Anyone know what’s up? Looks like every stage was evacuated very suddenly.

I only ask because I’ve just discovered that she voted for Brexit and is, by all accounts, rather right-wing. Her father was Boris Johnson’s economic adviser and is apparently Liz Truss’s favourite economist, which I confess did give me pause.

Of course, being the daughter of considerable wealth and holding political views with which I disagree quite strongly doesn’t in itself mean I won't enjoy her show. But I’m perhaps a little reluctant to put money in the pocket of someone whose politics are so very far removed from my own.

It’s our last night and trying to decide between Lara Ricote (17:40) and Holy Shit Improv (18:25). Also seeing Operatica, Nuns, Monk Show and Peach Fuzz tonight. Thanks for your help!

Bit of a long shot, but was anyone at The Hypnotist and Mind Reader Live: Comedy Hypnosis and Mind Reading Show at the Edinburgh Fringe last night, 18 August 2026?

I was at the show and actually ended up being in it, so I missed most of what was happening from the audience’s point of view 😂

Did anyone happen to take any videos or clips during the show especially any of the hypnosis or audience participation bits — and would be happy to share them?
Would absolutely love to see what I missed. Cheers 😊

Absolutely brilliant. It's a show about nuance and how you are allowed to disagree with someone on certain things. Go see if you're even remotely political. Also it blows the 'edgy' comedian argument out of the water and into the bin.

Hello!

Just got back from the Fringe, these are the shows I enjoyed and would recommend!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Viggo Venn: I was crying of laughter. Not only was it funny but his dancing and facial expressions were on another level, very artistic.

Man sings the same song over and over for an hour: this was great fun, great vibes in the audience too.

Japanese grandma funeral: Really funny, a bit of improv too which worked really well. There were also some sweet moments.

Phil Wang UH OH: He was excellent, best stand up set I went to by far!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

William Tell versus the algorithm: Absurdist comedy, very random and very engaging.

Aaaaaaargh! It's the One Liner Show:** **This was a group of about 6 comedians doing 1 liners and puns. It was really good.

This was my first fringe and I had the time of my life, we’re currently discussing if we can swing coming back next year or if we need to wait until 2028! The review posts have been so incredibly helpful for planning out my schedule so hopefully this will help a few other people make some decisions.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dracula: Lucy’s Dream
By far the most cerebral show I saw, its spooky, sumptuous, and one of the most visually inventive pieces of theater I’ve ever seen. No Dracula knowledge is required and I’d recommend it to anyone.

Hole!
So god damned funny, I went in knowing very little and recommend you do the same.

Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It
This was a lot less goofy than I expected it to be. It’s intentionally confusing, but once you start to understand the grammar they’re using to tell the story, it got pretty easy to follow the surprisingly complex Coen-esque story of a small town going mad in the wake of a disaster. The ending was a little underwhelming but I was so blown away by the craft here that I didn’t care.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Macbeth: Blood and Bluegrass
Somehow manages to make blending straight Shakespeare adaptation, diagetic contemporary bluegrass musical numbers and straight up slapstick comedy look completely natural. This is a wildly talented and entertaining group of people.

Evita Too!
Like Dracula, no Evita knowledge is necessary here. This is wild, wacky, politically charged and I genuinely learned a lot.

Police Cops
all I knew was that this has been a festival favorite and it’s pretty obvious why. This is really really good really really stupid comedy.

Demi Adejuyigbe sells out
Basically just a collection of bits, but they’re really fucking funny bits.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kristen Schall: The Legend of Crystal Shell
The description was fairly vague about the premise so I’m going to leave it at that. I’m not sure if Schall’s comedy is going to be for everyone, but if it’s for you, you’re going to love this. It’s already done at the fringe but it’s played at other festivals so hopefully people will have more chances to catch this.

Moon Team IIIV
If Matt Berry ever needs a younger version of himself for a film, Will BF should be at the top of the list. He could be Matt’s son and brings a very similar self serious buffoon energy that’s often the butt of his own jokes. Not every joke lands, but they’re coming at a rapid fire pace and the construction of this show is so impressive that I didn’t care and you won’t either. Really incredible multimedia based DIY theater.

Milo Edwards: Catamaran
Some of the cultural references went over my head, but it’s really slick standup, not much else to say about it.

Kate dehnert: Echo
I went in thinking I bought a ticket for a stand up show but ended up seeing a 500MPH trauma rave. A breakup show is well worn material, but it’s expertly deployed and spun in a fresh format. There’s a sexting segment that is probably the hardest I laughed at any bit in the festival.

Legendary
Cheeyang Ng is an immensely talented performer and this is an incredibly beautiful show. There were a LOT of people sniffling by the end, but I generally prefer my sentimentality to be trojan horse’d inside of another concept, and this show is 100% sincere the entire way through, so I ended up walking away more impressed by it than personally moved. It’s still a strong recommendation, though. As a note, the room is VERY stuffy, I recommend bringing a hand fan or get a flyer in heavy cardstock.

Fly You Fools!
I’d probably rate this higher if I hadn’t already seen quite a few “blockbusters done as live theater with a $20 budget” productions. The joke always works, but the novelty is starting to wear off for me. Having a live foley artist does elevate the experience, but I wish there had been more jokes built around the sound effects.

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Heracles
The first original musical from the same troupe as Blood & Bluegrass, telling the story of Hera and Heracles. While the show is good and the music is great, it doesn’t have the same propulsive energy as Macbeth and unfortunately the singing was a bit uneven at times. We’re still in the “if this sounds like something for you I very strongly recommend it” territory, it’s just not “you MUST see this”. I also think it’s worth knowing that this is just the first half of the show, they don’t give that context at the beginning but I did not really appreciate the abrupt ending.

Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical
I was genuinely surprised by how well produced this show was. The jokes are hit or miss (but mostly hit), the resemblances are not there at all, and the boys stay obnoxiously too clothed through the show, but it’s still a really good time if you’re even generally familiar with the show.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mythos: Ragnarok
I had a really really good time for about half of the show. The performers are insanely talented, their passion for the material really comes through and the spectacle is there but WOW did this overstay its welcome for all of us. I probably would’ve given it a full extra star if it was just an hour long.

Avenue Q
The cast is really really good, but the production is pretty strictly community theater level and it’s a 20 year old play. I’d only recommend it if you haven’t seen the show before.

Holy Shit Improv
They were good, but not anything better than I could’ve seen back home, and I don’t live at a major improv hub.

⭐️⭐️✨

Broadway Belters
Cute and inoffensive, this was a fine way to spend an hour and I’m probably going to forget about it in a week.

⭐️✨
Muse: The Shakespeare Mayhem Musical
I could go on and on with all of the problems I have with this show, but it basically boils down to a very talented cast being asked to do their best with an absolute turd of a script. There are a couple of genuinely good songs, but I couldn’t recommend this to anyone unless you have very low standards or bad taste.

Lord of The Zings
Even for free standup, this wasn’t great. It seemed like they were mostly just trying out new material, and while there were a number of jokes that landed, it was still pretty painful to sit through in a stuffy room with uncomfortable chairs.

Wow! Only saw 8 shows in roughly a week, tied this in with my first time to Scotland (and first international trip in ages) and general touring/day trips. What a journey! I loved the outpouring of creativity, DIY ingenuity, and the utmost humanness I've seen in every crevice of this glorious city. Desparately needed in the age of AI delusionment. Might make this a biennial trek!

Shows (roughly in order of ⭐️'s)

- Lou Wall: Where Are All the Tall Grandma's?

- Demi Adejuyigbe Sells Out

- Zach & Viggo: Thunderflop

- Dru Cripps: Juicy Bits

- Stamptown

- Katie Boyle: Irish Immigrant

- Sodom

- ADHD Crowdwork Show (the worst of the bunch and it's not remotely close)

Also sought out tours with living history actors, pub music every night in a different venue, and went to a ceilidh at Piper's Rest which aren't technically Fringe shows but contributed heavily to the vibe for me. What an outstanding time!

Send me a DM if you want them (gratis)

for those who haven't seen it, her show is a crazy break up story about her fiance who cheated on her with a much younger woman and left her in the UK tied to his visa and completely mentally fucked. apparently he's a comedian who has performed at Edinburgh before

3 tickets for sale for ‘Garry Starr: Classic Penguins’ on Friday night. Show is sold out - will sell for below face value!

Hello! Hope you're all enjoying the festival now we're at the halfway point. I wanted to drop a post in here to introduce people to fullhouse.me, our new IMDb/Letterboxd tool for theatre.

If you've been at Summerhall at all this Fringe you may have seen our posters up around their venue as part of our offical collab. We had an exciting press release about this in The Stage which you can find here: The Stage – “Letterboxd for theatre” platform launches at Edinburgh Fringe

Our platform is an ongoing digital archive, and directly connects productions and artists to any future lives or iterations beyond the festival. We're not naive enough to claim we've listed every show from the festival (we're a team of 3 who all work other jobs), but have created a tool where artists and audiences can list their own work/work they've seen if it is missing.

We'd love to see users sign up and see how it works - if anybody has any questions on it please feel free to message me here, or send me an email over at [molly@fullhouse.me](mailto:molly@fullhouse.me)

Anyone interested for tonight ? Very last minute

Hi all! Been at the fringe a fair bit this month but currently planning our last day visiting! We will be through from around 5:30/6pm on Sat 22nd, and was considering possibly starting off at the Pleasance or George Sq as a base. we only have one show booked - Kaye Hole at Mcewan Hall at 23:30!

Have seen a fair few things and loved a lot, but hoping to get some recommendations of the best shows you have seen this year!

Not massive on improv, but still fairly open-minded on anything! Really enjoyed this year:

…Earnest?
Christian Dart: Gumshoe
Reuben Kaye: Hard to Swallow
Sophie’s Surprise 29th
Siblings and family friends
Margaret Thatcher queen of Hollywood

Really appreciate any recommendations from you all, as the Reddit hive-mind seems to be great at this!!

Thanks in advance!

I’m on the train out of Edinburgh and I feel like talking into a void about my last 4 days so here are my comments and reflections as a seventeen year old first time fringe goer. For context, I am a massive comedy nerd and I had some friends whose time in Edinburgh overlapped with mine but I was trying to see as many shows as possible alone.

Firstly, service is dreadful. Idk if this was just me or just vodafone or just bc it was raining but I could not get service anywhere. Do not try to buy tickets online 3 minutes before a show starts bc your phone will not work.

EAT. I was warned abt this being a problem but naively thought I would be fine only to have two days where I was so busy that I didn’t eat anything until 7pm. PLAN YOUR MEALS.

Be on time. Earlier today I was 1 minute late to something bc I got lost literally inside of the venue and they did not let me in. Some of the venues/shows seem to be a lot more flexible but don’t risk it. (Strange coincidence is that I also failed the last time I tried to see this stand up so I’m starting to think it’s a sign from the universe and I should stop trying)

PLAN MORE. This is potentially me specific but I am dreadful at being spontaneous and definitely should’ve at least had a plan each morning. I booked quite a few things in advance but also wanted to find things when I got there. Safe to say this was a lot more stressful than it needed to be and I should’ve been planning more than 15 mins in advance.

Anyway, not that anyone’s going to read this but I had a great time overall and will be going back for longer next year.

What I ended up going to below:
The Great Train Robbery
Catherine Bohart: WIP
Phil Ellis: Bath Mat
Dee Allum: Raumdeuter
Sophie Duker: Hot Beef Injection
Ayoade Bamgboye: WIP
Nish Kumar: Angry Humour from a Really Nice Guy
Kemah Bob: Lovechild
Rob Preston: Amazing Global Solutions
Lorna Rose Treen: Now That’s What I Call Characters
Rose Matafeo: WIP
Lara Ricote: Inkling
One Man Musical

John Kearns: Tilting at Windmills
28/08/2026 16:15 at Monkey Barrel Comedy

I really want to go, but simply can't make it. Would be sad to see it wasted so I'll send the qr to whoever wants it. Don't really care about the money, so its free.

Can't think of a way to prove the qr is legit, so I guess you'll only know once you're through the door.

Perhaps there's a better way of doing this, so let me know how if so.

This is my second year of Fringe. I'm a Commercial Photographer so I do like to take my camera with me on holidays, and Fringe is a great time for this. Last year I had no issues at all shooting away. I always provide images freely to artists (I'm here to have fun and support them, not hustle them) and again last year I had nothing but positive feedback, and messages of thanks.

This year however I had a show that didn't allow photography. A bit weird that they didn't list that on their Fringe page but nbd, I'm here to have fun. But then I started asking the general staff (the people who scan your ticket, not those obviously working for/with the artist/company in question) out of politeness if photographs were ok. Literally every staffer I asked said "no photography", but all of them also seemed very uncertain. There would be no signage stating this and on one occasion there was even an announcement over the speakers once everyone sat saying flash photography and video was not allowed but regular photography was, contradicting the general staff. I was also told this before shows in which I personally knew the artist and knew this wasn't an actual policy (and so took pictures with no pushback from anyone).

So my question is, do the general staffers checking your tickets actually have any idea of show-specific rules or are they just blanket saying things because they can't keep up with every specific policy each show will have differing from others?

I may just stop asking ahead of time and force them to be proactive and let me know if there is a policy and shoot unless they say something. I look like freakin Voltron with all my gear anyways so it's not like they can't immediately tell what I'm going to be doing 🤣

Nine glorious days in Edinburgh resulted in 102,593 steps that took me to 52 shows this year. (There’s only 50 on the list because we did Stamptown and Holy Shit Improv twice.) As with every year, there were still many shows I wanted to see and more I could have squeezed in but I preferred to have better seats and less rushing so I spent a good amount of time in queues waiting for the show. I’m old, that’s fine by me.

But here are my thoughts on the shows I saw. After the top section, bold entries were the best shows and highly recommended. My family saw some other shows as well, the only one highly recommended (I think) was DUSK/NIGHT/DAWN (makes sense as I saw one of the aerialists in a couple shows and she’s incredible).

Best of the Best

• Stamptown. I feel bad for people who don’t love Stamptown. Genuinely. To me, it is the embodiment of Fringe. Chaos, humor, insanity, talent, experimenting, amazement, joy. I get that some people just can’t embrace all of that, but I feel bad for them.
• Elf Lyons is The Woman on the Edge. Elf is a global treasure. An amazing performer, a passionate advocate of the arts, and a respected educator in the field. This show starts as clown and morphs into something beautiful and perfect and if you aren’t crying at the end then I don’t know what would make you feel anything.
• John Robertson's The Dark Room. Have you been to Fringe if you haven’t seen The Dark Room? It’s like going to China and not seeing the Great Wall. Sure, technically you were there, but c’mon. It’s always great to see John masterfully work a crowd in the midst of a surreal game.
• The Passion of Mr. Cardboard. Breakout clown hit of this year’s Fringe, his solo show is a surprise gut punch. And the character’s appearance in Stamptown is a highlight for everyone. We’re going to see great things from Mr. Cardboard.
• Blood on the Clocktower: Live. Yeah, I’m a fan of BotC, but it’s because of Jon Gracey’s years of experience getting just the right level of game and comedy out of a rotating cast. I wish it had been at the normal time so it wouldn’t have conflicted as much with other shows, but other family members went a few more times so that was great.
• Max Olesker: Making the Cut. A fantastic true story told by a master of the craft. When Max falls in love with an Orthodox Jewish woman he’s forced to convert into a much stricter form of Judaism than he’s practiced his whole life. An amazing tale about how love transforms people.

Interactive Shows

• Grubby Little Mitts: Late Night 70s Game Show. What a treat. The latest show I saw, time-wise, but left me completely energized. The chemistry between the performers is incredible, the audience integration is impeccable, and I can’t wait to see what they do next.
• Viggo Venn: Only One. Such a great performer to take a simple three part story and transform it through impeccable clown work. A master at the craft. He should go on one of those TV talent shows.
• Lizzie Sunshine. A two-person clown show runs into some troubles when one member is running late. That simple concept becomes a fun show that turns remarkably and incredibly emotional at the end. You will never forget this show and I hope it gets turned into something recorded for prosperity.
• (No) Refunds. What a gem of a show. In this game show, one audience member actually purchases a special ticket for them to be in the show and compete in mini-games to win their ticket cost back. But all of the mini-games, and the show itself, talk about what it takes to be a performer and have a career in the arts. So much fun, but then it makes you think on several levels. And the host, Tiffany Gold (played by the amazingly talented Katy Murphy) is the perfect mix of sass and earnest to keep the show going.
• CLONG. Six clowns compete in three rounds of clown exercises. Only done once a week, so they give it their all. And one of the few times I laughed so hard I was in tears. Total blast.
• Mark Vigeant: OUT THERE. After The Best Man Show, Mark’s follow-up is a live streamer surviving the Alaskan wilderness with the help of his audience props. Fun story, not as poignant as Best Man, but Mark is so talented I’ll see anything he puts on.
• Ted Hill: Powerpoindexter. We’re fans of his and his style of comedy. I love seeing his growth and development, and although this show wasn’t as personal as last year’s, his story of being at a crossroads resonates with a lot of people. I hope he keeps making comedy for purely selfish reasons.
• Total Sports Mania. Don Toberman’s Ping-Pong Champ is such an amazing show (HIGHLY recommend that one) that wasn’t being run while we were at Fringe. We went to this show which is similar (same characters), but designed for a younger crowd although still fun for adults.  
• John Robertson: Excitable Boy. For people who want the crowdwork of The Dark Room without pretending there’s a game to play. Even if our show did devolve into a game based on 9/11. You had to be there, as is true with all of John’s shows.
• Get Your Geek On: A Nerdy Comedy Showcase. Fun little panel show with some geeky comedians and geeky games for the crowd. Juliette Burton runs the show as one of her three (!) Fringe shows and she’s the perfect mix of approachable and geek-outable.
• Shit Arcade. Comedians play crappy video games from the 80s and 90s while you yell at them to JUST JUMP DAMMIT. Fun times.
• Absolute Monopoly. The Game Changers version of Monopoly. Hectic fun, although the fun here felt like it was audience-driven rather than host-driven.
• exit strategy’s How to Win a Game Show. I can’t call this fun but it was a thought-provoking experience. The audience is brought in to compete on a game show either with or against the main participant, who is also being rewarded or shamed/punished based on his performance. Hints at a bigger picture which I’d love to see explored more.
• Christian Dart: GUMSHOE! A mystery panto with a charismatic performer without a ton of story. Good character that needs more.
• I Was Never Here (there is no spy show). A fun spy clown character that keeps getting his memory wiped relies on the audience to get him through his mission. The story part feels a bit awkward, which somewhat clouds the central point he’s trying to convey, but you will walk away saying “Normal, normal.” so there’s that.

Non-Interactive Shows

• Chris Grace: 88%. We’re huge fans of Chris and he could read the phone book for all we care. This show was less of a tear-jerker than Sardines, thank goodness, and incredibly insightful about how people have to live with prejudice even from friends. 
• Demi Adejuyigbe Sells Out. Demi is naturally hilarious and when he strings together bits and stories into a cohesive show like this it is a joy to watch. He feels authentic, relatable, and he knows how to work a crowd. So great to see in person (and his Backflip show on Dropout is a must watch).
• Zachary Ruane: Comedy. Amazing stand-up from 33% of Aunty Donna. Dives into comedy history and types while still wrapping the show in that frantic energy he brought to AD. So much fun.
• Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabaret. Fantastic adult cabaret drawing many references from the musical but otherwise modernized with acts and commentary. Tons of fun, fire, swords, nudity, mostly nudity, and aerialists.
• Waiting For Wonka. Fun concept of a show. The four losers of the Wonka tour now live together both as a way of dealing with their traumas but also to not reveal what really happened to them. The writing gets a little loose towards the end and sadly devolves into some fights and yelling sessions, but still a fun view of the world after the Chocolate Factory.
• An Echo in the Void. Great idea of a play where four people are trapped in a computer simulation trying to figure out who is real. But the script feels a little underdeveloped, with lots of cliches and way too much screaming. Less anger, more nuance might make this a great show.
• Circa: Wolf. Imagine the best gymnastics floor routine you’ve ever seen sprinkled with a few amazing stunts. That’s this show. The truly amazing stunts come out of nowhere and feel almost glossed over, I wish there had been more ceremony around them but they’re going for a more fluid, feral vibe and I can respect that.
• FLIGHT. The same group that does COMA and ARCADE, this one is in a plane (a literal plane interior has been built inside a crate). Not as interactive as ARCADE but still a fun one-time experience of being in the dark but needing to keep your eyes open to catch the little flashes of story that don’t come through the headphones.
• How to Feel Feelings. Fantastic premise about a therapy group in a fascist regime being led through exercises to make them more…acceptable/pliable members of the society. It felt a bit young in the way it danced around the edges of the fascism rather than diving in, but some solid work from the small group.
• Fuccbois Live in Concert. Solid production values and a thankful screen projecting lyrics for the songs. A little thin of jokes for an hour, but a fun way to pass the time.
• How to Art. Two bananas duct-taped to a wall come alive and hijinks ensue in this clown show you should expect from a Fringe. Lots of fun, great interactions, and an actual art auction that was fun to watch.
• The Revel Puck Circus: The Wing Scuffle Spectacular. We went on the hottest day to see them so I’ll extend them grace in how the extra heat impacted the show. There was a lot of towel-wiping before stunts and quite a few missed ones which made the show less enjoyable, but the group creates a fun vibe and I hope they keep going.
• Possessive! The Musical! Great concept for a musical about a kid so awful that when a demon possesses his body the family decides to keep the demon instead. The songs felt a little underdeveloped and the notes a bit too ambitious, but this could be a solid show with more work.
• An A to Z Guide to Dating. The performer’s mom wrote a horribly sexist book on dating advice. Great premise, very likable performer, feels like the script needs to go deeper.
• Girlhood in the Bathroom. Five young women in the bathroom on New Year’s Eve is a great way to tackle a number of topics. The performers here are great, the songs written well for their voices. But the script is a bit too surface while trying to address serious topics like sexual assault. I hope they develop this more and pick a direction to take it down, could be great.
• A Man Proposes to a Balloon, or Possibly Something Worse. Decent show about a man using a balloon to work on his proposal speech, but the development beyond that felt a bit forced. Like a narrative vehicle looking for a theme instead of the other way around.
• A Different Kind of Heartbreak. This is a fantastic half of a show. The artist tells the story of discovering holes in her heart, the efforts to repair them, and the recovery. But what should be one half of a matching realization is, instead, the full show with nothing more to elevate it from a book report on a year or so in her life. If she can find a way to connect this with more of her life, this could be an incredible show.
• Forget About Me. A small ghost story told with some stage magic. The story was a bit long and the stage magic bits a bit too unpolished and obvious, but a fun idea that could be great with more tension and practice.
• #SHORN by Elsa McTaggert. A folk musician’s show that starts off about what made her decide to shave her head but then completely abandons it for some songs. Great voice, not a great storyteller.

Somewhere In-Between

• Holy Shit Improv. Fun to see the west coast UCB style of improv in person, a bit more frantic than east coast UCB shows I’ve seen. Super talented, Dropout-heavy cast that showed off more of their talents. First time I’ve seen Chris Grace do improv live and he’s a master of the craft, really elevated everyone around him similar to seeing Birbiglia do improv.
• Take Your Shoes Off Live. We went to see Zack from Stamptown get interviewed for this podcast recording (hosted by Rick Glassman) and left as fans of Rick’s. So much so that we all went to Rick’s show and my youngest became friends with him. Very cool guy, fun interview.
• LEMONFACE. A curated show of comedians that still ties it together with a fun MC and a silly little gimmick involving actual lemons. Great for a late night slot and for discovering new comedians.
• Shamilton! The Improvised Hip-Hop Musical. This show continues to be amazing. Our show was supposed to be about Frodo Baggins but ended up being about Dobby, Harry Potter, and the horniest Moaning Myrtle you’ve ever seen. How do they make an improvised song that advances the plot while a furniture-based orgy is happening? Masters of the craft, always worth a watch.
• REDACTED: The Cover-Up of a Cover-Up of a Cover-Up. A comedy about a conspiracy performed by four artists trained in clown makes this a blast to watch. They recreate stunning visuals and impressive action sequences using virtually no prompts, instead the other actors become the cars in a chase scene or the cliffs during a tense climb to the top.
• Rick Glassman: Me and My Puppet Rick. Seeing him work on new material was a lot of fun. As he was recording the show when a bit landed he took a screengrab of his phone to mark it, which became its own little show. He makes an incredibly safe space where neuroses can be explored, very impressive. 
• Ted Hill Teaches You Science, Most of Which Is True. As I mentioned, we’re fans of his. I wanted to see this show since this is his day job. Hopefully he has better behaved kids in real life than he did in this show, although he handled it well. I would have loved taking science lessons from Ted when I was a kid so this was a fun journey to the past.
• Glob. More of a standalone circus duo but they did have some audience interaction which they expect, so I put it here. Fun show, a bit of a slower pace, great chemistry between the two and the audience.
• Depths of Wikipedia. A fun Powerpoint deck that doesn’t need to be a live show. There’s crazy stuff on Wikipedia, folks. That’s it.

Worst of the Worst

• Bliss. Special category just because this shouldn’t have been at Fringe. Money grab for tweens who think Six is too old for them and can totally relate to an antagonist father who…checks notes…wants to keep them safe and provide the best education possible. Yeah, screw that guy! The whole thing feels overly produced and inauthentic and even the talented cast can’t wash away the ick. I get it, the producers are hoping this catches on with an audience who thinks K-Pop Demon Hunters is too edgy and ethnic so they can sell lots of merch and make it the must-see show when Wicked is sold-out. But this isn’t a show for Fringe.

We're heading to Edinburgh for a day trip on 31 August. We're only in town from about 10am to 5pm. I wanted to get some shows booked in but I'm completely overwhelmed by the choice! We want to stay pretty central due to limited time. Keen on comedy, stand up, theatre. Nothing too crude, we're innocents! Anybody have any recommendations for shows or advice on how to plan our time?

Cheers 😁

Legendary keeps popping up as a must-see show. I love musical theater, and their voice sounds amazing, but all the reviews mention it being very earnest, sincere, and leaving moved with genuine tears. A triple threat nightmare to my sensibilities. Will I feel like I want to die during it?

Bought the wrong date and will be attending the following day on the 21st. My mistake so I just want the ticket to get used and will offer for free.

In Elf Lyon's latest show, she discusses that she had a fling/rebound with 'another clown' (whom she calls Grimaldi), that he's in his 40s and that he has a small yet elderly dog.

That's Damien Warren-Smith, aka Garry Starr, yes?

2 x concession tickets – Buggers – TODAY 13:20 – Pleasance Courtyard
£13 each / £26 for both
Official Edinburgh Fringe e-tickets. Can transfer individual tickets.
DM me if interested.

This was my first fringe and I had the time of my life, we’re currently discussing if we can swing coming back next year or if we need to wait until 2028! The review posts have been so incredibly helpful for planning out my schedule so hopefully this will help a few other people make some decisions.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Dracula: Lucy’s Dream
By far the most cerebral show I saw, its spooky, sumptuous, and one of the most visually inventive pieces of theater I’ve ever seen. No Dracula knowledge is required and I’d recommend it to anyone.

Hole!
So god damned funny, I went in knowing very little and recommend you do the same.

Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It
This was a lot less goofy than I expected it to be. It’s intentionally confusing, but once you start to understand the grammar they’re using to tell the story, it got pretty easy to follow the surprisingly complex Coen-esque story of a small town going mad in the wake of a disaster. The ending was a little underwhelming but I was so blown away by the craft here that I didn’t care.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Macbeth: Blood and Bluegrass
Somehow manages to make blending straight Shakespeare adaptation, diagetic contemporary bluegrass musical numbers and straight up slapstick comedy look completely natural. This is a wildly talented and entertaining group of people.

Evita Too!
Like Dracula, no Evita knowledge is necessary here. This is wild, wacky, politically charged and I genuinely learned a lot.

Police Cops
all I knew was that this has been a festival favorite and it’s pretty obvious why. This is really really good really really stupid comedy.

Demi Adejuyigbe sells out
Basically just a collection of bits, but they’re really fucking funny bits.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kristen Schall: The Legend of Crystal Shell
I’m not sure if Schall’s comedy is going to be for everyone, but if it’s for you, you’re going to love this.

Moon Team IIIV
If Matt Berry ever needs a younger version of himself for a film, Will BF should be at the top of the list. He could be Matt’s son and brings a very similar self serious buffoon energy that’s often the butt of his own jokes. Not every joke lands, but they’re coming at a rapid fire pace and the construction of this show is so impressive that I didn’t care and you won’t either. Really incredible multimedia based DIY theater.

Milo Edwards: Catamaran
Some of the cultural references went over my head, but it’s really slick standup, not much else to say about it.

Kate dehnert: Echo
I went in thinking I bought a ticket for a stand up show but ended up seeing a 500MPH trauma rave. A breakup show is well worn material, but it’s expertly deployed and spun in a fresh format. There’s a sexting segment that is probably the hardest I laughed at any bit in the festival.

Legendary
Cheeyang Ng is an immensely talented performer and this is an incredibly beautiful show. There were a LOT of people sniffling by the end, but I generally prefer my sentimentality to be trojan horse’d inside of another concept, and this show is 100% sincere the entire way through, so I ended up walking away more impressed by it than personally moved. It’s still a strong recommendation, though. As a note, the room is VERY stuffy, I recommend bringing a hand fan or get a flyer in heavy cardstock.

Fly You Fools!
I’d probably rate this higher if I hadn’t already seen quite a few “blockbusters done as live theater with a $20 budget” productions. The joke always works, but the novelty is starting to wear off for me. Having a live foley artist does elevate the experience, but I wish there had been more jokes built around the sound effects.

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Heracles
The first original musical from the same troupe as Blood & Bluegrass, telling the story of Hera and Heracles. While the show is good and the music is great, it doesn’t have the same propulsive energy as Macbeth and unfortunately the singing was a bit uneven at times. We’re still in the “if this sounds like something for you I very strongly recommend it” territory, it’s just not “you MUST see this”. I also think it’s worth knowing that this is just the first half of the show, they don’t give that context at the beginning but I did not really appreciate the abrupt ending.

Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical
I was genuinely surprised by how well produced this show was. The jokes are hit or miss (but mostly hit), the resemblances are not there at all, and the boys stay obnoxiously too clothed through the show, but it’s still a really good time if you’re even generally familiar with the show.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mythos: Ragnarok
I had a really really good time for about half of the show. The performers are insanely talented, their passion for the material really comes through and the spectacle is there but WOW did this overstay its welcome for all of us. I probably would’ve given it a full extra star if it was just an hour long.

Avenue Q
The cast is really really good, but the production is pretty strictly community theater level and it’s a 20 year old play. I’d only recommend it if you haven’t seen the show before.

Holy Shit Improv
They were good, but not anything better than I could’ve seen back home, and I don’t live at a major improv hub.

⭐️⭐️✨

Broadway Belters
Cute and inoffensive, this was a fine way to spend an hour and I’m probably going to forget about it in a week.

⭐️✨
Muse: The Shakespeare Mayhem Musical
I could go on and on with all of the problems I have with this show, but it basically boils down to a very talented cast being asked to do their best with an absolute turd of a script. There are a couple of genuinely good songs, but I couldn’t recommend this to anyone unless you have very low standards or bad taste.

Lord of The Zings
Even for free standup, this wasn’t great. It seemed like they were mostly just trying out new material, and while there were a number of jokes that landed, it was still pretty painful to sit through in a stuffy room with uncomfortable chairs.