Every year, for three hectic weeks in August, over 3,000 performing arts productions descend on the city of Edinburgh for the world’s most famous Fringe Festival. The Edinburgh Fringe Festival dates back to 1947, when eight theatre troupes turned up uninvited to the annual Edinburgh International Festival. They performed in whatever venue would have them, on the fringe of the existing festival, coining the phrase ‘Fringe Festival’.
With an enormous array of productions to choose from, planning your trip to the Fringe can be overwhelming. To help you plan, we’ve highlighted seven shows featuring OSD alumni from the Foundation, Three Year, and One Year Courses.
OSD at The Edinburgh Fringe 2025
Aether
Starring 2017 One Year Course graduate Gemma Barnett.
Aether has already sold out some dates and is looking to be a popular show at this year’s fringe, so book now to avoid disappointment.
Show Bio – “An existential PhD student hunting dark matter, a disillusioned illusionist, a medium with a secret and a murdered mathematician star in the greatest unsolved mystery of the universe.
Following their acclaimed and award-winning Her Green Hell and Sisters Three, TheatreGoose presents AETHER, a show about the unknown and our insatiable desire to define it, asking why are we so desperate to know what happens behind the curtain and who gets to decide what lurks there?
Part-science lab on the cusp of discovery, part-Victorian seance, part-unauthorised Nobel Prize Ceremony, AETHER explores faith, physics and magic in rich theatrical spectacle”
When – 7:15pm, 1st-25th August
Where –Anatomy Lecture Theatre at Summerhall
Booking Link – https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/aether
Our Brothers In Cloth
Starring 2022 Three Year Graduate Jake Douglas and 2023 One Year Graduate Oli Fyne.
Our Brothers In Cloth, featured in our 2024 Camden Fringe blog, has now made its way to the Edinburgh Fringe. A must-watch!
Show Bio – “In the sleepy Irish village of Bunderr, silence speaks volumes. Where one family’s grief without answers becomes a young man’s pursuit for the truth, what he uncovers threatens to unravel the very fabric of this tight-knit community.
Inspired by true events, Poke The Bear Productions presents the premiere of Ronan Colfer’s daring new play, Our Brothers in Cloth.“
When – 12:15pm, 1st – 25th August
Where – Studio Five at Assembly George Square Studios
Booking Link – https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/our-brothers-in-cloth
Youth In Flames
Starring and written by Mimi Martin, with voice over by Hari Kang and directed by Jessica Whiley, all 2023 Three Year Course Graduates.
The highly anticipated Youth In Flames was awarded the Keep It Fringe Fund 2025.
Show Bio – “Chaos. Rebellion. A city on the brink. But Millie’s focused on living life to the full – who wouldn’t?
Amid the 2019 Hong Kong protests, Millie searches for her sense of home whilst a city fights for its identity. A high-energy, visceral new play inspired by real events.
With original sound design blending euphoric techno and the intensity of a Hong Kong riot, enter Millie’s world, where being an outsider has always been the norm. Written and performed by Mimi Martin, she’s bold, rebellious and impossible to resist. ‘I can be the foreign devil if they want.’ “
When – 7pm, 1st – 21st August
Where – Playground 1 at ZOO Playground
Booking Link – https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/youth-in-flames
CSI: Cime Scene Improvisation
Featuring 2016 Three Year graduate Isabella Glinn.
A popular Fringe favourite improv show! Isabelle features in the cast from 8th August.
Show Bio – “No one knows who the killer is, not even the cast! Following multiple five-star sell-out runs, CSI: Crime Scene Improvisation returns with another rip-roaring crime comedy made up entirely on the spot.
Leicester Comedy 2023: Best Improv Show Award. Colchester Fringe Comedy Award 2024.
Who? What? How? The choice is yours in this fully improvised, witty and absurd murder mystery where the audience creates the crime.
‘Quick thinking and fast paced. A spectacular must see’ ***** (Bunbury Magazine). ‘Hysterical murder mystery and a tight witty improv show’ **** (FringeBiscuit.co.uk).”
When – 3:10pm, 1st – 17th (Isabelle features from the 8th)
Where – Ermintrude at Underbelly, Bristo Square
Booking Link – https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/csi-crime-scene-improvisation
Manic Street Creature
Written by and starring 2015 Three Year Course Graduate and Olivier Award Winner Maimuna Memon.
Straight off the back of her Olivier Award win for Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 earlier this year, Maimuna returns to The Edinburgh Fringe with her hit show Manic Street Creature, which won the The Stage Edinburgh Award and the Fringe First Award in 2022.
Show Bio – “Love, lust and late nights collide in a musical rollercoaster, taking the audience through the euphoria and distress of two people dealing with their own and each other’s mental health.
Ria is working with her band to complete a new album, charting the rise and fall of a recent relationship. But the more Ria progresses, the more she’s drawn back into her troubled past, until we aren’t sure where memory ends and reality begins.
Olivier award-winning Maimuna Memon brings her critically acclaimed show back to Edinburgh, stripped back and for one night only.”
When – 8pm, 16th August
Where – Shedinburgh at Shedinburgh
Booking Link – https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/manic-street-creature
4’s A Crowd
Starring 2025 Foundation Course in Acting Graduate Amber Mason, and directed by current Three Year Course student Tomi Fry.
We’re so excited for Tomi to showcase some of the wonderful talent that comes out of our Foundation Course!
Show Bio – “Ever wondered what happens when a LadBible-loving geezer, a pretentious C-List actor, a sadomasochist Wotsit-lover and an overbearing faux-liberal billionaire get thrown under the supervision of a Welsh boy-scout leader in one confined space after a catastrophic nuclear war?
4’s a Crowd is a new comedy play that follows the idiots left behind after the world ends. And with communications down and supplies dwindling, a deadly debate ensues: who’s getting thrown out? Oh, and two of them are claiming to be the same person…”
When – 6:30pm, 18 – 23rd August
Where –Theatre 1 at theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall
Booking Link – https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/4-s-a-crowd-or-what-not-to-do-when-stuck-in-a-bunker-during-the-apocalypse
Mr P from HR
Written by and starring 2024 One Year Course Graduate Izzy Kate Ward.
One for the night owls looking for something a little more absurd.
Show Bio – “Mr P from HR is an interactive drag-king performance, taking audiences down “recruitment road” and welcoming them to their new job induction day at luxury department store Gayrods (pronounced ‘Gah-rods’, not ‘Gay-rods’… that would be absurd).
Mr P has written songs, quizzes and NDAs for the amazing new sales team who will soon call the store hell… I mean home! But could this all be a ruse to conceal the secrets lying in the tunnels beneath the store’s shiny floors? Don’t be late and remember to be ready in full Gayrods attire upon arrival!”
When – 10pm, 18 – 23rd August
Where – Theatre 2 at theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall
Booking Link – https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/mr-p-from-hr
If you’re performing at The Edinburgh Fringe, OSD Alumni or otherwise, break a leg! And for those taking a trip up to watch shows and soak in the atmosphere, make sure to book one of these OSD shows!!