Assembly Festival Announces New Shows Added To Programming
Fringe First winner Alaa Shehada’s THE BRIDGE will be a part of the festival.
Assembly Festival has announced their line-up of part-run gems, with everything from club bangers to experimental circus and hilarious Aussie comedy.
‘Yes Person’ from experimental circus company based on kimberley take on radical yes-saying, killing your darlings and allowing discarded ideas to flourish on stage. Premiering in Helsinki, and following a successful run across Sweden, Denmark, Spain and beyond, the Berlin-based company will debut ‘Yes Person’ at Edinburgh Fringe at Assembly Roxy from 25-31 Aug. A circus show that celebrates ideas too peculiar to live...but too fabulous to die.
Elsewhere in the programme, absurd comedy and the rise of right-wing populism takes centre stage in ‘The Terribly Credible Definitely Edible Tale of the Town of Cropshire’, at Assembly Roxy. A farcical town of welly-wearing farmers and perpetually confused politicians deal with a nationwide ban on vegetables in this Shedload of Future Fund winning show.
Aussie Comic, and host of Australian Bake-Off, Claire Hooper is doing what it takes to become fun in ‘Claire Hooper: Fun Show xx’. A rollercoaster of jokes from an adult who hates rollercoasters, the host of Claire Hooper’s House of Games does her best to become fun again, with the show running from 20-30 Aug at Assembly Roxy.
Other comics with short runs at this year’s festival include star of Taskmaster NZ ‘Guy Williams: Rich people are stealing from you and blaming brown people and trans people and some people believe them aaahhhhhh!’and award-winning dancer and comedian Sam Burkett’s improv and experimental dance show ‘GOSS’. Brian Bilston: How to Lay an Egg with a Horse Inside sees one of the UK’S most beloved poets take audiences through the hows, whys and whats of enjoying poetry every day.
‘Hot Dub Time Machine Presents House Party’ takes over Assembly Hall for ten days of bangers from 1970-2026, and Australia’s best tribute act dazzle audiences with the ultimate 70s party in ‘70s Jukebox by The 60 Four’. Hailing from Austin, Texas, the internationally acclaimed ‘Movin’ Melvin Brown: Hit The Road Jack! The Music and Story of Ray Charles’ is an unforgettable journey through rhythm, blues and soul.
There’s the BAFTA award winning Kimberley Nixon’s new play about motherhood, postpartum psychosis and stand up in ‘Baby Brain’, immersive Afrofuturism in ‘Arcana’ from writer-composer Fay Guiffo, and a celebration of Ireland’s national sports in ‘Ham Sandwiches and Discipline’. Ariana and The Rose debut ‘The Breakup Variety Hour’ with soaring synth-pop anthems and razor-sharp wit, Primal Scream blends opera and psychodrama, and ‘Divas: From Stage to Screen’ sing everything from Carole King to Cher, Sabrina Carpenter to Shirley Bassey.
The full Assembly Festival programme continues to receive rave reviews across the board. Alaa Shehada’s ‘The Bridge’, which won a Fringe First last week, will return for a special run of extra shows in Assembly George Square Studios from 28-30 Aug. ‘Scaramouche Jones’, Justin Butcher’s timely tragic clown, continues to dazzle audiences at Assembly St Andrew Square, and the lives and legacies of beloved rock musicians are celebrated in ‘27 Club’.
Tickets for the full Assembly Festival programme are now available at www.assemblyfestival.com.
About Assembly Festival
Assembly Festival is the longest-running and most prestigious curated multi-venue operator at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Every August, it presents an outstanding programme of theatre, comedy, dance, music, cabaret and more. 2026’s festival welcomes performers from across the globe, filling Assembly’s iconic venues with astounding talent, giving Fringe-goers the chance to revel in the unbeatable atmosphere and enjoy world-class bars and street food across the city.
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