The Very Best of the Edinburgh Festivals 2025

Our continually updated round-up of all the four and five star shows seen by our writing team

Score | photo by Brian Ca

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Comedy

★★★★

Alana Jackson: Last Orders
Amy Mason: Behold!
Andrew Doherty: Sad Gay AIDS Play
Ayo Adenekan: Black Mediocrity
Ayoade Bamgboye: Swings and Roundabouts
Barry Ferns: My Seven Years as Lionel Richie
Bella Hull: Doctors Hate Her
Ben Pope: The Cut
Bryan Safi: Are You Mad at Me??
C U Later, Simulator
Cat Cohen: Broad Strokes
Christopher Macarthur-Boyd: Howling at the Moon
Chloe Petts: Big Naturals
Dan Tiernan: All In
Desiree Burch: The Golden Wrath
Douglas Widick: Paperclip
Eric Rushton: Innkeeper
Gianmarco Soresi: The Drama King Tour
Hasan Al-Habib: Death to the West (Midlands)
Heidi Regan: Jekyll and Heidi
Helen Bauer: Bless Her
Ismael Loutfi: Heavenly Baba
Ivo Graham: Orange Crush
Jain Edwards: She-Devil
James Trickey: Don’t Count On Me
jessica aszkenasy: TITCLOWN
John Tothill: This Must Be Heaven
Jordan Gray: Is That a C*ck in Your Pocket, or Are You Just Here to Kill Me?
Josie Long: Now is the Time of Monsters
Kate Dolan: The Critic
Kathy Maniura: The Cycling Man
Laura Davis: Despair is Beneath Us
Liam Withnail: Big Strong Boy
Lorna Rose Treen: 24 Hour Diner People
Lou Wall: Breaking the Fifth Wall
PALESTINE: PEACE DE RESISTANCE
Paul Sinha: 2 Sinha Lifetime
Mary O’Connell: Dilly Dally
Michelle Brasier: It’s a Shame We Won’t Be Friends Next Year
Relay
Rosa Garland: Primal Bog
Sam Nicoresti: Baby Doomer
Saaniya Abbas – Hellarious
Seaton Smith: Trauma Bonding
Shamik Chakrabarti: Despite Appearances
Sikisa: Serving Justice
SLUGS
Toussaint Douglass: Accessible Pigeon Material
Urooj Ashfaq: How to Be a Baddie

Theatre

★★★★★

Alright Sunshine
BITCH
Elysium
Managed Approach
The Horse of Jenin

★★★★

AETHER
Anthem for Dissatisfaction
Another Sight
Athens of the North
Betty Grumble’s Enemies of Grooviness Eat Sh!t
Cecilia Gentili’s Red Ink
Chat Sh*t, Get Hit
Chunky Jewellery
Copla: A Spanish Cabaret
Derek Mitchell: Goblin
Float
Giselle: Remix
I’m Ready to Talk Now
In the Land of Eagles
JEEZUS!
Jonny Woo: Suburbia
Kanpur: 1857
KINDER
Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares
Lost Lear
No Apologies
Ohio
PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD
Red Like Fruit
Rift
Scaramouche Jones
She’s Behind You
SKYE: A Thriller
Tell Me Where Home Is (I’m Starting to Forget)
Thanks for Being Here
The Burns Project
The Insider
Up! by Visible Fictions
Wild Thing!
Youth in Flames

Cabaret

★★★★

Bernie Bieter’s Club Kabarett
Dangerous Goods
Frisky’s Reshuffle
Jess Robinson: Your Song
Sink or SING!

Dance, Physical Theatre and Circus

★★★★

Circa: Wolf
Cirque Kalabanté: WOW (World of Words)
Imago
LOLA: A Flamenco Love Story
Score
Stepping In… Spilling Out
The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave
Voyeur / Samba and Love
Wee Man

Music & Musicals

★★★★★

Pussy Riot: Riot Days

★★★★

Hot Mess
Little Squirt
Nerds: The Bill Gates vs. Steve Jobs Comedy Musical
The Queen is Mad

Edinburgh International Festival

★★★★★

Figures in Extinction
Make It Happen
Mary, Queen of Scots
Orpheus and Eurydice

★★★★

Breaking Bach
Dance People
The Dan Daw Show
Triptic
Up Late with Kathryn Joseph
Works and Days