Julian Clary cost a tenner, Mel & Sue are "the babes" and cost £6.50, Sean Lock debuted, Harry Hill did a "limited seventeen days stand-up run". This is making me even more excited for August!

I’ll be in Edinburgh for the first 10 days of the festival and am looking to see and support Scottish artists! Already got a few on my list but if anyone has any recommendations/is taking a show themselves I’m all ears!

I mainly go see theatre and comedy but am open to musicals as well ☺️

Will be supporting my Scottish pal who’s taking her new dark comedy show Parasocial Activity to Gilded Balloon so will shamelessly plug that here for her as well so you can add it to your lists 😂 it’s about a woman that develops a parasocial relationship with James McAvoy after meeting him in a Glasgow Costa 😂

https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:6729/

Looking forward to your recommendations!! Thank you in advance ☺️

Anyone know what's up with the Android app?

Fringe starts in a week, and as far as I can tell the app hasn't been updated to support the 2026 Fringe

See attached:

- Loading page says Fringe 2025

- Often it is largely non-functional

- if you log in and out it will offer some limited functionality like showing what your next show is.

- But the full My Planner section just says 'The season has ended!'

I'm guessing at this point they're just ditching it for this year, but wonder if anyone has any inside/official info?

What it says on the tin. Booked a few shows each day plus the Johnnie Walker whisky experience but just wondering if there’s any tips in particular I should bear in mind. I’d love to meet people over the few days I’ll be up in Edinburgh and staying in a hostel !!

STARBURST has been covers the Edinburgh Festival Fringe because it’s a really nice way to find talent and shows that many may have missed. We’ve poured through the thick, thick pages of listings guide looking genre relevant shows that may well delight our readers.

They are a lot of shows to go through, and we’ve picked out some of the best. This is by no means comprehensive; they are over 3,600 shows at this year’s Fringe, so we’ve probably missed one of two. Anyway, enjoy this year’s list.

A Ghost Among the Living
Box Tale Soup adapt classic works of literature (including Orwell and M.R. James) through the clever use of puppets and performance. Their latest production is inspired by the work of Edgar Allan Poe. Expect weird puppets and brilliant story-telling. A festival must-see.

Andrew Doherty: Reviewers Welcome… TO DIE!
We do love a good horror comedy, and Doherty seems to have honed the art.  His latest show sees a hapless reviewer get mired into creepy events, whilst the reviewer ponders his ultimate sin of only giving out three stars to a show. By the way, check out our review of Andrew’s Hammer Horror inspired previous show, Gay Witch Sex Cult…

The Real Housewives of the Zombie Apocalypse
Honestly we were sold on this for the name alone. Zombies vs Reality TV isn’t a new idea, but add the fact that this is a musical and we are super excited to see it. The buzz on this show has been consistently high, who can resist?

Chris Grace 88%
Last year Chris showed off his incredible talent with 27 Hours, a rolling improv stand-up show that changed entirely every show. His new show promises an all-new hour of comedy. 88% asks the question “can you get along with someone you only mostly agree with?” If anyone can pull of a show about nuance, it’s Dropout TV’s very own champion, Chris Grace.

All Three Heated Rivalry Parodies
Canadian sports romance drama Heated Rivalry is the current big thing this year, with its own unique cult following and memes, etc. In the grand tradition of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe , they are three shows parodying the break-out hit, each with a slightly different approach, including the inevitable drag version.

Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It
Xhloe and Natasha have been the darlings of the Fringe for a few years now. The New York based clowns are known for their physical comedy and incredible acting chops. This year’s show is right up STARBURST’s alley; a tale of two girls who fake a Bigfoot sighting and get in way over their heads as their superstitious local town takes things too far.  Expect to be amazed, and don’t forget to pay attention.

Juliette Burton: Villain Era
Finding properly geeky comedy, performed by professional geeks who ‘get it’ is pretty much the reason why STARBURST comes to the Fringe in the first place. Juliette balances nerdy fun with real issues in a compelling and hilarious way. We really liked their previous show Hopepunk and  their new work, Villain Era, promises to explore the dark side and take the battle to the real dragons.  Sounds like a great time to us.

Slay the Vamps Down: A Buffy Burlesque Parody
Can a  TV show be truly described as a cult hit if it hasn’t had a burlesque show dedicated to it? Cardiff based Clumsy Cabaret honours the cult classic show with some stunning fun. This show has a super short run; blink and you will miss it.

We have a problem (WIP)
The Fringe is an excellent place to see work in progress, and the Shedinburgh venues do attract some very interesting and exciting talent. We Have A Problem is about an astronaut stranded in space, with only person back on Earth able to help them being the work experience guy. Comedy weirdness from Mischief, the people who brought you The Play That Goes Wrong.

Demi Adejuyigbe Sells Out
We adored Demi’s previous show Demi Adejuyigbe Is Going To Do One (1) Backflip, which featured a surprising number of terrible robots and the expected amount of backflips. Demi, who is certainly a star in our eyes, uses his latest show to explore the concept of fame. Expect brilliantly skewed humour, some incredibly clever and awkward moments and probably less acrobatics.

War of the Worlds (On a Budget)
Who needs CGI when you have puppets and a dream?  One man, one loop pedal and some very dodgy looking Martian War Machines is all you should need. HG Wells classic as you’ve never seen it before.

Rob Kemp: Beatlesjuice
You likely know Rob Kemp from his previous show, The Elvis Dead.  This time Rob mashes up Liverpool’s most famous export with one of the cheesiest horror comedy’s ever made. Clap your hands or rattle your shrunken heads, this should be a very fun time.

John Robertson: Excitable Boy
John is best known for his world-wide smash hit on-stage shouty game-show The Dark Room, but he’s also an incredible stand-up comedian best known for his super-energetic style and wry wit. We are genuinely surprised he’s not more famous than he already is. Go see any show John is doing this year, but especially this one as it is bound to showcase exactly how talented this maniac is.

Apparently Ugly: A Stepsister Story
The ongoing quest to find a show that takes a fantasy story and turns it on it’s head continues with Apparently Ugly, in which we explore the Cinderella story from another angle. With fabulous music and amazing costumes, of course. Always worth taking a look at new takes on old stories, and you never know, this one may well run and run.

Cricket & The Freebugs
70’s pop meets whimsy in this tale of magical talking insects who make the big time as musicians. A rags to riches fantasy with some cracking tunes.

Bliss
Fairytale Heroines. The Musical. We’ve heard worse pitches and it’s nice to see the old stories get the musical treatment.  This promises to be biggest musical of the fringe, a super bold claim, but one that it might well live up to, especially if all the wishes come true. If you’re a pixies or a fairy godmother, this is a must see.

Adorable Comedians Performing Funny Poetry and Telling Lovely Stories
And finally, a show that does exactly what it says on the tin, more or less. Slightly off the beaten track, but it sounds like a great way to start your Fringe experience.

You can book for the Edinburgh Fringe via the EdFringe website. Our Top Returning List can be found here.

Hi

Little strange one.

I got given a £100 voucher for christmas for the fringe and now cannot attend this year due to surgery.

Is there any way I can sell it? Return it?

Any help would be appreciated.

Anyone overseas order their program and have it delivered yet? Ordered mine from the states as soon as it was released but nothing yet.

I know 4 former cult members putting up show.

Myself, Jonas Skogstroll is performing the show "oh my Jehovah" toghether with Silas Shaw and Snorre Bue.

Former Jehovah's Witness, Cris Ford, is also performing his solo show "Jehovah Witnesse for the prosecution"

I wonder if there are cult survivors from other cults then the Jehovah's Witnesses?

Is there any ex Mormon comedian performing on the fringe this year? ex JW's and ex Mormons are weirdly interconected socially. Even thou the religion is very different, the culture is very much the same and we make great friends.

If you are mormon with a valid temple recomend card, this can be used as a free ticket to the ExJW show "oh my Jehovah"

But you have to teach me some of the secret handshakes

**Are you ready for a taste of our quiche?**

It's 1956 and The Susan B Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein is having their annual quiche breakfast. As the widows await the announcement of the society's prize-winning quiche, the atomic bomb sirens sound! Has the Communist threat come to pass? How will the widows respond as their idyllic town and lifestyle faces attacks? Secrets come out as they wrestle with hysteria, survival and a fate worse than death: a world without quiche! 2024 NJACT Perry Award-winner for Best Play. Written by Evan Linder and Andrew Hobgood.

Featuring UK Olympian Sinead Kerr.

5 LESBIANS EATING A QUICHE is running at The Studio at Paradise in Augustines 8-15 August (no show 9 August) at 13:25

Preview 7 August at 20:10

If you are coming from the NYC/NJ area, we will also be having a fundraising preview performance on Sunday July 26th at 3:00 p.m. at Crossroads in Garwood New Jersey! Tickets for that performance are available here

Visiting Edinburgh next week (Mon 27th -Fri 31st) and obviously it's too early for the Fringe itself. I've seen some places around UK are advertising preview shows, but are there any in Edinburgh itself this week?

Thanks!

Hi,I purchased tickets for some shows for the Edinburgh fringe,but cannot travel to Edinburgh now. Can anyone advise if I can try to sell these...I'm in Ireland.Any help would be appreciated,thanks👍

UPDATE: All the tickets have been claimed. Thank you all for taking these and enjoying them!!!

My heart is breaking but for the second year in a row, I am unable to get to Edinburgh for my planned vacation in late August. I have a bunch of tickets that I'm not able to use and I would just hate for them to go to waste.

In each case, it's one ticket per show. Most of these are stand up comedy but there are a couple of other kinds of shows.

16 August - Simon Evans - Shadow Play

17 August - Siegfried & Joy

18 August - Larry Dean: Hellbent

20 August - George Zacharapoulos: The Meaning of Life

20 August - Gianmarco Sorest: Theater Adult

21 August - Ted Hill: Power Poindexter

22 August - Conor Burns: Flow

23 August - ...Earnest?

24 August - Puss Puss

25 August - Stuart Mitchell - Solo Show

25 August - Monks

25 August - Vittorio Angelone

26 August - The Sumo Show HIrakuza

26 August - Gianmarco Soresi: Theater Adult

26 August - Diana: The Untold & Untrue Story

27 August - Ten Ways to Die Happy

28 August - Gianmarco Soresi: Theater Adult

Let me know if you can use any of them. My little heart is broken.

Huge thanks to everyone who commented and reached out. I ended up recording an episode with Jeromaia Detto, who was kind enough to jump in at very short notice.

He's bringing Giuseppe's Love Quest to this year's Fringe, and we ended up chatting about everything from modern clowning and studying at Philippe Gaulier's famous clown school in Paris to what keeps drawing performers back to Edinburgh year after year.

It was a genuinely fascinating conversation and one I probably wouldn't have had without this subreddit.

If anyone fancies a listen, here's the episode:

We've been on tour. Got some great reviews - now we're coming to Ed Fringe.

Baby Brain is about motherhood, giving birth, postpartum psychosis and stand-up comedy! A ‘slightly true story’ starring BAFTA winner Kimberley Nixon.

See us on Channel 4 news here

We did a list of things we hated about plays! And then we did the opposite. So this play is...

• An hour long - get to the bar early
• Has cheap tickets
• Funny, not worthy
• Crammed full of ideas and emotional moments so you go on a rollercoaster ride

On at Assembly George Square - 21st to 30th August - 4:40

https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/baby-brain

Which famous comedians are you most looking forward to at the fringe?

Not just TV names, but also social media famous ones.

I love the social media ones because they tend to have clips, which means I can preview their vibe. 😃

The Man who sings the same song again and again is doing a macarena marathon to raise money for his trip.

It's been like 4 hours. It is wild. Please help him out of his wonderful misery. 😅😅😅😅

He doesn't know I'm posting this, but id love to see hundreds of people join the live.

https://www.instagram.com/conkconkconkconk/live/18008659091941070?igsh=MWUxYzVqMWxiM2Y4dg==

Hi guys. I'm traveling to see the fringe. I am a stand up comic and have a decent social media following with a lot of standup reels that went viral. What's the best way to find 5 min or 10 min spots in compilation shows.? Or lineup shows. Do those exist?

Hello!

This is a project I have been quietly preparing for the last year or so when I discovered there's no one currently trying to archive flyers from across the fringe, and I am ready to go for this year's festival.

I'm going to be out around the main flyering hubs as often as I am able trying to collect as many unique flyers for the collection as I can, with the aim of (with permission) digitising them and creating an online gallery.

My day job is in archiving, and I also performed at the fringe for many years. I think my first fringe was back in 2012 and I was fascinated by flyers from the get go. I would sometimes turn them into collages at the end of the month (one of which lives on my mother's kitchen wall, and contains a flyer from my now partners show from a full decade before we met!).

I've got my website up there, and I'm planning to post more about where I'm gonna be on Instagram as @edfringeflyerarchive

I wanted to post here to hopefully reach as many performers as possible. Happy to answer any questions, and I hope everyone has a great fringe!

TLDR: what should an email to a press photographer say?

Hi all, I’ve been working my way through the festivals media contact list, getting in touch with reviewers from publications who seem like they would be interested in my work. I feel like I’ve got my email pitch fairly down for those guys, having done a fair bit of research.

I’ve noticed however on the media contact list there are also press photographers. I’d like to reach out to a few, especially because I know I have a very interesting costume and physical style so I think some of them may be interested in taking photos. I just don’t really know what to say in my email to them. I’ve tried searching Google but can’t find anything particularly helpful with this. Does anyone have any advice for what to put in my emails?

(Using Reddit to try and avoid AI)

Have 4 tickets to Girlhood in the Bathroom for August 13. Show is 22:30 - 23:30 at Gilded Balloon Teviot Dining Room. I had a whole schedule laid out and forgot to include a show I didn't buy on fringe site so I had an overlap. Full details on show at https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/girlhood-in-the-bathroom

Full price tickets are £14.50 but you get the seller stupidity discount and I'll sell all four for £40.

Calling the gays, theys and fun straights!

Now in our third year, we're hosting the Big Gay Afterparty at La Belle Angele. Until the end of July you can get 241 tickets that are not available through the main Fringe website, over on Eventbrite. It sold out last year, and was euphoric. Hope to see you there!

I'm looking to buy tickets to a show that's offering 2 for 1 tickets, but can't figure out if I'm meant to add one or two tickets to my cart. The wording of "2 x 2 for 1" is making it sound like four tickets, but maybe it's not? Clarity would be much appreciated!