The largest arts festival in the world is also the largest comedy festival in the world– there’s nothing quite like the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (August 7-August 31 2026). And indeed, for many punters the Fringe is a comedy – pretty much any British stand-up (and many foreign ones) who has a show, will take it to the Fringe.
With literally hundreds of comedy shows to choose from, flicking through the phonebook-like Fringe programme can be more than a little daunting. So we’re here to help. From stand-up legends to award-winning newcomers, these are the comedy shows we’ve either seen and reviewed or are most excited about at this year’s festival.
(Please note the list is in alphabetical order).
Got some downtime between gigs? Then check out our pick of the best pubs, restaurants and afternoon tea in Edinburgh.
RECOMMENDED: Your ultimate guide to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
What is it? High concept comic Adam Riches has increasingly drifted away from out-and-out comedy in recent years, with his recent hit show Jimmy and this year’s The Captain being detailed character studies of eccentrics that sit in the theatre section of the Fringe programme. The Critic’s Way is his comedy contribution to this year’s Fringe, however, a comedy criticism ‘masterclass’ led by pompous comedy critic Caliban Monroe.
Where is it? Underbelly Cowgate.
What is it? Famously, Ahir Shah’s last Edinburgh Fringe show Ends came to the festival in 2023 as a work in progress that turned out to be so good that not only was its WIP status rescinded but it won the main comedy award that year. Whether or not newie Golden can top it – we know basically nothing about it so far – expect another personal but also cerebral tour de force from a master.
Where is it? Pleasance Courtyard.
What is it? US comic Alex Edelman retums with his first set of new material since since his smash hit Just for Us. While there are no clues as to an overarching theme or what the title What Are You Going to Do exactly means, we are promised ‘jokes about things like seashells, an amputee hospital in Jerusalem, various deities and our personal responsibilities amidst global conflict’.
Where is it? Pleasance Courtyard.
What is it? Andrew Doherty burst onto the Fringe with his superb spoof folk horror Gay Witch Sex Cult, before enjoying rather more tepid reviews from with last year’s Sad Gay Aids Play. Well when life gives you lemons, take brutal revenge: Doherty’s latest slice of amusingly macabre storytelling follows Felix Chatelier, a reviewer who accepts an invite to be guest of honour at a new fringe festival but soon finds creepy things happening ‘as he desperately seeks to answer the question: Why oh why did I only give Andrew Doherty three stars?’
Where is it? Pleasance Courtyard.
What is it? A lot has happened to Ania Magliano since she took a new show to the Fringe: last year she starred in Taskmaster, and this year she’s been one of the brightest stars of SNL UK. It all started, of course, when she guested on our award-winning podcast. Peach Fuzz is not a high concept show but more of the youthful stand-up’s signature gossipy observations and ironic send up of Gen-Z narcisissim. Expect a treat.
Where is it? Monkey Barrel Comedy.
What is it? Produced by Edinburgh Fringe hitmeister Francesca Moody, The Scaring sees sketch trio Crybabies follow up their very silly sci-fi Bagbeard and absurdist World War 2 show Danger Brigade with what you could probably have correctly guessed to be a rummage around the horror genre. The series of sketches that comprise The Scaring follow a former priest who must team up with a ghost after peril strikes at a creepy hotel.
Where is it? Pleasance Courtyard.
What is it? US comic and OG Vine star Demi Adejuyigbe’s 2024 Fringe debut Demi Adejuyigbe Is Going to Do One (1) Backflip was a pure delight, a ramshackle but endlessly inventive and very funny multimedia presentation that did indeed end with him doing a single backflip (or trying, anyway). For its follow up Demi Adejuyigbe Sells Out you can expect more of the same lo-fi magic, this time themed around his attempts to ‘abandon all sense and desperately attempt to become famous’.
Where is it? Pleasance Dome.
What is it? ‘If you laugh it's comedy, if you don't it's performance art’ runs the undoubetdly laughter-worthy tag line Frankie Thompson’s new show, which not only points to how weird her work is but also to the fact that the genre is genuinely uncertain. Assuming she’s not radically changed her MO, the key thing to remember here is that her performance is in no way done in a stand-up style, but rather involves her lip syncing disquietingly to a mad collage of vidoe clips, like a sort of Adam Curtis fever dream.
Where is it? Pleasance Courtyard.
What is it? Iraqi-Brummie Al-Habib scored great notices with the funny, slick musings of last year’s debut Fringe hour Death to the West (Midlands), a coming of age-style set about growing up with Iraqi heritage during Iraq War-era Britain, and also about being from Birmingham. For his second show he promises to offer something ‘more relatable for white British people’ – Stuck in the Middle (East) With You is about growing up as a child of divorce, though from the title one imagines his heritage will come into it more than a smidge.
Where is it? Pleasance Courtyard.
What is it? A slightly hubristic name to give your show at the world’s biggest comedy festival, and one imagines there’s a fair degree of irony in its deployment. But Daran ‘Jonno’ Johnson has earned the name as he finally makes his solo Fringe debut 16 years after his sublimely silly sketch troupe Sheeps make theirs. He’s also riding high as head writer for SNL UK. We’re promised ‘a joyful, gag-heavy hour packed with whimsical, odd tangents and nonsensical comedy’.
Where is it? Monkey Barrel Comedy.
What is it? Last time Jordan Brookes pitched up at the Fringe it was with the gloriously bamboozling Fontanelle, which turned out to be the high concept comic’s backdoor attempt to do a Titantic musical, complete with songs and a supporting cast. So when the show description for The Part of You That’s Always Screaming says that it’s ‘inspired by an absolutely shocking incident on a train’ you can be sure that there’s going to be quite a lot more to it than that.
Where is it? Pleasance Dome.
What is it? Artsy comedian extraordinaire Morpurgo returns with his first new show in nine years. Highlander 70 is inspired by something Morpurgo found at a car boot sale ten years ago. What? The descriotion doesn’t stretch that far, but it’s a real treat to have his idiosyncratic, generically ambiguous humour back with us.
Where is it? Pleasance Courtyard.
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