iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

The new production of Hay Fever is fine. It’s amusing but not revelatory. But all the time Richard E Grant was on I was thinking about The Traitors. Richard ‘E Can’t.

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

It’s taken me 50 years to realise this, and I only worked it out today. An optician’s eye test doesn’t use all the letters; only about 10. Am I the only one who has never noticed?

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

The Jolly Fisherman is a total delight. A lovely friendship between two teenagers crashes down the gulf between the pub and the mosque. And then … well, I don’t want to spoil it. It was sold out before I got to Edinburgh, so I’m very glad I caught it in London. I’m feeling all the feels.

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Tilda Swinton is truly astounding in Man to Man. Widowed in Germany in the 1930s she takes on her husband’s identity to survive war, poverty and political threat. Intensely physical and perfectly paced. It ends chillingly in the present day with the reemergence of the far right. Superb.

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Catarina and the Beauty of Killing Fascists is the controversial Portuguese play about the limits of what must be done to oppose tyranny. There were no heckles, no walkouts, nothing thrown, no storming the stage. The audience listened politely with giggles. It was a bit of a slog to be honest.

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Maria Friedman contributes a superb performance (and dodgy ice-skating) to Kimberly Akimbo. It’s a really lovely, bittersweet musical about growing old before your time. I found it amusing, rather than hilarious as it’s billed. But it’s hopeful and original, and the music is great.

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

The controversy about St Paul’s Cathedral hosting nightclub events is getting worse and worse. The Church Times is now publishing negative quotes from dead people.

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Bigfoot Ripped My Dog in Half I Saw It at @sohotheatre.bsky.social is classic Xhloe and Natasha. Ingenious, exhaustingly physical, breakneck storytelling, and a delight to listen to. It’s about how a conspiracy theory can grow from a prank to a panic to a terror. So, so entertaining. And timely.

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

A Month in the Country is absolutely the loveliest. The Donmar design has created a huge Russian estate in a tiny space. And huge emotions too with impeccable performances. It is bittersweet, funny and full of yearning. I loved this very much.

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

Without saying your age, what is your favourite movie that came out when you were 20 years old?

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

#edfringe Elf Lyons is going to win the Comedy Award. I have no insider information. She just is, and that’s that. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ And with that, thank you Edinburgh and goodbye for another year. It’s been a blast.

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

#edfringe The best play of the festival is surely The Distance by Ben Norris. Insanely physical, performed on a treadmill and over a climbing frame. About a young guy whose heart is set on being a champion runner. I’m not going to say what happens but I’m feeling all the feels. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

#edfringe Glob is an old-school, lovely family circus show. Two clowns dressed as snowmen in a wordless hour of acrobatics, tap dance, comedy and charm. Gentle and restorative. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

#edfringe Down To Chance is a genuine delight. A true story of small-scale heroism in the 1964 Anchorage earthquake, when one woman kept the local radio on air all night giving information. Dozens of characters played by two actors with multiple hats. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

#edfringe The Singer absolutely deserves all the praise that has been lavished on it. It isn’t just signed: BSL plays a crucial role in it and deafness honoured. The KT Tunstall songs are rich, the characters are utterly believable, and the laughs keep coming. It’s all so uplifting. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

#edfringe Do Not Be Afraid is funny from the get-go and totally joyful. Mary is 13 years old and it’s 2026. Camilla Borges, who yearns for the happiness and community of when she played Mary in the school nativity, recreates it from the audience’s collective memory. Gloriously silly. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

#edfringe One Hundred Voices is the most urgent, fascinating, creative show of the Fringe. It’s the real experience and words of children in care. Wearing headphones you walk and interact through superbly designed rooms - a dislocating, sometimes upsetting, sometimes hopeful experience. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

#edfringe Half way through Blackbox I was tremendously moved. The true story of a slave who escaped by posting himself in a box. He started a new life as a conjuror, so it is accompanied by tricks. Immensely sad, backed by spirituals. Audibility problems but still a great show. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

#edfringe It’s hard to describe the impact of The Wreck. It’s a technical marvel, with live action, puppets, video, sampled sound, music, all brought together on a huge screen. Plus it’s a compelling story about how diving changes your perspective. Really dazzling and delightful. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

#edfringe Transmission: Into The Night is the kind of ‘only in Edinburgh’ show that I love. You walk the dark streets alone with headphones guiding your steps and your thoughts. No story, but one that your head writes about what you observe. Mind-expanding. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

#edfringe In Wild Wild Christian, Simone McAlonen reads from her teenage diary about her obsession with being pure, and describes the journey she’s been on since. Witty, touching and full of insider information about why American Evangelicals seem to be on the side of evil. Glad I saw this. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

#edfringe Don Quixote (Is a Very Big Book) is delightful. An apparently self-deluding actor plays the self-deluding knight, along with puppets, self-deprecation and audience participation. I got poked in the eye by Rosinante, for which I’m not going to sue, but I am deducting a star. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

#edfringe Superlative storytelling in For Dolores. Two young women locked together by a murder and a baby. The tension was huge, but relieved with laughter, changes of pace, and flashbacks. Great acting. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

#edfringe Ohh this show was interesting. Brit Barron was a pastor in a megachurch until she realised she was lesbian. Now happily married. ‘Am I still a Christian? Yes, like America is still a democracy.’ Her show has hymns, a sermon, notices - like church, but 100mph and hilarious. I loved it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

#edfringe There as a hilarious exhibition in Edinburgh of the world’s worst album covers. But seriously, don’t you think the quiet revival would crescendo if we all embraced BIG HAIR.

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

#edfringe #eif Goodness knows why the International Festival brought Haribo Kimchi half way round the world. A man cooks Korean food while telling inconsequential travel tales about a snail, a sweetie and a worm, with accompanying video. Technically accompany; narratively dull. ⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

#edfringe Dracula: Lucy’s Dream is one of those huge, international, near-wordless shows that I usually love. And I’ve seen this company’s work before. Life-size puppets, video, seamless movement. But this was very slow-moving and the tone didn’t vary. Nice bats though. ⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

#edfringe Mrs Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library turns out to be about Hannah Arendt (The Banality of Evil). She was imprisoned by the Gestapo before escaping to America. The encounter with the police as political involvement becomes a crime. Interesting when you know what lay ahead ⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

#edfringe How to get a full audience. Choose a title which is part of people’s life. The audience for Book Club was 49 identical elderly ladies and me. But the play is a pleasant surprise. Satire lands. Characters are believable. Issues matter. As a first play it has promise. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

#edfringe I knew I was going to love Around The World in Eighty Toys, and I did. Tiny Victorian toys live-filmed on a big screen tell the Jules Verne story in the style of George Melies. Clockwork, sleight of hand, shadows, conjuring, flip books. Old-school delightful. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

#edfringe I had to come down to earth eventually. In Eve and Adam, a woman goes back to Eden in a time machine and makes Adam eat the apple instead of Eve. Consequently a different world. It was energetic and an original idea. But the characters are one-dimensional and the jokes struggled. ⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

#edfringe Oh my goodness! Man Sings The Same Song Over and Over Again For an Hour. How on earth do I explain this? Exactly what the title says happens. But it is desperately funny. I won’t say what the song is. The audience groaned. But at the end we were dancing and begging for more. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

#edfringe John Kearns was predictably hilarious. He’s had a relationship break-up and he’s facing it by listening to Alec Guinness read TS Elliot’s The Wasteland. It would actually be tragic if it weren’t for the perfectly timed jokes. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

#edfringe I’ve never seen such a West-End-ready show at the Fringe as Bliss. Catchy & varied tunes, witty lyrics, great choreography. For children it’s got princesses, unicorns and acres of pink. For adults it’s got cynicism, feminism and nostalgia. To say I loved it would be an understatement ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

#edfringe I got myself totally wrapped up in the lives of the two young people in Water Colour. Their individual stories are on different trajectories, but a ten minute meeting on a bridge over the Clyde changes their destinies. Beautifully acted, hopeful stuff. I liked this a lot. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

#edfringe There is an awful lot of death, birth, loss and Catholicism in Cathy. But nothing said about it is very enlightening. The only thing that keeps it afloat is an all-guns-blazing comic tour de force by Elaine C Smith. Shallow, but the audience loved it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

#edfringe Oh my goodness Bog Witch is something else. Bryony Kimmings turns her first year of living in the country into a wildly theatrical extravaganza, with video, human-sized animals, songs and a stage that fills with earth. Tremendously moving and full of spiritual yearning. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

#edfringe Supposing is the new Zinnie Harris play, riffing on Greek Cassandra myths so that foresight is both a blessing and a curse. It plumbs depths of rage, but holds back some sweet surprises. Staged in a bare way, but very satisfying. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

#edfringe Exit is an utterly terrifying circus for four men. A set of five doors becomes an almost farcical setting for ins and outs, but then the daredevil stakes rise as walls start to rotate, leaps and catches escalate, the set becomes a giant balancing teeterboard. I was gobsmacked. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

#edfringe Ended the day at the first preview of Daniel Kitson’s new show Thrum. It’s about wanting to be wise and good but knowing there are ulterior motives. It was consistently funny as it rambled through 105 minutes, but I hope it will eventually be a winner as a round hour. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

#edfringe Though the Shortbread Tin is so, so good. An examination of the integrity of Scottish identity by looking at historical and personal hoaxes. Witty and thoughtful, and shot through with gorgeous a capella singing in Gaelic. Loved it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

#edfringe I absolutely loved Henry Paker, Pencil Case. I guffawed all through. He’s an illustrator, and he talks about the secrets of his art, while drawing live cartoons which are projected on a screen. Unbelievably quick responses to audience participation. A generous, uplifting show. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

#edfringe To be honest I found Pilate: the Lost Gospel hard work. It’s a character study, passionately performed, about a fascinating man. But it’s just not very dramatic, even when the stories are remarkable. ⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

#edfringe Mike Wozniak’s show is an utterly irresistible shaggy dog story inviting sleuthing from the audience to solve the local crime of The Bench being set on fire. Genuinely hilarious, and absurdly clever in bringing it to a satisfying conclusion with a huge laugh at precisely 60 minutes. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

#edfringe The Plot is a retelling of the Gunpowder Plot by two minor characters on the eve of their execution, inhabiting dozens of roles to meditate on what it’s worth giving your life for. Intriguing and physically inventive, but hampered by audibility problems. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

As I was going into Cleansed I did ask myself, ‘Why on earth am I putting myself through this again?’ nearly 30 years on. It is absolutely brutal in asking whether love can survive torture. But there is one moment of iridescent beauty, which is what stays with you. I’m glad I went … I think.

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

After 55 years How The Other Half Loves still delivers huge laughs. It’s now played as a period piece, and the sexual mores of the time evoked gasps, then chuckles. Roger Allam gives a fantastic performance, and the production is slick. But the jury’s out on whether it needed to be revived.

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Gasp-inducing Anish Kapoor show. Mirrors that suck the sky down. Holes in the wall that go on forever. Vast volcanic shapes so red your eyes dazzle. Objects that reflect you and then disappear you. (Also huge piles of intestines that seem to creep towards you, which were a bit too creepy for me.)

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

How very sensible to retain Lisa Nandy as DCMS Secretary. There have been 18 in the past 20 years, because culture is held in such low regard. This is an indication of stability, value, and recognition of someone doing a good job. #arts #theatre

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Peter Graystone @petergraystone.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

Saw a work-in-progress of Max Olesker’s Making The Cut. It’s already very funny and heartwarming, and by the time it gets to #edfringe it’s going to be a winner. He has converted to Orthodox Judaism in order to marry. It’s a three year journey of sacrifice and determination. Love emerges triumphant.

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