EDINBURGH 2026: Pick of the Programme - Cabaret
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe runs from 7-31 August 2026
With over 3000 shows now on sale for the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, trying to narrow down what to see can be a bit of a task. BWW Scotland editor Natalie O'Donoghue has selected her top ten picks across different categories in the festival programme to highlight the cabaret you really don't want to miss this year!
The five-star, sell-out, musical-comedy cabaret Guys Sing Dolls is back at the Fringe! Four professional male vocalists (and Neil, the pianist from Pilton...) attempt to perform some of the most iconic diva anthems of all time from music, movies and musical theatre. Guys Sing Dolls is back with more stories, laughter and singing that will get your hands clapping, feet tapping and leave you singing in the streets.
FLOP! The Best Songs From The Worst Musicals
Arthur Hull returns with an updated version of his blockbusting musical cabaret celebrating Theatreland's casualties. This love letter to Broadway and the West End features a motley assortment of the misunderstood, critically panned and financially catastrophic musical misfires, including forgotten gems and pleas for redemption!
Join kabarett provocateur Bernie Dieter as her gin-soaked haus band soundtracks a debauched night of breathtaking circus, gender-bending aerial and fire-breathing sideshow at its most rebellious and hilarious best. Club Kabarett is more than just a show; 'it's an exuberant, juicy, guns-blazing performance that makes other cabarets look stale and tame' (ArtsHub.com.au). A triumphant middle finger held up against the mundane, this wickedly funny show is a life-affirming lightning bolt of pure, unadulterated joy!
The hottest ticket of Fringe 2024 and 2025. Everyone's favourite ogre-inspired burlesque and drag parody is coming back to Edinburgh! Swamplesque is the award-winning, critically acclaimed, five-star rated burlesque parody show! 'The funniest burlesque show you'll ever see' (Lilithia.net). Prepare for a night filled with laughter, surprises and a touch of the risqué.
The DIVAS are back... bigger, better and beltier! The five-star production is back for 2026 with a cast of professional singers and live band to celebrate some of the greatest DIVAS of all time from music, movies and musical theatre. From Carole King to Cher, Raye to Reba McEntire, and Sabrina Carpenter to Shirley Bassey, there will be something for everyone in this high-energy, fast-paced show.
Slay The Vamps Down: A Buffy Burlesque Parody
Clumsy Cabaret is a Cardiff-based variety show which platforms neurodivergent and under-represented performers. Here they turn their attention to the iconic 90s series Buffy The Vampire Slayer with burlesque from well-known characters, drag artists and live renditions of favourite songs from the show.
Winners of Best Show 2026 at Brighton Fringe and a Five Star Offie Award in London, Liberace and Liza – A Tribute brings together two of entertainment's most flamboyant legends in a show that never was – but absolutely should have been! Direct from a West End run having played at many iconic venues including New York's 54 Below, Feinstein's at the Nikko in San Francisco and The Purple Room in Palm Springs.
An Evening With Dame Granny Smith
The world's most celebrated apple returns for an intimate on-stage conversation. From her vaudeville debut at age five to her breakthrough role in Disney's Snow White, Dame Smith will take you on a journey through her storied life and career, all told with her trademark candour and wit. Warm, funny, uplifting, absurd and 'a show you'll remember for many years to come'
Alice Cooper- Welcome To My Cabaret Nightmare
Release your inner goth-rock and descend into the underworld of Alice Cooper as Dr H welcomes you to the greatest piano cabaret tribute singalong nightmare ever! From School’s Out and Poison, to No More Mr Nice Guy and I’m Eighteen, every anthem you know and love is given new life at the keys – raw, dramatic and deliciously theatrical. It’s part rock history, part twisted bedtime story, part singalong and all pure entertainment.
Eight: The One (Wo)Man Drag King Musical Parody
Henry VIII has returned to the land of the living to discover he is exclusively remembered as that bloke with six wives. So there was only one thing for it. Henry is clearing his name in a musical drag extravaganza. Featuring parodies of songs by Meatloaf, Celine Dion, Ed SHeeran and more, this bonkers show explores the lesser known side of the Tudor king. Inspired by the drag performers of the Victorian Music Hall, melodramatic rock music and musical theatre, EIGHT is a parody musical written and performed by Hannah Clift.
The full programme is available at www.edfringe.com
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