Kirsty Mann: Corpse review – a comedy so creepy you’ll fear the next revelation

Summerhall, Edinburgh The comedian brings a calm authority to her tale of a haunted house and digs out maximum horror from a minimal stagingSome shows work their magic on you slowly but Kirsty Mann will have you hooked in under a minute. A thunderous s…

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Adam Riches: The Captain review – the extraordinary glory of a ‘half man, half fish’ Victorian hero

Summerhall, Edinburgh An endurance test for a standup already starring in a fringe hit, this show resurrects the man who drilled the first ever cross-Channel swimmer‘Who are these people that do what [the rest of us] cannot?” Adam Riches’ solo play The…

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Camping trips, grief and embarrassing your kids – the fringe shows embracing every facet of fatherhood

Edinburgh comedies by Whisper Theatre, Lightning Rod Special and Olaf Falafel are exploring what it’s like to be a dad, from the hilarious and melancholic to the devastatingly accurate cringeIn a historic masonic lodge in Edinburgh’s New Town I find my…

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Kate Cheka: The Last Funny Woman review – pregnant standup calls for comedy industry to grow up

Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh Cheka considers her tendency to ‘live life like a joke’ in a frank hour, with her frustrations leaving a lasting impressionKate Cheka wasn’t supposed to be here. After her debut hour two years ago, she swore she would never do t…

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The Librarians: A Very Serious Comedy! review – workplace meltdown borrows from classic sitcoms

Pleasance Courtyard, Edinburgh Well-tuned performances help along a familiar set of laughs as a rickety library gets a new manager and an inspectionThe sign says Plumstanton Library but this could be The Brittas Empire’s Whitbury New Town Leisure Centr…

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Frankie Thompson: Horrible Things review – a show to make you shudder with laughter

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghFrom Jacob Rees-Mogg as a child to Frank Sinatra’s ego in space, this is a wild collage of clowning and performance artThere are plenty of works-in-progress on the fringe. Frankie Thompson insists (or has the voice of Pepp…

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Those People review – a double act with raw passion and no filter

Pleasance Courtyard, EdinburghAre they besties, housemates or more than that? Lara Ciulli and Riana White keep the audience guessing in a gripping hour of comedyFifteen years ago in this room, I remember the thrill of encountering Lizzie and Sarah Dayk…

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Now I’ve seen everything! A wild ride through the Edinburgh festival 2026 – in pictures

A succubus, a cycling champ and Sir Elton Scone walk into a bar … and our photographer Murdo MacLeod was there to capture every momentAll our Edinburgh festival reviews Continue reading…

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Bebe Cave: Swoon review – dazzling portrait of marginalised muses and the male gaze

Pleasance Dome, EdinburghSmart, slapstick and silly, this chaotic multicharacter comedy sends up the Pre-Raphaelite BrotherhoodSome of the most revered works of art across history feature women as their primary focus. But though they might appear as fa…

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A supreme being, the nearly naked show and politics with paws: Edinburgh fringe pick’n’mix

From Taiwanese steampunk dance to Australian climate comedy, here are 13 quick-fire fringe reviewsAll our Edinburgh festival reviewsFor new perspective on the strange ways we behave, we all know the thought experiment “if a visitor from space arrived o…

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