-All Times in BST-

The Most Toast

Can you remember how many pieces of toast you've had in your life? The biggest surprise for me at 2023's Fringe was this mysteriously titled show, taking place at noon only a few days during the month. I had a flat in Grassmarket then, so I figured it would be a nice lunchtime local show to check out, and now I think about it at least twice a week. Co-hosted by a good cop-bad cop duo and the audience equipped with The Price is Right-esque nametags, the hour is sure to be unlike anything you have experienced. Description: Somebody in the audience will have eaten the most toast. We will find them.

Aug 20

Hootenannies @ The Apex - Hoot 1 - 12:00 - 13:00

John Robertson's The Dark Room

Meta, Apple, and all the big tech startups are trying so hard to make VR and AR video games work when John Robertson has had it figured out for years. The "only live-action video game in the world," The Dark Room, is BACK! The show features an 80s-style text-adventure game projected onto a large screen, with Robertson choosing willing audience members to play. Sounds simple, but NOT SO FAST, DARREN. It is an absolute must-experience, and I guarantee you will want to try to fit it in a second time during your Fringe.

Jul 31, Aug 1-25

Gilded Balloon Patter House - Doonstairs - 22:00 - 23:00

Mythos: Ragnarok

Documentaries, teachers, and books are generally where we learn our history. But why not professional wrestlers? Back for a third year and continuing its trend of upgrading theatres, Mythos moves up from the 250-seater Assembly Roxy Central to the whopping 481-seater Gordon Aikman Theatre. Mythos: Ragnarok is ready to rumble.

Learn Norse Mythology with some of the buffest brutes you've ever seen. That is truly how I want to learn my history from now on. Jul 31 Aug 1-6, 8-12, 14-19, 21-25

Assembly George Square - Gordon Aikman Theatre - 20:55 - 22:05

The Billy Joel Story

Before last year, I skipped musical revues, such as The Billy Joel Story, until my mother visited. She wanted to see The Burt Bacharach Story, which featured the essentials from the hit-maker, and I was more than happy to fulfill her wish, just this one time and only for one hour so we could then get back to seeing some one-man show in a ten-seater venue about being bisexual while dressed as a cat. You know, REAL Fringe stuff!!! That was until I heard that voice. The voice of Angus Munro, Strathclyde Music School graduate, and musician who has been gracing the Fringe with his pipes for the past few years. I am serious when I say he did the Bublé voice BETTER than Bublé and even had the range to do higher songs. It was unbelievable. After the show, we chatted with him for a few, and he told us to stick around until the next show, The Billy Show Story. We did. You can guess what happened next. Munro sat in front of a piano, with a sax and harmonica by his side, all of which he played expertly. There's a reason there were at least three standing ovations during the 50 minutes. It's a must-see. Aug 2-25

theSpace @ Symposium Hall - Amphitheatre - 18:05 - 18:55

Casting the Runes

Mid-morning heavy drama theatre pieces have become a new favorite, especially with puppets. Casting the Runes is an adapted, one-hour play making its debut at the Fringe last year, and it truly blew me away. The acting and script were one thing, expertly crafted, but the staging, props, and use of lighting were truly mystical. This is live-on-stage sci-fi done right. Jul 31, Aug 1-13, 15-25 Pleasance Courtyard - Above - 11:35 - 12:35