Fringe: Huge Davies - Confessions of a Mulatto Love Child

Huge Davies: Sleep Paralysis Princess
Monkey Barrel, Cabaret Voltaire 1 • Fringe 2026 ★★★★

With his grumpy style and hilariously absurd wordplay, Huge Davies takes the stage wearing a chef's hat for reasons than only become vaguely less unclear later. He starts by warning that old people in the audience won't like this show, and should just go to sleep. What follows feels like a fever dream that he makes up as he goes, although it's so well-structured that we know better. And he takes his dryly amusing contempt for his audience to startling new extremes this time.

The central joke here is that he hasn't been able to sleep for 10 years, which is affecting the way he sees everything. As he shares anecdotes from his life, he casually undermines homophobia, racism and xenophobia with close-to-the-bone jokes. Absurd stories from his childhood lead into a Henry VIII-style rhyme about his exes. One of these was a witch who placed a curse on him. And now he has discovered a profane ritual that will lift the curse, but at whose expense?

Huge's rapid-fire delivery keeps us thoroughly entertained, even as he snarls at us. He adds nonsensical twists to everyday situations that force us to look at them through new eyes. And his aggressive attitude is balanced by his snappy wit, which occasionally breaks the facade. Goofier moments include reenacting how he thought he was turning into a fly and listening to the audiobook of The Hobbit instead of sleeping, a gag that echoes and deepens right to the very end. It's unclear if he has a point here, but his caustic charm is thoroughly entertaining.

For more: HUGE DAVIES • 17.Aug.26

Confessions of a Mulatto Love Child
Zoo Southside, Studio • Fringe 2026 ★★★★

Directed by Maggie Soboil, this one-woman show is expertly performed by Bellina Logan, who walks the audience through her complex relationship with her mother. Bellina is such a skilful performer that every character in the story springs vividly to life with amusingly quirky details. Even though it's sharply well-written, the show only offers a glimpse of Bellina herself, leaving us wanting to know more about her too. But her mother Averil emerges as a larger-than-life figure who inspires us to embrace whatever life throws at us, although perhaps a bit less chaotically.

She launches into her quick-paced story describing her mother as a Maggie Smith-style Englishwoman, blonde and blue-eyed in striking contrast to her father, who looked like Shaft. They met in Los Angeles, and Averil hid her pregnancy from her two older daughters, heading to "Paris" then returning with a gorgeous brown baby. Over the years, they moved between London, New York and Los Angeles. There are several long-term friendships, plus an extended family of cats in Manhattan. And while Bellina was clearly raised to be independent and confident, her wedding and even the birth of her child are described in the context of her mother.

Bellina plays everyone using accents and distinct physicality, catching the most offbeat revelations about their personalities. Everyone is thoroughly colourful, especially her drama-queen mother. This is a funny and deeply involving show, peppered with lively breakout moments that add vivid textures of both musical joy and dark tension. In the final act, the show centres around Averil's slowly growing dementia and how Bellina had to "deconstruct the life of a lioness" to care for her. Even here, there's a terrific combination of real-life humour in the chaos of everyday events. Averil certainly had a very big life, and of course so did Bellina. Revealing more of herself here would make this even more powerful.

For more: BELLINA LOGAN • 18.Aug.26

Fringe: Maxx Eddy - Shane Torres

Maxx Eddy: Bi Meets World
Gilded Balloon Patter House, Blether • Fringe 2026 ★★★★

Charming the audience with his nervous energy, Maxx Eddy dives into his set with a flurry of anecdotes, taking on issues of masculinity and bullying from a refreshingly personal point of view, allowing him to make important points without ever feeling over-heavy. He's a terrific storyteller, adept at impersonating the people in his life with amusing detail. And the overarching narrative here feels like a journey of self-discovery, trying to understand important truths about himself and human nature.

As a small kid, Maxx was taught by his father to stand up to bullies. And he has always been especially sensitive to anyone who comes after his masculinity or sexuality. Sometimes this means that he is looking for a fight, for example ordering a piña colada with extra cherries just to get attention. The show is structured around three fights he got himself into, including a ridiculously physical showdown in a karaoke bar. And an extended narrative follows his online romance with a girl in Brazil, followed by a lively trip to meet her there, leading to a flatly ridiculous situation involving a PCP cigarette and a battle with the sea itself on a Rio beach.

Identifying as bisexual, he includes entertaining stories about experiences with boyfriends and girlfriends who have helped him find a sense of self. Insecurities follow him at every step, leading to him challenging anyone who confronts them, because he thinks that's the way a real man reacts. With hilarious asides and a witty perspective on the world around him, Maxx is hugely likeable. And it's impressive that he's able to keep the audience laughing even as he takes on some very serious themes and situations. So it's lovely to see how he brings all of the silliness together into a gentle note about how equating strength with masculinity only leads to isolation. And it's clear that he's still working on this.

For more: MAXX EDDY • 17.Aug.26

Shane Torres: Skinned Knees
Assembly Roxy, Downstairs • Fringe 2026 ★★★★

Using improvisation in a deliberately deadpan style, Shane Torres is a storyteller comic who embraces dark emotions and absurdity, but never gets silly. The humour emerges through what feels like a rather harsh worldview, so the show can often appear bleak, but witty observations make sure that it remains engaging. And the stream-of-consciousness narrative is thoroughly involving.

He opens with a brief confession about dropping Taco Bell into his mother's ashes, raising many questions, most of which will be answered over the next hour. Then Shane launches into his story about growing up in Texas with an Irish mother and a Mexican-American father, which made him fully Catholic. Anecdotes from his childhood have us imagining him as a chubby kid learning Irish dancing from his aunt, while his overworked night-nurse mother struggled to keep the family afloat after his vaguely unemployed father neglected to pay the bills, leaving them homeless. Much later, he recounts a haunting extended story, packed with amusing asides, about moving his father into a homeless shelter.

Because Shane simply chats to the audience, interacting with us, none of this seems scripted. So we genuinely feel his emotions as, for example, he becomes the "man of the house" at age 14. The masculinity theme is ever-present throughout this show, pointedly undermining expectations. And with each grim story point, he reminds us that it gets worse. Indeed, he circles back to comments about how both of his parents ended up as ashes in urns. It's an unusually serious show for a comic, and the way it takes on parenthood and mortality is both wryly offhanded and provocative on a surprisingly deep level.

For more: SHANE TORRES • 17.Aug.26

Fringe: Ele McKenzie - Here Comes Almost - Rory Marshall

Ele McKenzie: Bringing It All Back Home
Pleasance Courtyard, Bunker Two • Fringe 2026 ★★★★

With a style that's almost unnervingly deadpan, Ele McKenzie tells the audience how privileged she feels to be here on this magical evening. And over the next hour, she continues to skilfully subvert social norms using material that catches us off guard with its honesty, revealing things about us even as she pokes fun at herself. It's a confessional show punctuated with her happily absurd observations and dryly hilarious punchlines.

There's a sense of childlike wonder to the way Ele talks, amazed at being here when her life seems so small. She speaks with a mix of annoyance and affection about her critical mother Jane and golden-boy twin brother Will. Her relationship with her father is even more complicated, leading to a lingering worry about housefires and questions about what it would take for them to bond. Each anecdote is peppered with witty references and twists, as little jaw-dropping details are dropped in casually. Both Spam and Bob Dylan make a number of appearances, returning for an extended bit at the end. All of this is seen through the prism of her own obsessive-compulsive personality, a trait she probably shares with her mother.

A wry smile is about as much emotion as she can muster, but Ele's turn of phrase is masterful. Punchlines are thrown away matter-of-factly, which cleverly adds a layer of awkwardness to the audience's laughter. Her big imagination finds emotion in unexpected places, including within some amusingly rude gags. And while the evidence seems to signal that her life has gone off the rails, she's so sanguine about it that we realise that maybe we're taking our own troubles too seriously. "But hey," she reminds us, "it's all good now."

For more: ELE McKENZIE • 16.Aug.26

Here Comes Almost
Zoo Playground, One • Fringe 2026 ★★★

The freeform nuttiness that infuses this show is surprisingly winsome, as clowning performer Noah Seltzer engages closely with the audience to take us on a journey out of loneliness. It's all rather jolly and otherworldly, like a Ted Talk delivered by a child in pyjamas to a lineup of cuddly toys. But the point is important, so even if it feels meandering and repetitive, Noah grounds the show in a consistent barrage of joy and positivity. And by the end we can't wipe the smile from our faces.

Wearing a dragon onesie, Noah high-fives every audience member before introducing himself as sent by the World Health Organisation to find a vaccine for loneliness, which he wants to reduce from a pandemic to an epidemic. Amid rather a lot of running around, goofy wordplay and disarming crowd work, he presents protocols designed to help us feel seen as individuals, as members of a family and as connected to the world at large. He involves each one of us in this process, creating a playful atmosphere that's strongly endearing.

The endlessly smiley Noah performs this with exuberant energy, using his full physicality as he throws himself around the room, striking dramatic poses and doing a brief burst of juggling. He also plays a silly prank on one audience member. Then as we come deeper under his buoyant spell, he gets us to sing and dance along with him, while wildly cheering each achievement. All of this may feel a bit chaotic and also rather simple, but the underlying idea is profound, allowing emotions to sneak in. And the hopeful look in his eyes is hugely engaging.

For more: NOAH SELTZER • 16.Aug.26

Rory Marshall: Thank You for the Opportunity
Pleasance Courtyard, Beside • Fringe 2026 ★★★★★

A gifted character comic, Rory Marshall playfully takes the audience along with him as he dives into a rapid-fire series of scenarios, interlinking them to create his own absurdly ridiculous universe. Accompanying him on this journey is a lot of fun, as each sequence is packed with witty gags, sharp references and knowing observations about human behaviour, including a lacerating pastiche of hyper-masculinity and win-at-all-cost business.

Bounding in, Rory introduces himself as the staff social manager, promising to up the schedule from 10 social outings a year to 10 per week. And he has lots of ideas, but perhaps not quite enough funding. Further sketches feature him trying to sell special promotions, making various attempts to connect, using swagger with the boys and charm with the ladies, although some of his metaphors get away from him. There's a speed dating bit featuring a range of hilarious participants. He also becomes oblivious surfing instructor Ed, a sweary celebrity chef, an invasive server at a posh party and a heckler at his own standup show. 

In character, Rory also has a riotously funny rant about the very real difficulties of performing at the Fringe, and as a climax appears he in his pants as a life drawing model at yet another staff social. Yes, all of these sketches are interconnected and packed with amusing asides, surreal humour and jaggedly outrageous touches that ground the comedy in profound ideas. It's impeccably written, boldly skating close to the edge while remaining thematically resonant, and performed with so much charm and talent that we won't be surprised by anything he gets up to next.

For more: RORY MARSHALL • 16.Aug.26

Fringe: Stamptown - Soft Spot

Stamptown
Assembly George Square Gardens, Palais du Variete
Fringe 2026 ★★★★★

Quite possibly the most exhilarating show on earth, Stamptown is an explosion of unbridled chaos as talented performers unleash their most gleefully hilarious mayhem. It's never the same show twice, so I was happy to revisit it at the Fringe, two and a half years after first catching them in London. Here, Assembly's spiegeltent gives the show an even bigger impact, orchestrated by first-rate clown Zach Zucker as our hyperactive host Jack Tucker. "It's a hurricane up here," he says ruffling his already sweat-dampened hair, "or maybe a himicane!" as tech expert Jonny Woolley's sound and light effects create a frenzy of improvisation.

Over the next 80 minutes, regulars keep popping up, including roller-skating DylanBrand®, who does one of the funniest pratfalls imaginable, entangled in Jack's mic cord. There's also the endearingly woolly Cory Peter Lane as a "creation" called Mungus and Steffen Haanes as sneering vampire The Master. Recurring appearances include crowd favourite clown character Mister Cardboard (Miles Calderon), plus a hilarious turn from Lucas Tamaren of Thumpasaurus as James Bond. Britain's Got Talent winner Viggo Venn is also in the mix, as the performers interact with each other and the audience, keeping everyone on their toes.

Tonight's guest turns include the staggeringly entertaining Siegfried and Joy, who keep us laughing while doing some impressive magic, plus burlesque acrobats who are the best in the business: Rowan Thomas on a Cyr wheel, sword swallower Jacqueline Furey, umbrella foot juggler Tara Boom and the heart-stopping pole aerialist Donna Carter. There are also two drag acts: Séayoncé and her deadpan accompanist Lesley Ann do a high-camp cabaret piece about ghosting, and raucous drag king Boots performs a filthy mime to Don't Stop Me Now. The uncontrolled energy of this show is almost impossible to explain, finely performed with skill and precision, but always on the verge of anarchy. The joy on-stage is electric, and the audience wants more.

NB. A filmed Stamptown performance is coming to Netflix later this month, but will it be possible to capture this singular vibe in a bottle?

For more: STAMPTOWN • 15.Aug.26

Soft Spot
Zoo Southside, Main • Fringe 2026 ★★★★★

This riveting Swedish-Finnish circus act features the supernaturally steady acrobatic skills of Stina Otterström and Arttu Lahtinen as they interact with some 300 wine glasses. Working at an astonishingly controlled pace, these performers place themselves in poses that appear to ignore the laws of physics, and their movements certainly seem to be impossibly unwavering in the way they use balance and weight to dazzling visual effect.

Accompanied by a lovely tonal score, the hugely likeable Stina and Arttu silently take the stage balancing wine glasses on boards with simple elegance. Their sure-handed movements are slow and simple, and also absurdly difficult. Early on, a slight wobble results in a broken glass, which is carefully swept up to protect Stina's bare feet. And she cheekily breaks another one to make a point. Otherwise, their movement is intricate and exact, combining boards and glasses with bendy, gravity-defying handstands and manipulating the glasses with feet and slight-of-hand, sliding them from board to board and stacking them in elegant towers. We feel like we have entered Stina and Arttu's own surreal world.

All of this is achingly cool, performed with a playful, almost cheeky edge that vividly captures their close connection. They must work in perfect sync, supporting and also challenging each other. So when Arttu invites Stina to stand on the glasses, it's breathtaking. Seeing her shift her weight to stand on three glasses, then two, then one, is simply heart-stopping. As are the even more elaborate moves to come, as if this is a particularly perilous tight rope act. We feel we should applaud, but don't want to break the spell. And when they upend a container of broken glasses and use a broom to spread the shards across the floor, the setting becomes even more wondrous. It's a mesmerising show that feels magical as it unfolds with gentle precision. 

For more: OLO COMPANY • 15.Aug.26

Fringe: Sasha Nezbolin - Titclown - Burger and a Pint

Sasha Nezlobin: I’m Fine
Pleasance Dome, 10 • Fringe 2026  ★★★★

Much of comic Sasha Nezlobin's material comes from the fact that he was one of the top standups in Russia, then he made a pointed joke after Putin invaded Ukraine, and he had to flee the country to avoid prison. So much of this is culture-clash humour about relocating to Los Angeles with his wife and then 9-year-old daughter, then trying to relaunch his career. And it's been a struggle, having to perform in his second language and new cultural settings. Of course, this is also ripe material for comedy, and Sasha's delivery is ninja-like, as he secretly laces every sentence with a dryly hilarious punchline. It's so rapid-fire that it can be tricky to keep up with him. But the mix of brainy and silly gags is thoroughly entertaining.

Standing on a simple stage surrounded by cutout backlit flames, the sharpest jokes are grounded in topicality, with raid-fire throwaway references to Putin and the Trumps, ChatGPT and Grok, Russia, America and Britain. His offhanded style continually catches us by surprise, eliciting big laughs as he recounts his story. Much of the material connects to the generation gap between his Russian upbringing and his daughter's transformation into a LA teen who isn't thrilled to be living with an impoverished comedian with a "deportable accent". His account of how they left Russia is packed with riotously observant asides that sneak up on us. And his rendition of Eminem's Lose Yourself is blissfully ridiculous.

"I'm trying to be a good American," Sasha insists, "polite in public and racist at home." A long anecdote about a meeting with Kevin Spacey about possibly making a film together is twisty and surprising, with moments of absurdity and a playfully edgy inversion of homophobia. Parts this routine are improvised, and he also regularly crosses out gags in his notes when they don't work. So there's a real sense that we're watching him relearn a skill that once brought him fame, and might do again.

For more: SASHA NEZLOBIN  • 14.Aug.26

Titclown: Daddy’s Little Girl
Summerhall, Red Lecture Theatre • Fringe 2026 ★★★★

Almost impossible to describe, this unforgettable show is an unusual intersection of drama, clowning, standup and performance art. There are times when it feels like a theatre student's indulgent senior project, as it uses absurdity to explore astonishingly personal themes. But performer Jessica Aszkenasy, aka Titclown, has such a cheeky likeability that it's impossible not to be gripped by her offbeat storytelling. And the show is full of heart-stopping moments that point out some serious failings in society.

As we enter the lecture theatre at Summerhall, which still smells faintly of formaldehyde, there is a stuffed mannequin on a rocking chair with Jessica lying at his feet, both wearing oversized black suits. A voiceover chatters on in an entitled, self-absorbed way, while Jessica worms around on the floor. Then a title notes Chapter 1: Daddy, and she pops up, smirking as she charms the audience and displays a bulge in her trousers. What follows involves a couple of dildos and some nervy audience participation. The voiceover continues to reveal darker thoughts about toxic masculinity, and Jessica transforms into a woman in Chapter 2: Baby, with a burlesque costume change accompanied by words about relationship issues.

Her point is that men always require too much of her, when all she wants is to relax in safety with them. And in Chapter 3: Annihilation there are video clips of Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew, Donald and Ivanka Trump, Russell Brand and Johnny Depp, demonstrating how society is complicit, only questioning horrific behaviour after it's too late. Meanwhile, Jessica mixes up a batch of scrambled eggs and throws them at the screen. She also interacts with the mannequin in a variety of ways, affectionate and angry, plus an extended bit of crowd surfing. And there's a random bit involving the war in Yugoslavia. There's a lot to chew on in here. Ostensibly a show about hating men, she cleverly reveals much deeper, more complex feelings that will haunt us for a very long time.

For more: TITCLOWN • 14.Aug.26

Burger and a Pint: Treats for the Soul
Pleasance Courtyard, Cellar • Fringe 2026  ★★★★★

Relentlessly hilarious, the standup duo James Trickey and Ted Milligan, aka Burger and a Pint, keep the audience laughing steadily through a set that that is largely made up of sharply well-performed sketches that ripple with absurd wit. These range from extended set pieces to blink-and-you-miss-it quick jabs. And the punchlines fly in from all sides.

They introduce themselves by subverting a standard standup set with some heckling, which morphs into a silly gag. Ted notes that he's bisexual, while James is half Asian, so together they make up one whole minority. They quickly slip in and out of their sketches, including a gruff police interrogation interrupted by the birthday party next door, an Indiana Jones style adventure with a nasty twist and bonkers riffs on Deal or No Deal and Mastermind. There's also the contractually required James Bond bit, and its elaborate choreography is so delightfully ridiculous that we never want it to end. 

Their humour often plays with cliches, inverting stereotypes to find new perspectives on familiar scenarios. Through all of this, their characterisations, accents and full-on physicality take us into scenes without the need for props. So even if a couple of sketches are more difficult to sustain (such as an extended Q&A with a dodgy puppeteer), their youthful energy and charm keep us thoroughly engaged. And it's also nice to see that they're not afraid to deliver very close-to-the-edge comedy along the way. This adds some pointed topicality that makes the show engaging on a level beneath the laughter.

For more: BURGER AND A PINT • 15.Aug.26

Fringe: Fempaths - Tom Neenan - Eric Lampaert

Fempaths: Transistor Radio Hour
Underbelly Bristo Square, Dexter • Fringe 2026 ★★★

There's a lot of great material in this quirky, important cabaret show, which mixes audio recordings and live performance in a variety of genres to explore the trans experience. Much of this is created using verbatim scripts, recasting people's words into songs by our host Fempath, aka Mari Moriarty, who sings and plays a keyboard, accompanied by Carolina on cello and Bevan on flute and sax. It's scrappy and tricky to follow, mainly due to the complex sound mix, but it's packed with seriously powerful moments.

Fempath wryly approaches a stage that is littered with camp iconography, including a giant plastic pink triangle pillow, a pair of drama masks and an oversized stuffed boom box (which she calls an old time radio). Her own voice comes through the speakers, narrating her story and describing the costumes and props before she dives into various songs, starting with one from the perspective of a child who says, "I knew I was trans before I ever heard the word gender." These kinds of honest expressions add a lovely sense of urgency amid the broader comical bits.

The uneven collection of songs range from the raucous anthem Throat Goat (props include a banana and a cucumber) to darkly moving pieces that use the words of victims of violence or Mari's grandfather speaking to his wife as she deals with dementia. These sit at odds with the wacky stage aesthetic, which is shiny and plasticky. But the profound moments are so beautiful that they continually take us aback. Yes, these are sharply political observations, rightfully angry that society is making vulnerable people feel like they don't belong. But as a defiant statement against transphobia, the show has real power, reminding us that everyone deserves to be here.

For more: FEMPATH • 13.Aug.26

Tom Neenan: Portrait of a Tom as a Young Neenan
Underbelly George Square, Bluebell • Fringe 2026 ★★★★

With a steady stream of goofy punchlines and clever wordplay, Tom Neenan tells an amusingly spiralling story about a specific period in his life when everything began to feel a bit overwhelming. So there are sharply pointed personal touches laced throughout this otherwise playfully silly show, remaining buoyant even while grappling with big issues like identity, legacy and mortality.

On a stage framed with, well, empty picture frames, Tom recounts being invited to a destination wedding in Seville, which of course brings a whole range of stresses. Meanwhile, he is commissioned to paint the portrait of an older man who wants the image to truly capture him. As he speaks, riffs are triggered on a variety of topics, starting with how monetising a hobby like painting can take the joy from it. He also diverts to discuss the intersection of Gaudi and Goya in Barcelona, an ambitious feature film he made as an overconfident teen, which sweet treats are better than others and his experience with not-so-helpful call to a suicide hotline. 

Cleverly, Tom holds all of this together by using witty callbacks, recurring gags and hilarious impersonations of the people he encounters. He's a vivid storyteller, and everything is, well, framed by his need to get his own portrait taken as a passport photo, so he can travel to this dreaded wedding with its "luxurious linen" theme. His patter is riddled with hilarious asides ("A portrait is just a landscape with someone in the way") and off-handed remarks, delivered in a way that's thoroughly present with the audience. So his awkwardness actually becomes charming. And the serious notes he makes have a surprisingly deep impact.

For more: TOM NEENAN • 14.Aug.26

Eric Lampaert: Zero Minus One
Just the Tonic Caves, The Wee One • Fringe 2026 ★★★★

Appropriately, I'm not quite sure what I witnessed here. Eric Lampaert opened by saying he would not be putting on the play as usual, but instead would sit with the audience and talk us through his harrowing experience of losing all of his memories. He said that the play was created with a deliberate fourth wall, to divide an intimidating audience from the scary things inside him. But he realises that he needs to build bridges instead, and find a better way to tell this story. So was I watching the show itself, a deconstructed reinvention of it or a workshop? Whatever, it was absolutely riveting, hugely involving and often jaw-dropping in its implications.

A gifted physical actor, comic and clown, Eric is an unfiltered performer who darts between personas Robin Williams-style, delivering lacerating jokes and mind-boggling insight. Dressed in an un-hooked straitjacket, he walks the audience through the day he woke up in 2019 with no idea who he was, reverting to a childlike, feral creature. But his constant sideroads offer telling glimpses into the nature of this breakdown, from hypnotherapy sessions to sleep deprivation to rather a lot of weed. At the centre is the salient question of what you are if you lose your memory. And even if everyone and everything you ever knew hasn't vanished, how much does our memory inform our identity? And how much do we impact the places and people around us?

These deeper, darker ideas emerge as he recounts anecdotes that are funny, scary and honest, laced with his relentless search for meaning. Most impressive is how the show encourages us to remain tapped into our inner child. He clearly is! Watching even his most frightening impersonations completely take over his body is remarkable. In Eric's situation, memories began coming back right from the start, but it took a couple of years before he rediscovered himself. He says that there are no words to explain what happened and how he still feels, but the way he connects with us communicates far beyond words.

For more: ERIC LAMPAERT • 14.Aug.26

Critical Week: On the road again

I'm taking a break from the movies over the next few days, and I've travelled up to Edinburgh to watch some shows in the Fringe. Reviews are incoming - watch this space! But before I left London, I caught a few movies. Nimrods is a rambunctious cross-country road movie following three dopey teens for a rendezvous in Los Angeles with Green Day. It's too messy to be a classic, but will definitely find a cult following. And Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor dive fully into the chaos of The End of Oak Street, as their suburb is invaded by voracious dinosaurs. This is a pure guilty pleasure, worth seeing on a big screen laughing and screaming along with the crowd.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Tony • Nimrods
The End of Oak Street
Songs of Forgotten Trees
ALL REVIEWS >

Claire Foy and Andrew Garfield lead a strong British cast in the colourfully quirky fantasy The Magic Faraway Tree, based on the beloved Enid Blyton novel. A blast of sharp wit makes this a lot more fun than expected. Agniezka Holland's Franz is an impressively artful, fascinating but too-fractured biopic about legendary author Franz Kafka.  The queer Australian horror Leviticus has an unusually romantic undercurrent that evokes very deep emotions amid some terrifying grisliness. And Anuparna Roy's award-winning Indian drama Songs of Forgotten Trees is a beautifully observed story of two young women facing challenges in the big city. 

Finally, there were two more films that are premiering at the Edinburgh International Film Festival this week, including Queen at Sea, a powerfully involving British drama featuring devastating performances from Juliette Binoche and Tom Courtenay. And the entertaining documentary The Mad World of Harvey Kurtzman traces the life of the creator of Mad magazine. It's also a remarkable look at the emergence of comic books and mid-20th century pop culture.

Coming up this next week, after I get back to London, I'll be watching Hugh Jackman in The Death of Robin Hood, Andrew Scott in Pressure, the comedy Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass, the Bolivian drama The Condor Daughter and the documentary Super Nature.

Screen: August TV Roundup

There's been a lot to watch this summer, squeezing episodes of TV series in between the movies and stage shows. It's been a nice combination of serious stuff along with less demanding entertainment. I'll start here with new shows, specifically the one that was the most unexpected fun...

Ride or Die
Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer are having so much fun that it's impossible not to enjoy this freewheeling action comedy. As Debbie comes to grips with the fact that her best friend Judith is an assassin, they find themselves on the run across Europe, chased by the Albanian mob and various ruthless killers. Bill Nighy and Ed Skrein have notably strong supporting roles. And while the tone is resolutely jaunty, the show never shies away from the gruesome violence. So the story takes some very, very dark turns along the way, as it delves into Judith's shady past on its way to a showdown with an angry ex-colleague (Sylvia Hoeks). All of this is finely produced, shot in gorgeous locations with impressive action choreography that's genuinely intense. (Prime)

Tip Toe
Alan Cumming and David Morrissey star in this pointed drama from Russell T Davies, which we know from the start is heading to an unspeakable crime. They play long-time neighbours caught in a tense tug-of-war relating to friends and family. The title refers to how queer people must again lie low as society slides into right-wing bigotry. So it's very hotly charged, with riveting conversations and terrifying confrontations. Even if the writing isn't very subtle, the performances are. Cumming and Morrissey find fascinating complexities, as do members of the strong supporting ensemble. Jackson Connor gives a breakout turn as Morrissey's 16-year-old son. The themes are urgently important, but the story's so grim that it's not easy to watch. Or forget. (C4)

Widow’s Bay
This nutty series throws every creepy seafaring tale at a small community living on an island off the coast of New England. Despite growing up here, Mayor Tom (Matthew Rhys) somehow doesn't know any of this folklore and is thoroughly sceptical. Then everything starts happening to him at once. Everything is rather bonkers, with an offbeat pace and a surrounding cast of colourfully amusing characters. There's also a wide range of horrific nastiness on display, including a particularly grim episode set in the early 18th century. And with its haunted town premise, the show sometimes feels like a goofier variation on Stranger Things. So even if the various plot strands seem rather contrived, we wouldn't mind coming back for more. (Apple)

Spider-Noir
While you can choose to watch this in shimmering black and white or saturated colours, the main joy of this Spider-Man variant series is Nicolas Cage's woozy performance as Ben Reilly, a middle-aged private eye in a cartoonish 1930s New York. He's also secretly the Spider. He's such a broken mess that it's impossible to take our eyes off him, especially with Ben's earthy emotional chaos and a relentless charisma honed from watching vintage James Cagney movies. The back-story, revealed in extensive flashbacks, is far more engaging than the plot of this series. Likeable side roles include Lamorne Morris' snappy journalist, Karen Rodriguez as Ben's sassy secretary, Li Jun Li as the femme fatale and Brendan Gleeson's ruthless mobster. (Prime)

Not Suitable for Work
Created by Mindy Kaling, this New York comedy features two 20-something women living across the hall from three 20-something men, Friends-style, as they kickstart their careers. It may not feel terribly realistic, with money issues treated as a bit of a joke and career opportunities coming along right on cue, but the actors are terrific as they spiral around each other and pursue work in banking, journalism, acting and styling. Ella Hunt, Avantika, Will Angus, Jack Martin and Nicholas Duvernay have so much charisma and chemistry that we happily become involved in their amusing personal dramas. And the cast includes the terrific Jay Ellis, Constance Wu, Greg Germann and a hugely enjoyable Victor Garber, plus lots of starry cameos. (Hulu) 

Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed
A comical sensibility sits at odds with this violent thriller about a single mum entangled with a trail of dead bodies. The title is a tease because the first victim is a camboy, and while there are intriguing ideas in here about the messiness of divorcing couples and lingering desire, none of that is dealt with meaningfully. Still, it's played to the hilt, so Tatiana Maslany's central character Paula is such an idiot she's impossible to like, impulsively making everything worse with each decision and reaction. But then, if anyone in this show behaved like a real person, the murderous monster (a terrifyingly chilly Murray Bartlett) would be caught in episode 2. It's almost worth watching just for him, and the fabulous Dolly De Leon as a no-nonsense detective. (Apple) 

T H E   S A G A   C O N T I N U E S

Sugar: series 2
After pulling the rug out with a that season-finale twist, this noir mystery could only deepen. And these episodes are even more assured and focussed, produced with a cinematic liquidity that's pure heaven on-screen. Driving the coolest car on television, Colin Farrell gives a staggeringly smart, understated turn as the otherworldly John Sugar, a philanthropic private eye whose current case involves a boxer (Jin Ha), his wayward brother (Raymond Lee) and a deeply corrupt cop (Tony Dalton). But John's playing a longer game, working with old pal Tom (Shea Whigham), flirting with Charlotte (Laura Donnelly) and hiring an assistant (Sasha Calle). The stories unfold with a gorgeous attention to detail, constantly surprising us with lovely emotional resonance. (Apple) 

The Vampire Lestat: series 3
Previously titled Interview With the Vampire, this season finds a new musical vibe as it follows swaggering rock-god Lestat (Sam Reid) and his band on tour, dredging up stories from his past as he's interviewed for a backstage doc by journalist Dan (Eric Bogosian). Meanwhile, Louis (Jacob Anderson) is taunting Lestat, whose mother (Jennifer Ehle) arrives to spice things up. There's also a waitress who looks eerily like the late Claudia (Delainey Hayles). More outrageously over the top than before, and featuring several terrific original songs, this year's storyline is packed with enormous twists and astonishingly grisly violence, although the rowdy sexuality feels more strait-laced, so to speak. Still, the writing digs deeply into the characters, and the cast is well up for the challenge. (BBC)

Fake Profile
[Perfil Falso]:
series 3
Subtitled Killer Honeymoon, this Colombian potboiler kicks off its third season with the usual mix of sexy encounters, mysterious new characters and of course murder. The writing is even more absurd than before, largely because of the convolutions needed to keep things going. And the show's eye leans further into leery misogyny, featuring glistening tough guys and girl-on-girl action. It's also a guilty-pleasure, combining uber-sleek visuals with the trashiest plotting imaginable. Poor Camila (Carolina Miranda) is still at the centre, with her dubious boyfriend Miguel (Rodolfo Salas) and evil nemesis Angela (Manuela Gonzalez), somehow in the thick of the action even though police know that she's the mastermind behind all of this chaos. (Netflix) 

H A I L   A N D   F A R E W E L L

The Bear: series 5
The first nine episodes of this season are set over a single night, returning this series to its earlier style of storytelling, piling a range of outrageous situations onto a group of already frazzled characters, then watching them rise to the challenges. It's breathtaking to watch, because it's so superbly written and directed, and performed to perfection by this deservedly award-hoovering ensemble cast. The ninth episode is one of the very best in this show's extraordinary run, which is saying something, as everything comes to a head. Oddly, this leaves the final episode feeling a little disappointing, as it works overtime to wrap up each dangling plot thread in a way that isn't strictly necessary. And the final scenes are focussed on the wrong characters. (Hulu) 

Heartstopper Forever
Essentially a condensed version of the show's fourth season, there's a nicely cinematic quality to this film, which wraps up the series about teens grappling with issues around sexuality and identity. They're young adults now (led by the terrific Kit Connor and Joe Locke), so the film must strike a balance between childhood and more grown-up thoughts and feelings. And while the script tends to steer things in rather cute directions, there are darker and, yes, sexier things going on that make the story resonate strongly
(Netflix) ... FULL REVIEW >

Good Omens 3
Michael Sheen and David Tennant are back as an angel and demon who rather like each other, with the third season playing out in the form of an overstuffed 90-minute movie. The wacky antics continue, with the theft of the Book of Life throwing heaven, hell and earth into chaos. And then Jesus (Bilal Hasna) goes missing just before the second coming. As before, the goofiness contains rather a lot of existential intrigue, questioning the nature of good and evil, as well as humanity's need for supernatural explanations of earthly realities. There's a lot going on, not all threads are tightly tied, and quite a few details needed to be more fleshed out, as it were. But it's always great to see Sheen and Tennant having fun, and Derek Jacobi and Toby Jones too. (Prime)

I N   P R O G R E S S

I'm halfway through the 4th season of Ted Lasso (Apple) and Ryan Murphy and Bret Easton Ellis' The Shards (Hulu). Obviously these are very different shows, but Ted Lasso's smart brand of comedy continues to be utterly winning as he returns to England to coach Richmond's rising-star women's team. The ensemble cast is on peak form. And Murphy's uber-lurid approach feels a bit timid here, even as The Shards remains an entertaining slasher horror romp through an early 1980s drugs-and-sex-filled high school. I'm patiently awaiting for the press to be given the remaining episodes; full comments will be in the next roundup.

ALSO WATCHING: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds 4, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Sterling Point

GUILTY PLEASURES: The Traitors Canada, Race Across the World, Pop Culture Jeopardy, Funny AF

COMING SOON: Lanterns, Brothers, The Celebrity Traitors 2, Mobland 2, Chad Powers 2, The Gentlemen 2, Leanne 2, Adults 2

Previous roundup: JUNE 2026 > 

Critical Week: What's cooking

It's been another busy week at the movies, even as the cinemas take another breath between blockbusters. There's still plenty to see. I thoroughly enjoyed Tony, which stars the excellent Dominic Sessa as a young Anthony Bourdain, and features strong roles for Antonio Banderas, Emilia Jones and Leo Woodall. By contrast, Broken Lizard's Super Troopers 3 carries on the random silliness as a knucklehead group of Vermont cops play pranks on each other in the run-up to a Bollywood style wedding. A perfect distraction from real life.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Tony • Late Fame
Teenage Sex & Death at Camp Miasma
ALL REVIEWS >

There were also a few star-driven movies. Glenn Close is radiant as a Finnish grandma in The Summer Book, an enjoyable but rather glowy memoir-style drama. Vicky Krieps is terrific in the French drama Love Me Tender, a far too long but powerfully involving story that centres around queerness and child custody. And the superb George MacKay gives an astonishingly full-bodied turn in the collage-style Scottish drama Mission (premieres next weekend at Edinburgh International Film Festival).

There was also the low-budget indie romcom Do Us Part, featuring a messy love triangle that emerges amusingly at a wedding. And from India, Our Share of Sand is a gorgeously observed drama about a young girl discovering truths about her family and culture (premieres at Venice Film Festival next month). I also attended a live performance of Matthew Bourne's thrillingly sexy The Car Man, a dance loosely based on Bizet's Carmen.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor in The End of Oak Street, Juliette Binoche in Queen at Sea, Claire Foy in The Magic Faraway Tree, the horror romance Leviticus and the award-winning Indian drama Songs of Forgotten Trees. I'll also be heading up to the Edinburgh Fringe for a few days.

Dance: Feel the heat

New Adventures
The Car Man
director-choreographer Matthew Bourne
with Will Bozier, Ashley Shaw, Harry Ondrak-Wright, Anna-Maria De Freitas, Danny Reubens, Eleanor McGrath, Harrison Dowzell, Karishma Young, Jarrod McWilliams, Tanisha Addicott, Cameron Flynn, Rae Miller, Xavier Andriambolanoro-Sotiya, Serena McCall, Nicholas Shikkis, Jamie Duncan-Campbell, Tim Hodges
music Terry Davies featuring Rodion Shchedrin’s Carmen Suite (after Georges Bizet’s Carmen)
conductor Benjamin Pope • sets/costumes Lez Brotherston
lighting Chris Davey • sound Paul Groothuis
Sadler's Wells, London • 28.Jul-29.Aug.26 ★★★★★

This show premiered in 2000 and has been revived several times since, but this is the first time I've seen Matthew Bourne's notoriously sexy spin on Bizet's Carmen. Intriguingly, he largely only adapts the opera's tone, and the intensity of its plot, while spinning a new story that has its roots in American noir cinema. It also, of course, has the intriguing whiff of a queer twist in the tale. The result is thrilling theatre, a dazzling dance that needs no dialog or subtitles to keep us gripped to the feverish story.

It's set in the 1960s in a small Midwestern town called Harmony, as the hunky drifter Luca (Will Bozier) catches everyone's attention on arrival. He takes a job in a mechanic shop owned by Dino (Danny Reubens), whose feisty wife Lana (Ashley Shaw) immediately starts flirting with him. But Luca also has an eye on young Angelo (Henry Ondrak-Wright), who is bullied by the other guys. And Lana's sister Rita (Anna-Maria De Freitas) is also drawn to Angelo.

The soapy plot swirls around how Lana and Angelo are both smitten by Luca, leading to explosions of violence and a miscarriage of justice over the course of nine months. This is revealed through Bourne's expressive choreography, which plays cleverly on emotions that can't be contained. So the movement is exhilarating and sometimes menacing, a pungent tangle of passion, jealousy, innocence, yearning and revenge. 

Members of the large ensemble throw their bodies into the fray, with fully extended movement that often takes the breath away, creating a range of relationships around the edges while the five central figures jostle around each other. So the atmosphere is properly steamy, from the opening after-work shower sequence to a languishing summer evening during which these hot, young people can't be bothered to control their desires. This rowdy camaraderie is thoroughly entertaining, with sparky banter expressed through physicality rather than words.

The complex set helps to create an entire world, from the garage to a diner, nightclub and prison block. Solos and duets are simply gorgeous, evoking layered emotions with achingly cool visual flourishes. Among the show-stopping set pieces, there's a witty, telling pantomime and a very messy drag race. The tone veers expertly from lusty to playful to darkly grisly. And the darker second half charges headlong into a conclusion that's as grim as we expect it to be, creating a cautionary tale about not letting the libido completely control our lives. As if.

For information, SADLER'S WELLS > 

photos by Johan Persson • 31.Jul.26

Critical Week: When a plan comes together

It's another big blockbuster weekend at the movies, so I had to look around for other movies coming out this week that I could review. One of these was the rather lightweight heist thriller The Gentleman Thief, starring John Travolta and Rebecca De Mornay. It's an easy watch, twisty and not terribly tricky. But the big movie this week features three stars of current box-office champ The Odyssey: yes, Tom Holland, Zendaya and Jon Bernthal lead the charge in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which might be the best Marvel movie yet. It's a thoroughly engaging mix of humour, thrills and resonant emotion.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Ish • Mustache
Spider-Man: Brand New Day
Wham! 10 Days in China
ALL REVIEWS >

I also caught up with the animated adventure Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie, which is aimed at very young children but keeps a smile on grown-up faces too. The megahit French comedy Just an Illusion, is a very lively coming-of-age story starring Louis Garrel and Camille Cottin as bickering, messy parents. Mustache is a superbly written and directed coming-of-age story set in Northern California, with an excellent cast. The Canadian romantic comedy Middle Life is charming and a bit awkward. The dazzlingly original animated memoir Bouchra is a true original, with a lot to say about culture and identity. And I also managed to catch up with the latest big-screen version of Masters of the Universe, which is far more fun than it should be.

Coming up this next week, I'll be watching Dominic Sessa in Tony, Glenn Close in The Summer Book, Vicky Krieps in Love Me Tender, George MacKay in Mission, the comedy Super Troopers 3 and the romcom Do Us Part. I also have a live performance of Matthew Bourne's The Car Man.

Critical Week: This little piggy

It's been a very busy week for me movie-wise, watching 12 films. But then, this is one of those weeks when distributors dump lots of surprise releases in between blockbusters (namely The Odyssey and Spider-Man). There are also two animated movies, due to the start of UK school holidays. Director Andy Serkis and writer Nicholas Stoller adapt George Orwell's classic allegory Animal Farm into a wacky barnyard adventure, but they also maintain the novel's deeper themes. And from Belgium, the animated romp Chickenhare and the Secret of the Groundhog is as nutty as the title suggests (it's actual Chickenhare's second movie, but sadly I never saw him face the Hamster of Darkness). 

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Hadestown: The Musical
On the Sea • Ask E Jean
Tomorrow's Too Late
PERHAPS AVOID:
Sour Party
Brunello: The Gracious Visionary
ALL REVIEWS >

Fresh from Cannes, Gillian Anderson and Hannah Einbinder deliver fabulous performances in Jane Schoenbrun's astonishing Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, a yearning Lynchian drama with meta layers of horror movie lore. I caught an early screening of the sequel Fall 2, starring the up-for-it Harriet Slater and Arsema Thomas. Can't say any more about that at the moment. From Korea, Colony is the latest re-invention of the zombie genre by Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan), and fans will love the expertly orchestrated nonstop action suspense. Corey Feldman makes a cameo in the uneven comedy Sour Party, which has a goofy charm but never comes into focus. I caught up with two superb films that premiered at SXSW London: Test is a riveting drama about a bodybuilder (played by writer Brock Yurich) who can't face who he is, while Alex Kahuam's inventive The Remedy is a surprisingly involving and very grisly dramatic horror film.

And there were four documentaries that are well worth seeing: Ask E Jean is a lively, engaging look at the woman who beat Trump in court twice. Alex Gibney's expertly assembled Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie is disturbing and also very deeply personal. Likeable pop star Dylan Holloway chronicles his transition in the honest, important Tomorrow's Too Late. And the hugely entertaining Wham! 10 Days in China unearths superb never-seen footage to follow the band on a groundbreaking tour in 1985. 

At the moment, this next week looks a bit less intense. I'll be watching Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Canadian comedy Middle Life, French comedy Just an Illusion. animated adventure Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie and the autobiographical doc Bouchra.

Stage: We are world beating

Ali in Wonder(Eng)land
direction & dramaturgy Lara Parmiani
with Abdollah Aljohi, Adela Belekova, Arlind Daullja, Raquel Diaz, Malgorzata Fronc, Jean-Marie Kalambak, Maria Carmen, Jesus Leon, Wen Yueh Lu, Anna Marsden, Cristina Martinez, Julius Morie, Wilson Ringda, Hamed Vojoudzadeh
musicians Selim Guzel
set & costumes Isabella Van Braeckel  • lighting Chris McDonnell
Jacksons Lane, Highgate • 14-15.Jul.26 ★★★★

An ensemble of 16 migrants created this show with director Lara Parmiani, playfully infusing the Alice in Wonderland narrative with their own life experiences. The idea is simple: navigating Britain's immigration system feels like entering an absurd parallel universe where rules of logic don't apply. Loose and scrappy, this is a hugely imaginative show, played with boundless energy and a real depth of feeling. And because the performers are so honest about their stories and feelings, the show is both engaging and important.

Almost all of them take a turn as the title character Ali, who falls into a rabbit hole of confusion as they try to find a safe home in the UK. Some are refugees, others arrive from European countries for work, but all of them face an arrogant, nonsensical system that continually contradicts itself and shifts dramatically with each change in government. Sometimes they feel tiny, cruelly taunted by both officials and the public. At other times, they make helpful friends and find inner power in their presence.

All of this is played for laughs, but of course repercussions are serious, and emotions are darkly resonant. Alongside Selim Guzel's live on-stage music, this diverse bunch of actors is dressed in dungarees with white, red or blue T-shirts, interacting with a lively sense of humour. They often speak directly to the audience or don Ali's hoodie to take that role as the story moves through various recognisable chapters, including a mad tea party, a friendly caterpillar and a kangaroo court. The Home Office interview plays like a deranged, unwinnable episode of Who Wants to Be an Englishperson. As one person observes, this blindingly messy system is exactly how the officials want it to be.

This is a bracing piece of physical theatre that is made riveting by broad-but-grounded performers who have lived these experiences. It continually reflects situations any immigrant can identify with, from language barriers to learning British social cues ("Do I smile too much?") to facing a wide range of subtle, and not-so-subtle, bigotry. They're accused of stealing both jobs and benefits, as if it were possible to do both at the same time. And the most salient point is that multi-culturalism has defined the richness of British culture for centuries. So while we are smiling at the optimistic attitudes and warm camaraderie, the show's jabs are hitting their target with razor-sharp accuracy.

For information, LEGALALIENS THEATRE > 

photos courtesy LegalAliens • 15.Jul.26