Thursday 21
27 events
Space Hippo
Earth is dying. Nothing can be done. Our only hope is to launch a hippo into space. Along the way she will encounter new worlds, strange alien creatures and end up at the centre of an intergalactic war. Hilarious, weird and epic science fiction from Japan, experienced through award-winning cinematic shadow puppetry. The performers project over two hundred handmade puppets onto a large screen to create a live analogue motion picture before your very eyes.
A Small Town Northern Tale
A Y2K-drenched coming of age comedy drama: ASTNT follows David’s move from the city to a small Northern town where being the only Black kid means fitting in isn’t an option. Against the chaos of the 2000s: lads mags, MSN, and questionable fashion, he tries to find his place but fails spectacularly. For fans of 'The Inbetweeners', it’s nostalgic, sharp, and hilarious... But beneath the laughs lies a Black British story about identity, belonging, and carving your place into a world that can’t quite place you.
WANTED
It was never meant to get to this point. Honestly, it was only ever meant to be one phone. To replace the one Erica had had nicked... and then? Then she met Jessie. After quickly forming an inseparable bond over their mutual loves (Tony Soprano and Lindsay Lohan), Erica and Jessie are on a mission to avenge a world that's only ever left them wanting. But just because Tony Soprano gets to do what he likes... can Erica and Jessie really rationalise their actions? From the creator behind the hit show In PurSUEt, comes... Wanted.
Foxdog Studios: Robo Bingo Kids
Ages 8 to 8,000: the thrills of bingo, robot frogs and low-cost prizes for the whole family. The UK's #1 IT consultants, Pete and Lloyd, present the perfect all-ages, interactive quirky bingo-based experience. Play using your (charged!) phone, but in a fun way! From the comfort of your seat, control the show, steer a robotic shopping bag and attempt to draw a perfect circle. Just bring your phone. There's no app to install, it works in your normal browser. No technical skill required; we'll get everyone connected before it starts.
CADEL: Lungs on Legs
The epic true story of the first Australian to win the Tour de France, live on stage. One actor. One bike. One hour. Performed entirely on a bike in an epic theatrical feat of endurance by acclaimed Australian actor Connor Delves. Pedalling non-stop for an hour, he recreates the thrilling journey of Cadel's 2011 Tour de France win, and all the triumphs, heartaches and sacrifices made along the way.
Yes, We're Related
Dysfunctional sisters Sara and Saskia are forced to confront the unpredictable stages of grief. Sara is living in denial, and Saskia is determined to celebrate the anniversary of their mother’s death with her quirky partner Mark and a party to die for. But when a jaw-dropping secret is revealed, things go from bad, to worse, to catastrophic. Hailed as a comedy echoing the best episodes of Only Fools and Horses, and sisterhood likened to BBC's Fleabag, Lace-Evans' smash-hit dark comedy returns to Fringe. Listed within the 'Top 100 Trending Shows of the Edinburgh Fringe 2024', Yes, We're Related is 'going to be "a thing"' (City AM). Awarded the Keep It Fringe Fund, and developed by SOHO Theatre Labs, YES, WE’RE RELATED became an immediate hit later going on to enjoy a sell-out London run at The Other Palace.
The Durham Revue: Sketch Marks the Spot
The Durham Revue are marooned on a desert island! How will they get out of this sketchy situation? An hour of raucous comedy! The group that brought you Ed Gamble, Stevie Martin, Nish Kumar, Ambika Mod and more return with a new troupe and 100% new material. Join the award-winning Durham Revue, one of the UK's top student comedy groups, for an hour of hilarious, cutting-edge sketches and laughs for everyone!
Ways of Knowing
Behold! A council of leeches, a mystic hermit, a Victorian inventor, an economics conference, a dark and dripping cave. Uncovering a mysterious series of visions and omens. Ways of Knowing delves into the ways we predict and prophesy the future. Amidst an intricate system of choreography, found text and live sound, Emergency Chorus wield science and magic to reckon with our precarious present and enter into the unknown. Winner of the Untapped Award, Ways of Knowing follows Emergency Chorus's previous acclaimed shows Landscape (1989) and CELEBRATION.
Scatter
Scatter, a terrifying new horror play from Patrick McPherson, the award-winning writer of sell-out Edinburgh and Soho Theatre hits The Man and Colossal.
Playback
It's 2013. Euan's 11. He's got a camcorder, a bowl cut and a dream. But as his fledgling YouTube channel begins to skyrocket, Euan quickly finds that fame isn't as fun as it looks. Shortlisted for the 2024 David MacLennan Award, Playback combines live performance with Euan Munro's real childhood YouTube videos to tell a deeply personal, darkly comic story about growing up online.
David's One-Man Band (F*ck You, Steven)
Welcome to the mid-noughties world of emo teen and future rockstar, David. He's smart. He's mature. He's memorised a diagram of a vulva and it definitely didn't make him feel sick. And he's here to headline Sticky Floors – the coolest under 16s band night in the Bay Area. But when his bandmate doesn't show, will he handle himself with a sense of poise and rationality? With live renditions of classic rock, original songs and emo bangers.
I AM – One of many, many of One
Winner of the Most Memorable Show, Lustrum Award 2023. Part of the modular series I AM. A first-generation immigrant straddles her Habesha (Eritrean/Ethiopian) heritage and British identity only to realise, when you leave everything behind for the promise of something better, it’s not "better". A poetic reflection on memory loss, displacement, tradition and survival, interwoven with language, customs, music and wearable tech MiMu gloves (as used by Imogen Heap). Neither a musical, nor drama: a new kind of storytelling. Outstanding Performance nominee Filipa Bragança Award, 2023.
Kate Owens: Cooking with Kathryn
Award-winning comedian Kate Owens presents her smash hit, critically acclaimed comedy show. Meet Kathryn: the "star" of her own community cookin' show, wannabe Nigella Lawson, and down-home southern belle with more wine in her veins than Jesus. She's serving up a wacked-out fricassee of absurd recipes, but the main course will be a reckoning with her troubled past and a chaotic encounter with a member of the congregation (maybe it'll be you!).
3 Chickens Confront Existence
In this surrealist and hilarious production, three factory farm chickens passionately explore their impossible situation – awaiting their imminent trip to the broiler. Tragedy morphs to comedy and back again as they explore mysticism, power struggles, class inequality, mythology and religion, with plenty of emotionally charged antics and surprises along the way.
Dirty Work
Mary Floppins has thrown a shit fit. Wipe the wee from the toilet seat and pick up your dirty undies, because The Perfect Nanny is back to teach all you little boys – and girls – a thing or two about running a prim and proper household. Returning to the UK after sold-out performances at Adelaide Fringe and Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Jessica Barton combines a spoonful of song, dance, clowning, and deep cleaning to present a skanky and empowering Edinburgh Fringe debut.
The Monkeypox Gospel
NYC, Summer 2022. Ngofeen gets his first big assignment at The New Yorker. It’s about the global “monkeypox” outbreak, and he’s the ideal reporter: his family comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo (the virus’s origin), and infections are spreading through sexual contact within New York’s queer community, including his own social circle. With a disorganized government response and two million people preparing to attend NYC Pride in a few weeks, getting the word out is critical. But the subject terrifies Ngofeen, having only recently left the evangelical church and broken his vow of lifelong celibacy (i.e. “you can be gay if you don’t act on it”). Now, by writing publicly about a world he rejected for so long, Ngofeen is testing the limits of the person he’s willing to become, while risking a confrontation with the community he’s abandoned. Ngofeen breaks his silence in this personal epidemic tale, featuring behind-the-scenes reporting, real audio interviews, flights of fantasy, and nerdy tangents into theology, science, opera, and language. written by Ngofeen Mputubwele directed by Alex Hare performed by Ngofeen Mputubwele and Alex Hare Adapted from the new podcast. Artwork: @danieleldibujo
Su Mi: THISMOTHERPHUCKER
THISMOTHERPHUCKER is a public nuisance. A dysfunctional anti-clown whose only mission is to destroy ego. Award-winning stand-up and drag performance artist Su Mi presents their debut show: an immersive surreal experience resurrecting every nostalgic moment left forgotten, healing the inner child and seeking to destroy archaic stereotypes and challenge the narrative of comedy whilst navigating a predominantly white cis space. BBC New Comedian of the Year nominee, finalist of Funny Women Awards and Musical Comedy Awards, and Top of the Slops drag superstar.
JEEZUS!
Falling for Jesus is a mortal sin. But damn, it feels good! Good South American altar boy Jesús is preparing for his first communion but when he looks at the hot man on the cross, he feels something... unholy. Catholic guilt collides with unrepentant queerness in this sinful, heart-pounding mix of live music, dark humour and Latin heat. JEEZUS! is a musical as irreverent as it is irresistible, tackling colonialism, religion and queer awakening. If Bo Burnham, Brecht and Bad Bunny had a baby, this would be it. Let's burn in hell! Winner of The Untapped Award 2025.
Jessica Durand: Over The Top
It's 1914. The Great War is destroying Europe. Except it's actually 2025 and Jessica Durand is (very bravely) staging her very own self-insert Downton Abbey fanfiction for a live audience. An absurd one-woman love letter to fandom, queer villainy and trench warfare. No prior knowledge of Downton Abbey (or WWI) is required.
Pear: Phobia
One of the top ten best reviewed shows of Edinburgh Fringe 2024. Six-foot-seven identical twins Hugo and Patrick McPherson, return with their hilarious new show Phobia, a new hour of chaotic sketch comedy. Come and witness the tallest, most identical comedians at the Fringe (not proven, though confidently assumed).
Pigs Fly Easy Ryan
An aviation bimbofication transubstantiation ritual for big-boy audiences 18 and over. Two flamin’ hot crash fetishists illegally impersonate flight attendants to sneaky-weeky onto a plane and live their ultimate fantasy – total destruction. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll attempt to feel something, anything, as we erotically cute-ify freedom in the face of climate collapse and rising global fascism. Rip off your own oxygen mask before furiously making out with the person next to you, and brace for landing; Pigs Fly Easy Ryan is checking you out. It’s time to check in.
Hole!
Plug up thy hole! A religious sect in Nebraska wears butt plugs at all times because they believe a wrathful God shall suck the unplugged up, ass-first, to burn on the face of the sun. The crazy thing is… they're right. HOLE! is an epic love story set in the apocalyptic aftermath of The Great Sucking, when the only people left on Earth are the fanatical Nebraskans - and anyone else who happened to be doing butt stuff at the time.
Foxdog Studios: Robo Bingo 2.0
Fresh bingo, new robots and lower quality prizes. The UK's #1 IT consultants, Pete and Lloyd, have created the best interactive quirky bingo-based experience for introverts. Play using your (charged!) phone, but in a fun way! From the comfort of your seat, control the show, steer a robotic shopping bag, attempt to draw a perfect circle, and become a statistic in our all-new multi-level bingo jail, dungeon and judicial system. If you don't like bingo, come to this. Winner of the 2024 Adelaide Fringe Innovation Award.
The Faustus Project
An actor makes a deal with the devil. This new version of Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus features a rotating cast of brave guest performers taking on the challenges of a devilish ensemble. One problem... they've never rehearsed with the rest of the cast. The Faustus Project is funny, a little dangerous and an actor's worst nightmare. With a fresh victim every night, this will be the ultimate theatrical torture. Funny, dangerous, devilish.
SHUNGA ALERT
Warning: adults only! An X-rated documentary-comedy about the sexual culture of Japan. The story of an artist, a sex doll and a virtual idol trying to create the sexiest shunga of all time, told with clowning, puppetry and live projection. Learn everything you wanted to know about sex in Japan but were too afraid to Google. Filthy, offensive and visually stunning! Don't say we didn't warn you! Winner of Best of the Fest at the San Diego Fringe Festival.
BATSU! Cowgate
Edinburgh, are you ready? Warriors, are you ready? Created in New York and Chicago, BATSU! returns to the Fringe after a wildly successful, sold-out 2024 run. This high-energy, spectacle pits fearless comedians against each other as they compete to avoid hilarious, jaw-dropping punishments. Inspired by Japanese-style game shows, expect the unexpected in this late-night Fringe hit. With visits from Sake Ninjas to shocking twists like paintball guns, electric shocks, and even a giant chicken - don’t miss the chaos, the laughter and the unforgettable madness that is BATSU! - the wildest show at the Fringe
Trygve Wakenshaw and Barnie Duncan: Hot Chips
Two men who like making funny shows together have decided to use the cavernous bowels of the Underbelly to stretch and writhe and dream the impossible dream one more time. A brand new show made right in front of you. Trygve lives in Prague and Barnie lives in New Zealand, so they don’t get to hang out very often, but this August they will, and they can’t wait to see what will happen. Physical verbose mime nonsense from two masters of their craftinesses. This one goes like this / that one goes like this It says a lot, without saying much. How do you feel about Hot Chips?