Best of the fest: 10 of the best shows to catch at this year’s Edinburgh fringe

An undead club manager, sperm donor shenanigans and the pitfalls of trying to work with AI – just a few of the themes of this year’s hottest ticketsKent-Walters, winner of best newcomer at Edinburgh last year, has created one of the most gleefully funn…

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Tanz fever: a whirl through the Viennese festival where dance erupts across the city

Austria’s month-long ImPulsTanz celebration goes beyond the norm to turn rope jumping, navel-gazing and masked protest into explosive showsMatteo Haitzmann is a violinist who has tonight swapped his strings and bow for a skipping rope. With drummer Jud…

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Edinburgh funniest fringe joke award scrapped for 2025

TV channel U&Dave has announced its award for best joke at the fringe, launched in 2008, won’t be given this yearIt’s beyond a joke for pun-lovers. The traditional list of the funniest gags at the Edinburgh fringe, presented by the TV channel U&amp…

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Out, damned shot! Macbeth becomes a cutthroat netball musical at Edinburgh fringe

Lady Macbeth Played Wing Defence combines comedy, songs and athleticism as a young netball player reckons with her own ambitions against an electro-pop scoreA spate of Macbeths will hit the Edinburgh festival this month, all of which bring a novel spin…

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‘Robin Williams said: “I’ll buy the club!”’: how The Comic Strip set the UK comedy scene ablaze

It started in a strip joint and ended up bringing alternative comedy to our TV screens. Ahead of a new Edinburgh show, Peter Richardson tells us why his riotous creation still makes audiences laugh 40 years onIt was the moment comedy broke with sexism …

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Sara Pascoe: I Am a Strange Gloop review – terrific standup’s uphill struggles

Artsdepot, LondonThe comedian staggers from the soft play area to deliver a sharp set about Sisyphus, capitalism and motherhoodHer last tour, Success Story, found Sara Pascoe in the loved-up phase of recent new parenthood. Reader, she has now put that …

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Kathy Maniura: ‘I’ve played a paper straw, a nervous smoke alarm and now a middle-aged cycling man’

The sketch comedian, who merges gentle absurdity with drag, on performing in the rain to an audience of two and how the comedy world needs to changeWhy did you get into comedy?I’ve always loved making people laugh. I was raised on a diet of sketch show…

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Kathy Maniura: ‘I’ve played a paper straw, a nervous smoke alarm and now a middle-aged cycling man’

The sketch comedian, who merges gentle absurdity with drag, on performing in the rain to an audience of two and how the comedy world needs to changeWhy did you get into comedy?I’ve always loved making people laugh. I was raised on a diet of sketch show…

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Minnie Driver signs up for lead role as Every Brilliant Thing comes to West End

The actor will follow stars including Lenny Henry and Sue Perkins, leading the hit show in which a performer enlists the audience’s help to tell ‘funny, sad and unique’ storyMinnie Driver has joined the list of stars performing Every Brilliant Thing – …

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Cheers to The Weir! What makes Conor McPherson’s mysterious pub drama so mesmerising?

As Brendan Gleeson prepares for his role in a revival of the 1997 hit, the stars of earlier productions toast its deceptively moving and profound barfly banterAppearances are deceptive. On the face of it, The Weir is not an exceptional play. Set in a r…

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