Hair’s Breath FeaturingBoo & Blake Madden AtEdinburgh Festival Fringe
Hair’s Breathis a captivating music performance inspired by Black women and their hair. Through music, storytelling, and cultural exploration Hair’s Breath explores the social, personal and political significance of Black women’s hair.
Featuring:
Adra Boo Adra Boo is a soulful Seattle-based singer, leader, and advocate for Black artists. Known for her powerful voice, she’s performed with legends like Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings and Macklemore, empowering communities through initiatives like #BlackHotSunday.
Blake Madden Blake Madden is a multi-genre composer, musician, and educator blending punk, soul, and more. As the director of Purple Mane and frontman of Hotels, he crafts innovative, unforgettable live performances, pushing musical boundaries and inspiring audiences.
“If Your Hair Could Sing, What Song Would It Sing?”
August 5 -9, 23:40, Theatre 3 at theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall
Prepare to have your minds blown as Daniel Sinclair, one of the UK’s top hypnotists and mind-readers – and Harry Potter lookalike – brings his two unmissable shows to Edinburgh Fringe: Comedy Hypnosis and The Mind Reader.
Ever thought you’d witness an adult morph before your eyes into their 5-year-old self? An accountant forget how to count to 10? Two strangers turn into the stars of Bridget Jones’ Diary? Or perhaps a volunteer convinced that a 5″2 balding gent in the front row is in fact Taylor Swift?
These are just a few examples of the phenomena you’ll be treated to. You’ll be left questioning your very sanity.
His hypnosis shows will (quite literally) keep you stuck to your seats, while his mindreading performances will leave you pondering whether Daniel could know exactly what’s lurking in your internet search history!
REVIEWS
“THE NEXT DERREN BROWN“ – Phoenix Arts
“MIND-BLOWING ENTERTAINMENT” – BBC Three Counties Radio
“NEXT LEVEL INCREDIBLE… UNCANNILY CLEVER” – Sofitel Hotel Group
The show that leaves you questioning your very sanity.
Think of any word or name you like… Would you be impressed if Daniel could guess it? What about the code to unlock your phone? Want to bet he can’t guess that? Think again.
Expect Derren Brown-style mind games, comedy and all-round psychological wonder as Daniel reads volunteers’ minds and makes astonishing predictions live on stage.
About Daniel Sinclair
Daniel Sinclair is one of the UK’s leading stage hypnotists, a renowned mind reader/mentalist and keynote speaker.
A master of combining suspense, comedy and truly jaw-dropping moments, Daniel’s shows take audiences on a rollercoaster ride of their minds, leaving them laughing out loud while questioning their own realities. He has been described as ‘the most impressive’ in his industry with his warm engaging style and ability to connect with all types of audiences.
With performances spanning the globe from the West End to large theatres, festivals, established holiday parks and viral podcasts, Daniel has a knack for leaving crowds gobsmacked wherever he goes.
In recent years, he has read the minds and hypnotised thousands of people. He has also entertained and educated many around the world with his seminar on the mind.
An exhibition marking 200 years of rail travel opens its doors today at National Records of Scotland (NRS)
Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland
“Scots on the Move: Railways and Tourism in Victorian Scotland” is free to visit in the Adam Dome at General Register House on Princes Street.
Part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the exhibition reveals how steam trains revolutionised Victorian Scotland between 1837-1901.
Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland
Visitors can browse treasures from the national archives including train tickets, timetables, posters, colourful tourist guides, private letters and photographs.
Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland
The items on display show how rail transformed holidays from an elite privilege into a pastime for all. The Victorian railways connected communities, spawned iconic routes like the West Highland Line and helped create a whole new industry – tourism.
Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland
The exhibition also explores Victorian reactions to the rail revolution, from anti-rail protest pamphlets to private letters describing newfound freedoms.
Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland
Outreach Archivist Veronica Schreuder said:
“This exhibition draws on National Records of Scotland’s vast Scottish railway archive – the largest in existence. These unique records transport visitors directly into the Victorian era, revealing how steam trains didn’t just change how people travelled – they transformed Scottish society itself.
A highlight for me is an original timetable recording one of Queen Victoria‘s final train journeys from her beloved Balmoral to Windsor in 1899.
I hope visitors will come and visit us in the Adam Dome, a magnificent architectural gem and one of Edinburgh’s best kept secrets, just across from Waverley station.”
Crown copyright, National Records of Scotland
Three free talks will accompany the exhibition, exploring Scotland’s tourism history, the first railway construction, and aristocratic influence on railway development. The talks will be held at General Register House, with online recordings made available where possible.
The exhibition runs weekdays 9:00-16:00 until 26 September in the Adam Dome, with late opening until 18:30 on 7 and 21 August. Entry is free and the exhibition is suitable for ages 12+.
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.
