Help! My girlfriend has dragged me to Edinburgh

Ben's review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  The first standing ovation of the fringe, they are all so fabulously talented and could tell you a story out of anything. The compère joins in too trying to catch out the act, which is my favourite part of improv. I would watch this again and again. The girlfriend's review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This troop are so slick and polished that you almost forget that it is improvised. The cast work together so well, joking together and trying to catch one another out. Having a compère for the show really helps to keep things on track and him being able to intervene really helps with the madness. If you are going to see one piece of improv at the Fringe, it should be this one!

Ben's review: ⭐⭐⭐  There's quite a moral story behind this and it is really well acted by this one man act. Questions are posed and I'd love to see an extra half hour audience feedback session after this because you could get some great ideas.   On the negative side there is quite a lot of black space between scenes, and the final cut is ever so slightly over played. But given what was available to him he has done a great job.  Ps. Making clothes out of recycled plastic is a real thing now and is being done fantastically well, the great work of that does not need to be subverted. The girlfriend's review: ⭐⭐⭐ This is a really strong one-person show. Representing how people in authority don't always understand the problems they are tackling. The performance and script was strong. Unfortunately, they were several long pauses whilst the actor changed off stage. This takes you out of the action, it would help to fill the silence with music/voiceovers/vide

Ben's review: ⭐⭐  This is exactly like love island; you won't like it but you will keep watching. Hyperactive and completely self obsessed this musical is too like the tv series and will grate after the first few minutes of excitement. The actors can sense it too and you can see the energy draining from the performance. The girlfriend's review: ⭐⭐ There were a few fun sketches but this piece needs further development. This trio worked best when using music to enhance the comedy. Unfortunately, a lot of the sketches just hadn't been pushed far enough.

Ben's review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐  When I heard this was gig theatre I was a little bit concerned. But this really blew me away, the act was clean, clear and fresh. The fairytale marries in perfectly with the story and the use of musical time was fantastic.   There's a couple of things to work on to push this to the next level, singing on the melody could be a little 'stronger' and the acting at the very beginning left the stage a touch bare... But was really really well used later in the performance. The girlfriend's review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Really interesting way of telling the story combining rapping, spoken word poetry and music. I found the performers to be very engaging and created an exciting story on a fairly empty stage. It feels a little bit like you are in a pub, with dim smokey lighting and a technician/actor on stage.

Ben's review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Control, flow, desire. This small dance programme really delivered. Yes there are some problems with spacing and if you sit in the front row you might get hit by a cape but you won't care. This group have done a fantastic job and I was thoroughly impressed. The girlfriend's review: ⭐⭐⭐

Ben's review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  Really really clever. Quite a sensitive subject is well covered by the duo, who  slip seamlessly between characters. The staging, acting and professionalism marry together perfectly.  It's not as rude as the name suggests although I would definitely avoid showing this to your children. The girlfriend's review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This performance is incredibly slick. The piece moves at an excellent pace and is incredibly well acted by the two-person cast. I loved the simplicity of the staging (projections describing where they were). The subject sounds a bit daft but once you've stopped laughing you are brought back to reality to address different addictions in a truly powerful way.