2026 Edinburgh Fringe in Review: Fringe Shakespeare
The deluge on my first day in Edinburgh was worth it for this view
There were over 4,000 shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year. Choosing which to squeeze into a single week is no small task. I have the advantage of being a Shakespeare nut, which helps me narrow my focus. Not that I stuck to the Bard exclusively—I punctuated my schedule with the requisite comedians, magicians, and raconteurs—but as is so often the case, Shakespeare was my lodestone.
I saw four different performances inspired by Shakespeare. Each a unique take on his characters and legacy, and each a reminder of the infinite possibility in his work.
1 King, 2 Princes and Shakespeare’s Lie
This one-person show, written and performed by Andrew Slade, wrestles with Shakespeare’s unsought and retroactively imposed role as a historian. Slade embodies Richard III, contrasting his real record as king with the machinations of Shakespeare’s iconic villain. Of course, this version of his life is also a story as all history is. At times the argument was more, and times less convincing, but the performance was always compelling. I love theatre that sticks with me and inspires me to learn more, and this start to my Shakespeare adventure hit the mark.
With Austin Tichenor in full Verges mode
My friend Austin Tichenor was co-starring in this wildly clever take on Much Ado About Nothing, so I knew I couldn’t miss it. It was the highlight of my Fringe season. The play re-tells Shakespeare’s comedy from the perspective of the clowns, Dogberry and Verges. The two authors, Michael Doherty and Will Mobley, brilliantly write the characters into fully-formed people whose lives we come to care about deeply. They do it without sacrificing a single laugh. Co-author Doherty takes on Dogberry to Tichenor’s Verges, and the best praise I can offer is that they made me love and appreciate the humor of these clowns far more than Shakespeare managed in his comic masterpiece. I loved the show so much, I begged the authors for a copy of the yet-unpublished script, and I hope the play has a great future, so I can see it again.
I don’t know anything about Dungeons & Dragons. Or, I didn’t before I went to Shelby Bond’s show. It turns out to be a game that is as much devised theatre as dice rolling, and while I may not take it up myself, I will always advocate for any activity that engages imaginations and inspires people to make active story-telling central to their lives. Dungeon Master Shelby Bond has combined his love of D&D with his love of Shakespeare in this clever mashup. Audience members join a campaign, improvising performances as Shakespeare characters and D&D monsters with the narrative evolving out of individual choices and the chance roles of a giant 20-sided die. Bond has even created Shakespearean character sheets, complete with a fun quiz to match your personality. I’m Titania, in case you’re curious.
Practicing improvisation with Dungeon Master Shelby Bond: “Quick! Look scared! Fight! Think!”
MUSE: The Shakespeare Mayhem Musical
My final encounter with the Bard at this year’s Fringe was the musical MUSE. It was devised by a group of talented students at Interlochen Arts Academy, and has evolved into a full original musical. I was hooked right away, as the show begins with William Shakespeare hunched over his writing desk, agonizing over his plays—a posture I can certainly relate to! The show posits that Shakespeare can only publish one of his plays, and falling into a fitful sleep, everyone from Puck to Lady M enters his dream to make a case for their play. The interaction between the characters may be the highlight—Beatrice and Juliet arguing over contrasting views of love, Lear and Macbeth over contrasting views of power—as a larger story about the enduring themes in Shakespeare emerges.
The Fringe Festival is always artistically and intellectually renewing for me. For a month, an entire city is given over to live performance as a way of life. This year, my mini Shakespeare festival gave me the chance to engage with my favorite writer in such inventive diversity—straight play, musical, tragedy, comedy, fully realized productions, devised performances.
Much like Cleopatra, age doth not wither, nor custom stale his infinite variety.