Fest 2025 Issue 1 by Fest Magazine

WING MAN

Toussaint Douglass makes his Fringe debut

Inside: Michelle Wolf Lewis Walker Hamish Hawk Gilded Balloon at 40 The Ritual

Make It Happen

Sami Abu Wardeh Nerds Olaf Falafel

Director

George Sully

Editor Arusa Qureshi

Sales Team

David Hammond

Emilie Roberts

Ema Smekalova

Writing Team

Deputy Editor Louis Cammell

Design Team

Phoebe Willison

Dalila D’Amico

Alba, Eilidh Akilade, Emmy, Jemima Hawkins, Si Hawkins, Katie Hawthorne, Jack Howse, Lauren Hunter, Eve Livingston, Oscar Lund, Tamara Mathias, Oran, David Pollock, Jay Richardson, Roo, Claire Sawers, Gareth K. Vile

Cover Image

Dylan Woodley

Radge Media

Editor-in-Chief

Rosamund West

Commercial Director

Sandy Park

Deputy Editor

Peter Simpson

Fest Street Dates 2025 6, 13, 20 August

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Laurie Presswood

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Published by Radge Media C.I.C, M9 Codebase, Argyle House, 3 Lady Lawson Street, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH3 9DR. Every effort has been made to check the accuracy of the information in this magazine, but we cannot accept liability for information which is inaccurate. Show times and prices are subject to changes – always check with the venue. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without the explicit permission of the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within this publication do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of the printer or the publisher. Printed by Think Solutions, Glasgow

Fest 2025 Issue 1

10 Rare Bird Toussaint Douglass presents his Fringe debut

14 40 Years of Funny Gilded Balloon celebrate their big birthday

16 Down With the Sickness

Lewis Walker reflects on inherited illness

19 Cutler’s Choice Hamish Hawk takes on Ivor Cutler

Comedy

28 PALESTINE: PEACE DE RESISTANCE

Sami Abu Wardeh’s densely layered Fringe comeback

Theatre

39 Make It Happen

James Graham’s tale of cataclysmic collapse

Dance & Circus

50 Voyeur / Samba and Love

São José dos Campos Dance Company’s striking double bill

58 Listings

Find the shows for you with our hour-by-hour show guide

Image credits (top to bottom, le to right): Ray Roberts; Steve Ullathorne; YISKID; Michaela Simpson; Zoë Birkbeck ; Marc Brenner; courtesy of the artist; Gaelle Beri

The Master's Perfect Day

A vampire’s guide to enjoying a da– er, night out at the Fringe night

Ahhh, the sun is ﬁnally down... I can awake!

I am The Master, and I love blood.

Mmm… blood.

It’s about to get spooky, Edinburghs. Very spooky.

Gregor, my loyal servant, prepares my cape and my red rose – always fresh, always slightly damp.

I slip into my tights and black gloves, feeling ready to enter the Gothic night. In Goth we trust!

First: co ee. With a drop of fresh blood. A long red.

Mmm… blood.

I take my evening walk through my favourite park, The Meadows – pausing to use the outdoor gym and work on my abs. I’m a strong vampire. I must maintain my bat-form core. You try hanging upside-down for six hours!

Uh oh! I ask a few passersby about their blood type to see what’s trending. Then I call on Gregor to lead me towards The Banshee Labyrinth.

We lurk a while in Greyfriars Kirkyard. It’s important to feel close to death.

Photo: Dylan Woodley

I ﬁnd my favourite tombstone and write in my diary:

Dear vampire diary, Edinburgh is spooky tonight – just like she liked. The moon shines over me. Someone’s watching… spooky as ever. I miss her. She gave me my love for the spooky… and this rose, still fresh in my hand. She’s gone. But spooky stays.

The night calls to me. The Ritual awaits.

I arrive at The Banshee Labyrinth – my lair, the spookiest place in all of the Scotlands. I peek into the Cinema Room to see what scary delights are showing tonight.

Nosferatu. My great-uncle.

Our gatekeeper, Emelie, invites us in and guides us down, down, into The Chamber. Prepared for my long-awaited return. Oh hi, Molly. I didn’t see it was you.

Gregor scours every corner of the Labyrinth to ensure no hunters have laid traps for us, as they did in 1732. What the–?

The participants of tonight’s Ritual are led down into The Chamber. Every seat is ﬁlled.

As the strains of some very spooky music rise to a tumescent crescendo, Gregor begins drumming. I know it is about to begin.

Soon I shall arrive.

I’m thinking of blood again. Mmm… I love blood. It’s so tasty. Please o er me blood if you ever see me.

I must continue preparations. Before I make my entrance, everything must be perfect.

I will accept nothing less than the spookiest

The spookiest thing you will ever see. Prepare yourself.

It’s nearly midnight.

But before I change into

a bat and ﬂy to the top of the spookiest castle in Edinburgh (you know which one, yes?) – I will stop by Stamptown and spook Jacks Tucker.

They must invite me in.

A er ﬂying above the city for a while, the sun is nearly up. What a night.

Another spooky night in Edinburgh.

Gregor prepares the co n. It’s time to rest.

Tomorrow, we go again. The Ritual awaits...

SHOW The Ritual

VENUE: PBH’s Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth

TIME: 2-24 Aug (not 11, 12, 18) , 8.35pm

Photo: Dylan Woodley

Rare Bird

Arriving in Edinburgh for his Fringe debut, Toussaint Douglass talks to Tamara Mathias about being an introvert and why he’ll never be a beanie hat comedian

Toussaint Douglass. Per Google’s new AI summary feature, “one of British comedy’s most exciting and talked-about names…harnessing his neurodivergence…making serious waves across the industry…”

Think clever humour. Practised, witty quips. Picture an Instagram page that smacks of contrived don’t-carishness. Black t-shirt, with a cryptic (but obviously hilarious) reference on it that everyone pretends they get. Beanie hat.

Then scratch all that.

Douglass’ comedic icon is Rowan Atkinson’s Mr. Bean, which says far more about him than AI can ever hope to grasp.

An hour with the South Londoner leaves you reeling, not from highbrow humour or de ly laid comedic traps, but rather a startling openness and distinctly un-British willingness to bare his emotions. It’s the kind of self-awareness and self-love that, if more widely practised, would put half the world’s psychotherapists out of business. The more jaded among us might suspect it’s some clever new act, but give it a minute and you’ll ﬁnd yourself disarmed by something far more endearing: genuine sincerity.

“I spend a lot of time in my head and it’s probably one of my favourite places to be,” Douglass says. “When you’re an introvert, you’re a tribe of one. So it’s a really good thing that at this point in time, I like myself more than I’ve ever liked myself. That hasn’t always been the case.”

Douglass has been on the circuit for over half a decade now, honing a brand of comedy that feels both distinctive and instinctive. But according to the man himself, it’s been an evolution.

“When I was starting out, I was so self-conscious about not ﬁtting in. The others were cool dudes in beanies talking about wanking and I’ve never been a dude’s dude. I come from a very matriarchal family. In 2018, I remember wearing a beanie hat on stage, desperate to ﬁt in and ashamed of all the things that made me a bit di erent. Looking back, it’s the thing I’m most ashamed of: trying to be a beanie hat comedian. These past years have taught me to be comfortable in my own skin and embrace the oddness. It’s all part of the package.”

It’s a charming story, but one piece of the puzzle doesn’t quite ﬁt: how does an introvert decide they want a career on stage?

“It’s the one place I feel okay expressing all the silly thoughts in my head,” Douglass explains simply. “I come from a big family, with big characters. Sunday dinner at my Nan’s, all the aunts would be there, there was wine, it was loud, and I couldn’t get a word in edgeways. My ﬁrst time on stage, I realised, ‘I can just talk and no one else talks! ’ Stand-up really is the perfect form of extroversion for an introvert, if that makes sense.”

Somehow, it does. Particularly when Douglass goes on to reﬂect on the “ephemeralness of stand-up”: a roomful of strangers from

“These past years have taught me to be comfortable in my own skin and embrace the oddness. It’s all part of the package”

Photo: Dylan Woodley

wildly di erent backgrounds, momentarily connected by a chorus of laughter. Then that fragile human connection vanishes as the night ends, and it’s on to the next night, the next room, and the next crowd.

Surely then, his Fringe debut Accessible Pigeon Material must be a deeply reﬂective metaphor for his life – or at least the next challenge in his rapidly evolving comedic journey?

Douglass frowns, as though the thought has never occurred to him. “The clue’s in the title,” he ﬁnally says. “It really is accessible pigeon material. That’s the aim of the show, to make pigeon material accessible. I don’t want anyone thinking it’s something else, because it is a lot about pigeons. No one’s done it before. No one’s talking about pigeons, and I don’t know why. They’re amazing!”

He reveals that some people (his agent included), believe the show might not be ‘commercially viable’. Nevertheless, he proceeds to make his ﬁrst point by launching into an enthusiastic list of pigeon facts. They mate for life (“they’re in long term relationships, so they’re just as miserable as we are!”), they walk around like commuters (“why?! They can FLY!”) and some pigeons can even detect cancer (“can you believe it? What have you or

I ever done for cancer research?!”).

At long last, a trace of depth emerges from the comic. “Well, the show does have themes of migration and ﬁnding a sense of place and belonging. I suppose Accessible Pigeon Material is me trying to make people see the world the way I see it, just for an hour. I think sometimes our sense of wonder at the world around us just chips away.”

A moment of thoughtful silence (but only a moment), before the disclaimer is delivered: “Really, it’s going to be a silly, silly kind of show, because that’s the only thing I can do. I mean, ‘Fringe debut’ is a big phrase. I’m not really the kind of person who has a career roadmap or wants to ‘get out of their comfort zone.’ I’m more like, ‘if a zone’s comfortable, why leave?’”

Douglass’ style might be free of artiﬁce, but it is clear that he puts a lot of thought into the details. When asked what he’s going to be wearing on the Edinburgh stage, the answer comes without hesitation.

“That’s an easy one. Wa e knit cardigan. 100%. It’s very me.”

SHOW Toussaint Douglass: Accessible Pigeon Material

VENUE: Pleasance Courtyard TIME: 30 Jul-24 Aug (not 11) 7.25pm

Photo: Dylan Woodley

40 Years of Funny

As Edinburgh institution Gilded Balloon celebrates its 40th anniversary, some famous faces of decades past write their own love letter to the venue that helped launch so many careers

Tommy Tiernan

It gives me great pleasure to acknowledge – on this, their 40th birthday – the importance of the Gilded Balloon in the history of stand-up comedy. I ﬁrst started performing there around 1996 or so, when it was down at the Cowgate and it was incredible. It was the crucible of stand-up, especially the room where Late’n’Live was on. A wonderful, dangerous, combustible collision of beer-y, boozy crowds and beer-y, boozy, genius comedians. I saw some of the best people I’ve ever seen there – Phil Kay, Johnny Vegas, Dylan Moran, Ross Noble, Daniel Kitson. The list is endless

and even though these people were only starting o , there was something already in them of the master. And Karen Koren managed somehow to encourage, to allow, to challenge, and to coordinate all these di erent energies. So congratulations! Happy birthday. Stand-up comedy wouldn’t be as brilliant without you.

Bill Bailey

I’m delighted to see that it’s Gilded Balloon’s 40th anniversary – one of the mainstays of the Fringe, an institution that I’ve been lucky to be part of over the years. In fact, my very ﬁrst solo stand-up show was in the Gilded Balloon and it was what I look back on now as kind of a seminal moment. It was the point where I realised I could put on a stand-up show. Before that I’d only performed in clubs, maybe 20 or 40 mins and here I was, given the opportunity to perform for an hour. I put all sorts of keyboards in and guitars, I had a prop made, and every night I had to drag this keyboard stand out and put it up. And like so many people who perform at the Fringe, it’s always a bit of a risk – it can be quite a struggle to get to that point. And yet all of that e ort, all of those gigs, the writing, the preparation, when it pays o – it pays o hugely. And so I would say to anyone that’s trying out stu in Edinburgh – never get disheartened, because it’s a small seed that leads to bigger things. And the Gilded Balloon has been, for me, an integral part of that. So I wish it a very very happy birthday and espe-

Image: courtesy of Gilded Balloon

Bill Bailey

cially to Karen Koren, the legend, the name. Karen – congratulations on 40 years of Gilded Balloon, it’s been a fantastic achievement and here’s to many more.

Aisling Bea

The Gilded Balloon holds such a special place for me, having lit up my stand-up career in 2012 when I won So You Think You’re Funny?. I had no idea what a big, prestigious deal that would be or how many doors it would open as a newbie on the stand-up circuit. I look back now and see it was part of the tide turning meaningfully for women in comedy. I am watching Below Deck as I write this, but I think the venue has been such a steady ship for so many, because it has been captained by tour de force Karen Koren who has ﬁercely navigated many shaky seas in our industry and that is no mean feat. She and her hearty crew have supported and unearthed so much treasure…. Okay, I will stop with the analogy now before we get to seamen.

Maisie Adam

I cannot believe the wonderful Gilded Balloon is 40 years old – it doesn’t look a day over 21! I’m so grateful for loads of stu that it’s given me, the number one though – I was lucky enough to win SYTYF? back in 2017 and I’ll be forever grateful for the opportunities that gave me. The memory of hearing David O’Doherty announce me as the winner and Karen Koren giving me that big hug on stage felt electric. I spent the rest of the night being surrounded by comedy heroes, giving me their advice and saying what I should do next and where to go from here. O the back of that I got signed, and it was all made possible by Gilded Balloon and that competition. Also... great party, such a good party! I don’t think I stopped dancing – here’s to many more parties, many more competitions, many more laughs.

Michelle Brasier

Gilded Balloon changed my life. It’s as simple as that. I wouldn’t be who I am without the Korens and without that big pink balloon. Finding a second family half way around the world is such a privilege. They have this incredible belief in their artists. It’s home.

SHOW 40 Years of Fringe: Bill Bailey

VENUE: Gilded Balloon Auditorium

TIME: 25 Aug, 1pm

SHOW Aisling Bea

VENUE: Gilded Balloon Doonstairs

TIME: 19-21 Aug, 7pm

SHOW Michelle Brasier: It’s a Shame We Won’t be Friends Next Year

VENUE: Gilded Balloon Auditorium

TIME: 30 Jul-24 Aug, 7.30pm

Image: courtesy of Gilded Balloon

Maisie Adam

Down with the Sickness

Lewis Walker discusses their new solo performance piece Bornsick and how they work with the extremes of movement

Words:

Claire Sawers

“M ovement has been a crucial part to my health, self-acceptance and appreciation of life,” says London-born, queer, non-binary artist Lewis Walker, who became World Champion in acrobatic gymnastics when they were 18. A er training from age 6 to 21, competing globally and representing Great Britain, Walker retired from gymnastics and retrained in contemporary dance. They now collaborate on theatre, ﬁlm, fashion and music projects, including work with Yorgos Lanthimos, ANOHNI and Burberry. They perform in clubs, sometimes writhing in latex, and can be found on Instagram, casually pulling o extraordinary moves that do not look humanly possible, while Paris Hilton and Mariah Carey tunes play over the top.

Walker’s new piece, Bornsick is the closing performance at this year’s Edinburgh Art Festival. Walker will perform solo in the astonishing self-directed and choreographed piece, while hypnotherapist Michele Occelli puts Walker in a trance state and narrates throughout. The piece will be performed on a sprung gymnastics floor, soundtracked by Throb, shiver, arrow of time, the 2024 album by British cellist Oliver Coates, and Underworld’s ‘Born Slippy’. Co-commissioned by London’s Serpentine Galleries and Edinburgh Art Festival, Bornsick reflects the idea that we inherit illness, born into a system that shapes us before we can define ourselves.

The idea for the piece came last December when Walker was choreographing a routine for the UK National Team to perform at the Turin Acro Cup in Italy. “I was making a competition routine to ‘Take Me To Church’ by Hozier. I hadn’t watched the promo video to the song prior to the trip, and I was just sitting in my apartment, watching on repeat, crying lots. The lyrics, ‘We were born sick, You heard them say it,’ were stuck in my head. It clicked and came together. Being born into a system that has already othered and decided your worth before you’ve arrived, with regards to the queer experience, you can sometimes be the only one in a family to experience that form of separation from normative society.”

Walker grew up “a closeted and confused queer child”, which diminished a lot of their self-esteem. “Movement, on the other hand, was this incredible tool to feel control and power in my body. If I wasn’t at the gym training, or at school dancing, I’d be at home on the trampoline, watching gymnastics videos, creating routines in my bedroom. I was hooked. To love and be completely inspired by something outside of formal education, which I didn’t have a natural disposition for, which involved connecting to my body and creativity, was such a beautiful, unknowing starting point to develop a career and lifestyle.”

Walker’s current work explores the shapeshi ing nature of the queer experience, how

“Movement was this incredible tool to feel control and power in my body”

one adapts out of safety, necessity or choice. Their movement is a mesmerising hybrid of raw athleticism and animalistic artistry. I ask how they ﬁnd the overlap between gymnastic precision and more spontaneous, instinctive animal movements.

“I think this is still something I’m ﬁguring out. As a competitive gymnast, we competed in two and a half minute ﬂoor routines, which always had the technical elements immersed in dance and music. However, the intricacies of the movement that I aspire to become much more challenging when I pair it with physically robust gymnastics elements.

“If you can imagine, doing a backﬂip or handstand requires extreme force and control and this starts to harden and block muscles, so I’m wanting to balance that out with ﬂuidity and gooey textures. When I start bringing performers into my work, I have to design a technique which supplements both things; dancing like Pina Bausch, while somersaulting like Simone Biles.”

VENUE: FirstStage Studios

TIME: 23 Aug, 7pm

SHOW Lewis Walker: Bornsick

Photo: YISKID

Bornsick

Top Picks: Art Festival

A variety of international talent, from indigenous storytelling to Pakistani folklore

Linder: A kind of glamour about me

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 7 Aug, 6pm

EAF25’s opening event takes Sir Walter Scott’s deﬁnition of “glamour” as illusory magic and uses it as a springboard to discuss creativity’s massive metamorphic potential. Feminist artist Linder uses a neo-Gothic mansion on the Isle of Bute as an aesthetic reference.

Lewis Hetherington

+ CJ Mahony: who will be remembered here

EAF Pavilion, 7-24 Aug, 10am-5pm

Performances by queer writers in four di erent languages (Scots, Gaelic, English and BSL) respond to Historic Environment Scotland sites, in a ﬁlm that makes visible the marginalised experience of erased peoples. Featuring work by Robert So ley Gale, Harry Josephine Giles, Robbie MacLeòid and Bea Webster.

Raven Chacon: Voiceless Mass

St Giles’ Cathedral, 9 Aug, 8pm

Scottish Ensemble performs a Pulitzer-prize winning composition by Diné/Navajo artist and composer Raven Chacon. A powerful piece about the Catholic Church’s complicity in the silencing of indigenous voices, and the abduction and abuse of indigenous children, in the Americas.

JUPITER RISING X EAF25

Jupiter Artland, 16 Aug, 6pm

The iconic Jupiter Artland’s one-night-only festival, driven by artists, reimagines its unique landscape as a place of myth and folklore. With lights, DJs and site responsive performances, the event showcases the best of Scottish and international talent, including Glasgow DJ TAAHLIAH, performance artist Florence Peake and queer nightlife darlings Ponyboy.

U ÝRA: Espiral da Morte

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20 Aug, 2pm

Trans-Indigenous biologist and performance artist UÝRA presents a work that translates as Death Spiral, about natural phenomena that mirror Brazil’s indigenous storytelling traditions. How do ants’ shared memory systems parallel oral histories in diaspora communities and beyond?

Aqsa Arif: Raindrops of Rani

Edinburgh Printmakers, until 2 Nov, times vary

This Edinburgh Printmakers exhibition draws on Pakistani folklore and imagery from the childhood of multimedia artist Aqsa Arif to reimagine intergenerational traumas in a hopeful and resilience-building light: sites of rupture that can nevertheless lead us back to our roots.

UÝRA

Photo: Guto

Muni

Photo: Neal Santos

Raven Chacon

Cutler's Choice

As he prepares to take on the work of Scotland’s pre-eminent poet-eccentric Ivor Cutler, Edinburgh singer-songwriter

Hamish Hawk discusses inﬂuences, tributes and new avenues

Words: David Pollock

Hamish Hawk, the Edinburgh-based singer of arch, epic indie anthems, is thinking about inﬂuences and inspirations. “There are so many that people would expect me to name,” he explains. “The New Romantics, the post-punks, the towering lyricists, the Leonard Cohens and Bob Dylans, whoever it might be.

“And those are all true, but Ivor Cutler’s inﬂuence is unique. I really feel an immense closeness to his work and to the way he lived his life as an eccentric, idiosyncratic, quite di cult, rum lad. He inspires and interests me, he’s irresistible.” Which is important here, because Hawk will be bringing his own personal tribute to Cutler to this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival.

It seems an odd match; Hawk writes towering, main stage-ready indie-rock, while Cutler, who died at the age of 83 in 2006, was a wry, quirkily eccentric musician, who wrote works of surreal comedy on his harmonium and appeared in the Beatles’ ﬁlm Magical Mystery Tour a er befriending Paul McCartney. What links the younger artist’s work to Cutler?

“Humour,” says Hawk, “and a belief in humour to communicate something obviously true. The way he played with that was so de , like Scott Walker or Jarvis Cocker, other

songwriters that I love. He takes humdrum or kitchen sink aspects of our lives, then illuminates them, shoots them through with light in such a way as to change their aspect and turn them into something more mystical, more alive with possibility.”

Hawk, who’s 33, was introduced to Cutler at the age of 17 by Edinburgh “Fringe performer, musician, lyricist, songwriter, shambolic frontman extraordinaire” Paul Vickers, on whose iPod he sampled the album Velvet Donkey. From there he tracked down as many of Cutler’s writings and recordings as possible. “It hit me like a lightning bolt,” he says. “Though Ivor Cutler isn’t much like a lightning bolt.”

When the Book Festival’s director Jenny Niven asked him to consider a bespoke project this year, Hawk’s ﬁrst instinct was Cutler. “It only made sense for me to tackle what I see as his magnum opus, his most characterful work, and that’s Life in a Scotch Sitting Room (Vol.2, recorded live in Glasgow in 1977 and released the following year). It’s best described as a series of vignettes or episodes that are essentially snapshots of his upbringing in Glasgow.

“Now I can imagine some people unfamiliar with his work when he lived in England saying, ‘oh goodness, what a life he lived up in Scot-

“When the idea landed in my lap, I made the active decision that I was going to lean into how ambitious a project it might be”

land, with the haar rolling in, hugging the drystane dyke. I can hear the hiss of the wireless, I can see the monochrome, all the tweed and tartan.’ Then you hand it to a Scottish person and they go, ‘he’s absolutely having you on! He’s pulling your leg.’ So what I’m attempting to do is write my own version, my own, for want of a better phrase, ﬁctionalised autobiography of growing up in my childhood home here in Edinburgh.”

Giving the ﬁrst interview about this new work, Hawk is clearly still mulling it over in his mind. He wants, he says, to lean into the aspects of Cutler’s work which are not surrealist, not “wacky for the sake of wacky”, but rather hyperrealist. It will be humorous, as Cutler’s work was, presented as spoken word episodes with musical backing from his usual collaborators Andrew Pearson and Stefan Maurice. He will also play Cutler’s own harmonium, sourced

from the director of Glasgow’s Celtic Connections festival, and both performances will be recorded and later released on vinyl.

“When the idea landed in my lap, I made the active decision that I was going to lean into how ambitious a project it might be,” says Hawk. “Ivor’s work really is so dear to me that it only makes sense to really give it a go, to not withdraw or shy away from it. It’s continuing to test me as it comes together, but I must say I’m loving it. It’s opening up all kinds of avenues in my writing, it’s really been a revelation.”

VENUE: Edinburgh International Book Festival Spiegeltent

TIME: 16-17 Aug, 9pm

SHOW Hamish Hawk: Life in a Scotch Sitting Room, Vol. 0

Photo: Richard Simpson

Hamish Hawk

Top Picks: Book Festival

From Palestinian poetry to Gothic classics, the Book Festival welcomes writers from around the globe

Najwan Darwish: Poems for Palestine

Courtyard Theatre, 10 Aug, 4pm

Amidst Israel’s devastating genocide on Gaza, Palestinian poet Najwan Darwish reads English translations of his Arabic poems from the essential collection No One Will Know You Tomorrow, alongside new pieces, that defy the erasure of the land and its people.

1995: Grrrls Aloud

Spiegeltent, 10 Aug, 9pm

Broadcaster Nicola Meighan looks back in anger at the pervading, nostalgia-fuelled Britpop narrative of 90s Britain and o ers up an alternative history through the eyes of the underground feminist movement. With Emma Pollock, Cora Bissett, Carrie Marshall, and Chitra Ramaswamy, plus a live set from Cariss Crosbie.

Caroline O’Donoghue: Sentimental Garbage – Live

Spiegeltent, 16 Aug, 3pm

A live recording of the phenomenally successful podcast of the same name, Caroline O’Donoghue’s show celebrates the ‘basic’ delights we hold dear. Special guest Cat Cohen joins for this particular celebration of (not so) guilty pleasures.

Michael

Pedersen, Hollie McNish, Gordon Buchanan & Lomond Campbell: Dynamic Earth

Dynamic Earth, 11 Aug, 8.30pm

Edinburgh Makar Michael Pedersen hosts an interstellar event featuring poet Hollie McNish, wildlife photographer Gordon Buchanan, and BAFTA winning musician Lomond Campbell, whose lenses are turned upwards towards the vastness of space. Through challenging our perception of our signiﬁcance, they aim to allow room for hope amongst the new perspectives on o er.

The

Front List: Ta-Nehisi Coates

McEwan Hall, 16 Aug, 1.30pm

Best-selling author of Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates believes that only truth can counter injustice. His new book, The Message, calls for the busting of colonial myths that uphold racist power structures from the US to the West Bank.

Frankenstein Cabaret: It’s Alive!

Spiegeltent, 23 Aug, 9pm

Our continuing fascination with Frankenstein’s monster has never been more apparent than in our current moment. With two ﬁlms and a reissue of Mary Shelley’s Gothic classic on the way, Jenni Fagan’s assortment of writers, musicians and artists dissect our enduring obsession with the tale. Featuring Mystika Glamoor, Ever Dundas, Janette Ayachi, Harry Josephine Giles and Kirstin Innes.

Photo: Jamie Drew Image: courtesy of the artist

Photo: Mihaela Bodlovic Image: courtesy of Edinburgh International Book Festival

Caroline O’Donoghue

Jenni Fagan

Michael Pedersen

Najwan Darwish

Your Passport to Arts and Culture

Personalise your festival experience with Bloomberg Connects

Even before Edinburgh was connecting musicians and theatre-makers with their audiences at the International Festival and Edinburgh Festival Fringe, its world-class galleries, museums and royal botanical gardens made it a must-visit global city. Nowadays, it takes an app like Bloomberg Connects to come away from Edinburgh, home to the largest arts festival in the world, certain that you made the most of it.

The Bloomberg Connects app is home to bespoke digital guides for over 1000 cultural organisations worldwide. It makes it easy to access and engage with arts and culture anywhere, anytime. Designed with locals and tourists in mind, it includes video, audio and text guides, as well as expert commentary and way-ﬁnding maps. Whether you’re viewing them onsite or planning ahead, Bloomberg Connects shows you every thing you need in one place without even the need to download the app. Free-to-use and optimised for mobile, the intuitive interface works just as well in-browser. No sign-in required.

As of now, 14 Edinburgh institutions have live guides highlighting their attractions, exhibitions and events which are

produced by the institutions themselves, so you know the information you’re getting is accurate and up to date. This year, new additions to that list include The Harryhausen Foundation which was set up to preserve and promote the life’s work of 20th Century special e ects pioneer Ray Harryhausen.

Also featured are must-sees Jupiter Artland on the outskirts of the city, and Stills: Centre for Photography in the city centre. Edinburgh's award-winning sculpture garden, Jupiter Artland, has 120 acres of indoor and outdoor galleries which showcase original work by artists including Anthony Gormley. Gormley's 2008 steel sculpture, Firmament, is one of the site's most striking and iconic artworks. Since 1977, Stills: Centre for Photography has championed photographic excellence through workshops and major exhibitions. Today, it boasts Scotland’s only analogue photobooth.

Bloomberg Connects is your passport to arts and culture. Available in over 50 languages, the accessibility-focused app places no limits on how many digital guides you can explore. Through its digestible bitesized content and deep dives, it breaks down barriers to arts and culture for all. This summer, selecting from Edinburgh’s overwhelming list of exceptional o erings has never been easier. Wherever you choose, enhance your visit with reliable expert insights all on one user-friendly platform.

Divide and Conquer

Back at the Fringe with two Netﬂix specials, a podcast and an infamous White House Correspondents’ Dinner appearance in tow, Emmy-nominated comedian Michelle Wolf explains why it’s better to be unﬁltered

Words: Jay Richardson

ichelle Wolf is ﬁne with being divisive.

Returning to the Edinburgh Fringe for the ﬁrst time since her Best Newcomer nomination nine years ago, the American stand-up has recorded two acclaimed Netﬂix specials and a pioneering podcast. But she was decried as “a so-called comedian” by a thin-skinned President

Trump a er infamously roasting him and his administration at the 2018 White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Mischievously playful, with a high voice she describes as “Muppety”, Wolf is nevertheless ruthlessly clinical with her punchlines, taking few prisoners.

Image: courtesy of Netﬂix.

Photo: Je Neira

Michelle Wolf

“I know some people aren’t going to agree with what I say. I very much believe in my right to say it. And I very much believe that they have the right not to want to hear it”

Splitting her time between Barcelona and London, the 40-year-old émigré will be eight months pregnant with her second child in Edinburgh. The Pennsylvania native would “much rather be loved and hated than somewhere in the middle” and faced walkouts at the Leicester Square Theatre last year a er declaring “Free Palestine” in a joke setup. She isn’t overly fazed though.

“I know some people aren’t going to agree with what I say,” she states. “I very much believe in my right to say it. And I very much believe that they have the right not to want to hear it. It won’t ever stop me joking about the things I believe in.”

During Covid, Wolf quarantined at the Ohio home of Dave Chappelle, a comic whose material divides opinion about as e ectively as Trump.

Most stand-up is “skating holding onto the wall” Chappelle told her, but “you gotta let go of the wall. You gotta take more chances.”

“I tend to be a perfectionist,” she reflects. “But he told me to not be worried if I bomb, because sometimes you will. He encouraged me to be confident in my ability, to present myself unfiltered more.”

Uninspired by collegial chats in which comics simply interview each other, Wolf performs 30 minutes of fresh stand-up each week, generally in Catalonia, and releases it as the podcast Thought Box, in both video and audio versions. “Which I’m happy to do,” she a rms. Only a small percentage of it is developed further and makes it into her full shows. But she’s proliﬁc. Her Fringe return is the best bits drawn from two forthcoming specials that she’s recorded since her 2023 Netﬂix mini-series, It’s Great To Be Here, and an hour of new material.

Stand-up is “a really, really interesting art form that gets overlooked and dismissed as a bunch of drunks in a basement. And it can be that!” she acknowledges. “But it’s also where you can develop some really interesting takes. One of the best things about writing topical jokes is that it forces you to have an opinion on something. It makes you ask yourself a lot of questions and develop your perspective.”

An experienced marathon runner, Wolf also credits pounding the streets with freeing up her thoughts, while moving to Europe, for her relationship, has further expanded her horizons.

“I have a broader audience and a broader knowledge of people now, just a di erent view than I would have in the United States,” she maintains. “I’m constantly asking UK comedians ‘what do you think of Trump?’ and asking

Europeans how the vibe feels to them when they visit the US. Becoming a mom as well, I’m looking at society di erently and how I approach life”.

She’s in no great hurry to move back to America. “[It’s nice] having kids [and not worrying] about [them] getting shot in Europe.” Stabbed, maybe.”

Originally recorded for It’s Great To Be Here, in April she released the withering routine “Dinner Time”, about her Correspondents’ Dinner experience, online. She points out that the 2018 roast is “ageing well” and expresses solidarity with Amber Ru n, a friend and former colleague on Late Night With Seth Meyers, who was unceremoniously dumped as the host of this year’s event at the last minute, in a move widely seen as pacifying Trump.

“If you’re going to do it and not point out the serious issues in the government in a funny way, it’s pointless,” Wolf argues. “Whether it’s a Republican or Democrat in charge, you have to go in there and really go for the jugular.

“One of the things I said when Trump got elected was that we should all be worried about free speech. I thought he was going to start saying: ‘I don’t like hearing these things’. I know people who are travelling from Europe into the States and they’re wiping their social media, they don’t want to get caught with anything, even if it’s just mild criticism.”

A comedy Anglophile, Wolf recently appeared on Have I Got News For You? and has just recorded an upcoming episode of Would I Lie To You?

“I love panel shows and they’re really fun to be on,” she explains. “You actually see people’s personalities, which isn’t something we do in America. Part of the reason we haven’t been successful in making them is that we’re too scripted. ‘Here is my very prepared joke that I’m pretending is not prepared’. In the UK, you genuinely seem like you’re relaxed and having a good time.

“If I’m trying to write but I’m not in a great mood, I’ll put on some Would I Lie To You? Or a Sean Lock compilation from 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. And it always makes me laugh.”

As a formerThe Daily Show correspondent, Wolf returned to guest host the US institution in 2023. And she hasn’t ruled out presenting a late night show in the future. “It’s a show I’ve loved for a really long time, it’s right up my alley.

“But what I’m trying to do with my podcast is my version of a late night monologue. With no sponsors or network to report to. If a late night host could actually have their unﬁltered point of view.

“It’s really fun for me to say what I want to say. I’m excited about trying to get more people’s eyeballs on it.”

VENUE: Pleasance Courtyard

TIME: 11-15 Aug, 8.30pm; 16-17 Aug, 4pm

SHOW Michelle Wolf

Photo: Camacho

Michelle Wolf

Photo: Zoë Birkbeck

Comedy Reviews

PALESTINE: PEACE DE RESISTANCE

VENUE: Pleasance Dome

TIME: until 24 Aug (not 12, 21) 9.45pm

Passionate, epic and very funny, Irish-Palestinian comic Sami Abu Wardeh’s densely layered Fringe comeback draws righteous energy from the current situation in Gaza and the spirit of intifada more generally. But it’s composed with a clinical eye and has been hundreds of years in the making. Intractable problems of identity, exile

and occupation shouldn’t be casually dealt with. Abu Wardeh has created a one-man, multi-discipline show that incorporates the panoramic sweep of theatrical storytelling, the detached rhythms of classic stand-up, some hand puppetry and arch physical bu oonery, with the laughs sublimated to a greater purpose.

Central to the hour is Merguez, a carefree, Palestinian playboy with a girl in every port of his stolen yacht, until he falls head over heels for a resistance ﬁghter in the Algerian War of Independence. The white-hot intensity of their romance burns brightly, set in marked contrast to the ironic jokes of a relaxed, Dave Allen-style comic, tossing out

barbed Englishman, Irishman and Palestinian quips while reﬂecting on the historic displacement of Abu Wardeh and his family. Meanwhile, two birds appear and scrutinise the front rows, their opaque intent eliciting nervous chuckles.

A tour de force distillation of his highly honed comedic skills, Peace de Resistance ﬁnds Abu Wardeh in generous mode, devoting himself to a heartfelt, physically demanding but artfully cunning performance. At the same time though, he’s unabashed in his demand to be recognised for who he is, for his homeland and people’s su ering beneath an IDF boot, with a roar of artistic deﬁance. ✏ Jay Richardson

Lou Wall: Breaking the Fifth Wall

VENUE: Monkey Barrel Comedy

TIME: until 24 Aug (not 12) 10pm

Lou Wall’s new show promises the conclusion to ‘Where is Bed?’, their musical saga of Facebook marketplace batshittery. Uninitiated? Don’t worry, there’s a recap

at the start of the show. It’s safe to say it delivers on its promise, and in the style that should come as no surprise if you’ve seen the viral clip: warm-hearted musical PowerPoint comedy. What does surprise, though, is the journey the Aussie comedian takes us on therea er: a reﬂection on the very nature of stand-up. What are the e ects of selling oneself to strangers for a living, and what degree of self-assessment does that contract stipulate? When you’ve grown up in the zillenial pocket, into a world where people expect more integrity from comedians than politicians, how do you switch o ? And how do you enjoy reality TV or feed your true-crime habit without spiralling about what’s ethical?

Breaking the Fi h Wall is like falling into a friend’s camera roll: A joyously unhinged scroll through their memes, front camera videos, and screenshots of DMs to their BetterHelp therapist. Yet, you might somehow leave wondering if you know less about Wall than when you went in. One thing’s for sure: they were born to perform. It’s pathological.

✏ Louis Cammell

Photo: Monica Pronk

Michelle Brasier: It's a

Shame We Won't Be Friends Next Year

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TIME: until 24 Aug (not 13) 7.30pm

Shame can manifest itself in numerous ways – some of us hold it close, refusing to let it escape into the everyday, while others lie awake at night, remembering, repeating and reliving. The latter most deﬁnitely applies to Michelle Brasier, who admits her knack for falling head ﬁrst into a spiral. But what happens when that shame coalesces with self-doubt and threatens to dismantle years of meticulously built-up defences?

It’s a Shame… is a show that tackles criticism head on, with Brasier questioning why our critics hold such power in our lives, be it a boy at school who makes an o anded remark, or a journalist that writes a confusingly negative review. Starting with a self-proclaimed “big fuck-o opening number”, we’re led through songs and stories about acceptance and belonging, with references to a drama teacher that made a di erence, the Fast and Furious franchise, bed bugs and much more.

As with previous shows, Brasier’s strength lies not just in her musicality but in her ability to draw audiences in

with the kind of charisma and familiarity that makes you feel like you’re being le a long, rambling – but much needed – voice note from a best friend. It’s a Shame… is another

warm and pleasingly silly hour from Brasier and partner Tim Lancaster, reminding us why it’s important to always say the good things out loud.

✏ Arusa Qureshi

VENUE: Gilded Balloon at the Museum

Photo: Andrew Max Levy

Cat Cohen: Broad Strokes

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VENUE: Pleasance Courtyard

TIME: Until 24 Aug (not 6, 12, 13, 19), 9pm

It was only six years ago that Cat Cohen won the Best Newcomer Award at the 2019 Fringe with her debut show, but a lot has happened since: not least a Netﬂix special, some prestigious TV credits, and the small matter of a ministroke resulting from a hole in the heart. Luckily for Cohen, it really is all material.

Broad Strokes centres – naturally – mainly on the stroke, Cohen bringing her signature blend of sharp-tongued comedy and confessional showtunes to the story of her diagnosis and subsequent treatment. What could, in other hands, be the stu of a trauma plot instead becomes a rollicking tale of main character syndrome and neurosis. Cohen knows her – largely female and chronically online – audience and she plays to them unapologetically, a punchline about Labubus in one breath, a name check of Zendaya’s stylist in the next.

Broad Strokes is a tightly cra ed hour dripping in conﬁdence and charisma, the quality never dipping between stand-up and song. Accompa-

nied ably by Frazer Hadﬁeld on keys in the musical numbers, Cohen’s voice is as clear as a bell and her lyrics just as

piercing. This is cabaret comedy at its best, zipping along with not a note or line wasted.

✏ Eve Livingston

Photo: Dev Bowman

15 SHOWS

7 VENUES

EDINBURGH 2025

LONDON’S

MOST VIBRANT PRODUCER OF NEW THEATRE, COMEDY AND CABARET IS BACK WITH THIS LUSH LOT.

AdamRiches&JohnKearns•AgeIsAFeeling•BenTarget•CountDykula

JonnyWoo•KiellSmith-Bynoe&EdMacArthur•LesbianSpaceCrime

ThanyiaMoore•ToussaintDouglass•UroojAshfaq

PattiHarrison•PrashastiSingh•ShamikChakrabarti•Sh!tTheatre

Plus, exciting new talent from our

View our full programme and access performances

jessica aszkenasy: TITCLOWN HHHHH

VENUE: Assembly Roxy

TIME: until 24 Aug (not 13), 10.20pm

jessica aszkenasy waits for her audience on a trestle table covered in a clear plastic sheet. Kneeling, bent over, with one hand out – just to say hello. French club music sounds out and TITCLOWN declares itself as a delightfully bizarre hour of clowning. Lip-

stick, paint, sweat – aszkenasy invites us into her sticky solo hour of breast-based comedy.

It’s not that deep – but it is, maybe, if you want it to be. Although aszkenasy refutes any socio-political potential, the depth of TITCLOWN lies in its absurdity: that a show can position breasts both as a sex symbol when paired with Victoria’s Secret runway audio and as a maternal emblem when alongside an informative breast-feeding advert; that a show with paint covered breasts centre-stage can, perhaps, simply be a show with paint covered breasts centre-stage.

As a screen behind aszkenasy declares, “The show is in French, get over it.” In this (for non-French speakers, at least), aszkenasy o ers a joyful ambiguity to bond us, her audience. Such uncertainty also focuses the spotlight upon aszkenasy’s clowning: language is insu cient for such corporeal matters. Always, we return to the body and its comedy.

TITCLOWN is brilliantly relentless; each moment is obnoxiously mined for its comedic ﬂair. aszkenasy refuses to allow her audience to tire and we are lucky to participate in such pursuits. ✏

Photo:

Rebecca Need-Menear

Eilidh Akilade

Andrew Doherty: Sad Gay AIDS Play

VENUE: Pleasance Dome

TIME: until 24 Aug, 8.30pm

This play is typical of the miserable, issue-based slop that attracts arts council funding, and that’s Andrew Doherty’s point.

Doherty presents us with his ‘work-in-progress’ of his new sad gay AIDS play, commissioned by ACE (Arts Council

England). ACE are on Zoom, listening to every word, making sure Doherty doesn’t step out of line or become too ‘political’.

Within the play, Doherty’s main character, Harry Manlove, is your typical gay man in the 80s: best friends with Freddie Mercury, Elton John, and Princess Diana. Harry deals with his troubles by shagging dodgy men without protection, what could go wrong?

As the ‘play’ continues, Doherty’s motivations behind the show start to unravel as he reveals to us he actually doesn’t know much about AIDS at all, the show he really wanted to put on was a campy character piece which he passionately

describes to us, and it sounds amazing. However, his funding from ACE requires their complete control over his material, views, and characters.

What follows is a well-cra ed satirical criticism of the way funding bodies control artists and capitalise on their grief and trauma, as well as the hypocrisy of being put into social issue shaped boxes without any room for an individualised perspective. Why does a gay man have to write a show about AIDS despite having no personal connection at all?

What Doherty captures perfectly is not only the need for artistic freedom, but for pure silly fun. ✏ Lauren Hunter

Image: courtesy of Avalon

John Tothill: This Must Be Heaven

VENUE: Pleasance Courtyard

TIME: until 24 Aug (not 12) 9pm

self-sacriﬁce at the altar of the all-you-can-eat bu et.

should not, take full advantage of it.

A er being hospitalised by an ambitious portion of cheesy chips, John Tothill reﬂects on his own excesses and those of others, concluding that gluttony is a selﬂess act, a form of

Beginning with infamous Victorian shellﬁsh dine-and-dasher Edward Dando, This Must Be Heaven asks: in a world of unprecedented greed, where has our love of gluttony gone? Although, the set never lingers on a single idea for too long, as Tothill gets sidetracked by a nautical nightmare – a cruise ship full of elderly passengers who hate him. All of these seemingly disconnected ideas are slowly drawn together through an interrogation of the bounty of the modern world and when one should, or

A self-identiﬁed reformed big-talker, Tothill is constantly dipping in and out of conversations with the crowd with his camp erratic enthusiasm, able to segue between stories and conversation with ease. Tothill weaves multiple anecdotes together, jumping from cruise ship calamities to communist crab museums, always knowing when to pick up a new thread and when to return to a cli anger. This Must Be Heaven is an hour of high energy, tightly written self-indulgent whimsy. ✏ Oscar Lund

Photo: Rebecca Need-Menear

Theatre Reviews

Make It Happen

VENUE: Festival Theatre

TIME: until 9 Aug, times vary

clysmic 2008 collapse. Graham’s fans will be unsurprised to hear there’s so much more going on here. Sandy Grierson, a national treasure of the Scottish stage, is reserved but menacing as an imagined version of RBS boss Fred ‘the Shred’ Goodwin, an avatar of the free market with a very human tendency towards avarice and bullying.

Dundee Rep’s Andrew Panton directs a sharp-suited Greek chorus (among them other modern Scottish greats including Ann Louise Ross, Gavin Jon Wright and the brilliant Andy Clark as an unexpectedly heroic Gordon Brown) to perfection, as they sing haunting versions of noughties hits by Franz Ferdinand, Keane and Adele.

It’s rare that a highly-touted Edinburgh International Festival theatrical production lives up to its advance excitement so spectacularly well. Written by political playwright James Graham, who’s known for the National Theatre’s Dear England, and produced with the National Theatre of Scotland, Make It Happen tells of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s cata-

The acquisitive Goodwin builds a global kingdom headquartered in Edinburgh’s Gogarburn complex, but as the whole thing buckles under its own hubris, he’s repeatedly visited A Christmas Carol-style by the ghost of Adam Smith (a sweary, magnetic Brian Cox), who educates Goodwin on the true nature of his ‘moral philosophy’.

Yet even as the false justiﬁcation of greed through taking Smith’s name in vain is torn apart, because Smith advocated for tax, regulation and supporting all, the outrageous sight and sound of Grierson and Cox duetting on Kylie and Jason’s ‘Especially for You’ is one moment among very many which won’t quickly be forgotten. ✏ David Pollock

Photo: Marc Brenner

Red Like Fruit

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TIME: until 24 Aug (not 4, 11, 18) various times

It’s been said many times in the years since that 2018’s #MeToo movement prompted a reckoning. The idea o en conjures an image of a man, forced to reassess his behaviours and those of the men around him in light of what women have always been certain about. But in Red Like Fruit, Canadian playwright Hannah Moscovitch ﬂips the lens: here it is female journalist Lauren (Michelle Monteith) who is reassessing what has happened to her, prompted by her reporting on a high-proﬁle case of domestic abuse.

This is essentially a one-woman show with a twist: Lauren has just a handful of lines, her account read instead by Luke (David Patrick Flemming). The device adds an e ective and meta layer to the play’s themes: of complicity; patriarchy; whose words and actions have power; and who gets to decide the narrative. Both actors deliver gripping performances, Flemming side of stage with a monologue that dances de ly between comedic and harrowing, and Monteith in the spotlight, using only her face and body to convey gut-wrenching emotion as Lauren listens to

and grapples with her own memories in real time. Red Like Fruit is a captivating and challenging 75 minutes that asks

questions audience members of all genders will still be grappling with long a er leaving the theatre. ✏ Eve Livingston

VENUE: Traverse Theatre

Photo: Riley Smith

Laura Benanti: Nobody Cares

VENUE: Underbelly Bristo Square

TIME: until August 24 (not 11, 18) 4.55pm

From the bright lights of Broadway stardom to a bovine-themed lecture theatre o Bristo Square, the Fringe is a great leveller. And

clearly still a big draw, even for a wildly acclaimed leading lady like Laura Benanti.

The Tony Award winner (“and four-time Tony Award loser,” as she pleasingly puts it, early on) has a very o -Broadway story to tell, about that o en murky business, and how teenage exposure to archaic Disney princess expectations shaped her own personality. Extreme people pleasing; be polite, pretty, and essentially perfect at all times. The darker tales are li ed by a bunch of mostly killer new songs, co-penned by old friend and onstage secret weapon here, Todd Almond.

Benanti is very much the star though, and – big sigh of relief – deﬁnitely not a diva. From the opening lines it’s clear that she absolutely gets the Fringe, and her warts-andall look behind the curtain hits just the right note of laceratingly dark-but-funny selfdeprecation and mind boggling song-and-dance talent.

Benanti is fabulous. In fact, it’s such a cathartic, confessional experience, you do wonder if her frequentlymentioned therapist suggested doing this show. A big cheer for them too, if so. ✏ Si Hawkins

Photo:

Avery-Brunkus

No Apologies

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VENUE: Summerhall

TIME: until 24 Aug (not 5, 11, 18) 8.45pm

When people make reference to legendary live performances, Nirvana’s 1993 MTV Unplugged concert will o en get a mention. The haunting beauty of the music, the subdued, funereal atmosphere, the tragedy of its recording just months before the suicide of Kurt Cobain. Its a powerful set, adorned with white lilies and candles, and one that Emma Frankland uses to frame a deﬁant show that delves into

the intricacies and realities of the trans experience.

No Apologies uses the enduring internet conspiracy theories about Cobain being a trans woman as its focal point, but ultimately, this is not a show about Cobain’s trans identity. It doesn’t matter whether you buy into the discourse or not – No Apologies delves into the act of wishful thinking, de ly questioning the impact of what might have been.

Frankland is a captivating raconteur, her rousing monologues switching from conversational retelling to emphatic call to arms with a warmth that draws parallels between Cobain’s own Icaruslike journey and the choice

to live one’s life authentically. The show’s direction, by Harry Clayton-Wright, and the arresting use of lighting and glitchy Nirvana samples throughout contribute to the overall noise, both physically in the room and more generally in reference to wider conversations around trans identity.

The elaborate chandelier, a recognisable motif from the Unplugged set, swings like a pendulum, its unsteady movement looming over Summerhall’s Anatomy Lecture Theatre like a harbinger of chaos. No Apologies is part-tribute and part-vigil, to the heroes we hold up high on pedestals, and the trans lives that deserve so much better. ✏ Arusa Qureshi

Photo:

Matt Crockett

Chunky Jewellery

VENUE: Assembly Rooms

TIME: until 24 Aug (not 6, 12, 18, 19) 1.30pm

friendship. The title is a nod to the oversized statement necklaces that “ageing” women o en start to wear; maybe as the antidote to becoming invisible, they suppose?

funerals and fertility tests are sprinkled in skilfully amongst sweetly simple bursts of song and dance, including their gorgeous cover of The Crystals’ ‘Then He Kissed Me’.

Choreographer Natasha Gilmore is Artistic Director of Barrowland Ballet. Together with singer/theatre-maker Jude Williams, she has co-created an utter autobiographical delight of a show, based on their

The duo eases us in gently. There are knowing in-jokes about the Fringe; performers hoping they’ll make this year’s Baby Reindeer, audiences wishing they’d gone to the Trav instead. Then comes mad-as-a-box-of-frogs dancing as they break the ice with warm jokes, before rewinding to key moments. A baby’s ﬁrst birthday, derailed by the father walking out. Chemo,

It makes perfect sense that Williams is also a humanist celebrant, marking other people’s big life milestones as the duo do here. Watching their female friendship seesaw as they take turns to prop each other up through life’s curveballs and shit sandwiches is an absolutely joyful, cockle-warming thing. Beautifully bittersweet, nuts and touching in equal measure. ✏ Claire Sawers

Photo: Brian Hartley

Derek Mitchell: Goblin

VENUE: Summerhall

TIME: until 24 Aug (not 11, 18) 9.50pm

It’s 2008 in nowhere America and Eliot, a gawky 15-year-old emo kid, is desperate to be someone’s little spoon. This pitch-black character comedy from Derek Mitchell nails its period details (Eliot’s Jack

Skellington tee and checkered wristbands will be painfully familiar to any MySpace teen) and brings a real sweetness to its gross-out, teen boy humour. Gangly, awkward, tender and closeted, Eliot wipes his nose on his sleeve and laughs, bug-eyed, at his own jokes: it takes just seconds to root for him, but a little longer to understand the dangerously high stakes of his loneliness.

Eliot’s spiralling monologue is told to his imaginary friend Goblin – that’s us. We showed up a er the violent death of his older brother and are his only real conﬁdantes during

this rapidly darkening comingof-age story, via absentee parents, predators, reality TV stars and a grimy spin cycle studio.

It’s a disturbing, inventive set-up for an hour that is also, against the odds, genuinely funny. Mitchell’s character work is nuanced and goofy, with hilarious accent work and sharp timing which plays on split-seconds of sound design. But when the light leaves Eliot’s eyes, this show’s confessional mode switches focus: has Goblin laughed along to the making of a monster?

✏ Katie Hawthorne

Photo: Dylan Woodley

Dance, Physical Theatre & Circus Reviews

Voyeur / Samba and Love

VENUE: Assembly @ DanceBase

TIME: until 24 Aug (not Mon & Tue) 1pm

São José dos Campos Dance Company brings us Voyeur / Samba and Love, a striking double bill which captivates and inspires. Voyeur examines how we watch and are watched, and how the self comes undone and redone.

Likewise vulnerable, Samba and Love takes on burnout in the modern age through samba rhythms which express both defeat and desire.

Much of the show’s artistry lies with the de movements of the dancers. Their bodies curve and fold and twist around, holding and carrying one another. In Lili de Grammont’s choreography, our vulnerability to one another is a rmed. Tenderness rests in the stage details, too: handheld torches cast a striking light on inward moments; a desk carries conﬂict; and a neck tie brings levity.

Despite their coordinated

costumes – cropped blazers, earthy tones – and synced movements, uniformity is not the show’s raison d’être. A slightly lower leg or a slow turn of the head; subtle individual instances such as these lend the show a generous intimacy.

Throughout, São José dos Campos Dance Company refuses to lose their audience. Accompanying music grounds each dance and the choreography resists over-conceptual indulgences. In reminding us of the impossibility of escaping ourselves, Voyeur / Samba and Love brings us ever closer to ourselves – and to others.

✏ Eilidh Akilade

Photo: Paullo Amarall

Champions

VENUE: Pleasance at EICC

TIME: until 16 Aug, 8.30pm

Champions is a rare show within the Fringe: unashamedly aiming at a performance art aesthetic, it features a single naked performer who sits on stage and listens to recorded conversations between a therapist and his parents. Examining a family history that is troubled by paternal homophobia, it intersperses the conversations with video scenes of wrestling, o ering a potent, if blunt, metaphor for the emotional battles.

The words of Father and Mother describe the childhood and manhood of the performer. Aiming for a reﬂective and meditative atmosphere, the production’s abrupt shi s in tone, from speech to violence, operates to deepen the analysis, contrasting the father’s desperate desire for a more manly son with the son’s taciturn and exposed presence.

Ultimately, the passivity of the performer allows the harsh words to be received gently and while there are elements of reconciliation and acceptance, the impression of an immutable and static family dynamic fails to ignite the debate. Meanwhile, the reliance on stage technology –lighting, music, video screens – errs on the side of spectacle

rather than dynamic theatricality. Closer to a short visual art installation than a scripted performance, Champions pro-

vides an outline of dysfunction without ever extending or deepening the discourse.

✏

Gareth K Vile

Photo: Christo er Brekne

Cabaret Reviews

Jess Robinson: Your Song

VENUE: Assembly George Square Gardens

TIME: until 24 Aug (not 11) 6.05pm

Jess Robinson’s Your Song is a joyous homage to the music of Elton John, performed by a one-woman host of female stars. Robinson creates a musical smorgasbord, performing ‘Tiny Dancer’ as Amy Winehouse, ‘Rocket Man’

as Billie Holiday, and ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’ as Kate Bush.

The show opens with a belting rendition of ‘[Wednesday] Night’s Alright (For Fighting)’ – day inserted as required, a happy accident if you go on the ﬁrst day of the weekend – which forces the audience into the foot-tapping reality that this is not an amateur at work.

Your Song marries ﬂawless impressions with some of the hardest and most iconic musical voices, showcasing Robinson’s astounding talent, switching from Billie Eilish to Katherine Jenkins in moments. The culmination of the

comedy comes with the song ‘Don’t Go Breaking My Heart’ in which two members of the front row are selected to each choose ten famous faces whose impersonations would perform the song. With comedic ﬂair and impressive clarity Jess Robinson whiplashes between the Queen, Rachel Reeves, and Nigella Lawson(to name a few), singing Elton’s iconic ballad.

Your Song is a natural mustsee for any fans of Elton John, or indeed anyone who has ever wondered what ‘I’m Still Standing’ would sound like if it was sung by Barbra Streisand. ✏ Jemima Hawkins

Photo: Chloe Hashemi

Frisky's Reshufﬂe

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VENUE: Assembly George Square Gardens

TIME: until 24 Aug (not 6, 11, 18) 9.55pm

Laura Corcoran is better known as Frisky, one half of musical comedy duo Frisky & Mannish. Corcoran is going solo for the ﬁrst time, joking that her friend Mannish

(Matthew Floyd Jones) “can’t be arsed with the leggings anymore”. Sixteen years a er their Fringe debut show was a smash hit, Corcoran, with her pink corkscrew wig and silver sequin playsuit, is as Frisky as ever. There is zero jaded energy here, as the diva e ortlessly belts out songs in a blues, rave or metal style, depending on what the audience requests.

You want a Shirley Bassey Bond ballad, mashed up with the Cheeky Girls? Done. Like a Virgin, the country version? Easy. The combination of her hyper-versatile pipes and the

live band’s near-telepathic ability to follow wherever she’s leading them makes it easy for them to live-remix whatever they need. Although one of the four-piece band is too young (he’s 25) to remember ‘Thong Song’, and one white-haired audience volunteer is well into his retirement, Corcoran leaves no one out. She’s got an impressive ability to morph into any genre and keeps the energy levels high. A smooth, nostalgic and surreal karaoke jukebox machine that remixes (and sometimes gleefully ruins) some of the audience’s favourite songs. ✏ Claire Sawers

Photo: Jiksaw

Music Reviews

Nerds: The Bill Gates vs. Steve Jobs Comedy

VENUE: Underbelly, Bristo Square

TIME: until 25 Aug (not 11, 18) 12.30pm

Remember the good old days, when tech bros were charismatic gizmo-launching dudes in tight black turtlenecks, or went on to found multi-billion dollar charitable foundations?

Fun times.

Nerds is a big brash musical that takes us back to the mid-70s beginnings of the PC era, and the seeds of Apple, via their very di erent ﬁgureheads. Mac daddy Steve Jobs – played with stage-straddling relish by Kane Oliver Parry – is a faux-bohemian visionary, while Microso ’s Bill Gates (an enjoyably unhinged Dan Buckley) is bullied and increasingly embittered. “When you’ve got four eyes,” Gates sings, “that’s twice as many tears.”

Like those early computers, Nerds takes a while to warm up, with some broad, rushed character-establishing, but surges as the companies do,

Gates going all supervillain as Windows plots world domination (“run your computer without it? Doubt it”). It is lovely to see a crowd won over as the battle rages, the strong supporting cast get their moments, corporate goons get sha ed, while Jobs’ visions drolly foresee our modern gadget foibles.

It may seem a dry subject but, hey, The Big Bang Theory did OK, and Nerds takes lavish liberties: guardian angels, rap battles, a sexy mouse. “I didn’t know much about the actual history,” says one smiling punter, post ﬁnale, “so I’m taking that as gospel.” Non-geeks are welcome too. ✏ Si Hawkins

Photo: Pamela Raith

Kids Critics Treeeeee

Emmy, four-and-a-half, has a good laugh alongside her grown-ups

What happens in the show?

This show is very funny –there’s a tree, a bird and a beaver, as well as a baddie who tries to chop down the tree. I’ve never really seen a show like this before so I wasn’t sure about it at ﬁrst, but it was so silly I was laughing a lot very soon. The man who did the show (Christiaan Hendriksen) was really good at talking to the kids in the room, even the ones that were talking a lot. And I got a really shiny sticker at the end.

What did you like most about the show?

It was funny.

Was there anything you didn’t like?

It was dark and the room was quite small, so I had to get used to that. My little sister who is nearly three was a bit scared, so my daddy had to take her outside.

What did your grown-up think about the show?

Both my mummy and my nana laughed a lot. And they were happy that they also got a shiny sticker.

Would you tell your friends to go to the show?

Yes, I think my friends who are

nearly ﬁve like me or bigger and who like silly jokes would love this show.

SHOW Treeeeee

VENUE: Underbelly, Bristo Square

TIME: until 12 Aug, 11.45am

Photo:

Cemanthe

Olaf Falafel’s Stupidest Super Stupid Show –New Improved Recipe

Oran and Roo, both seven, are delighted by the sheer volume of poo jokes

What happens in the show?

Oran: Silly things!

Roo: There’s lots of jokes and videos and plenty of talk about poo.

O: They talk about poo and it’s funny.

R: It’s very funny and they showed a video and he dropped cheese onto a book and words that were in the holes of the cheese he readed and it was a pretty funny joke.

What was the joke?

R: I can’t remember the joke.

What did you like most about the show?

R: When we drawed a poo on a pogo stick.

O: Oh yeah, that was funny. A poo on a pogo stick is jumping on me.

R: No it’s jumping on me.

O: Me!

R: Me!

O: Me!

R: Both of us.

O: Me!

R: Me!

O [returning to the original question]: Everything. [Later]: He was an idiot.

Was there anything you didn’t like?

R: No

O: No

What did your grown-up think about the show?

It was a fun hour – well-practised, engaging crowd work and truly the least terrifying front row experience I’ve ever had. Five stars for the video of a squirrel sliding down a pole

alone. He’s a likeable character, even if he did say some mean things about reviewers to us, the reviewers.

Would you tell your friends to go to the show?

O: Maybe.

Would you tell Alba?

O: Yes. [to Alba] He’s a stupid guy! Olaf Falafel!

SHOW Olaf Falafel’s Stupidest Super Stupid Show – New Improved Recipe

VENUE: Laughing Horse @ The Counting House

TIME: until 24 Aug (not 13, 19, 20) 11.30am

Photo: Alan Powdrill

The Box Show

Three seven-year-olds – Oran, Alba and Roo – share their thoughts on Junkyard Beats’ high energy musical extravaganza

What happens in the show?

Alba: In the bin one?

Oran: It’s called The Bin Show!

A: They kept on doing loads of dances and they kept on spinning the things around.

Roo: And they had those boxes on wheels.

O: And the moving box. [Disappointed] They didn’t show you what was in it.

A: It was a music show?

O: Because they made music with instruments. Well… not instruments.

A: They used objects! And cooking stu

What did you like most about the show?

A: I liked it when that funny guy was being funny.

O: Yeah that was funny!

R: I liked it when they were making sounds with the plastic bags. When that person was [gestures conducting].

Was there anything you didn’t like?

A: No actually I liked quite a lot of it.

O: Yeah. My favourite parts were when they put things in the machine.

A: Yeah in the recycling bit and it pushed out big huge straws.

O: Not straws they were instruments.

A: Oh yeah, I played with them in my music class at school. O: In OUR music class.

What did your grown-up think about the show?

Ingenious, energetic performance transforming discarded objects into musical instruments with a central message of recycling. There were beautiful parts, like water falling through colanders to make music accompanied by a steelpan, and very loud parts, using the audience’s claps to build a rhythm. We were sort of amazed by how e ectively the crowd could be controlled by the man wear-

ing the ‘vest of power’ – “It reminds me of the pandemic,” one parent was heard to observe. Only in the sense of the total surrendering of our free will – the vibes were otherwise very carnival.

Would you tell your friends to go to the show?

O: Yes

A: Yes

Both: You!

Both: JINX!

SHOW The Box Show

VENUE: Assembly George Square

TIME: until 24 Aug (not 11, 18) 1.50pm

Photo:

Krysta Guile

09:25

American Football: An Improv Comedy Show

theSpace on the Mile, 11–23 Aug, not 17

09:30

A Political Breakfast

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Hot Toddy, 6–24 Aug

09:55

Saint Sydney

theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 18–23 Aug

10:00

The Breakfast Club

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–12 Aug

About Comedy: Stand-Up Comedy Course

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, Various dates from 6 Aug to 17 Aug

10:15

Adam Morrison Jones: JAM

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug

Wiki with a Wengeance: Isles of Silly

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

10:20

Chopin’s Nocturne Summerhall, 6–25 Aug, not 12

10:30

It Just So Happened

Braw Venues @ Hill Street, 6–9 Aug

Nicola Macri: Single Entendre

Greenside @ George Street, 18–23 Aug

Mountebank Comedy Walk of Edinburgh Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–24 Aug

Michael Made Me Do It (Work in Progress)

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 23–24 Aug Going Coastal with Donald McGinty

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–9 Aug

John Gibson: The Likes of Me

Greenside @ Riddles Court, 6–23 Aug, not 10, 17

10:40

Caroline Madds: Buzzin’ (Work in Progress)

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 12–24 Aug

10:45

Hilarious History

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–13 Aug

10:50

Wage Against The Machine

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12

PSA: Pelvic Service Announcement

theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 6–16 Aug, not 10

11:00

Comedy Brunch

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–24 Aug

1 *Irish: Mornings Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug

Let Me Be the Cool Aunt

Laughing Horse @ The Brass Monkey, 6–24 Aug

Bring Yer Bairn

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 6–24 Aug, not 13, 20

Tom Mayhew: What On Earth Are We Doing? (WIP)

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 18–24 Aug

Rizzmaster

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 11 Aug

11:05

Stuart Goldsmith: An Inconvenient Time (WIP) Monkey Barrel Comedy, 11–17 Aug

Ania Magliano: Work in Progress Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–10 Aug

11:10

Winsie Chen: I’m Not a Feminist – Part 2

Just The Tonic Legends, 10–24 Aug, not 12

Kids Can Heckle!

Hoots @ The Apex, Various dates from 9 Aug to 24 Aug

James Arthur Isn’t a Mathematician and Other Lies theSpaceTriplex, 18–23 Aug

11:15

3’s Comedy: Mornings Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug

Alan Jay and Matthew Hayhow are Gay and Lame

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 13–15 Aug

11:25

Fatherless Monster Paradise in Augustines, 18–23 Aug

Ted Hill: Weird in Progress

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug

11:30

Coming Out With Dr Who

Laughing Horse @ The Brass Monkey, 13–24 Aug

The Irish Mob

Laughing Horse @ Kick Ass Cowgate, 6–24 Aug

Steve Whiteley: A Mind Full

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–11 Aug

Charlie Lewis: Hungry! Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 18–24 Aug Hill and Jones Comedy Catastrophe

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–11 Aug

Yvonne Hughes: Absolutely Riddled

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–15 Aug, not 11

Shaggers: Morning Glory

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 16–17 Aug

Daisy Earl: Rattle

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 14–24 Aug

11:35

50 Ways to Succeed at a Pointless Job

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Cockaigne Drinking Society

Greenside @ Riddles Court, Various dates from 6 Aug to 23 Aug

11:40

Broken Bard

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–24 Aug

Aaaand Now for Something Completely Improvised

Pleasance Dome, 6–12 Aug

Table Reads: New Comedy Script Showcase

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–24 Aug Murmuration

Greenside @ George Street, 11–16 Aug

11:45

Benji Waterhouse: Second Opinion (WIP)

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 9, 12, 18 Around the World in 80 Puns

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–24 Aug, not 12

The History Comedy Show

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug Encounter

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Alex Love: How to Win a Pub Quiz 2025

The Stand Comedy Club, 6–25 Aug, not 11

Alex Prescot: Cosy Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–25 Aug, not 12

11:50

PSA: Pelvic Service Announcement

theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 18–23 Aug

11:55

199 Jokes Before Lunchtime: High Whisk theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 6–16 Aug, not 10, 11

CHALLENGE

Assembly George Square Studios, 6–10 Aug

Jake Donaldson is the Fi h Weezer

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug, not 14

12:00

Side Quest

C ARTS | C venues | C aquila, 18–24 Aug

Mhairi Black: Work in Progress

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 10–24 Aug

Danny Ward: The Holiday PBH’s Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth, 6–24 Aug

Ryan Mold / Breaking the Mold

Laughing Horse @ The Hanover Tap, 6–23 Aug

Ahir Shah: Work in Progress

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 14–24 Aug

A Silent Disco Dance Tour by Silent Adventures

Meeting Point at Uplands

Roast Co ee Shop, Various dates from 9 Aug to 24 Aug

Sam Serrano: Mars

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug

John Kearns: Work in Progress

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 8–13 Aug

Broads in the Attic

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–11 Aug

1 Hour of Clean Comedy

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug

Gladiatortoise

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–8 Aug

Aaaargh! It’s the One Liner Show

Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 6–24 Aug

Stuart Mitchell and Festival Friends

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug

Tim Limbrick: Baggage

Just The Tonic Legends, 18–24 Aug

Your Therapist is Clueless

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 22–24 Aug

Harun Musho’d: A History of the Last Conservative Government, In Their Own Stupid Words

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Pilgrim, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Larry Dean: Work in Progress

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–7 Aug

12:05

Chris Cantrill: Rewilding (WIP)

Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 15–19 Aug

Josh Glanc: Work in Progress (Current Progress = Zero)

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 15–19 Aug

Alexandra Haddow: Work in Progress

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–9 Aug

George Fox: Sugar Daddy (WIP)

Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 10–14 Aug

Horatio Gould: Work in Progress

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 20–24 Aug

Daniel Foxx: Work in Progress

Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 6–9 Aug

Sean Morley: Backchannel (WIP)

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 10–14 Aug

12:10

Love Hunt

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Gareth Waugh – Waugh In Progress (WIP)

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron), 6–24 Aug, not 12

Eleanor Morton: The Mermaid (WIP)

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron), 12 Aug

12:15

Kathleen Hughes: Twig (WIP)

Scottish Comedy Festival @ Waverley Bar, 6–17 Aug

2 Weird Guys Who Are Gay(!!!!)

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Bannermans, 6 Aug, 13 Aug, 20 Aug

I Listened to 100 Covers of Creep So You Don’t Have To!

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 16–20 Aug

Tim Biglowe: Landlubber

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Slow Progress Cafe and Records, 6–24 Aug

Frankazoid

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–11 Aug

Improv Wolves

Laughing Horse @ The Raging Bull, 12–16 Aug

Adam Bromley: Irrational Optimist

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 7–24 Aug, not 9, 10, 12, 13, 16, 17

4 Teachers, For Teachers

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug

Liggy Sauce

Laughing Horse @ The Raging Bull, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

Richard Pulsford: The Short Joke Teller Returns

Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 6–25 Aug, not 11

Cobra Kai: The Way of the Comic

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Bannermans, 7–24 Aug, not 13, 20

10 Things They Hate

About Me

Laughing Horse @ The Brass Monkey, 6–24 Aug

Robin Boot’s Rockomedy: Punny for Nothing

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Whistlebinkies, 6–24 Aug

Tam Cowan: O the Wall

The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 6–8 Aug

12:20

Out of Nowhere!

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug MacPlebs

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–15 Aug

Abigail Rolling: Shit Lawyer

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 16–17 Aug

12:30

Finlay and Joe: Pretend It’s Fine

Dovecot Studios, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Magic Mic

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug

Should Have Tried Harder at School – Veterans v Civilians

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–24 Aug

Sketch Thieves

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug, not 18 Fragments

Laughing Horse @ Boston Bar, 6–24 Aug

Anyone For Tennis –

Pauline Eyre Hoots @ The Apex, 6–23 Aug, not 11, 18

Johnny White

Really-Really: am/pm

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 6–24 Aug

Living with Mitochondria Against All Odds

The Speakeasy at The Royal Scots Club, 6–7 Aug

Death Threat

Just The Tonic Legends, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Matt Richardson: Brash (WIP)

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 13 Aug

Ian Smith: Foot Spa Half Empty Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–24 Aug, not 13

12:35

How to Kill a Mouse

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Corrie

Greenside @ Riddles Court, 6–23 Aug, not 10, 17

12:40

Okay, Bye!

Paradise in Augustines, 11–16 Aug

Diya Shah? Diya Shahn’t theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 19–23 Aug

12:45

Seymour Mace Does Things With Stu

The Stand Comedy Club 2, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Bad in Bed: From Arthritis to Insomnia

Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Phil Ellis: Soppy Stern Monkey Barrel Comedy, 11–24 Aug

Under the BoardDwarf PBH’s Free Fringe @ Canons’ Gait, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

3’s Comedy: A ernoons

Laughing Horse @ Kick Ass Cowgate, 6–24 Aug

2 Wongs and a White

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 14–24 Aug Don’t Panic!

Laughing Horse @ The Brass Monkey, 6–24 Aug

Perfect Harmony: Amelia Crotchet and Friends

Paradise in Augustines, 18–23 Aug

12:50

Ben Ashurst: Three Cheese Straws for a Pound

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–12 Aug

Ben Van der Velde: Van der Laugh Generator

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 8–16 Aug, not 12

Sam Michael: The World’s Oldest Man

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 13–24 Aug

Trevor Lock: How to Drink a Glass of Water

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 12

Matt Green: Work in Progress

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 18–24 Aug

13:00

The Comic Strip Presents...

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 8–10 Aug

An A ernoon with Clinton Baptiste

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 24 Aug

Robin Morgan and Friend(s)

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6 Aug

The Cambridge Impronauts

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug

Time Boat

Laughing Horse @ West Nic Records, 13–24 Aug

Lucy Pearman: Lunartic Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Kelly Mac: Pimp My Son! Le Monde, 18–24 Aug

The Asian Comedy Showcase

Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Sibet Partee: Behind

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12

The Dundee Busker –Folk’n’Jokes

Laughing Horse @ Freddy’s, 6–24 Aug

Paul Campbell: The Lost Tapes of Somerﬁeld

Hoots @ Potterrow, 6–25 Aug

Tamar Broadbent: Plus One

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7–24 Aug 13:05

Bea P Deigh theSpaceTriplex, 11–23 Aug, not 17

Damp theSpace @ Venue 45, 19–23 Aug

13:10

Should Statements: A Show Brought to You by (a little) Inherited Wealth

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–12 Aug

Best of Edinburgh Showcase Show

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug

Tristan Wolfe – Break:Out

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 13–24 Aug

Good Girl

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth, 13–24 Aug Accident Avoidance

Training for Cutlery

Users: Advanced and Improvers

Paradise in Augustines, 18–24 Aug

How to Drive Yourself Crazy theSpaceTriplex, 6–9 Aug

Achtung! The Germans Are Coming – Das Third Coming

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Pilgrim, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

13:15

101 Naughty Jokes in 30 Minutes

Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 6–24 Aug

Tom Skelton: VIP (Visually Impaired Papa)

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–11 Aug

Juliette Burton: Going Rogue

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 18–24 Aug

Robin Ince: The Universe and the Neurodiverse

Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 6–17 Aug

Silly and Starving

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug

Ben Goldsmith: CrimeLandTown

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 12–24 Aug

100% Funny Feckers

Laughing Horse @ The Hanover Tap, 6–24 Aug

Fred MacAulay in Conversation

Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 18–24 Aug

Hal and Ronni in Pieces

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 22 Aug

13:20

Scratchcard Comedy

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Lizzy Sunshine

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–10 Aug

Caroline McEvoy: Train Man

Assembly Roxy, 6–25 Aug, not 11

Jess Carrivick: For Your Consideration

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 11–25 Aug

0 0 Billionaire by Ian Christopher

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12

13:25

Morgan Rees: Work in Progress

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 6–10 Aug

Janine Harouni: This Is What You Waited For Monkey Barrel Comedy, 11–24 Aug

Rob Auton: CAN (An Hour-Long Story)

Assembly Roxy, 6–24 Aug

Celya AB: Work in Progress

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 11–24 Aug

Sindhu Vee: Work-inProgress

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–10 Aug

13:30

Ed Patrick: Numb and Number (Work in Progress)

The Stand Comedy Club, 14–25 Aug, not 19, 20

The Alternative Black Comedy Showcase

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Whistlebinkies, 16 Aug, 23 Aug

Austentatious: An Improvised Jane Austen Novel

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–10 Aug

MATES: The Improvised 90s Sitcom

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–16 Aug, not 12

A Silent Disco Dance Tour by Silent Adventures Meeting Point at Uplands

Roast Co ee Shop, Various dates from 9 Aug to 24 Aug

Sci-larious – Science Stand-up

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug

Rachel Creeger: Ultimate Jewish Mother

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Whistlebinkies, 6–24 Aug, not 9, 16, 23

Ayo Adenekan: Black Mediocrity

Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 6–24 Aug, not 13

Chonk

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 18–24 Aug

Alastair Clark: On The Record

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Slow Progress Cafe and Records, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Excel Comedy and Mathem-antics

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 9, 12, 16, 23

Leslie Gold: Tall Girl

Energy

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Me and Someone

Famous

Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 6–24 Aug

Guru Dudu’s Silent Disco

Walking Tours

Outside Appleton Tower, Crichton St, 9 Aug, 16 Aug

Lily Phillips: Crying

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–12 Aug

Chris Forbes: Father Christmas (WIP)

Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 13 Aug

Pat Cahill presents St Julian’s Social Club

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 13–24 Aug

Tom Mayhew: What On Earth Are We Doing? (WIP)

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 7 Aug, 8 Aug, 11 Aug, 14 Aug, 15 Aug

5 Headliners for £10

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug, not 12, 19

Charm O ensive

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Osaka, 14–24 Aug

Bi to the Future

Assembly George Square Gardens, 7–24 Aug, not 13, 20

Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of the Fringe Pleasance Courtyard, 6–23 Aug, not 13, 18

Troy Hawke (WIP)

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 18–22 Aug

13:35

Sam Lake: You’re Joking!? Not Another One!

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron), 6–24 Aug, not 11

Eleanor Morton: The Mermaid (WIP)

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron), 11 Aug

13:40

Dean T Beirne: Fated to Pretend (WIP)

The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 18–24 Aug

Anja Atkinson: She Thinks She’s People

The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 6–10 Aug

The Oxford Imps

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 6–24 Aug

Lianna Holston and Michael McPheat: Starter Pack

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug, not 18

Michael Balazo: International Lover

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Voodoo Rooms, 6–24 Aug

Chris Grace: 27 Hours (Works in Progress)

Assembly George Square Studios, 6–25 Aug

A Sketch Show with Hugo Hayes

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug, not 12

Maria McAveety – A Problem Like Maria

The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 12–16 Aug

13:45

Samantha Dunne:

Strangers I Know Greenside @ George Street, 6–16 Aug, not 10

Jokers in the Pack

Laughing Horse @ Boston Bar, 6–24 Aug

All Over the Plate: A Stand-up Comedy Tasting Menu

theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 18–23 Aug 2 Muslim 2 Furious 2: Go Halal or Go Home

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–24 Aug

Mark Simmons: His Latest Jokes

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Liquid Room, 6–23 Aug

Ashley Haden Presents Crosswords

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

1290.5 Steps to Autistic Success – Kittenageddon (Sidequests and Bu ering)

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18 13:50

Free Footlights

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Knightclub

theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 11–23 Aug, not 17

All Made Up Podcast Live Hoots @ The Apex, 6–10 Aug

13:55

Andrew Coleman is a Big Dumb Dumb

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 13–24 Aug

Adam Riches Presents Sean Bean Reading Le Morte d’Arthur Out Loud for an Hour

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 11 Aug

Bella Hull: Doctors

Hate Her

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 6–24 Aug, not 11

MC Hammersmith: Hippity Hoppity Get O My Property

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Matt Richardson: Brash (WIP)

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 12 Aug

F This, I’m Moving to Canada

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–11 Aug

14:00

Oversharing – Ad Lib Stand-up with Anna Beros

Laughing Horse @ The Brass Monkey, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Donkey

The Laughing Horse Box, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, 24 Aug

Richard Herring: RHLSTP

The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 6–10 Aug

UK Pun O

Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Angel Comedy Showcase

Laughing Horse @ Kick Ass Cowgate, 6–24 Aug

Who Agrees? Live

The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 15–17 Aug

Mark Silcox: The Gold

Trader

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Voodoo Rooms, 6–24 Aug

0% Beer Loves Me. Women Fear Me. Sheep Were Unavailable For Comment – Dan Boerman

Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 6–25 Aug, not 11, 18

Sandy Not Just on Sunday

Lochrin Roo op Bar, 6–25 Aug, weekdays only

Paul Savage: Hopes

Under the Hammer

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug, not 11

Joke Sellers

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug, not 18 RapGPT

Hoots @ The Apex, 11–25 Aug

Tam Cowan: O the Wall

The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 11–14 Aug

14:05

The Wee Man: Mr & Mrs

The Stand Comedy Club 2, 18–24 Aug

Richard Brown: Nauseatingly Woke Full-Grown Jellyﬁsh

The Stand Comedy Club 2, 12–14 Aug

200 Puns in One Hour with Roger Swi

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug

100 Julian Sterns, Ranked by Hotness Alone

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Carbon, 6–20 Aug

Elaine Robertson: WIP

The Stand Comedy Club 2, 6–10 Aug

14:10

Deﬁnitely Maybe with James Beatty and Harry Pettitt

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–24 Aug

Josh Glanc: Family Man Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–10 Aug

Liz Bains: Great Wife Material

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Southsider, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

NED’s Night-Hole Live

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 13–24 Aug

Let’s See How It Goes Paradise in The Vault, 6–9 Aug

Simon Evans: Have We Met?

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12

How to Drive Yourself

Crazy theSpaceTriplex, 11–16 Aug

Smile, It Might Never Happen

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–10 Aug

Lara Ricote: I Don’t Yet Know Anything (WIP) Monkey Barrel Comedy, 11–17 Aug

14:15

Dickie Richards: Sexual Tyrannosaur 2025

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Globe Bar, 6–24 Aug

Britt Migs: Dolphin Mode Underbelly, George Square, 6–25 Aug, not 11 Comedy Compilation Show

Laughing Horse @ West Nic Records, 6–24 Aug

Millwall Jew

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

AL! The Weird Tribute (and How Daniel Radcli e Got Mixed Up in This Nonsense)

Laughing Horse @ Freddy’s, 6–24 Aug

14:20

Edy Hurst’s Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Himself

Assembly Roxy, 8–24 Aug

Harun Musho’d: Why I Don’t Talk to People About Terrorism

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Pilgrim, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Yer Ma’s a Rocket: Sophie

Rose McCabe

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 6–8 Aug

Naivety, Love and My Poor Interpretations of the Social Order on a Rainy Day

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 13–24 Aug

Aideen McQueen: Waiting for Texto

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug, not 11

The Immortal Game

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–11 Aug

Gearóid Farrelly: No Pressure (WIP)

Assembly George Square, 6–13 Aug

14:25

June Tuesday: Comic Trans (plus Friend)

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug

And All That Jazz – a half hour by Gillian Gurganus

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 13–24 Aug

Ria Lina: Riabellion

Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 6–24 Aug, not 14, 21

Hygge

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–11 Aug

Nick Hornedo: Watch This When You Get Home

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–24 Aug, not 11

14:30

Richard Wright Draws

You Like One of Your French Girls

Laughing Horse @ West Nic Records, 6 Aug

Funny Women: The Glitter Challenge

Assembly Rooms, 20 Aug Phil de Lange: The Phil Monty

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug Stand-up Philosophy

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug

David Ellis – My Mate Dave

Laughing Horse @ West Port Oracle, 6–16 Aug, not 11

Adrian Minkowicz: Did You Say Humor or Tumor?

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth, 6–24 Aug, not 13

An A ernoon with Clinton Baptiste

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 24 Aug

London is Great

Laughing Horse @ West Nic Records, 16–24 Aug

Slomosexual

Laughing Horse @ West Nic Records, 7–15 Aug

5 Mugs No Tea

Leith Depot, 11–25 Aug, not 18

Tom and Greg Will Give You 100 Satsumas

Laughing Horse @ West Port Oracle, 17–24 Aug

101 Comedy Club

Laughing Horse @ The Hanover Tap, 6–24 Aug Olaf Falafel Asks: Orange You Glad?

Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree, 6–24 Aug, not 13 100 Things You Are Overthinking – an Improv Stand-up Comedy Game Show!

Alchemist Cocktail Bar and Restaurant, 8–24 Aug, not 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21

The Durham Revue: Sketch Marks the Spot Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–24 Aug, not 12

14:35

Fountain Lakes in Lockdown: A Drag Parody Play

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Comedy Through the Ages

PBH’s Free Fringe @ BrewDog Lothian Rd, 6–24 Aug The Grumpy Magicians Present: What’s the Catch?

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Brewdog Doghouse Hotel, 6–16 Aug

14:40

Fly Trap

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–11 Aug

Sarah Bradley: Just Like Other Girls

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug, not 11

Phil Green: A Broken Man’s Guide to Fixing Others

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth, 6–24 Aug, not 13 The Workplace

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–24 Aug

14:45

Luke Connell: Bloody Marvellous

Laughing Horse @ The Brass Monkey, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

40 Years of Fringe: Doon

Mackichan and Kieran Hodgson

Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 14–16 Aug

Huge Davies: Free Work in Progress

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Whistlebinkies, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

The Political Party with Matt Forde

Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 7 Aug, 13 Aug, 21 Aug

Fisherman Jon: What’s on the End of My Rod? A Clown Odyssey

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–25 Aug, not 12

Rachel Morton-Young: Dutch Courage

Laughing Horse @ The Raging Bull, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Cerys Bradley’s Queer Tales for Autistic Folk Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–25 Aug, not 14

Cyclopath Stand Up and Songs

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Daniel Downie: Is Scottish?

Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 6–24 Aug

Do All The Things

Assembly Checkpoint, 6–25 Aug, not 13

The Cringe Factor

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug

40 Years of Fringe: Jenny Eclair

Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 8–9 Aug

40 Years of Fringe: Michelle McManus

Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 22–23 Aug

Abbie Murphy: Garage Girl (WIP)

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 13–24 Aug

Adam Jones and Jess Lo: Daddy Issues

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–12 Aug

Smack the Pony: Back in the Saddle

Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 17–20 Aug

Kaye Adams – How To Be 60!

Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 10–12 Aug

14:50

Grace Mulvey: Did You Hear We’re All Going To Die?

Assembly George Square, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Stevie Martin: clout Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–8 Aug

Ti Stevenson: Post-Coital

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 6–24 Aug

Eric’s Tales of the Sea – a Submariner’s Yarn

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Gianmarco Soresi: The Drama King Tour

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 18–24 Aug

14:55

Molly McGuinness: Slob Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 6–24 Aug, not 11, 12

Diona Doherty: Get Your Pink Back!

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 7–24 Aug, not 13

Chris Forbes: Father Christmas (WIP)

Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 11–12 Aug Irish Comedy Headliners

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Josh Jones: I Haven’t Won The Lottery So Here’s Another Tour Show (Work in Progress)

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 13 Aug

Jenny Gorelick: That Jenny C’est Quoi (WIP) Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6 Aug

15:00

Stuart Laws Is Stuck Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron), 6–24 Aug, not 8, 9, 13, 15, 16, 22, 23

A Silent Disco Dance Tour by Silent Adventures

Meeting Point at Uplands Roast Co ee Shop, 7–24 Aug, not 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20 Bee Babylon –Eyja allajökull – There and Back Again

The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 15–24 Aug

Raul Kohli: Makes It Up As He Goes Along Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 7–24 Aug, not 13, 20

2 Truths, 1 Lie

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug

Gag Race

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Bill Bailey: Thoughtiﬁer

Edinburgh Playhouse, 24 Aug

Jokers! Comedy Club

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Guru Dudu’s Silent Disco

Walking Tours

Outside Appleton Tower, Crichton St, 23 Aug

ShakeItUp: The Improvised Shakespeare Show

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug

Eleanor Morton: The Mermaid (WIP)

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron), 13 Aug

Cheekykita – Batshit

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19, 20

Stuart Laws Does Stand-up Comedy for an Hour

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron), Various dates from 8 Aug to 23 Aug

Jane Does Comedy

PBH’s Free Fringe @ CC Blooms, 6–13 Aug

Mark Row: Don’t You Know Who I Am?

Laughing Horse @ Boston Bar, 6–24 Aug

Amanda Dwyer: I Did

Something Bad

The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 6–14 Aug, not 11

15:05

104kg of Pure Banter

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Voodoo Rooms, 6–24 Aug

Absolute Monopoly Assembly George Square Gardens, 19–21 Aug

Lost the Plot: An Improvised Musical theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 18–23 Aug

15:10

Clayton Smith: 15:10 to Yuma

Just The Tonic Legends, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 18

CSI: Crime Scene Improvisation

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–17 Aug

Shy Bairns Get Nowt Hoots @ The Apex, 6–12 Aug Murmuration

Greenside @ George Street, 6–9 Aug

Candace Bryan: MILF (Mom I’d Like to Find)

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 6–24 Aug, not 12

15:15

Nathan Cassidy: Piracy

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 12

Strippers Advice Bureau

Laughing Horse @ Kick

Ass Cowgate, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Laughing Horse Clean

Pick of the Fringe

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug

Simon Munnery

The Stand Comedy Club, 6–25 Aug, not 11

Alﬁe Dundas: Untitled

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–24 Aug, not 12 #ComedyKaraoke

Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 6–24 Aug

Susan Riddell and Amanda Dwyer: Material, Girl

The Stand Comedy Club, 11 Aug

Billy Kirkwood: Chaos

Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 6–25 Aug, not 20

Alex Leam: DJ/Comedian

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Canons’ Gait, 7–24 Aug, not 13, 20

15:20

Still Got It

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Carbon, 6–24 Aug, not 10

1 Irish 1 English: A ernoons

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug

Helen Bauer: Bless Her Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Eric Rushton: Innkeeper

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 6–24 Aug, not 12

Adam Riches Presents

Sean Bean Reading Le Morte d’Arthur Out Loud for an Hour

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 12 Aug

Noah’s No-Show Show Paradise in The Vault, 11–16 Aug

Matt Richardson: Brash (WIP)

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 11 Aug

15:25

Murder She Didn’t Write Assembly George Square, 6–24 Aug

Gavin Webster – The Gathering of The Gav

The Stand Comedy Club 2, 6–24 Aug, not 11

15:30

Paul Merton and Suki Webster’s Improv Show

Pleasance Courtyard, 7–17 Aug

Achtung! The Superkrauts Are Coming!

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Globe Bar, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Liam Tulley: Baldilocks

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Locomotive for Murder: The Improvised Whodunnit

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug, not 12

Everything is Embarrassing

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Pilgrim, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Asian First Dates

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug

Steve’s Big Dumb Show!

Laughing Horse @ Freddy’s, 6–24 Aug

The Oxford Revue

Presents: For Revue

Dollars More

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–24 Aug, not 19

15:35

Relay

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–25 Aug, not 12

Zoë Coombs Marr: The Splash Zone Monkey Barrel Comedy, 7–24 Aug, not 13, 20

Hasta La Vista... Bibby!

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth, 6–17 Aug, not 13

15:40

Simon Harriyott: Autastic

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12

100% Badgers with Matt Hobs

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Glesga Da F**ks O – The Farewell Tour

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug, not 11

Christian Dart: Gumshoe!

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Alvin and Eva Break the Geneva Convention

Hoots @ Potterrow, 6–25 Aug, not 12

Njambi McGrath: Revolution

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug, not 11

15:45

Not My Audience! The Stand-Up Panel Show You Control!

Laughing Horse @ West Nic Records, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Adam Riley: Late-night Comedy in the A ernoon

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12

The Limerence

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Brewdog Doghouse Hotel, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Australia: A Comedian’s Guide

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Finnegan’s Wake, 7–24 Aug, not 9, 13, 16, 20, 23

Palestine Stands Up The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 18 Aug

Phil Wathern: Man of Few Words

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 18–24 Aug

100% Funny Feckers

Laughing Horse @ The Hanover Tap, 6–24 Aug

Two Comedians Telling Jokes

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 11–17 Aug

Paul Sinha: 2 Sinha

Lifetime

The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

100 Things You Are Overthinking – an Improv Stand-up Comedy Game Show!

Alchemist Cocktail Bar and Restaurant, 6–25 Aug

Laugh Forever: An Oasis Comedy Special

The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 11 Aug

Punchline Bingo

Laughing Horse @ West Port Oracle, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Chaos in the Avocado Aisle – 99 Middle Class Problems

PBH’s Free Fringe @ BrewDog Lothian Rd, 6–9 Aug

Jokes I Rescued from the Future (by Telling Them Now)

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–10 Aug

Hose Water

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–8 Aug

15:50

Geo Norcott: Basic Bloke 2 – There’s No Bloke Without Fire

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 11–24 Aug

Olga Koch: WIP

Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 6–10 Aug

Shaun Gu : Enu is Enu (WIP)

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–17 Aug

Laura Lexx: Slinky

Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 11–21 Aug

15:55

Will & Noah: Too Much Time on Their Phones

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–25 Aug, not 11

What Men Want

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth, 13–24 Aug

Markus Birdman and Malinda Mukuma –Algorithm and Blues

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth, 7–12 Aug

A “Confessional” of a Recovering Catholic Paradise in Augustines, 11–24 Aug, not 16, 17

16:00

2 Guys 1 Pub

Laughing Horse @ The Brass Monkey, 6–24 Aug

Daniel Muggleton: You May Be White, I May

Be Crazy

Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree, 6–24 Aug

Auditory Awakenings with Mr Tingles in the House ASMR

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Bannermans, 6–7 Aug

So You Think You’re Funny? Competition – Heats

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 13 Aug, 20 Aug

Jamie Lee

Pleasance Courtyard, 18–25 Aug

2 Boys, 1 Bucket

Laughing Horse @ The Raging Bull, 6–24 Aug

Peter Jones: Performs Stand-Up Comedy

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–24 Aug

Becky Fury: British-ish

Just The Tonic Legends, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Stephen Carlin: Edinburgh Fringe/ Glasgow Haircut

Scottish Comedy Festival @ Waverley Bar, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Beth Knight: Who Told You to Be Small

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12 10,001 Ideas by Robyn Perkins

Laughing Horse @ West Nic Records, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 20

Funny Cluckers: Best of the Fest – Free

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug

Late to the Party: The ADHD Hour

Pleasance Courtyard, 7–10 Aug

Narin Oz: Inner Child(ish)

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Aerosmith to ZZ Top – The A to Z of Hair Metal with Steve McLean

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Slow Progress Cafe and Records, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Mitch Benn: The Lehrer E ect

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–25 Aug, not 11

John Shuttleworth: Raise the Oof

Pleasance Courtyard, 12–15 Aug

Mr Woody’s Last Lesson: Confessions of a Teacher

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 12, 18, 19 Friz Frizzle’s Funny Turn

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Whistlebinkies, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Ted Hill: 110 Percent

Normal

Assembly George Square Studios, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Rosie Jones: I Can’t Tell What She’s Saying (Work in Progress)

Pleasance Courtyard, 11–17 Aug

Ian Stone is Looking for the Wow Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug, not 12

16:05

DRAMA GIRLS theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 11–23 Aug

Olivia Raine Atwood: Faking It

Greenside @ George Street, 6–23 Aug, not 10, 17 16:10

David’s One-Man Band (F*ck You, Steven) Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Any Objections?

C ARTS | C venues | C aquila, 6–24 Aug, not 12

The Mayor and His Daughter: A Genuine Appreciation of Comedy Assembly Roxy, 6–24 Aug, not 12

16:15

Just the Two of Us!

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 15, 16, 17

Jain Edwards: She-Devil Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–25 Aug, not 11

I Regret This Already

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Liquid Room, 6–24 Aug

Bridget Christie: Work In Progress Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–9 Aug

Sooz Kempner is Ugly

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug

Ironing Board Man

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 7–17 Aug

Katie Mitchell: Spine

Hygiene

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug, not 12

The Cryptid Factor

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 6–10 Aug

The Bite – Mixed-Bill Stand-Up

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Stefania Licari: I Can Make You Italian in 55 Minutes

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Love Tory

Laughing Horse @ Boston Bar, 6–24 Aug

Mr Cardboard

Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–10 Aug

Grace Petrie: This Is No Time To Panic!

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–14 Aug

Jena Friedman: Motherf*cker Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 8–24 Aug

Jamie MacDonald: Toxic Bastard

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 15–24 Aug

Sally-Anne Hayward: Older. Bolder. Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 6–7 Aug 16:20

Ralph Brown: Dead Inside

The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18 0-60 in 50 Minutes

Greenside @ George Street, 6–9 Aug

Impro Poet Presents: What If History?

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Carbon, 6–12 Aug

Rachel Kaly: Hospital Hour

Pleasance Courtyard, 11–24 Aug

David Ian: Am I Mean?

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

The Burton Brothers: 1925

Assembly George Square, 6–24 Aug, not 11

The Unexpected Mayﬂy Greenside @ George Street, 19–23 Aug

Graham and Steen Pleasance Courtyard, 6–10 Aug

Stephen Buchanan: Cold Meat

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 7–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Sarah Roberts: Work in Progress

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 18 Aug

Tamsyn Kelly: Hot Titty

Bungalow

Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 6–24 Aug, not 12

Lorraine Hoodless: Good Girl

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Carbon, 13–24 Aug

Jeromaia Detto: When I Grow Up...

Underbelly, George Square, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Hannah Campbell – Me!

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug, not 12

Josh Jones: I Haven’t Won The Lottery So Here’s Another Tour Show (Work in Progress)

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 11 Aug

16:25

Tadiwa Mahlunge: Hakuna Ma Tad Tad Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron), 6–24 Aug, not 11

Linda Merriweather:

The Golden Gate Meets

Arthur’s Seat

Greenside @ George Street, 6–16 Aug, not 10

16:30

#2025 Hot Takes

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug

A Silent Disco Dance Tour by Silent Adventures Meeting Point at Uplands

Roast Co ee Shop, 8–24

Aug, not 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21

Jake Baker: My Jakey Bakey Heart

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Canons’ Gait, 6–24 Aug, not 12 60 Minutes About Scotland

Laughing Horse @ Dragonﬂy, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Sizeable Chunks with Peter E Davidson

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–12 Aug

Loyal Family – Stella Graham

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Voodoo Rooms, 6–24 Aug

C U Later, Simulator

Just The Tonic Legends, 13–24 Aug

Adventures of the Improvised Sherlock Holmes

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–11 Aug

Hasan Al-Habib: Death to the West (Midlands)

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24

Aug, not 12

Kuan-wen: Andrews Are the Worst

Hoots @ Potterrow, 6–24

Aug, not 12

Guru Dudu’s Silent Disco Walking Tours

Outside Appleton Tower,

Crichton St, 9 Aug, 10 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, 24 Aug

Scotland’s Pick of the Fringe 16:30

Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 6–25 Aug

Anu Vaidyanathan (WIP)

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 6–11 Aug

Aaaargh! It’s the One Liner Show

Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 6–24 Aug

Alex Bertulis-Fernandes: May Find Distressing Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 13–24 Aug

Angle of the North:

Natalie Durkin

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Southsider, 6–24 Aug, not 13

...It’s Not My Problem!

Gladstone’s Land, Various dates from 6 Aug to 25 Aug

16:35

Kathy Maniura: The Cycling Man

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24

Aug, not 11, 18

Amy Annette: Busy Body

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug

Elliot Wengler: Jokémon

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Jodie Sloan: Is She Hot?

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24

Aug, not 13

The Crisp Review

Paradise in The Vault, 6–16 Aug, not 10

Wizard Guide to Saving the World

Braw Venues @ Hill Street, 18–24 Aug

16:40

Chris Scott: I Just Want Some Extra Time And Your... Chris!

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug, not 12

5 Mistakes That Changed History

Assembly George Square Studios, 7–24 Aug, not 11, 18

ABC of One-Liner Jokes

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Pilgrim, 6–24 Aug

16:45

Lab Rats – A Science Game Show

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–24 Aug

Alison Spittle: BIG Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Catie Wilkins: We’ll See The Stand Comedy Club 2, 6–10 Aug

Ed Night: Your Old Mucker Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 6–24 Aug, not 13

Ayoade

Bamgboye: Swings and Roundabouts

Pleasance Courtyard, 7–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Adam Riches Presents Sean Bean Reading Le Morte d’Arthur Out Loud for an Hour

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 13 Aug

Psych Ward Pyjamas

The Speakeasy at The Royal Scots Club, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug

Chris Thorburn: I Need This (WIP)

The Stand Comedy Club 2, 12–16 Aug

Terry Christian: Confessions of an Irish Catholic

The Stand Comedy Club 2, 17–24 Aug

A Bad Taste Show

theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 18–23 Aug

Paul Williams: Don’t Look at Me

Assembly Roxy, 7–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Dylan Rhymer: Blunderbuss

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

16:50

Abnormally Funny People

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–25 Aug, not 14

Aaron Wood: More to Life Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug, not 12

The Leeds Tealights: Never Not Forever

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Cambridge Footlights

Pleasance Dome, 6–25 Aug, not 12, 20

Jokers on Deck

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–24 Aug, not 12

16:55

Alvin Liu: Love Letter to a Sandwich

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug

17:00

Hannah Morton: Cha Cha

Real Smooth

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Nate Kitch: Something

Di erent!!!!!

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug

Mat Wills: My Wife Took

My Dad to a Brothel (I Drove)

Laughing Horse @ The Hanover Tap, 6–24 Aug

Hypnotist Matt

Hale – Funbelievable! 90s

Rewind

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug, not 13

Laser Kiwi’s Sketch Game

Assembly George Square, 7–24 Aug, not 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20

Michael Welch: All Rizz, No Filter

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug, not 8

Fool On Comedy Crew

Hoots @ The Apex, 18–25 Aug

Alana Jackson: Last Orders

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Harry Stachini: Lobster (WIP)

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–17 Aug

I Feel Sick

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 13–24 Aug

Some Young Boys

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–11 Aug

From Primordial Soups to Primates in Suits: The Evolution of All Life on Earth

Dovecot Studios, 6–25 Aug, not 12

0 Plans: A Crowd Work

Comedy Show

Alchemist Cocktail Bar and Restaurant, 6–25 Aug

Jay La erty: Oo !

The Stand Comedy Club, 6–25 Aug, not 11

Sign My Yearbook: A Stand-Up Show

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug

Jacqueline Novak

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–23 Aug, not 12, 19

Ross Leslie: Now Is The Time

Laughing Horse @ West Port Oracle, 7–24 Aug, not 13, 20

Benji Waterhouse: Maddening

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–25 Aug, not 9, 18

17:05

1 Lung Marathon

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–22 Aug, not 12

Adele Cli : Adele, Adele, Adele... Cli It Isn’t the Consequences of My Own Actions

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Sketch Show Bingo! theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 6–16 Aug, not 10

Congratulations, Good for You – Cantonese Stand-Up Comedy theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 18–23 Aug

Ben Pope: The Cut

Assembly George Square, 6–24 Aug, not 13 This Is Your Trial! The Fully-Improvised Comedy Courtroom

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug, not 12, 19

Cameron Sinclair Harris: PLANETS!!!

Assembly Rooms, 6–24 Aug, not 12

17:10

Adrian Minkowicz: Latin America

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth, 6–24 Aug, not 13

Trygve Wakenshaw and Barnie Duncan: Di erent Party

Assembly George Square Studios, 7–17 Aug, not 11 Nish Kumar: Nish, Don’t Kill My Vibe

Assembly George Square, 6–10 Aug

Powerful Greenside @ George Street, 6–23 Aug, not 10, 17

Big Red ZOO Playground, 7–24 Aug, not 13, 20

Kate Owens: Cooking with Kathryn Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–24 Aug, not 11 Murder, Oops! Greenside @ Riddles Court, 6–23 Aug, not 10, 17 How to Drive Yourself Crazy theSpaceTriplex, 18–23 Aug

17:15

Rory O Hanlon – Back Again

Scottish Comedy Festival @ Waverley Bar, 6–24 Aug

David Sheeran: Full Irish

Laughing Horse @ Coco Boho, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Dumb Asian

Greenside @ Riddles Court, 6–23 Aug, not 10, 17

Raul Kohli: A British Hindu’s Guide to the Universe

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 7–24 Aug, not 13, 20

Comedians & Dragons

Laughing Horse @ The Raging Bull, 6–24 Aug

Chris Turner: Spontaneous

Underbelly, George Square, 6–24 Aug

A Hundred Percent

No Anxiety Comedy

Show – Peter Bazely

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 7–24 Aug, not 13, 20

Stuart McPherson: Crisps and a Lie Down

Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 6–24 Aug, not 12

Danny O’Brien: Adulting Hard!

Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 6–25 Aug Jew-O-Rama

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Whistlebinkies, 6–24 Aug

Alcohol is Good for You

Laughing Horse @ West Nic Records, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

17:20

Courtney Buchner: Big, If True

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug, not 11, 18

Bryan Saﬁ: Are You Mad at Me??

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–25 Aug, not 12

Ellen Turnill Montoya is Mr Handsome

Assembly George Square Studios, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Myrtle Throgmorton: Me and Parky Greenside @ George Street, 11–16 Aug

#IsThisEssex?

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Yukata Cowboy –Stranger in Strangeland Just The Tonic Legends, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Luke Rollason, Luke Rollason, Let Down Your Hair

Pleasance Courtyard, 11–13 Aug

Amy Webber: Wannabe

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 18

17:25

Police Cops: The Original Assembly George Square, 12–25 Aug

Olivia Raine Atwood: Oops Greenside @ George Street, 6–23 Aug, not 10, 17

Dirty Work

Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–24 Aug, not 12

17:30

Killian Sundermann: This Boy is Cracking Up Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–21 Aug, not 11

Traumedy: A Guide to Being a Fabulous Homeless Addict

Laughing Horse @ Boston Bar, 6–24 Aug, not 9, 16, 23

Tony Slattery Tribute Show in Aid of Mind

Assembly George Square Studios, 18 Aug

Stories from the O ce of a Sex Dungeon

Laughing Horse @ West Nic Records, 6–24 Aug

The Best of Irish Comedy

The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 6–24 Aug

PENMAN – The Imaginator – YOU

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Will Davies: Much Peril, Many Intrigue

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Jack O the Beanstalk: An Adult Pantomime Greenside @ Riddles Court, 11–16 Aug

Anna Hale: Control Freak Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24

Aug, not 12

2025 Greek Comedian of the Year: The Butterﬂy E ect – George Zacharopoulos

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Liquid Room, 6–24 Aug

Disabled Cants

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–24 Aug

Jenny Ryan – Björn

Yesterday Pleasance Courtyard, 7–17 Aug

Ali Brice Presents Eric Meat Gets the Chop

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Carbon, 6–24 Aug, not 13 Stand-Up Science

Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree, 6–24 Aug

Russell Hicks: Work in Progress

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 12–24 Aug

Edinbra Fringe Comedy

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug

The Totally Improvised Musical

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–17 Aug

Glenn Moore: Please Sir, Glenn I Have Some Moore?

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24

Aug, not 12, 13

All the Rage

Greenside @ George Street, 6–9 Aug

17:35

Freya McGhee: Experimental PBH’s Free Fringe @ Carbon, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

17:40

Bebe Cave: CHRISTBRIDE

Pleasance Dome, 6–24

Aug, not 12

Thanyia Moore: August

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24

Aug, not 11

Sergi Polo: English Work in Progress

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 11–12 Aug

Robyn Reynolds: What Doesn’t Kill You

Assembly Roxy, 7–24 Aug, not 13, 20

Sam Nicoresti: Baby Doomer

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24

Aug, not 11

Desiree Burch: The Golden Wrath Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–10 Aug

Lily Blumkin: Nice Try

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug, not 14

Jessica Fostekew: Iconic

Breath

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 11–24 Aug

Eleanor Conway: No Phones in the Hot Tub

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 13–24 Aug

Thomas Green: Calm Before the Brainstorm (Tour Warm-up)

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 6–10 Aug

Best Cult Ever: Leah

Renee

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 18

17:45

101 Naughty Jokes in 30 Minutes

Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 6–24 Aug

Gags Army

Laughing Horse @ Kick Ass Cowgate, 6–24 Aug

Laughing Horse Pick of the Fringe

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug

Holly Spillar: Tall Child

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Annie Boyle: Smooth Criminal Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Laura Davis: Despair is Beneath Us

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Ed Mulvey: Pregnant Gollum

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Carbon, 6–24 Aug

Michael Shafar –Inappropriate

Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 6–25 Aug

Biscuit Barrel: The 69-Sketch Show

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug, not 13

Topical Comedian –Deﬁnitely Maybe

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Southsider, 6–24 Aug, not 13

Jack Barry: Let’s Get Barried

Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 11–24 Aug

Katie Pritchard: I Kiss the Music

Assembly Roxy, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Aidan Jones: Orlando Gibbons

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug

Ryan Cullen – Cullen Them So ly (WIP) Monkey Barrel Comedy, 12 Aug

Priya Hall: Reckless Abandon

Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 6–10 Aug

Live Like a Criminal

Laughing Horse @ Dragonﬂy, 8–24 Aug, not 11, 18 17:50

Love Less Life by Jay Sodagar

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–17 Aug

Sikisa: Serving Justice Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron), 6–24 Aug, not 12

Grace Jarvis: Just Because I’m Crying Doesn’t Mean I’m Not Having a Nice Time

Underbelly, George Square, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Sam Williams: Touch Me Not

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–25 Aug, not 11

The Nutella Wars

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 18–24 Aug

Adam Flood: A Day in the Life of a Night

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron), 12 Aug Movieoke!

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 6 Aug, 13 Aug, 20 Aug

The Manchester Revue

Just The Tonic Legends, 6–11 Aug

Amy Mason: Behold!

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–25

Aug, not 13

‘Abracadabra, B*tch!’ – Starring Reuben Moreland

Pleasance Dome, 6–24

Aug, not 12

PG Hits! The Best in Stand-Up Comedy Without the Rude Bits!

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 7–24

Aug, not 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21

Dean Coughlin: Oblivious Sausage

Just The Tonic Legends, 13–24 Aug

17:55

The Electric Head

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Drunk Women Solving Crime

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 15–24 Aug

18:00

I Should Have Listened to Ivor Dembina

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Rory Marshall: Pathetic

Little Characters

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24

Aug, not 12

A Silent Disco Dance Tour by Silent Adventures Meeting Point at Uplands

Roast Co ee Shop, 6–25 Aug

The History of Electronic Music

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–11 Aug

Fin vs History: Live Pleasance at EICC, 8 Aug

Lucy Porter: Let Yourself Go (WIP)

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 14–24 Aug

Dave Chawner: Mental Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Stuart Mitchell

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug FistyMania!

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Globe Bar, 7–12 Aug

John Hegley Folk Telling

Ukrainian Community Centre, 18–22 Aug

Connor Burns: GALLUS

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 8 Aug, 9 Aug, 22 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug

Guru Dudu’s Silent Disco Walking Tours

Outside Appleton Tower, Crichton St, Various dates from 7 Aug to 23 Aug

Alex Stringer: Happy Hour Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug

Simon Evans: Staring at the Sun

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Daniel Sloss: Work In Progress

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 6–21 Aug, not 8, 9, 12

Tartan Tabletop: A Dungeons & Dragons

Comedy

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 6–24 Aug, not 11 COME. SEE. SAW.

Paradise in The Vault, 6–24 Aug, not 10, 17

Comedian’s Quiz

Hoots @ Potterrow, 6–24 Aug

The Improv All Stars Frankenstein Pub, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Ismael Loutﬁ: Heavenly Baba

Assembly George Square Studios, 6–24 Aug, not 11

18:05

0% British: An Irish Stand-Up Comedy Show

Alchemist Cocktail Bar and Restaurant, 6–25 Aug

Heidi Regan: Jekyll and Heidi

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Caitriona Dowden: Dance Like Everyone’s Dancing PBH’s Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth, 12 Aug

Gareth Mutch: Maybe Tomorrow

The Stand Comedy Club 2, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 12

Sketch Show Bingo! theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 18–23 Aug

Ray O’Leary: Laughter? I Hardly Know Her Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Closure Cabaret theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 6–9 Aug

18:10

Anime-Zing!

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug, not 11

KC Shornima: Detachment Style

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Nick Everritt: Shadow

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–24 Aug, not 12 In Pour Taste: A Comedy Wine Tasting Experience

Assembly Rooms, 7–24 Aug, not 13, 20

Marise Gaughan: A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 7–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Liam Withnail: Big Strong Boy Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–24 Aug, not 13

The Britpop Hour with Marc Burrows Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–25 Aug, not 11

Josh Baulf: Lovely Stu (WIP)

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 12 Aug

18:15

Dan and Mike Fist Fight on the M62

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Guess the Weight of the Bird

Braw Venues @ Grand Lodge, 6–24 Aug, not 9

Dan Leith: Deﬁling Gravity

Laughing Horse @ West Port Oracle, 12–24 Aug

Tom Rosenthal: Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I Am

Assembly Roxy, 6–24 Aug

Joshua Bethania: Untitled

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Brewdog Doghouse Hotel, 13–24 Aug

Alex Leam: Awkward Question Time

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Burrito ‘n’ Shake, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

2 Slut Drops and a Chicken Burger Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Men with Coconuts

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Liquid Room, 13–24 Aug

18:20

Amanda Hursy: Carted

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug

Sophia Wren: Princess Melancholy

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 6–24 Aug, not 18

Olivia McLeod Is Unrepresented

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Lorna Rose Treen: 24

Hour Diner People Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Prop Roulette

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 13–24 Aug

Dan Boerman Folds a Fitted Sheet on His Own Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug, not 11, 18

Bad Clowns: Long Live the King!

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–17 Aug

Extra Ordinary Greenside @ Riddles Court, 6–23 Aug, not 10, 17

18:25

Comedy Shomedy

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Couplet: Honey Honey Moon Moon

Assembly Rooms, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Kate Dolan: The Critic Assembly George Square, 6–24 Aug

Laura Smyth: Work in Progress

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 11 Aug

Urooj Ashfaq: How to Be a Baddie Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Kevin James Doyle: Wild Card

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Improvabunga! theSpace @ Niddry St, 6–23 Aug, not 10, 17

18:30

Will Rowland: Sunshine by Candlelight

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth, 6–23 Aug, not 13

Fast Fringe

Pleasance Dome, 6–23 Aug

Ollie Horn: Bet I Can Make

You Laugh

Scottish Comedy Festival @ Waverley Bar, 7–25 Aug, not 12, 13, 19, 20

Elephant in the Room

Laughing Horse @ Coco Boho, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

33 Years Single

Laughing Horse @ The Raging Bull, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

NTK Edinburgh Fringe Comedian of the Year

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–23 Aug, not 18

Out of My Wheelhouse theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 11–16 Aug

#ComedyKaraoke

Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 6–24 Aug

An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman

Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 6–25 Aug Getting Triggy With It:

Matt Parker Does the Maths

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–25 Aug

Breaking the Musical Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24

Aug, not 11

Deep Heat

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug, not 23

18:35

Mike Blaha: International Joke

Greenside @ George Street, 11–23 Aug, not 17

Funny Women Awards 2025 Semi-Final –

19:15

Improv: Sponta-Deity

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Spontaneous Potter: The Uno cial Improvised Parody

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 11–24 Aug, not 21

Adam Flood: A Day in the Life of a Night

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron), 13 Aug

Susan Riddell: How Do You Sleep at Night?

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron), 7–24 Aug, not 13, 20

Alice-India: See You In Hell Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–25 Aug, not 11

Samia Rida: Kidnap

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–10 Aug

Christopher Hall: Work in Progress

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 11–24 Aug

James Ross Does Guess Who 2: Now Even Guessier

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Globe Bar, 6–9 Aug

Bec Charlwood: Middle Child

Laughing Horse @ Freddy’s, 6–15 Aug, not 8, 9

Jacob Nussey: Primed Pleasance Courtyard, 6–25 Aug

Nathan Cassidy: It’s Not the End of the World

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 12

Alﬁe Packham: My Apologies to the Chef Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Frank Foucault: Dance

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Boyfriend Material

PBH’s Free Fringe @ BrewDog Lothian Rd, 6–24

Aug, not 11, 18

Ashley Frieze Is Not Coming

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 12 Aug

Comedy in the Dark

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 6–24

Aug, not 12

Mary O’Connell: Dilly Dally Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24

Aug, not 11

Kate Hammer: Government Approved Comedian

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron), 6 Aug, 20 Aug

Alan Davies: Think Ahead

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 6–10 Aug

19:20

Jessie Nixon: Don’t Make Me Regret This

Assembly George Square, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Underbelly’s Big Brain Tumour Beneﬁt

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 13 Aug

Craig Hill: Wait ‘Til You See My Entrance!

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 6–24

Aug, not 11, 12, 18, 19

Guy Williams: If You Mildly Criticise Me I’ll Say It’s Cancel Culture And Turn To The Alt Right

Assembly George Square Studios, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Pear: Phobia

Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–24

Aug, not 11

Are You Lovin’ It?

ZOO Playground, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Knight, Knight

Underbelly, George Square, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Nina Conti: Whose Face Is It Anyway?

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7–15 Aug, not 13

Adam Kay – A Particularly Nasty Case

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 23 Aug

19:25

Rumourville

C ARTS | C venues | C aurora, 11–17 Aug

Simon Kay: Sad Boi, Funny Guy

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Paul McDaniel: Harder, Better, Faster, Paul-er (WIP)

The Stand Comedy Club 2, 18–19 Aug

Toussaint Douglass: Accessible Pigeon Material

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24

Aug, not 11

I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar

Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–24

Aug, not 11

Phil O’Shea: Something about Dogs (WIP)

The Stand Comedy Club 2, 12 Aug

Liam Farrelly – You Need to Shut Up

The Stand Comedy Club 2, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 12, 18, 19

19:30

Mental

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 24 Aug

Tape Face: 20

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–10 Aug

So You Think You’re Funny? Competition –Grand Final

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 21 Aug

Wankernomics: Just Touching Base

Pleasance Courtyard, 12–25 Aug

Dead Parent Society –

Chris Groves and Anna Gerber

Greenside @ Riddles Court, 11–23 Aug, not 17

3 Kidneys No Colon

Braw Venues @ Grand Lodge, 6–23 Aug, not 12, 13

Moving On... Really, Really Slowly

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug

Born Blue

Greenside @ Riddles Court, 6–23 Aug, not 10, 17

The Stand at W Edinburgh

The Stand at W Edinburgh, Various dates from 8 Aug to 23 Aug

A Horseless Rodeo

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug

Barry Morgan’s Home Organ Party Experience!

Frankenstein Pub, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Killer Comedy Club

Hoots @ Potterrow, 6–17 Aug

Big Value Comedy Show

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Tartan Ribbon Comedy Beneﬁt

Pleasance Courtyard, 11 Aug

Kim Blythe: Cowboy

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug, not 11

Michelle Brasier: It’s a Shame We Won’t Be Friends Next Year

Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 6–24 Aug, not 13

Guru Dudu’s Silent Disco

Walking Tours

Outside Appleton Tower, Crichton St, 16 Aug

Dylan Adler: Haus of Dy-lan

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Thought Daughters: Erika Ehler and Kiran Saggu

Hoots @ Potterrow, 18–25 Aug

100% Funny Feckers

Laughing Horse @ The Hanover Tap, 6–24 Aug

Mark Watson: Before It Overtakes Us

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Jo Caulﬁeld – Bad Mood

Rising

The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Bald 2 in 1

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–24 Aug, not 12 9/11 Birds and the Bees

Laughing Horse @ West Port Oracle, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

5 Headliners for £10

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug, not 12, 19

0 Hair – Bald Man Sings

Rihanna

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Brewdog Doghouse Hotel, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Nick Mohammed is Mr Swallow: Show Pony

Edinburgh Playhouse, 22 Aug

19:35

FISH

Greenside @ George Street, 6–23 Aug, not 10, 17

Elliot Steel: Guard

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 11–24 Aug

Laser Kiwi – Everybody Knows

Assembly George Square Gardens, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Vittorio Angelone: you can’t Say Nothing any more

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–24 Aug, not 12 Ready Steady Crooks!

Greenside @ Riddles Court, 18–23 Aug Shamilton! The Improvised Hip-Hop Musical

Assembly George Square Studios, 6–24 Aug

Zara Gladman is… Aileen: Cameron’s Gap Year Fundraiser

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 6–10 Aug

19:40

Mental

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–23 Aug, not 12

Susan Harrison: Should I Still Be Doing This?

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 18

The Same Only Di erent

Hoots @ The Apex, 13–25 Aug

Brendan Tran: HOLE IN THE WALL L’HOPITAL

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug, not 11, 18

Aphrodisiac

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–12 Aug

Lt Love Dr’s Boot Camp for Lonely People like You

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 11–24 Aug, not 18

Leslie Ewing-Burgesse: Behemoth

Hoots @ Potterrow, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Christopher Donovan and Laurie Brewster: Fun With Bad Boys

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug

Mark Ritchie: He Just Can’t Help Himself

Greenside @ George Street, 6–9 Aug

Crowley Time: The DiPoni Contingency Pleasance Courtyard, 13 Aug 23 and Me and Somebody Else Paradise in The Vault, 6–24 Aug, not 10, 17

Katie Norris: Go West, Old Maid

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 13

19:45

Ray Bradshaw: Edinburgh

Has a Fringe but I Don’t

Scottish Comedy Festival @ Waverley Bar, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 21, 22

Jocks and Geordies

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Whistlebinkies, 6–24 Aug, not 9, 16, 23

Rusk

Greenside @ George Street, 6–9 Aug

1 And Done

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 18 LOLyamorous – A Speed-Dating Comedy Show

Laughing Horse @ Coco Boho, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Tall Tails

theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 6–9 Aug

Psych Ward Pyjamas

The Speakeasy at The Royal Scots Club, 11–21 Aug, weekdays only

Raymond Mearns: Roast Master!

Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 6–25

Aug, not 11

Absolute Improv! theSpace on the Mile, 6–23 Aug, not 10

#TheIck

Laughing Horse @ The Raging Bull, 6–11 Aug

Jokers: Find of the Fest

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–24 Aug, not 12

The Craic Pack Presents: 4 Play

Ghillie Dhu, 18 Aug

Lady Bits

Ghillie Dhu, 11 Aug, 20 Aug

Abishek and Nirmal: The Great Indian Positivity House

Assembly Roxy, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Eric Barry: No Homo

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Penelope Quadrangle and the Meaning of Friendship

Greenside @ George Street, 6–16 Aug, not 10

How Sneaking into Taylor

Swi Cost Me $1989

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug

Bronwyn Kuss – I’ll Allow It

Assembly George Square, 6–24 Aug, not 13

Irish Comedy Free-For-All

Laughing Horse @ Dropkick Murphys, 6–24 Aug

2 White Guys Rapping: Whose Rhyme is it Anyway?

Laughing Horse @ The Raging Bull, 12–24 Aug

19:50

Marc Jennings: Bread and Circuses

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–24 Aug, not 12

1 *Irish: Evenings

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug

Laura Smyth: Work in Progress

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 12 Aug

Jason Byrne: Head in the Clouds

Assembly Hall, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

20:00

Jake Cornford – Fair Play To Me

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–24 Aug, not 12

The Dutch Barn Spirit of Comedy Competition

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 12 Aug

Alasdair Beckett-King: King of Crumbs

Pleasance Dome, 6–11 Aug

Shaparak Khorsandi: Scatterbrain

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–10 Aug

Diary of a Botox Bitch

– Dr Botox, as seen on Celebrity Big Brother

Just The Tonic Legends, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Bill Bailey: Thoughtiﬁer Edinburgh Playhouse, 23–24 Aug

Crybabies: The Scaring Pleasance Courtyard, 6–25 Aug, not 11

The Banana Split Comedy Hour

The Grey Horse (Southside), 21–24 Aug

5 Mugs No Tea

Leith Depot, 19 Aug, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 22 Aug, 24 Aug

Matt Forde: Defying Calamity

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug

Ambulance for One

Laughing Horse @ Boston Bar, 6–22 Aug, not 9, 16

Andy Barr: The Hotly Anticipated 4th Debut Hour from Rising Star,

Andy Barr

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 13

Comic Relief Live!

Assembly Hall, 18 Aug

Singin’ I’m No a Billie, She’s a Tim

Pleasance at EICC, Various dates from 6 Aug to 22 Aug 10 Party Games –Jollybox!

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Liquid Room, 6–24 Aug

Best of Edinburgh Fringe Comedy

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–24 Aug

Beat the Comic – Quiz Show

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug

Josh Elton: Away With The Fairies

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug

Billy and Tim – Old Firm

Legends

Pleasance at EICC, 8 Aug, 9 Aug, 15 Aug

Saaniya Abbas –Hellarious

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug

Singin’ I’m No a Billy Jr, He’s a Tim Jr – Young O enders

Pleasance at EICC, 10 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug, 23 Aug, 24 Aug

Brett Blake – Little Scallywag

Assembly George Square Studios, 6–24 Aug, not 13

Settle!

Planet Bar, 11–17 Aug

Jaz Mattu: Everyone Is Here

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 18

Sharon Em: I Know a Guy

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Carbon, 7–24 Aug, not 13, 20

Simple Town Pleasance Courtyard, 11–24 Aug

Uh Huh: The Janice and Frank Story

Ghillie Dhu, 14–15 Aug

Elf Lyons: The Bird Trilogy Pleasance Dome, 12–25 Aug

20:05

Home Sweet Home

C ARTS | C venues | C aquila, 6–24 Aug

Jonno: I Know I Can Become Good At This Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 13 Aug

Rosco Mcclelland: How Could Hell Be Any Worse? Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 6–24 Aug, not 13

20:10

Pedro Leandro: So Animal Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24

Aug, not 12

Abi Clarke: Role Model

Assembly George Square Studios, 6 Aug

Emmanuel Sonubi: Life

A er Near Death Pleasance Courtyard, 6–25

Aug, not 12

Abi Clarke and Comedians Who Haven’t Wronged Her

Assembly George Square Studios, 7–8 Aug

Shabaz Ali: I’m Rich, You’re Poor

Assembly George Square Studios, 11–23 Aug

Los Angeles: Fake Friends and Real Stories

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12

20:15

O With Your Head!

Laughing Horse @ West Nic Records, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

James Barr: Sorry I Hurt Your Son (Said My Ex to My Mum)

Underbelly, George Square, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Twidow Wankey’s Dirty Panto: The Improvised Adult Panto

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Uno Mas, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Eric Davidson’s Traditional Pish and Chips

theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 15–23 Aug

Frank Sanazi: Songs for Swinging Leaders

Le Monde, 7–23 Aug, not 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20

Twonkey’s Zip Wire to Zanzibar

Laughing Horse @ Dragonﬂy, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Weegie Hink Ae That?

theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 24 Aug

Joke Thieves

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug, not 18

One Hour 100 Impressions

Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 6–25 Aug That 21st Dimension

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Carbon, 6–24 Aug

Juliette Burton: Rogue

Knights

Laughing Horse @ West Nic Records, 12 Aug

Best Nerd Fest Showcase

Laughing Horse @ West Nic Records, 19 Aug

Alex Farrow: New Order

Laughing Horse @ Kick Ass Cowgate, 6–24 Aug

20:20

Abby Wambaugh: The First 3 Minutes of 17 Shows

Pleasance Courtyard, 12–25 Aug

Lady Magic Pleasance Dome, 7–25 Aug, not 13, 20

Robin Grainger: People Pleaser

The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Ali Woods: Basher

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–24 Aug, not 12

John O’Kee e: Surviving Myself

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–24 Aug

Looking for Laughs

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 13–25 Aug

Lord of the Zings: A Kiwi Comedy Showcase

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug

Michael Elsener: How to Live in Paradise

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 6–21 Aug, not 11

Marjolein Robertson: Lein Pleasance Dome, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Siblings: Dreamweavers

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 15

Kit Loyd: Frenzy

Assembly Roxy, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Mark Forward Presents Safari Time

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug

Justin Moorhouse: The Greatest Performance of My Life

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–10 Aug

The Pleasance Comedy Reserve

Pleasance Dome, 6–25 Aug, not 12, 19

Married Without Children C ARTS | C venues | C aquila, 11–24 Aug

20:25

Foxdog Studios: Robo Bingo 2.0

Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–24 Aug

Jason Thurston’s Acting MasterClass with Jason Thurston

theSpace @ Niddry St, 6–9 Aug

Sorry: A Canadian’s Apology for America

Assembly Rooms, 6–24 Aug, not 8, 9, 10

Joe Tracini: Ten Things I Hate About Me

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–24 Aug, not 11

UCL Drama Society’s Fringe Show 2025 theSpace @ Niddry St, 18–23 Aug

0.1% Accurate: Magdalena the Fortune Teller Show

Alchemist Cocktail Bar and Restaurant, 6–25 Aug

20:30

Matthew Hayhurst: Retirement Show Just The Tonic Legends, 6–24 Aug, not 12

100% Scouse Comedy

Laughing Horse @ West Nic Records, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Marcus Brigstocke: Vitruvian Mango

Pleasance Courtyard, 16–17 Aug

Andrew Doherty: Sad Gay AIDS Play

Pleasance Dome, 6–24 Aug

Elouise E os: Australia’s First Attractive Comedian Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Stu and Joe’s Big Dumb Film Show

The Stand Comedy Club, 11 Aug

Asli Akbay: Tomboy

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Globe Bar, 6–24 Aug

Seaton Smith: Trauma

Bonding

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24

Aug, not 11

Tim Key: Loganberry

Pleasance Courtyard, 7–10 Aug

Sergi Polo: Spanish Work in Progress

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 13 Aug

The John Smith Show

Deaf Action, 15–17 Aug

Joe Sutherland: Miss World

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Bennet Kavanagh: Crank Up the Volume!! (To a Reasonable Volume)

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–22 Aug, not 12

Devin Gray: May Divorce

Be With You

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–24 Aug

Paul Currie: Dada Dojo

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 7–24 Aug, not 13, 20

Caroline Rhea

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 6–10 Aug

Tom Stade: Naughty By Nature

The Stand Comedy Club, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Lewis Macleod is Not Himself

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 15–24 Aug

Patti Harrison presents... Don’t Ask: A Variety Show With Friends

Pleasance Courtyard, 18–24 Aug

Shalaka Kurup: Get A Grip Pleasance Courtyard, 6–25 Aug, not 11

Gavin Lilley: Signs of the Times

Deaf Action, 8–10 Aug

The Big Show

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–24 Aug

Carl Donnelly: Another Round

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 6–24 Aug, not 13

Will Owen: Looking Fab at Fi y

Assembly Roxy, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Michelle Wolf

Pleasance Courtyard, 11–15 Aug

20:35

The Ritual

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 12, 18

Andrew White: Young, Gay and a Third Thing

Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 6–10 Aug

RIP Hannah Bitch-CoughSki (WIP)

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 13–24 Aug

Susie McCabe: Best Behaviour

Assembly George Square, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Tom Cashman: 2 Truths, 1 Lie and 17 Slight

Exaggerations

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–24 Aug, not 11

My Life as an “Inspirational Porn” Star!

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–11 Aug

Ryan Cullen – Cullen Them So ly (WIP)

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 11 Aug

Michael Fry: Fry Me to the Moon

Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 11–24 Aug

20:40

Adam Flood: A Day in the Life of a Night Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron), 11 Aug

Me and My Year of Casual Monasticism

Greenside @ Riddles Court, 6–23 Aug, not 10, 17

Oliver Coleman: The Ballad of Oliver Coleman Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron), 6–24 Aug, not 11

Turkish Comedy Week –

Deep Turkish Web

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 24 Aug

TuzBiber Fringe Edition: Turkish Comedy Week

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 20 Aug, 21 Aug, 23 Aug

Stuart Thomas: Bad Fatty Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 18–24 Aug

Eggs and Baskets theSpace on the Mile, 11–16 Aug

Let The Best Man Win: Hosted by Niall Gray

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 13–17 Aug

Pernille Haaland: Running with the Wolves

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–17 Aug

Turkish Comedy Week –Deniz Göktas

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 19 Aug

Turkish Comedy Week –Utku Ergin

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 22 Aug

Becky Umbers – Put That Cat Back in the Bag

Assembly Roxy, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Thor Stenhaug: One Night Stand Baby Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Claire Parker’s 32

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 6–11 Aug

20:45

Best of So You Think You’re Funny?

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug

Robin Ince: Ice Cream for a Broken Tooth

The Stand Comedy Club 2, 6–17 Aug, not 11

Takashi Wakasugi: Comedy Samurai

Assembly George Square Studios, 6–24 Aug, not 13

Mel & Sam: The Platonic Human Centipede Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Connor Burns: GALLUS

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Shrink Wrapped: A Psychologist Analyses Comedians, Live on Stage

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Prashasti Singh: Divine Feminine

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–24 Aug, not 11

David Ingram: Carrot Top (Memoirs of a Gay)

Laughing Horse @ West Port Oracle, 6–24 Aug

Cobin Millage: A Losing Battle With Grass That Just Won’t Stop Growing Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–25 Aug, not 13

101 Comedy Club

Laughing Horse @ The Hanover Tap, 6–24 Aug

Samantha Day: The Great British Menu (of Petty Complaints)

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Voodoo Rooms, 6–23 Aug, not 12, 19

Paul McCa rey: What a Time to Be Alive

The Stand Comedy Club 2, 18–24 Aug

Rosie O’Donnell: Here & Now

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 6–10 Aug

20:50

Woody Fu: One Man

John Wick

Assembly George Square, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Seducing Your Professor:

A Short Guide

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Reuben Solo: Someone in This Crowd Will Betray Me

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 13–24 Aug

Eli Matthewson: Night Terror

Underbelly, George Square, 6–24 Aug, not 11

20:55

Jake Roche: Neporrhoids!

Underbelly, Cowgate, 11–24 Aug

SMUT with Entendre Entendre

ZOO Playground, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Shall I Compere Thee in a Funny Way?

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth, 6–24 Aug

Furiozo: Man Looking for Trouble

Underbelly, Cowgate, 7–10 Aug

21:00

Cat Cohen: Broad Strokes Pleasance Courtyard, 7–24

Aug, not 12, 13, 19

Soness: Bigger in Japan

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24

Aug, not 11

Patrick Monahan: The Good, the Pat and the Ugly

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Bobby Davro is the Funny Magnet

Frankenstein Pub, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 12, 18, 19

Women in Comedy

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 11–23 Aug, not 21

The Van Gogh Shogh

The Art Club, Various dates from 6 Aug to 25 Aug

1k Comedy Presents: the Dodgy Accent Show

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–24 Aug

Alex Kitson: This Is Water Hoots @ Potterrow, 6–25 Aug

Oblivion Boys with Gayle

Tuesday

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 11–13 Aug

John Tothill: This Must Be Heaven

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24

Aug, not 12

Lost in Translation

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 11–24 Aug, not 18

Scotland’s Pick of the Fringe 21:00

Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 6–25 Aug

Dru Cripps: Juicy Bits

Hoots @ Potterrow, 6–25 Aug

Syrian Cheese

Greenside @ George Street, 7–9 Aug

#11th Annual Haters Ball

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug, not 12

Jonny Pelham: Is It Me?

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 6–25 Aug

Das Schnitzel

Greenside @ George Street, 6 Aug, 8 Aug, 9 Aug “Muck” Dark Comedy (By Nice Comedians)

Scottish Comedy Festival @ Waverley Bar, 6–25 Aug

Christopher

Macarthur-Boyd:

Howling at the Moon

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 7–24 Aug, not 13

Fred MacAulay: No Podcast – Live

Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 22–24 Aug

Holy Shit Improv

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–10 Aug

Comedy Party with Tamara and Celine PBH’s Free Fringe @ The Street, 6–24 Aug, not 16

Joe Sib: California Calling Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Molly McBride and Mariah Bowden: Toxic Femininity

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug, not 12

21:05

Great Times at Fringe

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–24 Aug, not 12 Slappable

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Clever Comedy Chicago theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 11–16 Aug

Jordan Gray: Is That a C*ck in Your Pocket, or Are You Just Here to Kill Me?

Assembly George Square Gardens, 7–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Karen Dunbar

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 13–24 Aug, not 18

It’s Pronounced Nguyen

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–11 Aug

21:10

0 to 1 mph in Under 60 Minutes

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug

21:15

Comedy Queers

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–24 Aug

James Trickey: Don’t Count On Me

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 11 SLUGS

Summerhall, 6–25 Aug, not 11, 18

CVNT

Assembly George Square, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 18

Ashley Haden: You Are All C*nts

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

10 Songs for Geeks with Jollyboat

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Liquid Room, 13–24 Aug

Sh!t-faced Shakespeare®: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–24 Aug

Baby Wants Candy

Assembly George Square Studios, 6–24 Aug

The Best of Scottish Comedy

The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 6–24 Aug 3’s Comedy: Nights

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug

Mike Rice: Cruel Little Man

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–24 Aug, not 17

21:20

Whisky For Da ies

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 7–24 Aug, not 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20

Kris Killed Pop

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–24 Aug, not 12 Tonight! A Clown Who Wanted to Be Loved?

Just The Tonic Legends, 7–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Emma Holland: Don’t Touch My Trinkets

Assembly George Square Studios, 6–24 Aug, not 11 Ignacio Lopez: Nada Hoots @ The Apex, 6–8 Aug

Ivo Graham: Orange Crush

Pleasance Courtyard, 12–24 Aug

99 Red Balloons in a Trench Coat

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 13–23 Aug

Rhys Darby: The Legend Returns

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–10 Aug

Gameshow Spectacular

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–9 Aug

CatGPT: Feline and Feral theSpaceTriplex, 6–16

Aug, not 10

21:25

Rajiv Karia: Man Alive! Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 15

The Physician of Oz theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 6–9 Aug

Adults Only Magic Show

Assembly George Square Studios, 6–24 Aug, not 18

21:30

Prateek Kohli: Denial

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Southsider, 6–13 Aug

Improv Comedy with Box of Frogs

theSpace on the Mile, 6–16 Aug, not 10

NewsRevue

Assembly Rooms, 6–24 Aug

Kieran Hodgson: Voice of America

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 23

Garry Starr: Classic Penguins

Underbelly, George Square, 7–25 Aug, not 11, 18

Joe Kent-Walters is Frankie Monroe: DEAD!!! (Good Fun Time) Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 6–24 Aug, not 11, 12

Daniel McKeon: Boyboss

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Funny Filthy Females

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug

Hal Cruttenden: Can Dish

It Out But Can’t Take It

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Jonno: I Know I Can Become Good At This Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 11–12 Aug

Ste an Alun: Stand Up Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug, not 13

Michael Shafar – Well Worth the Chemo

Laughing Horse @ Kick Ass Cowgate, 6–24 Aug

Brian Gallagher: Jesus Feet

Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 6–23 Aug, not 12, 19

Roger O’Sullivan: Fekken

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Carbon, 6–23 Aug, not 13

21:35

Angela Bra: Secret Diary of a Bingo Call Girl

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–12 Aug

Alex Watson: Bad Decisions

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 13–19 Aug

Ray Fordyce: Quincunx

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 20–24 Aug

David Elms Describes a Room

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug

Silly Gross Rants and Jokes

PBH’s Free Fringe @ BrewDog Lothian Rd, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19 21:40

1 Irish 1 English: Evenings Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug

Business Casual: Cowboys Pleasance Courtyard, 11–24 Aug

Hot Concrete: Too Hot (and Too Concretey) for TV

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–12 Aug

Luke McQueen: Comedian’s Comedian Pleasance Dome, 6–24 Aug, not 13

Lil Wenker: Bangtail Pleasance Courtyard, 6–10 Aug

Pat Rascal: Space Gravy Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Deage Paxton: Inappropriate

The Stand Comedy Club 3 & 4, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Cally Beaton: Namaste Motherf*ckers

Assembly George Square Studios, 22–23 Aug

Kiell Smith-Bynoe V Ed MacArthur: String V SPITTA

Assembly George Square Studios, 15–17 Aug

21:45

Cabbage the Clown: Cinemadrome Underbelly, George Square, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Identity The : What to Expect When You’re Unsuspecting

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Globe Bar, 6–12 Aug

Laughing Horse Fringe

Comedy Selection

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–24 Aug

Amelia Hamilton: Forget Me Not

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Late Bite – Mixed-Bill Late Night Stand-Up

Laughing Horse @ West Nic Records, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Ted Milligan: United Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Weegie Hink Ae That? theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 18–23 Aug

Accidental Baby Paradise in Augustines, 15–24 Aug, not 17

21:50

Found Our Funny –

Barcelona Comedy Tapas Greenside @ Riddles Court, 11–23 Aug, not 17

Chris Gri n: Too Little, Too Chris Gri n Hoots @ The Apex, 6–12 Aug

Jazz Emu: The Pleasure is All Yours

Pleasance Dome, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Ruaridh Miller: It’s

Pronounced “Ruaridh”

Hoots @ The Apex, 13–25 Aug

Rosa Garland: Primal Bog Assembly Roxy, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Daisy Doris May: Big Night Out

Assembly George Square, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Lachlan Werner: WonderTwunk Pleasance Dome, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Shit Show: Improvised Soap Opera Paradise in The Vault, 18–24 Aug

Edinburgh Improv Tales theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 6–9 Aug

Sophie Zucker: Taste Pleasance Courtyard, 6–20 Aug, not 11

21:55

Old God

Assembly Roxy, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Alice Tovey: Glass Houses Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–24 Aug, not 11

1 Big Oops

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Jack Traynor: Before I Forget Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Jamali Maddix: Aston Monkey Barrel Comedy, 13–24 Aug

22:00

Christine Ferrera: The Shy Vaudevillian

Greenside @ Riddles Court, 11–23 Aug, not 17

Lou Wall: Breaking the Fi h Wall

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–24 Aug, not 12

0 AD – A er Dusk: A Split

Bill Stand-Up Show

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Comedy in the Dark – Late

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Chortle Student Comedy Award Final

Pleasance Courtyard, 11 Aug

Tim Key: Loganberry Pleasance Courtyard, 12 Aug, 13 Aug, 14 Aug, 16 Aug, 17 Aug

Mark T Cox: Paddy Daddy

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 16–19 Aug

Jamie D’Souza: Brownie Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 6–24 Aug

Luke Rollason: Experiments in Performance Vols 1-3

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 12 Aug

1-MAN NO-SHOW

Greenside @ Riddles Court, Various dates from 12 Aug to 22 Aug

A Night of Drama

Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Anna Beros – High Hoe

Laughing Horse @ West Nic Records, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

AC/DC: Australian Comedians / Dope Comedy

Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree, 6–24 Aug

Stand Up, Look Pretty

Laughing Horse @ West Port Oracle, 6–24 Aug

Leo Still Dies in the End

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–15 Aug

Theo Mason Wood: Legalise Kissing

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Raul Kohli: Kohl and the Gang

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–21 Aug

WINNING:Winning

Greenside @ Riddles Court, Various dates from 11 Aug to 23 Aug

Blood on the Clocktower: Live

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 12–24 Aug, not 18

John Robertson’s The Dark Room

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–24 Aug

Kunt and the Gang

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 22–24 Aug

22:05

Abby Denton: My Favorite Loser

theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 18–23 Aug

Coor Cohen: Ignorant

American

Greenside @ George Street, 15–23 Aug, not 17

Something Like a Brother theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 6–9 Aug

Connor Burns: GALLUS

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 15–16 Aug

Katie Boyle: Roe v. Wade versus Katie

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron), 6–24 Aug

Parker Callahan: Soda

Pop

Assembly George Square Studios, 6–24 Aug, not 11 22:10

Anarchy Cabaret

Presents: West End New Act of the Year Showcase

2025

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Voodoo Rooms, 6–24 Aug

Pope Benedict the IX

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 13–24 Aug

22:15

100% C*ntinental

Laughing Horse @ The Raging Bull, 6–24 Aug

Mr Chonkers

Summerhall, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

The Gay Social NetworkA One Woman Show

theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 18–23 Aug

Family Fortunes (But for Bad People)

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–24 Aug

Will Mars Records His Best Jokes for YouTube

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug, not 18

Cobin Millage and Pete Carson: Touching Tips (with Friends)

Scottish Comedy Festival @ Waverley Bar, 6–25 Aug, not 13

Larry Dean: Dodger

Assembly Rooms, 15–16 Aug

Mark Thomas: WD40

The Stand Comedy Club, 14–24 Aug, not 18, 19, 20

Hurly-Burly

Just the Tonic Nucleus, 8 Aug, 9 Aug, 22 Aug, 23 Aug

The Comedy Arcade

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 6–16 Aug, not 11, 12

The Stand Late Club

The Stand Comedy Club, 7–9 Aug

Comedy Lock-in at the Attic

Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 6–23 Aug, not 12, 19

Francisco de Nata

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 6–24 Aug, not 11

Late Night in Canada

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

22:20

Best of the Queer Fringe

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Mark Vigeant: The Best Man Show

Assembly George Square, 6–24 Aug, not 13

Douglas Widick: Paperclip

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug, not 19

Thirty, Flirty and Dying

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 13–25 Aug

Kelly Ford: Bonkers (Work In Progress)

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–12 Aug

jessica aszkenasy: TITCLOWN

Assembly Roxy, 6–24 Aug, not 13

Something Like a Brother theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 18–23 Aug

It Was Really Good to Know You

Hoots @ Potterrow, 6–25 Aug, not 12, 19

Emily Wilson: Undressed Pleasance Courtyard, 10–17 Aug

22:25

Why I Stayed...? A Gothic Review of Life?

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Revunions Presents: Periodically Funny

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 13–24 Aug

Dan Tiernan: All In Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–24 Aug, not 11 Scenes of Unfathomable Horror

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–11 Aug

22:30

Ziwe: Ziwe’s America Pleasance Courtyard, 20–23 Aug

Ozzy Algar: Speed Queen Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Comedians on Stage

Auditioning for Musicals

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 9 Aug, 16 Aug, 23 Aug

Paul Williams Plays the Hits

Assembly George Square Gardens, 18–19 Aug

Mad Cow Comedy’s International Showcase

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–24 Aug

Good Dick Energy

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–9 Aug

How to Escape

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 11–24 Aug, not 18

Kiell Smith-Bynoe and Friends: Kool Story Bro Pleasance Courtyard, 18–22 Aug

Comedy Night at the Museum

Gilded Balloon at the Museum, 7–23 Aug, not 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20

The Best Musical Comedy of Edinburgh

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Voodoo Rooms, 6–23 Aug, not 10, 17

Late John with Tonight Spillane!

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

5 Headliners for £10

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

22:35

Best of the Fest: The New Class

Assembly George Square Gardens, 7–24 Aug, not 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20

Virtuoso

Assembly George Square, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 18

22:40

Rubber Duck

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Anais Gralpois: American Fetish

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug, not 12

Alice Cockayne: Licensed. Professional. Trained. Qualiﬁed. Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 19

Tchotchke!

Paradise in Augustines, 13–21 Aug, not 17

Show Us Ur Fruitcake

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 18

Why I Sent Dad’s Mate a Dick Pic

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug

Ginger’s Problem Area

Assembly George Square Studios, 6–24 Aug

Zero Lives Le Greenside @ George Street, 6–23 Aug, not 10, 17

22:45

Shaggers

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug

Craig Wilson: You Decide

Then

Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 6–24 Aug, not 7, 20

Hot Ghoul Summer

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Canons’ Gait, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

The End

theSpace @ Symposium Hall, 6–9 Aug

An Aussie, African and Englishman Walk Into a Bar...

Laughing Horse @ Dragonﬂy, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

We Forgive You: The Confessional

Laughing Horse @ Kick Ass Cowgate, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

3’s Comedy: Late Nights

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug

Late Night with Terry Wogan

Assembly George Square Studios, 8 Aug, 15 Aug, 22 Aug

22:50

Mullets With Attitude (MWA)

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Jordan Brookes: Until The Wheels Come O (WIP) Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug

50 Shades of Ty Gray

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug

Rob Kemp: Beatlesjuice – WIP

Hoots @ The Apex, 10–23 Aug

22:55

#40sandsingle – The Secrets to Finding Love!

theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 6–16 Aug, not 10

Outback Comedy

Underbelly, Bristo Square, 7–23 Aug, not 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20

23:00

Comedy Sheep: Best of Wales Stand-Up!

Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug

Comedians’ DJ Battles La Belle Angèle, 23–24 Aug 75 Listings

Hot Comedy

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug, not 12

Late’n’Live

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug

Sheeps: A Very Sheeps

Christmas – Live in Concert! In the Summer! Pleasance Courtyard, 8–9 Aug

IKEA WARS

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 6–25 Aug

Carlos Sandin: Pull My Goldﬁnger

Paradise in The Vault, 11–24 Aug, not 17

#1 Final Diddy Party

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–24 Aug

Dusty Creases: Dance Your Life Away

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 12

Lil Wenker: Bangtail Pleasance Courtyard, Various dates from 14 Aug to 23 Aug

The Improverts Bedlam Theatre, 6–25 Aug, not 11, 18

Ada and Bron: The Origin of Love Pleasance Courtyard, 6–24 Aug, not 13

Dead Man Talking

Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

Bilal Rashid: The Pros and Cons of Joining ISIS

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Globe Bar, 6–24 Aug, not 7, 14, 21

Adam Riches and John Kearns are Ball and Boe –For Three Nights Only Pleasance Courtyard, 14–16 Aug

11pm Live at the Big Cave

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 7–23 Aug, not 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20

23:05

Mel McGlensey is Motorboat

Pleasance Courtyard, 6–10 Aug

Blind Mirth Presents: Past Our Bedtime theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 18–22 Aug

Mel McGlensey is Normal Pleasance Courtyard, 12–24 Aug, not 18

23:10

Proud Father, Exhausted

Dad

Paradise in Augustines, 11–16 Aug

DeliaDelia! The Flat Chested Witch!

Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–24 Aug, not 12

And How Does That Make Me Feel?

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18

“Essential” Worker Paradise in Augustines, 18–24 Aug

Trygve Wakenshaw and Barnie Duncan: Hot Chips Underbelly, Cowgate, 6–24 Aug, not 11

The Late Nite PowerPoint Comedy Showcase

Assembly George Square Studios, Various dates from 8 Aug to 23 Aug

23:15

Three Bad Sisters

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug

Jack Tucker: Comedy Standup Hour

Pleasance Courtyard, 24–25 Aug

The First Two-Woman Show

Paradise in The Vault, 18–24 Aug

Edinburgh Comedy Allstars

Underbelly, George Square, Various dates from 8 Aug to 23 Aug

Lonelinezz

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Burrito ‘n’ Shake, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 18 BATSU!

Underbelly, George Square, 10 Aug, 17 Aug, 24 Aug

Knickers Cabaret

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 15–24 Aug

Julia Masli: ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Pleasance Dome, 11–24 Aug

BeHeMoth: Enter the Cupboard

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 7–11 Aug

Best of Northern Irish and Friends

Laughing Horse @ West Nic Records, 6–24 Aug

Roast Me! Praise Me!

Laughing Horse @ West Port Oracle, 6–13 Aug

23:20

Naughty Cabaret

Underbelly, Bristo Square, Various dates from 8 Aug to 23 Aug

Not Another Quiz Night

Assembly George Square, 6–23 Aug, not 12

Comedians Beer Mat

Flipping Championship

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 11–12 Aug

The Big Show

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 9 Aug, 16 Aug, 23 Aug

23:25

Alan Resnick: One Funny Hour

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–24 Aug, not 13

Luke Rollason: Experiments in Performance Vols 1-3

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 13–14 Aug

23:30

Queer Comedy Chaos

Laughing Horse @ The Raging Bull, 6–24 Aug

A Cause for Laughter

Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters, 6–24 Aug

Hot Rubber

Gilded Balloon Patter House, 15–16 Aug

Auld Cheeky

Scottish Comedy Festival @ Waverley Bar, 6–23 Aug, not 11, 18

Andrew O’Neill’s History of Punk

Bannermans, 6–24 Aug, not 11, 12, 18, 19

The Drunk and Heckle Show

Scottish Comedy Festival @ The Beehive Inn, 6–23 Aug, not 11, 18

Late with Pear

Underbelly, Cowgate, 7–23 Aug, not 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20

The ISH Edinburgh Comedy Awards Showcases

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 16 Aug, 20 Aug

Shannon Matthews The Musical The Movie Film Screening

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 11–13 Aug

Kiell Smith-Bynoe and Friends: Kool Story Bro Pleasance Courtyard, 15–17 Aug

Eric Barry and Friends: Bad Advice – Improvised Stand-up Comedy

Laughing Horse @ West Nic Records, 6–24 Aug, not 12, 19

Lewis Costello: Full Kit

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–7 Aug

Stuart Murphy: Little Earthquakes

Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron), 6–24 Aug, not 11 Best of Northern Stand-Up

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 18–19 Aug

Stamptown

Pleasance Courtyard, 18–23 Aug

23:40

Middle Class Hero (WIP)

Just the Tonic at The Caves, 6–17 Aug, not 12

23:45

Comedy Drinking Games

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–24 Aug

Deage Paxton: Immature

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 6–24 Aug, not 11 #1 Mexican in Estonia

Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 6–24 Aug

23:50

Best of the Fest

Assembly George Square, 7–23 Aug, not 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20

23:55

Late Night Comedy Rave

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 10–11 Aug

Stepdads Present: The Partial Monty

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 14–16 Aug

Midnight Show

Just the Tonic at The Caves, Various dates from 8 Aug to 23 Aug

Ray Badran: King of the Table

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 8 Aug, 15 Aug

The Alternative Comedy

Memorial Society (ACMS)

Monkey Barrel Comedy, Various dates from 6 Aug to 24 Aug

A Bisexual and a Boyfriend

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 6–7 Aug

Roast Battle Allstars

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 10 Aug, 17 Aug

RODEO!

Monkey Barrel Comedy, 7–9 Aug

All Mouth: Queer Comedy Monkey Barrel Comedy, 14–15 Aug

00:00

00:10

It’s Getting Hot-ene, So Tell Me All Your Jokes Hoots @ The Apex, 6–25 Aug

00:25

Leo Mahr is a Seasoned Whore. Spicy Tales of a Swiss Village Gay Laughing Horse @ City Cafe, 12–25 Aug

00:30

Comedy Striptease

Laughing Horse @ West Nic Records, 7–24 Aug, not 13, 20

Bedlam Late

Bedlam Theatre, 8–24

Aug, not 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21

01:00

MaestroClass

Laughing Horse @ The Counting House, 6–15 Aug

The Laughter Party

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Voodoo Rooms, 6–25 Aug

01:10

Sam Dodgshon Tries to Hold Your Attention for One Hour (Running Time 45 Mins)

PBH’s Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth, 6–25 Aug, not 7, 14, 21

09:10

Pirates Carrying Beans theSpaceTriplex, 6 Aug

09:15

Top of the World theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 6–9 Aug

09:20

The Silly William Gambit theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, 6–16 Aug, not 10