So, I am well and truly beyond the little people stage, with two fully formed teenagers in my house and one leaving home in under a month (Gulp!) ! That means we’re very much up for exploring all that is on offer for older children/teens – much of the circus, magic, dance, music works for all ages and we’re keen to add some theatre into the mix too if anyone has some recommendations or a show you’re bringing up works for a teenage audience ?

See below for our top six shows for this age group, but like I say, its new territory, so always keen to hear ideas…

YUCK Circus: Naughties – We are HUGE fans of YUCK circus over here and are VERY excited to see their new show. Even more so as it features one of the greatest musical decades ever !! (in my very humble opinion that is !)…Fringe-favourites YUCK Circus are back with a totally bitchin’ brand-new show! Backstreet Boys, Britney, and BIG throwback energy. A decade not to be forgotten – with Furbies, flip phones and evERythinG TyPeD LiKe ThIs. Mix that with high-flying acrobatics, comedy and absolute bangers, iconic! Age 16 +

Fungasm: Save or Smash – I’m not sure I can even describe this show which we have come to love after seeing them at Kelburn Garden Party Festival over the years – it’s fun on a different level, chaotically ridiculous and very easy to get hooked. What’s your name, and what’s your game? Go to pieces over this crackpot quiz placing porcelain under the hammer! Decide the fate of a delicate pottery item: the crown jewel of your crockery set or total obliteration. Taskmaster meets Shooting Stars meets Antiques Roadshow. Contestants could be walking home with a snazzy teapot, commemorative plate or delicate figurine – but only one lucky soul is destined for the Bonanza Digital Experience. Expect absurd challenges, questionable judgement, and dramatic decisions from you, the audience. Participation optional. Age 12+

Suitcase Show and The Bookbinder – Again, keen readers of this blog will know we LOVE Trick of the Light Theatre and we will gobble up anything they bring to the festival, this year we get two beloved shows ! We’ve loved them all, their storytelling is compelling, the sets so unique and intricate and their imaginations ever expansive…I’ve just heard it will be the 500th performance of The Bookbinder here in Edinburgh this year – please don’t miss it..

Suitcase Show –A traveller arrives at a border with a stack of battered cases. From within them, whole worlds will emerge… Trick of the Light presents an eclectic box set of short stories. Dark, spiky and comic, it shifts from shadow play to storytelling, dancing disembodied hands to narratives crackling from a 1970s stereo suitcase. Age 12+

The Bookbinder –They say you can get lost in a good book. But it’s worse to get lost in a bad one… An old man sits down to read the tale of an erstwhile bookbinding apprentice. As he speaks the story spills from the pages and into the bindery. Marking its 500th performance, The Bookbinder returns to Assembly, weaving shadowplay, paper-art, puppetry and music into a captivating dark fairytale. Age 8+

FUCCBOIS: LIVE IN CONCERT – This looks interesting and potentially a lot of fun, I like the House of Oz programming, so am hoping this is a winner ! FUCCBOIS: LIVE IN CONCERT is a massive comedy-boyband-extravaganza: an irreverent satire of toxic dating culture and, most importantly, the music is banging Age 14+

I Made You A Mixtape -Maybe it’s because we loved All Fired up: An 80s mixtape last year so much, but this show sounds super fun and could be one of those unexpectedly joyous fun filled shows that leave you wanting more… Welcome to the party you always wished you were invited to. Step into the heart of a 90s college dorm hang, complete with live musicians and the greatest hits of the decade. Nine girls arrive for one last night together before their lives change forever. With each track played, we get a new glimpse into their world; through impromptu music videos, deep female friendships, and unfiltered emotion by the bucketload. This isn’t your typical dance show – it changes every night, with the girls’ fates being revealed to them, and you, in real time. Age 14+

The Tom Brace Magic Hour – Another favourite here; we love Tom Brace and his combination of tricks and charm is yet to be beaten ! Bringing another new show to the festival this year, we’re looking forward to being bamboozled once again ! Live from Edinburgh. It’s The Tom Brace Magic Hour. Prepare to have your minds read, your jaws dropped and potentially your hearts broken (wink) by ‘one of the most original, brilliant and wonderfully funny magicians I’ve ever seen’ (Nick Mohammed, Ted Lasso). Back for his 10th year, Tom Brace is bringing his biggest show yet.  Age 12+

We also have firm favourites returning from last year that we’d love to give a special shout out to :

• Murder, She Didn’t Write – Age 12 +
• By A Thread – Age 8+
• Police Cops In Space – Age 12+
• David O’Doherty: At This Stage – Age 14+