I Made You A Mixtape - Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026

I Made You A Mixtape throws you straight into the heart of a 90s college dorm hang, complete with beer pong, posters, props, two live musicians and nine women ready to give us one last night together before their lives change forever 

The audience gets to choose nine numbers from fifteen, with each one revealing a new plot point for one of the women. A sign reads, “This is [dancer’s name] and after 2 nite…”, before a card reveals what happens next, whether she falls in love, has an affair, leaves school or something else entirely. It gives the show a wonderfully unpredictable quality, with both the dancers and the audience discovering their characters’ futures in real time.

And then there is the music. As Kendall Roy might put it, it is “all bangers, all the time”, from Barenaked Ladies and Alanis Morissette to Blink-182 and plenty more 90s nostalgia. With live drums and guitar driving the soundtrack, the volume is turned up to Spinal Tap levels of Eleven. It is LOUD, but that becomes part of the experience. The combination of music and movement hits with a kind of joyful shock and awe.

Nine dancers also have a huge amount of space to play with, and they use every inch of it. Your attention might be drawn to one corner of the stage while an entirely different story unfolds somewhere else. It makes the experience feel genuinely immersive, and the Response Movement Method, which roots dance in acting methodology, means the movement is always telling us something about these women.

Most importantly, there is not a weak link among the performers. Each dancer gives their character a distinct personality and brings their own style and physicality to the music. Their impulsive responses to the songs make every performance different, while the friendships between the women give the spectacle an emotional centre. For all its 90s nostalgia, this is not simply a greatest-hits dance party. It is a celebration of female friendship, queer love, growing up and growing apart. 

This Friday, 60,000 people will descend on Edinburgh to subject their ears to Bon Jovi. They would be better off rocking up to the Space UK for this instead. 
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"This is ... I Made You A Mixtape... after 2 nite you will enjoy a five star experience!"

Lee Hutchison

5/5 

Runs at TheSpaceUK until August 29th