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Theatre

Theatre Shows

Have a look through our selection of Theatre Shows! We are sure To have something you'll want to see in Edinburgh this August - from children's shows to cabaret; standup comedy to tragic drama. There's something for everyone at the Free Festival!


List Shows: By Name | By Start Time

Shows sorted by Show Name

Anyone Fancy a Bagel?

Anyone Fancy a Bagel?

Theatre

Anyone Fancy a Bagel?

Theatre

The Three Sisters / Maggie's Chamber
AUG 26-30 at 10:15 (60 min) - Pay What You Can tickets - from £2.50

Book a PWYC Ticket in advance for this show to guarantee entry, or turn up at the venue for free with the option of donating at the end of the show

Are you wondering what is going on on planet Earth right now ? What if an angel came down on a mission and had the answers? But then ended up in an office ? Would it be funny, heartbreaking, desperate, hopeful or all four? The things angel Uriel witnesses make her sad but she knows she can help and little by little she makes a difference in everyone's lives, even the ones who resist her the most .... ...


Between Strands

Between Strands

Theatre

Between Strands

Theatre

The Counting House / The Attic
AUG 18-22 at 10:30 (60 min) - Free & Unticketed

Just turn up at the venue, entry is first-come, first-served for everyone. Donations at the end of the show

Have you ever thought about what your hair holds? Between Strands is a visually striking and emotionally resonant performance that explores memory, love, and loss through the symbolic power of hair. Drawing on Taiwanese rituals and East Asian traditions, it traces how life, grief, and remembrance pass between generations. From newborn hair-shaving ceremonies symbolising renewal to mourning practices that mark loss, hair becomes a thread connecting the living and the departed. The performance follows a young woman living in the UK as she navigates the death of her grandmother in Taiwan. A...


Broadguess

Broadguess

Theatre

Broadguess

Theatre

The Counting House / The Loft
AUG 6-30 at 10:45 (55 min) - Free & Unticketed

Just turn up at the venue, entry is first-come, first-served for everyone. Donations at the end of the show

Dee Ryan (The American Office and Second City alum) performs Broadguess, a Shakespearean Every Brilliant Thing. Broadguess is a hilarious interactive, comedic solo Shakespeare show. Elizabethan detective Broadguess, working the Elsinore castle beat - ghosts, again - gets a hot tip about Ophelia drowning in a brook and becomes entangled in the dark and ridiculous world of Shakespeare. "Who is William Shakespeare and why is he getting away with murder?" Fun, funny interactive, irreverent, improvisation, celebration of theater itself! Imagine the Reduced Shakespeare Company reducing its cast to o...


How to Believe in Anything

How to Believe in Anything

Theatre

How to Believe in Anything

Theatre

The Raging Bull / Cellar
AUG 6-18 at 23:30 (50 min) - Pay What You Can tickets - from £2.50

Book a PWYC Ticket in advance for this show to guarantee entry, or turn up at the venue for free with the option of donating at the end of the show

"I would like to tell you about the future. The future is made of stars." Sam, obsessed with stars and stuck in middle-of-nowhere BC, is given a shocking out-of-this world opportunity the night of her 14th birthday. An alien (who looks suspiciously like her missing mother) visits Sam in her dad’s cornfield. This alien gives her a connection to the outside world and promises a whirlwind adventure that will help Sam escape. With horrors increasing at home, Sam decides to take the leap and lands in some deadly repercussions. Escape isn’t easy, and sometimes you have to blast off in order to s...


If By Starlight...

If By Starlight...

Theatre

If By Starlight...

Theatre

The Raging Bull / Cellar
AUG 13-16 at 12:15 (60 min) - Pay What You Can tickets - from £5

Book a PWYC Ticket in advance for this show to guarantee entry, or turn up at the venue for free with the option of donating at the end of the show

Long-time romantics, in love with love, Janelle and Jacob have been through the gamut of relationships, hook-ups, and undefinable situationships. From schoolyard crushes to long-distance paramours, life in the romance lane has been filled with twists, turns, and quick exits, but neither has given up on finding their destination. Along the way, they have both picked up shards of armor to protect themselves from the disappointment of failed relationships. But when both of their first dates go south, they find themselves recuperating at the same watering hole and breaking all of their own rule...


In The Eyes of Neptune

In The Eyes of Neptune

Theatre

In The Eyes of Neptune

Theatre

Freddy's / Band Room
AUG 6, 9-14, 16-20 at 20:15 (60 min) - Pay What You Can tickets - from £2.50

'Where do you go, if not to your head?' He begins with a blank canvas, filled with colourless portrayals of our existence. Once he reveals the lens and turns on the camera, we see the wide world that lives inside his head. A nameless boy on the brink of manhood carries out a project on male loneliness. He interviews four men from drastically different backgrounds, attempting to learn from them how to become a man. Upon realising how reliant they are on retreating to their mind in times of hardship, he too begins looking for a way to part with reality and embrace the surreal. Once th...


The Augur

The Augur

Theatre

The Augur

Theatre

The City Cafe / Hollywood
AUG 6-30 at 00:05 (30 min) - Pay What You Can tickets - from £2.50

Book a PWYC Ticket in advance for this show to guarantee entry, or turn up at the venue for free with the option of donating at the end of the show

You’re going to die.* The owl cries out in the depths of the inkwell night. The moon is kept prisoner behind the thunderous clouds. From deep within a mossy mausoleum of crumbling stone something ancient stirs. The Augur has awoken. So HARK! Look to the birds and journey deep within the den of the osseous oracle to have your future divined- if you dare. The Unnatural Disaster Theatre Co. presents “The Augur” - a macabre fortune telling puppetry experience. Audiences enter the den of this ancient divinatory to have their fates foretold by the birds in this unforgettable improvised dark...


The RemAIns of the Butler

The RemAIns of the Butler

Theatre

The RemAIns of the Butler

Theatre

The Counting House / The Attic
AUG 6-17, 19-30 at 15:00 (55 min) - Free & Unticketed

Just turn up at the venue, entry is first-come, first-served for everyone. Donations at the end of the show

“The RemAIns of the Butler” by Mike McAlpine What if a humanoid robot challenges a butler’s world? In “The RemAIns of the Butler”, manservant Michael may maintain his composure but, rest assured, this is a butler in the midst of an existential crisis. He asks himself the question no profession can avoid today: can I survive in the age of AI? Michael is a top-notch British butler. Ivor Spencer-trained, no less. But what is the long-term worth of a butler to an employer who has just purchased a humanoid robot? Many consider a butler a status symbol: ramrod posture, frock coat, quiet assura...