Pick of Edinburgh Fringe Festival

With August nearly upon us, this post is very late.  With some clever scheduling, a trip to the Edinburgh Fringe can be a brilliant day out.  To make the train ticket worthwhile, try and see three shows in one day.  To accommodate three, make sure you check the running time (which is listed in the programme) and allow lots of time to travel between venues (and ensure the venues are in walking distance from each other).  Remember that you need to queue to get into each show as well (okay, you don't but there will be a queue for each show and you're not guaranteed to sit altogether otherwise).  There's no provision for buggies and I have never tried and would never try the baby change facilities - if your child can't walk that far or isn't using the toilet yet, wait until next year.

I heartily suggest planning your day with your child.  Programmes are available at lots of places in Glasgow.  I got mine in Soar.  They are in the bottom of Direct Distribution stands.  There is also a list of places they can be obtained here.

Don't just look in the children's section, there are plenty of shows suitable for children in cabaret and variety (magicians!), dance, physical theatre and circus, music, musicals and opera and theatre.  Each performance has a film style rating (U, PG etc.)

To make your trip as cheap as possible, aim for Preview or 2 for 1 performances at the start of the festival or you could try the half-price hut (might be risky as you are more of a niche audience).

Without further ado, what have I found for you?  Remember, I haven't seen any of these...but that's the spirit of the Fringe, take a punt and see if you win.

Cabaret & Variety

JJ and the Dancing Stick
Snap

Children's Shows

The Amazing Bubble Man
Ami and Tami
AnimAlphabet the Musical
Arr We There Yet?
BambinO (okay, this is Scottish Opera and it is coming to Glasgow but it will be good, nb. for babies)
Bitey and Bertie's Grand Tour
Calvinball (outdoor performance in the Botanics, I have seen work by Ipdip before and recommend)
CeilidhKids
Children Are Stinky
Cockadoodlemoo
David Walliams' The First Hippo on the Moon
Dr Zeiffal, Dr Zeigal and the Hippo That Can Never Be Caught
The Giant Jam Sandwich
The Giant's Loo Roll
Goblin's Peter and the Wolf
The Gruffalo's Child (theatre company, Tall Stories are excellent)
Hairy Maclary (or see it over the October week nearer Glasgow)
King Arthur and Wriggle Around the World (Recitals for Wrigglers are very popular over Edinburgh way, why won't they perform in Glasgow?!)
Nick Cope's Family Song Book
The Polar Bears Go Up (Glasgow-grown kids theatre with excellent track record)
Sarah and Duck
The Tales of Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle-Duck
The Wonderful World of Lapin (seen this, it's a treat and you learn some French too)

This is just scraping the surface of what you can see and you'll know your child's interests best.

Musicals & Opera

Annie
Peter Pan

Theatre

The Egg-Born Princess
The Great Big Beautiful Sky
The Jurassic Parks (PG)
Me and My Bee