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The best 2018 Edinburgh Fringe shows coming to London

By Lucy Brooks on 24/8/2018

Ah! The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where the great, good, and mad folks of theatre flock to the Royal Mile for the month of August. It's a vast, frantic incubator for new talent. Over a few short weeks, stars are born and others sink without a trace. Happily for those us who didn't make it to the Royal Mile (and don't have the stamina to see the 3000-odd fringe shows on offer), many of the best productions transfer to London. Here are the shows that made a splash this year, and where Londoners can see them.

Underground Railroad Game

This no-holds-barred theatrical experience, landing at the Soho Theatre this September after selling out its Fringe run, tackles the thorny topic of the enduring legacy of slavery in the US in brutally funny fashion. It was named as one of The New York Times’ 25 best new American plays of the last 25 years, so be sure to snap up tickets to its London dates while you can.

WHEN

4 September - 13 October

WHERE

Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, Soho, W1D 3NE

Jessie Cave: Sunrise

Jessie Cave's sophomore solo show (I Loved Her garnered rave reviews at the 2015 Fringe) is a painfully honest, sharply funny look at her own life as a single mother trying to move on after breaking up with her kids' dad. Be prepared for laughing, crying and a whole lot of oversharing as Cave comes to the Soho Theatre for a three-week run.

WHEN

12 November - 1 December

WHERE

Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, W1D 3NE

Six

Divorced, beheaded - live in concert? The six wives of Henry VIII take to the stage in a rip-roaring musical that was lavished with praise during its inaugural Edinburgh run in 2017, and has been just as successful this year.

WHEN

30 August - 23 September

WHERE

Arts Theatre, Great Newport Street, London, WC2H 7JB

All We Ever Wanted Was Everything

An eclectic mix of theatre and live concert, the fabulously-titled All We Ever Wanted Was Everything charts the highs and lows of two young people's lives over three decades, from 1997's Cool Britannia to today's Brexit Britain. It's bursting onto the Bush Theatre's stage amid a raft of four- and five-star reviews for its second go-around at the Fringe.

WHEN

31 October - 24 November

WHERE

Bush Theatre, 7 Uxbridge Rd, Shepherd's Bush, London W12 8LJ

It's True, It's True, It's True

As you might have guessed from the title, this one's based on a true story. In 1612, Agostino Tassi was accused of raping artist Artemisia Gentileschi - the ensuing seven-month trial gripped Renaissance Rome, and official court documents translated from Latin and Italian are the basis of this dynamic new show from innovative young company Breach Theatre. It's landing at the New Diorama Theatre in Regent's Park in October to examine exactly how much has changed in four centuries.

WHEN

16 October - 10 November

WHERE

New Diorama Theatre, 15-16 Triton St, London NW1 3BF

Natalie Palamides: Nate

Nate is your classic alpha male - he's got the hairy chest, big boots, and thundering motorbike to prove it. He also happens to be American comic Natalie Palamides' alter ego, and the star of this raucously funny hour that's heavy on audience interaction. Nate previewed at the Soho Theatre before heading up to Edinburgh, so Palamides is sure to be at home in her London run in November.

WHEN

13 November - 1 December

WHERE

Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, W1D 3NE

Mark Thomas: Check Up - Our NHS at 70

The NHS is 70! We know, it doesn't look a day over... Well, that's what activist-comedian Mark Thomas checks up on in this new show, actually: what kind of shape the NHS is in, how it got there, and where it's going next. Based on interviews with everybody from England's chief medical officer to junior doctors, this hour-and-a-half has been praised for its heart, not to mention its fire, and is transferring to the Arcola Theatre in Hackney in October.

WHEN

22 October - 3 November

WHERE

Arcola Theatre, 24 Ashwin St, Dalston, London E8 3DL