Today's Fringe journey will take me to @summerhallarts.bsky.social for Mythography's 'Bull / Fight' and Martha Knight's 'The King of All Birds, before moving to @traversetheatre.bsky.social for Milly Sweeney's 'Water Colour'.

Tomorrow's @edfringe.bsky.social journey will take me to @traversetheatre.bsky.social for 'Mrs Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library', 'For Dolores' and 'Badgers' followed by a move to the @scotstorycentre.bsky.social for Forge.

I enjoyed Eilidh Loan's new play, Cathy, @traversetheatre.bsky.social, despite an unexplained delay of 20 minute in starting, which may have led to initial uncertainty. By the end, it had become an enjoyable everyday story of death, new life and family in-fighting in a charity shop, told with humour

I loved Bog Witch @traversetheatre.bsky.social today. Written, directed and performed by @bryonykimmings.bsky.social, the play tells how Bryony and her partner escaped from Brighton to start a new life in rural East Sussex in an attempt to find happiness and sanity, despite facing new challenges.

Morna Young's 'After Party', directed by Katie Posner @traversetheatre.bsky.social was an interesting, and sometimes amusing, tale of a woman who invites her relatives to an event that turns out to be her death through assistive dying, leading to ructions in the family. At 2h 5m, it felt a bit long.

'Remember, Remember!' by WIT? Theatre Company and Pleasance is a clever, queer re-imagining of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 led by Guy Fawkes, with lots of fun songs and not so subtle twists, including an apparently successful outcome, with a loud explosion at the end.

'Redacted: The Cover-Up of a Cover-Up of a Cover-Up' by Voloz Collective is a dark comedy about conspiracy theories, driven forward at pace, by an excellent solo drummer, who even added a wordless rendition of The House of the Rising Sun. Enjoyable, but perhaps a little chaotic for my slow brain.

Half a String's Tiny Planet @pleasance.co.uk is a beautiful piece of theatre using puppetry, camera and live music to tell the story of a planet that can easily fit in a room, but is at the centre of its galaxy. The many children in the audience were totally engrossed by a splendid performance.

I enjoyed 'Boiler Room Six' by Tom Foreman Productions @pleasance.co.uk this morning, telling the true story of Titanic survivor stoker Fred Barrett. Foreman gave a convincing account of the part played by Barrett in trying to save the ship and the struggle he faced when its loss became inevitable.

I'm not a great jazz fan, but I was delighted to have a chance to see the iconic Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra at the Usher Hall last night to open this year's Edinburgh International Festival. They did not disappoint! Also great to see the Festival Chorus going Gospel!

I'll be splitting my time between two festivals, today, starting on @edfringe.bsky.social for 'Hamlet (an experience)' @scotstorycentre.bsky.social, then on to the Edinburgh International Festival for their opening concert with Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra featuring Wynton Marsalis' 'All Rise'.

Jack MacGregor's latest engrossing play, 'Prophets', follows a Scottish paleogeneticist (Rebecca Wilkie) visiting a South Pacific Island. She begins to suspect that the leader of the local church, known as the Prophet, (one of several roles played by Xander Cowan) has abused other church members.

I always enjoy Pepperdine Scotland's biennial visit to the Fringe. This year, Laura Radley's excellent 'Lifelong', produced by @scissorkickco.bsky.social explores a dystopian future where a tiny elite has separated from society to enjoy genetically-enhanced, extended lives, served by robots.

Tomorrow's @edfringe.bsky.social journey will take me to Assembly Studio for Pepperdine Scotland's Lifelong, in association with @scissorkickco.bsky.social, then Assembly Roxy for Prophets by @jmacr.bsky.social. Looking forward to both.

HAM by Hotter Project is an entertaining very funny, but occasionally disturbing reimagining of Shakespeare's Hamlet, in which the Prince is a passionate vegan and campaigner for animal rights, while his mother, Gertrude, is a committed lover of sausages. To eat, or not to eat? That is the question.

'Boogie on the Bones' by London-based within theatre is a powerful, political musical set in the Soviet Union in the 1950s, when a group of young Russians, attracted by American jazz, dance and underground culture, with recording passed round on X-Ray disks was infiltrated by agents of the State.

I LOVED Sophie Smyth's 'The Subplot: A Hyperfixation on the Titan Submersible' @summerhallarts.bsky.social. The AuDHD Australian performer brilliantly, combines careful research and beautiful comedic writing with moments of genuine poignancy to create a truly memorable and respectful piece of work.

Kook Ensemble's SAND @summerhallarts.bsky.social this afternoon brought some nice acrobat skills to a beach scene with people listening to music, playing games and eating. For personal reasons, I was attracted by the advertised 'dementia' theme, but I couldn't identify this theme in the performance.

The preview of Jude Green's 'Toast' @summerhallarts.bsky.social this afternoon was an engaging tale of a performer's struggle to access DHS support in between a diminishing number of paid work opportunities. Couldn't help wondering if it reflected problems 5-10 years ago rather than today?

Mixed feelings about the preview of Buzzcut Productions' 'The Wreck' @summerhallarts.bsky.social this morning. Huge respect for the ambition to combine live action and camera work with projections and an amazing, live soundtrack, but having subtitles far too low to be seen made it hard to follow.

I'll be spending tomorrow's @edfringe.bsky.social time @summerhallarts.bsky.social to see: - The Wreck, by Buzzcut Ptoductions - Toast, by Jude Green - Sand, by Kook Ensemble - The Subplot: A Hyperfixation... by Sophie Smyth & Quiet Riot - Boogie on the Bones by withintheatre - HAM by Hotter Project

Sophie Fisher's 'An Ode to the Casting Director' is an accomplished and very entertaining solo show reflecting on her experiences of the casting process through the eyes of a young actor with a demanding agent and unsupportive parents. Very effective use of an on-stage camera focused on her face.

My @edfringe.bsky.social 2026 journey continues tomorrow (Wednesday) with Sophie Fisher's 'Ode to The Casting Director' at Assembly at 12.30, followed by Michelle Shocked @gildedballoon.bsky.social at 20.30. That's a big gap, so I'll try to fit something in between.

Really enjoyed 'The Singer' @traversetheatre.bsky.social on @edfringe.bsky.social 2026. This lovely tale exploring the relationship between a washed-up musician and a deaf man with musical ambitions took integration of BSL into storytelling to a new level. Excellent work by cast and production team

Took a bus down to Berwick today for a wander about, ending up Castle Vale Park, from where I took a few photos, starting with the iconic view of the railway bridge crossing the River Tweed.

I had almost given up hope of finding Common Spotted Orchids in the grass beside the road from the A1087 to Whitesands, near Dunbar, this year, until I found these beauties. They're a little late as they usually flower here towards the end of May. #Orchids

I'll be at Assembly Roxy in Edinburgh at lunchtime today for this week's @playpiepint.bsky.social presentation, The Corinthian, written by Joe McCann and directed by Martin McCormick. It tells the story of the world's first Black international footballer who captained Scotland to glory in the 1880s.

I enjoyed the @lyceumedinburgh.bsky.social / Citizens' Theatre powerful and emotional production of Lynn Nottage's Sweat very much. The ensemble cast presented an unflinching story of the impact of industrial decline in early 21st Century Pennsylvania on the lives of the workers in a steel mill.

I'll be @lyceumedinburgh.bsky.social this afternoon to see Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-Winning play, Sweat, directed by Joanna Bowman. described as "a powerhouse social drama of loyalty, loss, and the fight for survival in an unforgiving world." Looking forward to an interesting afternoon.

Hugely enjoyed Richard Thompson at the Usher Hall last night, playing fan favourites from across most of his 60-year career in music. His singing voice is still in good shape and his solo acoustic guitar work is amazing. Standing ovation for an encore of I want to see the Bright Lights Tonight.