Fringe 2025 – top tips for this week
Top Show from a Scottish artist – Lunchbox
Pleasance Courtyard (The Green) @ 16:45
PHOTO Tommy Ga-Ken-Wan
Scottish Pakistani female actress, comedian and writer Lubna Kerr is well known on the Scottish circuits. She's been at the Fringe in recent years with her shows Tickbox and Chatterbox – an insightful trilogy about her own upbringing, looking at race, perception and identity. Now she's back with part three; Lunchbox explores similar themes but also delves into bullying and belonging and confronts the prejudice and challenges that many young people must navigate during their formative school years.
Set in a secondary school in Glasgow, this powerful solo show delves into the dynamic between two teenagers who live on the same street but experience the world very differently. Taking on all the roles, Kerr examines the impact of bullying through the eyes of these two young people as directly influenced by their environments and upbringing.
This multi-rolling even involves playing Steven, a troubled Scottish boy, and Lubna, a Pakistani girl! On a quest to find her true passion, Kerr seeks refuge from the challenges of adolescence in her lunchtime drama club, whilst Steven seems destined for a life as a perpetrator.
Told through the nostalgic lens of playground politics, this compelling and timely piece asks whether our paths are defined by where we come from or whether we can rewrite our own stories. Lunchbox presents a deeply personal exploration of cultural identity, adolescence and the long-lasting impact of childhood encounters.
And if you're curious to go further back to time Kerr will also be performing Chatterbox from 18th – 25th August at Pleasance Courtyard (The Green) at 13:00.
Top Musical – Midnight at the Palace
Gilded Balloon Patter House (Big Yin) @ 21:30
Be prepared to get on your feet with this edgy new musical that you won't want to miss. It's directed by acclaimed director and choreographer Paul McGill (Fame, 2009; Man on Wire, 2008; Smash, NBC). The Edinburgh Reporter team have heard some of the original music a bit ahead of the Fringe and we were wowed.
Do you remember The Cockettes? The iconic and flamboyant drag ensemble from the 1970s, who paved the way for artists from Prince to David Bowie, and RuPaul to Madonna. Well, this new musical is inspired by them. Think raucous hilarity, think rebellion, think disco, think pop, think outlandish and outrageous. You're on the right lines. Midnight at the Palace is a lens into this genre-pushing world in an eccentric and dazzling celebration of the queens who came before.
Midnight at the Palace dismantles the lines between art and showbiz, politics and performance. Audiences are invited to join the original 'F*ck You Counterculture' troupe for a night of radical joy and glitter-encrusted anarchy.
A fever dream of gender-bending hippies, freaks and drag queens, Midnight at the Palace invokes the real-life story of The Cockettes. Radical founder Hibiscus (then George Harris) is the renowned subject of one of the 20th century's most recognisable photographs when they put a flower into the muzzle of a soldier's gun during a Vietnam War protest.
The group became a symbol of authenticity in an era of civil strife and unrest. Paying homage to the multi-decade journey of this legendary group, the original score from Brandon James Gwinn (Two Birds & One Stone, Trixie Mattel; It Takeis Two, George Takei; Small Town Story, Village Theatre, American Theatre Group) brings to life the electricity and excitement of The Cockettes in the 1970s for a modern-day audience.
Brandon James Gwinn comments, As a huge fan of the music and culture of the late '60s, it has been nothing less than a party to create music that tells the story of this incredible troupe of visionary weirdos. The goal is to use the palette that comes with the sounds of the times to create something as uniquely queer, imperfect and passion-filled as the original Cockettes. The challenge becomes to make theatre that honours their story, but make it wacky, asymmetrical, even transgressive, to honour their spirit.
Rae Binstock adds, The Cockettes were a bunch of young people in a world that was falling apart. They dealt with it by making art and connecting with each other and being outrageously, monstrously, deliciously themselves. Writing this show has brought me back into my own present, into the pain and importance of being alive moment to moment, and strengthened my faith in the power of art to keep the world spinning.
Midnight at the Palace. Gilded Balloon press launch. © 2025 Martin McAdam
Top play – Beth Wants the D
Pleasance Courtyard (Baby Grand) @ 13:45
Tickets here
One in twenty people live with serious mental illness and this show is all about writer and performer Beth May's own struggle with bipolar disorder. Raw and real, Beth doesn't hold back telling us what she's been through and what her life looks like – it's honest, oh so personal and utterly hilarious.
Offering a comedic insight into intrusive thoughts, Beth Wants the D confronts death and delusion as Beth takes audiences through the extreme highs and lows to the scariest thing of all – a future full of hope.
With wit as sharp as it is self-aware, renowned podcast host and actor Beth May unravels her experience with bipolar, suicidal thoughts and the razor-thin line between sanity and madness. While Beth Wants the D embraces the absurdity of the chaos of the mind through a fast-paced comedic lens, it never loses sight of the very real consequences of mental illness.
A surprisingly relatable cathartic experience for audience members in response to Beth's own turbulent journey. Beth May's story is one of strength, survival and finding humour in the darkest of places; sometimes, the best way to face your demons is to laugh in their faces.
Writer and performer Beth May comments, I think this show might be helpful for people. People with mental illness, particularly those who deal with psychosis or have substance use issues, are often feared and vilified, and many times they haven't survived to share their story. My story can't bring them back or even do justice to their experiences, but it can show people that the curtain between sanity and madness is shockingly thin, and that our values are sometimes fragile. I think this show makes the case that even when things are so bleak and even when you feel like you're CRAZY, you can come back from this. I think that's a message worth spreading. Or maybe I'm just an ego-maniac!
PHOTO Brandon Dougherty
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Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) I'VE been in high-stakes situations before - the kind that quicken your pulse and leave your hands trembling. But nothing could ever have prepared me for the chilling dread and simultaneous thrill of stepping into London's very own 'Scottish castle' for the new The Traitors live experience. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 8 There is a new Traitors live experience in the UK Credit: Cyann Fielding Little did I know, this was just the start of what was going to be two hours of lies, deception and brilliant gameplay. Alongside 10 other players, I made my way into the belly of the building. The basement's chill sent a shiver down my spine - very apt for the live experience of the iconic TV show. A door was opened and the round table revealed itself - with every detail meticulously recreated. I definitely didn't feel like I was in London anymore... As the door slammed closed, our host revealed himself - smartly dressed and fully in character. Claudia would have been proud - it was almost as if he were one of her disciples, which I'm guessing felt the same for the other seven rooms full of players in different stages of the experience. We begin with a message from the queen herself, followed by our first time going into complete darkness by popping on blackout goggles. This was the moment most viewers wait for - where the Traitors are selected. Before you enter the experience, you are required to fill out a form where you can express whether or not you are happy to be a Traitor or not. I went on the new Titanic immersive experience Having selected that I didn't mind, as soon as my goggles covered my eyes regret sank in. My palms became clammy, as I jigged my knee - I was now begging silently to not be chosen as suspenseful music echoed around me. The music then rose to a crescendo, increasing the fear as it bubbled through my chest. Then it was over - the Traitors had been chosen, and I had remained a Faithful. Thank goodness. With the experience progressing, players must complete five challenges to earn gold just as they do on the TV show. In between the challenges, there are 'nights' where players put on their goggles again and someone is murdered. There are also round tables, where you get to discuss players and ultimately vote to banish someone. 8 Located in London, the experience allows you to gain the thrill of the TV show in real life Credit: Cyann Fielding "I went to drama school," one player professed early on. That was his first mistake. The second came when he backtracked: "No I didn't go to drama school, I did drama and English at university. I can't act." It was too late - this early proclamation set him in stone for suspicions of many of the other players as a Traitor. The opportunity to get a shield (which protects you from being murdered for one night) in another challenge where you count to a set time blindfolded, caused some eyebrows to be raised at certain players. Clever insights from others seemed too well-thought out under the circumstances for them not to be a Traitor. This was my mistake. 8 Players even sit at a round table and have discussions Credit: The Traitors: Live Experience Accusations of piping up led to others being branded a Traitor and as a result, we failed to banish any real Traitors. With each 'night' brewing more anticipation, it was down to five players remaining including both myself and fellow travel reporter, Alice Penwill. Every second that my goggles were on for felt like an eternity and with each that passed I was chanting in my head 'please don't let it be me'. Then came the heart-plummeting moment: a pinch on the shoulder that sealed my fate. I had been murdered and was immediately escorted out to a second room where I met my previous rivals — the other murdered and banished players. Looking up to the screen, shock rippled through me as I discovered my friend and colleague was the one to murder me. I had been stabbed in the back - literally and figuratively. 8 There are also a number of challenges in the experience to complete Credit: The Traitors: Live Experience Yet the game wasn't fully over for me, nor had it been for the other Faithfuls murdered or banished. In the second room for the deceased and discarded, screens broadcast the game that is continuing at the round table. And challenges for remaining players are also a challenge for those in the second room, as we were given the chance to interfere or help the remaining players win gold. The room, which also felt like it had been dragged out of the Scottish castle itself, was the best of a bad situation. I was out alongside six other players, but that didn't mean we didn't get a full experience or waste our money. Perhaps for the first person murdered, 25 minutes or so of gameplay may feel stingy - especially then when you have to wait in the second room a while before another player joins you. But I suppose that is the name of the game - and you run that risk going in. In total, the experience lasts around two hours. 8 And opportunities to get a gold or earn a shield Credit: The Traitors: Live Experience After the experience, we were escorted to a second bar, with plenty of photo ops and merch to purchase. Here is where the debrief between strangers commences, which was an exciting reliving of what we all experienced moments before - but from a number of different perspectives. How to play like a Traitor - Alice's perspective When I was asked whether I wanted to be a Traitor from the beginning I ticked the box saying 'no' thinking it would be my worst nightmare. But in reality, it was absolutely thrilling. I entered the game as a Faithful, but during the very first roundtable found myself recruited as a Traitor by the chosen Traitor themselves. I had my blindfold goggles on and the host gently squeezed my shoulder. My first thought was 'oh no, I've already been murdered', and when I lifted up my goggles, I read from the interactive screen that I had been recruited to be a Traitor. 8 After the experience ends, you can have some fun with taking pictures Credit: Cyann Fielding Making sure to stay silent, I locked eyes with my fellow Traitor. Then, with a coy smile, I placed my goggles back on knowing the game of lying and deception, something I wouldn't say is my strong suit, had officially started. It's hard to stay on top of the challenges and act like a Faithful - but I had to say picking off fellow players one by one was pretty fun. It's challenging though when time for 'murdering' arrives because the room is completely silent. You're also very close to everyone so making no noise at all is crucial. When it came to kill off players, the Traitors had to take off their goggles and attempt to communicate in silence. This is fine when you agree, but tougher when you don't as there's no opportunity to have a lengthy conversation about who to get rid of. Through nothing but luck, I made it to the final four along with my fellow Traitor and two Faithfuls. And to complete the final challenge, we had to leave the game room and were taken through what felt like a maze of corridors, and down the stairs to a makeshift Traitors turret. 8 In total the experience lasts around two hours Credit: Cyann Fielding It looked very strikingly similar to the real location with a gloomy and castle-like feel. The four of us stood in a little circle around the well, but of course there was no plotting. There were lanterns along the wall, and even Traitors' cloaks hung up on the wall. In our game the Faithfuls were victorious, but I felt like the real winner really. At the end of the game, I asked the original Traitor why she decided to recruit me. What swayed her was that I had looked at her during the roundtable, and she thought she'd been made. So just be warned, people will pay attention to anything you do and say throughout the entire game. The experience costs from £29.50 per person - and is worth every penny. And rumour has it, new games will be added to the experience as it continues its stint in London. The Sun also recently checked out the new Titanic experience, where you experience the iceberg hitting the ship. Plus, the new Squid Game experience feels like being in the TV show but there is a downside for families.
