From award-winning international acts to fiercely fresh new writing, the line-up promises stories that shock, stir, and sing – all housed across theSpaceUK’s network of city-centre stages
Stage Set for Stirring Theatre
Leading the charge in this year’s theatre programme is 1 King, 2 Princes and Shakespeare’s Lie by Slade Wolfe Enterprises, a revisionist romp through Richard III’s legacy. In a courtroom battle of ghosts and spin, the maligned monarch takes on centuries of Tudor propaganda.
Fraternity turns feral in Frat by Namesake Theatre, while Saloon Girls transports audiences to a bawdy Wild West brothel, where six women fight for agency beneath the corsets and candlelight. Literary glamour meets existential rot in Garden Party – Truman Capote’s Black and White Celebration, an immersive swirl through New York’s glittering underbelly.
There’s powerful introspection too: Tell Me Where Home Is (I’m Starting to Forget) offers a darkly comic take on queer identity, while The Boy from Bantay weaves a heartfelt musical memoir of Filipino heritage and family dreams. Joann Condon’s Little Boxes gently dissects the stages of womanhood, and Bipolar Badass is a raw tale of mental illness, stigma and strength.
Asian Arts Season Breaks New Ground
A highlight of the programme is the launch of a new Asian Arts Season – a platform for six acclaimed artists from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Among them are Ah-Ma, a tender elegy for a fading grandmother; Dance Dance Involution, a high-octane physical lament for Gen Z burnout; and Sàng Tsáu, which transforms Taoist ritual into theatrical revelation. Developed in partnership with Asia Base, the season underscores theSpaceUK’s growing international reach and commitment to diverse voices.
Cabaret with a Twist (and a Mind Trick)
From Leith to Las Vegas, Frankie Mack Showman returns with big-band swagger and plenty of sparkle. Equally glitzy but far more subversive is Atomic Cabaret, where physics, politics and showtunes collide in Lynda Williams’s darkly funny takedown of nuclear policy.
Mind-reader Mason King – The Mind Spy delves into CIA experiments and psychic espionage, while The Telepath and The Conjuror deliver magical family fare with old-school flair. For those craving late-night laughs with a side of innuendo, 18+ Magic: The Magic Show Your Mum Shouldn’t See more than lives up to its billing.
Music That Moves (and Mocks)
The musical theatre slate is no less punchy. I Was a Teenage She-Devil is a riotous revenge rock opera, while I’m Autistic – A New Musical uses song to explore neurodivergence and connection.
Sense offers a moving Belgian portrait of memory and dementia, and Dirty Money is a jailhouse musical full of grit and gusto. Comedy and song entwine in Webber!, a musical satire featuring a devilish Margaret Thatcher and a savage swipe at theatrical egos.
Meanwhile, You’re Fired! The Musical imagines a capitalist fever dream of boardrooms and Broadway.
Comedy Cracking at the Seams
Comedy is delivered with bite, brilliance, and belly-laughs. PSA: Pelvic Service Announcement from NYC’s Amy Veltman is a funny, frank exploration of female health, while Abby Denton: My Favorite Loser celebrates a forgotten Olympic misfit in hilarious style.
Catholic guilt gets glitter-bombed in Saint Sydney, a church-school cabaret from Syd King, and Tall Tails takes us under the sea with five fish-women floundering in early-2000s nostalgia. Newcomer Diya Shah offers self-deprecating gold in Diya Shah? Diya Shahn’t, a Footlight-infused coming-of-age tale from a performer fast on the rise.
Family Fringe: Whimsy Meets Wonder
Young audiences are well served too. Fantastic Mr Fox returns in a new twist on Dahl’s classic, while The Caterpillar and the Blackbird offers a musical forest romp. Puppet magic meets myth in Here Comes Gudong, and Journey to the Moon gets children thinking about climate change through creative interactivity.
There’s also classic storytelling in Puss in Boots – A Cat’s Adventure, and sleight-of-hand silliness in Family Magic from The Great Baldini.
Dance with Depth and Drama
Dance fans are spoiled for choice. Bella’s Ballerinas mix ballet with burlesque and sass, while Sole to Soul combines traditional Chinese opera with contemporary movement to reflect on womanhood and identity.
Returning company Suitcase Dance Theatre presents pAges, a tap-and-ballet memory play, while Stitch in Time resurrects WWII knitting songs in a quirky cabaret format. And for something truly out there, I’ve Bodyswapped with Noel Gallagher blends Britpop, clowning, and metaphysical mayhem.
With a programme as vibrant as the Royal Mile in August, theSpaceUK has once again staked its claim as a Fringe powerhouse. Tickets are now available at www.thespaceuk.com.
Whether you’re in the mood for magic, musicals, memory plays or mind-reading, this constellation of shows is guaranteed to light up the Fringe.