Edinburgh Fringe Theatre reviews: Hail Mary, None of the Grace | Th’Air BnB | Of Fire and Flame + more

Hail Mary, None of the Grace ★★★☆☆

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Town (Venue 140) until 24 August

Mary Kennedy – “Yes, that Kennedy, third cousin twice removed, all of the tragedy, none of the money” – works through Catholic guilt and parent issues in this candid, if somewhat rambling, autobiographical show.

We meet Mary at her mother’s funeral, in the little Catholic church where she played the organ. But Mary is through with the Catholic church, and now, for the first time, she is free of her mother.

We learn only gradually just how much she has to be free from. The child of two alcoholic parents, she was neglected and physically abused. Then, when she was expecting her own first child, her mother drunk-called to tell her she was “not mother material”. But this is not the theatrical equivalent of a misery memoir. Mary is irrepressible and – while occasionally guilty of oversharing – can’t resist a funny story.

The show lacks pace and not all of Mary’s digressions have much to bring to the narrative. But if you’re after a slice of real life, engaging told by a feisty lady, Mary is more than worth an hour of your time.

SUSAN MANSFIELD

Th’Air BnB ★★★☆☆

Leith Depot (venue 214) until 25 August

A gently funny two-hander set in an Airbnb in a Southend flat, this piece from The Tuppenny Bunters, husband and wife duo Fiona and David Dualke, is largely inconsequential but consistently amiable. Flatmates Badge and Vince decide to try renting out the bottom half of their bohemian duplex as an Airbnb. Much bickering ensues as they work through their checklist which includes “cleaning the air” and turning the flowers towards the moon. However most of their good work goes unappreciated when guests Annie and Neil arrive after a funeral. Confronted as they are by Vince’s collection of creepy toys, more bickering ensues.

The Dualkes are clearly influenced by comedy scriptwriters Alan Galton and Ray Simpson; much like the Steptoe and Son creators they have a keen eye for the mundane and petty annoyances (this is also one of the most carefully cluttered sets you’re likely to see). This doesn’t really go anywhere (the ending is still a placeholder) but there’s a pleasantly realistic rhythm to the dialogue and the couple excel when their characters’ tensions bubble over into squabbling, as in a ludicrously funny extended routine when trying to share the wifi password.

RORY FORD

READ MORE: The Best Edinburgh Fringe Theatre 2025: Every show with a four or five star review from The Scotsman so far

Of Fire and Flame ★★★☆☆

Gilded Balloon Patter House (Venue 25) until 24 August

The romantasy genre comes in for some affectionate spoofing in this new play from writer Emma Zetterberg and actor Lily Edwards, with a clever double narrative device which brings two worlds vividly to life. On the less real plane our heroine is Anne, one of a legion of mortal soldiers commanded by the Fey Warriors in the kingdom of Callythia, who do battle with creatures known as Wraiths.

That’s the fantasy part of the romantasy portmanteau; the romance element comes from Anne’s muscle-bound Fey commander Dragomir, for whom she can’t stop having very frank – and very funny – thoughts of a sexual nature. Meanwhile, in the more real world, Anne is a young woman who works at a hippy school, who’s dreading the imminent departure of her best friend Lena as she moves in with her girlfriend Sasha. More seriously, Anne is plagued by pain and a period which just won’t stop.

The energetic and expressive Edwards sells both worlds well, both as the upbeat but downtrodden real-world Anne, and as her hypersexual idealised version in Callythia. While the backdrop might be a bit too niche for some audiences, the tropes of fantasy writing are affectionately skewered; the standard “she gulps”, for example, isn’t a direction someone can easily achieve in conversation.

DAVID POLLOCK

Sex, Drugs and Conscious Souls ★★☆☆☆

PBH’s Free Fringe @ The Street (Venue 239) until 24 August

Although this two-hander is bracketed by an incomprehensible New Age introduction that would test anyone’s patience and ends with a sermon advocating psychedelics, the core of it is not without interest. How could it not be — as it’s the true story of how the principals, Josh Thomson (a conservative Protestant pastor) and Elle Rose (a polyamorous, pansexual performer) became a couple – or at least two-thirds of various throuples – after a 15-minute tantric massage “date” arranged through an escort website?

Thomson’s background addressing congregations stands him in good stead (who knew?) while Rose clearly thrives being the centre of attention (once you learn how to filter her personality, which is turned up to “11” all the time). If the pair dropped the hippie gobbledygook and concentrated on their unlikely relationship this could actually be something.

RORY FORD

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