First week highlights….2022

Wowee, it is sooooooooooooooooooo good to be back seeing live theatre and performances, what a TOTAL treat. We have been immensely lucky this week and have seen some fantastic shows (check out our reviews so far here), indulged in some delicious food and the sun has even been shining in Edinburgh during the festival so far…..the weather also seems delighted the festival is all back again!!!

The only slight disappointment is the hot donut stall – not sure what’s happened there, but they just aren’t what they used to be – so we’ve moved on to pastures new with ‘panquake’ for all your waffle and crepe desires and the dumplings stall which remains a firm family favourite !!

We have seen some spectacular circus, some seriously impressive dance, astounding magic, some spellbinding storytelling, magical puppet shows and very silly comedy…here are our top picks so far :

The Listies: Hamlet – Prince of Skidmark – Absolutely hilarious, if you only go and see one children’s show – this has to be it !!! An hour is too short !

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A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings – Intricate and very creative set and with just enough of a dark edge to keep us totally engrossed, its highly recommended you take a seat and get settled in to this  intimate hour of captivating storytelling.

Tom Brace : Embrace the Impossible !– Full of properly astounding magic, a sprinkling of time travel and some game show madness with ‘who wants to be a millionaire’ – its a fantastic show and I would highly recommend

Manual Cinema presents: Leonardo! A Wonderful show about a terrible monster – Wowsers !! What a total treat of a show…jam packed full of creativity and talent, be it paper cut outs, furry puppets, illustrations or an endearingly quirky live soundtrack and songs.

Circus Abyssinia: Tulu – This is energetic, passionate and you’ll be totally awestruck by all the performers, expect contortionism, acrobatics, aerial, rollerskating and an incredible finale involving a giant swing !!

For the littler little ones, our mini reviewers have loved:

A Ladder To The Stars– So much care has been taken throughout this performance to really tune into a child’s mind – what they find funny and what fuels their imagination to keep them invested in the story.

The Smeds and The Smoos – Tall Stories once again delight us with their adaptation of a beloved Julia Donaldson book. Including catchy songs, gorgeous puppetry and audience interaction…not to be missed.

For the whole family, we’ve loved these two high octane shows – both have been breath-taking:

Muse – Flip Fabrique once again astound us with their fantastic acrobatics and with beautiful intimate moments and silly snippets inbetween – try and sit near the front if you can !!

Beats on Pointe – This show is filled with energy, passion and some seriously fantastic dance skills, not to mention the infectious soundtrack,,,you’ll enjoy it as much as the performers obviously love dancing !

Assembly Locals £5 tickets are back for 2022….

So the lovely folk at Assembly are offering £5 tickets to a variety of shows from the 3rd – 7th August for people with an EH, KY, G and FK postcode…read more about the offer here .

Tickets can be purchased online on their website and will be available on a first-come-first-served basis for more than 200 shows in the 2022 programme.

How to bag £5 tickets

  • Head to what’s on
  • Choose the show you want to watch
  • Pop up to six tickets in your basket 
  • At the point of purchase, enter the promo code WELCOMEBACK  (this is case sensitive)
  • Then enter your bank details for a card linked to an eligible postcode 
  • If the discount does not apply this means that all £5 tickets for that performance have been claimed
  • Get tickets for just a fiver  

Remember – this offer is subject to availability so book quickly to snap up the offer...

Some top recommendations for your £5 tickets would be :

Chores -Chores is the story of a brother and sister who have to clean up their messy room so they can ride their bicycles. This show is jam-packed full of cool stunts, acrobatic flips, roller skates, juggling and the infamous toilet paper guns!

Brotipo – Crazy Canadian circus for the young, premiering in Edinburgh after visiting 16 countries! The art of giving each other a chance and collaborating when the right time comes is what the Brotipos will have to learn! 

360 Allstars – The international smash hit returns! A phenomenal physical performance exploring all forms of rotation, 360 ALLSTARS connects street with elite in a supercharged urban circus.

Beats on Pointe – This is a tightly choreographed show anchoring a dynamic modern story of two opposing dance worlds peppered with breaking, contemporary, acrobatics and captivating dance theatre .

Muse – What does it mean to be a woman? Muse attempts to answer this question circus style! There’s hardly just one answer and exploring the question calls for some… acrobatics.

Prehysterical – This show rocks! A hilarious circus show for children and parents of all ages following three foolish Neanderthals as they struggle to survive the harsh natural world. 

Dinosaurs and all that rubbish – One small step for man, one giant pile of rubbish! Man’s dream to reach the stars leaves the world in ruins and disturbs the dinosaurs. Will they wake up and save planet Earth?

The Adventures of Sleepyhead – She’s the dreamer of dreams. The walking-talking nap. A snoozer and a muser. Delight in this adventure to the heart of dreamland as Sleepyhead fends off the zzz…

Shark In The Park – Timothy Pope is looking through his telescope – but wait, is that a Shark, in the Park!? From the creative team behind the Hairy Maclary show – see all three of Nick Sharratt’s Shark in the Park books live on stage! 

Kin – The UK’s hottest circus company, Barely Methodical Troupe brings you their five-star hit about group dynamics and camaraderie.