oh, a mini rant about that at some point).

I haven’t been the forthcoming with my choices in this post, so I’ll put in some pics of my possibilities. Next time, more on the Comedy section, the shows I’m definitely going to see.

Toodle pip!

Too many possibilities for one moose!

bruceonthefringe 2026, Comic theatre, Edinburgh Fringe 2026, Edinburgh Fringe Programme, Fringe tickets, Pay What You Can, Pay What You Want, Theatre Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Later than I intended (it’s been another gorgeous day outside) but here’s a few musings on what’s caught my eye in the Theatre section of the Edinburgh Fringe 2026 programme. Oh crikey, there’s a lot of cuttings, the majority will be bin bound (especially once I’ve taken my scissors to Comedy), but I prefer having groupings of faint possibilities that can be discarded than wondering if I should have another look through the programme, if it’s not been cut out, tough (besides, there’s always more chances of consideration once the Fringe is underway).

The classics, kinda. Five hovering around Shakespeare, I’ve often enjoyed these sorts of productions; two have puppetry as a keyword, the whimsy in me is a sucker for that stuff; and 11½ Angry Men, just because I saw Guy Masterton’s 2003 comedians production of 12 Angry Men, mind, only a preview ticket. Prices are certainly going up now, but that’s partly because the booking fee is now included in the ticket price, so no getting annoyed at the extra fee, but hey, if you buy more than six tickets at a time then you’ll pay slightly less as there’s still a cap of £9 booking fee on a single order (slight whoop there). Still, at £25.00 within a bunch of tickets, nope, that’s two other shows I can see.

I always have a pile of Half Price Hut hopefuls to keep an eye out for once the Hut is up and running. Some of the pile will be potential previews too, but as the preview prices are generally just the first Wednesday and Thursday (Friday was a preview day until very recently, damn them), I can’t see as many as I used to. The Half Price Hut is once again operating from the Fringe Box Office and so shuts at six in the evening, still bloody stupid, I say (I’ve done a full blown rant on this before, it irks me).

The vast majority of tickets in the Theatre section are set prices, checking through I’ve no Free Fringe possibles, oops, one! It jumps between categories a lot, this is a Theatre year, that perennial A Young Man Dressed as a Gorilla….17, as usual, one performance only, on Tuesday 18th. Could this be the year I see it?! I have just two Pay What You Want and two Pay What You Can in my possibilities. Quick recap, PWYW gives one ticket price to buy in advance to guarantee entry while PWYC gives four price options to pay in advance. A word of advice/warning, if you’ve bought a ticket in advance to one of these shows you’ll probably find yourself apologetically bleating “honest, I bought a ticket” as you exit past the bucket.

There’ll always a few shows that aren’t on until the final week, that’s a separate pile of it’s own. No need to think about them just yet, and a lot can happen before the last week of Fringe. There are some possibilities that don’t fit any where particular in my head, they’re probably looking at each other thinking, how did I get stuck in a pile beside you?! And I seem to have created a pile of best publicity pictures, when I’ve reached for the scissors at first glance; yeah, Film Noir Frog is very appealing (come on, it’s a frog, they’re always great).

Yeah, these six shows all have a high chance of getting on my calendar; and then there’s five absolute definites, oo, I’m looking forward to these…

REDACTED: The Cover-up of a Cover-up of a Cover-up is the new show from the brilliant Voloz Collective, physical theatre at its very best. Their previous Fringe shows were among the best of all Fringes for me, really (and they’re performing The Man Who Thought He Knew Too Much again this year, honestly, I could be tempted to see it again, I love it’s style and sass). That most august of Fringe institutions Thom Tuck is playing The Wolf of Poyais, nuff said, I’m going. The Crimes of Pete is the latest play by Hughie Shepherd-Cross, I thoroughly enjoyed his previous three plays, don’t let me down Hughie! The creepy, unnerving Flabbergast Theatre are back again, this time with Endgame by Samuel Beckett, always a mesmeric watch this theatre company. And Top Gunchained because Yippee Ki Yay was so damned awesome, both years (different actors) I saw it.

No picture of all my other possibilities in the Theatre section, too many will have to go unseen, and after all, there’s no science to how I picked them, just my Fringe-dar twitching. Next time the Comedy section of the Edinburgh Fringe 2026 programme. You have been warned.

Toodle pip!