Three sea shows at the Edinburgh Festival 2024…

Lee Kyle: Throwing Bottles Into the Sea | Laughing Horse @ Bar 50 | 1-13 Aug
There are quite a few shows that mention the sea in this year’s programme, either in the title or their show descriptions, so I’ve picked out three that I like the look of. Disclaimer: they might not actually be about the sea. This one, however, does seem to be about throwing messages in bottles into the sea in a desire to connect, which may or may not be metaphorical. Anyway, we’ve seen this guy in action before and liked him. Info and tickets here.

Plenty Of Fish In The Sea | Assembly George Square Studios | 2-24 Aug (pictured)
It sounds like the metaphorical meaning of the cliche in the title is reflected in the show, but you can also expect some sea related content: it’s an absurdist fable in which a castaway is saved from stormy seas and “comes face to face with a startling kind of hook-up culture”. It’s darkly humorous, inspired by modern dating norms, and had highly acclaimed, award winning runs at the Adelaide and Sydney fringes. Info and tickets here.

Ballad Across Sea: Chinese Folk Songs | Acoustic Music Centre @ UCC | 17-24 Aug
Put this in your diary for later in the Fringe, partly because it’s not on until later in the month, but also because it sounds to me like the kind of beautiful, folky stuff that you really need after a couple of weeks of intense Fringing. Chinese folk singer and poet Juniper Lai returns to the Festival with a show that “intertwines the essence of immigration and studying abroad”. Info and tickets here.