Six Interactive Shows to Help Cure Our Crippling Social Anxiety at Edinburgh Fringe 2024

The fourth wall is gone in these shows! The quality of their shows depends on the audience's playfulness and the performers' ability to leverage it. It truly makes for something special. Believe me, the performers are just as nervous as you are. Here are six at Edinburgh Fringe 2024: Best Man

A huge hit from 2023, Best Man is back for Edinburgh Fringe 2024! From the description: "An immersive one-man show about being single in your 30s. Come to the wedding of John and Rebecca and watch the best man speech go completely off the rails." Aug 14-25 Underbelly, Bristo Square - Friesian 14:20 - 15:20

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The Best Man Show

They say competition breeds innovation, so why not another Best Man show? From the description: "The Best Man Show is an interactive and darkly hilarious wedding reception where comedian Mark Vigeant plays the Groom's brother Paul, who has been asked to give the toast at an untraditional polyamorous commitment ceremony. It starts out fun and silly, with your typical masculine roasting and ribbing – and slowly devolves into a drunken existential crisis where Paul tries desperately to understand what it means to love, but can't get over his own masculinity to recognise how lonely he is." Aug 2-12, 14-25

ZOO Playground - Playground 2 21:50 - 22:50

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Worm Teeth

This show will be memorable! Join the crew from SMaK Productions as they bring you on an adventure to help their friend Worm find his teeth. From the press release: "Equal parts Ren and Stimpy and Little Shop of Horrors, this icky-sticky romp follows Worm, who is quite happy being just that: a worm. But worms don’t have everything, and this worm just wants one tiny thing! Teeth! Join Worm’s quest for face bones where you’ll meet Worm’s friends, join a cult or two, and examine your own experiences with self-acceptance and actualization alongside Worm as it discovers how far it’s willing to go for some pearly whites." Aug 19-25 Paradise in The Vault - The Vault 21:20 - 22:20

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I Am, Other

Many interactive pieces are comedy or art, but I love the concept of a hard-hitting drama! This two-hour piece relies on the audience's point of view to help a family through a difficult time. From the description: "This immersive family drama, about an older relative’s act of aggression towards a biracial child, actively investigates white privilege, judgement, identity and bias. I Am, Other invites the audience, through interactive engagement, to explore why it is not okay to be different. Spectators become participants in shaping the lens through which they see the world." Aug 12-25 C ARTS | C venues | C arbor - immersion 14:00 - 16:00 or 18:00 - 20:00

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Heckling Masterclass, With Diploma

Take a break from being bombarded with LinkedIn courses on Excel and leadership and focus on what really matters: heckling a hard-working comedian! Ben makes it clear, though: " Not a show where you can heckle, a course about heckling, with practical and theory tests." Sounds like a great time! From the description: "Become the best heckler you can be with this 50-minute course! Legendary stand-up comedian Ben Clover leads the world's only official heckling seminar, covering all aspects of the noble art – How to heckle, when to heckle, if to heckle, how to heckle better, dealing with comedians' stock retorts – it's all covered." Aug 1-13 Laughing Horse @ Bar 50 - The Alcove 21:45 - 22:35

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Trigger Warning

This one leans on the anonymous side but uses innovative technology for a self-guided audio tour. I am not too sure how it works, but it sounds like an incredible experiment! From the description: "A self-paced interactive story that guides viewers through the artist's experience with problematic age gaps and her critiques on its representation in art. The in-person exhibition will show the anonymous audience responses becoming a piece of visual art."

Aug 8-9, 11-12 Dovecot Studios - South Gallery Annexe (Virtual Available) Various Times

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