Hari Berrow profiles four Welsh stage productions which are set to trek up to Edinburgh next month – after preview performances in Cardiff – and jostle for attention as part of Britain’s biggest arts festival: Songs From Across The Sueniverse, Frogs In Bogs, Circle Of Fifths and Owl At Home.
This year, some of the most iconic pieces of Welsh touring theatre in recent years are travelling to the Edinburgh Fringe, with financial help from Arts Council Wales’ Cymru Wales in Edinburghfund. While this is only the scheme’s second year, the Sherman Theatre – with experience in taking shows to Edinburgh through the Pleasance partnership scheme – will assist in marketing for each show during August.
Four Welsh shows from the last five years are taking to the Scottish capital’s stages. Songs From Across The Sueniverse, the third instalment in the Sue Timms Saga, was first staged in 2022. Co-written by Lost Boys And Fairies’ Daf James (who also plays the title role) and The System’s Ben Lewis, we find Sue setting out on a magical trip across Wales in search of a miracle after being evicted from her home. “The world has changed since we first took My Name Is Sue to Edinburgh in 2009,” says Daf, “but Sue’s joyful, unassailable spirit hasn’t, and she has much to say on the matter.”
Familia’s Frogs In Bogs, originally staged in 2023, sees a group of vigilante frogs escape from prison to clean up the city’s sewers: “If you have a pollution problem and no one else can help, if you can find them, you can hire… Frogs In Bogs!” Notwithstanding the 80s TV show references, and indeed the themes of ecosystem breakdown touched on, the show is suitable for all ages: colourful costumes, an abundance of silly jokes and music from HMS Morris frontwoman Heledd Watkins. According to Familia artistic director Becca Cox, “It’s about fun, silliness and joy. We want to inspire activism through poo jokes and epic dance moves.”
Gavin Porter’s Circle Of Fifths began life as a National Theatre Wales production, with a round of site-specific performances in Cardiff received with acclaim in 2022. Following NTW’s closure at the end of 2024, Porter is taking the show to the Fringe under his own name. Devised as an outlet for collective grieving post-lockdown, the show took audiences through the stages of a Butetown funeral and showed that marginalised performers and audiences could take centre stage in the Welsh arts.
“Myself and the cast are really honoured to be taking Circle Of Fifths to Edinburgh and sharing our story with the world,” Porter told me. “It’s a personal show to all of us, telling part of the amazing story of Butetown, Tiger Bay and Cardiff Docks. With dwindling recourses, and it becoming harder and harder to stage work in Wales, it is more vital than ever that ACW provides the opportunity for Welsh artists to showcase their work on an international platform such as the Edinburgh Fringe.”
The final Welsh show heading to Edinburgh is Owl At Home, Theatr Iolo’s widely praised 2022 production of the children’s book by Arnold Lobel. The show centres on a lonely owl who travels into his own imagination, and, through that, manages to find a friend to bring him back to Earth. Theatr Iolo’s artistic director Lee Lyford says, “Owl At Home travels to Scotland with success in his feathers having already toured China and parts of Europe. We hope the exposure of the fringe will open more international pathways for this visual, funny and moving show.”
While Welsh artists have been travelling to the fringe for years, the fund marks a major move to support Welsh theatre’s reach. The theatre makers themselves have told us how important they think it is; it’ll be exciting to see how the investment pays off.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Fri 7-Mon 31 Aug.
Info: Songs From Across The Sueniverse / Frogs In Bogs / Circle Of Fifths / Owl At Home
Owl At Home, Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, Sat 1 Aug (tickets: £12/£8 kids. Info: here); Circle Of Fifths, Butetown Community Centre, Cardiff Bay, Wed 5-Sat 8 Aug (tickets: £12/£18 supporters. Info: here); Songs From Across The Sueniverse, Sherman Theatre, Cardiff, Wed 19 + Thurs 20 Aug (tickets: £12/£8 kids. Info: here).
words HARI BERROW
