Kelly Apter

Six Edinburgh Fringe productions receive mixed reviews. Bliss is the strongest recommendation, praised for its polished production, energetic cast and accessible themes despite borrowing heavily from familiar musical-theatre ideas. Hole! is celebrated for its originality, catchy songs, religious satire and challenge to heteronormative stereotypes. The Song of the Ice offers a timely audiovisual meditation on Antarctica and climate change, combining Steve Garrett’s music, artwork and scientific experience, though its structure could be tightened. A World Apart is considered pleasant but repetitive, while Carnegie’s examination of Andrew Carnegie, capitalism and labor ethics is undermined by a sluggish second half and tasteless AI-generated imagery. This Little Thing of Ours is the weakest offering, relying on tired Mafia clichés and broad characterizations, with its live band providing most of its energy.

Kelly Apter praises INALA as a joyful, human and emotionally connected celebration of South African song at Edinburgh’s Lyceum. The nine singers from Soweto deliver rich harmonies, energetic movement and reflective songs, supported by live piano, percussion and Joshua Harriette’s responsive lighting design. The review notes that the full Zulu ballet and contemporary dancers are absent from this presentation, and argues that English supertitles would have made the songs’ narratives more accessible.

Reviews of five Edinburgh Fringe dance and physical-theatre productions find The Palestinian Circus: A Step and a Half to be the standout, praising its technical mastery, solidarity, Palestinian cultural references and joyful expression of resilience. Tale of the Firebird is admired for its daring integration of live music, aerial work and fire, though its narrative and atmosphere are less effective. Double Take showcases the comic and dramatic range of a silent mime duo, while Bigger is strongest when Sofiane Chalal combines hip-hop with reflections on fatness and discrimination. Taiwan Season: Under Mask impresses through energetic movement and elaborate masks but creates emotional distance from its performers.

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui discusses Ihsane, his new Edinburgh Festival dance production linking his regret over his estranged relationship with his late father to the 2012 homophobic murder of Belgian-Moroccan man Ihsane Jarfi. The work was developed with Jarfi’s father and sister and explores grief, Moroccan heritage, Muslim identity, belonging and homophobia. Dancers from Cherkaoui’s Eastman company and the Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève perform alongside musicians and singers led by Jasser Haj Youssef, whose score draws on musical traditions from across the Arab world. The production deliberately leaves its Arabic-language songs untranslated to evoke Cherkaoui’s childhood experience of beauty, mystery and cultural dislocation.

Reviews of four Edinburgh Fringe dance offerings highlight Border Bodies, a five-star Brazilian work using contemporary urban dance to explore dislocation, immigration, individuality and collective harmony. The Basque Showcase earns praise for the emotionally raw Trembling Frequencies by Helena Wilhelmsson and the abstract, industrial duet Jarraibiderik Gabe by Erain. TWELVE: Going the Distance draws on boxing to examine precision, endurance and teamwork, though its interpretation is more hypnotic than physically exhausting. Celtic Collective brings together National Youth Dance Wales and Scotland’s National Youth Dance Company in works reflecting youth anxiety, resilience and the possibility of hope.

Choreographer Aszure Barton discusses Mere Mortals, her San Francisco Ballet commission that reinterprets the Pandora myth through the lens of artificial intelligence. Rejecting the traditional portrayal of Pandora as a source of evil, Barton explores agency, humanity and the risks and possibilities of technology. The production combines contemporary ballet, electronic music by Sam Shepherd, visuals by Hamill Industries and performances by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Barton also describes breaking down the company’s traditional hierarchy by rehearsing its 40 dancers together, while principals Wei Wang and Nikisha Fogo reflect on the collaborative process and the work’s potential to encourage debate about AI’s impact on art, society and the future.

Scotsman dance critic Kelly Apter highlights four works in the 2026 Edinburgh International Festival dance programme. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Ihsane explores the murder of Ihsane Jarfi, homophobia, Moroccan heritage and the choreographer’s relationship with his late father. Dan Daw’s EXXY examines working-class life, disability, self-worth and social expectations. Scottish ensemble Groupwork’s When Prophecy Fails portrays members of a doomsday cult confronting the failure of their beliefs, combining dance, projected images, text and music. The programme is framed as a collection of personal, challenging and ultimately affirming stories about identity and self-acceptance.

Kelly Apter highlights three Edinburgh International Festival dance works for 2026, emphasizing their focus on real people, tragedy, identity and self-acceptance. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Ihsane explores the murder of Ihsane Jarfi alongside the choreographer’s Moroccan heritage and relationship with his late father. Dan Daw’s EXXY examines working-class upbringing, disability and self-worth, with a post-show party included in the ticket. Scottish ensemble Groupwork’s When Prophecy Fails uses dance, projected imagery, text and music to depict a doomsday cult confronting the failure of its prophecy.

Justice in Motion’s theatre production CODE explores County Lines drug dealing, in which gangs groom and exploit young people to distribute drugs from cities to rural areas. Drawing on interviews with victims, perpetrators, parents, police and academics, the show combines physical theatre, parkour, trials-bike stunts, live rap and music to make the subject accessible. Artistic director Anja Meinhardt-Bruckmann and rapper Marcus Smith hope the production will raise awareness, encourage conversations between families and communities, and reduce the appeal of gang involvement. CODE runs at Heriot Bridge at Pleasance Grassmarket in Edinburgh from 5 to 27 August during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.