There are over 25,000 different comedy shows at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Well, no. Actually there are only 1,214 comedies to choose from. It just feels like a lot more. When the 384-page printed programme, also featuring theatre, music, dance and cabaret across 265 venues, was delivered it nearly dented my doormat.
So much fun, so little time. The Oasis tour even coincidentally stops off there during August, though forget those ageing Britpop hairstyles, this is the only Fringe that matters. And I’m here to help. For those planning an Edinburgh visit below are ten shows you really must see. And here's an extra hack - if you go early there are discounted previews and 2-for-1 deals. Dive in and enjoy.
The Edinburgh Fringe runs from August 1 - 25. Previews from July 29. Tickets and information for all shows below can be found at edfringe.com
Smack The Pony
Glastonbury has its legends stage and now Edinburgh is getting in on the heritage act act. This year’s Fringe includes alternative comedy icon Peter Richardson discussing his Comic Strip films and QI's Alan Davies previewing his first new live tour in a decade. But perhaps the most welcome nostalgia binge is the Smack the Pony trio of Sally Phillips, Doon Mackichan and Fiona Allen in conversation. Their pioneering C4 show proved that female comics could be every bit as silly as male comics. We might take that for granted now, but 25 years ago this threesome was revolutionary.
Gilded Balloon, August 17 - 20
Vittorio Angelone
Vittorio Angelone broke through at the Fringe in 2022 with a show in which he discussed his Italian/Irish roots and used Brian Friels’ acclaimed play Translations as a framework. It was a bold, confident move and Angelone has been building up a buzz ever since with a winning, instinctive style that is both engagingly self-deprecating and quietly charismatic. His new show, you can’t Say Nothing any more, offers further reflections on his Belfast upbringing, putting it in a wider context.
Monkey Barrel, August 1 - 24 (not Aug 12); the Underbelly McEwan Hall (8 and 22 August)
Bridget Christie
Christie is one of a number of previous Edinburgh Comedy Award winners returning to the scene of their triumph. Another, Tim Key – see below – was a winner in 2009. Christie won in 2013 for her feminist skewering of pens made specifically for women in A Bic For Her. Since then she has found fame mixing political ideas and a clowning sensibility. She has recently cemented her premiere league status with C4 series The Change, which she wrote and starred in. Her Edinburgh run is the first opportunity to catch her new show, Jacket Potato Pizza, before she takes it on tour.
Monkey Barrel, August 2 - 9
Rosie O'Donnell
Hollywood comes to Edinburgh this year with Rosie O’Donnell making her Fringe debut – not such a long haul flight having relocated from the USA to Ireland. In Here & Now O’Donnell will look back on her eventful career from her early unfiltered stand-up to chat show fame and hit movies. When it comes to the 'Now' part she should have some very topical inspiration – Donald Trump recently talked about revoking her US citizenship, calling her a "Threat to Humanity".
Gilded Balloon, August 1 - 10
Ivo Graham
Ivo Graham has become a Fringe fixture in recent years, often making the most of his Scottish sojourn by performing more than one show. This year he has trilogy. A stand-up show, Orange Crush, which he calls his most personal show yet and concerns "hats, haters and hometown heroes." Then there's a play, Graham Back in the Green, the sequel to his autobiographical Carousel and a DJ Battles set featuring stand-ups on the decks. At some point the eloquently chaos-prone comic will be grabbing some sleep but you can't buy tickets to watch that.
Pleasance, August 12 - 24, Graham Back in the Green, Pleasance, August 13 - 24, Comedians DJ Battles, La Belle Angele, August 23
Tom Rosenthal
Tom Rosenthal is best known for playing one of the prank-playing sons in the long-running C4 sitcom Friday Night Dinner, but he recently pivoted into serious stage acting, playing Khlestakov in the Government Inspector at the Chichester Festival. He received very positive reviews for his performance but future acting roles may now have to wait as after running in his Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I Am show at the Fringe he will be taking it on tour.
Assembly Roxy, July 30 - August 24
Tim Key
Tim Key has become a ubiquitous face on television over the last decade. He was in the first episode of Inside No 9 and had the very first lines in the very last episode. His career has now gone up a further notch with his lauded role alongside Carey Mulligan in the warm and witty film The Ballad of Wallis Island. Key, however, adores live performance and brings a fresh show to the Fringe, his latest hybrid of offbeat poetry and gnomic observations, this time entitled Loganberry (his last show was Mulberry, so there appears to be a fruity theme developing).
Pleasance, July 30 – August 17 (not 4, 5, 6, 11, 15)
Jordan Gray
Comedian Gray’s extravagant use of language, big hair and Essex accent initially drew inevitable comparisons with Russell Brand, but Jordan has established her own identity with her second show, Is That a C*ck in Your Pocket, Or Are You Just Here to Kill Me? which meshes infectious melodies and candid stand up and discusses subjects ranging from being transgender, receiving death threats and causing controversy by stripping naked on C4's Friday Night Live. After making a big splash with her debut Is It A Bird? this sequel confirms that Gray is no flash in the pan.
Assembly, July 30 - August 24 (not 6, 12, 19)
Jessie Nixon
Bristol-bred and now London-based Jessie Nixon performs her first full-length show, Don't Make Me Regret This, combining confessional comedy with satirical songs and poetry. Nixon certainly has an interesting origin story. She was both homeschooled and privately educated and along the way acquired a long list of academic qualifications and also a criminal record. She says this show is for anyone who is "mentally ill, a lapsed catholic, queer, occasionally distraught, too smart for your own good or have ever cried in a changing room."
Assembly, July 30 - August 24 (not 11)
Emmanuel Sonubi
London-based stand-up Sonubi might look like a bouncer with his muscles bursting out of his T shirt and, in fact, he has worked in security, but recently his comedy has been opening doors for him. In Life After Near Death Sonubi reveals how he reassessed his priorities after almost dying from heart failure. He certainly has a story to tell and from the moment he steps onstage he is a commanding presence, though these days he defends himself with his cutting wit rather than his bulging biceps.
Pleasance, July 30 - August 25 (not Aug 12)
