Day of the Locust
Day of the Locust is a show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026, performing at Pleasance Courtyard. It has 25 performances listed, running from Wed 5 Aug, 12:50 to Mon 31 Aug, 12:50. The run has finished — every listed performance has taken place.
About this show
The sun is hot. The air is dry. You have come to California to die. Award winning multi-instrumentalist and Pleasance stalwart storyteller Callum Patrick Hughes rips apart Nathanael West's 1930's Great American Novel, rebuilding it with loop pedals, guitar drones and a soundscape of broken dreams and fading stardom. The burning city of Hollwood's Golden Age collides with US contemporary chaos in a production described as part adaptation, part riot, part protest song. Presented by multi WhatsOnStage Award-nominated Fake Escape as part of their Decade of Fringe season.
Details
- Venue: Pleasance Courtyard
- Space: Attic
- Genre: THEATRE, Music, Adaptation
- Country: UNITED KINGDOM - ENGLAND
- Running time: 60 minutes
- Room size: about 50 seats (Attic) — 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. Wheelchair access type:Lift (Building Lift) Stairs: 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 9 published reviews and 28 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.
Day of the Locust is a new theatre piece adapted by David Shopland and Callum Patrick Hughes from Nathanael West's 1930's Great American Novel.
Published in 1939, Nathanael West’s novel The Day of the Locust is a dark satire of life in Los Angeles, in which a young painter from the American Midwest comes to California to find fame and fortune. Instead he’s…
Reality and fantasy merge throughout the performance, much as I imagine Hollywood to be. The only reality in this tale lies in the destructive hands of mother nature.
— Theatre and Arts Reviews (4 out of 5 stars)
Performance dates and ticket availability
- Wed 5 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £9.00
- Thu 6 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £9.00
- Fri 7 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £13.00
- Sat 8 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £13.00
- Sun 9 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £13.00
- Mon 10 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £13.00
- Tue 11 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £13.00
- Wed 12 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £12.00
- Thu 13 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £12.00
- Fri 14 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £13.00
- Sat 15 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £13.00
- Sun 16 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £13.00
- Tue 18 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £12.00
- Wed 19 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £12.00
- Thu 20 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £12.00
- Fri 21 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £13.00
- Sat 22 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £13.00
- Sun 23 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £13.00
- Tue 25 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £12.00
- Wed 26 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £12.00
- Thu 27 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £12.00
- Fri 28 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £13.00
- Sat 29 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £13.00
- Sun 30 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £13.00
- Mon 31 Aug, 12:50 — Already performed — £12.00