One Week Left….2024

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And just like that we are suddenly facing the last full week of the festival….wowsers, that’s come round quick, and several shows have sadly already finished their runs.

There is still plenty of time to get out and about and have lots of fun though. The pleasance kidzone is still up and running and a good place to spend some time with the kids, doing arts and crafts and perhaps squeezing in a show. The book festival has opened and has lots of family friendly activities and events too.

Some of our top show recommendations that are still on for another week are :

Cartoooon !! – This Japanese comedy duo hit the nail on the head when it comes to the perfect combination between hilarious clowning, and circus entertainment. Their unicycling acrobatic skills were like nothing we have seen before.

Ten Thousand Hours – Absolutely mesmerising acrobatics. The eight performers are highly skilled and will keep anyone of any age completely engaged. Jaw dropping stuff.

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Tom Brace: The Ride 4D – Take a trip to Tomland and be amazed by the rides, tricks and 4d features !!

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Children Are Stinky – A wacky and playful cocktail of jokes, hi-jinx, physical comedy and impressive acrobatics ! Loved the 90s soundtrack too ! Entertains wee ones and grown ups alike.

For older children :

Suitcase Show (12+) – Wowsers. I loved, loved, loved this show. Such clever use of light, shadows, sound and suitcases. An evocative, eerie tale that is pure escapism from everything else…brilliant storytelling.

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Murder, She Didn’t write (14+) – Hilarious improvised whodunnit, where you get to play detective and point your finger of suspicion. Different every night with hilarious consequences…we loved it!

Second week highlights 2024

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Goodness, time is really running away with us this fringe ! Schools are back, which means its getting trickier to catch all the shows we’d like to, and a handful of productions are finishing this weekend…

Our older mini-reviewer has returned from a residential away, so has been out and about seeing a few shows and lapping up the festival vibes and our wider team have been busy too ! We’ve been updating all of our reviews here.

You can also see what we’re getting up to more regularly, by following our instagram page here.

Some top picks from the past few days have been :

Cartoooon !! – This Japanese comedy duo hit the nail on the head when it comes to the perfect combination between hilarious clowning, and circus entertainment. Their unicycling acrobatic skills were like nothing we have seen before.

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Circus – the Show – This is a high energy, bellyful of circus entertainment complete with clown, juggler, acrobat and magician. The ringmaster holds everything together with skilful banter and the help of his astounding moustache!

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Children are Stinky – A wacky and playful cocktail of jokes, hi-jinx, physical comedy and impressive acrobatics ! Loved the 90s soundtrack too ! Entertains wee ones and grown ups alike.

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For older children –

Six Chick Flicks (14+) – Alternatively, succinctly titled: ‘a Legally Blonde Pretty Woman Dirty Danced on the Beaches while writing a Notebook on the Titanic’…this is a fast paced, hilarious, quick witted and feminist show..

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Yuck Circus (14+) – Yuck Yeah !!! These strong, skilled, funny and fearsome women were AWESOME ! Such a refreshing hour of circus, that doesn’t take itself too seriously, whilst managing to offer social commentary on toxic masculinity and negative traits we could all do without in society just now…

Suitcase Show (12+) – Wowsers. I loved, loved, loved this show. Such clever use of light, shadows, sound and suitcases. An evocative, eerie tale that is pure escapism from everything else…brilliant storytelling.

Edinburgh Book Festival 2024 – 10th – 25th August

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The Book festival is opening this weekend and it’s in a brand new venue – the Edinburgh Futures Institute, which is fantastic, as its close to the other main festival venues so it is easy to include a visit of you’re out and about.

You can look at the list of all the children’s events here– . There’s also a whole section of the website dedicated to getting creative, with information on all the different interactive and arty events they are hosting – here. And, if that wasn’t already enough – this year, they are giving you the opportunity to come and meet some of your favourite characters, including the Gruffalo and Pikachu – more about that here.

There’s lots of information about visiting the Book Festival on the website itself, and if you’ve missed out on tickets, don’t worry it’s still worth visiting; there’s free events every day, areas for kids to play, guest appearances from costume characters and a fantastic bookshop to browse for the wee ones….a link to all the free events for children is here, there’s story time, hip hop, gruffalo trails, zine making, yoga and much much more…

Enjoy !!!

First Week Highlights….2024

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Wow ..it’s been a busy week, and actually feels like so much longer than a week of the festival already ! That’s good though as it means there’s still loads of time to get out there and catch some shows. We have also been enjoying sampling some of the food delights, the dumplings stall is back, this time with yummy popcorn chicken !

We’ve been super busy as usual getting out and about and enjoying a huge variety of shows and loving all the festival vibes! Check out our first reviews here.

We have seen some incredible acrobatics, amazing magic, fantastic puppetry, silly comedy, bubbly bubbles and much more. Some of our top picks from the past few days are :

The Listies ROFL – This time its bedtime with the Listies – expect the usual silliness and mayhem as Rich attempts to get Matt into bed – Matt has a whole list of things to do before sleeping though !

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Breathe – Beautiful puppetry, music , set design and poetry. We learnt all about how a woodland changes through the season. Highly recommended for younger children.

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Tom Brace : The Ride 4D – Take a trip to Tomland and be amazed by the rides, tricks and 4d features !!

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Ten Thousand Hours – Absolutely mesmerising acrobatics. The eight performers are highly skilled and will keep anyone of any age completely engaged. Jaw dropping stuff.

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As always, I’m keen to hear of any other great shows or things we should try and check out. If any adults reading this are lucky enough to get a night out, I’ve enjoyed David O’ Doherty, Shane Daniel Byrne, Josh Glanc, Laser Kiwi and Sophie’s Surprise 29th !

Fringe By The Sea 2024 – 2nd -11th August 2024

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Fringe by the Sea is returning to it’s beautiful seaside location in North Berwick very soon and has a brilliantly jam packed programme this year – loads of great events for families and children – check it out here .

There’s a fantastic mix of shows, interactive art/craft activities like slime making and seaside/nature activities too like rockpool rambles and seaside science, so something for everyone…

Some of our top picks are :

Trash Test Dummies Circus – Friday 2nd August 2024 12.30pm – 1.30pm The Trash Test Dummies are as full of laughs as their bins are full of surprises. This family adventure takes the humble household wheelie bin to new heights. With side-splitting slapstick comedy, daring acrobatics and dexterous juggling these Dummies are off on an imaginative adventure that is anything but garbage. With ballet and balloons thrown in for good measure, this fast-paced hour delivers a dump truck full of hilarity!

Tinderbox Orchestra – Saturday 3rd August 2024 2.20pm-3.20pm – Bringing together rappers and singers with soaring strings, heavy brass, woodwind and thundering bass and drums, Tinderbox Orchestra combines original music and movement to transform preconceptions of what an orchestra can be. With a set packed with original music, movement and unexpected collaborations.

Marcel Lucont: Les Enfants Terribles – A Gameshow For Awful Children – Saturday 3rd August 1pm-2pm – We LOVED this show at the fringe last year – read our review here. The UK’s favourite Frenchman channels his acerbic humour and quickfire wit into a family gameshow, pitting children against adults and each other to try and find the most awful child.

Surfskate Sessions – Sunday 4th August 2024 & Wednesday 7th AugustSkate Park, North Berwick 10am, 11am, 12.15pm – Book directly at http://www.surfskateacademy.com Build your surf and skate skills! North Berwick Community Skatepark Project and Surfskate Academy are staging special training sessions as part of FBTS – an ideal way to get to grips with the biomechanics of the sports. Suitable for absolute beginners or for those aiming to hone their skills. Surfskate included. Ages 7+.

The Musical Mill – Matilda – Monday 5th August 2024 4pm – 5.15pm -Rebellion is nigh in Matilda JR, a gleefully witty ode to the anarchy of childhood and the power of imagination! This story of a girl who dreams of a better life and the children she inspires will have audiences rooting for the “revolting children” who are out to teach the grown-ups a lesson. Packed with high-energy dance numbers and catchy songs, Matilda JR. is a joyous girl power romp. Children and adults alike will be thrilled and delighted by the story of the special little girl with an extraordinary imagination.