Dancing While Old
Dancing While Old by Davina Bentley is a show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026, performing at Pleasance Courtyard. It has 25 performances listed, running from Wed 5 Aug, 17:30 to Sun 30 Aug, 17:30. The run has finished — every listed performance has taken place.
About this show
Featured in The Telegraph's Five Young Sketch Comedians to Watch and with 1.7m likes online for her viral parodies, Davina makes her Edinburgh Festival Fringe debut at only 37 (aka 42). Davina's doing what she swore she never would: getting older and talking about it. A debut about raging against the dying of the light, in the face of crushing middle age. Writer for Dead Ringers, DM's are Open, News Quiz, and sketches featured on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 4 and Dazed & Confused. 'We bloody love this' (Emily Maitlis). 'LOL' (Lily Allen).
Details
- Performer: Davina Bentley
- Venue: Pleasance Courtyard
- Space: Cellar
- Genre: COMEDY, Stand-up, Storytelling
- Country: UNITED KINGDOM - ENGLAND
- Running time: 60 minutes
- Ed Fringe Guide rating: Wild Cards
- Room size: about 46 seats (Cellar) — the Fringe box office sells a share of the room, not all of it
- Performances listed: 25, of which 0 still to come and on sale
Accessibility
- Wheelchair access: lift
- Access features: Step-free access, Accessible toilet, Hearing loop
- Venue notes: Accessible entry: Queue in cobbled courtyard. Access to space via locked lift, please notify venue ahead of your visit if you require use of the lift and ask at Info Shed upon arrival for access. Lift dimensions are 1200mm x 1000mm, max. weight 630kg. Performance space is in Basement down 15 steep steps on a permanent stone staircase, with handrails. Wheelchair access type:Lift (Building Lift) Stairs: 11- 20 Number of stairs is provided as guidance and is not in addition to any wheelchair access type (lift/ramp etc) stated above.
What the reviewers said
We have captured 6 published reviews and 4 audience reviews for this show from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe’s own listing. The excerpts below are the reviewers’ words, not ours — follow each link for the full review.
3.5 Stars. Davina Bentley’s debut Edinburgh Fringe show, Dancing While Old, is at Pleasance Courtyard and draws on her previous job as a lawyer as well as a comic. Vowing never to get older while talking about it,…
A comparison between herself and Henry VIII (not that she has beheaded a couple of spouses and divorced a couple of others) was an intriguing one, not least because it is used as a springboard to the hopeful conclusion…
— Theatre in Edinburgh (4 out of 5 stars)
Davina Bentley’s debut, Dancing While Old, is an incredibly self-aware hour and a valuable lesson in why we shouldn’t place our worth on things that can disappear – a lesson Davina learnt the hard way. 4 Stars
Performance dates and ticket availability
- Wed 5 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £8.00
- Thu 6 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £8.00
- Fri 7 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £12.50
- Sat 8 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £12.50
- Sun 9 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £12.50
- Mon 10 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £12.50
- Tue 11 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £12.50
- Wed 12 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £11.00
- Thu 13 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £11.00
- Fri 14 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £12.50
- Sat 15 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £12.50
- Sun 16 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £12.50
- Mon 17 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £11.00
- Wed 19 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £11.00
- Thu 20 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £11.00
- Fri 21 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £12.50
- Sat 22 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £12.50
- Sun 23 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £12.50
- Mon 24 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £11.00
- Tue 25 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £11.00
- Wed 26 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £11.00
- Thu 27 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £11.00
- Fri 28 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £12.50
- Sat 29 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £12.50
- Sun 30 Aug, 17:30 — Already performed — £12.50