Edinburgh Fringe theatre reviews: The Unlikely Friendship of Feather Boy And Tentacle Girl + more

Assembly Roxy (Venue 139) until 17 August

First scheduled to open this year’s Edinburgh International Children’s Festival, but delayed by a cast injury, The Unlikely Friendship Of Feather Boy And Tentacle Girl is a gorgeously sensual piece of physical theatre about flying upwards, plunging downwards, and unexpectedly finding a friend who understands your strange yearning to explore the furthest limits of a completely different element from the one into which you were born.

So for 55 beautiful, wordless minutes, the show’s co-creators Sadiq Ali and Vee Smith build the characters of Feather Boy and Tentacle Girl, while performing gently spectacular acrobatic miracles with two tall poles and some wires, in the beautiful high space of Assembly Roxy.

She crawls and reaches downwards, transforming her arms into tentacles, he swings and reaches upwards; and sometimes they dance together, her flexibility matching his height and strength, as he swirls her around in giant flying-fish movements, or pulls on ropes that send her swinging over the audience.

Produced by leading Scottish children’s company Catherine Wheels, with support from artistic director Gill Robertson and writer-dramaturg Rob Evans, the show has a narrative arc, which reaches its climax when the two seem to lose one another in a storm; if the show has a flaw, it lies in the vagueness of its post-storm conclusion, which seems to offer neither a joyful moment of reunion, nor a clear acknowledgment of loss.

Yet the sheer beauty of the show - wrapped in shimmering blue-green light and fabrics by designer Jen McGinley, with lighting by Jamie Heseltine, and sound by Guy Veale - helps to draw us in; weaving a spell that soothes the soul, and holds the audience rapt, from beginning to end.

Joyce McMillan

Youth in Flames ★★★★

Zoo Playground (Venue 186) until 24 August

The protests against Hong Kong’s proposed extradition bill in 2019 and their swift and violent suppression form the backdrop to this powerful one woman play by young writer and performer Mimi Martin, making her solo debut on the Fringe.

Millie (Martin) loves to party. She loves the freedom of her ex-pat parents’ frequent absences, loves turning up at school hungover bragging about the night before. Hong Kong is her playground, but she feels no ties to it. She has already lived in five countries, shipped around the world for her parents’ careers. If she needs to, she’ll just move on to another one.

Her best friend Jesse has no such luxury. A Hong Kong national attending the same international school, he is determined to go to the protests because he feels the country he knew slipping away from him, even if he has to defy his parents who don’t want him to do anything to rock the boat of the high-achieving future they have planned. He wants Millie to come, and she thinks it’s just another bit of fun until everything gets ugly very fast.

Martin’s writing is tight and urgent and her evocation of the city and its moods is superb. From Millie’s privileged, shallow perspective, we see seismic shifts taking place: police in riot gear facing down peaceful demonstrators; the rhetoric shifting, linking the protests to rioting and terrorism to justify the use of force.

Her performance, under Jessica Whiley’s direction, is perfectly pitched, balancing Millie’s party-girl energy with restraint in the final sections of the play.

There is no big lightbulb moment for her, just a gradual dawning awareness that the world is not always a benevolent place, and if you want to preserve something important, you might need to fight for it.

Susan Mansfield

I Was a Teenage She-Devil ★★★★

theSpace @ Niddry St (Venue 9) until 22 August

A late-night, high-octane musical that delivers full '80s madness. All hairspray, rock 'n' roll, and a healthy dose of devilish fun.

This is an affectionate parody, a camp love letter to the era which also successfully challenges outdated tropes. There are clear influences from and nods to '80s movies and cult classics - think Carrie and Back to the Future.

It's set in an American high school, and features the stereotypical characters, including the mean girl, her hot quarterback boyfriend, the Bible-obsessed cheerleader, the weed smoker and the outcasts.

When head cheerleader Tiffani gets into trouble for bullying, she takes her revenge on the unsuspecting and socially awkward Nancy, but surprisingly Nancy has a few tricks of her own. What follows is a deal with Satan that transforms her from a bookish nerd to sexy seductress, and Faith Pasch nails both sides of this wild transformation.

The comedy-horror features catchy original songs and choreography that wouldn’t look out of place in a music video. The dance numbers are punchy and packed, and voice effects added to the vocals further heighten the '80s feel. All the cast boast impressive vocals, making challenging songs appear effortless.

The male characters are primarily used for humour rather than as developed roles. Big Rodd is tall, goofy, and loveably dim, Todd tags along gamely, and one performer hilariously takes on multiple roles from school teacher to hellish Satan.

It’s the women who really dominate the stage, each with their own brand of cool, strength, and chaos. There is real development in their characters which helps give the piece heart. Just when you think things can't get any crazier, another banger drops and the cast takes it to yet another level.

Suzanne O’Brien

Pictures of Willy ★★★

theSpace on the Mile (Venue 39) until 16 August

Developed and performed by Los Angeles Theatre Initiative, Pictures of Willy is an ambitious stage play following artist Cal as he navigates life as a queer, single parent.

Not only is his ability to parent his teenage son (whom he adopted thirteen years ago) scrutinised by the other parents at school, but Cal also criticises his own parenting style, anxious that the ‘fun gay’ and ‘dad gay’ aspects of himself are mutually exclusive.

The script, which is more of a saga, impresses with its pithy one-liners and narrative complexity. Cal calls on his queer icons (including Joan Rivers and ABBA, who’s photos occupy a large part of the stage), and they represent his conscience by supporting him in navigating everyday decisions and challenges.

The introduction of these characters creates an entertaining dynamic, however these scenes can be on the idler side, slowing the play’s overall pace.

Cal is renowned for his homoerotic art (“You’re a horny man’s Van Gogh!” says one fan-cum-love interest), which underscores the title and preempts a glorious mix-up involving his artwork and his son’s school history project.

While the story takes on too much, ultimately the company can only be admired for their enthusiasm and inventiveness.

Josephine Balfour-Oatts

Meaning ★★★

C ARTS | C venues | C aquila (Venue 21) until 17 August

This is a show that questions what a show is, inside and outside of itself.

Written by Yitong Fu and produced by Zhengsi Cultural Media (China), it has moments of five-star Brechtian brilliance that blur the boundaries between what is constructed and what isn’t, in ways that I’ve never seen done before.

It’s a simple set-up: a show takes place on stage, surrounded by an audience, also on stage, surrounded by us, another audience. At the centre is a plot about “environmentalism, a female celibate and an anarchist”, but really, it’s an exploration of what experimental theatre can and can’t do, carried out by a lively cast of characters, including a social media star, new writer and critic.

A show’s ability to be culturally insensitive, homophobic and sexist and for it to also be unfairly accused of these things by a chorus of commentators is explored.Every argument has an opposite and the chance to be self-referential is never left untapped.

More consistent performances from the international cast are needed to carry off a piece that is at times, intentionally, slow and difficult to engage with. It’s funny and boring in equal measure, satirical and soporific – the kind of experimental show that’s a great introduction to, critique and celebration of what the Fringe is all about.

Sally Stott

Paradok Platform 2025: Unwelcome ★★★

Bedlam Theatre (Venue 49) until 25 August

Edinburgh University-based company Theatre Paradok are premiering three pieces this year, under the banner of one Fringe show.

While their plays A Cat’s Parasite and Russian Roulette run next week, this week sees writer and director Brooke Jessop’s three-hander Unwelcome run in their slot. It’s set in 1988, with that year’s invasion of BBC News by lesbian activists being witnessed onscreen by the characters, while discontent about the Poll Tax and Section 28 rumbles in the background.

Amid all this, middle class couple Julian (Eric Parker) and Andrew (Sam Mackinnon) are in a live-in but closeted gay relationship in London, which all seems to be running smoothly, until Andrew’s sister Tracy (Megan Crutchley) turns up unannounced while Julian is out. To her Andrew is just Andy, who she grew up with on a Huddersfield council estate, but he’s been adapting his accent and background to convince Julian he’s a well-to-do Surrey lad instead.

Wham!, Aztec Camera and Tiffany provide a period soundtrack, although it does grate a bit when Andy plays a little Hallelujah on his guitar, a song even Leonard Cohen fans might struggle to sing a line of in ’88.

Yet otherwise it’s a sensitive piece of work which thoughtfully brings together threads about sexuality and class in a manner which feels evergreen.

David Pollock

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