Strange Tales from Liaozhai
Strange Tales from Liaozhai is a show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026, performing at ZOO Southside. It has 10 performances listed, running from Fri 7 Aug, 16:30 to Sun 16 Aug, 16:30. The run has finished — every listed performance has taken place.
About this show
A contemporary dance-theatre adaptation of Strange Tales From a Chinese Studio, Pu Songling's celebrated 17th-century Chinese ghost-story collection. In a dreamlike nocturnal world where humans, foxes and spirits intertwine, desire swells, collisions unfold, and the boundaries between reality and fantasy begin to dissolve. Through haunting choreography, visual storytelling and surreal theatrical imagery, the production reimagines this ghostly literary universe as a sensuous and psychologically layered exploration of greed, violence, obsession and the shifting line between the human and the supernatural. Presented by Yuerge Dance Theatre in collaboration with Shanghai International Dance Center Theater.
Details
- Venue: ZOO Southside
- Space: Main House
- Genre: CIRCUS, Dance, International
- Country: CHINA
- Running time: 60 minutes
- Room size: about 200 seats (Main House) — the Fringe box office sells a share of the room, not all of it
- Performances listed: 10, of which 0 still to come and on sale
Accessibility
- Wheelchair access: lift
- Access features: Step-free access, Accessible toilet
- Venue notes: Accessible entry: The level access is via the rear or the building. There are 16 steps from the street level to the seating. 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 3 published reviews and 8 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.
While the show is inspired by an 18th century work of writing, it feels refreshingly modern, fracturing gender boundaries, questioning societal hierarchies with such ease that at times one can forget the immense effort…
— The Student (5 out of 5 stars)
You feel like you are looking through a kaleidoscope of evolving, wild temptations that look surreal and wonderfully close.
— Wee Review (5 out of 5 stars)
Strange Tales from Liaozhai keeps abandoning one strange world for another. A man becomes possessed by a fox spirit; a radio-controlled pair of slippers whizzes across the stage; two dancers have their hair tied…
Performance dates and ticket availability
- Fri 7 Aug, 16:30 — Cancelled
- Sat 8 Aug, 16:30 — Already performed — £20.00
- Sun 9 Aug, 16:30 — Already performed — £20.00
- Mon 10 Aug, 16:30 — Already performed — £19.00
- Tue 11 Aug, 16:30 — Already performed — £19.00
- Wed 12 Aug, 16:30 — Already performed — £19.00
- Thu 13 Aug, 16:30 — Already performed — £19.00
- Fri 14 Aug, 16:30 — Already performed — £20.00
- Sat 15 Aug, 16:30 — Already performed — £20.00
- Sun 16 Aug, 16:30 — Cancelled