Theatre

Theatre Shows

Have a look through our selection of Theatre Shows! We are sure To have something you'll want to see in Edinburgh this August - from children's shows to cabaret; standup comedy to tragic drama. There's something for everyone at the Free Festival!


List Shows: By Name | By Start Time

Shows sorted by Show Name

A Couple of Swells – Vesta and Hetty

A Couple of Swells – Vesta and Hetty

Theatre

A Couple of Swells – Vesta and Hetty

Theatre

The Walrus / Basement Room
MAY 5, 12 at 18:45 (60 min) - Pay What You Can - Tickets from £5

Vesta Tilley and Hetty King were international superstars who wowed audiences around the globe with their male impersonator acts around 100 years ago. In this show, Vesta and Hetty are brought to life again to tell their stories and to determine once and for all, which of them was Queen of the Drag Kings. The show will include a number of classic music hall songs sung by Vesta and Hetty, including ‘Following in Father’s Footsteps’, ‘Burlington Bertie from Bow’, peppered with banter between the two stars and the audience. At the end of the show the audience will decide which woman wins. T...


I was kinda the bad guy

I was kinda the bad guy

Theatre

I was kinda the bad guy

Theatre

The Quadrant / The Folklore Room
MAY 20 at 13:00 (60 min) - PAID - Tickets from £7.50
MAY 21 at 21:45 (60 min) - PAID - Tickets from £7.50
The Walrus / Basement Room
MAY 29-30 at 20:00 (60 min) - PAID - Tickets from £7.50

“You see the problem with the quote is that ‘friends don’t ignore the fence, friends help build it back up’. You can’t see your friend suffering and do nothing about it. It’s your duty to help them out. But then I guess thats what makes us different from most friends. We’re basically one soul in two different bodies.” After months of persuasion your best friend finally agrees to seek professional help for her mental health problems and the harsh reality of her mums absence. Much to your dismay, as she begins to improve you both slowly start to realise that you are her imaginary friend. And...


Jemima Smallbones

Jemima Smallbones

Theatre

Jemima Smallbones

Theatre

The Quadrant / The Folklore Room
MAY 28 at 14:15 (60 min) - FREE and unticketed

A one woman Comedy Theatre show about a middle aged housewife who has come into ''new'' money through her husband's fluttering and reminisces to the audience about the frustrations of NOT ever being a lesbian... 'Think Shirley Valentine meets Birds of a Feather.' Sara Louise Aston plays Jemima and the show was created following a meeting Sara had with some American Casting Directors who watched her perform a snippet of the show which at the time was just a 1 minute monologue titled "When I was 17". When Sara told the Casting Directors, she had written the piece they advised her to turn t...


Keanu is Coming

Keanu is Coming

Theatre

Keanu is Coming

Theatre

The Caroline of Brunswick / Upper Lounge
MAY 12-13 at 21:30 (60 min) - Pay What You Can - Tickets from £3

In 2017 three friends confessed to each other their mutual love of 90s action classic Point Break, and in homage decided they had remake their own no-budget version: Point Broke. Filming was meant to happen over the course of one weekend. Five years later, after roping in dozens of friends, staging a bank robbery in a Lewes town house, and ejection from Brighton Marina for filming a car chase (filming now continuing indefinitely) they are ready to screen some of the key scenes in a theatre show: Keanu is Coming. Come to a Keanu is Coming show to revel in Point Broke’s lack of continuity,...


My First Time was in a Car Park

My First Time was in a Car Park

Theatre

My First Time was in a Car Park

Theatre

The Quadrant / The Folklore Room
MAY 6 at 14:15 (60 min) - Pay What You Can - Tickets from £10
MAY 5 at 19:15 (60 min) - Pay What You Can - Tickets from £10
MAY 21 at 13:00 (60 min) - Pay What You Can - Tickets from £10
The Walrus / Basement Room
MAY 20 at 16:00 (60 min) - Pay What You Can - Tickets from £10

'Because the world revolves around me and all I see is what I see.' Mira lives by the sea with her mum in a seemingly peaceful town. But when she loses her virginity to her teacher in the school car park, her world begins to unravel. This one woman show invites the audience into the abstract spaces of Mira’s psyche. Through youthful questioning, ramblings and memories, Mira makes a confession. Co-produced by Brighton’s multi-award-winning Broken Silence Theatre, My First Time was in a Car Park is a devastating new play that investigates the PSYCHOLOGICAL repercussions of abuse. ...


Nutshells

Nutshells

Theatre

Nutshells

Theatre

The Temple Bar / Upstairs
MAY 6-7, 13-14 at 14:15 (60 min) - Pay What You Can - Tickets from £10

In a Nutshell, Nutshells is a delectable mix of beat poetry, theatre and song. An elaborate concoction of hallucinations and delusions, a fantasy world to escape inner turmoil or a brief spell in rehab for a poor lost soul: Hazel ventures over the rainbow to soothe her existential crisis and find out what is missing in her opportunity-rich yet bewildering life. Why does she never seem to fit into any neat nutshell? Why does she feel suffocated by each one? Hazel explores the spectrum of mental health and the human condition in this chaotic, supposedly sophisticated world, where the individual...


Self Actually

Self Actually

Theatre

Self Actually

Theatre

The Walrus / Basement Room
MAY 7 at 14:45 (60 min) - FREE
MAY 8 at 17:30 (60 min) - FREE

The play takes place in an interrogation room and inside this room; unconscious, are two men. They are both the same person but they do not look alike. They are called Anthony Hill. One of them is the original Anthony Hill, the other is just a clone/copy. They have been placed in this room as part of a science experiment, they have to work out which one is real and who is not. In this room, there is a table and in the middle of the table there is a red button. When pressed, the clone will be eliminated and the original can leave the room. However, if they can't decide who is the real Anthony H...


Sex, Lies & Improvisation

Sex, Lies & Improvisation

Theatre

Sex, Lies & Improvisation

Theatre

The Caroline of Brunswick / Upper Lounge
MAY 27-28 at 19:00 (60 min) - Pay What You Can - Tickets from £5

A black comedy about lying together. Completely improvised by award-winning comedians. You pick the lie, we create the show. From some of the minds behind MATES: The Improvised ‘90s Sitcom and CSI: Crime Scene Improvisation. Act Of The Year 2019. ***** “You’re immediately hooked into the narrative of the dark comedic play like nothing I have ever seen. Pure talent. Live entertainment at its best.” Demon Media ***** "Oozes creativity. See it. It will not disappoint." The Phoenix Remix. ***** “Full of inventive wit.” Sheffield Review. **** “Moving and hilarious. Surpassed all expectations.”...


Two

Two

Theatre

Two

Theatre

The Walrus / Basement Room
MAY 19, 23-26 at 18:15 (80 min) - PAID - Tickets from £10

Behind the bar of their northern pub, the Landlord and Landlady welcome their regulars with open arms. Lending an ear for stories of celebration, of loss, of love and of despair, the bickering couple work together to keep the locals in high spirits – with drinks, conversation and laughter. But behind the facade lies an unspoken story. But what is their story? As a lost boy turns up on their doorstep looking for his Dad, the couple must confront their own demons and perhaps, for the first time in years, talk to each other… Performed by two actors playing all 14 characters, Jim Cartwrigh...