Five great theatre shows coming from the Edinburgh Fringe to London

As this year’s Edinburgh Fringe enters its last week, don’t despair if you didn’t make it to Scotland– here’s the pick of the shows confirmed as heading our way.

1. ‘DollyWould’

Sh!t Theatre’s ramshackle housing crisis show ‘Letters to Windsor House’ was one of the highlights of the 2016 Fringe – and dammit if the duo haven’t turned in another straight-up banger with ‘DollyWould’. Quite a change of tack, it’s mostly about their love of Dolly Parton, though it also riffs joyously on Dolly the Sheep, cloning, boobs, legacy, fame and mortality.

Camden People’s Theatre. Oct 3-5.

2. ‘Wild Bore’

This show from Zoe Coombs Marr, Ursula Martinez and Adrienne Truscott is about criticism and agency, and it takes the form of one very long, harsh review of itself, with all the lines taken from other, pre-existing reviews. Arguably it’s the sort of thing that might appeal to critics more than regular folk, but never fear – much of the comedy is delightfully puerile, with the trio spending most of the show literally talking out of their arses. 

Soho Theatre. Nov 21-Dec 16.

3. ‘Education, Education, Education’

This slick comedy about an anarchic comprehensive school on the day after the 1997 Labour landslide offers up plenty of ‘Teachers’-style LOLs. But it’s also
a bittersweet and angering reminder of the hope of 20 years ago and how far our once once-cherished education system has fallen.

Coming to London next year, dates confirmed but not announced.

4. ‘Out of Love’

Relatively unknown writer Elinor Cook has bagged a big gig adapting Ibsen’s ‘The Lady from the Sea’ for the Donmar and this searingly clever, non-linear drama about female friendship offers
a pretty good explanation why.

Orange Tree Theatre. Jan 27-Mar 3 2018.

5. ‘The Divide’

Okay, 'The Divide' was neither a great show nor part of the Fringe, instead the centrepiece of the Edinburgh International Festival. Even though it’s far from perfect, this monolithic, six-hour, two-part, dystopian drama from the venerable Alan Ayckbourn has to be one of the most ambitious shows of the year. Hopefully it’ll have been tweaked a bit by the time it hits London next year.

Old Vic. Jan 31-Feb 10 2018.