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The Mozart Question ★★★★

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The Mozart Question ★★★★

“Secrets are lies by another name” is the arresting statement at the heart of The Mozart Question, which explores the corrosive legacy of survivor guilt and the redemptive power of music. The novel, by former Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo, provides a way into talking about the…

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In the Weeds ★★★★

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In the Weeds ★★★★

"I don't wanna leave: it's so nice having people here. Cooo-al!" It's approaching midnight in a miserable, drizzly Edinburgh and Liza Treyger has come to the end of her show. "So enjoy the rest of your lives. Go to therapy and then you could be here too, in a trailer." Treyger, 31…

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Jew…ish ★★★★

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Jew…ish ★★★★

Max, the Jewish half of this energetic black comedy, bounds on stage, somewhat startling a middle-aged woman in the front row. He immediately launches into a delightfully sardonic and uplifting funk-inspired opening number about being Jewish, complete with rhyming couplets and…

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Party Nights ★★★★

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Party Nights ★★★★

As a rule, I don't repeatedly tell 50-odd people in a moderately sized room that "I deserve salmon" on a weekday evening, but such is the force of the Fringe and Emmy Blotnick's bubbly nature that it would have been churlish not to have joined in. The 31-year-old New…

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Hero Worship ★★

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Hero Worship ★★

Joel Sanders, who has lived on a canal boat moored mainly in the south of England for the past decade, has two shows at the Fringe. One, called Angry Boater, is about living on a boat with hypertension, few practical skills and against the advice of his late father who told him: "Jews don't live…

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Boycotted: Comedy from Israel ★★★

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Boycotted: Comedy from Israel ★★★

It's good to see three Israeli comedians pitching up at the Edinburgh Fringe, with a show free of government sponsorship and therefore – contrary to allusions in the title – not in danger of being boycotted by the local pro-Palestinian brigade. It's the first day of the trio's…

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Friday Night Sinner! ★★★

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Friday Night Sinner! ★★★

It was a Friday night and as I wasn't going to a Friday night dinner, so what better way to spend it than by going to Candy Gigi's mock-horror musical Friday Night Sinner!? The eerily lit action loosely follows the plot of Billy Wilder's Sunset Boulevard, with Gigi – aka 30-year-old Brit…

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Disabled Coconut ★★★★

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Disabled Coconut ★★★★

Aaron Simmonds has spent the past year working on his story-based show about how he was trolled online for not being disabled enough and it's clearly been time well spent. The 29-year-old comic, who has cerebral palsy and has used a wheelchair since he was 15, particularly loves being…

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100% Simon Brodkin ★★★★

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100% Simon Brodkin ★★★★

Simon Brodkin is best known as the sarf London geezah Lee Nelson, his comic creation who starred in three series on BBC Three. He's also gained a reputation for performing stunts on Donald Trump and Theresa May, scattering swastika-covered golf balls on the former's golf course…