Comedy Events

Comedy

The words ‘Edinburgh comedy’ will forever be associated with one thing – the Fringe. The Scottish comedy landscape is dominated by the August explosion of the Edinburgh Fringe. For three weeks every year the city is occupied by all the world’s comedians, with perennial favourites like Jason Byrne, Reginald D Hunter, Bridget Christie and David O’Doherty pouring into the city and setting up shop for packed out rooms.

For every bankable comedy star in a well respected venue like the Assembly Rooms or the Pleasance there are a hundred shows* which end in tragic failure. Edinburgh comedy gives, and Edinburgh comedy takes away – every year a tipping point is passed in week two when performers realise their fame and fortune will not be made this year, and actually they’re now £30,000 in debt for the privilege of performing to empty rooms and drowning their sorrows in £5 pints of watered down Australian lager. It’s all part of the Edinburgh Fringe experience, though.

For the rest of the year Edinburgh Comedy basically means The Stand, a stalwart of stand-up and new talent development that delivers the goods night after night, and Monkey Barrel, with a range of regular shows and an ever-increasing schedule of touring shows from some of those Fringe comics from two paragraphs ago. You can find out about all the latest events and what’s on in Edinburgh comedy in The Skinny's comedy section.

*This number has no factual basis.