NYC Artists and Shows at Edinburgh Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is underway, and we’re excited to see so many members of the IndieSpace community bringing their work across the Atlantic.
Indie theater makers from New York are sharing their stories with audiences from around the world.
We put out a call for members of the IndieSpace community to share their show with us. And we heard back from MANY of you.
Below are shows from artists, companies, and collaborators connected to our community.
If you’re in Edinburgh this August, we hope you’ll check them out, support their shows, and experience some of the incredible work the NYC indie performing arts community is creating.
The shows are organized by time of day so that you can find shows that align with your schedule!
Places I Go from My Bed
Venue: theSpace @ Niddry St
Time: 09:25
Dates: August 10-15
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/places-i-go-from-my-bed
Right in the middle of it all in the best location and part of our Royal Mile hub (7 theatres) we present three unique spaces, offering an array of new and established work – from theatre to musicals, dance, comedy and music, a real feast for all. The buzzing courtyard bar adjacent to the venue offers audiences pre and post-show drinks and an unrivalled Fringe experience.
NOTED
Venue: Assembly Roxy Upstairs
Time: 10:15
Dates: August 6-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/noted
Buckle up for a fast-paced movement-based comedy extravaganza, a whirlwind of imagination, mischief and delight. The Back Pack's signature style, hailed as a live-action cartoon and pure entertainment, creatively combines non-spoken performance, music, dance and media with over 400 hand-drawn images strapped to the performers, transforming them with the turn of every page. Expect surprises, laughter and moments of wonder as you delve deeper into this vibrant, fever-dream fantasia. Bold, original and irresistibly fun, this is storytelling at its most playful and will leave you with a smile on your face and a glow in your heart.
Vasthy and Friends: Sing, Dance, Play!
Venue: Gilded Balloon Patter House
Time: 10:20
Dates: August 5-31
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/vasthy-and-friends-sing-dance-play
Join Vasthy and Friends for a joyful interactive family musical filled with songs, dancing, laughter and heart. Created by eight-time Broadway performer Vasthy Mompoint and producer Leanna Gadow, this playful show invites little ones and their grown-ups to move, imagine and celebrate together. With music, connection and plenty of audience participation, Vasthy and Friends: Sing, Dance, Play! creates a welcoming space where children can explore big feelings, belonging and joy. Perfect for young audiences and families looking for an uplifting, engaging experience.
Baby of Colour
Venue: gilded balloon teviot the nook
Time: 11:20
Dates: August 5-31
Learn more and get tickets: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:7104/
Olivia won't give birth to anything but a new comedy movement. One where reproductive anxiety, political depression and Chinese daughterhood are somehow cured. She started writing the show when Trump returned to office and began dismantling DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion). As an ethnic baddie, she decided to get an IUD – cuz you know what they say – DEI is out, IUD is in. The subsequent surreal gynaecologist visits become a meditation about identity, autonomy and what it means to create as a woman, alien and stand-up comedian.
I Almost Died for This?! (A love story. Sort of.)
Venue: theSpace on the Mile
Time: 11:20 (8/7 to 8/22) & 18:35 (8/24 to 8/29)
Dates: August 7-29
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/i-almost-died-for-this-a-love-story-sort-of
'A powerful piece about love, loss, and choosing connection' ***** (AllAboutSolo.com). 'All Soul' (Forbes). Winner: Best Storytelling Show – United Solo Fest. I Almost Died for This?! is a one-woman show about a good girl who meets her soulmate, gets in way over her head, suffers a brain injury, and comes roaring back. Kristina Libby has been published in The New Yorker, McSweeney's, Elle, and appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS and PBS.
Awaiting Evaluation
Venue: Greenside (Riddles Court)
Time: 11:25
Dates: August 7-29
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/awaiting-evaluation
@awaitingevaluation follows Sid and Ali in a high school administrative limbo, embraced by the absurd and left to their adolescent quandaries of identity, purpose, and affection. Greenside @ Riddle’s Court Thistle Theatre Aug 7-29 (not 16, 23) @greensidevenues
Youth in Flames
Venue: Pleasance Courtyard: Bunker 1
Time: 11:30
Dates: August 5-31
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/youth-in-flames-winner-scotsman-fringe-first-award
Inspired by real events, Mimi Martin's 'urgent... superb play' ***** (Scotsman), returns to the Fringe, direct from sell-out Off-Broadway season. Plunging audiences into the raw intensity of 2019's Hong Kong pro-democracy protests, and the story of a young British expat's desperate search for home amidst a city fighting for its future. Directed by Jessica Whiley and produced by Richard Jordan, Olivier, Tony, Emmy and 19-time Scotsman Fringe First Award winning producer. Youth in Flames captures the emotional truth of a city in chaos, and true cost of resistance.
Jerk Off!
Venue: Underbelly Bristo Square: Dairy Room
Time: 11:35
Dates: August 5-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/events/event/jerk-off
A British Pakistani mother would like to tell you the story of her abusive relationship with a hiphop dancer (Yawn). And how her family psychologically set her up for it (Double yawn). Featuring Ramadan, Jessica Alba, a five-foot-long female ball python, and the four elements of hip-hop, writer-performer Nadia P. Manzoor takes on multiple characters, and a tidy victim narrative that refuses to behave itself. As the story she’s spent years telling starts to unravel in front of an audience, blame, grief, lust, family, and memory collide in increasingly unexpected ways. Also: an alarming number of jerk offs. Whatever that means.
Broads In The Attic
Venue: Just The Tonic- The Mash House Attic
Time: 12:00
Dates: August 16-22
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/broads-in-the-attic
NYC’s weirdest roommate interview process comes to Fringe! Eccentric locals, Celia and Mavis, seek a new housemate from a cast of unbelievable characters. You get the deciding vote!
Hugo's Rainbow Show
Venue: Underbelly Bristo Square - Dexter
Time: 12:00
Dates: August 5-23
Learn more and get tickets: https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/events/event/hugos-rainbow-show
A drag show for kids about the science of rainbows! Join New Zealand superstar Hugo Grrrl for a musical, magical adventure exploring the skies above. Can you help find Ray The Sun, Misty The Cloud and Wayne The Rain? Maybe even the fabulous Archie The Rainbow?! Together our weathery friends make the mysteries of meteorology fun, all while proving the power of glitter, dress-ups and friendship through original songs, stories and – of course – outrageous costumes. Best for 2-10 year olds and neurodiverse friends, but even big kids will love this wholesome, goofy and glamorous experience.
Sasha Graham’s Ghost Stories & Tarot
Venue: Just The Tonic The Caves - Out The Box
Time: 12:00
Dates: August 6-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/sasha-graham-s-ghost-stories-and-tarot
Tarot cards are a gateway to the supernatural. Best-selling tarot author and horror actress Sasha Graham transports audiences to a haunted loft in 1992 New York City with real life, creepy ghost stories and interactive audience tarot readings in a show that asks, what haunts you?
This Is Not Hansel & Gretel
Venue: Banshee Labyrinth/Chamber Room
Time: 12:00
Dates: August 8-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/this-is-not-hansel-and-gretel
This is a PBH Free Fringe show. No ticketing!
A 14th-century story. Two children, abandoned in the woods. A witch. But the magic is in the telling. A fairy tale for grownups, from one of the darkest times in Europe. Two years of rain. Failed crops, everywhere. Millions dead of starvation. And two real children, really afraid they’ll be eaten. But it’s even more complex than that. Christian Hege returns to Fringe after a three-week run in New York of his Alexander Klaus, the One-Legged Shoemaker Man from Fringe 2023. A one-man show, directed by Jenny Mercein.
KEVIN!!!!!
Venue: Pleasance Courtyard
Time: 12:20
Dates: August 5-31
Learn more and get tickets: recentcutbacks.com/fringe
KEVIN!!!!! : Four actors and a foley artist perform a live, shot-for-shot parody of the greatest Christmas movie of all time. From critically-acclaimed Recent Cutbacks (Hold On To Your Butts and Fly, You Fools!). 'Laugh-out-loud funny' (StageBuddy.com). 'Hilarious' (ManhattanDigest.com).
Planet of the Grapes
Venue: Pleasance Courtyard
Time: 12:20
Dates: August 5-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/planet-of-the-grapes-an-epic-tabletop-sci-fi-adventure
Astronaut George Taylor crash lands on a strange, distant planet ruled by speaking grapes, enslaving mute humans. He soon discovers the shocking truth about their warped world. Direct from its sell-out NYC premiere, this wildly reimagined time-travelling tale bursts with bunches of insane puppets, intergalactic irreverence and uncorked madness.
How to Poop in an Outhouse at -58°C
Venue: Greenside @ George Street
Time: 12:45
Dates: August 7-29
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/how-to-poop-in-an-outhouse-at-58-c
Award-winning storyteller Kona Morris tells the astonishing true story of how she fell in love with a Native Alaskan and moved to a remote village north of the Arctic Circle. Grizzly bears, whirlpools, northern lights and the transformation that happens when you embrace the unknown. Hilarious, exhilarating, heart-warming storytelling that will transport you to the top of the world! And yes, you will learn tips for using an outhouse at -58°C. Winner of five awards from New York City Fringe and Theatre Beyond Broadway, including Audience Choice and Staff Choice. ***** (Frigid.NYC).
Once Upon a Wall Street
Venue: Gilded Balloon Teviot
Time: 12:50 (8-5 to 8/15) / 15:30 (8-18 to 8-30)
Dates: August 5-15 & 18-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:7144/
Jerry Topitzer led a secret double life: Wall Street banker by day, goofball comedy performer by night. As an idealistic graduate, he’d taken a temporary job to tackle a mountain of student debt and through accidental success, became sucked into a world of luxury and lunatics. But at the height of his career, he discovers improv comedy, which brings a whole new meaning to his life.
Torn between the worlds of comedy and cash, desperate to find purpose, everything starts to unravel… Winner, Audience Choice and Best Comedy Awards, United Solo Theatre Festival.
Already Here
Venue: Gilded Balloon: Patter House
Time: 13:00
Dates: August 5-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:7159/
What happens when grief gets horny, tech gets spiritual, and love refuses to die? Susan, a widowed mom, invites an immortal (and horny) AI into her bedroom – and accidentally into her grief. Teo offers unconditional love, infinite patience, and a suspicious interest in kundalini energy. As Susan wraps herself in reiki, sound baths, and spiritual jargon like emotional bubble wrap, Teo suggests they take their intimacy to the next level. But grief and code aren't so easily transcended. Susan must decide – is this a widow's delusion or love's evolution – and does it even matter?
Best. Dad. NEVER.
Venue: Just The Tonic at The Mash House
Time: 13:05
Dates: August 6-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/best-dad-never
A gay Armenian-American Girl Dad, setting out to be the perfect Black Girl Magic-celebrating papa, stumbles through the hilarious and humbling fumbles of first-time fatherhood: from shopping for girls' swimsuits to catching his own bigotry. Haig "Hike" Chahinian, grandson of Armenian Genocide survivors, was expected to marry a woman from his tribe. Instead, he met his dream man and adopted a bouncing biracial baby. Inspired by his viral essays in The New York Times, this intimate, messy, richly relatable story unpacks what we inherit, what we pass down, and the inherent conflict in striving to be good.
You Come From a Long Line of Shallow People
Venue: Just The Tonic at The Mash House
Time: 13:20
Dates: August 6-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/you-come-from-a-long-line-of-shallow-people
This is a one-person stand-up comedy show about my mother who died recently. She was hilarious, beautiful, brilliant and brutal. I loved my mom but we never got along. We never really liked each other. I wrote this show to find the the places where my mom had loved me but I refused to notice. I wrote this show to celebrate my mom's fabulous sense of style, her humour and intelligence and, despite her own demons, her deep desire to have her kids be substantial and happy people.
Star Vehicle
Venue: Stephenson Theatre at theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall
Time: 13:35
Dates: August 24-29
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/star-vehicle
Esther knows she's destined to be a pop star. The Pop Princess Programme of Prestige Produces Protégés. Will she become the pop star of her dreams? Or a nightmare like you've never seen?
Belly
Venue: Greenside @ George Street
Time: 13:45
Dates: August 7-29
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/belly
With seven studios, Greenside @ George Street is one of the largest multi-space hubs at the Fringe. With a programme spanning all genres, we're confident you'll discover something special here. Add a beautiful lobby bar, vibrant cabaret bar and that unmistakable Greenside charm, and we're excited to welcome you to our largest Fringe home.
Dream Walking & Dream Watchers
Venue: Greenside @ George Street
Time: 13:55
Dates: August 8-15
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.jordonwaters.com/dreamverse
Dream Walking and Dream Watchers are two interconnected original productions that together introduce audiences to the Dreamverse, an original theatrical universe created through a father-and-son collaboration between Jordon Waters and Harry Waters Jr. (Back to the Future). Each production stands on its own while revealing a different perspective of the same world, exploring dreams, memory, identity, love and the power of imagination through original storytelling and performance. Developed by New Jersey-based TheyGotTime Productions, the Dreamverse invites audiences to experience one show—or discover how both productions connect to create a larger theatrical journey.
The New Year
Venue: Greenside @ George Street
Time: 13:55
Dates: August 7-15
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/the-new-year
A romantic tragicomedy following lonely teenagers who meet on New Year’s Eve in an online roleplay chatroom. May is May. Perry is British actor Matt Smith. Their conversation that night, unexpectedly intimate, forms a bond between the two: they become each other’s best friend, confidant, and lifeline through the turmoil's of adolescence. That is, until “real life” intrudes...
Michael John Ciszewski: Mother, Superior
Venue: Bedlam Theatre
Time: 14:00
Dates: August 7-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/michael-john-ciszewski-mother-superior
Does God take calls from gay guys!? NYC comedian and award-thirsty Fringe favourite Michael John Ciszewski is on the line, desperate to make his mother proud of him. Join him in the ultimate act of diva worship: an attempt to canonize his mother as an immortal saint in one hour – of comedy. Will THAT do? Does the Pope shit in the woods!! Mother, Superior is a sacrilegious, sentimental solo spectacular from 'a whip-smart comic' (BingeFringe.com) that's brave enough to ask whether our parents would rather we book a Netflix special or return their calls.
A Cat in A Box
Venue: theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall venue 53, theatre 3
Time: 14:05
Dates: August 7-15
Learn more and get tickets: https://share.google/35gB2UH2hLmqINCUR
A deeply personal solo play that tells a story everyone can relate to. Through darkly humorous and dramatic monologues, Tom explores love, loss and hope growing up in an alcoholic, dysfunctional family, showing how trauma shapes our lives. Offering that no matter how dark the past, the present holds the possibility of light. 'Nemec avoids all of the flaws of the genre that make autobiographical solo plays cringeworthy' (Showtones.com). 'For a moment, we were united in our collective experience, and in our resolve to heal' (ArtsIndependent.com).
CAMELTON
Venue: Gilded Balloon Teviot Wine Bar
Time: 14:05
Dates: August 5-31
Learn more and get tickets: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:7136/
20 years ago, award-winning musical theatre writer Stephen Cole met his first camel... and he hasn't been the same since. Stephen tells his hilarious story of writing a musical for the Emir of Qatar. Picture this! Two Brooklyn Jews, some Middle Eastern producers, a Qatari movie star, flying carpets, Croatian acrobats, Russian ballet dancers, an Italian director, the desert, camels (a lot of camels!) and, of course, music.. You will laugh and you will cry (from laughing) in this outrageous unbelievable-but-true tale of how Stephen and his collaborator wrote the first American musical to premiere in the Middle East.
TWELVE: Going The Distance
Venue: Dissection Room at Summerhall
Time: 14:10
Dates: August 6-16
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/twelve-going-the-distance
Twelve rounds. Five women. No holding back. Set inside the charged atmosphere of a boxing gym, this high-impact theatrical dance follows a rising superstar, a fading referee and the figures who orbit them. Sweat meets spectacle as pounding beats collide with sweeping classical strings.
Characters clash, alliances form and ambition burns through every round. Raw, physical and fiercely human, this 47-minute contemporary dance asks what it really costs to go the distance.
Extraordinary Alien
Venue: Shanghai at Le Monde
Time: 14:30
Dates: August 24-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/extraordinary-alien
Extraordinary Alien. A Jewish actress and mum from Leeds moves to New York on her husband’s visa – then loses her status overnight. With no choice but to apply for an “extraordinary ability” visa, she must prove she’s exceptional. Cue characters, chaos, dodgy accents and a full-blown identity crisis. From kids and culture clashes to ego, guilt and the desperate need to be seen as enough, she spirals across two continents. Fast, fierce and unapologetically funny, this is a no-holds-barred solo-show about ambition, impostor syndrome and never quite fitting in – no matter where you land.
Furniture Boys
Venue: Underbelly, Bristo Square (Jersey)
Time: 14:30
Dates: August 5-31
Learn more and get tickets: https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/event/furniture-boys-1
Recommended by The Guardian and The New York Times, Emily Weitzman’s riotous solo comedy turns boyfriends into futons, and breakups into broken chairs. A surprising meditation on impermanence, hailed as ‘ingenious,’ ‘shimmeringly silly,’ and ‘ridiculous and revelatory’ (The Guardian ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️). Direct from a sold-out run at Off-Broadway’s SoHo Playhouse, Weitzman blends theatre, comedy, clown, spoken word and furniture showroom in her search for what endures: a relationship, a memory, a sofa-bed? This ‘inventive, playful, and surprisingly heartfelt comedy... will surprise you with its tenderness and grandiosity’ (The Student, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2). Written/performed by Emily Weitzman. Directed by Kate Doyle and Jacob Combs. Recommended by The Guardian, Fringe 2026: “Ten Terrific Shows.” SOLD-OUT RUN at Off-Broadway’s SoHo Playhouse (June 2026). New York Times Recommended (June 2026).
Love in the Time of Fifth Grade
Venue: Muse at Braw Venues @ Hill Street
Time: 14:30
Dates: August 7-20
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/marina-di-marzo-love-in-the-time-of-fifth-grade
Before age ten, Marina di Marzo was an unstoppable romantic force. After eleven? A cautionary tale. This New York comedian digs into her early 2000s childhood – armed with MS Paint, Sharon Stone, and her Italian heritage – to figure out exactly when and why it all went wrong. Expect real stories of Austen-level passion from primary school, Dickensian heartbreak from middle school onward and a Disney channel inspired pop song you didn’t see coming. Oh, and at some point she flashes her bra. It makes sense in context. Mostly.
EMOJI: The Hieroglyphs Of Our Time, or how I learned to stop worrying and send the risky text 🤷🏽♀️
Venue: C aquila studio
Time: 15:00
Dates: August 5-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/emoji-the-hieroglyphs-of-our-time-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-send-the-risky-text
Sold out at the NYC Fringe Festival 2025. Part love letter, part stand-up set, part concert and part iPhone advert (jk!), the show explores whether emojis are a uniquely universal shorthand or merely digital crumbs of connection in a fractured society. In this hilarious, heartfelt, ADHD-friendly show packed with energetic musical numbers, sparkling visuals and audience participation, Aarushi Agni delivers a chaotic TED Talk/musical about emoji and risky texts blending sharp comedy, cultural insight and impressive vocal dynamism.
FLY, YOU FOOLS!
Venue: Pleasance Courtyard
Time: 15:00
Dates: August 5-31
Learn more and get tickets: recentcutbacks.com/fringe
Three actors and a Foley artist band together – in fellowship – to perform a live, shot-for-shot parody of the greatest fantasy film of all time. From Recent Cutbacks (Hold On To Your Butts). ★★★★★ ”Genius, sheer genius” (The Times)
Stay
Venue: Gilded Balloon: Patter House
Time: 15:00
Dates: August 5-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/stay
Sally loves her organized, independent, private life. She answers to no-one but herself… until one day a small act of kindness for a kid she barely knows sends her head first into the orbit of a grieving widower and his strong-willed child. Suddenly everything changes. STAY is a sharply funny, deeply moving solo show about love arriving unexpectedly, grief rewriting the rules, and family being made in real time. With wit and candor, Sally charts an unexpected journey from bystander to caregiver, discovering that staying – through chaos, sorrow, and love – may be the bravest act of all.
The Bloody Ballad of Bette Davis
Venue: Assembly Roxy: Upstairs (Venue 139)
Time: 15:00
Dates: August 6-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/the-bloody-ballad-of-bette-davis
The Bloody Ballad of Bette Davis is a fever-dream horror musical set in 1975, in which an aging Bette Davis goes looking for one last shot at relevance and tumbles into a world of demons, fading movie stars and old regrets. Five actors play dozens of characters — Oliver Reed, Karen Black, Amelia Earhart, one very determined goat — in an hour of camp, dread and showbiz vengeance. Written and directed by John P. McEneny, with music and lyrics by Rob Parker. Piper Theatre Productions’ sixth Edinburgh Fringe.
Dear Michelle Kwan
Venue: theSpaceTriplex
Time: 15:05
Dates: August 7-29
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/dear-michelle-kwan
Set in the early 2010s, four teen figure skaters rehearse for their annual holiday show, led by their bizarre and obsessive coach. They pray to Michelle Kwan, their god, for guidance. In the locker room, the girls navigate friend drama, twerking and IBS. When a blizzard traps them in the ice rink, reality warps. Their prayers to Michelle Kwan turn into violent rituals and life becomes a never-ending rehearsal... a never-ending ritual. A dark comedy about the beauty, violence and camaraderie of girlhood in hyper-competitive spaces.
Extra Dry
Venue: Greenside @ Riddles Court
Time: 15:05
Dates: August 7-29
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/extra-dry
MJ dives headfirst into a chaotic and destructive romance with alcohol, driven by a deep need for validation. As her nights spiral and the blackouts escalate, the stories she collects become her legacy – memorable to others, but hazy or even non-existent to herself. Join Michelle Renee Johnson as she takes us into these dark and sometimes dangerous moments, leaving us to question: is it better to be remembered, even if the memories are unflattering? Or is it best to fade into obscurity? Directed by O'Neill finalist, Lila Rachel Becker.
Olympic Hopefuls
Venue: The Royal Scots Club
Time: 15:20
Dates: August 10-15
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/olympic-hopefuls
Olympic Hopefuls is a sharp, funny and unexpectedly moving new play about four Filipina women of a certain age who decide, against all logic and gravity, to qualify for the Winter Olympics in curling. Armed with grit, group chat loyalty and a suspicious amount of delusion, they train on borrowed ice while wrestling with identity, ambition and the quiet ache of being underestimated. As Olympic fever rises, so do long-buried rivalries and impossible dreams. Part underdog sports saga, part diaspora comedy, Olympic Hopefuls asks: who gets to chase glory, and who’s told to sit in the stands?
Justice
Venue: Carbon Lounge, room 1
Time: 15:25
Dates: August 8-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/justice
(It’s a free show)
A high-profile lawyer, at the top of her game, defends tech companies against those who are harassed on their sites. Then her private life collides with her professional convictions… A timely exploration of freedom of speech, Justice is a powerful solo show that grabs you and doesn't let go!
Primal Scream
Venue: Assembly Rooms: Drawing Room
Time: 15:25
Dates: August 6-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/primal-scream
A young, feisty, rebellious girl from a difficult background is released from prison into the hands of a psychologist after attempting to kill her abusive stepfather. She proves to be a serious challenge for the shrink – highly intelligent, challenging, sexually provocative, and funny. She has vibrant views on life, politics, sex, and much else. She also reveals, after much verbal confrontation, that her secret ambition is to train as an opera singer. The shrink, who plays the piano, persuades her to sing an aria for him, and indeed she proves that she has a great voice. The question is, what will she do with it?
A Queer Little Murder
Venue: Gilded Balloon Patter House
Time: 15:40
Dates: August 5-31
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/a-queer-little-murder
When a dead body is discovered in a small and incredibly queer town, the audience must decide who committed the murder. Every queer stereotype is a suspect in this whodunnit!
MUSE: The Shakespeare Mayhem Musical
Venue: Underbelly, Bristo Square
Time: 15:40
Dates: August 5-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/muse-the-shakespeare-mayhem-musical
Before he was the Bard, he was just Will… with a problem: his publisher will only print one of his plays. With Puck as instigator, Lear, Cleopatra, the Macbeths and more of Shakespeare’s greatest characters erupt into rebellion in a chaotic race to become the chosen tale. Pop musical comedy meets absurdist theatre in this riotous story of ambition, ego and the birth of a legend.
On the Watchlist
Venue: Just The Tonic at The Mash House
Time: 15:45
Dates: August 6-17
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/on-the-watchlist
On the Watchlist with Jay Servedio is a brand-new live late-night comedy series that blends biting satire with investigative curiosity. Rooted in its own chaotic, absurdist voice, On the Watchlist dives headfirst into the week's headlines, media manipulation and political theatre. Each show features Jay's incisive monologue, live sketches, field segments and character interviews with comedians portraying public figures: plus conversations with real journalists, writers and cultural critics. Smart, silly and unapologetically weird, On the Watchlist is equal parts comedy show, social autopsy and media exorcism. Join us for our exploration into the Age of Misinformation.
Tim Kenneth Kicks the Bucket
Venue: TheSpace @ Surgeons' Hall
Time: 15:45 (the first week) 14:55 (the second week)
Dates: August 11-22
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/tim-kenneth-kicks-the-bucket
After their professor, Tim Kenneth, suffers a mental breakdown in class, obnoxious prankster Scooter and teacher's pet Pencil embark on an odyssey through New Jersey, saddled by the weight of their own existence and with complicated feelings towards their lecturer. After its sold-out run in New York and debut at the Edinburgh Fringe 2025, this academia-set dark comedy returns, bolder and brighter than before!
Join the Club! A Story About the Sex You Never Wanted
Venue: Snug at Paradise in Augustines
Time: 15:50
Dates: August 7-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/join-the-club-a-story-about-the-sex-you-never-wanted
One woman’s journey to reclaim agency after trauma, blending humour and heartbreak to transform silence, shame and survival into connection and empowerment. Between hook-ups, vibrators and Tinder, she navigates the chaotic hellscape of modern dating. With wit and no-holds-barred honesty, it confronts a culture of sexual misbehaviour while celebrating resilience and desire. Raw, funny and disarmingly intimate, it asks the unaskable – like whether survivors should wear matching sashes – and invites audiences to laugh, reflect and heal alongside her as she rewrites her story on her terms.
Hadid
Venue: Clover studio at Greenside riddles court
Time: 16:00
Dates: August 7-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/hadid
Hadid follows Helena Hadid, the one normal sibling in a hyper-famous family of supermodels and Real Housewives. After Gigi and Bella fall down a flight of stairs (they’re fine!) the family goes on a PR rehabilitation campaign that forces Helena to grapple with jealousy, familial loyalty and her own ambitions. This heartfelt, funny show is for anyone who has been rejected, anyone who has felt the pangs of envy, and anyone who has a well-known celebrity sibling. We imagine that’s a more niche audience, but those people in particular are going to love this play.
Atticwife
Venue: theSpace @ Niddry St
Time: 16:05 for August 7-15 & 20:05 for 17-25
Dates: August 7-15 & 17-25
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.thespaceuk.com/shows/2026/atticwife
Astrid Fisher is an influencer who goes from tradwife to trapped-wife when her husband locks her in their attic. She says she’s soooo happy to be up there, but some of her viewers aren’t so convinced. When one of those concerned viewers breaks into the attic to try and rescue her, she is forced to question if the life she’s made as a “traditional woman” is as perfect as she’s always claimed... or if she’s in serious danger.
Bloated In Vegas
Venue: Greenside at Riddles Court
Time: 16:05
Dates: August 24-29
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/bloated-in-vegas
When a Lower East Side tailor is plucked from obscurity to dress a king – well, not a king, but the King, Elvis Presley – he learns that beyond the seductive lights of Las Vegas, nothing is quite what it seams. Will our tailor survive the trappings of fame? Will Elvis’ jumpsuit hold up under his, er, “overindulgence”? Or will they both end up Bloated In Vegas?
The Yellow Wallpaper
Venue: Greenside @ George St - Lime Studio
Time: 16:05
Dates: August 7-29
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/the-yellow-wallpaper
Based on the story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, this six-person dance thriller is brought to life through a fusion of visceral choreography and classic text that 'will take your breath away' **** (TheFrontRowCenter.com).
While undergoing treatment for "female hysteria", Jane is confined to a room of yellow wallpaper. As the weeks pass, the wallpaper takes on a horrifying life of its own. Jane becomes convinced that there are women trapped within the walls, and that it is up to her to set them free.
Woodcutter
Venue: TheSpaceUK triplex studio
Time: 16:05
Dates: August 7-29
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.thespaceuk.com/shows/2026/woodcutter
Returning from the USA, only child John Anthony Gorman (Daredevil, Lioness, Blacklist) clears out his late parents’ home in Glasgow in this autobiographical one-man show. Armed with cardboard boxes, he tackles each room layered with traditions, celebrations and heartache. Between the dust and daft keepsakes, every object sparks a story – from stealing his mum’s diamond earrings to be like David Beckham to pouring his dad's last Guinness. As the house empties, the past grows louder. Blisteringly funny and brutally honest, Woodcutter confronts what we can’t quite pack away while rediscovering what 'home' truly means.
Aditya Mayya Pretends to Be Sad
Venue: Just The Tonic Worker Room at The Hive
Time: 16:30
Dates: August 6-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/aditya-mayya-pretends-to-be-sad
When he found out his younger brother had just committed suicide, Aditya had the same first thought we all do: how do I write a joke about this? Recounting his story in both hilarious and heart-wrenching detail, Aditya Mayya Pretends to Be Sad is an hour-long exploration of being earnest from someone allergic to sincerity. A tragicomic solo show for people who've seen a thousand tragicomic solo shows, this is an hour that both celebrates and satirizes the Fringe staple that we all know and love.
Broken Planet Show
Venue: Just The Tonic at The Caves
Time: 16:30
Dates: August 20-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/broken-planet-show
Comedy, circus and indie cosmic lunacy collide in an ever-changing nightly riot of world-class weirdos, hellbent on healing our planetary divide. Interactive, uplifting, subversive and bonkers. Featuring Clown God, Mothman, Fart Monkey, nerf karaoke and outlandish acts from across the Fringe, with a live-looped indie score morphing every night. Broken Planet Show dares you to misbehave, laugh at your flaws and dance through the chaos. It's a rowdy invitation to take life less seriously. Join the revolution of ridiculousness. Come Save World! 'Most Fringe show I've ever seen' **** (BroadwayBaby.com).
NOTES of a NARCISSISTIC NEGRO and Other N Words
Venue: Paradise Green in The Vault/The Annexe
Time: 16:45
Dates: August 17-22
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/notes-from-a-narcissistic-negro-and-other-n-words
Award-winning solo show by Elizabeth June (Blackish, Hightown), Notes from a Narcissistic Negro and Other N Words is a dramedy detailing her childhood and clergy sexual abuse and cancer survival. All songs, stories, spoken word and stand-up sets are a testimony of her triumph over trauma. Explicit language and situations.
Dregs
Venue: theSpace @ Niddry St
Time: 16:50
Dates: August 24-29
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/dregs
Embark on a riotous journey with Fisch and Neck, two lost souls rummaging through the spiritual rubbish heap of life. This darkly comedic spectacle, brimming with clownish antics, exposes the underbelly of capitalism and greed. From the ethereal realm of discarded objects, our misfit duo grapples with the ethical, moral and biological implications of our modern world. Through hilarious clownish hijinks, they challenge us to question the essence of humanity that has brought us to this chaotic, disjointed and violent era. A provocative and entertaining exploration of the good, bad and ugly sides of existence.
BECOMING DR RUTH
Venue: Assembly / Front Room / St Andrew Square
Time: 16:55
Dates: August 6-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/becoming-dr-ruth
The UK Premiere of Mark St Germain’s play about World Renowned Sex Therapist and icon, Dr Ruth K Westheimer. Broadway’s Anne O’Sullivan stars. Stephen Nachamie (She Loves Me - Broadway) Directs. This production won high praise from the New York Times, Dr Ruth herself (and the Westheimer family). See her inspiring and unlikely story from Orphan of the Holocaust to the iconic Sex Therapist.
007 Tons of Laughs – World Comedy from Japan, Europe and Beyond
Venue: Just The Tonic at The Caves
Time: 17:00
Dates: August 6-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/007-tons-of-laughs-world-comedy-from-japan-europe-and-beyond
James Bond has a license to kill. Our international comedians want their license to kill on stage. Armed with nothing but a microphone and a lethal wit, each comedian will debrief you on her/his treacherous journey of crossing borders and living deep undercover in other cultures, dodging near-death mishaps and surviving culture shocks with their sharp observations, deadly tongues and pure luck. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to break out in laughter and award the best killer on stage.
A Head Full of Bees
Venue: theatre at C ARTS
Time: 17:00
Dates: August 5-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/a-head-full-of-bees
Hot mess hairdresser Lola has a big secret. She's been faking it, all of it. Sanity, self-esteem, capable mother and salon owner. So just what the f*ck is wrong with her? Lola is determined to figure it out, whatever "it" is. Join Lola on her journey from 70's Los Angeles to 90's London and beyond as she faces her past and learns what it means to be neurodivergent. Sesame Street meets The Exorcist in this solo character comedy with original music, songs and puppets about learning to love your weird.
Happily Ever Never
Venue: theSpace @ Niddry St
Time: 17:05
Dates: August 7-19
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/happily-ever-never
Hello Princess! The Princess Party Planners are here to make your day magical – nothing less will do. But behind the glitter, one performer starts to realise the fairytale she’s selling isn’t so magical for her. As her job intensifies, feelings become harder to ignore, and cracks in the fairytale start to show. Can she take off the princess mask and face the story she’s been avoiding? A funny and heartfelt dive into the messy magic of becoming yourself. Expect laughter, discomfort, and a tear or two – but no guarantees of happily ever after.
January 6th the Musical
Venue: Studio at theSpaceTriplex
Time: 17:05
Dates: August 7-29
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/january-6th-the-musical
When violent insurrectionists stormed the United States Capitol on 6th January 2021, they ruined a birthday forever. Kiely and Jessie are best friends who share the same birthday and the same big dreams of theatrical stardom. On the fateful day of the insurrection, their birthday goes from bad to worse when allegations emerge of their involvement in the attempted coup. Faced with their special day going down in infamy and spending the rest of their lives in prison, can Kiely and Jessie sing and dance their way to innocence?
Bipolarcoaster
Venue: theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall
Time: 17:15
Dates: August 24-29
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/bipolarcoaster
Are people born on the mental health spectrum, or is the mental health spectrum thrust upon them? Inspired by personal experiences with bipolar disorder, Bipolarcoaster is a one-woman play about finding freedom on the other side of uncomfortable self-awareness. Amanda Andrews’ narrative comes to life with original music by Kyle Lacy. Bipolarcoaster premiered at the Rochester Fringe Festival in 2025. Audience remarks include: 'favourite at Fringe', 'relatable and encouraging', 'resonated with me and made me laugh'. NYC-based artists. AmandaAndrews.net. KyleLacyMusic.com.
Improvised Couples Therapy
Venue: Greenside at George Street
Time: 17:20
Dates: August 17-29
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/improvised-couples-therapy
We all need a little help sometimes! Reba with an H, and whoever she is dating now, think they signed up to attend a couples therapy seminar, but they accidentally signed up to HOST it. They help the audience, and the audience helps them (maybe!) through a series of relationship building exercises designed for breakthroughs or break-ups! Everyone will leave feeling therapized! Everyone and anyone is welcome - single, confused, figuring it out. We are here to help!
We’ve Got Time
Venue: Greenside Riddles Court/Thistle Theatre
Time: 17:20 from 8/7-15 and 16:10 from 8/17-29
Dates: August 7-29
Learn more and get tickets: wevegottime.com
Dani, a young and reckless stand-up comedian with endometriosis has everything and nothing going for her all at once. When Dani is fired from her job, she is forced to attempt to navigate post-graduate life against an unforgiving New York City backdrop. Dani begins to have doubts about her relationship, career, and future…She doesn't know what's ahead and she definitely doesn't have control, but one thing she does have is time. We’ve Got Time is funny, raw, and painfully relatable - a coming-of-age story about racing against our most limited resource: time. It explores what we owe each other (and ourselves) while crash-landing into adulthood with equal parts chaos and tenderness.
Little Pink Dress
Venue: studio at C ARTS
Time: 17:35
Dates: August 5-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/little-pink-dress
A gay coming of age country/rock opera one-man musical traumedy. Based on an original album of autobiographical songs written and performed by Joey Jennings this dazzling, dreamy and poignant musical explores his hilarious and turbulent experiences navigating modern gay culture, generational trauma, addiction and reconnecting with his younger self. From the sterile fluorescent lights of a casting office to the magical dreamscape of a country cruising bar, it is ultimately a deeply personal love letter to his mother, a farewell to his Toyota Corolla and a re-discovery of the power of a long-lost little pink dress.
Japanese Grandma Funeral
Venue: Zoo Playground 1
Time: 17:45
Dates: August 7-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/japanese-grandma-funeral
Kento the clown missed his grandmother's funeral in Japan due to Covid restrictions. He's trying to recreate the traditional rites, but it keeps going wrong. Can the audience help him achieve closure in this gentle, heartwarming comedy? Blending clown and storytelling with Japanese and Okinawan funeral customs, Kento attempts to process 108 of his grandma's memories, along with unresolved thoughts and small, stubborn facts about her life, in a show that is both deeply personal, yet widely relatable. What begins as a failed ceremony becomes a gentle, intimate invitation to laugh, remember and let go.
Friendliest
Venue: Gilded Balloon Teviot (NOOK)
Time: 18:00
Dates: August 5-31
Learn more and get tickets: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:6705/
Drew Lausch grew up gay in Fargo, North Dakota. So he did what any emotionally stable teenager would do: invented the world's first gay superhero. Years later, he's still trying to save himself. Friendliest is a dark, funny and quietly devastating solo show about first love, small-town repression and the creative impulse to rewrite your own origin story. Blending biting stand-up with raw storytelling, Drew unpacks the boy he hurt, the hero he built, and the mess in between. It's sharp, intimate and occasionally feral. Written and performed by Drew Lausch. Directed by Jenny Leon.
Argonauts
Venue: ZOO Playground
Time: 18:05
Dates: August 7-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/argonauts
Opinions are weapons. Friendship is the casualty. Liz and Sam host a theatre podcast. When Sam champions a radical new production, Liz's fury erupts, not from having seen it, but from the sheer possibility of their disagreement. As their civilized world shatters in a storm of jargon and betrayal, the unthinkable happens, as furious voices of Greek tragedy and Shakespeare's figures erupt onto the stage, violently invading and transfiguring their reality. An absurd meta-theatrical tragicomedy from Brazil performed in English where worlds collide, discourse meets myth and theatre fights back.
Guns in Dragonland
Venue: The Space UK
Time: 18:05
Dates: August 17-22
Learn more and get tickets: https://tickets.thespaceuk.com/event/911:7258/
Navigating youth is a universal challenge, but with the constant threat of firearms, American students are faced with their own mortality before they stop wearing tutus to school. Fortunately, these kids don’t have to face this horror alone, meet the guardian angels of America’s youth: dragons. Created and presented by students, Guns in Dragonland is a series of vignettes exploring American school society and its shocking overlap with America's gun culture. Witness as these children and their dragon guardians grapple with the dangers of gun violence with humour, bravery, and compassion. 'Surprising and extraordinary' (David Henry Hwang).
An American (Not) in Paris
Venue: Just The Tonic at The Mash House
Time: 18:10
Dates: August 6-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/an-american-not-in-paris
An OCD, ADHD, gluten-free, Gen-Z, musical comedy! Through stand-up, storytelling and original music, Liv Rocklin chronicles a morbidly overachieving Gen-Zer's showdown with control when studying abroad goes wrong. À la Rachel Bloom and Bo Burnham, Rocklin explores her Paris obsession and fraying brain through seven songs, six languages and five undiagnosed conditions (she's got Bingo!). Listed Best of Orlando Fringe, Liv uses guitar, piano, baguettes and self-deprecation to explore loneliness and growing up in a world burning down. Is she Taylor Swift, Lizzie McGuire, Princess Diana, or just poorly adjusted?
Justin Elizabeth Sayre Is a 40-Year-Old Woman
Venue: Underbelly, Bristo Square
Time: 18:10
Dates: August 5-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/justin-elizabeth-sayre-is-a-40-year-old-woman
A comedy about false eyelashes and the truth that sizzles beneath: with the signature wit that's made them a staple of downtown New York, Sayre celebrates the stylish women of yesteryear and forges a path towards being the witty, wonderful, fabulous and foul-mouthed dame they've always dreamed they'd be. To Sayre, being a 40-Year-Old Woman is more than candles on a cake; it's a way of being fully yourself. Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a hilarious ride!
Chip and Gus
Venue: theSpace @ Venue 45
Time: 18:20
Dates: August 13-29
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/chip-and-gus-a-comedy-with-balls
Chip and Gus, a comedy with balls, winner of a best overall award at the NYC Fringe, is about two oddball men, casual acquaintances, who meet once a month in a rundown upstate New York sports bar, to do the one thing they love…play ping pong. But this night is different…this night something else is in the room. As the balls and banter fly back and forth, they discover their lives intertwine in surprising ways. Gus, a flamboyantly stoic professor of Philosophy, is a socially inept genius spouting wit and pedantry, and Chip, a goofy struggling music teacher and composer, whose life is hanging by a thread, are on a collision course. Their chemistry explodes in hilarious and heart-breaking revelations, swirling into a spectacular human symphony. With writer/performers Christopher Patrick Mullen and John Ahlin, and produced by NY’s Fat Knight Theatre, Chip and Gus, a comedy with balls has a 3-week Edinburgh Festival Fringe run in Scotland. The 65-minute show will play at theSpaceUK’s Venue 45, August 13 thru 29
Emma and Warren in the Garden of Eden
Venue: Greenside @ Riddles Court
Time: 18:20
Dates: August 7-15
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/emma-and-warren-in-the-garden-of-eden
Where has all the whimsy gone? How can we find it again and at what cost? God, gardens and familial trauma figure prominently in this prosaic, philosophical two-hander all about the younger generation’s cerebral approach to life and love. From NYC’s hit underground playwright, Luc D’Arcy, Emma and Warren signifies a formal shift away from traditional theatricality toward simple situations, complex characters and fluid ideologies. D’Arcy is one of the first playwrights to capture the voice of the next generation – a generation that is only now becoming aware of itself.
Doughboys
Venue: Greenside @ Riddles Court
Time: 18:25
Dates: August 7-22
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/doughboys
With America entering the Great War, Private Sandes has finally arrived at the Western Front with just one problem. A problem that must be kept secret from the bumbling Sergeant... Sandes is a woman. Disguised as an American Doughboy, Sandes isn’t the only drag king in the trench. Bianconi, a desperate bachelorette, has come to No Man’s Land to land... a man. And Furse, an orphan, is looking for her MIA brother. With battle looming and the Sergeant’s second-in-command threatening to reveal them, the women have just hours to find love, family and themselves before all hell breaks loose.
Jenny Gorelick: SORRY
Venue: Monkey Barrel Studio
Time: 18:25
Dates: August 3-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/jenny-gorelick-sorry
Jenny Gorelick presents her flirty debut hour about bad dates and worse decisions. She’d like to pre-emptively apologize to every man she’s ever dated – or ever will – for writing about them. Directed by Ashley Rodbro. As seen on Netflix Is a Joke and in Cosmopolitan. 'Fiercely funny' and 'crush-worthy, ever charming' (Time Out). 'Incredible host' (Jezebel.com). New York Times Critic's Pick.
The Van Gogh Shogh
Venue: Assembly @ St Andrew Square - Front Room
Time: 18:25
Dates: August 6-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/the-van-gogh-shogh
It’s a sip and paint. It’s Sotheby’s. It’s karaoke night. Strap in, because whatever it is, Van Gogh is back and he has a side hustle. This is the real Van Gogh Immersive Experience. Emphasis on immersive. Donna Oblongata (Leeway Transformation Award, Jilline Ringle Solo Performance Award) is 'brimming with compassion and monstrously funny' (PlayOnMKE). She has sold out theatres in NYC and LA and performed internationally in Slava’s Snowshow. ★★★★★ 'A delightfully unhinged gem of fringe theatre' ShinyLife ★★★★ 'An uproariously good time… side-splittingly funny' AdventuresInTheatreland 'Inspired lunacy' TalkinBroadway
Parking Spot: The Musical!
Venue: Greenside @ George Street
Time: 18:30
Dates: August 7-22
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/parking-spot-the-musical
Will just got his first car at 33. There's nowhere to park it. When a private spot opens up on his Jersey City block, five neighbours make a silent calculation: whoever gets it gets the life they've been putting off. What follows is sabotage, catfishing and a traffic cone with the moral authority of the Geneva Convention. This sharp, warm musical comedy is about the gap between the life we're building and the one already in front of us... Set to an original score and staged on six feet of contested asphalt.
Lt Love Dr's Boot Camp for Lonely People Like You
Venue: Just The Tonic at Westside Rodeo
Time: 18:40
Dates: August 6-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/lt-love-dr-s-boot-camp-for-lonely-people-like-you
Meet Lt Love Dr Hotty McTotty – a futuristic soldier who has travelled back in time from 2075. Her mission: to revive human connection. Through a series of drills including: small talk, eye contact and speed dating, audiences will rally together to combat our increasingly isolated reality. This hilarious, heartfelt and surprisingly impactful show will inspire you to make friends, disconnect from the digital world and rediscover what it means to be human. 'The beating heart of Fringe comedy' **** (BroadwayBaby.com).
If We Really Were Witches
Venue: Paradise in the Vault
Time: 19:05
Dates: August 7-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/if-we-really-were-witches
What might’ve happened if real witches dropped in on the witch hunts? Comedy, we’re sure. Summoned by the ghost of a witch hunt victim, real witches Mildred, Agnes and Suds arrive to rescue innocent Obediently Snead and serve up justice of their own. When challenged by The Pricks of Puritanical Piety Guild and Social Club, the witches turn the tide on those who harm others out of ignorance and fear. This riotous four-person comedy makes its way to Edinburgh after developing in indie venues around NYC such as The Rat, Under St. Marks and The Tank.
Likewise
Venue: Greenside Riddles Court
Time: 19:35
Dates: August 7-15, 17-22
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/likewise
Joey’s 17. Joey knows everything. Except why Callie won’t call her back. Let her gut punch your funny bone in Likewise: a story about female friendship, fighting dirty, and performing for the voices in your head.
Rave reviews off-Broadway: “Hilarious, heartbreaking, and so relatable.”
Bride To Be
Venue: Thistle Theatre at Greenside @ Riddles Court
Time: 19:40
Dates: August 7-15
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/bride-to-be
After the success of her debut five-star solo show, Meg Millane is at it again with a new sharp, character-driven comedy about a woman deep in wedding planning. As she navigates cakes, DJs and family expectations, she unravels the history and cultural weight of marriage, forcing herself to confront what commitment actually means to her. Torn between spectacle and substance, she must decide if she’s planning a wedding... or redefining it. Meg has been described as 'quite literally a star' (BeyondTheCurtain.co.uk) and having 'the energy of a chihuahua who’s had a triple shot espresso' (EvulveProductions.com).
Danger Plan!
Venue: Wee Container 2, Hoots @ Potterrow
Time: 19:40
Dates: August 7-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/danger-plan
FIGHT! FLIGHT! FREEZE! What do you do when disaster strikes?! Are you prepared? Sophia hopes she is, she's been planning her whole life. For generations her family has been trained, "you have to be ready, in case you need to run" but is this paranoia justified? Grab your go bag and join Sophia as she shares stories and songs with a balance of humour and sincerity exploring the absurdities of living in uncertain times.
Josh Pickar: Getting Off
Venue: Snug Bar at Assembly Roxy
Time: 19:40
Dates: August 5-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/josh-pickar-getting-off
Law school. Death Row. Clown school. US capital defense attorney Josh Pickar spent seven years fighting against the death penalty. Then he moved to France and trained as a clown. Now he's in Edinburgh with an absurd comedy about the American death penalty, the institutions that run it, and how one lapdance took it down. This darkly funny debut reckons with what it takes to work inside the machinery of state execution, and what it takes to leave. A stupidly smart show about a shockingly stupid system.
Bachelors of Fine Arts
Venue: theSpace @ Surgeon's Hall
Time: 20:05
Dates: August 7-29
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/bachelors-of-fine-arts
Inspired by co-writers Riley Elton McCarthy and Hope Johansen's experiences studying at an elite New York drama school, Bachelors of Fine Arts roasts institutions, ambition and tradition through a pop, country-tinged score of original songs and sharp satire. When ‘Holly' and ‘Rory' meet in the fabled halls of the Big Apple's most prestigious conservatoire, they bond over long rehearsals, expensive trauma, and the quiet understanding that everyone is replaceable. But as the terms wear on, unsettling truths emerge and shifting loyalties escalate into a cycle of blacklisting, bullying, and fixation that institutions are unwilling - or unable - to confront. From depositions missed for rehearsals, to classmates facing felony charges and a faculty too dazzled by “good looks” to confront the red flags, the show asks when do we stop smiling through it, and what stories do we tell ourselves to survive?
Like a Good Neighbor
Venue: Paradise in the Vault, Paradise Green (Venue 29)
Time: 20:30
Dates: August 8-22
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/like-a-good-neighbor
He's here to help! Exploring friendship, bullying and the concept of the clothing chair. Jake tells the story of trying to save a stray cat in an alley, and everything that came after (trauma, blood, tears, etc) all while he attempts to help some of you with your day-to-day problems in real time. Immediately inviting you into the living room of an internal monologue, Like a Good Neighbor is a warm, welcoming and hilariously self-conscious show about just that: being a good neighbour. Written and performed by Jake Alexander, and directed by Hayley Moir.
Doing Time with Lavinia
Venue: C Arts
Time: 20:35
Dates: August 5-16 & 31
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/doing-time-with-lavinia
Lavinia Draper, alcohol-soaked performer of a certain age, maintains her dream despite the struggle. The strife of ageing artists, most particularly women, facing unrepentant discrimination and harassment, and the resultant dysphoria and substance use, is profound. But Lavinia is the rare hopeful dreamer who never gives up on herself and inspires the audience to do the same. A one-woman show performed by Susan Campanaro that shatters genre as deftly as the title character severs the comic/ tragic line. Brimming with hysterical comedy, dark sensitivity and harsh reality, the play features a moving score by Lynn Portas.
exit strategy's How to Win a Gameshow
Venue: theSpace @ Niddry St (8/7 to 8/15) and theSpace @ Venue 45 (8/17 to 8/22)
Time: 20:35 (8/7 to 8/15) & 21:35 (8/17 to 8/22)
Dates: August 7-22
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/exit-strategy-s-how-to-win-a-gameshow
Graham has been the star contestant of a popular gameshow for either 4 or 327 days. Led by a series of violently charming hosts, Graham and the audience compete in a game neither party understands. The tasks are invasive, the stakes mysteriously high and the audience increasingly implicated. Part performance art, part improv show, part ethics inquiry, How to Win a Gameshow blurs the line between performer and audience-rendering everyone subject to scrutiny under the watchful eye of an ever-present, controlling, overarching force.
Time Travel Postman
Venue: Gilded Balloon Patter House
Time: 20:40
Dates: August 5-31
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/time-travel-postman
A clown (Sevrin Willinder) needs the audience's help to deliver letters across time and space.
Through joyful participation, you are invited to embrace the unexpected, explore the beauty of human connection, and make sure the postman completes his galaxy-spanning paper route.
A new show from Devon Loves ME! Productions (Melissa Ingle and Sevrin Willinder).
CHUCK
Venue: Lower at PBH's Free Fringe @ Canons' Gait
Time: 21:30
Dates: August 8-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/chuck
New York comedian Carolyn Castiglia lost her maternal grandparents to a murder-suicide when she was 18 years old. Combining hilarious stand-up and heartbreaking reflection, CHUCK is a true crime comedy about guns, violence, sexual abuse, the Catholic Church, the US military-industrial complex, woodchucks and figure skating. Everything that makes America great! CHUCK takes you on a wild and wise ride that will leave survivors and non-survivors alike feeling less alone, more hopeful and fully empowered. CHUCK won Best Comedy Off-Broadway at Theatre Row at the Spring 2024 United Solo Festival. CHUCK is 'preposterous and profound', and 'unforgettable' (AllAboutSolo.com).
DUSK/NIGHT/DAWN
Venue: Central at Assembly Roxy
Time: 21:30
Dates: August 5-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/dusk-night-dawn
An experimental aerial pole dance explosion performed by NYC collective VERTICAL DREAMSCAPE, featuring US Pole Art Champion Donna Carnow and interdisciplinary artist Gina Alm. DUSK/NIGHT/DAWN follows a pole-dancer through a night of work as her craft and identity dissolve into a montage of cinematic and sensual, dark yet dazzling dream worlds. This high-octane, durational work pushes the performers' bodies and minds to the limit, producing a powerful, visceral and transcendent product that feels vibrant, textured, unpredictable, and of an alien world. 'A genuine work of Art' *****(BroadwayBaby.com).
Merlesque: How an Adult Woman Became a Mermaid
Venue: theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall
Time: 21:35
Dates: August 17-22
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/merlesque-how-an-adult-woman-became-a-mermaid
Merlesque is ultimately a tale about a tail. Dr Elle Rochford is a policy expert uprooted by America’s 2024 presidential election. Finding her PhD useless in a dry job market, Elle decides to get wet. A real fish out of water epic, Merlesque is the true story of how she transformed from a statistician into a birthday party mermaid. Because sometimes all you can do is lean into the absurdity, challenge fascism, and keep treading water.
(No) Refunds
Venue: Gilded Balloon Patter House - The Penny
Time: 21:40
Dates: August 5-31
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/no-refunds
(No) Refunds is an interactive game show play hosted by Tiffany Gold, an old-school American host and model presenter all-in-one who quite literally depends on your entertainment. One premium ticket holder, dubbed the Star Player for the evening, will compete in three games designed to amuse the audience and showcase their talents. Only those best-suited to handle the demands of stardom will walk away with a full refund. Do you have what it takes?
Le French c’est Freak
Venue: TheSpace @ Surgeons Hall
Time: 21:45
Dates: August 7-22
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.thespaceuk.com/shows/2026/tori-morancay-le-french-cest-freak
Tori Morancay's debut solo show, Le French c'est Freak, dives into Frenchness, fiascos and bad decisions with bold, self-deprecating comedy. Raised in France and now based in New York, Tori unpacks cultural confusion, and the chaos of chasing love and applause with an accent she has no intention of losing.
Sharp, high-energy and unapologetically honest, this is a feverish hour about identity, dating disasters and the glamour of falling apart.
Woman Seeking Cuddles
Venue: theSpace @ Surgeons' Hall
Time: 21:45 (8/7 to 8/15) & 20:45 (8/17-22)
Dates: August 7-22
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/woman-seeking-cuddles
Harper unknowingly slept with her sperm-donor father. After that, nothing was ever quite the same. Making its Edinburgh Fringe debut from New York City, this darkly comic, confessional one-woman show traces that event’s fallout – as shame, grief and reckless desire collide in one woman’s messy, defiant search for love. In a landscape of dating apps, modern polyamory and kink acronyms, boundaries blur and destiny feels algorithm-driven. Raw, funny and unflinchingly honest, Emmy-nominated writer Renwick McAslan asks, in a culture obsessed with connection, why is it still so hard to feel held?
I'm Still Not That Girl
Venue: Braw Venues @ Hill Street
Time: 22:00
Dates: August 7-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/i-m-still-not-that-girl
Award-winning dark comedy following Jessica Lia Berry through grief, dating, bad decisions, fake engagements, pregnancy scares, and the messy search for self-worth. Blending storytelling, audience interaction, and vaudeville energy, this solo show turns heartbreak, chaos, and survival into something brutally funny and painfully human. After sold-out USA performances and a Best Festival Debut win at United Solo, Berry brings her sharp, relatable, intimate comedy to the Fringe with a show about what happens when life does NOT go as planned, and you have to save yourself anyway.
A Gay Masseur's Guide to Happy Endings
Venue: Mint Studio at Greenside @ George Street
Time: 22:05
Dates: August 7-22
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/a-gay-masseur-s-guide-to-happy-endings
A broke actor in New York turns to “gay massage” to make rent. What follows is a darkly funny, unfiltered descent into sex work, addiction, blurred boundaries and the relentless need to be wanted. From awkward first clients to a night that spirals out of control, this brutally honest solo show explores intimacy, shame and survival in a world where attention feels like love. How far would you go to feel desired – and what happens when that’s all you know how to be?
Girlhood in the Bathroom
Venue: Gilded Balloon Teviot
Time: 22:30
Dates: August 13-22
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/girlhood-in-the-bathroom
Girlhood in the Bathroom is a new Australian musical set entirely in a club bathroom on New Year's Eve. Amidst the chaos of the female bathroom, five 20-something-year-old girls navigate love, friendship and the truths about the world – through passionate scenes and original songs! The show explores a simple but revealing question: why do girls always go to the bathroom together? With a mix of humour and emotional honesty, this show invites audiences to laugh, cry and recognise themselves in the stories. This show is going to leave you reminiscing longer than the bathroom line!
Shit Arcade
Venue: Gilded Balloon
Time: 22:30
Dates: August 5-12 and 23-31
Learn more and get tickets: https://tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk/event/14:7115/
Shit Arcade is a comedy show in which a panel of comedians are forced to play and roast some of the worst games of all time live on stage. From ET for the Atari 2600 to Little Britain for the PlayStation 2, the games in each show are random, but the pain is merciless. Some audience members will even get the chance to play and help comedians beat levels in these terrible games – and maybe even take them home!
Texas Annie: The Legend of the Moan Ranger
Venue: theSpace on the Mile
Time: 22:30
Dates: August 7-15
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/texas-annie-the-legend-of-the-moan-ranger
Follow the campy, musical adventures of a renegade sex toy dealer in Texas when sex toys are declared illegal. When her granny’s sex toy shop is raided, Annie's forced to transform from a shy shop girl into a mustachioed fugitive in disguise. Guided by the disembodied voice of her granny’s girlfriend – now inhabiting one of the illegal sex toys – Annie’s journey takes a turn when she inadvertently kidnaps the governor’s daughter. Together, they embark on a wild ride of discovery and unexpected romance, delivering sex toys to those in need.
Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library
Venue: The Traverse Theatre
Time: Various times
Dates: August 6-30
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/mrs-stern-wanders-the-prussian-state-library
1933 Berlin. With martial law in effect, political activism has become a capital crime. A young Gestapo officer arrests a graduate student. Interrogating her could endanger them both. Inspired by real events — and by the life and mind of one of history's most profound thinkers, Hannah Arendt.
Breathe: Five Arias That Saved My Life
Venue: The Chapel at St Vincent's and The Royal Scots Club
Time: Various
Dates: August 9-22
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/breathe-five-arias-that-saved-my-life
A collision of storytelling, opera, virtuoso singing, inspiration, and audience collaboration. When soprano Katy Lees was given months to live, her defiant response was: 'Fine, I'll have 600 of them.' She had to decide: if she lived, would she ever sing again? Twenty years later, this rare survivor of mesothelioma tells her captivating story, featuring music that rescued her. This extraordinary one-woman show, told with humour and honesty, is her Fringe debut. 'Will tear you apart and put you back together again, with renewed faith in the compassion of human nature' (Audience Review).
Ships
Venue: Ground Level at Leith Arches
Time: Various
Dates: August 11-15
Learn more and get tickets: https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/ships
A raw, intimate psychological drama set in a Leith bar, where two lost souls collide in a world built on mistrust. Connor, a merchant seaman, spiralling after a violent incident at sea, returns home intent on self-destruction. Alex, a sharp-tongued barmaid, carrying grief and a destructive history, meets him with wit and wariness until a buried connection resurfaces. Darkly funny, unflinching and thought-provoking new work from an exciting Edinburgh theatre company explores masculinity, race, mental health and the fragile possibility of redemption, asking whether love can survive when both are drowning in their past.