Big Little Sister: Holly Gifford’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival Debut
Holly Gifford’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival Debut, Big Little Sister, is a darkly funny and emotionally sharp solo play about growing up in someone else’s shadow — when that someone is your sibling with disabilities.
Big Little Sister cuts through the cliches of “inspirational” sibling stories. Through surrealist storytelling, monologue, and multimedia, including dialogue voiced by her brother’s communication aid. Supported by Keep It Fringe, this production is a tribute to the “glass children”— the term coined to represent ‘invisible’ siblings who grow up in the shadows of siblings with additional needs.
But what happens when this glass child cracks? As the story unfolds, she begins to question what it means to speak on behalf of her brother. By using his literal voice, is she becoming the very filter she set out to challenge—the one that makes their lives palatable?
The show was born out of writer / performer Holly Gifford’s lived experience and desire to challenge those who benefit from the stereotypical, motivational ‘content’ we create around those with disabilities. Equally, who are the beneficiaries of keeping these real stories silenced?
Big Little Sister is a tribute; to growing up alongside someone profoundly different, and to the defiant joy stitched in the seams of grief and guilt.
Holly Gifford is a Bristol-made, London-based writer and performer. Gifford creates new work blending theatre, comedy, and multimedia to tell emotionally complex stories with a sprinkle of social commentary. Big Little Sister is her debut solo show. Gifford’s voice is honest, self-aware, and deeply compassionate.
Big Little Sister is directed by Scarlett Stitt, a London-based actor, writer, and theatre-maker known for her bold and dynamic work across film, television, and stage. At the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe, she co-created and performed in Kissing A Fool, a queer clown-cabaret exploring George Michael’s journey through grief and creativity. The show later transferred to the Soho Theatre. Alongside Gifford, Stitt also runs and hosts drag cabaret nights at the Yard Theatre with their collective, @haus0fintrusivethots.
Big Little Sister is produced in partnership with Stoke The Embers and Honey Theatre, and is supported by Collective Acting Studio, Soho Theatre Edinburgh Lab and was first developed with the National Youth Theatre.
Audience testimonials:
‘It was beautiful. As someone who’s sister is autistic, I could relate to a lot of the themes of siblings having to act as parents and the resentment that can build. This play navigated that experience with such thoughtfulness, that I was on the verge of tears by the end.’ – Jahrhys Greenidge
‘The truth, the originality, the story that’s what made it powerful. Holly brought realness. A raw, unfiltered connection. You felt her love for her brother in every word, every breath. There was no performance, only presence. She didn’t just tell a story she invited us into it. And we followed, willingly, because it was honest.’ – Michelle Hope
‘A beautiful, intimate and hilarious sharing of sibling love.’ – Tamara Davis
This intimate play invites audiences into a world of shared madness, lack of control, and abundant love.
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.
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