[In Context] Questions about the brain at Edinburgh Festival Fringe

When patients confront neurological symptoms—from traumatic brain injuries through to diseases such as glioblastoma—they are often left pondering questions: “Why did this happen to me?”, “Will it happen again?”, “Why did I survive?”. Performers at the most recent annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe—the world's largest arts festival, which ran in Edinburgh, UK, on Aug 1–25, 2025—tackled many of those questions head on, using a mixture of theatrical formats. American actress Natalie Grove's Jello Brain was truly immersive: a sparse stage surrounded by black drapes and a simple set of props meant that the audience's entire focus was on Grove, who rose to the challenge admirably, delivering a confident and powerful performance while making constant—and, at times, uncomfortable—eye contact with the crowd.