Shows to watch today: Edinburgh Festival Bulletin, 8 August – Miriam Margolyes, Jordan Rakei, Mare Music After Hours

Margolyes & Dickens: The Best Bits Miriam Margolyes is such entertaining company that anything she brought to Edinburgh would be worth seeing. Here, she revisits her love of Charles Dickens, a writer she has been paying tribute to since her 1989 show Dickens’ Women, in which she played 23 characters from his novels. She later hosted a BBC Four documentary, Dickens In America, which retraced his travels in the US. It’s not all Dickens though; the show also promises a section in which the star of the Harry Potter films, Blackadder, Doctor Who and much, much more “opens the floor to your unexpurgated burning questions, sharing the stories and life lessons that have made her a bestseller and undisputed queen of the chat show. Ask her anything: she’ll tell the truth.” Some shows are already sold out so book soon. Pleasance at EICC, 4pm, until 15 August, www.edfringe.com

Jordan Rakei The EIF’s contemporary music programme at the Usher Hall and the Playhouse will include Cat Power singing Bob Dylan plus Bat for Lashes, Chilly Gonzales, Youssou N’Dour and the Grit Orchestra. It kicks off with New Zealand singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jordan Rakei showcasing his new album, The Loop. Usher Hall, tonight, 8pm, www.eif.co.uk

Mare Music After Hours This month the weekend starts early at Summerhall, with tonight being the first night of the venue’s new “Fringe house party” events. Mare Music After Hours promises a rotating line-up of Edinburgh DJs and special guests, curated by the venue’s new music programmer, Arusa Qureshi. Library Gallery, Summerhall, 9pm, 8-11, 15-18 and 22-25 August, www.summerhall.co.uk

And here’s a small sample of what you’ll find in the Edinburgh Festivals section of the website today…

If you're looking for Fringe shows to see with the young people in your life, our critics have some excellent recommendations for you. In particular, you might want to bag yourself tickets for Monkeys Everywhere before they're all gone. In her five-star review, Kelly Apter writes: "You know you’ve struck gold when the grown-ups at a children’s show are laughing as hard (sometimes harder) than their young charges. It’s also a sign of success when little ones feel comfortable enough to interact, verbally and physically, in moments of clear glee but don’t disrupt a show’s flow. Garry Starr achieves all this and much, much more in this superb new family show."

Speaking of recommendations, as our interactive list of four and five star Fringe comedy reviews is proving so popular we've now done the same thing for theatre. There are now more than 20 shows on our Best Fringe Theatre list, and we'll be adding to it throughout August, so check back regularly. In the meantime, please be aware that one or two of the featured shows are only on for a few more days, so if you like the sound of them be sure to book soon to avoid disappointment.

Elsewhere in the Edinburgh Festivals section of scotsman.com today, you'll find our classical music critic Ken Walton's interview with Russian director Kirril Serebrennikov, whose provocative production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro is opening soon at the Edinburgh International Festival; our theatre critic Joyce McMillan's review of actress and singer Charlene Boyd's show June Carter Cash: The Woman, Her Music and Me; and a round-up of some of the best dance, physical theatre and circus on the Fringe.

That's barely scratching the surface though – for full immersion in The Scotsman Festival experience check out today's beautifully produced Festival supplement in the print edition of the paper, or pay us a virtual visit at www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/edinburgh-festivals.

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