Since I would like to see all 3,649 shows scheduled for the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, I thought I’d get a head start by attending East to Edinburgh, one of the two New York festivals that are each previewing 15 productions heading to Scotland next month. I’ve seen the first five – about an accidental cat-lover, a reformed alcoholic, an ambivalent Francophile, two amateur linguists and a woman spying on a mystic — and I’m already overwhelmed.
My quick takes on these five below. Each show (like almost all shows at the Edinburgh Fringe) are no more than an hour long; all have remaining performances in New York (although most of these are sold out). I’ll start with the two I most readily recommend.
Each title is linked to its page at 59e59 Theater, with an additional link to its page on the Edinburgh Fringe website.
If you take this play literally, Mark Boyett and Brian Dykstra portray two suburban friends who start arguing nonsensically over every little thing from the moment they say hey, like 12-year-olds trying to demonstrate which one is smarter and only proving how obnoxious both are. But only the title should be taken literally. “A Play on Words,” written by Dykstra and directed by Margarett Perry, is like an Abbott and Costello routine performed by two linguists. One corrects the other for saying entomology when he means etymology. They riff on the etymology of the expression “I don’t give a hang,” debate the difference between insinuate and intimate, and discuss whether it’s possible to think about nothing. As improbable as it sounds, all this erudition is often amusing, and it even leads somewhere – making the Orwellian point that words are used as political weapons — although it takes too long to get there. The entertainment comes largely from the crackling pace by these two practiced performers. And practiced they certainly are: They first mounted this play way back in 2009. (That’s when the photograph above was taken.)
Remaining NYC performances: July 12 at 4:30, July 16 at 8:30.
At Edinburgh Fringe (Aug 6-31)
Bob Brader tells us he was happy to be living alone and working in temp jobs, when he reluctantly took in a cat, only temporarily, intending to find it a new home, because his temp boss was otherwise going to take it to a kill shelter. The title makes clear what happened instead.
But “Kitty Daddy” is not just a show for cat-lovers, as I can personally testify. (It coulld be genetic: One of my earliest memories is of my grandmother chasing a stray away with a broom.) This is a funny, intelligent, candid and poignant story of how man and cat overcame their mutual antipathy (Jade spent the first two weeks under the bed growling) and how their mutual love helped Brader understand himself better – his own rage, his childhood trauma, his debilitating need for solitude. He makes it clear that his relationship with the cat helped him change his life. Brader even winds up getting married (to Suzanne Bachner, who directs “Kitty Daddy”), although the relationship required some adjustment: “Jade believes he’s the wife, and I’m the pet,” Suzanne says – one of the several characters whose distinctive voice Brader nails.
A couple of these impersonations need work, especially Jade. It’s evident that Jade could at times be one ornery dude. He should not sound quite so adorable.
Remaining performance in NYC July 11, 2026 at 2:30PM
At Edinburgh Fringe (Aug 7-29)
In her solo show, Liv Rocklin tells us how she always wanted to study in Paris, and she got to do so, but only briefly, because it was cut short by the pandemic, This caused great resentment; it didn’t help that she developed a gluten allergy, which meant she couldn’t even eat French bread. She vowed to forget Paris. But then she did manage to spend another 24 hours there a few years ago.
This is just a small taste of the smorgasbord – or should I say buffet à volonté – that is “An American (NOT) In Paris,” which is more or less Rocklin’s life story; it is billed as presenting“seven songs, six languages and five undiagnosed conditions” There are also numerous photographs of herself from babyhood onward, and a standup riff on her battle over her weight; she presents a graphic of the sort that nutritionists present to their patients to illustrate food portions, only this one is divided into ”Shame,” “The Mile Run,” “Do you know about vegetables,” and “Go fuck yourself.”
The show is at its strongest when she accompanies herself on guitar for her original songs, especially the ones she turns into singalongs (most memorably “C’est La Vie”) I envision a sing-through musical in her future.
Remaining performances in NYC, July 18 at 6:30PM, July 26 at 2:30 p.m.
Edinburgh Fringe, Aug 6-30
The Misfortunes of a Spy and Her Mystic
The boss (Deirdre Lovejoy) of what seems like a cross between a private detective agency and a non-profit mental health clinic hires Eve (Akaina Ghosh) to keep tabs (spy) on Meda (Joy Donze), the eccentric daughter of wealthy parents, a delighted soul who may or may not have supernatural powers. The two women become attracted to one another, which presents an ethical dilemma to Eve (although it wasn’t clear to me why she wouldn’t feel ethically challenged for hanging out with Meda under false pretenses in the first place.) All three actresses give strong performances, especially Donze, who is also the writer and director of this hazy story with the unwieldy title.
Remaining performances in NYC July 12, 2026 at 7:30PM
Edinburgh Fringe August 7 – 29
Michelle Renee Johnson has written and performs this story of MJ, who starts drinking in college so that others will find her more interesting, and at least acknowledge her. She tells a series of stories that result in her blacking out. There are several points at which she falls to the floor and there is a blackout.
The show needs some work in projection and pacing, and the story of the repetitive horror of substance abuse and recovery has been told many times before on stage and quite creatively (See, eg. The Reservoir, Days of Wine and Roses), but there is always an audience for such a show.
Remaining performances in NYC: July 11 at 6:30, July 12 at 2:30
Edinburgh Fringe Aug 7-29
