A chair, table, and bar of lights become the imagined settings for invasive body searches at Charles de Gaulle, ayahuasca experiments in the Amazon, KFC-smuggling in Palestine, and run-ins with Ace of Base on Croatian ferries in this engrossing look at the perplexing ins and outs of our fragile right of passage.

Is this a story of extremes, of bi-cultural upbringing, or is it simply the story of all mothers and daughters? Sachli Gholamalizad, a young Belgian actress of Iranian descent, questions her troubled relationship with her mother.

Metal claws into wood, with scraping sounds that are surprisingly whispering and soft, and through this slow destruction a startling disquisition emerges about female experience and the impossible balancing acts we are expected to maintain, by society, by other women, and by ourselves.

ABACUS is a baroque presentation delivered by Japanese cult-icon Paul Abacus about the future of national borders, the workings of contemporary persuasion, and our evolving relationship to the screens in our public and private spaces, including our pockets.

Part recital, part rehabilitation.

Genre-defying piano virtuoso and wit, Will Pickvance (creator of Anatomy of the Piano) has spent years grappling with his addiction to meandering piano solos and capricious musical mutations. Here he celebrates this very struggle, taking inspiration from Haydn's Creation through to Radiohead, with Fats Waller, Keith Jarrett and many others along the way.

Off-world electronica and stunning live vocals merge seamlessly with 3D animation to evolve into a multimedia artwork. ‘Extraordinary vocals’ ★★★★ (Skinny). ‘Very, very cool!’ (Vince Clarke, Depeche Mode). Part of Made in Scotland Showcase.

Will asks Father Christmas for a spaceship - he gets a piano! This is a breathtaking adventure into the world of pianos, revealing where they come from, how they evolved and why they make a pretty cool Christmas present. Featuring Bach's cave piano, Beethoven's bad moods and a jam with 'Fats' Waller.

Internationally acclaimed performance from Herald Angel Award winner Spitfire Company influenced by the works of Václav Havel, especially by his play Audience and its legendary film adaptation. What happens when a brewer and a persecuted politician, alter ego of Václav Havel himself, meet on stage? Two actresses, a case of Czech beer, huge original masks and absurd humour.

Enjoy a trip to the romantic and beautiful Border Abbey of Dryburgh to see Dudendance’s outdoor performance installation. Borderlands draws on the juxtaposition of spirituality and war in a meditation on conquest and contemplation.

This bold new work written by Sue MacLaine is both duet and duel as two languages, one signed and one spoken, which are stretched to capacity and the trust between narrator and interpreter tested.

The UK has split, London sits as a sovereign state, the country has divided. Entire regions, communities and families are left desperate for survival. A darkly comic new play by Molly Davies (Royal Court, Hampstead Theatre, Soho Theatre).

A baby chick is born and thinks the sky is falling down. On the way to tell the King, she meets Henny Penny, Ducky Lucky and Turkey Lurkey, but there's a shocking surprise! Chicken Licken grows up to be the Little Red Hen and asks her friends to help her make bread, but no one wants to play!

19th August 1978. Cinema Rex fire, Iran. Four-hundred and twenty-two dead. The year of Superman and an act of terror that sparked a revolution. Who will remember the dead? Shahrzad, a cat, bargains with Death for one more life.

Confirmation is a show about the gulfs we cannot talk across, and about the way we choose to see only the evidence that proves we are right. Working with research into the phenomenon of confirmation bias, Confirmation attempts to have an honourable dialogue, real and imagined, with political extremism.

Five women stand on a cliff-edge overlooking their village; a village which is soon to disappear. “Sometimes we need to do things like this; we need to step away from our daily lives, and look at them from a distance.”

During the early 70’s, Donald was a singer and dancer in the TV troupe, The Young Generation, and also appeared in West End shows. He later became a millionaire as a savvy antique dealer and owner of real estate. Sadly, Donald died of AIDS-related causes in 1992. Dusty died of breast cancer in 1999. Donald Does Dusty pays homage to them both.

The off-Broadway smash hit returns to Edinburgh. A new play about depression and the lengths we will go to for those we love. ‘Heart-wrenching, hilarious ... possibly one of the funniest plays you'll ever see’ (Guardian)

J runs so fast she bursts in to a million tiny pieces, her atoms unknitting themselves and spreading across the universe. Blair stands on a broken pier with a glass of white wine in one hand and a pint of Guinness in the other, looking up at the stars.

Struggle, survival, sex, live music and a foot stomping, bath blasting, bone shaking hoedown. A wild tale about hope, and daring to have it, in the land of the downtrodden.

A new virus has broken out. Everyone in the world starts weeping. Why aren’t you affected?
A show about the spread of disease, of panic, and of ideas, from the award-winning maker of The Price of Everything.

Filled with love and irony, DeWulf’s acclaimed Gomaar Trilogy combines thrilling storytelling and puppetry in a deeply human universal folk tale where discontent with life goes hand-in-hand with poetic panoramas of a village, a city and a family.

A young girl, missing her grandad, traces his footsteps on a magical adventure through time and space. A story of loss, longing and the treasures of memory and imagination. ‘Luscious-looking and tremendously moving’ ★★★★ (Scotsman). ★★★★ (Herald).

Violet Fox is a live and visual spoken word vegan solo artist and occasional collaborator. In this hilarious, award-winning comedy she tells the story of how her alcoholic, melancholic, mega diva mother ruined every childhood birthday.

Creating an epic new ballad of the adventures of ordinary people over 22 frantic Fringe nights.

You’re the kind of person who never backs down from a fight. You were the kind of kid who licked the iron. The stories become who you are. This show is a conversation about whether that is useful.

A stunning new play about a scientist with an unbelievable story to tell, a woman who doesn't know what to believe. A vibrant collaboration between the award-winning companies Dancing Brick and Soho Theatre.

Blending Scottish and post-minimalist music, John De Simone’s powerful and moving piece, Independence, is an exploration of cultural identity in Scotland from the perspective of an English-born Scottish-Italian, whose grandfather co-founded the Scottish National Party.

Islands – an obscene, ink-black comedy about tax havens and greed from Olivier nominee Caroline Horton (Chrissy, Mess, Penelope Retold). Join her foul ensemble in Haven, a monstrous world, where no-one has to pay… for anything.

Jonny accidentally told his toddler niece climate change would end the world. To stop her crying, the band promised to fix it... Multi award-nominated Radio 4 regulars. ‘Politically engaged... raucously silly’ (Guardian).

The prison van, fences high, a magpie. 'One for sorrow. Snatched the babies. The mother fought, but it was too big and flew too high.’ Devised by women from HMPYOI Low Newton and originally toured to male prisons.

February has taken away flight and plunged the town into perpetual winter. There's talk of war. Visual storytelling, sumptuous language and live music entwine in this bleak, beautiful adult fairy tale from multi award-winning Fringe regulars, Grid Iron.

Lost in Transition looks beyond the beautiful facade of diversity and into the struggles of a Romanian immigrant in Scotland while raising the obvious yet forgotten question of: What makes us stay here despite…

Duncan Macmillan’s award-winning smash hit play returns to Edinburgh in Paines Plough’s pop-up theatre Roundabout. ‘The most beautiful, shattering play of the year’ ★★★★ (Sunday Express).

Mark asks the question: If the ramblers of the 1930's were here now what would they do to open up cities? How do we turn the skyscrapers and corporate squares into our playgrounds?

When Gaby disappeared from her Scottish home, it was assumed her Pakistani father had kidnapped her. Headlines were only momentarily silenced when it emerged that Gaby may have chosen to flee. '...absolutely gripping’ (The Scotsman).

Winner! FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award Best Play. Hilariously heartbreaking, Ndebele Funeral examines modern health care, crime, poverty and dreams through the aspirations and loss of three characters whose lives intersect in a Soweto shack.

Two terrible twins rule their school, until the arrival of a headmaster with green scaly skin, sharp gnarly fangs, and a long spiky tail. An outrageously entertaining comic caper from the writer of Matilda the Musical.

Lost Dog's restaging of the creation of everything. A show for anyone who has created anything (child, garden, paper aeroplane) and then watched it spiral out of control.

Williams’ masterpiece A Streetcar Named Desire is undone – dismantled and distilled to its essential elements in this piece of heightened physicality, dance, humour, and original text. An intense, touching and steamy fusion between East and West.

I’ve written a play with a lot of parts. Each of them pre-recorded in isolation and will, when played back in precise unison, form a glorious theatrical polyphony. I just need enough people to press play. That’s all.

‘The strength of the piece, lies in its humility: it doesn’t pretend to be definitive. It’s an attempt to look at Bacon from the inside, out’ - Syke on Stage

Gerling recounts the stories of people he met while walking over 3,500 km through Germany, creating photographic flip books. These magical studies inspire gentle, profound reflection upon our lives. 'Gerling’s flipbooks are... a poetic sensation' - Augsburger Zeitung

Eat your pill, put your flowery dress on, build a house and imagine, for just one instant, that gravity can disappear... Using manic physicality and hallucinogenic images, Project HaHa sees RemoteControl gripped in a danse-macabre with joy.

Seven of Scotland's best spoken word artists: Rachel Amey, Bram E Gieben, Harry Giles, Jenny Lindsay, Ali Maloney, Rachel McCrum and Sam Small – present original solo shows. A different show every night.

Astonishingly powerful new trio: Scotland’s visionary guitarist/composer; the mesmerising voice of Raju das Baul, exponent of Bengal’s mystical Baul tradition; and tabla master Sarvar Sabri. 'One of the most important musicians of his generation' (ThreeWeeks)

Developed on the streets of Newport, Smash it Up explores the destruction of art, culture and public space. Inspired by the demolition of a piece of public art, Smash it Up asks what else is being destroyed?

“There is no use in rage. There is no use in screaming. There is no use in crying out and screaming ‘this is unfair’, just wait, cause no one cares.” In a world of globalization and greed, of zero-hour contracts and The Big Bang Theory, violence worms its way into every aspect of our lives.

Come and see where our handcrafted, small batch gin is made. You’ll learn about how we make our gin from start to finish, sample the finished product and end the tour with a perfectly poured Pickering’s & Tonic at our beautifully restored 1950’s Airstream cocktail bar.

How do we touch without touching? Without leaving your seat, join us in an empathetic, exhilarating, imagined touch. Fragile, funny and interactive.

A double bill for younger audiences and their families, exploring the incredible storytelling power of ordinary paper.

Miraculous true story of four friends and their inspirational conversations with otherworldly beings during a time of great peril. A tour de force performance where audience meets actor for a life-changing spiritual infusion.

Puppetry, magic and science combine in this sculpture-performance for young audiences and families.
Mysterious visions of objects, luminescent liquids and magnetic animals emerge gradually to reveal their mechanics.

A humane, mischievous and loving show in which bread is shared, wine is drunk and familiar stories are reimagined by a transgender Jesus. ‘Demands to be seen’ ★★★★★ (BroadwayBaby.com). Part of Made in Scotland Showcase.

Tommy leaves his town on the hill to see the sea. A journey through music history giving the floor to society’s outsiders. A coming of age performance told in songs and live drawings.

Join 2Magpies in the Summerhall café as they piece together the day Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko was poisoned in an aromatic blend of possibility, actuality, fact, and fiction. They will even provide the tea.

Jenny is a mischievous little girl who loves playing with her Dad. But he has to put on his business suit, pick up his briefcase and go to work. When Jenny grabs hold of his overcoat to stop him leaving, a thread unravels and becomes the start of a magical world of adventure and discovery.

Imagine a place better than where you are. Every day they try again, try to figure out how to live together, start to build something. The Paradise Project is full of wit, intelligence and humanity.

A magical family show with stunning puppetry, original live music and tap dancing that will make you want to stick 50p pieces to your shoes and join in! 'Everything a children’s theatre experience should be' (Childplays.wordpress.com).

This Wellcome Trust-supported ensemble performance explores, through song and body, landscapes where mental health and religious experience collide. With insight from psychiatry and anthropology, this show plunges soul-first into the human experience of demon possession.

The Voice Thief – a five-star promenade adventure about the mysterious Institute for the Encouragement of Vocal Harmony. For everyone aged nine and over. ‘Everything a piece of theatre should be’ ★★★★★ Guardian

Combining interactive video with contemporary dance, Thread is reimagining the Minotaur. Fascinating and seductive, Ariadne is a modern woman infused with the myths of the past, blurring lines between fantasy and reality, arousal and disgust, fun and violence.

Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night’s Dream re-imagined as a modern-day musical cabaret turned bacchanal. Former principal performer with Poland's legendary Gardzienice Theatre brings you an engaging, funny, sensual and participatory night out with an amplified twist.

To Sleep To Dream tells the story of the last dreamers in a society where dreaming is illegal. Blindfolded and seated in a 3D array of 23 speakers, lose yourself in a vivid soundscape storyworld with locations, characters and live narration that unfold around your ears and imagination.

What is our attraction to Space? What are we chasing – or escaping from? In To Space, a multimedia immersive performance that buzzes with new technologies, Dr Niamh Shaw explores the beauty, darkness and humanity of Space.

Ventoux is the story of Lance Armstrong, Marco Pantani and doping in professional cycling; set on the most fearsome mountain in France, Mont Ventoux. Join 2Magpies as they restage the race that cast their careers in opposing directions.

No two people – or monsters – are exactly the same! Come along to this humorous dance performance and meet some scratchy, shimmering creatures and multi-coloured monsters, moving in strange and impossible ways. Part of Made in Scotland Showcase.

Choose your path through an imagined world… or perhaps your neighbour will choose for you. Without leaving your seat, you – or most of you – can go anywhere. But don’t worry. There’s always a second chance.

Luke Wright’s theatre debut is a guitar-scored story of friendship, class and a really bad idea for a festival, all told in beautifully deft verse. ‘Some of the most incisive writing you’ll see’ (ExeuntMagazine.com)

First on Women’s Hour: I’m fine! Women’s Hour. Ankle socks? Women’s Hour. ’Part-comedy, part-theatre, part-performance art’ ★★★★ (ExeuntMagazine.com). 'Swaggering, smart and side-achingly funny' ★★★★ (WhatsOnStage.com). Commissioned by Camden People's Theatre.

A cross between a theatrical performance and a live gig. Mixing spoken word, music and dance, this new performance is an exploration into some well-known dogmas surrounding privacy and gender and how we can bring them to task.