Edinburgh Festival

What did our critic think of AVENUE Q at Braw Venues At Grand Lodge?This smash hit musical is a hilarious satire of modern life starring a mixed cast of humans and puppets. It combines the ridiculous with the all too relatable, following Princeton, a freshly graduated dreamer with his whole life ahead of him, as he gets smacked in the face by reality and does battle with adulthood.

Two people. Many characters. One space. Alexander Burnett and Ellie Whittaker of Voloz Collective make a splash at the Fringe this year with The Crawl—a short, slick, and hilarious physical theatre piece that dives headfirst into the drama of a high-stakes swimming competition.

Scottish comedy legend Johnny McKnight examines the panto dame through an inventive new lens in She’s Behind You. Drawing on his experience writing more than 30 pantos and playing 18 dames, McKnight unpacks the role through a lively mesh of songs, stand-up, dance, and audience participation.

Four generations of Northern Irish women gather for a 90th birthday party in Karis Kelly’s Consumed, and what unfolds is a pitch-black dark comedy with razor wit and gasp-inducing shock. Eileen (Julia Dearden), Jenny (Caoimhe Farren), Gilly (Andrea Irvine) and Muireann (Muireann Ní Fhaogáin) initially present a hyper-realistic family: they laugh, they bicker, and beneath it all, they carry the weight of generational trauma. It’s laugh-out-loud funny one moment and devastatingly reflective the next, forcing us to think about what it really means to be “Northern Irish.”

Flora Wilson Brown’s six-hander examines climate change across 250 years of real and imagined history. In 1856, Eunice begins to question whether carbon dioxide might signal that something is going terribly wrong. In 2027 London, Clare falls for Dan as she faces impending heatwaves and floods. By 2100 in Svalbard, Ana endures an 86-day storm raging outside, questioning the doomed future of our planet.

Welsh comedian Steffan Alun brings warmth, wit and a proudly offbeat perspective to his debut Fringe hour, Steffan Alun: Stand Up. Having honed sets for years on the free fringe, Alun finally embraces a full-length slot with confidence and charm, blending education, sexuality and pop culture through the lens of his Welsh identity and neurodivergence.

Tartan Tabletop is a Dungeons and Dragons panel show which thrives on live comedic improvisation, uncertainty and risks, which results in riotous game play. By merging the world of fantasy role-play with quick-fire wit, Dungeon Master Josh Aitken steers the action by narrating the story, setting challenges and plays all the non-player characters. The unpredictable nature of a giant twenty-sided dice is thrown by an audience member called Colin, who seems at ease, with a great knowledge of D&D. 

Written and Performed by Lizzie T Ollemache and David Ladderman from Rollicking Entertainment, a riot of magic, slapstick and sparkle is brought to the stage with Messy Magic, a family show which manages to be silly, but skilful. With a recommended age of three and above, the performance has clearly been designed to keep young audiences giggling, while still offering enough for parents to remain engaged in its physical comedy and acrobatic flair.

The winner of the 2025 Sir Billy Connolly Spirit of Glasgow Award, Rosco McClelland brings his brand new show for 2025. Twice nominated for Best Newcomer at the Scottish Comedy Awards, McClelland is rapidly becoming one of comedy's brightest stars. His previous show was hailed as one of the best-reviewed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, earning recognition as one of Rolling Stone's 12 must-see comedy shows.

Sex, drugs and coercive control... Jackie! is a new musical comedy that follows the young Jacqueline Bouvier as she dreams of becoming the first American Royal. After marrying into the illustrious Kennedy dynasty, Jackie discovers that power and notoriety come with the price of secrecy and silence. With Joe Kennedy pulling the strings, Jackie's sister Lee pulling away and JFK pulling anything that moves, Jackie is left alone to contemplate if life atop the American throne is really worth the familial curse that seemingly hangs over it.

The King is dead and the Prince is unmarried – if he doesn't find someone soon, he must forfeit the crown! In NYC, baker Aaron Butcher is butchering his career as a family baker. Maybe a commission in the non-location-specific country of Swedonia will fix his problems...

After spending her formative years trying to be 'not like other girls', Sarah Bradley is celebrating all things feminine – from rosé to romance novels, horoscopes to hot celebrities, inconvenient crushes to crying at inconvenient times. Whatever your gender, you are warmly invited to leave shame, judgement and societal expectations at the door, and come embrace the girly girl within.

With prisons rarely out of the news, Insiders gives insight into the challenges of life in jail. Danny struggles with anger and isolation. Craig thanks his newfound faith for his recovery. Middle-class Richard is a fish out of water. When tragic news upsets the rhythm of their lives, each must confront the core of what they believe about themselves, the world and what lies beyond.

There is nothing quite like the delicious mix of chaos and charm that Josh Burton brings to his gleeful children’s show Signor Baffo. In this riotous kitchen, the audience finds themselves whisked into the clattering, splattering world of a hapless head of washing up who has somehow been left in charge while the formidable Signor Figaro is off sick. From the very first moment, it is clear that nothing will run smoothly, which is precisely what makes the show so irresistible.

Goldspun Media’s Level Up! begins with a promising burst of nostalgic energy. The familiar chimes of Sonic the Hedgehog’s theme and screen visuals give the impression that the audience is in for a sharp, inventive musical about modern life refracted through the lens of gaming. Unfortunately, what follows feels more like a clunky side quest than a main mission.

Adulting Hard! is an energetic stand-up show where Irish comedian Danny O’Brien tells us about his attempts at buying a house in Dublin. It’s a fast-paced set and full of brilliant laugh-out-loud moments.

Caroline McEvoy: Train Man is an honest yet lively stand-up show at the Fringe this year. The show shares the story of Caroline’s younger brother who has autism. He loved trains growing up and even had a successful YouTube channel dedicated to them.

Described by its creator as “50 minutes of vegetable insanity”, this surrealist and entirely enjoyable hour of physical theatre, tragicomedy and puppetry has a certain ‘je nais sais quoi’... or is it giardiniera? Ruxy Cantir brings this zany, piccalilli performance to Summerhall as part of the Made in Scotland showcase. 

An entire sketch comedy show based around real-life graffiti scrawled in toilet cubicles is the sort of premise you could only ever wish to come up with. Unfortunately, for any other sketch comedy groups looking for a good show idea, The Manchester Revue beat you to it. Though I’m sure audiences at this year's Fringe will be appreciative.

An amazing show all round, Guys Sing Dolls, a cabaret style concert, was expertly executed. Four incredible voices blended in perfect harmonies through a selection of well-loved musical theatre songs. There is no plot per se, but the comedic timing with which the singers wove the pieces together kept the audience on their toes.

From the moment Ted Milligan strides on to the stage to the roar of football anthems, the atmosphere is electric. His debut hour, United, is a masterclass in character-led mockumentary, charting the fortunes of the fictional Crubchester United F.C. affectionately known as the Crubs, as they battle to reclaim their place in the league.

In her debut hour, Sharon Wanjohi strides on stage with dynamic energy on a mission to share her comedic mock wisdom. Wanjohi takes aim at the self-help industry, with the precision of someone who finds the guides, and early risers beyond questionable. 

Natalie Grove’s acclaimed solo show Jello Brain—about caring for her mother with early-onset Alzheimer’s—now plays daily at 4:00 p.m. at Olive Studio, Greenside @ George Street, Edinburgh, through August 23. Directed by Terra Mackintosh, the heartfelt and comedic pie

From the creators of Hold On To Your Butts, Recent Cutbacks return with a gloriously inventive UK premiere which transforms an epic fantasy film into a joyous, lo fi theatrical romp. This is not simply a parody but a love letter to the genre, brimming with clever theatrical tricks and affection for its source.

Front Room Productions and Lawrence Batley Theatre present The Uncrackable Case, a courtroom drama which reimagines fairy tale characters in a tabloid-fuelled whodunnit. Humpty Dumpty has fallen from the Death Wall, and Jill is accused of egg-icide in a trial which grips a nation eager for scandal.