EDINBURGH FRINGE FOR EVERYONE
Making the Edinburgh Fringe Festival more inclusive—both for artists and audiences. Our aim is to broaden participation; whether that is performing, attending, or working behind the scenes.
WHAT'S ON
Sketchy Comedy: Where Art and Comedy Collide
Hoots @ Nicolson Square — Nic 5 (Nicolson Square Venues Courtyard)
7 Aug - 30 Aug
Start times: 17:05
50 mins
Age: 16+Scottish award-winning stand-up comedian Gill shows that her fine art degree actually wasn't a waste of time. There is nothing quite like watching drawing emerge from a page. Pair that with completely improvised comedy and no show is the same. Gill Cordiner brings a show where art and comedy collide with hilarious results. You might take home an amazing portrait and jokes to tell everyone.
BOOK NOW#1 Son: The Tale of an Alternative Arab Comedian and His Father
Hoots @ Hilton (Bread Street) — Slice 5
7 Aug - 31 Aug
Start times: 17:10
60 mins
Age: 16+Ricky Gervais' Spirit of Comedy Award finalist Ridwan Hussain teams up with Iraqi Sammer Elzubaidi in this brand new show. A conservative dad clashes with his son's alternative comedy in a stand-up comedy narrative. Observational comedy meets anti-humour, props and chaos in this sharp, heart-warming father-son show about generational divide, immigration and a shared love of stand-up. BBC New Comedy Awards shortlist, Hoots Fringe Act of the Year, Crack Comedy Comedian of the Year.
BOOK NOWIn Memory of Me
By Kat HigginsHoots @ Nicolson Square — Nic 9 (Nicolson Square Gardens)
7 Aug - 30 Aug
Start times: 17:10
60 mins
Age: 14+Kat wants to be remembered. But being the favourite child is impossible when your competition is a literal angel. With Irish charm and cutting wit, Kat explores Catholic guilt, sibling rivalry and the "sainthood" of the dead in her sharp, storytelling debut. If you want a saint, go to church. If you want the truth, come to this. Tour support for Rosie Jones, Janine Harouni and Tatty Macleod, Kat made her television debut on BBC One and BBC Three as part of the BBC New Comedy Awards. Winner of the 2026 Chortle Hotshots bursary awards.
BOOK NOWThis Is Your Trial! The Fully-Improvised Comedy Courtroom
By RGB MonsterHoots @ The Apex — Hoot 2
7 Aug - 30 Aug
Start times: 17:10
55 mins
Age: 14+Guilty or innocent? You decide! The unmissable, award-winning, critically acclaimed courtroom roast returns! You accuse friends and family of crimes, and top comedians take on the roles of judge and defense lawyers, hearing testimony, cross-examining witnesses, and improvising their arguments for each case. It’s up to you the audience as jury to deliver your verdict. Never the same show twice, a must-do Fringe experience! 'A perfect bit of improv mayhem' ***** (Mirror). 'Inventive, intelligent comedy' **** (Scotsman).
BOOK NOW48 Chicken Nuggets in a Sequin Dress
Hoots @ Nicolson Square — Nic 7 (Nicolson Square Gardens)
7 Aug - 30 Aug
Start times: 17:20
45 mins
Age: 14+As he stares into hydrogenated, ultra-processed, non-brand-specific meat products bubbling away in a deep fat fryer for below minimum wage, award-winning comedian and runt-of-the-litter Charlie Ashton feels we’ve lost our way. For millennia, humanity lived in perfect harmony with nature, living in mud huts, taking mushrooms, squirming over each other in the filth. Then somewhere along the way some idiot put on a suit and ruined everything. A cathartic experience for anyone dreading Monday morning and Tuesday morning and Wednesday and every day until we die because they’ve upped retirement age to 120.
BOOK NOWAsian, But Wrong
Hoots @ Hilton (Bread Street) — Slice 2
17 Aug - 30 Aug
Start times: 17:20
60 mins
Age: 16+As seen on Fisk (Netflix) and the Melbourne International Comedy Gala, Singaporean-born, Australia-based Ting Lim makes her Edinburgh Fringe debut, unpacking growing up in an unorthodox family and what happens when you don't fit anywhere. Caught between strict Singaporean rules, Malaysian chaos and Australian life, Ting navigates relationships, expectations and the quiet absurdity of never quite belonging. Smart, dark and incisive without being preachy, this show finds humour in the uncomfortable space between where you're from and where you are now. **** (TheWest.com.au). 'Fast becoming one of Australia's hottest comedians' (BrisbaneStage.com).
BOOK NOWHoani Hoani Hoani Must Be Funny in a Rich Man's World
By Hoani HoteneHoots @ The Apex — Hoot 5
7 Aug - 31 Aug
Start times: 17:20
60 mins
Age: 18+Winner Billy T Award 2025 NZ International Comedy Festival. Winner Breakthrough Act 2025 NZ Comedy Guild. Gotta be funny to make that money and Hoani Hotene is in Melbourne to make that happen. Catch this award-winning Kiwi comedian while you can. Known for a smart but casual style, Hoani has a long list of awards and has travelled through NZ, Australia and Edinburgh making people laugh. 'It's clear big things are on the horizon for him' (NZ Herald).
BOOK NOWOne Man One Mullet: The Dan Stephens Show
By Dan StephensHoots @ Nicolson Square — Nic 8 (Nicolson Square Gardens)
7 Aug - 31 Aug
Start times: 17:30
60 mins
Age: 18+A stand-up comedy show featuring Ireland's Next Top Comic Winner 2024 Dan Stephens. He talks about the ups-and-downs of a single 37-year-old Irish man with a mullet. He is a regular at all of the main stand-up comedy venues in Ireland including The Laughter Lounge, The International Comedy Club, and The Craic Den. He has also headlined shows across Texas and Florida.
BOOK NOWDavid Hoare: How To Live To 100
By David HoareHoots @ Nicolson Square — Nic 3 (Nicolson Square Venues)
7 Aug - 31 Aug
Start times: 17:40
60 mins
Age: 18+Musical-One-Liner-Stand-Up Comedian David Hoare (aged 37) will teach you how to live to 100! The award winning Hoare brings his rude songs, stupid jokes and insightful expertise to the Fringe. Winner of Musical Comedy Awards 2021 Audience Favourite Award, Sold Out Run Fringe 2022 and tour support for Alison Spittle, Mark Nelson, Lauren Pattison and Dr Ed Patrick! 'An annoyingly funny young man' (Gary Delaney). 'David has that magic combination of quick wit and observational insight' (EdFringeReview.com). 'With some slick one-liners and aggression akin to Bo Burnham, James Acaster or Tim Vine' (Deadline.com).
BOOK NOWCharlie Vero-Martin: Poltergeist (WIP)
Hoots @ Potterrow — Big Yurt
19 Aug - 31 Aug
Start times: 17:55
50 mins
Age: 18+Step into a surreal world of ghosts, past lives and terrifying the establishment as a mid-30s woman. Charlie hangs up her props and puppets for a stripped-back work-in-progress challenge and realises she’s weird enough. Expect strange tales, colourful characters and unhinged takes in this high-energy stand-up comedy show. Funny Women Stage Award and Leicester Square Theatre Sketch Off finalist. As seen on BBC Scotland and Next Up Comedy. 'Stuffed to the gills with mad ideas from a truly gifted performer' **** (TheWeeReview.com). 'Charming, hilarious and beautiful' **** (EdFestMag.com). 'A real Renaissance woman' **** (BroadwayBaby.com).
BOOK NOWDavid Hoskin: Little Bit Horrible. Little Bit Good / Death Clock (WIP)
By David HoskinHoots @ Potterrow — Big Yurt
7 Aug - 18 Aug
Start times: 17:55
60 mins
Age: 14+Little Bit Horrible. Little Bit Good: A stupid clown-mime show with things going wrong. Death Clock: A physical comedy show. A clock mechanic struggles to keep time as a countdown begins, revealing strange, surreal worlds within a town clock. The audience decides how it ends.
BOOK NOWConfessions of a Serial Mother
By Emma BuckleHoots @ Nicolson Square — Nic 4 (Nicolson Square Venues)
7 Aug - 15 Aug
Start times: 18:00
60 mins
Age: 18+One woman's laugh-out-loud journey through the mess of motherhood and relationships in a multilingual home. With three sons, an insomniac and far too much testosterone flying around, this interactive show from Barcelona-based British actress, Emma Buckle, is for anyone – including those without children (as a cautionary tale perhaps?!). This comedy debut invites audience participation and some hilarious musical outbreaks to delve into some of the most hair-raising moments you can experience when raising a family in Barcelona as a Franco-British couple and things get lost in translation...
BOOK NOWCritics' Choice Comedy Showcase
Hoots @ Hilton (Bread Street) — Slice 3
7 Aug - 31 Aug
Start times: 18:00
55 mins
Age: 16+Enjoy snappy excerpts from the shows of four stand-ups you'll recognise from their posters full of stars. Different lineup every show: something to suit all comic tastes! Powered by British Comedy Guide.
BOOK NOWDead Parent Society – Chris Groves
Hoots @ Nicolson Square — Nic 4 (Nicolson Square Venues)
16 Aug - 29 Aug
Start times: 18:00
60 mins
Age: 16+Chris Groves turns grief into something refreshingly uplifting and unexpectedly funny. Blending sharp stand-up with heartfelt honesty in a life-affirming hour about loss, family and finding laughter when you need it most. He dives into strange, awkward and oddly funny moments following a loss, from dealing with practicalities to the unexpected ways grief shows up in everyday life. Open, warm, and genuinely funny, this is a show for anyone who’s lost someone – or just enjoys laughing at life (and death). You might not leave healed, but you will have laughed for a bit!
BOOK NOWIgnacio Lopez: The Four Of Us Are Dying Up Here
Hoots @ The Apex — Hoot 1
7 Aug - 31 Aug
Start times: 18:00
60 mins
Age: 12+Spain's Best Export, (As seen on Live At The Apollo, HIGNFY, Comedy Central and more) returns with an explosively funny show! Featuring Ignacio Lopez, with support from Ignacio Lopez, and newcomer Ignazio Lopes, hosted by Ignacio Lopez. 'A crowd-pleasing act for sure. This observational comic has struck a more compelling path' (List). 'A comedic genius at work. Sharp wit mixed with a dose of the ridiculous. A must see!' (One4Review.co.uk). 'Charming, charismatic, hilarious. Will have you leaving with a smile on your face' (Deadline.com).
BOOK NOWColman Hayes: Don't Make a Fuss
By Colman HayesHoots @ The Apex — Hoot 6
7 Aug - 29 Aug
Start times: 18:10
55 mins
Age: 16+Colman Hayes grew up Irish Catholic, emotionally repressed and deeply afraid of making a fuss. A dark stand-up show about relationships, shame, anxiety, sex, family and trying to keep everything together while quietly losing your mind.
BOOK NOWPasta and Passive Aggression (WIP)
Hoots @ Potterrow — Wee Container 1
7 Aug - 31 Aug
Start times: 18:15
60 mins
Age: 18+Tino, an Italian surviving Britain, finds comedy in passive aggression, rainy days and polite lies. Expect tales of cultural clashes, awkward encounters and the absurdities of life abroad.
BOOK NOWSteffan Alun: Windows
By Steffan AlunHoots @ The Apex — Hoot 4
7 Aug - 31 Aug
Start times: 18:15
60 mins
Age: 14+Winner of the Pegagus Award for Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Fringe 2025, the bisexual Welsh optimist returns with a brand-new hour of brilliant comedy. With strong opinions on pub quizzes, Stranger Things, behaviour on public transport, and why his mother's pretending his childhood home contained an extra bedroom. 'Warmth, wit, a proudly offbeat perspective' (BroadwayWorld.com). 'His timing is on point and he's incredibly engaging. If you like stand up, go and see Steffan Alun!' (One4Review.co.uk). 'Will lift the spirits of anyone in attendance.' (AYoungishPerspective.co.uk). 'Touching, accomplished and heartfelt storytelling' (FringeHire).
BOOK NOWFragments
Hoots @ The Apex — Hoot 3
7 Aug - 30 Aug
Start times: 18:20
50 mins
Age: 18+Dark humour hides dark secrets. Martin has always tried to deflect things with laughter (he’s even trying to make his therapist laugh). But behind the jokes there’s a frightened young boy hiding from the horrors he’s facing. This autobiographical dark comedy explores what happens when the laughter stops and you’re forced to explore the darkness that shaped you. Can Martin face his past? Nominated for an Impact Award at Reykjavik Fringe 2025. 'A deeply moving piece of personal theatre' (Richard Gadd, Baby Reindeer). 'Genuinely heartfelt' (AllEdinburghTheatre.com). Writer and performer Martin Bearne has appeared on BBC Scotland.
BOOK NOWKatie Mitchell: Giddy
Hoots @ Nicolson Square — Nic 6 (Nicolson Square Venues Courtyard)
7 Aug - 31 Aug
Start times: 18:20
60 mins
Age: 14+In the Los Angeles suburb of Ilkeston, Derbyshire, there’s scams brewin’. Under the earth, seeping up between your toes from where the coal used to be. Here is a place of monsters, darkness and sports! Join the World’s Greatest Sportsman Katie Mitchell for an hour of absolute silliness about how growing up an orphan on a council estate is the third funnest thing you can do. In an ambitious return to character comedy, Mitchell (Best in Class 2023, **** BroadwayWorld.com, **** TheWeeReview,com) is setting out to make her silliest and yet most autobiographical show yet.
BOOK NOW
