This is a record-breaking year for new musical theatre work at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Our small army of reviewers are all set to tackle the offerings for 2026.
Tag Archives | Pleasance
Hot Mess wins Musical Theatre Review Best Musical Award at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025
Hot Mess, playing at Pleasance Two at Pleasance Courtyard, has won Musical Theatre Review’s Best Musical Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025.
Nominees are announced for Musical Theatre Review’s Best Musical Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025
The 10 shortlisted Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 shows contending for Musical Theatre Review’s Best Musical Award have been announced.
World’s Greatest Lover: The New Musical – Edinburgh Festival Fringe
World’s Greatest Lover continues at Pleasance One at Pleasance Courtyard until 24 August 2025. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ We may not have found the world’s greatest lover, but we just might have found the Fringe’s greatest musical.
Hot Mess – Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Hot Mess continues at Pleasance Two at Pleasance Courtyard until 25 August 2025. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ A polished, fully theatre ready production that’s funny and challenging in turn.
Count Dykula – Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Count Dykula continues at Ace Dome at Pleasance Dome until 25 August 2025. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ It’s a riot, with spatterings of panto, asides to the audience and plenty of wit.
Blaze FM – Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Blaze FM continues at Pleasance Two at Pleasance Courtyard until 25 August 2025. Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ A thought-provoking and tight piece of theatre from The Big House company.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 Musical Theatre Preview
There are several standout shows this year at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – musical theatre continues to stretch the boundaries, taking inspiration from classic literature, faith, history, art and the environment.
Nominees are announced for Musical Theatre Review’s Best Musical Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024
The eight shortlisted Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024 shows contending for Musical Theatre Review’s Best Musical Award have been announced and they reflect what an outstanding year it has been for musical theatre. Since day one the Musical Theatre Review team, led by Edinburgh Editor Fiona Orr, has been on the lookout for contenders. The award was […]
Jake Roche: Neporroids – Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Jake Roche: Neporroids continues at the Pleasance Courtyard – Beside until 25 August 2024. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ One thing is for sure, Jake Roche has the talent, charm and drive to succeed.
One Man Musical by Flo & Joan – Edinburgh Festival Fringe
One Man Musical by Flo & Joan at Pleasance Dome – Queen Dome until 25 August 2024. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ It’s a hoot, a helter skelter of a show. The script is slick, hilarious.
The Greatest Musical the World Has Ever Seen by Randy Thatcher – Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Greatest Musical the World Has Ever Seen by Randy Thatcher continues at the Pleasance Courtyard – Pleasance Two until 25 August 2024. Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★
Showstopper! The Improvised Musical – Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Showstopper! The Improvised Musical at the Pleasance Courtyard – Grand until 25 August 2024. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ The Showstoppers are no novices when it comes to realising a new musical based on random audience shout-outs on the day.
Kafka’s Metamorphosis: The Musical! With Puppets! – Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Kafka’s Metamorphosis: The Musical! With Puppets! continues at the Pleasance Dome – Ace Dome until 26 August 2024. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ This show is absurd, funny and sprinkled with genius.
The Emu War: A New Musical – Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Emu War: A New Musical continues at the Pleasance Courtyard – Pleasance Two until 25 August 2024. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024 Musical Theatre Preview
Edinburgh Editor Fee Orr writes… There are several standout shows this year at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – musical theatre is stretching the boundaries, taking inspiration from the worlds of tech, telly and film hits, a couple of court cases and a strong dash of ‘Scotch’, including a viral failed attempt to re-create one of Roald Dahl’s masterpieces.
Pick of the Fringe replaces MTR’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe Best Musical Award for one year
This month Musical Theatre Review’s Edinburgh team have chosen their ‘Pick of the Fringe’ to highlight some of the outstanding musical theatre productions of 2023. In a one-off departure, the popular Edinburgh Festival Fringe Best Musical Award is being postponed, owing to the unexpected illness of Edinburgh editor, lead reviewer and award organiser Fiona Orr.
Public: The Musical – Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Public: The Musical continues at Pleasance Courtyard – Pleasance Two until 28 August 2023. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Luke Kempner in Gritty Police Drama – Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Luke Kempner in Gritty Police Drama: A One-Man Musical continues at the Pleasance Courtyard – Upstairs. until 28 August 2023. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
No Place Like Home – Edinburgh Festival Fringe
No Place Like Home continues at Pleasance Dome 10, Edinburgh until 29 August 2022 (10-16, 18-29). Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ The definition of a musical has been changing. Beat poetry and rap have emerged as new ways to tell a story. Co-created by performer Alex Roberts and director Cameron Carver, […]
London run for hip-hop musical The Concrete Jungle Book
HighRise Theatre’s acclaimed hip-hop musical The Concrete Jungle Book will play London’s The Pleasance from 25 May 2022. A hit at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2017, the creative re-imagining of Rudyard Kipling’s much-loved classic story will follow its successful limited run last year by playing the main space at The Pleasance until 11 June. […]
Shortlist revealed for Musical Theatre Review’s Best Musical Award at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2019
As part of Edinburgh’s Festival Fringe, Musical Theatre Review will once again be making an award for the Best Musical. This is to recognise excellence in the challenging form of musical theatre and to highlight the best of the genre in the 2019 programme. In the following week, the nominated shows will be assessed by the voting panel, […]
Sold – Edinburgh Festival Fringe – Pleasance Courtyard
Sold continues at Pleasance Courtyard – The Attic, Edinburgh until 25 August 2019. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Every so often there is a piece that touches the soul. Sold is one such show. With only a single drum as instrument, these two performers create the sounds of Africa and the […]
Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2019 Preview: 10 musicals that have grabbed our attention
With only a matter of days before the Edinburgh Festival Fringe begins, we’re keen to share the Top 10 shows that have piqued our curiosity, writes Edinburgh Editor Fiona Orr. There will be, once again, a winner selected from the huge range of musical theatre pieces staged at the Fringe for Musical Theatre Review’s Best […]
Sparks & The Half Moon Shania are our Best Musical Award joint winners at the Edinburgh Fringe 2018
Sparks at the Pleasance Courtyard and The Half Moon Shania at Zoo Southside have been named as joint winners of Musical Theatre Review’s Best Musical Award, given to recognise excellence in the challenging form of musical theatre and to highlight the best of the genre in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2018 programme. In considering the awards this […]
