Chris Neville-Smith's blog on theatre

Okay, with all things Fringe wrapped up for 2026 (except the roundsup, stop smirking, I’ll start doing those shortly), I thought I’d turn my attention to something not really fringe-related or theatre-related. But it’s a frequently heard discourse, especially amongst the older generation that “pop music sure ain’t as good as it used to be”. This argument has been going on for...

And that is the conclusion of my Edinburgh Fringe live coverage. I’m not quite finished with reviews, because there were two shows I saw on press tickets that are at the back of the queue. But for now, this comes to a close.

To recap what went down this time.

We leave you with news that the Festival Fringe Society has already decided they’re not moving the dates of Fringe 2027.

Probably the right decision, I think. In the long run, there is a case to be made for different dates. However, I agree it’s already too late to move the dates for next year’s fringe. Planning for next year has already begun in some quarters, with...

The final review of Edinburgh Fringe is also a Brighton Fringe review. Will BF is best known for The Last Gun and Moon Team IIIV, but alongside that he is also one half of a sketch duo Will & Noah. I caught this in Brighton as a gap-filler, but not as a review request. (I try to write up all shows eventually, but paid tickets can stay at the back of the ...

I’m slightly behind schedule and meant to have this all wrapped up by yesterday, and I do still have one review to go. But that’s a sketch show review, and as pick of the fringe is for theatre, we can get on with that.

So, a quick recap of the rules: the standard needed for Pick of the Fringe is a variable target intended to pick out the best of what I saw. The bett...