FestBuzz

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Welcome to FestBuzz, the Edinburgh Festivals rating site with a difference. We make the traditional Festival word-of-mouth digital by listening in on what the audiences were saying about events, shows and performances.

Our database is fresh for 2010! (Check out last year's, too.)

Search or browse to a show to find out what the word on the tweet is. No need for need hash-tags, @s, DMs or any fancy trickery - we scour Twitter to find out what people were saying, conduct some wizardry to understand it, and assign it to shows.

Our engines are starting, so for now you can browse the listings and wait for magic to happen!

Find out how FestBuzz works and why it's different.

Found an error? Let us know on oops@festbuzz.com.

The FestBuzz Blog features regular exclusive show reviews and other exciting information - don't forget to visit!

Festbuzz recommends
Top 5 shows

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Free

For the fifth year running Scottish-Aussie comic cowboy and PBH's Free Fringe stalwart Ro Campbell hosts an awesome showcase of professional comics from the UK and international circuits. Over the last few years this gig has achieved cult status amongst top level acts who are happy to play a great gig for free in return for promoting their own shows. 2009 acts included Comedy Store headliners and stars of 'Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow', 'Mock The Week' and 'Live At The Apollo'. 'Effortlessly brilliant' (List); 'Top notch!' (Scotsman); 'Funny as hell **** (Skinny); 'Very wrong, rather funny' (Chortle.co.uk).
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Boy with Tape on His Face

The silent comedy show that has created a lot of talk finally comes to Edinburgh. Stand-up with no talking, this show combines absurdity with genius. Through clever and charming humour; 'The Boy' creates a world of possibilities where the only certainty is laughter. You'll laugh, you'll scream and ultimately end up like 'The Boy' - lost for words. This Boy has to be seen to be believed. ***** (Advertiser, Australia); best established comedian, 2009 - Adelaide Fringe; nominated best newcomer, 2008 - Melbourne Comedy Festival.
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I, Claudia

Charting the raw but beautiful interior life of a misfit adolescent, Claudia suffers the triple afflictions of puberty, unpopularity and her parent's divorce. Using four astonishingly expressive masks, writer/performer Kristen Thomson casts a spell of rare, bewitching power. Triumphantly packing houses and receiving standing ovations, it's an award-winning Canadian gem. 'Blissfully funny, unexpectedly touching, 'I, Claudia' is a must see.' (Richard Ouzounian, Toronto Star) 'Go and see it!' (Calgary Herald). Directed by Chris Abraham.
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Colin Hoult: Enemy of the World

Chortle Award nominee Colin Hoult returns with a shockingly different character sketch show; a nightmare of paranoia, prejudice and general pissing about. Praise for 2009 sell-out 'Carnival of Monsters': 'Lewis Carroll meets 'The League of Gentlemen'... will draw out laughter from the deepest recesses of your soul' **** (Time Out); 'Comic genius' (Stage); 'A magical, awe-inspiring hour' **** (Daily Express); 'Tear-inducingly funny' **** (Chortle.co.uk); 'Haunting and hilarious' ***** (ThreeWeeks); 'Demands to be seen. Fest Top Ten Tee Hee Acts for 2010' **** (Sun). Must see!
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Man Who Was Hamlet

In his seventh solo show, George Dillon (Herald Angel Award winner: Berkoff's 'Graft') reveals the tragical, comical and utterly scandalous history of the man behind 'Hamlet' - not the illiterate merchant of Stratford, but the real 'William Shake-speare', Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. 'It's easy to see why Dillon's performances have made him the toast of Edinburgh ... direct and absorbing ... A virtuoso display of dramatic range' (BritishTheatreGuide.info); 'An exciting piece of writing, witty and sharp, ironic, comedic and sometimes philosophical and, as usual, a masterclass in delivery and individual performance' (FringeReview.co.uk).

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Evening with Dementia

Trevor T Smith's new play, poignant yet humorous, offers a study of the world seen through the eyes of a dementia sufferer and deals with the issues of loss, disempowerment and old age. The wryly intelligent text astutely deconstructs the experience of an identity cut loose from the rest of the world by a failing memory, allowing the audience to empathise with a brave spirit fiercely living out the collapse of the human mind. From an ex-RSC actor. A trailer of the play is available on YouTube.
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Betrayal of Penguins: Don't Run with Scissors

After last year's sell-out run, 'A Betrayal of Penguins' is back, presenting a kids' TV show that's doomed to fail. Come see 'the next big thing of Irish comedy'. 'Unmissable' **** (List); 'Excellent' **** (ThreeWeeks).
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Burns: The Video Diary

Meet the real, edgy Bard in Edinburgh. He's in crisis and contradiction but at full creative stretch. This show combines film and theatre to bring you Burns in the raw. Based on Donald Smith's controversial novel 'Between Ourselves', the video diary is the perfect way in to the national poet - flesh, gut and bone - and to Enlightenment Edinburgh. Through Burns' eyes we meet the geniuses and the villains of Old Reekie's glorious yet often murky golden age. Gavin Paul resurrects the man of all seasons for our time. Don't leave Edinburgh without meeting him.
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Dave Hill: Big in Japan

Shy dynamo Dave Hill presents tales of addiction and ostensible fame overseas in a show punctuated by occasional full-on rock guitar assaults. A true story of one man's undying will to rock the f##k out of people. That one man (mentioned earlier) is Dave Hill and over the course of his allotted time slot, Dave will finally speak publicly about what it's like to be a gigantic celebrity in Japan, where he's pretty much like Princess Diana or something. 'An appealing cult story-teller' (Chortle.co.uk); 'Great comic ideas seem to flood out of him...' (Guardian Guide).
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Haunted

European premiere of a dynamic dance/theatre performance that unearths the true story of demonic possession from Mount Rainer, Maryland (USA) where the legend behind the book and film 'The Exorcist' took place. 'Haunted' '... demonstrate[s] in performance what an ensemble can deliver that traditional dance theater rarely does ... intricate, precise work where individuals are so attuned to one another that a performance flows as naturally as water ... breathtaking' (David Cuthbert, New Orleans Times Picayune). Created and performed by Dance Box Theater direct from the USA with astounding live music by Rising Appalachia and mesmerising Ghanaian percussionist/storyteller Kofi Dennis.