Here are Crying Out Loud’s picks of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe Festival for you.

For the past 30+ years, Rachel Clare, our Artistic Director, has been in Edinburgh every August. She has diligently sifted through this year’s festival print and recommends the following venues and shows.

Vive le Fringe at the French Institute is definitely worth going to for interesting and innovative French work. Their programme is increasingly bold and this year they are programming into a tent pitched in the gardens opposite the Institute. We are co-promoting Bruit de Couloir  by Clément Dazin, a mesmerising solo fusing contemporary dance and an engaging method of juggling in which the balls are both manipulated objects and movement catalysts. The Vive le Fringe programme also includes Skins and Hoods  (Cie du Veilleur) which mixes film and live action, and L’Enfant qui  (T1J) an engaging show that brings together acrobatics, puppetry and live music. It was awarded a Total Theatre Award in 2014 and director Patrick Masset’s thought provoking piece about dreams of freedom, Les Inouis, is also at the new Circus Hub at Underbelly.

Stopgap’s Artificial Things  and Gandini Juggling’s 4×4 Ephemeral Architectures  are on at Zoo Southside and the Assembly George Square respectively.

Summerhall’s programme, which featured Crying Out Loud’s season in 2013 of L’après-midi d’un Foehn-Version 1 (Cie Non Nova), La Poème (Jeanne Mordoj) and Daydream (Inne Goris and Dominique Pawels), features Elli Duboi’s Ringside, a ten minute solo trapeze for an audience of one. The Place, London’s boldest theatre for contemporary dance, are also taking two shows there which are well worth seeing, Ben Duke’s Lost Dog presents Paradise Lost and Igor and Moreno’s Idiot-Syncrasy.

Finally, we are looking forward to Dragon  at the Royal Lyceum Theatre as part of the Edinburgh International Festival. A story for all generations and for anyone with a vivid imagination it’s been created by Vox Motus, the National Theatre of Scotland and Tianjin’ Children’s Art Theatre. Israel Galván Lo Real/Le Réel/The Real  has also caught our eye with his innovative choreography and breathtaking dancing technique.

Please get in touch if you’re at the festival. We look forward to seeing you in August.