The Edinburgh Festival Fringe closes on 31 August, but four of this year's shows already have London dates in the diary: three transfers to Soho Theatre across September, October and November, and a three-week Young Vic residency for Shedinburgh with Pay What You Can tickets at every performance.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe has a few days left to run - it closes on 31 August - but several of this year's shows have already announced their London dates. Three are transferring to Soho Theatre, and one Fringe venue is moving south in its entirety for three weeks at the Young Vic. Here is what is booked so far, in date order.
Right Before I Go - Soho Theatre, 5-10 September
Right Before I Go arrives first, for six days only. Created by Stan Zimmerman, who also appears in it, and directed by Abigail Morris, the piece is built from real suicide notes, performed by a company of seven: Iz Hesketh, Dominique Moore, Claire-Marie Hall, Emrhys Cooper, Gerard McCarthy, Paul Bigley and Tosh Wanogho-Maud. The voices gathered range across public figures, military veterans, bullied teenagers and survivors of suicide attempts. Every performance is followed by a talkback with mental health professionals, and the run is timed to fall in Suicide Awareness Month.
Shedinburgh at the Young Vic, 19 September - 10 October
Shedinburgh makes its London debut in the Young Vic's Maria studio, staging more than 40 shows in three weeks after upwards of 75 at Assembly Checkpoint in Edinburgh from 7-30 August. It is produced by Francesca Moody, and the detail that matters for anyone booking is the pricing: Pay What You Can tickets are available for every performance. Artists across the two seasons include Jessie Cave, Lucy McCormick, Sam Nicoresti, Deborah Frances-White, Nish Kumar, Stuart Laws, Inua Ellams, Tim Crouch and Bryony Kimmings, with work-in-progress showings from Rosie Jones, Sara Pascoe, Sabrina Mahfouz, Nick Helm, Mischief and Sh!t Theatre. Billed titles include Tim Crouch's Truth's a Dog Must to Kennel, Jessie Cave's Sunrise, Bryony Kimmings' Sex Idiot and Lucy McCormick's Lucy & Friends. Hayley Canham's Sappho: The Poetess plays the Young Vic on 27 September as part of the season.
"With more than 75 shows in Edinburgh and 40 in London we're bringing an incredible line-up of artists to our shed," said executive producer Francesca Moody.
HAM - Soho Theatre, 29 September - 31 October
HAM reaches Soho Theatre carrying a Scotsman Fringe First Award from this year's festival. Created and performed by Mary Higgins and Ell Potter as Hotter Project, and directed by Ursula Martinez, it reworks Hamlet as an ecological revenge story about a grieving vegan, a dead pig and a play staged as retribution. Press night is Friday 2 October. It runs 60 minutes and is 18+.
ROLEPLAY - Soho Theatre, 22 October - 21 November
ROLEPLAY takes the longest run of the three, a month in Soho following its world premiere at Summerhall. Written and performed by Hannah Reilly and directed by Paige Rattray, it opens as a one-woman comedy about a struggling feminist podcaster rebranding herself in pursuit of fame, then turns into a psychological thriller as the performance takes her over. The creative team includes Dave Fleischer (set and costume), Prema Mehta (lighting), Lucy Baker-Swinburn (sound), Clemence Williams (composer), Nick Hillel and Adam Smith (video), Betty Grumble (choreography) and Daniele Lydon (voice and dialect).
More transfers usually surface in the weeks after the festival closes, once the Fringe First and comedy awards have been handed out on the final weekend. We will add them here as they are confirmed.
