by Ed Fortune
With literally thousands of new shows on at the Edinburgh Fringe this year, the amount of choice can be overwhelming. We’ve already produced one list of shows returning to The Fringe, which can be found here. The team over at STARBURST Towers has painstakingly flipped through the various listings to select some great and geeky acts that are new to the Edinburgh Festival.
Here are some of STARBURST’s keenly anticipated Edinburgh Fringe show of 2023…
Drag Queens vs Vampires
Haus of Dench presents Drag Queens vs Vampires, a sequel of sort to their smash hit, Drag Queens vs Zombies. Join Kate Butch and Crudi Dench as they head to Transylvania for the Eurovision Song Contest, only to find themselves face to face with a mysterious Air BnB host who happens to be called Dracula. Expect singing, slaying and silliness.
Mario The Maker Magician
Robot magic! Mario The Maker Magician is a kid-friendly show about how science can unlock the imagination and be a source of joy and wonder to us all. Mario combines hand-made robots, puppet skills and magic to create something a little bit special. One to bring the kids to and keep them enchanted for an hour or so.
Alone
Aotearoa / New Zealand-based theatre company Dusty Room Productions have trekked all the way to Edinburgh to present Alone, an intelligent sci-fi drama about two scientists, far away in deep space, who discover something that could change humanity forever. But can they make it matter? Described as Waiting For Godot meets Interstellar, it sounds like excellent food for thought to us.
Dusk: A Bite-Size Love Story
Speaking of vampires, these are a bit more sparkly. Dusk: A Bite-Size Love Story is a 105-minute-long musical parody of Twilight, that vampire romance series that enthralled an entire generation and then drifted back into the shadows. Combining dance, drama and some belting musical numbers, Dusk: A Bite-Size Love Story sounds like the musical parody that someone had to dare to do.
Photon StarBlaster and the Suicidal Spaceship
Science fiction has always been a useful lens through which to explore personal and social issues. You can load a lot of metaphor and meaning onto a story about a spaceship, and Photon Starblaster follows in this fine tradition with its story about a galactic agent trying to talk his spaceship out of its plan to self-destruct. Classic sci-fi as well as an exploration of childhood trauma and the impact of suicide.
Weird fiction with queer themes that is also about Eldritch beings, lost homes, and mega-corporations? From the award-winning director, Susie MacDonald? Sounds great to us. Expect amazing lighting, sound design, and something very different from your usual fringe theatre experience.
A Shark Ate My Penis: A History of Boys Like Me
Laser Malena-Webber is best known for their work as one half of the brilliant geeky band, The Doubleclicks. His new show is a one-person musical about the history of trans men and his own transition. Laser presents the story of various trans men, including Samuel Bundy, whose story involved a robbery and a shark. Expect the sort of musical that stays with you for a long time after.
Renfield
PBH’s Free Fringe tends to be a part of The Fringe that has some of the wilder, more unusual shows. Case in point is Renfield, a one-man show that charts the descent into madness of Dracula’s infamous lackey. Described as dark and disturbing, this one sounds pretty hard to resist if you’re a fan of classic horror.
The Extras Strike Back: A Musical Tribute to the Forgotten Heroes of Star Wars
Comedic takes on the ‘true story’ behind the Star Wars movies are always worth a look, and few have tried to combine parody with musical stylings in such a bold way. Expect a silly, cabaret-style parody of the world’s biggest sci-fi franchise and some very clever (and more than a little naughty) songs.
BATSU!
Based on Japan’s batsu game, a comedy style that involved ridiculous challenges, BATSU! brings this format to Scotland. If paintballs, a giant chicken and a lot of very American sweaty comedians running about like lunatics, check this one out.
And as a very special bonus:
For one night only (and completely free of charge), part fourteen of the epic fringe show, A Young Man Dressed as a Gorilla Dressed as an Old Man Sits Rocking in a Rocking Chair for 56 Minutes and Then Leaves.
Those new to the Fringe may have concerns that the show is difficult to follow, having not seen the previous episodes of A Young Man Dressed as a Gorilla Dressed as an Old Man Sits Rocking in a Rocking Chair for 56 Minutes and Then Leaves. We’ve put this classic show in our hot new shows list to rest assured that A Young Man Dressed as a Gorilla Dressed as an Old Man Sits Rocking in a Rocking Chair for 56 Minutes and Then Leaves 14 will be every bit as fresh and exciting as A Young Man Dressed as a Gorilla Dressed as an Old Man Sits Rocking in a Rocking Chair for 56 Minutes and Then Leaves 3. Go see; you’ll never see a show of what it’s like again. Until perhaps A Young Man Dressed as a Gorilla Dressed as an Old Man Sits Rocking in a Rocking Chair for 56 Minutes and Then Leaves 15.
Don’t forget to check out our Fringe Survival Guide.
You may want to check out our previous guides from 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.
