It’s August and that means one thing: Edinburgh Festival Fringe is back, withmore than 3,000 shows from 58 countriestaking over the Scottish capital this year.Actors, writers, clowns and standups are filling basem*nts, bars and lecture halls across the city, hoping this year’s show will be their big break.
There are exciting returns for stars of standup: Rose Matafeo brings her first show in six years, there are new works from Hannah Gadsby, Simon Munnery, Rosie Jones and Sophie Duker, and you can even catch Lucy Porter on the free fringe.
Fleabag and Baby Reindeer producer Francesca Moody is back too, with three new theatre shows spanning a Scottish high school comedy, a Californian weather girl in crisis, and a story about love at first sight. And you can find exciting new theatre galore, including from the Untapped Award winners and Paines Plough Roundabout, which celebrates its 10th year at the Fringe.
There’s also a strong field of comedy newcomers, with stand-up for every taste among the likes of Caitriona Dowden, Katie Green, Sarah Roberts, Jin Hao Li, Kate Cheka and more below. The Scottish scene is absolutely thriving, so make time to see local acts: Marc Jennings, Susie McCabe, Sam Lake, Marjolein Robertson, Kathleen Hughes, Chris Thorburn and Laura Davis are all strong choices. And following the word-of-mouth success of ethereal clown Julia Masli at last year’s Fringe, could clowning be talk of the town again? As well as the return of Natalie Palamides, check out Paulina Lenoir, Lil Wenker, Josh Glanc and Freddie Hayes.
It’s always exciting to be part of that Fringe magic, as whispers about an unknown show lead to electric atmospheres in packed rooms, and yet the Fringe can be a long slog for those pursuing that dream. Trying something new and spreading the word when you love a show is the best way to both spot a star and support the artists who make the festival.
Comedy
Tarot: Shuffle
Creating brilliant sketch comedy is a true art, and one that Tarot’s five members (Kath Hughes, Ed Easton and Adam Drake on stage, Kiri Pritchard-McLean and Ben Rowse off stage) have absolutely nailed. The nightie-wearing troupe are masters of cheeky twists and powerful comic acting. It’s non-stop fun.
9.30pm, Pleasance Courtyard, to 25 Aug
Rose Matafeo: On and On and On
The New Zealanderhas become one of the biggest names in comedy thanks to a fantastic few years, creating her own sitcom Starstruck, appearing on Taskmaster, then hosting spin-off Junior Taskmaster. Now, Rose Matafeo’s back at the site of her 2018 Edinburgh Comedy Award victory with a new show about revisiting herself at different stages of her life, and the societal pressures put upon women.
5.30pm, Pleasance Courtyard, 9–16 and 18–25 Aug
Emma Sidi Is Sue Gray
You might have seen herplaying the supportive best friendon Starstruck and an annoying YouTuber on Pls Like, but Emma Sidi started out on stage as a world-class character comedian and this year she turns her talents to an unlikely topic: Sue Gray, civil service star and author of the Partygate report. It’s a surreal dive into politics, and one that you don’t want to miss.
4.15pm, Pleasance Courtyard, to 25 Aug (not 7, 14, 17)
Jordan Brookes: Fontanelle
Why do we – comedians, the media, literally anyone posting on the internet – feel the need to mine disasters for content? Comedian Jordan Brookes, who won the Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2019, explores the question in his trademark tricksy style, playing with the audience and ultimately asking: is it too soon to joke about the Titanic?
8.30pm, Pleasance Dome, to 25 Aug (not 13)
Natalie Palamides: WEER
Acclaimed American clown Natalie Palamides is known for her unique and messy shows. Her latest offering is a very fun take on the 90s romcom, where she plays both halves of a star-crossed couple. Set on New Year’s Eve 1999, it begins with a fight that prompts the couple to relive their romance.
9.30pm, Traverse, 5–25 Aug (not 12, 19)
Kemah Bob: Miss Fortunate
It’s hard to believe this will be Kemah Bob’s debut – the Texan comic has been delighting audiences on The Guilty Feminist and at their comedy night FOC It Up for years, honing a warm and mischievous style of stand-up that will explore bipolar disorder, conspiracies, and some great material about salt.
7.05pm, Pleasance Courtyard, to 25 Aug (not 7, 14, 21)
John Meagher: Big Year
Irish comedian John Meagher recently supported Patrick Kielty on tour, and now he’s applying his brilliant storytelling and original punchlines to matters of class and religion. What happened when working-class Catholic boy Meagher, who grew up during the Troubles, fell in love with an upper-middle-class Bahraini Muslim? Check out his recent Radio 4 documentary The Divil’s Own for a taste.
4.20pm, Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, to 26 Aug
Ed Night: The Plunge
It’s been five years since Ed Night was last at the Edinburgh Fringe, but he’s on stunning form, embarking on his first tour last year and regularly blowing up online with the always unique, often sinister sketchesabout dangerous dogs, scheming royal advisers, and antagonistic flat mateshe makes with fellow comedian Paddy Young. His style is cool, nihilistic and very funny.
7.35pm, Monkey Barrel Hive 2, to 25 Aug (not 14)
Zoë Coombs Marr: Every Single Thing in My Whole Entire Life
Zoë Coombs Marr’s stand-up is always a beautiful mix of the cerebral and the silly, with twists and time loops adding layers to the performance. This year’s hour of personal storytelling, true to form, won’t be straightforward. She’s put everything about herself into a spreadsheet, which will shape the show each night.
5pm, Monkey Barrel 4, to 25 Aug (not 7, 14, 21)
Sian Davies: Band of Gold
She’s the founder of Best in Class,an organisation which brings a cohort of talented working-class comedians to the Fringe every year, but Sian Davies is also a skilled stand-up in her own right. Her third solo show promises an hour of laughs about regrets, inspired by a Northern Soul playlist.
4.15pm, Laughing Horse @ City Café, to 25 Aug (not 21)
Stuart Laws: Has to Be Joking?
Stuart Laws has carved a niche in clever, cheeky stand-up. Last year he embraced the personal with a complex show about grief, and now he’s exploring how autism has shaped his relationships – each night, he’ll start a relationship with the audience and see where it goes.
4.45pm, Monkey Barrel Hive 2, to 25 Aug (not 14)
Amy Mason: Free Mason
Writer and theatre-maker Amy Mason is making her stand-up debut with a show about coming out in your 30s (while you’re married to a man), raising kids, being bipolar, and catching moths. She’s brilliantly deadpan, casting a scathing eye over life with clever callbacks and carefully crafted punchlines.
8pm, Pleasance Courtyard, to 26 Aug (not 12)
Lara Ricote: Little Tiny Wet Show (Baptism)
Certified as one of the most exciting new voices on the scene thanks to her Best Newcomer win in 2022 for her fun and tightly written show about her identity as a deaf Mexican-American woman, Ricote is back with her follow-up, an even sillier and more experimental hour where she’ll be playing with the audience as she explores communication and relationships.
4.15pm, Monkey Barrel 3, to 25 Aug (not 12, 19)
Lauren Pattison: Big Girl Pants
Geordie legend Lauren Pattison is back – following up the success of her 2022 show about returning to her home city with an hour about growing up. She’s hit her 30s, and has 12 years in the comedy industry under her belt – how has that shaped her and what’s next?
12.30pm, Monkey Barrel 1, to 25 Aug (not Weds)
Hannah Gadsby: Woof!
It’s not an exaggeration to say that Hannah Gadsby changed stand-up – their groundbreaking 2017 show Nanette pushed the boundaries of what “comedy” is for and gave new meaning to mining trauma for art. It also catapulted them to international fame, and now Gadsby’s reflecting on the weirdness of that and how to process it in their new show.
5.20pm, Underbelly Bristo Square, 18–25 August
Joe Kent-Walters is Frankie Monroe LIVE!!!
One of the most exciting new acts in town, Sheffield-based Joe Kent-Walters’ macabre, roguish working men’s club landlord is a delight to watch. Frankie’s made a deal with the devil to keep his establishment open – can he finish the show before we’re sucked into hell?
11.25pm, Monkey Barrel 2, to 25 Aug (not 14)
Stuart McPherson: HORSE
Last year Stuart McPherson, one-third of the Some Laugh podcast crew, delivered a lovely take on the break-up show with lots of sweetness, storytelling and strong jokes. Now he has fallen in love, become stepdad to a shih tzu, and is contemplating some big life decisions.
7.10pm, Monkey Barrel 2, to 25 Aug (not 13)
Erika Ehler: I Got Some Dope Ass Memories with People That I’ll Never F*ck with Again
The Canadian comic’s 2022 debut Femcel, where she delved into her childhood and dissected her previous sexual partners, was a powerful introduction, dark and edgy in the best possible way. Now Erika Ehler is back with a show that promises a little more vulnerability as it probes friendship break-ups and the epidemic of loneliness among young women.
6.10pm, Monkey Barrel Hive 2, to 25 Aug
Dee Allum: Deadname
In her debut hour of stand-up, Dee Allum tells the tale of realising she was transgender while at an all boys’ schooland makes peace with the past versions of herself – can her family, friends and fellow fans of her beloved Watford FC do the same?She’s a warm stage presence with plenty of well-crafted jokes on identity and acceptance.
4.30pm, Pleasance Courtyard, to 25 Aug (not 13)
Steen Raskopoulos: Friendly Stranger
The Australian star of The duch*ess and Feel Good and brilliant improvisor Steen Raskopoulos is back at the Fringe with his first solo show in five years. One of many promising sketch acts in Edinburgh this year, this is a one-man show features a host of original charactersfrom the light, fun and creative comic.
4.50pm, Pleasance Courtyard, to 25 Aug (not 12)
Derek Mitchell: Goblin
Eliot’s a classic 00s emo boy: side fringe, skinny jeans, emotional pain. In Derek Mitchell’s hands, while there’s plenty of nostalgic references and perfect physical comedy, Eliot’s story unspools into a dark, complex and totally original hour. Mitchell is bravely debuting with two shows this year – catch him in his cultural comparisons stand-up show Double Dutch, too.
3.25pm, Hoots @ Potterrow Wee Yurt, to 25 Aug (not 13)
Isabelle Farah: Nebuchadnezzar
Her2021show Ellipsis, a comedy-theatre piece about dealing with grief, was a big fringe hit (and recommended by Graham Norton himself). Now Isabelle Farah is back with something a bit different – a character-led comedy show about the King and Queen of Ancient Babylon.
3.10pm, Assembly George Square Studios, to 25 Aug (not 12, 19, 20)
Theatre
Ugly Sisters
Performance art meets theatre meets alt-comedy in the live shows from troupe piss / CARNATION. Their debut 52 Monologues for Young Transsexuals was built on interviews with trans women. This year the Untapped Award winners continue to explore gender and sisterhood this year in what promises to be a cathartic reappraisal of feminist history.
6.30pm, Underbelly Cowgate, to 25 Aug (not 12, 19)
Good Luck, Cathrine Frost!
Performed in English for the first time, this compelling Norwegian play is a one-woman show about longing for motherhood, what it means when it’s denied and when it finally arrives, and why there are still so many unknowns of the universal experience of being born. It’s funny, poignant and ultimately uplifting.
3pm, Assembly George Square Studios, to 25 Aug (not 7, 12, 19)
Son of a Bitch
What happens when a stranger films an influencer calling her four-year-old the C-word during a flight? The footage goes viral, of course, and her life starts to fall apart. Comedian Anna Morris’s first play promises dark comedy as it delves into maternal ambivalence and public shaming.
6.10pm, Summerhall, to 26 Aug (not 12, 19)
Lynn Faces
She won a Fringe First award for Breathless a couple of years ago, and now playwright Laura Horton is back in Edinburgh with her new show, where one woman starts a punk band inspired by Alan Partridge’s PA and confronts her experience of an abusive relationship along the way.
7.35pm, Summerhall, to 26 Aug (not 12, 19)
Rebels and Patriots
This timely play by Nadav Burnstein looks at the conscription of teenagers into the Israel Defence Forces – the societal pressure, the legal sanctions for dissenters, and the psychological impact of being drafted into a war you don’t agree with. The multilingual show brings a cast of Israeli, Palestinian and British actors to the Fringe.
3pm, Pleasance Courtyard, to 26 Aug (not 7, 14, 21)
sh*t Theatre: Or What’s Left of Us
Rebecca Biscuit and Louise Mothersole, best known as performance art duo sh*t Theatre, have tackled everything from the housing crisis to Argentinian coups in past shows. This year, they turn their thoughtful, musical, DIY style to grief.
4.45pm, Summerhall, to 25 August (not 5, 12, 19)
My Mother’s Funeral: The Show
Kelly Jones’s new play challenges the concept that death is the great leveller. When writer Abigail’s mum dies, she discovers she can’t claim her body because she can’t afford the funeral costs – so she’s forced to turn her trauma into art to raise the funds. Expect a meta exploration of death and class.
2.40pm, Roundabout @ Summerhall, to 26 Aug (not 6, 13, 20)
The Daughters of Róisín
Irish playwright Aoibh Johnson explores what happened to unmarried women who became pregnant in Ireland’s recent history, through the story of her own great-grandmother. The one-woman show delves into state-sanctioned abuse and the role of the church in punishing pre-marital pregnancy.
1pm, Pleasance Courtyard, to 25 Aug (not 12, 13, 19)
The Mosinee Project
The true story of a fake invasion – it’s 1950 in Mosinee, Wisconsin, and a small town appears to have been invaded by Communist forces, fenced off, with armed soldiers patrolling the street. The Untapped Award winners promise an historical exploration of fear and control.
3.30pm, Underbelly Cowgate, to 25 Aug (not 12, 19)
VL
Two boys navigate masculinity and virginity in a Scottish secondary school. Can they avoid being branded VL – virgin lips? It’s produced by Francesca Moody – a true hallmark of Fringe greatness after her work on Fleabag, Baby Reindeer and Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder – and written by Fringe First winners Gary McNair and Kieran Hurley.
8.10pm, Summerhall, to 26 Aug (not 6, 13, 20)
Main Character Energy
Temi Wilkey, award-winning playwright and founder of drag king night Pecs, promises a blend of theatre, cabaret and comedy in this new production about refusing to take the backseat anymore, and taking up more space in your own life.
9.40pm, Summerhall, to 26 Aug (not 6, 13, 20)
