Edinburgh Fringe 2026: 24 comedy shows to catch
Our Comedy editor picks out a full day's worth of shows to look out for at this year's Fringe, from character comedy to stand-up to two separate shows about monks
Let’s begin with stand-up acts at this year’s Fringe. Iranian comedian Sepideh Kaav comes in hot with her show 1979: Persianality Disorder (Laughing Horse at Coco BoHo, 18-30 Aug, not 24, 5.15pm). An Immigrant’s Comedy Show (Hoots @ Nicolson Square, 7-30 Aug, 7.25pm) restores us with an hour of pro-immigration punchlines.
Over at Pleasance Courtyard, Zachary Ruane debuts with his solo show Comedy: it’s meta, self-referential, and wildly funny (7-30 Aug, not 25, 6.35pm). Sami Abu Wardeh asks us whether hate can help us (Pleasance Courtyard, 7-30 Aug, 10pm). Rising star Li Jin Hao invites us to meet on the moon via fever dream (Pleasance Courtyard, 7-30 Aug, 10pm). Dee Allum poses whether football can be transgender among life’s other big questions (Pleasance Courtyard, 7-30 Aug, 4.10pm).
Glasgow circuit stars Ifrah Qureshi (The Stand 3 & 4, 7-30 Aug, not 17, 10.15pm), Amanda Dwyer (The Stand, 7-30 Aug, not 17, 6pm), and Kate Hammer (Monkey Barrel Studio, 7-30 Aug, not 19, 5pm) all bring hilarious new shows. BBC New Comedy Award finalist Ayo Adenekan charms us with a fresh hour of material exploring love, loss and working through it (Monkey Barrel at Cab Vol, 7-30 Aug, not 17, 1.30pm).
On to alternative acts. Ratbags Theatre present How to Art, where two bananas awaken and are surprised to discover they are taped to a gallery wall (Underbelly, Cowgate, 8-30 Aug, not 17, 24, 9.40pm). Award-winning comedian Conk conducts a live art experiment (Summerhall, 7-31 Aug, not 17, 24, 7.45pm). Stephen Catling is a breath of fresh air, swapping his previous slug mask for a clown fish (Hoots @ Potterrow, 7-31 Aug, 10.30pm).
Widely loved Frankie Monroe brings not one but TWO shows. One’s a show for babies, naturally, and the other is an insane late night game show (Monkey Barrel 3, 24 Aug, 12pm, £11.50; Monkey Barrel 4, 25-31 Aug, 1.30am). Fringe newbie Leo Hincks tackles a ‘career altering’ award loss by confronting the reality he thought he lived in (Gilded Balloon Teviot, 8-31 Aug, not 17, 3.50pm).
Lukas Meintjes shocks with B48Y Crash Lands on Earth! where a gay nightclub witnesses a UFO crash landing (Assembly George Square, 7-30 August, not 12, 19, 25, 10.40pm). Award winner of too-many-to-list is Sophie Power; she presents CVNT, an insightful new show which is ‘half comedy, half unhinged therapy’ (Assembly George Square, 7-31 Aug, not 13, 20, 27, 8.20pm).
Fringe fave Creepy Boys return with SLUGS, their hit show about nothing and everything (Summerhall, 7-17 Aug, 10.40pm) Equally unique and bizarre is Maya Ricote’s debut hour Ay Am! (Pleasance Courtyard, 7-30 Aug, not 18, 25, 10.40pm). Annie Luján and Veronica Hortigüela are two medieval monks who fling open their monastery doors – huzzah! (Greenside @ George Street, 10-29 Aug, not 16, 23, 30, 7.35pm), while Soho Theatre presents the widely anticipated Underground Monk Show (Assembly George Square, 7-30 Aug, not 17, 10.15pm, £17.50).
Elf Lyons returns this year with a personal show, mixing the anecdotal with the abstract (Pleasance Courtyard, 7-31 Aug, not 17, 9.30pm), and Coco the Time-Travelling Tart invites us to come and misbehave in a high-glam, action packed hour (Underbelly George Square, 8-30 Aug, not 18, 25, 9.45pm).