Top Shows To Catch At ZOO And Summerhall This Fringe
With the Edinburgh Festival Fringe back with a bang this summer it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the sheer wealth of appealing options. To help make it a Fringe to remember, here’s our handy round-up of some of the shows to look out for from two of the festival’s biggest names, ZOO venues and Summerhall.
The innovative and internationally acclaimed Belgian theatre collective Ontroerend Goed are seven-time Fringe First winners. They make their highly anticipated return with a show directed by Alexander Devriendt which may or may not be about opening lines, theatrical beginnings and interruptions.
ZOO Southside – Main House, 5-9, 11-14, 16-21, 23-28 August, 2.15pm.
Sacred Paws
The Scottish Album of the Year award-winners – comprising guitarist Rachel Aggs and drummer Eilidh Rodgers – perform songs from their acclaimed albums Strike A Match and Run Around The Sun, which showcase their unique blend of shimmering guitar riffs, snappy beats and swooning melodies. They are supported by 90s indie-pop peddlers Poster Paints.
Summerhall – The Dissection Room, 6 August, 7pm.
Three performers guide you through your own imagination in a poetic, subtle and witty dance performance from Norwegian writer-choreographer Eivind Seljeseth playing on conventions, expectations and perception. Audience members will be presented with individual text through headphones hanging from the ceiling, acting as an audio guide or fake indoctrination machine.
ZOO Southside – Main House, 7-13 August, 10.30pm.
Rocky!
This piece of award-winning Danish political theatre from Fix&Foxy takes the titular Sylvester Stallone movie as its unlikely inspiration. Director Tue Biering and actor Morten Burian explore what happens when the loveable loser boxer breaks character, confounds our expectations and gains power.
ZOO Southside – Main House, 5-9, 11-15, 17-20 August, 5.55pm.
Described by its creator Molly Naylor as an ‘anti self-help show that might actually help’, Stop Trying To Be Fantastic is a one-woman show about suffering, saviour complexes, acceptance and a magpie who refuses to quit.
Summerhall – Cairns Lecture Theatre, 3-28 August, 5pm.
Runners
Award-winning Czech contemporary circus company Cirk La Putyka are back with a hugely energetic and spectacular show that captures the hectic pace of today’s world, featuring a giant treadmill, cyr-wheel acrobatics, and original live music.
ZOO Southside – Main House, 5-9, 11-15, 17-21, 23-28 August, 8.30pm.
This darkly comic 2019 play about heartbreak, madness and how condiments are the ultimate coping mechanism is a production from the triple Fringe First and Olivier-winning Fishamble. One-woman show Mustard, written and performed by Eva O’Connor, sees a woman split with her professional cyclist lover before diving headfirst into a black hole of heartbreak.
Summerhall – Main Hall, 3-28 August, 2.45pm.
Los Bitchos
This international group of London-based musicians perform 70s and 80s-inspired psychedelic surf music with a Latin twist. Their 2022 album Let The Festivities Begin! is full of memorable hooks and vibrant rhythms, perfect for dancing the night away.
Summerhall – The Dissection Room, 16 August, 7pm.
Join Luke Hereford in an autobiographical musical adventure featuring mischief and mashups, dresses and divas as he stumbles along on his journey of queer self-discovery. It sees our hero take on Broadway, experience his first Pride and find the perfect shade of lipstick to a soundtrack of Madonna, Kylie and Kate Bush.
Summerhall – Cairns Lecture Theatre, 3-28 August, 12.30pm.
Sad Book
Michael Rosen’s award-winning 2004 book Sad Book is a personal journey through grief which tells of navigating complex emotions in the midst of everyday life. Developed by 201 Dance Company and choreographer Andrea Walker, this production reimagines Rosen’s story in a visually inventive way through dance, animation and original music.
ZOO Southside – Main House, 22-28 August, 6.30pm.
For all programme details visit ZOO at zoovenues.co.uk and Summerhall at summerhall.co.uk.
<p>This article is sponsored by Summerhall and ZOO venues.</p>