EDINBURGH 2026: Chris Forbes Q&A

BWW catches up with Chris Forbes to chat about bringing Father Christmas to the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Tell us a bit about Father Christmas.

The show is a biographical account of how my relationship with Christmas changed over the years from childhood to adulthood. It’s also a celebration of traditions, family and embracing those closest to us. Christmas can bring out the best and worst in us all so it’s the perfect topic to explore for comedy. It’s a deeply personal show but I’ve found it resonates with a lot of people who either love or hate Christmas.

Is a Christmas show in August a bit of a tricky sell?

It might seem unusual to some but I think when people have seen the show, it’ll make sense why I have done it at this time of year. I also think people quite enjoy the novelty of seeing something so wildly different. I encourage audience members to turn up in Christmas hats and jumpers so hopefully that’ll continue at the fringe and people can be transported into a Christmas bubble for one hour before returning to normality.

What is your own relationship with Christmas? Having seen you in It’s A Wonderful Life (Sort Of) and the MacRobert panto I’d guess that you’re a big fan.

It’s a complicated relationship for reasons that are explored in the show. Ultimately, I do believe it’s the most wonderful time of the year…but because Christmas is so unrelenting with all the music, the decorations , the adverts etc If you are going through a hard time, those things can feel rammed in your face and really heighten the feeling of sadness, loneliness and loss.

p.s It a Wonderful Life (sort of) is my favourite production I’ve ever been involved in!

How has your success with viral sketches online expanded your audience?

I’m not the best at utilising social media the way most comedians are. The clip culture has become a huge part of the process and sometimes I feel a bit out of touch with that generation of comics. For that reason, I am delighted the sketches I have done in the past – especially the other murray brother ones with Judy Murray – seemed to have gained me some wonderfully loyal fans and I do often see some cross over with the audience that come to my show. Duncan is wildly more popular than me. The fact he has about 4 times more followers than me is testament to that! Haha!

What would you like people to take away from Father Christmas? 

Hopefully people leave feeling a sense of joy. The show explores some difficult topics but I’ve hopefully got the balance right between the serious moments and the comedy. Sometimes its important to show that you can find comedy in the darkest moments. I find that comforting and hopefully others will too. Merry Christmas!

Chris Forbes: Father Christmas is at Edfringe from 4-30 August tickets are available here

Photo credit: Daryll Buchanan

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