NYC-based writer, filmmaker and performer Candice Fox is bringing her show, Cheers, Mom! Eulogy For a Living Parent to the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Following themes from much of her work exploring addiction, family dynamics and the complexities of human relationships, Cheers, Mom! is a wild, hilarious solo show about grief, love and mommy issues. Fox dives into the chaos of loss and a complex mother-daughter saga, blending raw storytelling with striking visuals.
She examines grief in its messy glory, awkward moments and accidental wisdom, navigating the strange ways we stumble forward. This show isn’t just about death, it’s about mourning someone still alive, dealing with estrangement and how addiction distorts family history. Deeply intimate, darkly funny, Cheers, Mom! Is cathartic, relatable and unexpected. You’ll laugh, cry and probably text your mom something unhinged afterward!
Candice Fox, Writer/Performer:
Candice Fox is a writer, filmmaker, and performer based in New York City. Her films have screened at international festivals including the New York Movie Awards and Paris Film Awards, and her essays appear on Medium’s leading mental health platform, Invisible Illness. In addition to publishing the poetry collection Mental Maps, she is also currently working on a feature-length documentary exploring a personal and life-altering trauma.
Preston Mui, Director:
Preston is a multidisciplinary performer who has been on Broadway in Hamilton since 2019, bringing nearly 30 years of experience in dance, acting, and stagecraft. Raised in San Francisco, he trained in singing, martial arts, and dance from a young age, studying at the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts. His career spans TV, film, live stage, and 360 video, with performance credits alongside icons like Janet Jackson, Britney Spears, and John Legend. Preston’s work blends music, movement, and visual storytelling to create deeply immersive experiences.
Reed Luplau, Movement Direction:
Reed Luplau is an Australian-born dancer, choreographer, and performer whose career spans Broadway, film, opera, and contemporary dance. He has performed with renowned companies like Sydney Dance Company and Stephen Petronio Company, and appeared in Broadway productions including Moulin Rouge!, The Great Comet of 1812, and Fiddler on the Roof. Reed’s choreographic work includes Head Over Heels, Broadway Bares, and an ASL production of Spring Awakening. He is currently the co-creator and director of When We Touch, a dance narrative exploring a mother-son relationship under a repressive regime.
Following a powerful premiere in Cape Town and widespread acclaim at South Africa’s National Arts Festival, the gripping solo play Beggared in S.A. now makes its international debut at the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Based on a true story and written by the beggar himself, Stewart Clarke, this raw and redemptive work was shaped over three years in a workshop environment with director Gideon DeWet. Performed by South African actor Sean Higgs, the play is a searing portrayal of one man’s fall from privilege–and his transformation through the spirit of Ubuntu.
Once a white South African raised with every advantage, Clarke’s life collapses. Homeless and destitute, he takes to the streets with a cardboard sign. But hope arrives from the most unexpected place: a township shack and the poor, black South Africans who offer him more humanity than the world he once ruled. Their belief in Ubuntu–the philosophy of “I am because we are”–rebuilds him from the inside out.
“This is the story of a man who lost everything–except his soul. And maybe that was the point.” – Sean Higgs
Performed with unflinching honesty, dark humour, and deep compassion, Beggared in S.A. is a 60-minute solo tour de force that invites audiences to question what we truly value–and who we become when the masks fall away.
A once-privileged white man loses everything in post-apartheid South Africa–and finds redemption in the townships through Ubuntu. Based on a true story. Written by the beggar himself. Raw, funny, haunting. Performed by Sean Higgs. Directed by Gideon DeWet
Fringe
Gideon DeWet
I bumped into Stewart Clark, a former ballet dancer and hairdresser, and he told me he was living on the street and begging by the robot (traffic light). I told him to write it all down as I could not help him financially. He did and I spent the next two years editing and directing Stewart in the play. After 3 performances and 2 fundraisers that raised enough money for his cataract operation, Stewart developed epilepsy and did not want to go on a stage again.
I then approached Sean Higgs to take the part of The Beggar. Previously we met at the University of Cape Town Drama School in 1984 and have done a lot of theatre work thereafter. We rehearsed for 6 months via Whatsapp until Sean came to South Africa and we had 2 weeks of face-to-face rehearsals before opening Beggared in Sa at The Masque Theatre. So far, a total of 19 performances in 7 venues in Cape Town and in the Eastern Cape, including the National Arts Festival, formerly known as the Grahamstown Festival.
Winner–United Solo Theatre Festival, New York, Best International Show 2024
Music and songs are the key elements that trigger Julian‘s memories, and set him off on a journey back to his childhood in South America where he discovers his passion for music and his gift for imitating voices. From there, he faces struggles in New York and Europe as he pursues his dream of becoming an artist.
Julián Fontalvo returns to the Edinburgh Fringe for the third time with his acclaimed show The Imitator, this time at a new venue: Assembly Checkpoint.
He previously performed in New York at the United Solo Festival, the world’s largest solo theatre festival, where he was awarded Best International Show.
Additionally, Julián has presented the show over seven seasons in Madrid and at the prestigious Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, as well as during two previous editions of the Fringe.
An international showman, he has appeared in over 60 cities across 23 countries, performing for celebrities such as Michael Douglas and Anne Hathaway.
He has been cast in Spanish productions of We Will Rock You, Monty Python’s Spamalot, and Avenue Q.
He is also highly sought after for exclusive corporate and private events; he even had the honor of being the sole performer at tennis champion Rafa Nadal’s wedding, at the personal request of the sportsman
The Lawn Con: A Documentary About Lawns, Premieres Worldwide At Edinburgh Fringe
The documentary is narrated by Chuck Nice featuring PHDs, experts and comics talking about how lawns are ruining America.
The show will feature world premiere clips from the documentary and a chance to voice your opinions to the documentary team about lawns. They welcome anyone who has something to say in favour or against lawns and they pledge to get to every question.
#DareToDiscover your next favourite show – Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Today marks the official start of the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which will run until Monday 25 August.
Edinburgh Fringe Programme Launch 2025
This August will feature 54,474 performances from 3,853 shows* (3,352 within the printed programme). Since programme launch on 03 June, 501 more shows have registered and are now searchable on edfringe.com and in the official Fringe app. Artists from 63 countries will be represented on the Fringe’s stages, with 1,118 shows from Scotland and 829 from Edinburgh itself.
The Fringe vision is to give anyone a stage and everyone a seat, and that includes keeping the Fringe affordable. This year’s average ticket price is just over £13, ensuring Fringe audiences can experience a variety of work at an accessible cost.
The Fringe Street Events programme began this morning and will run from 11:00 every day until 24 August, with world-class performers taking to the Royal Mile and Mound all day, offering something for everyone. This year the Fringe also welcomes the return of ‘Innis & Gunn on the Mound’, with the famed Scottish brewery hosting a vibrant food and drink village amidst the street events action on the Mound.
The Fringe Society supports artists by facilitating a range of services: so far this year the Media Office has accredited over 900 reviewers, editors, journalists and broadcasters from 30 countries, who will be instrumental in boosting artists’ profile. In addition, to date, some 1,400 arts industry professionals from 58 countries have accredited, and will be on the lookout for shows at the Fringe to offer onward touring or TV and film adaptation opportunities. Fringe Central is also fully open to support all artists performing at the Fringe this summer, with a programme of events tailored to help performers at any stage of their career, and free mental health support for artists returns in partnership with Health in Mind.
Tony Lankester, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: ‘This is my first Fringe as the Fringe Society’s Chief Executive, so this is an incredibly exciting moment – I’ve attended the Edinburgh Fringe before, but never in such a front-row seat!
It’s taken a lot of people a lot of work to get us to this moment, so I’d like to thank everyone who has a hand in making it happen. That includes the venues around the city; the local businesses, stakeholders and officials; the wonderfully warm and welcoming people of Edinburgh; the members of the media and the arts industry who make this festival such an important part of the calendar for participating artists; and of course the indefatigable and undefeatable artists themselves, without whom there wouldn’t be a Fringe at all. We’re so grateful that you’ve chosen to be here this year, and I encourage any and all prospective audience members to go out, enjoy the festival and dare to discover the amazing work on offer.’
New shows added since programme launch (03 June)
Below is a small representative sample of shows that have registered since programme launch on 03 June. The full list of shows at this year’s festival can be found at edfringe.com.
At Saint Stephen’s Theatre, director Peter Schaufuss presents Romeo & Juliet, ‘celebrating the anniversary of Sir Frederick Ashton’s Olivier Award-nominated choreographic masterpiece in a unique Shakespearian candlelight performance setting’. Jéssica Teixeira presents Monga at Assembly, crafting ‘a mosaic out of philosophical reflection, infectious songs, radical performance art and humour’. At Traverse, Lucky Tonight! is ‘an interactive pub quiz-cum-theatre show’ in which ‘quizmaster extraordinaire (and former contestant of The Chase) Afreena will put you through your paces to help tell her story’. ‘Through movement, hand-knitted costume and visual metaphor, Weaving Me, Weaving Mum (C Arts) tells an intimate story of female growth, trauma and reconciliation, drawn from the director’s personal experience across generations’. Ants and Other Strong Things (theSpaceUK) is ‘a gripping queer sci-fi romance thriller set thirty years in the future, in a high-surveillance state waging war against the LGBTQIA+ community’. And at WU, GENDAI is ‘a Japanese laser show combining custom-made paper costumes, expressive body performance and original music featuring traditional Japanese instruments’.
Sanctum of Shadows at Leith Arches is ‘an immersive physical theatre performance that invites the audience into the final hour before a girl’s death’. In The End is Near at St James Church Leith, ‘three women from three different centuries find each other at their worst hour. Janet is accused of witchcraft in 1661 Edinburgh, Caroline is an arrested suffragette in 1911 London and Lauren is fighting for her reproductive freedom in 2028, in America.’ Beggared at The Bowlers Rest ‘tells the story of a privileged white South African whose life collapses into homelessness… [and] finds refuge in a township where the spirit of Ubuntu – a philosophy of shared humanity – challenges his racist indoctrination’. And Riot Reveals Cabaret promises ‘burlesque, comedy, magic, drag and live music all under one roof at the iconic Leith Depot’.
At Deaf Action, ‘Deaffy Drag Queenies Mary and Danielle bring outrageous fun, cheeky charm and deaf queer pride to the stage using BSL and Gay Sign Variant (GSV)’ in Deaffy Drag Queeny: Glitter, Gags and GSV. Harmony’s Heavenly Show – The Fun and Fabulous Drag Variety Show at Just the Tonic ‘blends singalongs, original songs, musical theatre, opera and heartfelt storytelling – with the “true” story of two drag queens as they belt, banter and bare their soul in a glitter-drenched journey for your entertainment’.
The entire Edinburgh International Film Festival programme is now live on edfringe.com and in the EdFringe app – among the screenings is EIFF: Deaf / Bumblebee(Filmhouse), a double-bill exploring themes of parenthood and disability.
‘Linus Karp and Joseph Martin, the duo behind The Fit Prince, Gwyneth Goes Skiing and Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story are getting gay married’ onstage in Awkward Prods Get Married (But For Real) at Pleasance. Abby Govindan explains How to Embarrass Your Immigrant Parents at Monkey Barrel Comedy, offering ‘an hour of hilarious storytelling that explores a pertinent universal theme: wanting to understand your parents but struggling to see eye-to-eye’. In Bed With… Harriet Kemsley (Hotel Indigo, York Place) ‘is a bold, close-up and relaxed comedy experience from one of Britain’s rising comedic stars’. Nicola and Rosie Dempsey (better known as Flo & Joan) bring The Birds, The Birds! (WIP) to Shedinburgh, in which ‘the Old Woman Who Lives in a Shoe finally sits down to write a rebuttal to the person who penned the poem that made her famous’. And ‘Shuang Teng and Rabiah Coon team up for a hilarious split bill show that dives into the awkward, surprising and sometimes absurd realities of life in the UK’ in Asian American Cultural Confusion at Laughing Horse.
Joy of Spines is a spoken word performance that ‘not only reveals the broad and deep collecting practices of the National Library of Scotland, but also tells the story of who we are as a species’. Panmure House hosts two debates on AI as part of its Panmure House Debates 2025: AI and Education and AI and the Workplace. And poetitian Lucy Aphramor serves up ‘a fiery fusion of wordsmithery, trans joy, compassion and queer nutrition science’ in Taking the Biscuit Back at PBH’s Free Fringe.
Samba Sene and Diwan + Makossa (The Famous Spiegeltent) promises ‘a double bill of the best African sounds from Scotland – an evening of exuberant afrobeat, mbalax, ska, reggae dance grooves’. Funk & Order: Cop Show Hits (The Jazz Bar) is ‘performed by Edinburgh’s finest, laying down the law with unmatched precision, tight grooves and a rhythm section that’s always one step ahead of the bad guys’. And as part of the Welcome to the Fringe Palestine series, the Arab a Dub DJ Set at Portobello Town Hall is ‘a journey through the vibrant pulse of Palestinian culture, bringing together traditional dance with cutting-edge underground sounds’.
*edfringe.com listings include shows which may be performing across multiple spaces and also shows which have been cancelled but may appear within the printed Fringe programme.
