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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I'm at @traversetheatre.bsky.social this evening, looking forward to Balisong by Strange Town theatre.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

A couple of images from this evening's sky over Dunbar

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Finally getting round to a summary of my experience of this year's August Festivals: - I went to 44 Fringe shows; 5 productions in the International Festival and 6 talks at the Book Festival

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 29/08/2026

I managed to see two excellent shows at Shedinburgh, this evening, starting with Josie Dale Jones' A Little Inquest Into What We Are All Doing Here, for which she was joined by Sam Ward from @yesyesnonoprod.bsky.social, script-in-hand, for the final section.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

In case anybody is interested, tomorrow I'll be @summerhallarts.bsky.social for 'Nesting' by Trolley Problem, 'We Had Fun' by Emmeline Hartley & Jack Mullings, and 'The Plot' by theatregoose.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Apologies to anybody awaiting my latest scintillating thoughts on performances in this year's various festival programmes, but after falling a little behind and struggling to catch up, I'm abandoning the task. I'll still go to the planned shows, but won't post, unless something really catches my eye

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Today's @edfringe.bsky.social journey will take me to Shedinburgh for Echo Echo Beach by Biscuit and Mothersole, @pleasance.co.uk for Lubna Kerr's 'A Better Memory' and @scotstorycentre.bsky.social for Marjolein Robertson: Shetland Folklore. I'll also be @edbookfest.bsky.social for Oliver Bullough.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

I'll be returning to @edintfest.bsky.social with a visit to @lyceumedinburgh.bsky.social to see Zora Howard's 'subversive and moving play', 'Hang Time', providing a 'gut-wrenching, subversive perspective on the legacy of racialised violence in America.'

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

I'll be @edbookfest.bsky.social today for Lewis Goodall & Fergus McIntosh on 'Bias, Impartiality and the Future of News' at 17.00, followed by Holly McNish at 20.30.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Storyteller Dan Serridge and musician Heather Cartwright's 'The Corpse Road' was perfect for a timeslot as day slowly turned to night. Lovely Cumbrian tales and songs with a focus on the final journeys made by spirits, told with humour and engagement.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

I really enjoyed Jenni Fagan's chat @edbookfest.bsky.social, yesterday in which she described the FOUR books she has been working on recently, not to mention directing a proposed film of 'The Panopticon'. The books all sound AMAZING! I'll definitely be getting 'The Delusions' in the next few days!

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

National Theatre of Scotland’s 'Through the Shortbread Tin' @scotstorycentre.bsky.social, is a lovely look back at James MacPherson's historical alleged(?) Ossian hoax. Written & performed by Martin O'Connor with wit, verse & a talented mini-choir of Gaelic singers it is engrossing & entertaining.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

I really enjoyed Althea Young's 'The Dreaming' @summerhallarts.bsky.social yesterday. The winner of this year's Autopsy Award (which I support) focused on a young woman who has been obsessed by babies for as long as she can remember, though she doesn't want one. A very expressive performance.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

I enjoyed @steverichards.bsky.social's show at TheSpace - Symposium, yesterday, with a focus on recent UK by-election results in the UK and what they might suggest. The audience's 'unreliable' prediction was that Tories would play no part in the next Govt, which means they could be worth a bet.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Loved the writing and performance of International Theatre Amsterdam's production of Tony Kushner's 'Angels in America' @kingstheatre.bsky.social this afternoon. Set in 1980s USA, it cleverly pulled together themes of Racism, the AIDS Pandemic and Religion, all set to a soundtrack of Bowie songs.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I only have one performance lined up for tomorrow, but International Theater Amsterdam's production of Tony Kushner's 'Angels in America' is a LONG one at just under 5 hours! I'm looking forward to making my first visit to @kingstheatre.bsky.social since the completion of its major refurbishment.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Sadly, today's performance of @lubnakerr.bsky.social's 'A Better Memory' @pleasance.co.uk was cancelled due to flooding, following a storm 15 minutes before it was due to start. I'm hoping to make another attempt to see it next week.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Today's second show was 'Motorway' by Daniel Cuckow & Abigail Sinclair at @zoovenues.bsky.social Playground. It is an engrossing story of two young women, working night shifts at a spooky motorway café. The atmosphere was enhanced by a sudden thunderstorm which soaked actors when they went offstage.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Three Belfast teenagers, brother and sister, Robbie and Melissa and Deren become involved in the battle over the future of a football ground, mirroring a referendum campaign on Ireland's future. This lovely, beautifully written play was deservedly presented with a Broadway Baby award at the end.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Tomorrow, I'll be taking in a couple of plays @pleasance.co.uk Courtyard, starting with 'The Pitch' by Moya Jane Productions and Lyric Belfast, followed by Lubna Kerr's latest play, 'A Better Memory'. There's a bit of a gap between them, so I may try to find something to fill the time slot.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

I dipped into the Book Festival for a fascinating account of our varying relationships with the North Sea, ranging from Pegwell Bay (where early boats from Europe always seemed to end up) to the Bell Rock Lighthouse, with a worrying diversion into Anglo-Saxon exceptionalism (i.e. blatant racism).

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

I enjoyed Summerhall Arts Surgery, but mainly for the brief conversations with friends, old and new. The four 15 minute extracts were all interesting, covering various degrees of trauma. Sadly, I don't remember any of the titles or the artists, as we were using supplied sheets for notes.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Coming back to the Festivals after two days off meant I felt slightly refreshed. The Fringe Society AGM was vaguely interesting, but questions were dominated by a couple about personal grievances - refusal of accreditation and the state of the Mound, with performance space limited by development.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

I'm having a couple of days off now, but I should be back on Tuesday with my thoughts on Wikipedia's legendary founder, Jimmy Wales on 'The Seven Rules of Trust', a Summerhall Arts Surgery, and maybe even the AGM of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, which will be held on Tuesday.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Enjoyed SH!T Theatre's EVITA TOO @zoovenues.bsky.social, today, in which they combine a pretty accurate account of the life of Isabel Perón, who became first woman president of a nation in the world, on the death of her husband, Juan Perón, with their regular humour, including naked roller skating.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Tomorrow, I'll be @edbookfest.bsky.social for Gavin Francis on 'The Unfragile Mind', and Peter Apps & Lena Khatib on 'The Next World War'. I'll also be seeing Sh!t Theatre's Evita Too @zoovenues.bsky.social @edfringe.bsky.social.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Hannah Maxwell's Turn Your F*cking Phones Off @summerhallarts.bsky.social is a brilliant & compelling exposé of security threats facing the UK. Using her experience of working with a UK disinformation unit and her theatrical skills Maxwell may have created the most significant show of the Fringe.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Tamsin Shasha's 'Forgive Me' is an autobiographical piece describing how she only began to understand her neurodivergent, gaming-obsessed son when she received an ADHD diagnosis in her 50s and began to work on new strategies to help support him.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

I loved 'As Far As We Know' @summerhallarts.bsky.social this morning. Sam Ward latest high speed storytelling session includes a woman, woken by a strange buzzing sound who gets up to find lots of holes in her garden, a desert journey in a white car with a chain-smoking detective. Simple, isn't it?

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Tomorrow's @edfringe.bsky.social takes me back to @summerhallarts.bsky.social for: - 'As Far As We Know' by YESYESNONO - 'Forgive Me' by Tamsin Shasha - 'Turn Your F*cking Phones Off' by Hannah Maxwell - 'ROLEPLAY' by Francesca Moody Productions - 'Lions' by Lightning Rod Special

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Overall, this was an excellent day for me @edfringe.bsky.social, with 'Water Colour' @traversetheatre.bsky.social becoming my new Fringe favourite for 2026, while 'Bull / Fight' also moved into contention.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Milly Sweeney's 'Water Colour' is a superb, emotional drama featuring an art student and a young chef who have a chance encounter on a Glasgow bridge. Depression leads the artist to a suicide attempt, but it is soon clear that the chef has even more serious mental health issues to try to handle.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

The 'King of All Birds' by Irish sound artist & performer, Martha Knight is a lovely piece of imaginative storytelling, with mythical heroes from the deep past surviving into the 21st Century to crown a new King of the Birds in the shape of the wren. Very effective electronic musical score by Knight

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

When I realised today that 'Bull / Fight' was based on the death of the poet Lorca in the Spanish Civil War, I couldn't remember why I got my ticket. I loved the passion and movement that the recent Napier graduates brought to the storytelling in Mythography Collective's production. A little gem!

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

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'.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Sorry, due to lack of time and difficulty accessing information there won't be doing write-ups on the Fringe shows I saw yesterday, though I enjoyed the energy of 'For Dolores', and the music of Tom Oakes' 'Forge' provided a lovely, relaxing wind-down to the day.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

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.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

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

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

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.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

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.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Tomorrow, I'll be @traversetheatre.bsky.social for most of the day to see Morna Young's 'After Party', Bryony Kimmings' 'Bog Witch' and Eilidh Loan's 'Cathy', starring Elaine C Smith.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

'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.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

'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.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

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.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

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.

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Reposted by Allan Wilson

The Stage @thestage.co.uk · 09/08/2026

ICYMI: The Edinburgh Fringe may be a microcosm of the many challenges freelancers experience all year round, but the festival also buzzes with their passion, says Lyn Gardner 👇

thestage.co.uk

Lyn Gardner on the excitement of the Edinburgh Fringe

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Taking time off from the festivals today, but I'll be back at Pleasance Dome tomorrow to see: - 'Boiler Room Six: A Titanic Story' by Tom Foreman Productions - 'Tiny Planet' by Half a String - 'Redacted' by Voloz Collective - 'Remember, Remember' by WIT? Theatre Company & Pleasance.

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

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!

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Allan Wilson @allanbw2.bsky.social · 08/08/2026

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'.

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