It’s approaching the end of the first week of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the reviews have been pouring in.
With the physical programme containing over 3,350 shows across 265 venues, it can be a daunting task to work out what exactly you are going to see.
At The Scotsman we review hundreds of shows every year, with the best receiving a sought-after four or five star rating.
This year we have only awarded two theatre shows the perfect five stars so far, but there have been many more that have earned four stars.
More importantly, several of those still have ticket availability for this weekend (August 8-10) so you can go and see what all the fuss is all about.
Here are 13 five and four star theatre shows our team of critics would recommend you see this weekend.
9. When Billy Met Alasdair
Alan Bissett’s When Billy Met Alasdair, a monologue about comedian Billy Connolly meeting author Alasdair Gray is on at the Scottish Storytelling Centre until August 23 at 8.30pm. There's still good ticket availability for the entire run. What we said: "Bissett imagines the conversation they might have shared, that night, about key figures in Scottish culture; and also reflects on the the sheer dogged persistence which enabled them to carve their way through obscurity and poverty towards creative fulfilment." | Alasdair Gray Archive
10. SKYE: A Thriller
Starring River City actress Dawn Steele, SKYE: A Thriller has ticeket availability for every performance at 3pm at Summerhall until August 25. What we said: "It’s a tribute to Dawn Steele’s skill and integrity, as an actress, that she leads us there in a style so quietly convincing – and so full of unshowy grief – that the effect is finally both enthralling and satisfying, despite the deep sadness of the story she tells." | Contributed
11. A Minor Theft
You have until August 16 to see A Minor Theft at ZOO Playground at 1.05pm each day, with tickets available for every performance. What we said: "Heartbreaking and vulnerable as protagonist Sophie, Beth Mullen paints us a vivid picture of a deeply flawed – yet still sympathetic – young woman who has just done the unthinkable." | Contributed
12. Champions
Playing at the Pleasance at the EICC, you can get tickets for every performace of Champions between now and the end of its run on August 16. It's on at 8.30pm each day. What we said: "It is as if we have been permitted entry into some quiet corner of Andreas Constantinou’s psyche. Constantinou, the artist behind Champions – a performance-installation exploring grief, loneliness, and homophobia – recalls the lives of his late mother and father, who died within five weeks of each-other during the height of the Covid pandemic." | Contributed