# ballet (news sources) — RSS Amplifier Recent posts from the 3 feeds in the RSS Amplifier directory that cover ballet. Page: Feed: --- ## [Sub-Principal No4 First Violin](https://www.brb.org.uk/jobs/sub-principal-no4-first-violin) _2026-08-21 · Shahin Begum · Birmingham Royal Ballet_ Applications are invited for the post of Sub-Principal No4 First Violin of the Royal Ballet Sinfonia. Please see the job description for more information: First Violin - Sub-Principal No4 - Application pack Aug 2026Royal Ballet Sinfonia is the orchestra of Birmingham Royal Ballet, working in Birmingham regularly and touring around the UK for multiple weeks every year with the Company.The Sinfonia… ## [Badgers review – the audience investigates in this true-crime podcast yarn](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/21/badgers-review-traverse-theatre-edinburgh-festival) _2026-08-21 · Mark Fisher · Stage | The Guardian_ Traverse theatre, Edinburgh Malaika Kegode delivers a supernatural story about the strange disappearance of a maudlin folk singer Playwright and performer Malaika Kegode tops and tails this show for Theatre Royal Plymouth with a message about the allure of storytelling. In a festival city bursting at the seams with stories, it is an unnecessary observation. A more important question is about which… ## [How do dancers train for Swan Lake? Rehabilitation and Conditioning Lead Esther Collacott on her go-to conditioning exercises](https://www.brb.org.uk/stories/how-do-dancers-train-for-swan-lake-conditioning-exercises) _2026-08-20 · Ariana Allen · Birmingham Royal Ballet_ BRB's Rehabilitation and Conditioning Lead reveals her go-to exercises for preparing dancers to perform one of ballet’s most challenging classics. ## [High-Vamp Ballet Flats Give Sienna Miller's '70s-Inspired Jeans a Modern Twist](https://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/celebrity-style/high-vamp-ballet-flats-trend-sienna-miller/) _2026-08-20 · Meguire Hennes · Latest from Marie Claire in Fashion_ She proved you can wear the elegant footwear trend with anything this fall. ## [What Shoe Trend? Margaret Qualley Goes Barefoot for 'The Dog Stars' Premiere in Chanel's Most Divisive Sandals](https://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/celebrity-style/margaret-qualley-dog-stars-premiere-chanel-barefoot-sandals/) _2026-08-20 · Meguire Hennes · Latest from Marie Claire in Fashion_ The freakiest accessory of them all finally made its red carpet debut. ## [Crybabies: The Scaring review – chills and laughs abound in twisty tale of demonic possession](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/20/crybabies-the-scaring-review-pleasance-courtyard-edinburgh) _2026-08-20 · Brian Logan · Stage | The Guardian_ Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh This fantastic comic play from the Radio 4 trio unleashes a torrent of great gags and illusions Horror pastiche has a proud lineage at this festival – for example Garth Marenghi , and Andrew Doherty’s hit Gay Witch Sex Cult two summers ago. In that company, Crybabies ’ The Scaring can stand as tall as the demon Haeldrrun towering over its finale: it’s another… ## [Kendall Jenner and Jacob Elordi Proved Colorblocking Can Be a Couple's Trend](https://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/celebrity-style/colorblocking-trend-fall-2026-kendall-jenner-jacob-elordi/) _2026-08-20 · Meguire Hennes · Latest from Marie Claire in Fashion_ Fall's richest shades did all the coordinating for the two. ## [5 Easy Jeans-and-a-T-Shirt Outfits to Copy This Fall](https://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/jeans-t-shirt-outfit-ideas/) _2026-08-20 · Laura Lajiness Kaupke · Latest from Marie Claire in Fashion_ A few smart styling choices are all it takes to transform your most reliable wardrobe basics. ## [Hold the Lacy Black Tops—Hailey Bieber Gave Lingerie Dressing a Colorful Fall Twist](https://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/celebrity-style/2026-yellow-color-trend-hailey-bieber-lingerie-top/) _2026-08-20 · Meguire Hennes · Latest from Marie Claire in Fashion_ The wired headphones are a nice touch to the Y2K throwback. ## [How to Wear Denim This Fall—6 Outfit Ideas to Copy](https://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/fall-fashion/fall-denim-outfits/) _2026-08-20 · Avery Matera · Latest from Marie Claire in Fashion_ Street style makes the case for wearing your jeans in a few less predictable ways this season. ## [Home of the Agentic Pull Request (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/449Kpoi0zHsw) _2026-08-20 · **Sponsored**_ CLI-first, TUI-ready toolkits and a moshscript installer — join the waitlist ## [The Reformation Sale Has Everything I've Been Waiting to Buy—Here's What to Grab First](https://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/best-of-reformation-summer-sale-2026/) _2026-08-20 · Bailey Burke · Latest from Marie Claire in Fashion_ It's here and it's better than I expected. ## [This Just In! Zara's New Arrivals Are a Pre-Fall Dream](https://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/fall-fashion/zara-new-arrivals-fall-2026/) _2026-08-20 · Cortne Bonilla-Oliva · Latest from Marie Claire in Fashion_ From beaded skirts to draped dresses and cool-girl loafers. ## [These $300 Jeans Were Designed by Princess Olympia of Greece—and I'm Royally Obsessed](https://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/celebrity-style/princess-olympia-greece-dl1961-moda-operandi-fashion-collaboration-review/) _2026-08-20 · Meguire Hennes · Latest from Marie Claire in Fashion_ Her collaboration with DL1961 and Moda Operandi gave my denim drawer a refined makeover. ## [Little Animals review – Motherland milquetoast creates a clever climate plea](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/20/little-animals-review-motherland-traverse-at-royal-lyceum-studio-edinburgh) _2026-08-20 · Mark Fisher · Stage | The Guardian_ Traverse at Royal Lyceum Studio, Edinburgh Paul Ready’s playwriting debut expertly utilises his bumbling acting persona to examine what is enough in our response to climate emergency Nobody does self-effacement as well as Paul Ready . The Motherland/Ann Droid actor excels at playing the kind of man who apologises for his own existence, well-meaning, but insecure – often comically so. He hesitates,… ## [Abigail’s Party review – Tamzin Outhwaite’s Bev is Madame Bovary with a Cinzano](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/20/abigails-party-review-tamzin-outhewaite) _2026-08-20 · Arifa Akbar · Stage | The Guardian_ Harold Pinter theatre, London Outhwaite’s performance as Beverly, a precision-tooled showcase in hidden anger and longing, is a triumph in this eternally resonant suburban drama Alison Steadman has cast a long shadow over the suburban gargoyle-cum-bored-housewife in Mike Leigh’s social satire about 1970s social mobility. So much so that her name is almost always invoked in relation to Beverly.… ## [Making Love with David Magidoff review – instant improv musical based on Fran Healy’s teenage infidelity](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/20/making-love-with-david-magidoff-review-fran-healy-assembly-george-square-edinburgh) _2026-08-20 · Brian Logan · Stage | The Guardian_ Assembly George Square, Edinburgh The US comic’s troupe tell the tale of a special guest’s romantic encounter, in this case Travis’s frontman – but their incoherence makes for a scatty if fun show It’s a lovely format for improv: a special guest tells David Magidoff the story of some romantic (mis)adventure from their past, and Magidoff and pals turn it into an extemporised musical. Shades of… ## [‘I painted myself blue – but got skin problems’: how four Edinburgh stars created their weird characters](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/20/how-four-edinburgh-stars-created-their-weird-characters) _2026-08-20 · Interviews by Emine Saner · Stage | The Guardian_ From a cake-baking Elton John to possibly the most horrible man in the world, comedians reveal how they get in character – and how far they can push things In the Covid lockdowns, I was drawing all these silly things, and one day I drew Elton John as a scone. It brought me lots of joy. I love Elton John and everything he’s about – his music and his outfits – and my first job as a musician was in a… ## [How I’ve Tried to Change the World by Alexei Sayle review – does protest make a difference?](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/20/how-ive-tried-to-change-the-world-by-alexei-sayle-review-does-protest-make-a-difference) _2026-08-20 · Andy Beckett · Stage | The Guardian_ The comedian charts his life in demos from 1960s Liverpool to 2020s London in this fiery and addictive book At 74, the comedian Alexei Sayle is approaching a dangerous phase for veteran British leftists: becoming a national treasure. Once described by special branch, in a surveillance file gleefully quoted in this memoir, as an “intellectual thug” who made “foul-mouthed comments about the royal… ## [Magicians and margarine: 10 of the funniest jokes from the Edinburgh fringe 2026](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/20/magicians-and-margarine-10-of-the-funniest-jokes-from-the-edinburgh-fringe-2026) _2026-08-20 · Guardian Staff · Stage | The Guardian_ Every year, hundreds of standups from across the world descend on the venerable festival. Here are some of their finest one-liners 10 of the funniest jokes from the 2025 fringe Olaf Falafel : I remember thinking, as I taped a piranha to my boomerang, this could come back to bite me. Richard Stott : To the person who stole my bank card and spent all my money on ancestry.com – you know who you are.… ## [‘Are you ready for some filth?’ Julian Clary and more on comedy’s great smut explosion](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/20/julian-clary-fully-dilated-smut-edinburgh-fringe-comedy-entendre) _2026-08-20 · Tim Jonze · Stage | The Guardian_ Clary’s back with Fully Dilated, a burlesque star called Entendre Entendre is doing lewd singalongs and there’s an A-Z of very dirty words. Our writer investigates Edinburgh’s smut outbreak – and ends up getting his own fantasies turned into erotica On a street in Edinburgh, a woman I’ve only just met is quizzing me on my sexual fantasies. “Do you want softcore or hardcore? What positions do you… ## [100,000 Bonus Points Await You (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/yuY4Lkph8x5u) _2026-08-20 · **Sponsored**_ Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months. ## [WATCH: Get closer to BRB with our online talks](https://www.brb.org.uk/stories/discover-our-exclusive-supporter-talks) _2026-08-19 · Joe Palfrey · Birmingham Royal Ballet_ Discover how Birmingham Royal Ballet's Ballet Everywhere mission is transforming lives through community outreach across the West Midlands. ## [Ryan Felix talks career, promotion to Soloist and Swan Lake on BBC Radio WM](https://www.brb.org.uk/stories/ryan-felix-talks-career-promotion-to-soloist-and-swan-lake-on-bbc-radio-wm) _2026-08-19 · Ariana Allen · Birmingham Royal Ballet_ Ryan Felix talks to BBC Radio WM about his career, promotion to Soloist and performing in Birmingham Royal Ballet’s Swan Lake. ## [Giraffe review – sparkling one-woman show stands out from the crowd](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/19/giraffe-review-sparkling-one-woman-show-stands-out-from-the-crowd) _2026-08-19 · Mark Fisher · Stage | The Guardian_ Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh An unlikely relationship blossoms in Abigail Weinstock’s compelling and touching solo drama It takes a brave writer/performer to make her character a sociopath. How to keep the audience on board with someone who is callous and indifferent? In Abigail Weinstock’s sparkling one-woman show, 30-year-old Eliana has been caught making clandestine recordings in her… ## [Queen Camilla Shares One Fall Style Hero With Princess Kate During a Day at the Races](https://www.marieclaire.com/celebrity/royals/queen-camilla-princess-kate-fall-style-hats/) _2026-08-19 · Kristin Contino · Latest from Marie Claire in Fashion_ Her Majesty went for something blue and one of her favorite brooches at York Racecourse. ## [My Edinburgh fringe odyssey: ‘The nudity is expressive, shocking – sometimes harrowing’](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/19/my-edinburgh-fringe-odyssey-the-nudity-is-expressive-shocking-sometimes-harrowing) _2026-08-19 · Arifa Akbar · Stage | The Guardian_ There are 3,649 shows at the fringe this year, but how many embody its spirit of radical experimentation? I took a journey through foam, lube and gore to find out ... Somewhere in Edinburgh, a man is drinking his own urine . Elsewhere, the story of a religious sect that commands its followers to use “butt plugs” plays out as a musical. In yet another room, a comedian sings the same song over and… ## [‘I’m not Mr Saturday Night’: the highbrow brilliance of Ahir Shah, past winner of comedy’s top prize](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/19/saturday-night-ahir-shah-edinburgh-festival-comedy-award) _2026-08-19 · Brian Logan · Stage | The Guardian_ Three years ago, he won the Edinburgh comedy award with a work in progress. Now he’s back with a show inspired by Gerard Manley Hopkins and Friedrich Nietzsche. Isn’t this all a bit grownup? Among past winners of the Edinburgh comedy award, few seemed less likely when the starter’s pistol fired than Ahir Shah in 2023 . Not because Shah wasn’t a contender: he had been nominated twice before. But… ## [Larry Dean: Hellbent review – SNL UK star’s cheery riffs on romance and royalty](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/19/larry-dean-hellbent-review-snl-uk-standup-pleasance-courtyard-edinburgh) _2026-08-19 · Brian Logan · Stage | The Guardian_ Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh Emotionally open and a little weirder than usual, the Glaswegian comic updates us on his recent marriage When SNL UK hit big earlier this year, it made stars of several comics just starting their careers. That was not the case with Larry Dean , who has been peddling his brand of crowd-pleasing Glasgow comedy for well over a decade. You know what you’re going to get… ## [Ihsane review – Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui leads us from brutal tragedy to euphoric harmony](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/19/ihsane-review-sidi-larbi-cherkaoui-leads-us-from-brutal-tragedy-to-euphoric-harmony) _2026-08-19 · Chris Wiegand · Stage | The Guardian_ Festival theatre, Edinburgh The choreographer combines a homophobic killing from 2012 with a remembrance for his father in an often rapturous show about healing In 2019 at the Edinburgh international festival, the Swiss director Milo Rau staged an intense theatrical investigation, La Reprise: Histoire(s) du Theatre (I) , recreating a homophobic killing in Belgium. The murder of Ihsane Jarfi, seven… ## Dance Track Open Classes | 07 December 2026 (18:30PM) _2026-08-19 · Megan Hayman Tansley · Birmingham Royal Ballet_ no description ## Dance Track Open Classes | 07 December 2026 (17:30PM) _2026-08-19 · Megan Hayman Tansley · Birmingham Royal Ballet_ no description ## [Screen Share With Real Control (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/9UXZLYAnIOJR) _2026-08-19 · **Sponsored**_ Collaborative screen sharing with simultaneous remote control — open source, like Screenhero. ## Dance Track Open Classes | 07 December 2026 (16:30PM) _2026-08-19 · Megan Hayman Tansley · Birmingham Royal Ballet_ no description ## [Shapes and ladders: Edinburgh fringe’s dance shows reach for the sky](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/19/edinburgh-fringe-dance-shows-circus) _2026-08-19 · Lyndsey Winship · Stage | The Guardian_ With brute strength and beauty, party tricks and personal revelations, this year’s dance and circus programme has ambition and a spirit of togetherness If you want to be wowed by technical prowess, I recommend taking a trip to see a couple of New York pole dancers, Donna Carnow and Gina Alm, in their Edinburgh fringe show Dusk/Night/Dawn. The pair are wildly impressive performers with just one… ## [WATCH: Dance of the Cygnets | Full Performance Clip](https://www.brb.org.uk/stories/watch-dance-of-the-cygnets-full-performance-clip-swan-lake) _2026-08-18 · Ariana Allen · Birmingham Royal Ballet_ Watch Birmingham Royal Ballet dancers perform the iconic Dance of the Cygnets from Swan Lake, filmed during the Company’s 2023 production. ## [Exit review – a circus squad who really drive each other up the wall](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/18/exit-review-zoo-southside-edinburgh) _2026-08-18 · Chris Wiegand · Stage | The Guardian_ Zoo Southside, Edinburgh The acrobats in this symphony of ins and outs build and break tension as they clamber over the set together Four performers enter the auditorium and walk among us but they’re sizing up the space not the audience. On stage is a scaffold structure with a cutaway design and a white facade featuring several doors, which soon frame a series of comings and goings. With this much… ## [Phyllida Law obituary](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/18/phyllida-law-obituary) _2026-08-18 · Michael Coveney · Stage | The Guardian_ Actor with a long career in theatre and on television who was known for the subtle quality of her work Although she was perhaps best known as the mother of two outstanding actors, Emma and Sophie Thompson, Phyllida Law, who has died aged 94, was supremely gifted herself – as an actor, costume designer and writer. She was not averse to appearing with either daughter: with Emma in her scabrously… ## [‘Audiences ask to feel my calves!’ The endurance extremists pounding treadmills and pumping pedals at the fringe](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/18/endurance-extremists-edinburgh-fringe) _2026-08-18 · Kate Wyver · Stage | The Guardian_ How do you keep audiences gripped while cycling 27km per show? From the Australian recreating a Tour de France win to a ‘toxically positive’ spin queen, we meet the acts bringing Olympian fitness to Edinburgh Blood and sweat drip to the floor. Tears are on their way. In a small room in Edinburgh, Megan Tomei is cleat-clipped into a stationary bike, yelling above the music as she leads a… ## [By a Thread review – soulful circus with a sprinkle of magic](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/18/by-a-thread-review-one-fell-swoop-edinburgh-assembly-rooms) _2026-08-18 · Lyndsey Winship · Stage | The Guardian_ Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh Emotional group dynamics and individual skills make One Fell Swoop stand out in the crowded circus genre You cannot move at the Edinburgh fringe for circus shows. There are so many people in this city who can climb a rope, hang upside down, swing on a trapeze – so how do you make a show special when plenty of other folks are hawking the same skills? Melbourne company One… ## [Bigfoot Ripped My Dog in Half I Saw It review – Xhloe and Natasha create a monster hit](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/18/bigfoot-ripped-my-dog-in-half-i-saw-it-review-summerhall-edinburgh-xhloe-natasha) _2026-08-18 · Chris Wiegand · Stage | The Guardian_ Summerhall, Edinburgh With physical and vocal agility, the tricksy clown duo trigger an avalanche of misinformation in this feverish treat Here is a show every bit as breathless as its title, stoked by bursts of high-energy 90s chart hits and delivered just as slickly by Xhloe and Natasha . Their physical precision is such that it’s almost as if these camo clowns with their rosy cheeks and… ## [Laughing on the other side: the fringe shows turning painful breakups into comedy](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/18/laughing-on-the-other-side-the-fringe-shows-turning-painful-breakups-into-comedy) _2026-08-18 · Brian Logan · Stage | The Guardian_ Whether Elf Lyons’ high-concept Hollywood throwback, Kate Dehnert’s disorientating rave or Ele McKenzie’s Bob Dylan fantasy, heartbreak fuels fine humour at the festival Breakups. We’ve all been through them. Sometimes they’re mutual, sometimes not. Sometimes agony, sometimes relief. And sometimes, they’re world-shattering bereavements that seem to end, or at least upend, everything. That’s the… ## [Temi Wilkey: Lover Girl review – wildly intimate comedy goes to infinity and beyond](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/18/temi-wilkey-lover-girl-review) _2026-08-18 · Chris Wiegand · Stage | The Guardian_ Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh Both outrageous and tender, this stellar follow-up to Main Character Energy gives new meaning to body language Temi Wilkey serenades us, asks if we fancy her and wonders if the love of her life could be here right now. The G spot? Call it the T spot, says Temi, before popping the question: “Do you want to come inside my Infinity Pussy?” It’s seductive stuff and,… ## [‘We are defying the laws of physics!’ How pole dancing exploded into the Edinburgh fringe](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/18/pole-dancing-strip-clubs-serious-art-edinburgh-fringe) _2026-08-18 · Lyndsey Winship · Stage | The Guardian_ With abs like Olympians and skin like hide, pole dancers are besieging the festival. We meet four high-flying, high-octane acts tackling everything from New York’s underbelly to neurodiversity If you tell someone in Edinburgh you’re going to see a pole dancing show, they might direct you towards the so-called Pubic Triangle, where the city’s strip clubs are. But pole dance is actually a big part… ## [Man Sings the Same Song Over and Over Again for an Hour review – fringe gem leaves you ecstatic](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/17/man-sings-the-same-song-over-and-over-again-for-an-hour-review) _2026-08-17 · Brian Logan · Stage | The Guardian_ Summerhall, Edinburgh Connor Dariol, AKA Australian clown Conk, does exactly what he claims – and with such skill and relentless pep we are helpless to resist When I saw the title to the Australian clown Conk’s show Man Sings the Same Song Over and Over Again for an Hour, I thought I knew what the trick would be. Yes, the terms of the show’s billing would be fulfilled, but (I imagined) by twisting… ## [Lara Ricote: Inkling review – this fizzy standup’s smart new set is her best yet](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/17/lara-ricote-inkling-review) _2026-08-17 · Brian Logan · Stage | The Guardian_ Monkey Barrel Comedy, Edinburgh A show about maturing and learning to listen to life’s signals doesn’t stint on tomfoolery and has some great gags What a rich and enjoyable show this is from Lara Ricote , a leap forwards from her already-excellent first two shows . It finds the Mexican-American comic in as endearing fettle as ever, her urge to communicate bubbling over in a show about divining the… ## [Sam Eley Is Basil Crumbwick review – cantankerous cult hit brings laugh after laugh](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/17/sam-eley-is-basil-crumbwick-review-monkey-barrel-edinburgh-festival) _2026-08-17 · Brian Logan · Stage | The Guardian_ Monkey Barrel, Edinburgh There are shades of Vic and Bob as well as Frank Sidebottom when this embittered git with bloodshot eyes holds court Every room in Edinburgh has its ghosts, and its particular character. This one is all about the late-night cult hits, from Rob Kemp’s Evil Dead-meets-Elvis mashup nine years ago to Joe Kent-Walters’ debut as Frankie Monroe – a character whom this year’s… ## [Tether 인연 review – romantic ceilidh skips from Scotland to South Korea](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/17/tether-review-summerhall-edinburgh-festival) _2026-08-17 · Mark Fisher · Stage | The Guardian_ Summerhall, Edinburgh Love stories ring across the generations in this charming fusion of traditional dance and music from two cultures Connections are found in surprising places. You can get from Scotland to South Korea, for example, via the pentatonic scale. The same five-note structure lies behind Arirang, the ancient Korean folk song, and Celtic airs such as Auld Lang Syne. In an international… ## [Taiwan Season: The Wall review – close encounters in a city that never sleeps](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/17/taiwan-season-the-wall-review-summerhall-edinburgh-festival) _2026-08-17 · Chris Wiegand · Stage | The Guardian_ Summerhall, Edinburgh Seed Dance Company deliver a show that builds in intensity as it riffs on imprisonment and estrangement Taiwan’s Seed Dance Company visited the fringe in 2024 with a rather literal yet haunting show about smartphone addiction, Lost Connection . This similarly coolly executed piece could share the same title as its predecessor but is more enigmatic. It makes use of two… ## [I Made You a Mixtape review – frothy fringe fun as dorm mates party like it’s 1999](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/17/i-made-you-a-mixtape-review-90s-nostalgia-edinburgh-festival) _2026-08-17 · Lyndsey Winship · Stage | The Guardian_ TheSpace Triplex, Edinburgh Nine college students fall out and make up as they dance to punk-pop and alt-rock in this lively show This is such a festival show: uncategorisable, buzzing, slightly chaotic and unlike anything else. As director Christie Lee Manning of Response Theatre Company tells us at the outset, I Made You a Mixtape is not a play, not a musical, not (really) a dance show, even… ## [The Jolly Fisherman review – last orders for an east London boozer in tense tale](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/17/the-jolly-fisherman-review-underbelly-george-square-edinburgh) _2026-08-17 · Mark Fisher · Stage | The Guardian_ Underbelly, George Square, Edinburgh A real-life pub closure inspires a sensitive and subtle drama about friendship and community by John Dinneen Two years ago, it was reported that a pub in Barking called The Jolly Fisherman had found a buyer after five years of dereliction. The prospective owner was a Muslim charity, which planned to turn a former business based on alcohol into a place of… ## [Blackbox review – a legendary escape from slavery is told with magic tricks](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/16/blackbox-review-underbelly-edinburgh) _2026-08-16 · Mark Fisher · Stage | The Guardian_ Underbelly, Edinburgh The story of Henry ‘Box’ Brown, who succeeded in mailing himself out of bondage, is recounted rather than fully dramatised Henry “Box” Brown is wrapped up in chains when he has an idea to claim his freedom. As inspiration hits him, actor Josiah Alpher flexes his muscles and, miraculously, the chains appear to pass through his neck. Magic! It is a neat visual metaphor for a… ## [Four Walls and a Roof review – fascinating tale of Brecht, the red scare and today’s émigrés](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/aug/16/four-walls-and-a-roof-review-studio-theatre-edinburgh-festival) _2026-08-16 · Mark Fisher · Stage | The Guardian_ Studio Theatre, Edinburgh Rabih Mroué and Lina Majdalanie explore the playwright’s life, and their journey from Beirut to Berlin, in an absorbing show at the Edinburgh international festival Bertolt Brecht termed it “cold execution”. He was thinking of the way the US government, in the era of the House Un-American Activities Committee (Huac), could murder its opponents not by directly killing…