Pleasance Theatre is all set to dazzle audiences with its eclectic lineup for 2025, featuring a range of artistic performances that delve into meaningful themes. From the queer climate musical 'Acid's Reign' to the introspective satire 'Oh My Pain, My Beautiful Pain!', each event promises to engage audiences in thought-provoking ways. These performances highlight both emerging talents and seasoned artists, offering a rich tapestry of storytelling that is as diverse as it is entertaining.

Exploring Pleasance Theatre's Diverse 2025 Lineup: From Climate Musicals to Queer Pantos

Pleasance Theatre is set to host a series of captivating performances, each bringing unique narratives and vibrant characters to the stage. From the climate-focused musical, 'Acid's Reign,' to the satirical 'Oh My Pain, My Beautiful Pain!', audiences are in for an array of theatrical experiences. The Charlie Hartill Tryouts, 'The Big Bite-Size Show,' 'Yankl and the Beanstalk,' and 'Desperate Times' round out this diverse lineup, promising to entertain and provoke thought as they explore cultural, societal, and personal themes.

Diverse Voices and Bold Theatre: A Look into Pleasance Theatre's Upcoming Events

Fresh from her world tour, the People's Princess is back at the Fringe!
Do you know the story of Diana? Probably. But do you know our story of Diana? We very much doubt it.

EPSG:4326

Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story

Pleasance Courtyard

Chatterbox is about the power of language, words and the impact of labels. Who gets listened to and who doesn't. How does that impact a five-year-old girl who was called stupid because she couldn't speak English at primary school in Glasgow? A young child hiding her embarrassment but found coping methods.

Chatterbox

A stunning visual epic of love and loss that transcends language. Multi award-winning collaborators, Ad Infinitum (Beautiful Evil Things, Translunar Paradise), and Ramesh Meyyappan (Love Beyond) return to EdFringe.

Last Rites – Here & Now Showcase

Alone in the world – as only a widow can be – Broadway actor, Kate Skinner's moving journey through love, loss and online dating at 70. Navigating a landscape where 'Man, 67, seeks woman under 30,' her stories are wickedly funny and deeply poignant. Through it all, her love for Ron McLarty remains ever-present.

Help! I'm Trapped in a One-Woman Show

Pleasance Dome

King Lear (by Pip Utton, but mainly by William Shakespeare) is mad. Very, very, mad. Mad at the weather, mad at his daughters, mad at everyone and everything. But his biggest problem is that he really is mad! And angry.

King Lear

After 2023's rambling overshare in this prefab sprouted into 2024's Carousel, Ivo Graham begins to plot its sequel, once more in the theatre section, once more not to be confused with his stand-up show in the Grand.

Graham Back in the Green

Following more than 200 performances across the globe, Theatre Re, 'one of the UK's most admired physical theatre companies' (Scotsman), returns with its explosive and joyous five-star sell-out international hit about what is left when memory is gone.

The Nature of Forgetting

Having sold every ticket in 2024, Miriam Margolyes returns with more – more characters, more Dickens, and more fascinating stories about the man behind the classics.

Margolyes & Dickens: More Best Bits

Pleasance at EICC

New York Comedian/Moth Champion's non-fictional New Year's Eve campaign (fast-paced wordplay, reference-filled mental pop-culture Broadway musical): changes her life New Year's Day. To ideally, February 2nd.

22: Brooke's Time Space Sequins

A genre-blurring experience, fusing live performance with virtual reality environments shifting and reshaping in response to the protagonist's inner world.

The Ode Islands

Award-winning theatre maker and 'Fringe legend' (Time Out), Victoria Melody joined a historical re-enactment society...because we all deal with divorce differently!

Trouble, Struggle, Bubble and Squeak

Acclaimed immersive adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s classic novel, staged in a bespoke venue unique to the show. The audience are literally part of the action, including the notorious ‘worst toilet in Scotland’ scene.

Trainspotting Live

Trapped in his studio while navigating life, death and an endless array of projects, artist Robert Power can't seem to escape his mind and a recurring dream of Icelandic nirvana. With the outside world filtered through Valerie, a virtual assistant who seems to have dreams of her own, Robert's existence suddenly arrives at its zenith in this auto-fictional exploration of creative chaos.

A Version of Life

The theatre has always been a place of ghosts, with shadowy figures in the wings, whispered secrets, and echoes of the past in every dressing room. But at the heart of the West End's most haunted playhouse, a different kind of spirit lingers.

Ghost Light

The award-winning 2024 smash-hit is back – bigger, bolder and more visceral than ever.

Dear Annie, I Hate You

NY Comedian/Moth StorySLAM Champion Brooke's a former literal child. Solo shows? Navel gazes. Three acts. So Brooke wrote one. She’s had three.

The Brilliance of Broken Glass: Button

An award-winning clown showdown where Don Toberman – played by Gaulier-trained performer Chase Brantley – takes on the entire audience in a pantomime ping-pong championship for glory.

Don Toberman: Ping Pong Champ

We all have a crazy ex, right? Well, she's here. Tonight. Dogged, drunk and self-destructing, she's declaring open war at an open mic. And she has a lot to say. Don't they fucking all?

BITCH

Embark on a whimsical journey with the Little Prince as he travels the universe, searching for the true meaning of friendship. In a world where grown-ups have forgotten how to see with their hearts, he discovers beauty, wisdom and the importance of human connection.

The Little Prince

'It's like the sun casts a spell, some hypnotic solar stuff, and suddenly ordinary people dae terrible things…'

Alright Sunshine

Fringe First Winner. Acting, visuals, and a binaural soundscape that send chills down your spine, exploring greed and large-scale financial fraud. A contemporary Wolf of Wall Street on stage.

The Insider

The vampire's guide to hot girl decay. A comedy so raw, so sexy, so deranged it'll make you rethink your skincare routine.

Degenerate

The rural fixer-upper they've inherited can't hack it... and neither can their relationship. Adam wants to stay to make it a home but Stevie has big city dreams of holding hands in public. With no TV to distract them and an all-night fight on the forecast, they parody 00s TV comforts (Straight in Their Eyes, The Weakest Twink, Top of the Poppers) to confront home, happiness and heteronormativity.

Shame Show

Love. Loss. Revenge. Redemption. A radical queer reimagining of the classical ballet. Our Giselle is a hopeless romantic who comes to realise the brutal reality of queer intimacy is a far cry from Hollywood’s happily-ever-after.

Giselle: Remix

Electrifying political gig theatre – Blaze FM is a pirate radio station that keeps on kicking in the midst of court orders, injunctions, shutdowns by DTI, and outright attacks against Black music.

Blaze FM

This autobiographical one-woman show puts you in the splash zone of death and delusion as Beth journeys through her struggle with bipolar disorder, but like, in a funny way. Through the bizarre highs and perilous lows, Beth knits comedy and drama together to find the scariest thing of all... a future full of hope.

Beth Wants The D

In a world unravelling under the weight of macho strongmen and repressive systems, Tom na Fazenda is a raw, gripping confrontation with the violence of patriarchy and the crisis of masculinity.

Tom at the Farm

Aaron answers the question twice, first with a story you've heard a thousand times, and then with one you've never heard before.

Falling: A Disabled Love Story

Three actors and a Foley artist band together – in fellowship – to perform a live, shot-for-shot parody of the most epic fantasy film of all time. A jaw-dropping blend of comedy, physical theatre, and live foley that proves even the smallest of acting ensembles can change the course of the future.

Fly, You Fools!

Following its critically acclaimed UK Tour and West End debut, the Fringe 2024 smash hit returns!

Hold On To Your Butts

A universal story of resilience and imagination, written and performed by Palestinian comedian and actor, Alaa Shehada. Blending storytelling, mask and stand-up, the show follows the life of a boy growing up in Jenin, Occupied Palestine, who, like any child, just wants to play.

The Horse of Jenin

Ben's eager to impress at his job interview, but on the big day he witnesses a mysterious death and picks up the victim's lanyard – just to keep it safe. What follows is an endless chain of promotions, but who does he work for and what does he actually do?

The Unstoppable Rise of Ben Manager

LEI – LDN follows Chardaye, a mixed-race 17-year-old with a sharp tongue and a lot to say. Uprooted from Leicester to South London, she’s thrown into a world of aunties, accents and unspoken rules. But where’s the rulebook on belonging?

Lei – Ldn

Derry Freshers’ Week, closeted Bud is in for a rollercoaster of tequila, tiaras and transitioning. Lucky they have Rose keeping them on the not-so-straight and narrow.

Rose + Bud

April Hope Miller’s debut play is a wildly funny and profoundly moving exploration of the sanctity of sisterhood, set in the seemingly mundane yet magical space of the ladies bathroom. Following one woman’s experience of assault, FLUSH dives deep into the lives of different women, navigating their shared vulnerabilities, triumphs and frustrations and examines how women rally around each other in moments of crisis and catharsis.

FLUSH

Quintessential British super spy, Simon Cross, wakes to find himself in rehab for drinking, gambling, womanizing and anger management issues.

The Spy Who Went to Rehab

Agent Blonde has 24 hours to save the world. The only things standing in her way are dastardly villains, an outrageous plot, and... a lack of funding. When Hollywood rejects her script, a frustrated screenwriter invites you, an audience of producers, to a one-night-only presentation of The Greatest Spy Movie (N)Ever Made!

Spy Movie: The Play!

Kate wants to tell you about Golden Time and when she started thinking about it again as an adult. Ironically, she has terrible time management and needs your help to stay on track.

Golden Time

How do you rebel against parents who are already rebels? Form a band? Cool. Smoke some weed? Whatever. But finding Jesus? Now that's hardcore...

God Is Dead and I Killed Him

Join Alan Watts, hippie, philosopher and pioneer of the counterculture, for his last night on Earth.

Out of my Head – Alan Watts is Alive and Well... Dead

Adapted from Jane Dunn's Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell: A Very Close Conspiracy, this one-woman show on Vanessa Bell is written, performed and painted by Kara Wilson.

Bloomsbury Bell

The 10-year anniversary of the hit one-man show, Cartoonopolis! The ultimate make-believe metropolis; an imaginary world of cartoon capers, amazing adventures, villainous villains, heroic heroes and the very best meatballs you've ever tasted.

Cartoonopolis

The sales team at Terry's Cars and Automobiles is preparing to honour the fallen by slashing prices on some gently used, (mostly) American-made cars. But, the pressure's on. If Terry's team doesn't shift 66 cars by Monday, there'll be hell to pay.

Terry's: An American Tragedy About Cars, Customers and Selling Cars to Customers

Tired of washing out your hummus pot? Sick of sorting through your plastic? Yep! Ella, a karaoke-loving procrastinator with a taste for Deliveroo, felt the same – until her water bottle washed up in Malaysia. Rather than confronting her demons, she takes on the problem of plastic instead. Haunted by her past which she can't seem to bin, she'll do anything other than look at her own life, until life becomes unavoidable.

Single Use

Strapped to a cannon, an Indian rebel finds themselves answering to a British officer for the crimes of Kanpur – an Indian uprising against British colonial forces. Based on historical events, this new play comically satirises contemporary conflicts around gender, colonial violence, and making art in times of crisis.

Kanpur: 1857

A must-see fringe debut from US comedian Laurie Magers (Netflix’s Obliterated, Upright Citizens Brigade) about the time she dated an incarcerated multi-felon.

Do You Accept These Charges?

'If there's one thing worse than classism and the disparity of wealth in this country… It's FOMO'.

Eat The Rich

Lunchbox is about the impact of bullying seen through the eyes of a troubled Scottish boy, Steven, and Pakistani girl, Lubna.

Lunchbox

Skip is an aspiring actor just trying to stay afloat. It’s her versus her peers with generational wealth. Armed with the perfect playlist, Skip takes us on a dance party through her changing hometown and the forces she contends with on a daily basis.

House Party

Ladies and Gentlethem – feeling a little upset? Have you tried hypnosis, psychoanalysis, smelling salts and it just doesn't work? Try The City for Incurable Women!

The City for Incurable Women

Butch loner Count Dykula loves her life, even though she's technically dead. Her gothic castle slaps and she gets to prey on humans who stray behind the big Asda. But trouble looms when Scare University preaches 'the right way to be a monster' and Dykula sets out to tear down the ultra-femme busty bloodsuckers who rule the school.

Count Dykula

Andrew Borden and his wife Abby are found dead in Fall River, Massachusetts, August 1892. Their daughter Lizzie is the main suspect. Tried but acquitted of the crime, the story goes that she wielded the axe that killed them. Overnight, she becomes America's original 'mad, bad and dangerous to know' icon.

Bury The Hatchet

Anchorage, Alaska, 1964. The largest earthquake in US history. A part-time radio reporter, her teenage intern, a general on leave and a local hobbyist find themselves at the centre of a remarkable relief effort. Live on air, Genie Chance must take unimaginable risks to save her community from chaos.

Down to Chance

Lottie's just made the mother of all promises and needs to grow up. Fast.

Bairns

Astronaut Albright is accused of criminal activity against her ex-wife, heralding the dawn of space-crime and a new era for queer representation. Accused. Alone. Gay. Is she really a criminal... or a hero? Thankfully, she's not from one of 69* Earth-countries where she'd be a criminal for being gay at all.

Lesbian Space Crime

Newly widowed young Mrs Lovett needs to find a way to survive. Using the skills she learned from her whaler father, Eleanor “recalibrates”. Long before meeting Sweeney Todd, we discover what ultimately leads to turning his victims into pies.

Lovett

Pompeii. 79 AD. Volcano Day. Join your fellow citizens for Pompeii's final public forum.

It's Gonna Blow!

Back for their 19th year on the Fringe, The Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show presents three brand new rotating menus of mini plays.

The Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show

Clare Noy is an actress known for falling over in The Play That Goes Wrong and in Peter Pan Goes Wrong. She's also a stand-up comic just trying to get by. Funny Though is another cautionary tale about a bisexual in crisis, the Comedienne makes questionable life choices so that you don't have to. She's tired, she's broke and she'll do anything for a laugh. Expect 60 minutes of hot mess, no more, no less.

Funny Though

Following in the footsteps of the content creators before her, Pollie is an OnlyFans star determined to catapult herself to stratospheric fame with her most extreme stunt yet: sleeping with 1,000 of her subscribers.

Body Count

In this explosive physical comedy, two swimmers go head-to-head in the race of a lifetime – on a stage with no water.

The Crawl

Hailed as one of the most dazzling performers to emerge on the fringe circuit, Marcel Cole gives a stunning one-hour treatment to the extraordinary life and career of the greatest physical comedian of all time.

Smile: The Story of Charlie Chaplin

Her and Grandpa are different and not the same. She's got MySpace, he's got his bench by the back gate. When Grandpa asks to go home, he doesn't mean his semi-detached down the road. Albania is far and he can't venture there alone. By turns unexpected and fantastical, they soon find themselves journeying into the heart of a place unknown.

In the Land of Eagles

Ben has a show opening later, but first he has a family meeting, and before that there's a funeral. A single day can encompass the past, present and future; friends, family and strangers; the ridiculous, the moving and the inspirational. Like life.

Ben Moor: A Three Thing Day

Direct from its sell-out world premiere season in Washington DC, Priyanka Shetty's gripping docudrama is constructed from first-hand accounts, court transcripts, and news reports, capturing the aftermath of the 2017 Unite the Right rally.

#charlottesville

Celebrate the true-life story of one of the world’s most beloved icons, Audrey Hepburn.

The Essence of Audrey

Winston Smith, insignificant cog in the Party's vast machine, dreams of freedom, but is he the only one? Big Brother is watching, and dreams can be deadly when rebellion begins with a thought.

1984

Five Sundays. Five strangers. One mystery drug. As the trial unfolds, these guinea pigs will discover the sheer lengths each of them will go just to fill the silence. Oversharing ensues, secrets emerge and the stresses of their precarious lives are laid bare. This may not be the dream, but if they listen to each other, they might just learn something. Or maybe they won't.

Brainsluts

A routine NHS11 assesment goes horribly wrong resulting in the death of a patient. Now Gary, a health advisor for the NHS is facing the heat as his job and livelihood are brought into disrepute.

Hold The Line

After a successful first run at The Cockpit in London, MARIUPOL now comes to Edinburgh for the first time. Written by Katia Haddad, MARIUPOL is based on her treasured memories of the city and accounts of the survivors of the siege.

Mariupol

It's 2013, they're 14 and in the prime of their lives! Kelly is smashing it on the netball team. Cara is certain that love is blossoming with her longtime crush. Most importantly, they're gonna be besties forever. For life. But when a strange new face arrives, unprecedented chaos ensues. Things that once seemed certain are no longer quite so clear.

Cara and Kelly are Best Friends Forever For Life

On the 21st December 1988, a bomb exploded aboard Pan Am 103 over the quiet Scottish town of Lockerbie. Annie Lareau was meant to be on the flight with 35 of her Syracuse University classmates, heading home for Christmas. She was left behind.

Fuselage

Bob Kingdom reprises his critically-acclaimed and iconic performance in this multi-award-winning production as the brilliant, adorable and infamous writer of In Cold Blood and Breakfast at Tiffany's.

The Truman Capote Talk Show – Winner: Scotsman Fringe First Award

We all long to be seen for who we are. But who sees you most clearly? Your inner critic, your best friend or a stranger with a typewriter?

The Poet is Present

What if you could wear emotions like masks? What if the screen in your hand consumed you? What if you gifted your heartbeat to someone else? What if a glass of water led you to another world?

Untold Stories: Modern Mime Tales

Since Alfie's dad died, he's visited everyone's dreams but hers. Rude. Desperate to talk to him, she turns to AiR, an AI chatbot designed to connect the living with the lost. What starts as a comforting conversation between daddy and his little princess spirals into chaos. Each chat uncovers more about her dad's life – and death – than she ever bargained for. Was his death suspicious or is it just a glitch in the machine?

Dead Air

When Elton John, 39, is falsely accused of bonking prostitutes, he launches Britain's largest libel lawsuit. But The Sun editor finds sorry the hardest word, and tries bullying the Rocketman into submission with a blistering campaign of Media harassment.

Monstering the Rocketman by Henry Naylor

After being banned from going anywhere abroad (yes, even Benidorm), British tourists are forced to go on holiday to the only place that'll have 'em. Hell. At least it'll be hot.

Brits Abroad: Banned

Fun and filthy poems from someone who knows what they're doing. If there were any justice, he'd be Poet Laureate, or King.

Luke Wright: Pub Grub

The King is dead and the Prince is unmarried – if he doesn't find someone soon, he must forfeit the crown!

The Fit Prince

The Pleasance Theatre

Award-winning comedy duo Fag Packet invite you to DYKE Systems Ltd, a prestigious seminar that could help you get filthy rich!

DYKE Systems Ltd - Fringe Preview

Following a legendary late night extravaganza last April, CLUB:GISELLE returns to Pleasance once more for a party for the ages, to raise money for triumphant arrival of Jack Sears’ GISELLE: REMIX at Edinburgh Fringe 2025.

Club Giselle

Following its debut at The Royal Opera House in 2021 and its hit Pleasance run in 2024, GISELLE: REMIX returns to Pleasance London in July for three previews before taking Edinburgh Fringe 2025 by storm.

The Unstoppable Rise of Ben Manager - Fringe Preview

REWIND, a multi-award-winning and critically acclaimed theatre show, returns for one night only for a special adaptation. The show, which was ranked in Guardian’s Best 10 Shows of 2024, now pays tribute to the victims of the Bosnian Genocide.

REWIND: Bosnia and Herzegovina

Kanpur: 1857 - Fringe Preview

Rebel Jam is a cabaret hosted by Crystal and Nadia, two entertainers on a mission to champion queer rights. Join them for a hybrid frenzy of comedy, drag, music, spoken word, and theatre—all with an unapologetically queer twist!

Rebel Jam: A Queer Starmer Cabaret

Enlight Insight Theatre

Welcome to Criminally Untrue: the improvised true crime documentary based entirely on your suggestions.

Criminally Untrue

Mahsuri was cursed. Betrayed. Turned into legend. But what happens when a story refuses to stay fixed?

mak said don't whistle at night so i screamed instead

Award-winning dancer and comedian Sam Burkett is here for the freshest gossip—and they want it LIVE.

GOSS

Follow a parent-for-hire (nanny) and partner-for-hire (sex worker) on a sweaty, messy, joyous quest for lost queer and sex worker stories, family, and a future worth fighting for.

This Play is a Dildo

Fargo meets The Office meets James Bond in this high-octane, darkly comic thriller about justice, power, and just how deep the truth can be buried.

Redacted: A cover-up of a cover-up of a cover-up

Forget foxes, bargains, or Jeremy – this is the biggest hunt of them all. And Amber's armed and ready.

Love Hunt

Log onto the world of the incels, a terminally online community of toxic men, in this fast-paced new comedy-drama from Jamie Sykes.

The Last Incel

Project Lockout is proud to present BUSTER. Combining physical theatre and cinematic mime, join us as we embark on the story of the late, great Buster Keaton. Comedian, acrobat and gag-man. His name became synonymous with silent film, and now, we are telling his story.

Buster

This show is part of Futures Festival, a work-in-process festival curated by Pleasance Associate Artists. Each artist presents a week of work around a theme relevant to them and the work they are making.

Bread and Circuses

From the makers of the award winning show, Dugsi Dayz, Side eYe returns with Desperate Times - a sell-out hit and fresh off a UK tour, by emerging writer Amal Abdi.

Meet Lucky, a bored and lonely supply teacher, who has developed a compulsion for petty thieving. She feels invincible and lives for the drama, until she tells a lie that not even she can charm her way out of. How long can she keep up the act?

Pleasance Theatre

20 - 24 Aug, 2025

Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story

18 - 25 Aug, 2025

Chatterbox

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Pleasance Theatre