EDINBURGH 2026: Pick of the Programme - Circus
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 circus shows you really don't want to miss this year!
Fringe-favourites YUCK Circus are back with a totally bitchin’ brand-new show! Backstreet Boys, Britney, and BIG throwback energy. A decade not to be forgotten – with Furbies, flip phones and evERythinG TyPeD LiKe ThIs. Mix that with high-flying acrobatics, comedy and absolute bangers, iconic! Multi award-winning, internationally touring and with dozens of five-star reviews – get ready for a big night out with the best of the early '00s. Fire up the group chat, grab ya besties and get your tickets now. ‘A high-energy, laugh-out-loud love letter to the early 2000s.
A show by Yamoussa Bangoura, inspired by daily life in Guinea. This performance shares the beauty, youth and artistry of African culture. A colourful show beyond its scenery, costumes and staging, that will make any theatre vibrate with energy. It represents strength, agility and life's joys of young Africans. The audience will see our acrobats execute gravity defying moves and human pyramids, all to the contemporary sounds of Afro-Jazz, percussion and Kora. Welcome to the universe of Kalabanté Productions and prepare for an unforgettable journey.
An all-ages, high-flying collision of circus, theatre and space adventure. 1964: the world’s superpowers are caught in the space race. Enter an unlikely contender... Zambia. Visionary Edward Mukuka Nkoloso aimed to send Africa’s first astronauts into the cosmos. His crew? A young girl, two cats and a missionary. His rocket? Aluminium, ambition and audacity. Wake The Beast and Circus Zambia bring this extraordinary story to life with breathtaking acrobatics, theatrical spectacle and irresistible heart. A true tale of courage, hope and willpower that can take you to the moon... or make you believe you could.
Seven acrobats and thirty metres of rope… By a Thread returns after a sold-out 2025 season! Long spools of white rope run through industrial pulleys and wrap around bodies. The show weaves virtuosic acrobatics through moments of confusion, hilarity, romance, playfulness, fear and friendship, uncovering the threads of connection present in all relationships. Australian circus at its best, By a Thread is an exploration of trust and risk six metres above the ground.
Wolf. A gasp-inducing acrobatic thrill ride. Clad in designer Libby McDonnell's form-hugging costumes and set to DJ Ori Lichtik's relentless primal rhythms, the cast of ten extraordinary Circa artists grasp, tear, climb, leap and balance with fierce abandon. For Director Yaron Lifschitz, the wolf is a symbol of our untameable selves: liberating, anarchic and savage. The wolves evolve from disruptive forces of chaos into a ferocious pack whose intense choreographies overflow with raw energy and astounding physicality. Wolf is circus with fangs. Join the pack.
An experimental aerial pole dance explosion performed by NYC collective VERTICAL DREAMSCAPE, featuring US Pole Art Champion Donna Carnow and interdisciplinary artist Gina Alm. Their hour-long montage of dream worlds is a sensual and cinematic, dark yet dazzling vision of a journey when the sun goes down – from the luminous tones of Dusk, the darkest underbelly of Night, into the messy brilliance of Dawn. This durational work pushes the performers' bodies to the limit, producing a powerful, visceral and transcendent product that feels vibrant, textured, unpredictable and of an alien world.
A drag circus horror-comedy. Join Australia’s own circus queen Grace Lightning as she embarks on a road trip through the Outback, dodging deadly snakes and spiders, bigoted cryptids and chainsaw-wielding bushrangers on a murderous rampage. But are these monsters really what they seem...? Think Priscilla Queen of the Desert meets Texas Chainsaw Massacre under the Big Top! Expect haunted acrobatics, blood soaked hula hooping and a whole lot of hair-raising hilarity, oozing with all your favourite horror tropes on the small stage.
Les Foutoukours return to Edinburgh with Glob, a circus adventure like no other! Without a single word, two lovable characters tumble, glide and soar through the unknown. Join them as they discover a world that is tender, magical and wonderfully absurd. They’ll make you laugh, gasp and cheer – all while tugging at your heart. For anyone who needs the world to slow down just a little, Glob is a wordless journey where emotion speaks louder than words.
A performance by Corpo Máquina's artistic director Guilherme Miotto for pole dance virtuoso Yvonne Smink. With a live soundscape from musician/composer Isaac Poels. Pole dancer Yvonne Smink won the Dutch pole dancing championships multiple times and is a rising star internationally. In Poles, Guilherme highlights Yvonne's impressive technical strength and allows for joy to radiate from her no-nonsense appearance. With her down to earth approach and healthy blush, Yvonne makes her way through the steel pipe construction. At the cutting edge of personal and public space, she delivers chilling moments of physicality and intimacy.
et in losers, Sophie is turning 29 (again!). Part circus spectacle, part comedy mayhem, and all-out 90s nostalgia, featuring world-class performers from Cirque du Soleil, La Clique, The 7 Fingers and more. Expect breathtaking acrobatics, outrageous surprises and a soundtrack that takes you straight back to the house parties that you never wanted to end. The twist: each night, one lucky guest is chosen to become Sophie. Grab your Walkman, dust off those scrunchies and act like it's your party because tonight... it might be!
The full programme is available at www.edfringe.com
Circa: Wolf | photo by Andy Phillipson
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