Network members performing at the Fringe

• Edinburgh International Conference Centre (The Pleasance)
• 9–16 August, 16.00

Award-winning actor and producer Scott Kyle — known for Outlander, Kajaki, The Angels’ Share, Billy & Tim and Once Upon a Time in Scotland — brings his most personal work to the Edinburgh Festival with a bold and emotionally charged spoken word performance.

“It’s Not Where You Start…” is a powerful exploration of memory, resilience, and belonging. Drawing on his lived experience — from spending time in care as a child to becoming a foster carer — Kyle gives voice to stories often left unheard.

• Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower
• 30 July-24 August, 17.40

As emergency masks plummet, engines squeal and hand baggage flies from the overhead bins, two strangers hold hands. Scared and breathless, their lives flash past as they face their final moments together.

Exploring themes of luck and choice, fate and coincidence and above all what it means to connect with someone, this captivating and thrilling two-hander, created by one of Scotland’s leading production companies, is a fantasy table-top exploration using object theatre.

• Studio 1 at Dance Base
• 2-10 August, 16.05

Solitude without loneliness delves into the often-misunderstood distinction between these two states, both born from isolation. Though vastly different, they exist so closely intertwined that the line between them can feel almost invisible.

Solitude without Loneliness invites empathy through the cyclical endurance of the performers, reminding us of the universal desire for union with one another and with ourselves.

• TheSpace @ Venue 45
• 8-16 (not 10) August, 17:10

A powerful exploration of how stepdance, Scotland’s percussive dance, was lost… and how its revival became woven into a lifelong friendship.

Experience a compelling journey across centuries of tradition told through fiddle, feet, Gaelic song and story, in an immersive performance which draws you in to the heart of our heritage.

• Caffe Bar and restaurant at Valvona & Crolla
• 4-5 August, 15.30 and 18.00

Award-winning violinist, vocalist and BBC broadcaster Seonaid Aitken and top jazz guitarist Conor Smith present a swingin’ show to celebrate two Jazz icons – French violin master Stéphane Grappelli and ‘First Lady of Song’ vocalist Ella Fitzgerald.

Featuring Grappelli classics, material from the Quintette du Hot Club de France, legendary duets with Classical virtuoso Yehudi Menuhin, and iconic recordings from Ella’s Songbook series.

• Dance Base
• 12-17 August, 14.30

A Journey of Flight is an immersive 50-minute dance performance for audiences of all ages, created in Shetland and inspired by the migration of birds.

Through mesmerising choreography, live music from Jenny Sturgeon, and stunning projected visuals, the show creates a thought-provoking journey of arrivals, departures, the nostalgia of place and the notion of flight itself.

• Beneath, Pleasance Courtyard
• 30 July- 12 August (no show 6 August), 14.20

The Bush is a ‘frequently show stopping’ solo theatre show by ‘born storyteller’ Alice Mary Cooper, that recalls the inspiring true story of thirteen, 1970’s ‘housewives’ who battled for 10 years to save bushland in Alice’s native Sydney. This kickstarted a nationwide movement of Green Bans, protecting land and the natural environment from destruction in Australia.

• The Three Sisters Live Room
• 18-24 August, 13.45

A deep dive into the parts of Robert Burns life the scholars don’t want you to know about. Great stories, drinking songs, a few laughs and an original Burns poem all about a hangover. The show is a live version of Alastair’s podcast “Burns Banter’ which is all about taking a fresh look at Robert Burns.

• Scottish Storytelling Centre
• 1-24 August, 10.30

Edinburgh’s gruesome past is brought to life by two performers (as seen on CBBC’s Saturday Mash Up) in this hilarious and outrageously horrible family show, full of catchy original songs and really bad jokes. A crime has been committed and we need you to decide if the culprit is guilty… or very guilty.

• Tarot Room at Museum of Magic, Fortune-Telling and Witchcraft
• 31 July-25 August, 19.00

No pointy hats. No broomsticks. Just the brutal truth of the witch hunts in Scotland. 85% of those executed for witchcraft were women – why? Be prepared to laugh and cry as you gain a shocking insight into the untold stories of ordinary women caught up in a whirlwind of politics, religion and magic.

• Nip at Gilded Balloon Patter House
• 30 July – 25 August, 15.40

Stoners. Lazy, irresponsible, paranoid wasters. Or are they? Perhaps deep inside the stoner flats of Scotland three men have the answers to life’s greatest questions. Perhaps in this church of debauchery lies something more holy and transcendent than you can possibly imagine. Perhaps the truth of the corruption of our society is only one psychedelic away from being in your fingertips. They are out to get us. They control every aspect of our existence. They are coming for us one by one. Who are they? Come inside and see the truth…

• The Green at Pleasance Courtyard
• 30 July-24 August, 16.45

Lunchbox is about the impact of bullying, through the eyes of a troubled Scottish boy, Steven and Pakistani girl, Lubna. Can two teenagers brought up in the same street in Glasgow have different outcomes in life? Can Lubna navigate being bullied without telling her parents about it, not wanting to add to their burden? What role do school lunchtime clubs play? Can Steven the bully be redeemed and find his purpose in life? Do teachers have influence in shaping their students’ lives? Or is a life of crime destined for Steven? This play examines the nature vs nurture debate.