An independent app. Not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society. Listings data courtesy of the Edinburgh Festivals Listings API.
A play disguised as a magic show where history and illusion intertwine. Enslaved in America, Henry 'Box' Brown conjures his life and reenacts his daring 1849 escape when he shipped himself to freedom inside a wooden crate. Each illusion mirrors a chapter of his journey: love, loss, confinement, faith and defiance. Gospel-infused soundscapes and stagecraft transform the theatre into a site of both sanctuary and reckoning. As boxes appear, vanish and break apart, Henry's story becomes more than spectacle – it becomes testimony, inviting audiences to witness liberation not as legend but as lived…
This is an archived listing from the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Blackbox is by Andy Jordan Productions and Hindsight Productions, listed under Theatre in the Fringe programme. It plays at Underbelly, Cowgate, 66 Cowgate, EH1 1JX, 5 August to 30 August.
The show runs 60 minutes and is suitable for ages 14+. Tickets from £9.