There’s nothing in the world quite like the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. From 7-31 August, more than 3,600 acts from 71 countries – spanning comedy, cabaret, dance, theatre and more – will be performing on rotation at over 250 venues across the city, as the Scottish capital resumes its annual mantle as the global epicentre of live performance.

So, what to expect if you’re one of the estimated 420,000 visitors planning a trip to Edinburgh Fringe? Firstly, there are some unique new venues for 2026, including the Sauna Theatre, where audiences can strip down to their swimwear and sweat it out while watching “Aufguss” artists deliver multisensory performances of theatre, spoken-word and music. Elsewhere, Shedinburgh , a pop-up venue spearheaded by top Fringe producer Francesca Moody, is running its first full programme of blink-and-you’ll-miss-them bankable acts, including crowd-pleasers from previous years.

As always, there are themes emerging. Within theatre and dance, the topic of male identity amid a crisis of toxic masculinity is being widely emphasised. While in comedy, this year is all about seeing faces from the newly minted cast of Saturday Night Live UK perform their own material. Ania Magliano, Ayoade Bamgboye, Larry Dean and Paddy Young are among those bringing solo shows.

This year’s festival promises some intriguing collective experiences, too. Audiences can play a hand in an interactive, unscripted show where Shakespeare’s characters come face to face with monsters from Dungeons and Dragons; dance in a South Korean ceilidh; or be interrogated on stage while hooked up to a lie detector (yikes!).

But if you’d prefer to kick back and relax as a passive audience member, here are my top picks from the programme.

THEATRE The King of All Birds Martha Knight explores the history of Ireland from above in ‘The King of All Birds’ (Photo: Owen Clarke)

Irish playwright and performer Martha Knight is taking flight to explore the history of Ireland from above, while playfully pondering: who is the king of all birds? Previously a hit at the Dublin Fringe Festival, this audio-visual experience is set to a soaring score of traditional Irish music. It’s directed by another talented playwright, Joy Nesbitt.

1.40pm, Former Gents Locker Room at Summerhall, to 31 Aug (not 17, 24)

Puck Bunnies: A Heated Rivalry Drag Musical Parody Drag kings and queer performers present a comedy musical inspired by the steamy TV drama ‘Heated Rivalry’

Heated Rivalry steamed up our screens last winter with its titillating portrayal of a secret gay romance between two high-profile ice hockey players. Now, a comedy musical staged by a US troupe of drag kings and queer performers is bringing some of that yearning to the stage. Jockstraps and prosthetic sixpacks at the ready!

10.45pm, Other Yin at Gilded Balloon Patter House, to 31 Aug (not 11, 18, 25)

Roleplay Hannah Reilly’s ‘Roleplay’ is a dark comedy about a feminist podcaster who reinvents herself as a ‘slutfluencer’ (Photo: Gracie Steindl)

A new play by Fleabag and Baby Reindeer producer Francesca Moody is always an exciting prospect. Whether Hannah Reilly’s dark comedy about a broke, feminist podcaster who reinvents herself as a “slutfluencer” will evolve into a bingeable TV series is yet to be seen, but here’s your chance to see it in the incubated environment that nurtured Moody’s earlier projects.

5.50pm, TechCube 0 at Summerhall, to 31 Aug (not 11, 18, 25)

Sh!t Theatre: Evita Too The story of Isabel Perón, the world’s first female president, as told by Rebecca Biscuit and Louise Mothersole

This brilliantly bonkers show by Rebecca Biscuit and Louise Mothersole tells the largely forgotten story of the world’s first female president, Isabel Perón, while questioning what it takes to be remembered as a woman. And in true Sh!t Theatre fashion, it features all sorts of seemingly random but ultimately consequential diversions, from spirited singing to naked roller skating.

6.25pm, Main House at Zoo Southside, to 30 Aug (not 10, 17, 24)

The Plot Emma Howlett and her company theatregoose explore the story of two brothers involved in the Gunpowder Plot

Having scored three consecutive hits with her previous Fringe shows, Emma Howlett and her company theatregoose return for a fourth round with a play about the involvement of brothers Thomas and Robert Wintour in the Gunpowder Plot, and how the grisly affair inspired Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

7.30pm, Main Hall at Summerhall, to 31 Aug (not 18, 25)

Sanctuary

This debut play from Jacob Sparrow is set during the peak of the Aids epidemic, not in a buzzy metropolis like London, but in Suffolk. It explores the loneliness and shame experienced by those who were queer during this hostile chapter of history – and it comes to the Fringe as the inaugural winner of the Leodis Prize, a new playwriting competition announced at last year’s festival.

4pm, Ace Dome at Pleasance Dome, to 31 Aug (not 17)

Heart Beats Strong

Based on its performers’ own teenage diary entries and pitched as “an antidote to the crisis of masculinity”, Alfie Wickham, Kai Porter and Noah Manzoor’s play follows three guys on the cusp of adulthood, navigating all that period entails. Expect storytelling bolstered by physical theatre and dance.

12.20pm, Bunker 2 at Pleasance Courtyard, to 31 Aug (not 12, 18, 25)

You and Me (and Whoever Comes Next) ‘You and Me (and Whoever Comes Next)’ has already won the Mary Dick Award, designed to support deaf or disabled artists

Theatre company Patch of Blue has a pretty solid track record of bringing thought-provoking work to the Fringe. Their latest has already won the 2026 Mary Dick Award, designed to support deaf or disabled artists. Inspired by a true story, it follows the touching, mutually supportive relationship between a man and his carer, and is set to live folk music.

3pm, Old Lab at Summerhall, to 29 Aug (not 12, 18, 25)

Bog Witch Bryony Kimmings’ latest autobiographical show documents her bid to embrace cottagecore life (Photo: Rosie Powell)

Bryony Kimmings is one of the great autobiographical theatre-makers, and her shows are always worth catching. This one documents her move off-grid in a bid to embrace a cottagecore life while doing her bit for the environment. The brave can join Kimmings on stage as a mackerel, a badger or various other custodians of the planet.

Various times, Traverse Theatre, to 30 Aug (not 10, 17, 24)

Laughing Out Lonely In a solo opera, countertenor Morten Grove Frandsen examines the way social media feeds loneliness (Photo: Tom Ingvardsen)

There’s no question our increasingly digitised lives have led to a loneliness epidemic. In this immersive solo opera, Danish countertenor Morten Grove Frandsen weaves a choral tapestry out of a series of social media posts written by young people, and in Louise Beck’s staging, the audience are invited into a theatrical echo chamber to bear witness.

Various times, Dissection Room at Summerhall, 18–30 Aug (not 24)

Water Colour Milly Sweeney’s debut play has already won several awards (Photo: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan)

Milly Sweeney’s debut play, which premiered at Scotland’s Pitlochry Festival Theatre last year, has already won several awards and earned glowing reviews. It follows two Glaswegians, whose chance encounter on a bridge over the Clyde drastically alters their outlooks on life – one for better, the other for worse. Bring tissues.

Various times, Traverse Theatre, to 30 Aug (not 10, 17, 24)

Target Audience The playwright behind last year’s ‘Brainsluts’, Dan Bishop, is back with another morality comedy (Photo: Ali Gorman)

Last year, playwright Dan Bishop took audiences inside the world of clinical drug trials with Brainsluts, and now he’s back with another morality comedy. In this one a TV writer grapples over whether to accept an offer to pen a “pro-weapons sitcom” for a serious amount of money, even though it goes against everything he stands for.

4.50pm, Above at Pleasance Courtyard, to 30 Aug (not 17)

Come Back Home

From Palestinian artist Fadi Murad, this unbridled examination of grief and loss questions what it means to carry your sense of home within you. An excerpt of the show ran at last year’s Fringe and led to Murad being awarded Summerhall’s philanthropic Meadows Award.

1.15pm, Anatomy Lecture Theatre at Summerhall, to 31 Aug (not 17, 24)

We Are Ian ‘We Are Ian’ is a look back at Manchester’s illegal rave scene circa 1989 (Photo: Matt Austin)

Avant-garde theatre agitators In Bed With My Brother have built something of a cult following over the past decade. If you’re late to the party, don’t worry: here’s a chance to see the show that properly put them on the map 10 years ago. It’s a look back at Manchester’s illegal rave scene, circa 1989.

11pm, Beyond at Pleasance Courtyard, 14–16 Aug

QFWFQ A show about geopolitics and growing up Jewish and queer takes inspiration from Italo Calvino’s ‘If On a Winter’s Night a Traveller’

US artist Gregory Nussen is intentionally obscure about what his surrealist show entails. But the fact it won Best Solo Show at the 2025 Hollywood Fringe suggests it’s good. We do know it’s inspired by Italo Calvino’s If On a Winter’s Night a Traveller, and delves into Nussen’s own understanding of geopolitics and of growing up Jewish and queer.

11.40am, Former Gents Locker Room at Summerhall, to 31 Aug (not 17, 24)

COMEDY Your Choice Amanda Royce Rachel Twigg’s ‘Your Choice’ follows a bullish politician as she blunders through her mayoral campaign (Photo: Joe Twigg)

Sick of being doorstepped by political canvassers? Here’s one you can laugh out loud at. Straddling comedy and theatre, this debut show from the National Theatre’s head of studio Rachel Twigg follows a bullish politician as she blunders through her mayoral campaign in Coulsdon, promising to fill potholes, slash obesity and more. John Young (The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher) directs.

17.10, Playground 3 at Zoo Playground, to 23 Aug (not 17)

Jordan Brookes: The Part of You That’s Always Screaming Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner Jordan Brookes returns with an unsettling comedy inspired by a ‘shocking incident on a train’

Brookes won a prestigious Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2019, and has made a couple of celebrated returns to the Fringe since. His last show, 2024’s Fontanelle, was a delightfully unexpected comedy with songs in which he attempted to find something new to say about the Titanic. This one sounds more unsettling: it’s inspired by a “shocking incident on a train”, and addresses the uncomfortable feeling that something sinister is lurking just out of sight.

9.45pm, Queen Dome at Pleasance Dome, to 30 Aug (not 17)

Birds: Alex Hines and Sarah Stafford ‘Birds’ is tantalisingly pitched as ‘Waiting for Godot’ meets ‘Kath and Kim’

Tantalisingly pitched as Waiting for Godot meets Kath and Kim, this Australian import was an award-winning favourite at last year’s Melbourne Comedy Festival. In a character comedy in which Hines plays a rich five-time divorcee and Stafford a mother of 12 boys, the pair chat idly at the beach, blissfully unaware of the sun melting their skin and the world burning around them.

7pm, The Box at Assembly George Square, to 30 Aug (not 12, 19, 26)

Larry Dean: Hellbent ‘SNL UK’ cast member Larry Dean’s latest show muses on marriage, emotional maturity and refusing to grow up (Photo: Matt Crockett)

Dean is no stranger to the Fringe, or to converting traumatic chapters from his life into crowd-pleasing solo comedy shows. But the Glaswegian is increasingly famous thanks to some bucket-list TV appearances, most recently on SNL UK. Catch his latest show – a musing on marriage, emotional maturity and refusing to grow up — before he takes it on a chunky UK tour.

6.30pm, Beyond at Pleasance Courtyard, to 30 Aug (not 16)

Crybabies: The Scaring Things get demonic in the sketch trio’s horror-comedy (Photo: Rebecca Need-Menear)

Steeling yourself for some horror-comedy? Sketch trio Crybabies are back with a yarn about a former priest who checks into a remote hotel, only to find himself pursued by its demons. Fortunately, he’s got the ghost of a long-dead guest on his side. Involvement from producer Francesca Moody (Fleabag, Baby Reindeer) and director Jon Brittain (Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder!) suggests promise.

8pm, Pleasance 2 at Pleasance Courtyard, 30 Aug (not 15, 18)

Kim Blythe: Puzzle This is comedian Kim Blythe’s third year at the Fringe, this time with her new show ‘Puzzle’ (Photo: Daryll Buchanan)

The Scottish comedian and wizard at online list-based skits returns for a third year running – and with a brand new show, Puzzle. With a blurb made up of crossword clues, your guess is as good as mine as to what it will entail, but Blythe is never short of inspiration, and judging by her last two shows, it won’t disappoint.

7pm, Doonstairs at Gilded Balloon Patter House, to 31 Aug (not 17)

In the Doghouse with Joe Kent-Walters Joe Kent Walters promises a game show of sorts, with special guests and prizes

One for night owls: Kent-Walters and his macabre alter-ego Frankie Monroe are returning to the Fringe for the third year running. This time he’s promising a game show of sorts, plus special guests and prizes. He’ll also be performing A Show For Babies at Monkey Barrel 3 as a one-off on 24 August, and his work-in-progress, Trowel of Tralee, at Shedinburgh on 28 August.

1.30am, Monkey Barrel 4, 25–31 Aug

Ania Magliano: Peach Fuzz Catapulted to the mainstream on ‘SNL’s Weekend Update’, Ania Magliano returns to the stage with ‘Peach Fuzz’

Magliano is hot comedy property right now. Catapulted to the mainstream by her recent turn co-hosting SNL’s Weekend Update, she’s returning to the stage with a tour of her new show, about attempting to get back in tune with her body. With dates selling fast, this fairly lengthy Edinburgh run may prove your best (or only!) chance to catch it.

Various times, Monkey Barrel 3, to 22 Aug (not 11, 18, 25)

Sasha Nezlobin: I’m Fine A household name in his native Russia, the comedian now based in the US shows a dark sense of humour

Nezlobin had a thriving career as a comic in Russia, where a sitcom loosely based on his own life made him a household name. But as a vocal critic of the country’s war on Ukraine, he was forced to flee. Now settled in the US, he’s taken on the daunting task of performing comedy in English. Fortunately, his dark sense of humour remains intact.

9.30pm, 10 Dome at Pleasance Dome, to 31 Aug (not 15–18)

Ayoade Bamgboye: Swings and Roundabouts / Small Talk  Bamgboye won the coveted Best Newcomer award in last year’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards (Photo: Matthew Stronge)

It’s been a big year for Bamgboye. Since debuting at the Fringe last August with Swings and Roundabouts – and walking away with the highly coveted Best Newcomer Award – the British-Nigerian has joined the cast of the all-new Saturday Night Live UK. Her star is certainly in the ascent, and she returns to the Fringe with both the show that made her name and a new work-in-progress, Small Talk.

‘Swings and Roundabouts’ at 10pm, Fourth at Pleasance Courtyard, 20–22 Aug ; ‘Small Talk’ at 12.05pm, Monkey Barrel 2, 16–20 Aug

Sofie Hagen: I Think Some of This Is My Fault  The Danish comedian Sofie Hagen is back and musing on the rise of fascism

Hagen’s droll brand of comedy won her the Best Newcomer Award at the 2015 Fringe. Despite her winning wryness, her live shows often foster a cosy sense that we’re all in this together. Perhaps not this time: the Danish comedian is back with a musing on the rise of fascism. But if it proves a shade more serious than her usual fodder, no doubt she’ll tackle it playfully.

3.20pm, Monkey Barrel 1, to 30 Aug (not 10, 17, 24)

Will Adamsdale: AI, AI, Oh… (Or How I Wrote a Hit Sitcom with ChatGPT But We’re Not Talking Now) A ‘robo-bromance’ finds the funny side of AI creeping closer to taking our jobs (Photo: Paul Blakemore)

Surely Adamsdale didn’t really let a bot write a sitcom on his behalf (or not a real one, anyway), but his painstakingly titled “robo-bromance” sounds like it might provide the catharsis we’re all craving as AI creeps ever closer to taking our jobs.

1.45pm, Bluebell at Underbelly George Square, to 29 Aug (not 18)

Rose Matafeo: Work in Progress Morning Hour

“I want to talk about something, but I don’t know what yet” opens the blurb for the New Zealander’s work in progress. That might not scream “pick of the Fringe”’ but given Matafeo is essentially a one-woman hit factory – 2018’s Horndog, 2024’s On and On and On, and all three seasons of her TV sitcom Starstruck have been adoringly received – it shouldn’t be missed.

11.05am, Monkey Barrel 1, 17–30 Aug

Imogen Andrews: The Unlikeable Worms Imogen Andrews has built an online following from her knack for satirising some of the internet’s most grating trends (Photo: Em Goodman)

Part of a wave of Gen Z comedians choosing to grow substantial followings online before appearing in person at the Fringe, Andrews is one to watch. A character comedian with a wardrobe stuffed full of personas – and a knack for satirising some of the internet’s most grating trends – her debut show will unleash some of her alter egos into the wild.

9.30pm, Ace Dome at Pleasance Dome, to 31 Aug (not 17)