The Best Comedy Shows of Edinburgh Fringe 2022

The Fringe is back! The comedy section of the 2022 Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme features thousands of performances, so it helps to be able to narrow things down. This page will hopefully do help – we'll be updating it throughout the Edinburgh Fringe with our reviewers' four- and five-star write-ups of some of the Fringe's funniest shows.

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Michelle Brasier @ Assembly George Square (★★★★★)

Michelle Brasier's Average Bear is an impeccably timed, unflinchingly genuine rollercoaster ride. Joy sits alongside heartbreak, humour intertwines with pain – and these feel ever more like a sucker punch when our guards are down. Read our full review here.

Amy Gledhill @ Monkey Barrel (★★★★★)

In the solo Fringe debut of one half of the Delightful Sausage, stories of childhood humiliations and romantic disappointments romantic are spun into comedy gold and more than deliver on the ‘juicy’ tales promised. Read our full review here. Photo: Matt Crockett

Olga Koch @ Monkey Barrel (★★★★★)

Loud, proud and gloriously unabashed, this razor-sharp, immaculately-crafted celebration of hoe culture details Olga Koch's search for sexual liberation after a breakup and doesn’t just knock on the door of sex positivity - It kicks the hinges off and squirts on the welcome mat. Read our full review here. Photo: Matt Stronge

Leo Reich @ Pleasance Courtyard (★★★★★)

It’s all here: performative convictions, the alienation of self, decimated attention spans, the sadness of coming of age in a pandemic. Leo Reich’s debut show is dazzling. Read our full review here. Photo: Raphael Neal

Mr Chonkers @ Monkey Barrel (★★★★★)

An hour of chaotic clowning, it's genuinely astonishing how much fun John Norris manages to pack into Mr Chonkers. It’s probably not for everyone, but for any lovers of clowning, absurdity or silliness in spades, this is not one to miss. Read our full review here. Photo: Alan Michnoff

Crybabies @ Pleasance Dome (★★★★)

Crybabies' new show Bagbeard is a lo-fi mashup of Hollywood tropes, delivered with a distinctively British sketch sensibility. Read the full review here. Photo: Rebecca Need-Menear

Crizards @ Assembly George Square (★★★★)

Will Rowland and Eddy Hare’s cowboy show is full of character play and rootin-tootin' fun. Read our full review here. Photo: Rebecca Need-Menear

Jordan Gray @ Assembly George Square (★★★★)

Jordan Gray pairs near-manic delivery with excellent musical comedy in her Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated show, Is It A Bird?. Read our full review here. Photo: Dylan Woodley

Catherine Bohart @ Monkey Barrel (★★★★)

Speaking faster than any other act gracing a Fringe stage, Catherine Bohart is able to fit in twice as many laughs in this tight set, where the placement of every word and facial expression is precise and captivating. Read our full review here. Photo: Matt Crockett.

Laura Davis @ Monkey Barrel (★★★★)

Covering a vast array of content from social media discourse to climate change, feminism to real-life events, Davis never alludes to having all the answers: they’re just as confused as any of us can be. Read our full review here. Photo: Matt Crockett

Flo & Joan @ Assembly Roxy (★★★★)

Silly, sweet and surprisingly surreal, sister double act Flo & Joan are gifted at injecting energy into their set exactly how and when it’s needed. They foray into new musical styles, which adds a whole new edge to their usually classic cabaret tunes. Read the our full article here. Photo: Matt Crockett

Ali Brice @ Banshee Labyrinth (★★★★)

 Ali Brice's gently teases his audience in a playful, surreal hour of standup with a wholesome emotional core. Under visual gags and a bizarre collection of props is a pure message. Read our full article here. Photo: Miranda Holms

Patti Harrison @ Pleasance (★★★★)

Patti Harrison's comedy, certainly not for the faint of heart, blurs the lines between reality and invention - At times she even gets laughs whilst delivering (apparently) deadly serious monologues. Read our full review here. Photo: Tonje Thilesen

Alison Spittle @ Pleasance (★★★★)

Often delivering punchlines with a faux relaxedness as though she herself doesn’t realise the comedic significance of what she’s just said, Alison Spittle takes audiences on an adventure through various kinds of contraception. Read our full review here. Photo: Karla Gowlett

Josh Pugh @ Monkey Barrel (★★★★)

Josh Pugh's fond take on British masculinity is a big hit with the crowd, but he also takes risks, moving the material into more personal territory, and leaning into darker aspects of his life. Read our full review here. Photo: Sam Frank Wood.

Sunil Patel @ Monkey Barrel (★★★★)

Sunil Patel's carefully considered comedy feels like an antidote to the raucous and the zany, and his analytical take on comedy isn't what the people want - But that turns out to be its biggest advantage. Read our full review here. Photo: Matt Crockett.

Rob Auton @ Assembly George Square (★★★★)

From chant, to song, to conversation and back again, Rob Auton is a complex puzzle of a man who balances the philosophical, the poetic and the funny. Read our full review here. Photo: A D Zyne

Jessica Fostekew @ Monkey Barrel (★★★★)

In a nuanced, vivid and energetic exploration of identity, Jessica Fostekew spins out a very funny fantasy of what queer sex might look like using the half-arsed preconceptions of her inquisitors. Read our full review here. Photo: Matt Stronge

Jordan Brookes @ Monkey Barrel (★★★★)

Talking to characters that may or may not in fact be there, unusual physical delivery, and mild audience antagonism – all the staples of Jordan Brookes' act are here, and This Is Just What Happens is another exciting and compelling hour from the Edinburgh Comedy Award winner. Read our full review. Photo: Anneliese Nappa

Sarah Keyworth @ Pleasance Courtyard (★★★★)

Both outrageously silly and deeply moving all at once, Sarah Keyworth has a way of finding humour in her own quirks and those of the people around her in a way that never punches down or mocks. Read our full review here.

Tarot @ Pleasance Courtyard (★★★★)

Narratives are built, fall away, and are built again; With moments of near-nudity and visceral, slapstick physicality, Tarot's restless energy is a big part of the show’s success. Read our full review here. Photo: Drew Forsyth

Celya AB @ Pleasance Courtyard (★★★★)

From learning to swim at the age of 25, to her experiences immigrating from Paris to Birmingham, to her dating life, bisexuality, and past affinity for metal music, Celya AB intersperses storytelling with more physical impressions. Read our full review here. Photo: Rachel Sherlock

Morgan Rees @ Pleasance Courtyard (★★★★)

With many weird and wonderful stories under his belt, but heartfelt in his more confessional moments, Morgan Rees' hour is filled with the kind of laughter that bursts out of you in spite of yourself. Read our full review here. Photo: Steve Ullathorne

Tom Walker @ Assembly George Square (★★★★)

From claustrophobic mimes to smelly hands, and a love for Jan Železný, Czech javelinist extraordinaireGently absurd style of storytelling has the room cackling with glee. Read our full review here.

Rajiv Karia @ Pleasance Courtyard (★★★★)

"Karia provides such a rounded and endearing picture of himself, and delivers it with such gentle charm, that there's a risk audience members will hang about Pleasance afterwards in an attempt to continue a (so far imaginary) friendship." Read our full review here. Photo: Matt Stronge

Chloe Petts @ Pleasance Courtyard (★★★★)

Chloe Petts' Edinburgh Fringe show Transience is full of big laughs, with perhaps a larger, more serious purpose at work. Read our full review here. Photo: Matt Crockett

Lara Ricote @ Monkey Barrel (★★★★)

Lara Ricote’s debut Edinburgh Fringe hour, GRL/LATNX/DEF is full of energy, goofiness and heart that manages to brighten even the dark and sticky room that is The Hive. Read our full review here. Photo: Steve Ullathorne

Sam Lake @ Pleasance Courtyard (★★★★)

An hour of comedy with warmth and well-earned sentiment (plus a bit of excellent tech usage), Sam Lake makes an impressive Edinburgh Fringe debut with Cake. Read our full review here.

Ania Magliano @ Pleasance Courtyard (★★★★)

With an easy-going warmth and mastery of her material, it’s quickly clear just what an accomplished stand-up 22-year-old Ania Magliano is. Read our full review here. Photo: Matt Stronge

Sophie Duker @ Pleasance Courtyard (★★★★)

It’s freeing to watch Sophie Duker embrace her true self and live her best life on stage – and when the punchlines hit as consistently as Duker’s do, it’s also guaranteed to be a riotously fun time. Read our full review here. 

Hannah Fairweather @ Just the Tonic, The Caves (★★★★)

Just a Normal Girl Who Enjoys Revenge is a satisfying, therapeutic vent, and not unlike an extended voice note from that one hilarious friend who you always have time for. Read our full review here. Photo: Karla Gowlett

Norris and Parker @ Monkey Barrel (★★★★)

Norris and Parker return with a new Edinburgh Fringe show that's sure to delight veterans and newbies alike. Read the full review here. Photo: Rebecca Need-Menear

Shelf @ Pleasance Courtyard (★★★★)

The debut Fringe show from double act Rachel WD and Ruby Clyde is a self-assured look at gender identity and expression. The show feels like an excellent use of the stand-up form; the perfect space in which to play with and investigate gender conventions. Read the full review here. 

Julia Masli: CHOOSH! @ Assembly Roxy (★★★★)

Masli’s debut show is rather irresistible, and feels like an archetypal Fringe experience from the lo-fi aesthetic to its moments of joyful collectivity. It's a delightful confection of silliness, but there are flashes of steel in its fun. Read the full review here. Photo: Andy Hollingworth Archive

 

Patrick Spicer: Patrick Spicer @ Gilded Balloon (★★★★)

Spicer is an engaging and natural storyteller, who radiates a lively energy that puts you at ease, even as he professes about all the times throughout his life he has been anything but. Read the full review here. Photo: James Deacon

Thanyia Moore @ Monkey Barrel (★★★★)

Moore oozes confidence, the room is bubbling with glee from the moment she lands on stage. She knows how to play around and chat back, but still stay on task. Although experienced, it’s impressive given this is her first Edinburgh hour. Read the full review here. Photo: Shazad Khalid

Erika Ehler @ Monkey Barrel (★★★★)

Provocative, filthy and flirty, the space Ehler creates feels safe enough for her to talk about pretty much whatever she wants. It just so happens that she wants to talk about her sexual conquests, better known as her ‘twinks’. Read the full review here. Photo: Matt Crocket

Danielle Walker @ Assembly George Square (★★★★)

A generously warm show rooted in family and told with love and laughs, Walker invites you into her family home and readies you for a family get-together with the loved ones you really should make an effort to see more. Read the full review here.

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For all the latest from across the Edinburgh Fringe, follow us at @theskinnymag on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and take a look at our sister magazine Fest – their dedicated team are all over this year's Edinburgh Festivals with reviews, interviews and more.