Edinburgh Guide

By Angela Milton, 17 August, 2026 Rating (out of 5) 3 Show info Company OLSH Theatre Performers OLSH Theatre / Our Lady of the Sacred Heart High School Running time 75mins An engaging piece, based on the true story of a woman, Mary Girard, in 1790s Philadelphia, who ends up being placed in a mental institution by her husband for having her own mind.

Set on New Year's Eve with five 20-something girls all trying to stumble their way through the night and their lives, Girlhood in the Bathroom is about the quintessential female experience of… girlhood in the bathroom. Best friends since birth, Steph (Imogen Brown),  is still devastated by a year-old breakup and Gwen (Sarah Eaton), is feeling lost and forgotten by Steph’s year-long friendship hiatus as she focuses all her energy on her ex.

Set on New Year's Eve with five 20-something girls all trying to stumble their way through the night and their lives, Girlhood in the Bathroom is about the quintessential female experience of… girlhood in the bathroom. Best friends since birth, Steph (Imogen Brown),  is still devastated by a year-old breakup and Gwen (Sarah Eaton), is feeling lost and forgotten by Steph’s year-long friendship hiatus as she focuses all her energy on her ex.

Being inside a shipping container, lying on a bunk bed in the dark for 30 minutes, will definitely not be for everyone, but if you are looking for an experience that will make you think, this could be it. Climbing onto bunk beds feels like childhood, but the plastic mattresses and pillows are clinical. Headphones in place, lying down, especially in the dark, it is tempting to think about sleep, but the voices in your ears keep that at bay.

Warmth and compassion flow from Karen Hall, both as a performer, as a musician and as a regular human being (which of course musicians also are). Her opening about the joy of a bargain meal deal and ease with chatting with the audience is both charming and engaging. Just as the show aims to do, Hall is showing us the story behind the musician, the person at the heart of a role that can seem above others, simply by playing classical music.

“This story is about a woman looking for an answer.” Sam Ward sits behind a desk, opens a manila folder and starts reading. There is, he warns, a lot to get through. If we lose the thread, he assures us, everything will make sense in the end. That promise is either reassurance or provocation. The woman is driving, fingers tapping to a half-remembered insurance advert jingle, absorbing facts and fantasies from talk radio. One thing seems real: a strange hum comes from a hole in her garden.

Matthew Shiel won a scholarship to study piano at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, graduating with first class honours and the J.S Bach prize for ‘outstanding harmony and counterpoint’. With a versatile repertoire from Beethoven to Debussy, Eunadi to Glass, he performs over 100 performances each year across the UK, USA and Australia at the Edinburgh, Brighton, Adelaide, Melbourne and Hollywood Fringe Festivals.

It’s an interesting introductory text; ‘A precious and unique sari awaits the presence of a boy to pull it out of the wardrobe and drape it on his slender shoulders. In the meantime, the sari shares secrets with anyone who cares to hold a fabric close to their heart. To listen to this piece: go to your closet, find a piece of clothing to hold close to you, and press play’. It’s a warming performance, subtle and slow, clever and engaging. The Indian voice is mellifluous and enticing.

It takes a special kind of writing and performance to have someone laughing while they’re crying multiple times throughout your show - clearly, that is who Destiny Faith Nelson is as a storyteller. To put it plainly, this is a show about Nelson deciding to and preparing to kill herself; it’s no laughing matter, and yet she really is so good at weaving between the gut wrenching pain and the big belly laughs.

If there’s one thing the Fringe doesn’t have enough of, it’s Scottish talent; luckily this year we get Isla Fairfield’s effortlessly funny and unapologetically Scottish Ostrich to help bridge the gap. Ostrich is about 26 year old Tilly Mackenzie from Fife - not Edinburgh, she is clear to let us know- but Kirkcaldy specifically, as she navigates through the loss of her mother and how she tries to fill the void with everything except the one thing she wants that she can’t have: her mum.