EDFRINGE REVIEW: Shakespeare's Dead Dames (Academy of Expressive Arts)

Shakespeare's Dead Dames - ★★★☆☆ - Conflicted

theSpace @ Niddry St (Venue 9): Wed 13 – Sat 15 Aug 2026
Review by Rebecca Mahar

Review commissioned by, and originally published on All Edinburgh Theatre, 17 August 2026. Edited by Thom Dibdin.

Aberdeen’s Academy of Expressive Arts brings a company of Senior and HNC students to the Fringe in “their first production that’s not a musical”: Shakespeare’s Dead Dames, directed by AEA founder and Principal, Shanna Logan.

An exploration of what might have happened to some of his most famous women after Shakespeare killed them off, Dead Dames takes place in a purgatorial afterlife moderated by the Director, who keeps tabs on the women and lets them know when it’s their turn to live again – that is, when their respective plays are being revived.

The cast and crew of Shakespeare's Dead Dames. Pic: Academy of Expressive Arts.

Visit All Edinburgh Theatre to read the full review!

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