Coming soon to The Beauty at Underbelly’s Circus Hub 2023, the family-friendly circus show Lucky Pigeons marks the Edinburgh Fringe debut of the company Brainfools… and this show isn’t just for the birds! Here’s what you need to know before its August 4th premiere.

A treat for the whole family, Brainfools’ high-flying Fringe debut conjures the unearthly world of a flock of energetic, colourful, and curious pigeons. In association with Underbelly, Lucky Pigeons uses polished contemporary circus skills and irresistible humour to tell a surreal new fable about the pecking order of urban society. Expect the unexpected, from jaw-dropping juggling to dazzling aerialist tricks and lifts!

A young businessman struggles to keep up with the non-stop helter-skelter of the City when all of a sudden, it judders to a halt. When he loses his job, he takes his frustration out on the ever-present population of the city streets: pigeons. As his Saville Row suit turns to iridescent feathers and he grows a beak, his transformation sees him join a new flock. He discovers a playful, misunderstood world from a bird’s eye view.

Lucky Pigeons is a deeply soulful story told through daring aerials and mesmerising acrobatic feats. Brainfools is a new grassroots circus company telling social stories with a light-hearted energy, started by Finn Burnett Pope and Toffy Paulweber. What began as two people has so far grown into a collective of acrobats, dancers, puppeteers, musicians and artists. The company explores new and innovative pathways to bring the thrills, spills, and chills of live circus performance.

Brainfools producer and performer Toffy Paulweber comments, “We want to produce work with Brainfools that has a meaningful story, told in uplifting ways: to create a spectacle that can also be a catalyst for change. Most of us live in London where every day we witness upsetting scenes. We want Lucky Pigeons to raise awareness about the dehumanising experiences faced by marginalised groups and the UK’s homeless population.”

Lucky Pigeons

from Friday 4th–Saturday 26th August, 2023 (not 14th, 21st), 13:05

at Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows (The Beauty), Edinburgh, EH99EX

55 minutes, for ages 3+

Tickets can be purchased through online box office here

Original Idea from Director Finn Burnett Pope

Adapted by Sean Kempton

Produced by Toffy Paulweber

Choreographer   Jared Shanks

Designer   Holly Miller

Music   Peter Buffery

Performers  Jared Shanks, Toffy Paulweber, Brett Tatham Wood, Sophie Earl, Poppy Plowman, David Sanchez Dosuna/Alvaro Grande

Press release and images shared by Chloe Nelkin. All photographs credited to Luke Chadwick Jones.