Play's the thing – all 35 of them as Shakespeare wins battle of the bards

THERE are 35 shows by, about, or inspired by William Shakespeare, at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe – and just one play about Robert Burns.

The actress Alicia Devine, who wrote and appears in the Fringe play Loving Burns, centred on Burns's widow and mistresses, says she is "flying the flag" for Scotland's poet.

"People can do what they want on the Fringe. I love Shakespeare myself. I am actually studying Shakespeare at the moment," said Ms Devine. But she added: "I just think we need to celebrate our own cultural icons as well. He was a genius, Burns."

The Scottish Government this year set up the £6 million Expo fund to promote Scottish work across Edinburgh's festivals. So far it hasn't tilted the balance of the bards, though. Burns songs do feature in several music shows at the Fringe, including Toasting the Lassies at Valvona and Crolla, and several other Scottish song productions. They are likely to flood the country next year, the poet's 250th anniversary.

But the theatre section is, as usual, swamped in Shakespeare, from Ha Ha Hamlet at the Gilded Balloon, to ShakesPod, billed as his greatest hits on an iPod Shuffle.