Entertainment
7 Shows By Artists Of Colour That You Need To See At Edinburgh Fringe This Year
It’s that time of year again. August in the UK means summer is dwindling but the theatre world is only just heating up. One of the best theatre festivals in Europe is back in town and, for those making the great migration up north, there is so much choice this year. The Edinburgh Fringe Festival has always been the perfect places for experimenting with new ideas in theatre, dance, spoken word, and more. And this year there will be even more fantastic performances by people of colour at the Edinburgh Fringe. Check out the best of the bunch in my list below.
Theatre in the UK still has a long way to go when it comes to ethnic diversity. Luckily, organisations such as Black Ticket Project, which offers free tickets to young black people to some of the best plays in the country, are making moves to change that. And, at this year's Fringe festival, Fringe of Colour is helping to spotlight the plays of black and brown performers at the festival this year, with a massive database collating all the performances in one place.
But deciding what to see at the Edinburgh Festival is like deciding what to watch on Netflix. The choice seems so endless that you end up going around in circles. So, to ease you into a month of incredible theatre, here is a list of performances by black and brown people at this Edinburgh Fringe Festival that you absolutely should not miss out on:
1'Nightclubbing' by Rachael Young
Lecturer, mentor, and performer Rachael Young, together with her "badass band of superhumans," will "embrace Afrofuturism and the cult of Grace Jones" in her 2019 Fringe show, Nightclubbing. The show's bio reads:
"1981: Grace Jones releases her landmark album Nightclubbing; her body is brown and soft. 2015: Three women are refused entry into a London nightclub; their bodies are brown and soft. We are those women, zooming across galaxies, traveling through time, preparing for our moment to land... it's now!"
Find out more here.
2'Burgerz' by Travis Alabanza
After their sell-out run in Hackney Showroom last year, Travis Alabanza is back with Burgerz. The idea for the show was born after someone used a transphobic slur and threw a burger at Alabanza. Now the astounding writer and performer is using their one-person play to investigates gender and blackness in both a hilarious and thought-provoking way.
Find out more here.
3'Pink Lemonade' by Mika Johnson
Part of DISRUPTION, a theatre season focused on "political, provocative, and contemporary new work," Pink lemonade by Mika Johnson is where poetry and original beats collide to tell a story about accepting yourself and saying goodbye to certain relationships. Pink lemonade is both sweet and sour.
Find out more here.
4'Frankenstein: How To Make A Monster' by BAC Beatbox Academy
Frankenstein: How To Make A Monster is brought to you by Battersea Arts Centre's Beatbox Academy, and it sees a reimagining of Mary Shelley’s classic 1818. Through a combination of soundscapes and theatre, and with the energy of a gig, expect to see the story like you never have before.
Find out more here.
5'Citizens of Nowhere?' by Ming Ho
Citizens Of Nowhere?, a live audio drama about a British-Chinese family from award-winning writer Ming Ho, premiered at Southbank Centre back in 2018. For this unique show, performers are spread out among the audience as the action happens through headphones, with the audiences eavesdropping in. Sounds intriguing, right?
Find out more here.
6'Butch Princesa' by Andrea Spisto
Take a wonderful deep dive into a “surreal queer immigrant wonderland” with Andrea Spisto. Expect clowning, dancing, and Latin music as Spisto explores gender boundaries, politics, and what it means to be beautiful and a woman in the 21st century.
Find out more here.
7'Venus' by Sophie Ducker
If laughs are more your thing, check out writer, comedian, and star of Channel 4'S Riot Girls Sophie Ducker and her hour-long comedy show Venus. Described as “silly, sexy, savage stand-up from a girl who is definitely not a goddess.” Get ready to be taken on a journey of woke self discovery.
Find out more here.
