Emerging Edinburgh 2023
This year CNC has a new roster of Edinburgh Fringe shows, Emerging Edinburgh, that we’re working with alongside our main roster. These 14 trail-blazing creatives and companies are heading up to the Fringe for only their first or second time and we’re thrilled to be lending them our support and some basic level mentorship.
Scroll down to plan your Fringe schedule…
52 Monologues for Young Transsexuals
52 Monologues for Young Transsexuals is a raucous, irreverent and campy hour of verbatim and cabaret theatre that delves into the realities of being a trans woman, exploring what it means to grow up attached to certain norms, and discovering oneself in all its messy, painful honesty. With outrageous lip-syncing, empowering – and surprising – audience participation, hilarious comedy routines and a moving monologue on motherhood, the show promises to shock, move and delight audiences in equal measure. Pleasance Courtyard (Attic), Wednesday 2nd – Monday 28th August 2023 (not 13th) at 15:20.
A Portrait of Ludmilla as Nina Simone
Actress Ludmilla Dabo, accompanied by Moliere Award-winning author, director, composer and musician David Lescot, presents a moving portrait of Nina Simone at The French Institute in Edinburgh this August. A unique theatrical and musical work, accompanied by David Lescot on guitar, Ludmilla Dabo sings chapters of Simone’s life; men’s violence, religion, her study of music, a career built on a shattered dream and her political commitment are all reflected through the rhythm of some of her strongest songs. The French Institute in Scotland, Friday 4th – Monday 14th August 2023 at 20:00
BAMPOTS
BAMPOTS unapologetically and powerfully explores what it means to be Scottish – through the unique medium of a ceilidh rave! Bampots. Noun. (Scotland, slang, derogatory). An idiot; an objectionable and foolish person. From Haud Yer Wheesht Theatre, expect loud music, plenty of swearing, and high-energy antics. Pleasance Dome (Ace Dome), Wednesday 2nd – Tuesday 15th August 2023 at 21:40
Breaking The Castle
Breaking The Castle is a true story of addiction brought movingly to life in a hilarious, uplifting and poignant one-man show. Writer and performer Pete Cook draws from his own life experiences in this tour-de-force performance of a struggling actor battling debilitating mental health and descending into a world of addiction. Assembly Rooms (Front Room), Friday 4th – Sunday 27th August 2023 (not 9th,14th, 21st) at 10:50
Chatham House Rules
Inspired by writer and performer Louis Rembges’s experience working Front of House for an exclusive tech networking event attended by the social elite including a former prime minister’, Chatham House Rules is a furious and funny play that takes aim at the 1%, the current NHS crisis, and the merciless TikTok vacuum. Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker One), Wednesday 2nd – Monday 28th August 2023 (not 14th) at 13:00
Cowboys and Lesbians
Cowboys and Lesbians is a fun, silly, queer coming-of-age romantic comedy from fresh voices for a young audience. The show subverts Hollywood’s romcoms, examining the harmful tropes and tales that movies tell us and flipping them on their heads. Nina and Noa, repressed British teenagers and best friends, set out to write a parody of the classic American coming-of-age romcom in this hilarious and subversive… romcom. Pleasance (10 Dome), Wednesday 2nd – Sunday 27th August 2023 (not 12th, 16th) at 13:35.
How to Flirt: The TED XXX Talk
Actor, writer and Drag King Daisy Doris May brings her solo show How to Flirt: The TED XXX Talk to Edinburgh Fringe this summer. Produced by Häus of Dons, May’s alter ego Guildfordian Steve Porters teaches the audience how to flirt in this hilarious one-person show, which examines gender binaries, toxic masculinity – and how to spoon. Assembly Roxy (Upstairs), Wednesday 2nd – Saturday 26th August 2023 (not 11th, 15th) at 21:55
It Gets Worse
It Gets Worse is a comedic show about the horrors of being in a relationship – especially with one’s self. American artist and performer Sophia Cleary shepherds the audience through her darkest, most disturbing fantasies of revenge, love, birth and transcendence. Assembly, George Square Studios (Studio 5), Wednesday 2nd – Sunday 27th August (not 14th, 21st) at 20:55
Madame Chandelier’s Opera Party for Kids
Opera singer and comedian Delea Shand brings her hilarious opera party for kids to Edinburgh Fringe this summer. Madame Chandelier will delight young audiences with dazzling divas, dramatic death scenes and hilarious high notes in this interactive opera comedy show. Audiences will meet evil queens who sing way too high, princesses who won’t stop crying and even a priestess who’s always on fire! Pleasance Courtyard (The Green), Wednesday 2nd – Tuesday 15th August 2023, 14:30
N.Ormes
WINNER: Broadway Baby Bobby Award
Circus duo Agathe Bisserier and Adrien Malette-Chenier bring their Edinburgh Fringe debut N.Ormes, pushing limits and expectations of their own bodies and gender norms. This provocative, dysfunctional and tender circus show pushes the limits with never-before-seen acrobatic exchanges. Assembly Roxy (Upstairs), Wednesday 2nd – Monday 28th August (not 9th, 16th, 23rd) at 17:20
ShakeItUp: The Improvised Shakespeare Show
William Shakespeare’s plays contain the greatest love stories, tragedies and tales of greed and jealousy in literature. ShakeItUp: The Improvised Shakespeare Show takes all the most exciting and high stakes elements of Shakespeare, and combines them with his most bonkers bits. Gilded Balloon Teviot (Billiard Room), Wednesday 2nd – Sunday 13th August 2023, 15:00
Sing, River
Sing, River dives into the hidden and mysterious world of British mythology. This queer solo show by Nathaniel Jones explores the act of severing yourself from dark memories in order to survive. Weaving together an original folk score and tales from a romance best forgotten, the show is a mesmerising exploration of the long term effects of trauma and how we survive. Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker One), Wednesday 2nd – Sunday 27th August 2023 (not 9th, 16th, 23rd ), 11:45
SPIN
Performed on a spin bike, SPIN is a darkly comic takedown of a society obsessed with attaching morals to our bodies. Written and performed by Kate Sumpter (The Little Drummer Girl, BBC), this hilarious world premiere takes us on a journey of self-discovery. In a culture that can push us to an ‘ideal’ body type that isn’t actually idea for most body types, SPIN explores the dark underbelly world that pressures many of us to strive for an unattainable and unhealthy ‘ideal’. Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose (Dram), Wednesday 2nd – Sunday 27th August 2023 (not 9th and 21st), 14:20
The Brilliance of Broken Glass
New York comedian and performer Brooke brings her debut Edinburgh Fringe show to Underbelly this summer. Brooke, the Moth StorySLAM champion, blends award-winning storytelling and comedic tales in The Brilliance of Broken Glass. Following one woman’s journey post-medical crisis, with no map to recovery, Brooke crafts a personal fairy-tale and shares her humorous Homeric quest to heal. Underbelly (Wee Coo), Wednesday 2nd – Monday 28th August 2023 at 13:20
