Edinburgh Fringe Review 16th August 2026

I saw The Augur at the appropriately late hour of midnight, in a tiny basement room beneath the City Cafe. The intimate setting suits this gothic puppet show perfectly, although it was so packed on Saturday night that it became a little uncomfortable. I’m delighted the show has found an audience, but I would have appreciated slightly more room to sit!

The performance itself was creepy in the manner of an ancient folk tale. A small altar stood surrounded by candles, their flames providing the room’s only light. From a thousand-year sleep, the Augur emerged to divulge the fortunes of those it sought out or who volunteered.

The improvised, rhyming fortune-telling was great fun and very skilfully done, with each prediction based on a subject chosen by the participant. As the show lasts only half an hour, not everyone at this performance had their fortune told.

I very much enjoyed my short time in the presence of the Augur. It felt like something Mackenzie Crook might create, combining old-world charm with an eerie, gently comic folk-horror atmosphere. A memorable late-night Fringe experience: intimate, inventive and delightfully unsettling.

Show	The Augur
Dates & Times	7–31 August 2026 at 00:05
Production Company	The Unnatural Disaster Theatre Co.
Ticket Link	Edinburgh Fringe
Venue	Hollywood Room at The City Cafe