The Skinny Guide to Edinburgh: A brief guide to the Edinburgh Festivals

We all know and appreciate the value of arts and culture, especially in periods where we can see creativity, activism, and nonconformity all being challenged and thwarted. As we make our way into another festival season in Edinburgh, it’s worth remembering how privileged we are to have so much available on our doorstep; the multiplicity of voices and disciplines in every inch of the city highlighting the power of diversity, difference and, perhaps most importantly, community. August in Edinburgh isn’t without its issues, affordability being a key concern, but if we collectively continue hammering home the value of this creative ecosystem – for the many and not the few – maybe the tides will eventually turn.

Looking at the programmes for the Fringe, International, Book, Film, and Art Festivals, it’s positive to see how many countries are represented, proving that Edinburgh remains outward-facing and international in its outlook. There are far too many highlights to name in one go but for a comprehensive guide, check out The Skinny’s August issue and Fest, the latter of which publishes four issues between the end of July and August. For now, here’s a taste of what to expect and what we’d recommend, from world-renowned companies to up-and-coming stars. 

Comedy

Known as the Fringe’s ‘original home of comedy,’ Gilded Balloon will be celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, with a programme that marks the venue’s growth, success, and many milestones across the years. Highlights include Alan Davies, who presents his first Fringe show in 10 years; Rosie O’Donnell, who is performing at the Fringe for the first time; a Smack the Pony reunion; and an In Conversation series featuring Jenny Eclair, Michelle McManus, and a Two Doors Down reunion for Kieran Hodgson and Doon Mackichan. There’s new shows from favourites like Michelle Brasier, Kim Blythe, and Bec Hill. In partnership with Chloe Petts, Michelle Brasier also hosts Comedians On Stage Auditioning for Musicals, a sell-out late-night cult show fresh from Melbourne Comedy Festival where a line-up of comedians audition for a fictional theatre group.

Speaking of Melbourne hits, Garry Starr, who won this year’s Most Outstanding Show Award, is back with his Classic Penguins. He’ll be taking to Underbelly’s giant upside-down purple cow to perform every Penguin Classic novel ever written, mostly naked. Also at Underbelly, Trygve Wakenshaw and Barnie Duncan make a brand-new show right in front of you in Hot Chips, while Cabbage the Clown's debut hour promises a buffet of genres. Holly Spillar’s Tall Child is described as a musical hour on the impossibilities of being alive right now, while Grace Petrie presents a mash-up of stand-up and folk music in This Is No Time To Panic!.

Police Cops. Image: Will Hazel.

Trygve and Barnie are also performing their award-winning hour of office-set slapstick Different Party at Assembly George Square and nearby, in the Gordon Aikman Theatre, the Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow award-winner Susie McCabe returns with a new show, Best Behaviour. In the same space, Police Cops celebrate their 10th anniversary by bringing back the show that started it all, and in Assembly George Square Gardens, Jordan Gray brings us the fantastically named Is That a C*ck in Your Pocket, or Are You Just Here to Kill Me?.

On the theme of shows with excellent titles, Barry Ferns presents My Seven Years as Lionel Richie at Just the Tonic at The Caves, while Heidi Regan discusses love, loss, and facing your fears in Jekyll and Heidi at Banshee Labyrinth. At the same venue, Phil Green’s A Broken Man's Guide to Fixing Others tells the story of how a chance meeting at a failed Big Brother audition changed his life, and in The Ritual, Steffen Hånes and his loyal servant Gregory Lass invite you to revel in the company of vampires.

Urooj Ashfaq. Image: Jonny Ruff.

Over at the Pleasance, there’s the usual big mix of Fringe favourites and intriguing debuts. On the latter, we’re particularly excited about Toussaint Douglass, Seaton Smith, Zainab Johnson and Hasan Al-Habib. There’s also the always weird and wonderful Patti Harrison with Don't Ask: A Variety Show With Friends; Cat Cohen who returns to Edinburgh with Broad Strokes, the story of her randomly suffering a stroke in 2023; and Thanyia Moore, whose show August details what happened during her ill-fated debut hour in Edinburgh. 

A new addition to the comedy landscape in August is Summerhall, who have two shows in the comedy section this year: SLUGS, from the creators of 2023’s cult-hit CREEPY BOYS and Mr Chonkers, John Norris’ absurd clowning masterpiece. Edinburgh’s other year-round venues The Stand and Monkey Barrel also have plenty to look forward to. At Monkey Barrel, you’ll find two former Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer winners: Urooj Ashfaq, whose How to Be a Baddie sees the comic strive for edgelord status; and Joe Kent-Walters, who is back as our favourite demonic Working Men's Club owner, Frankie Monroe. There’s also Desiree Burch, Lou Wall, Liam Withnail, Krystal Evans, Janine Harouni, Jamali Maddix and so many more. Meanwhile, at The Stand, you can check out Mark Thomas, who celebrates 40 years at the mic; Jay Lafferty, who returns with new hour Ooft!; the endlessly inventive Seymour Mace; and Paul Sinha’s 30th anniversary show, 2 Sinha Lifetime. 

Theatre

There are some heavy-hitters in this year’s theatre section of the Edinburgh International Festival programme, including James Graham’s Make It Happen, which sees legendary actor Brian Cox return to the Scottish stage for the first time in a decade as Adam Smith, with Sandy Grierson as Fred Goodwin, the former RBS CEO. There’s also Works and Days, which blends stunning imagery, movement and music to explore our connection with the land we inhabit; and Faustus in Africa!, the multi-award-winning production which combines puppetry with animations and a haunting score.

In the Fringe programme, Summerhall remains the place to go for exciting new writing, from homegrown talent to international superstars. SKYE: A Thriller by award-winning theatre producer Ellie Keel and the first ever co-production with Summerhall Arts, explores ghosts, grief, and family relationships, as four siblings see their father standing on a beach, several years after his death. Anarchic theatre company IN BED WITH MY BROTHER return with Philosophy of the World, a grunge-filled show inspired by The Shaggs, three sisters whose father forced them to form a rock band; and radical performer Emma Frankland presents No Apologies, a raucous theatrical cabaret exploration into what society could have looked like if Kurt Cobain was a trans woman. Elsewhere, cabaret icon Jonny Woo charts his life from a childhood in Kent to queer performance and community in Suburbia; Hannah Maxwell brings BABYFLEAREINDEERBAG, a guide to making a successful Edinburgh Fringe sequel, after your last public overshare; and the inaugural Guimarães Rosa Institute Award winner Amazons is a stirring one-person exploration of Amazonian culture, colonialism and the fight for climate justice.

Johnny McKnight as Widow McTwank. Image: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan. 

Writer-musician Karine Polwart delves into ecological loss and collective ritual in Windblown at the Queen’s Hall, imagining the poetic and musical voice of the sabal palm in Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden. Meanwhile, at the Storytelling Centre, Mairi Campbell performs her acclaimed Pendulum Trilogy in its entirety for the first time. At the Traverse, you’ll find 12 productions in total – three world premieres, one European, three UK and three Scottish premieres. In She’s Behind You, director John Tiffany returns to the venue alongside Johnny McKnight for an uplifting journey exploring our love of panto and the dames that define it. Standing In The Shadows of Giants is an autobiographical musical play by Lucie Barât, sister of The Libertines' frontman Carl Barât, and Red Like Fruit is a haunting post-#MeToo fable. At Assembly, don’t miss Betty Grumble's Enemies of Grooviness Eat Sh!t, in which the performance artist and 'sex clown' takes on climate collapse and patriarchal violence; Ohio, a musical experience featuring Obie-winning indie-folk duo The Bengsons; and Barrowland Ballet’s Chunky Jewellery, a joyous celebration of sisterhood. 

Also exploring sisterhood, albeit in a more dysfunctional way, Yes, We’re Related at Underbelly Cowgate is a dark comedy about the unpredictable stages of grief. At the same venue, KINDER follows drag artist Goody Prostate in a chaotic exploration of childhood, memory, and stories, while podcast duo Rubina Pabani and Poppy Jay talk sex in Brown Girls Do It Too: Mama Told Me Not to Come at Underbelly Bristo Square. At Gilded Balloon, Float is Indra Wilson’s solo show about the turbulent journey of experiencing pregnancy loss as a queer young person, and Dreamscape combines beatboxing, spoken-word and hip-hop dance to tell the true story of the night Californian policemen shot dead nineteen-year-old Tyisha Miller. Sticking with the police theme, ​​Isla Cowan’s Alright Sunshine at Pleasance Dome follows PC Nicky McCreadie as she responds to a mass brawl on Edinburgh’s Meadows, and in the same space, The Insider by Denmark’s Teater Katapult looks at greed and large-scale financial fraud. Belgian theatre company Ontroerend Goed’s Thanks for Being Here at ZOO Southside attempts to dissolve the boundaries between audience and performers, and at ZOO Playground, Another Sight is staged completely in the dark and performed by a cast of both blind and sighted actors. 

Music

There’s an exciting new gig series taking place during this year’s Fringe, with some pretty wide-ranging acts involved. Big Nights @ La Belle starts off strong on Fri 1 August with The 900, the UK’s first and only Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater cover band, followed by American songwriter and multi-instrumentalist BC Camplight on Sun 3. Later in the month, Jurassic 5 legend Chali 2na takes to the La Belle stage (Mon 11 Aug), Pete Doherty plays two consecutive nights (Tue 12 and Wed 13 Aug), Thumpasaurus make their grand return to the Fringe (Mon 18 Aug) and Eurovision favourite Baby Lasagna makes a pitstop following his European tour (Mon 25 Aug). 

Elsewhere in the Fringe programme, there’s some great experimental work to check out, including Channel at Assembly Roxy by Dutch Kills Theater Company and musician/composer Wet Hands. The show invites you to sit, stand or lie down as you’re led through an immersive sound bath, guided by live ambient electronic music. At the French Institute in Scotland, Scottish artist and musician Lomond Campbell presents a unique live performance of MUO, an audiovisual experience 'powered by the universe itself'. Lomond performs with his one-of-a-kind handmade instrument, the Muonophone, creating a constantly evolving sonic landscape. Russian protest art collective Pussy Riot are back at Summerhall, merging punk, electronica, theatre, documentary footage and protest, and Dan Willson (Withered Hand) is joined by a host of very special guests at the Queen’s Hall on Thu 21 August. 

Endea Owens @ Edinburgh International Festival. Image courtesy of the artist. 

As usual, there is a plethora of new musicals that will be touching down at the Fringe, with many likely going on to have runs outside of Edinburgh. How to Win Against History at Underbelly is a comedy musical that tells the true story of Henry Cyril Paget, once one of the world's wealthiest men, who squandered it all on being fabulous. At Pleasance, World's Greatest Lover sees literature’s most legendary lovers, from Casanova to Romeo, hunt for the truth about love, while Midnight at the Palace at Gilded Balloon is about the avant garde psychedelic hippie theatre group The Cockettes, who took San Francisco by storm in 1969. Also at Gilded Balloon, Darby James returns with his one-man musical comedy about sperm donation, Little Squirt.

At the International Festival, there’s the usual packed programme of classical music, with highlights including BBC Young Musician of the Year 2024 Ryan Wang performing four works by Chopin (Mon 18 Aug) and The London Philharmonic Orchestra with Holst’s The Planets (5 Aug). On Wed 20 August, Breaking Bach sees the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, performing on 18th-century period instruments, joined by a troupe of dancers whose new choreography brings Bach’s music to life, and Triptic (Mon 11 Aug), featuring Greg Lawson, Phil Alexander and Mario Caribé, is a blend of tango, klezmer and jazz. In opera, you’ll find Opera Queensland’s production of Orpheus and Eurydice in association with Australian contemporary circus company Circa, who are joined by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and a chorus from Scottish Opera. There’s also the UK premiere of Huang Ruo's reimagining of ancient Chinese myth Book of Mountains and Seas, featuring the Danish choir Ars Nova Copenhagen. In the contemporary music section, don’t miss jazz saxophonist, spoken word poet and activist Alabaster DePlume (Fri 8 Aug), Scottish singer-songwriter Kathryn Joseph (Sat 9 Aug), American composer, performer and producer Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith (Sat 16 Aug), and Grammy-winning jazz bassist Endea Owens (Sun 24 Aug). 

Dance, Physical Theatre & Circus

Besides music, the International Festival boasts a really interesting programme of dance, ranging from local companies to international choreographers. In The Dan Daw Show, the Australian dancer fuses sexy choreography and touching theatricality to take a stand against ableism, while in Dance People, Lebanese-French dance company Maqamat presents an interactive dance performance in the Old College Quad. Mary, Queen of Scots is Scottish Ballet’s retelling of the story of one of Scotland’s most famous women, and Crystal Pite and Simon McBurney unite with Nederlands Dans Theater for Figures in Extinction, confronting the climate crisis through movement and sound. 

At the Fringe, Dance Base have once again joined forces with Assembly this year to create Assembly @ Dance Base, with 29 shows from 13 countries. Highlights include through warm temperatures, a merging of Mele Broomes' choreography and vocals, with Simone Seales' live cello and electronic soundscapes; Kathryn Gordon: A Journey of Flight, an immersive 50-minute dance performance created in Shetland and inspired by the migration of birds; and Stepping In... Spilling Out, Mark Bleakley’s collaboration with French percussionist Rémy Gouffault – all part of the Made in Scotland showcase. Also at Dance Base, in Score three performers' muscles are involuntarily activated, allowing choreography to be driven by computational code, exploring the impact of technology on nature and human life.

The Dan Daw Show. Image: Hugo Glendinning.

At Assembly Hall, the Copenhagen Collective’s The Genesis unites 17 internationals for an hour-long jaw-dropping acrobatic and heartfelt storytelling performance, while Circa: Wolf at Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows is described as 'a gasp-inducing acrobatic thrill ride.' Over at Pleasance at EICC, Champions explores parent-child relationships, homophobia and grief, within a scenography that comes to life. 

At Summerhall, Balfour Reparations is Farah Saleh’s fascinating performance lecture, which examines the UK's colonial legacy in Palestine, reflecting on a fictive apology letter issued by the UK in 2025 promising reparations to the Palestinian people. Ruxandra Cantir’s Pickled Republic is a surreal theatrical cabaret for adults with puppetry, masks and vegetables, while Nick Nikolaou’s Anatomy of a Night is an exploration of personal identity through a reflection of memories from queer and club spaces. On a similar theme, at Zoo, check out Small Town Boys, which follows a young man as he embarks on a thrilling journey from his small hometown to the big city’s vibrant LGBTQ+ scene. Meanwhile, at the same venue, Women in Socks and Sandals explores what happens when women enter a world created by men. 

Cabaret

If you’re looking for a guaranteed good time, head on over to the cabaret section of the Fringe programme, where you’ll find party-starters and dancefloor divas. Dangerous Goods at Assembly George Square Gardens features a world-class line-up of circus, aerials, drag, burlesque, and power vocals from intersectional feminist theatre disruptors Polytoxic, which also includes artists from the previous smash-hit Hot Brown Honey. At the same venue, check out Frisky's Reshuffle, in which Frisky (of Frisky & Mannish) presents her debut solo adventure, which promises a genre-spanning live music extravaganza. 

At Assembly Checkpoint, Tomáš Kantor's debut Sugar is about a gender-queer twink who discovers there's money to be made from transactional relationships, with songs by everyone from Kylie to Chappell Roan. Meanwhile, at Assembly George Square, Dream Space, part of the Korean Season, is an immersive island adventure with puppetry, music and movement, and at the Gilded Balloon Patter House, Sink or SING! invites the audience to join in with the ultimate interactive singing party led by Australia's international vocal coach, songwriter, and performer Amelie Peters. 

STARDUST. Image: Jackson Ducasse

At Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows, Bernie Dieter is back with her Club Kabarett, featuring circus, gender-bending aerial, fire-breathing and more, accompanied by her fantastic house band. And STARDUST Starring Star Dust (In Person) at Underbelly Bristo Square is the debut from Punchdrunk’s Kat McGarr, which follows a cabaret meltdown with power ballads, sing-alongs and more. In Moonage Rhapsody at the Voodoo Rooms, cabaret artist Aidan Sadler teams up with Soho virtuoso Natasha Panas for an exuberant love letter to the work of David Bowie and Freddie Mercury.

Kids

For the little ones, there’s always so much to choose from across the programme, whether you’re after shows for tiny babies or something entertaining for older kids. We’d recommend Jody Kamali’s Mr Sleepybum's Dream Machine at Assembly Roxy, which was the winner of the Best Kids Show at Leicester Comedy Festival 2025. The show follows Mr Sleepybum, a man who struggles to dream, so he invents a machine that magically brings dreams to life. Also at the same venue, The Unlikely Friendship of Feather Boy and Tentacle Girl is a touching story of a girl who wants to be a monster and a boy who wants to fly, with stunning aerial feats by Vee Smith and Sadiq Ali. At Assembly George Square, the hilarious New Zealand performer Trygve Wakenshaw presents Monsterrrr!; The Listies are back with Make Some Noise; and The Box Show features drumming, dance, comedy and more, using nothing but recycled junk and the human body.

The Mequetrefo. Image: Luiz Doro.

At the Pleasance Courtyard, You're an Instrument!, is an all-ages family show and musical science experiment exploring the history of sound and music, where anything and everything becomes a musical instrument. Meanwhile, You'll See…, part of the 2025 Culture Ireland Edinburgh Showcase, sees James Joyce's epic story of one day in one city brought to life for audiences aged eight and upwards, with live performance, intricate paper design and an original score. Also for a similar age group, GO! at Zoo Southside combines contemporary dance, martial arts and digital technology, and A.L.Ex and the ImproBots: How to Train Your Robot at Gilded Balloon Patter House is fast-paced science theatre for the whole family with real robots, games and storytelling. 

At Underbelly, The Mequetrefo is another family-friendly show mixing pantomime and clowning, created by renowned Brazilian theatre and circus company, Parlapatões. And for a guaranteed laugh, head to Laughing Horse @ The Counting House for Olaf Falafel's Stupidest Super Stupid Show – New Improved Recipe, where comedian and children's author Olaf Falafel serves up drawing, jokes and possibly a poo on a pogo stick. 

Film & Art

The Edinburgh International Film Festival is back under new leadership from CEO and Festival Director Paul Ridd and Festival Producer Emma Boa. This year’s festival runs from 14-20 August and though the full programme is still to be announced at the time of writing, Eva Victor’s acclaimed comedy-drama SORRY, BABY will open the festival in August. Elsewhere on the programme, there’s the world premiere of Ben Wheatley’s new film BULK, which will mark the opening night of the Festival’s Midnight Madness strand, and Paul Sng’s immersive documentary REALITY IS NOT ENOUGH, about Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh, will be the Closing Night film. 

The Edinburgh Art Festival is also back this year from 7-24 August with another packed programme of exhibitions, events, discussions and collaborations. The festival is spread out across the city and beyond, with a range of newly commissioned works and for the first time, an EAF Pavilion, located at Outer Spaces on Leith Street. In the exhibition space, Lewis Hetherington and CJ Mahony present who will be remembered here, a tender film which draws intimate connections between Scottish queer people across the span of Scottish history. JUPITER RISING X EAF is also back again on Sat 16 August in the stunning landscape of Jupiter Artland, with a line-up including artist Jonathan Baldock, Queer as Folklore writer Sacha Coward, TAAHLIAH and Ponyboy.

Linder. Image: Charlotte Cullen.

The festival itself will open with Linder’s A kind of glamour about me at the Royal Botanic Garden, a new performance in collaboration with choreographer Holly Blakey, composer Maxwell Sterling and fashion designer Ashish Gupta. Lewis Walker, meanwhile, presents their new work, Bornsick, on 23 August, which is an autobiographical narrative reflecting the idea that we inherit illness. 

At Dovecot Studios, IKEA: Magical Patterns looks at six decades of groundbreaking textile design by IKEA and at Stills Centre for Photography, you’ll find an extensive collection from Siân Davey’s series, The Garden, presented in Scotland for the first time. Edinburgh Printmakers will display the work of Aqsa Arif, whose printmaking, textile, sculpture and film explores elements of Pakistani folklore.

Books

This year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival runs from 9-24 August, returning to the Edinburgh Futures Institute with 641 writers from 35 countries, across six continents. The programme takes on topics such as geopolitics, disinformation, and the climate emergency, with 'Repair’ as the core theme for 2025, which will be tackled by the likes of Robert Macfarlane, Louise Welsh, Monica Feria-Tinta, Omar El Akkad, Katie Kitamura and Yiyun Li. 

Maggie O'Farrell. Image: Murdo Macleod

The Front List series, a partnership between the Book Festival and Underbelly, is back for its second year at McEwan Hall, with names including Maggie O’Farrell, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Nicola Sturgeon, Yulia Navalnaya, Ian McEwan, R F Kuang, Ally McCoist, Ruth Jones, Butter author Asako Yuzuki, Mark Kermode and guest Brian Cox. International fiction is well represented across the programme, with Korea’s Hwang Sok-yong, Ukraine’s Andrey Kurkov, Spain’s Javier Cercas, China’s Liu Zhenyun, Brazil's Cacica Juma Xipaia, France’s Laurent Binet, Aotearoa-New Zealand’s Becky Manawatu, and Germany’s Daniel Kehlman all on the bill. 

Elsewhere, the Book Festival's Spiegeltent is back with poetry, spoken word, music and more, providing some late-night fun for festival-goers. Highlights include a brand-new commission from local indie music marvel Hamish Hawk reinterpreting the eccentric work of Ivor Cutler; a Frankenstein-themed cabaret; a collaboration between Esther Swift and Jackie Kay; plus performances from Callum Easter, Mallachy Tallack, Simone Seales, and Mele Broomes. As well as the Festival’s main base at EFI and the Front List events at McEwan Hall, there are also special offerings to check out at Elliott’s Studio, the National Library of Scotland and Dynamic Earth.