Bursaries of £2,500 to support artists bringing work to this year’s Fringe
Today, Thursday 09 April, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society has announced the recipients of the 2026 Keep it Fringe fund.
This important initiative was launched in 2023 by Fringe Society honorary President Phoebe Waller-Bridge and supports artists who may face financial barriers in bringing work to the festival.
This year, 402 applications were received for an initial £30,000 of available support. Following the launch announcement, further donations have increased the funding available to £40,000.
In 2026 the Fringe Society has been delighted to receive donations from actress Miriam Margolyes, the Williamson family, and James Seabright, who pledged support in 2024 for new theatre in recognition of 25 years of producing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
We are also grateful to Cheez-It for its donation via a fundraising partnership with the Co-op. The Keep it Fringe fund has gained significant interest since its inception and is now in need of further financial support to ensure the Fringe Society is able to sustain it in future years.
The shows that have received Keep it Fringe funding explore a range of topics, including club culture, nostalgia, PTSD, declining seaside towns, moving back in with your parents, hypnosis, eating disorders, declining journalistic standards and growing up in the shadow of the British Empire, with companies and artists spanning the cabaret, comedy, musical, spoken word and theatre categories in the Fringe programme. 43% of the successful applicants identify as disabled or have a health condition, and more than 30% come from a working-class background.
Tony Lankester, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: ‘We recognise the significance of the Keep it Fringe fund and the number of applications this year demonstrates how important it has become.
“We know that bringing work to Edinburgh comes at significant cost, and Keep it Fringe goes a long way to helping artists bridge the gap.
“We are extremely grateful to Miriam, James, the Williamson family and Cheez-It for their kind donations to this year’s fund. We are busy working on fundraising to ensure Keep it Fringe continues in 2027 and beyond and would encourage anyone able to support us in this work to reach out to us’.
The Fringe Society hopes to continue the Keep it Fringe fund for as long as possible and is actively seeking new funding and donations to ensure the long-term sustainability of the fund.
Spring is gathering pace and so is theSpaceUK’s 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme, with a fresh wave of shows now on sale at at www.theSpaceUK.
Highlights Include:
Fringe First Winners Mulberry Theatre returns with two new productions
The Last of Liz Truss? comes to Edinburgh following a West End Transfer at The Other Palace.Five standout graduate productions take centre stage as LMA and theSpaceUK expand their Fringe partnership for 2026
There’s a striking folk musical re-imagining of Greek mythology in Heracles: Of Men and Beasts from The Barden Party.
Drama & Theatre
The theatre programme offers a powerful mix of historical insight, new writing and imaginative storytelling. Operation Market Garden (Inspired Theatre) draws on real wartime diaries to present a raw account of survival and captivity, while Against the Grain (Darren Katz) explores moral conflict during the Siege of Leningrad.
Contemporary voices come to the fore in Jessies (A bunch of Jessies ltd), charting queer life across fifteen pivotal years, and Woman Seeking Cuddles (The Robot Company), a darkly comic exploration of identity, grief and connection.
Inventive storytelling shapes productions such as O Brave New World, That Has Such People In’t! (Mulberry School for Girls), where a young girl navigates isolation through imagination, and Film Noir Frog (On The Fly Theatre), a surreal detective tale steeped in parody and intrigue.
Playful theatricality takes centre stage in The Great Shakespeare Showdown (Flying Solo! Presents), while boobytrapped offers a bold, body-swapping romantic comedy that confronts identity, prejudice and understanding with humour and heart.
And finally, join Liz, on her last morning at number 10 in The Last of Liz Truss? (Oxia Theatre) which comes to Edinburgh following a West End Transfer at The Other Palace.
Now in its third year, the LMA x theSpaceUK Graduate Scheme expands to five productions including The Woman in the Box, The Girls Who Made Us, Scallyw*nkers, Knot at the Moment and Bite, forming the first dedicated LMA/theSpaceUK season at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and showcasing an exceptional new generation of theatre makers.
Music & Musicals
Musical storytelling takes many forms across this year’s programme. Heracles: Of Men and Beasts (The Barden Party) offers a striking folk musical reimagining of Greek mythology through live-looped soundscapes, while BeetleMania (LUU Musical Theatre) captures the spirit of 1960s pop culture through a comedic audition story.
In Pieces (Laura Sofia Productions) presents a contemporary song-cycle exploring love and self-discovery, while Trains in the Night (Maiden Mother Moan) delivers a tender, sapphic coming-of-age story filled with longing and connection.
Elsewhere, Earth to Squiggy (Radland Media) blends intergalactic adventure with rock and roll nostalgia, and Solo From the Pit (Teater KEF) sees a virtuoso trombonist reinterpreting opera through a unique mix of music and personal storytelling/
Music lovers can also experience the non-verbal vocal spectacle Boom Boom Battle of the Big Bad Bosses (Yat Po Singers Limited), the unpredictable showmanship of Frankie Mack: Wired Differently, and the deeply rooted storytelling of An Tinne (Anne Martin), which connects Scottish history with global migration through song.
Comedy
Absurdity and originality lead the charge in this year’s comedy line-up. Achtung! The Only Sauerkraut in Town (Jürgen Strack Productions) blends Bauhaus sensibilities with beer hall chaos in a sharply offbeat hour of storytelling and stand-up.
Elsewhere, This Little Thing of Ours (This Little Thing of Ours) delivers a mafia musical comedy packed with rivalries, family loyalties and unexpected falsettos.
Personal storytelling meets sharp observation in Theologist (Panad Productions), as Oli Riordan unpacks Catholicism with wit and irreverence, while Scallywankers (Surely Not Productions) offers a riotous, adult-only panto adventure full of audience interaction, reworked songs and unapologetically crude humour.
Children & Family
Family audiences are well catered for with a range of interactive and imaginative productions. Improv Banana – Kids Comedy (Taking Cover Ltd) invites young audiences to take part in a lively, supportive introduction to improvisation led by Roy “The Boy” Allaway.
CinderGorilla: The Musical (The Ministry of Mini Musicals) transforms a picture book into a one-performer, one-audience musical experience using live instruments and puppetry, while Beauty and the Beast (Flying High Expressive Arts CIC) brings fresh energy to the classic tale with original songs and a vibrant young cast.
Adventure awaits in The Hobbit (ETC), a dynamic retelling of Tolkien’s beloved story, combining stage combat, puppetry and original music to bring Middle-earth to life.
Cabaret & Variety
Cabaret this year is bold, playful and unapologetic. Mickey’s Uncut Hits: A Raunchy Cabaret (KAJOLE) reimagines familiar childhood songs into a cheeky, adult-only parody packed with audience interaction and irreverent humour.
For something more gently curious, Rainbows! (Tim Clarkson) blends live science demonstrations with storytelling in an autism-friendly exploration of colour and chemistry. Magic fans can choose between the clever deception of A Case for Magic (Robert Malissa Magician) or the deliberately outrageous 18+ Magic – The Magic Show Your Mum Shouldn’t See (Sean Alexander Productions), which returns following a sold-out debut.
Tickets for hundreds of shows across theSpaceUK’s 2026 programme are now available at www.theSpaceUK.com.
With new work arriving alongside returning favourites, this year’s Fringe promises a season full of discovery, creativity in an unforgettable Fringe.
Triple Fringe First winning extraordinaires Xhloe & Natasha, legendary comedian and theatremaker Adam Riches, and return of Comedy Award nominees The Creepy Boys, headline 36-strong second Summerhall Arts festival programme announcement – on sale now
Summerhall Arts announces 36 more shows in its 2026 festival programme, including 55% international artists, 24% artists of colour, 60% female, and 30% LGBTQI+ artists
Summerhall Arts is delighted to announce that back-to-back-to-back Scotsman Fringe First winners Xhloe & Natasha will be at Summerhall this festival, presenting their brand new show, Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It
Adam Riches – Fringe legend, Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner, and creator of 2024 hit, Jimmy – returns to Summerhall with new solo show, The Captain
Summerhall Arts’ Mary Dick Award 2026, in collaboration with Birds of Paradise, goes to Patch of Blue and 3hc,who will premiere moving exploration of care, You and Me (and Whoever Comes Next)
The Autopsy Award, for artists working in Scotland, goes to Althea Young, who presents a humorous and horror-filled account of parental ambivalence in The Dreaming
The Meadows Award, for artists of colour from anywhere in the world, is presented to Palestinian multidisciplinary performance artist Fadi Murad, presenting Come Back Home
Edinburgh Comedy Award nominees The Creepy Boys return with acclaimed show, SLUGS, and new WIP show, Nude Parade
Other highlights include brand new shows or UK premieres from Salty Brine, Adam Lenson, 81 Productions, Magnetic North, Ballaro Dance, Lightning Rod Special, Sadiq Ali Company, OPE-N, and Ballet National Folklorique du Luxembourg
Home of boundary-pushing performance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, arts charity and year-round cultural hub Summerhall Arts today announces 36 more shows of the 2026 instalment of its renowned festival programme.
Summerhall continues to host diverse and intersectional work, with 60% of the shows female led, 24% led by artists of colour, and 30% featuring an LGBTQI+ narrative. Over 55% of artists and companies are international, bringing work from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, England, Canada, USA, Colombia, Italy, Greece, Germany, France, Netherlands Luxembourg, Malta, Denmark, Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Afghanistan, Iran, Palestine, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand to Summerhall’s iconic performance spaces.
This roster of shows reflects an eclectic body of work spanning theatre, performance art, drag, cabaret, puppetry, dance, circus, pole, and comedy, encompassing themes that touch on identity of all forms, digital toxification and misinformation, ongoing conflicts and injustices across the world, mother-son relationships, conspiracies, why men are so odd, existing on the internet, the weight of personal heritage, public vs private apologies, and much more. Music is celebrated throughout the programme, from contemporary opera to Neutral Milk Hotel-inspired cabaret, Korean geomungo, gig theatre, and even one man singing the same song for an hour.
Summerhall Arts is delighted to announce that triple Fringe First winners Xhloe and Natasha will premiere a brand-new show at Summerhall this festival. Co-presented with Soho Theatre and SoHo Playhouse, the duo – described by The Scotsman’s Joyce McMillan as “the most compelling performers on the Fringe” – will perform Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It. Combining precise choreography, absurdist clowning, and a nine-foot puppet, the show is a piercing exploration of conspiracy and misdirection.
Another legend of the Edinburgh Fringe, Summerhall is thrilled to welcome back Comedy Award winner Adam Riches with a brand new solo theatre show. After embodying fiery tennis player Jimmy Connors in his acclaimed, sell-out, smash-hit, Jimmy (Summerhall, 2024), Riches returns with The Captain – the true story of Captain Matthew Webb, the first man to ever swim the English Channel.
Summerhall Arts is excited to announce the winners of its three festival awards to help support artists to bring boundary-pushing work to the most critically acclaimed venue at the festival. The Mary Dick Award for UK-based d/Deaf or disabled artists, in collaboration with Birds of Paradise Theatre Company, goes to Patch of Blue (Cassie and the Lights) and 3hc, who will premiere You and Me (and Whoever Comes Next) – a potent, joyful and moving exploration of care written by disabled actor and writer Keron Day, and former care worker Alex Howarth, supported by Theatre Royal Plymouth.
The Autopsy Award for artists working in Scotland is awarded to Glasgow-based contemporary performance artist Althea Young who will premiere The Dreaming, a stirring blend of autobiography and fantasy that blends performance art, theatre, and choreography, to explore topics including mutant babies, alien insemination and the urge to reproduce.
The Meadows Award, for artists of colour from anywhere in the world, goes to Palestinian multidisciplinary performance artist Fadi Murad and his show, Come Back Home – a contemporary theatre work exploring ongoing grief, dispossession, and how the past continues to inhabit the present, which deals with self criticism, fear, and the unknown through the lens of absurdity.
Summerhall Arts is also delighted to announce the return of several hit shows from past festivals. Edinburgh Comedy Award 2025 nominated Canadian slimeballsCreepy Boys (S.E. Grummett and Sam Kruger) return with their five-star anarchic fever dream about nothing, SLUGS (★★★★ – Financial Times, ★★★★ – Guardian, ★★★★ – Scotsman),and present a new work-in-progress, Nude Parade, which is like a live theatre version of the game of Operation – and it’s trans.Actor, writer, clown, comedian, and all-round nincompoop Scott Turnbull returns with his acclaimed 2025 ‘edutainment show’, Surreally Good; New Zealander’s premiere interactive theatre company Binge Culture return with their 2024 immersive hit, Werewolf, perfect for fans of The Traitors; and Summerhall-based Pickering’s Gin return with a revised version of its renowned immersive Speakeasy Experience.
More returning Summerhall favourites include multi-award-winning theatre-maker and director Adam Lenson, who achieved acclaim for his debut solo show Anything That We Wanted to Be in 2023. Adam premieres Is it too late now to say sorry? – a new collision of gig, storytelling, and autobiographical investigation which psychologises the apology, both personal and public. And Buzzcut Productions (Bark Bark, 2024) return with their signature blend of live camera work, puppetry, and a live score to premiere The Wreck, a new show about two siblings diving a shipwreck and discovering the fate of their family’s seaside nightclub.
Exciting Scotland-based artists will also take to Summerhall’s stages this August, including two shows from this year’s Made in Scotland Showcase: playwright and drag artist Nelly Kelly, in collaboration with Sanctuary Queer Arts, premieres TRANSMISSION – a darkly-comedic blend of DIY cabaret and political theatre exploring Scotland’s shift from world-leading on LGBTQI+ rights to fertile ground for the anti-trans movement; and circus and aerial specialists Sadiq Ali Company (The Chosen Haram) premiere Tell Me – a bold fusion of dance and circus offering a fresh perspective on life with HIV.
Award-winning Edinburgh-based company Magnetic North present We Will Hear The Angels – an atmospheric and poignant exploration of the strange state of melancholy, evoked from the power of sad music. Performed by five-actor musicians – Apphia Campbell, Mia Scott, Greg Sinclair, Daniel Padden and Nicholas Bone – it combines words, movement and music in a soundscape that includes Hank Williams, Orange Juice, Etta James, Bach, and more. Glasgow-based Euan Munro presents Playback, a tragicomic true story about a child YouTuber featuring his own childhood vlogs.
In the movement and dance strain of the programme, Summerhall is honoured to be welcoming the world-famous Ballet National Folklorique du Luxembourg, led by their flamboyant new Director, Mr Chevalier. The Great Chevalier will see the unpredictable director, hailed as the ‘Bad Boy of Folklore’, perform some emblematic classics, including the iconic Pigeon Dance.
Summerhall Arts Fringe Producer and Programmer, Tom Forster, commented: “With the Fringe landscape ever changing, Summerhall Arts believes we should challenge ourselves as a venue to innovate year-on-year to the same frequency that we demand of artists.
“To match demand for intimacy with the audience, the Main Hall’s end-on format after 14 years will be reimagined in horseshoe format for Festival 2026. A specific request made by Ballet National Folklorique du Luxembourg Artistic Director, Monsieur Chevalier; it is the only layout that can host the renowned Pigeon Dance, and, since the International Festival couldn’t accommodate his request, we at Summerhall Arts proudly stepped in.
“Boasting an infinity ceiling clearance of 6 meters, leading to a stunning ceiling mural by John Kindness, this new vision for our largest venue will make the Main Hall the most beautiful venue in the city – giving artists and Mr Chevalier a backdrop they deserve.”
Tamsin Shasha returns to Summerhall for the first time since her Fringe First-winning Everything I See I Swallow (2019), bringing Forgive Me – a highly personal show about a hyperactive mother and a gaming-obsessed son, which fuses pole performance, video projection and song. Sweat meets spectacle in New York City-based company, Ballaro Dance’s UK premiere of TWELVE: Going The Distance– a 47-minute contemporary dance work divided into 12 three-minute “rounds”, which is set in a boxing gym and unfolds with the intensity of a title bout. The Taiwan Season returns to Summerhall with the UK premiere of Seed Dance Company’s The Wall, a dynamic, emotionally provocative quintet packed with restless and urgent precision.
An immersive highlight is Daydreams from 81 Productions – producers of the acclaimed durational theatre installation, Mother Has Arrived (★★★★★ – The Stage’s 50 Top Shows of 2025). An innovative, cinematic work about insomnia, Daydreams involved 3D projection, performance and an ominous soundscape to lock audiences into a sleepless loop where headlines and half-dreams collide.
Summerhall Arts has a growing comedy presence at the Fringe, and this continues in 2026 with Laurie Stevens, known for her 2025 hit character show, David’s One-Man Band (F*ck You, Steven), who this year presents her theatrical debut: An Evening with Gerald Lloyd-Davies. Laurie performs as Lloyd-Davies – an ageing straight Welsh actor, aspiring national treasure and quintessential luvvie. Another star character comedy turn sees actor, artist, and drag king Tessa Parr premiere I AM JOHNNY, performing as very, very male performance poet, Johnny the Biblical Rapper. Co-produced by Camden People’s Theatre, I AM JOHNNY is an unsettling, absurd and hilarious interrogation into the fragile bones of the patriarchy.
Gaulier-trained clown and home-trained OnlyFans content creator Jessica Aszkenasy presents TITCLOWN: daddy’s little girl – a clown show about boobs, the father wound women hold in society, and why it’s so hard to live laugh love with heterosexual men – and features a lifesize Henry VIII doll. Finally, award-winning comedian Conk and Quiet Riot bring a conceptually simple show: Man Sings The Same Song Over And Over Again For An Hour. Which song? You’ll need to come and find out.
Continuing the musical theme, Summerhall is delighted to welcome acclaimed New York-based drag queen, Salty Brine (Stage Fringe Five, 2024). This festival, in his genre-defying cabaret style, he sets his sights on combining Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea and Anne Frank’s The Diaries of a Young Girl, in HOW STRANGE IT IS (The Neutral Milk Hotel Show).
In the #DANISH showcase, groundbreaking combiners of opera and physical theatre OPE-N present Laughing Out Lonely – a thrilling new solo opera about the faceless existence of life on the internet by composing team Matilde Böcher and Asger Kudahl, with a tour de tour performance from acclaimed countertenor Morten Grove Frandsen. Finally, in PLASTIC, geomungo artist Kim Minyoung merges the traditional Korean instrument with media art, expanding its possibilities into new territories.
Summerhall Arts is also delighted to welcome two uncategorizable shows from the city of Philadelphia to Edinburgh. Koan Brothers – aka Mason Rosenthal, Sohrab Haghverdi, and Benjamin Rosenthal – will present Foriegner, a dizzying solo, anti-identity, anti-comedy, avant-clown show that follows one asylum seeker’s attempt to win an O1-B visa, awarded to individuals of artistic brilliance.
And from Lightning Rod Special, the creators of Fringe First winning Underground Railroad Game (2018) comes Lions, an unsentimental two-hander part-clown show, part-eulogy about fathers, life on hold with corporations after death, and the myths of what it means to be great men.
Also from the US, LA-based multidisciplinary artist, performer and film critic, Gregory Nussen brings a metatheatrical piece about the politics of storytelling and truth, loosely inspired by Italo Calvino’s lf On a Winter’s Night A Traveler. A solo show without a fourth wall, QFWFQ (pronounced “kfwoofk”) touches on everything from architecture, jazz, gender identity and the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Staying on politics and identity – in the #DANISH showcase, Danish-Israeli artist Boaz Barkan brings Our Other Organ, a dissection of antisemitism and its impact on Jewish identity, which culminates in the creation of a “new Zionist body” and its structures of violence and domination. Atop a mortuary table, Barkan digs into a living body to uncover a new organ – the place where racism resides.
Summerhall Arts also welcomes two shows from Ireland. Joy Nesbitt’s Julius Caesar Variety Show scrutinises both the theatre sector and the exploitation of identity in a play that sees a Black actor, a Woman actor, and a Straight White Male actor compete to impress a respected director set on reinventing a Shakespeare play in “unorthodox” ways. And Martha Knight’s new play, The King of All Birds, utilises both voice and vocoder to explore our shared history with the sky: the years it remained untouched, the first ventures into it, and our endless climbing up.
Continuing the animal theme, Hotter Project (makers of 2023 hit, The Last Show Before We Die (★★★★★ – The Guardian), in association with Speakerphone Productions and Soho Theatre, will premiere HAM – a kinky eco-hijacking of Hamlet about meat, madness, and the power of shame that twists the classic high-brow tragedy into a sordid wrestle between a vegan and a sausage-lover.
Finally, from Lyn Gardner-recommended double act ‘Britney’ – aka Ellen Robertson (Vladimir, Mickey 17, The Pale Horse) and Charly Clive (Pure Rooster, Pure, The Lazarus Project) – comes Jitters, a brand new two-hander about ownership, tradition, and the all-important ‘L’ word of any relationship: leverage. And contemporary storyteller and theatremaker Nathan Jonathan takes us back to Y-2-K with They’re Just Small Town (Northern) Lads – a funny and heartfelt solo show about growing up mixed-race in a Northern-industrial-town. Expect gelled quiffs and flip-up phones in an exploration of identity, class and belonging at the turn of the millennium.
These 36 new shows are now on sale. They join seven shows that went on sale in February: As Far As We Know (YESYESNONO), GOOD ENOUGH? (HIMHERANDIT), LANDSFRAU هموطن (Mariann Yar), PUTTANA (Beatrice Festi and TeatroEETS), SAND (Kook Ensemble), Tether (Wonder Fools and Theatre SAN), and Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me but Banjos Saved My Life (Keith Alessi).
The next and final Summerhall Arts festival programme announcement will be on Wednesday 6th May, before the commencement of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026 from 6th –31st August.
PICTURE (TOP): Clockwise from top left: Salty Brine (Credit: Alex Brenner), Forgive Me, Adam Riches: The Captain (Credit: Matt Stronge, Design: Will Andrews), Come Back Home, The Dreaming (Credit: Tiu Makkonen), Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It (Credit: Morgan Mcdowell), You and Me (and Whoever Comes Next) (Credit: Patch Studio), & TRANSMISSION (Credit: Tiu Makkonen).
105 new shows across comedy, theatre, musicals, cabaret, variety and children’s shows go on sale today from Gilded Balloon, marking its biggest on sale to date, with more programme announcements still to come.
These newly announced shows form part of a wide-ranging 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme, bringing together leading names, rising stars and international artists. From big nights out to thoughtful theatre and side-splittingly clever comedy, August at Gilded Balloon offers something for all ages and tastes.
Karen and Katy Koren, Artistic Directors of Gilded Balloon,said: “We’re delighted to be putting a further 105 brilliant shows on sale as part of this year’s Fringe programme, with even more still to be announced.
“This line-up brings together some of the most exciting talent working today alongside the next generation of performers, and truly reflects the breadth and energy of the Fringe.”
The programme brings together established names including Gregor Fisher, Phil Nichol (returning with two shows), The Guilty Feminist and Rich Hall, alongside a strong wave of new voices making their Fringe debuts. Rising talent includes includes Madeleine Brettingham, Adi Parmar, Fab Goualin, Hannah Byczkowski and Shane Daniel Byrne, while Gilded Balloon continues its commitment to Scottish artists with debut shows from Eva Peroni and Alan Jay, and returning favourites Kim Blythe and Kathleen Hughes. The programme also features new Scottish music and theatre, including Crocodile Rock and a range of bold new productions across the theatre programme.
Gilded Balloon’s legendary shows return for 2026. Late’n’Live is back as the original late-night show, featuring stellar line-ups of your favourite acts from across the festival, hosted by some of the best MCs in the country every night.
Described as “The best late-night show on the Fringe” (Scotsman) and “A Fringe institution for a reason” (TheRecs.co.uk), previous acts have included Johnny Vegas, Bill Bailey, Rich Hall, Jason Byrne, Mawaan Rizwan, John Bishop, Larry Dean, Maisie Adam, Reuben Kaye, Jordan Grey and Viggo Venn. Late’n’Liveremains an essential addition to any Fringe bucket list.
Best Of So You Think You’re Funny? returns with an unmissable line-up of fresh talent, including finalists Reb Day, Joel Walker and Rachel Porter, offering audiences the chance to see the best emerging comedians before they become household names.
So You Think You’re Funny? Heats continue the search for comedy’s next big star, as contestants compete for a place in the final of the UK’s biggest newcomer competition. Previous winners include Peter Kay, Aisling Bea, Sara Pascoe and Lee Mack.
Comedy highlights includeGregor Fisher: An (Early) Evening With Gregor Fisher, where the Scottish stage and screen legend shares stories from his life and career; Madeleine Brettingham: Legend, the debut show from the So You Think You’re Funny? 2025 winner exploring myth, identity and growing up in a world of booze-soaked bad behaviour; and Rich Hall: Chin Music, a typically sharp, improvisational hour from the acclaimed comedian.
The Guilty Feminist, hosted by Deborah Frances-White, brings its Road to Gilead Project to the Fringe, alongside rising Scots comedy star Kim Blythe: Puzzle, following a sold-out 2025 run, and Smack The Pony’s Fiona Allen: White Lies, a sharply observed new show about social anxiety and human interaction.
New additions to the programme include Comedy Night at the Museum, a Gilded Balloon production bringing together top international comedians for a wholly improvised late-night show inspired by real artefacts from the National Museum of Scotland; Shane Daniel Byrne: Baby It’s Time, showcasing one of Ireland’s fastest-rising comedic voices; and Christian Dart: GUMSHOE!, a multi award-nominated, sell-out hit blending noir parody with high-energy character comedy.
Theatre highlights include SLAY, a darkly funny and unflinching exploration of trauma, therapy and modern coping mechanisms, andSilent Disco, an inventive, headphone-led experience blending psychology and music.
Further standout work includes HESS, Michael Burrell’s powerful and timely revival exploring the psychology of extremism and its lasting impact, and Broke & Fabulous in the 21st Century,a riotous, raunchy dramedy celebrating friendship, ambition and modern love.
Other theatre shows on sale today include Ostrich, a sharp look at modern dating and identity; Top Gunchained, a high-energy parody from the team behind Yippee Ki Yay; Boy in a Box, a confronting and urgent piece examining race and identity in America; and Waiting For Wonka, a darkly comic reimagining of childhood nostalgia.
Themed shows bring a mix of interactive and late-night entertainment, includingThe Thinking Drinkers’ Great British Pub Ride, an epic, drink-fuelled journey from Land’s End to John O’Groats; Dreamgun Film Reads, where comedians perform unrehearsed parody versions of classic films; and Not Another Quiz Night, a high-energy, chaotic late-night favourite.
Cabaret and variety sees Fake, a critically acclaimed blend of magic, storytelling and illusion from Chris Cook that explores truth, deception and identity; EIGHT: The One (Wo)Man Drag King Musical Parody, a high-energy, genre-bending musical comedy reimagining Henry VIII through drag, parody and pop and Fungasm: Save or Smash offers up bold, interactive performance.
Also featured is Charlene Kaye: Diversity Shredder, introducing audiences to the unhinged, razor-sharp world of Charlene Kaye — guitar god, internet legend and “breakout comedy star” (Rolling Stone), alongside Siobhan Wilson: Flowercore, an immersive performance celebrating Scotland’s wildflowers through music and visual art.
Children’s and family shows include Max Fulham’s Monkey Business, a lively, family-friendly mix of puppetry, sketches and slapstick comedy andMama G: The Magic Bookmark comes to Teviot. “Everyone’s favourite pantomime dame!” (Metro) and Britain’s Got Talent semi-finalist Mama G discovers the magic of books and the power of being yourself in this hilarious award-winning panto adventure for the whole family!
Bring Yer Bairn Comedy is the adult comedy show where you can bring yer bairn! A selection of our favourite comics from the Scottish scene and beyond, performing to parents, carers and bairns under 15 months old! The perfect morning show!
All shows will take place across Gilded Balloon’s four venues this August, including the welcome return to Teviot, alongside Patter House and Gilded Balloon at the Museum, as well as the newly added Gilded Saloon, GB’s year-round pub and live venue.
It’s set to be a very pink summer!
Further programme announcements will follow in the coming months. For full listings visit www.gildedballoon.co.uk or follow @gildedballoon.
Gilded Balloon is one of Scotland’s leading and best-loved entertainment producers, presenting a cross-genre programme annually at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and touring productions across the UK throughout the year.
Summerhall Arts announce first seven shows of Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026 programme – now on sale – including premieres from acclaimed company Wonder Fools, in collaboration with Theatre SAN, and award-winning company YESYESNONO
Clockwise from top left: PUTTANA (Credit: Stefano Pradel), LANDSFRAU (Credit: Cornelius Reitmayr), Tether 인연 (Credit: Kaugain Jang), SAND
Acclaimed Glasgow-based theatre company Wonder Fools (Òran; Alright Sunshine) premieres Tether 인연, a vibrant Scottish-Korean collaboration with Theatre SAN
Award-winning London company YESYESNONO (We Were Promised Honey!; Nation) returns to Summerhall to premiere new storytelling show by Sam Ward
Leading Danish queer art company HIMHERANDIT (Mass Effect; Champions) brings new physical theatre show, GOOD ENOUGH?
Keith Alessi’s much-loved show, Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me but Banjos Saved My Life, returns for a fourth festival in a row after three sell-out runs
Acclaimed Devon-based company Kook Ensemble explores lives of people living with Dementia with non-verbal circus theatre show, SAND
Fringe debutant Beatrice Festi and TeatroE ETS premiere bold immersive solo performance with PUTTANA
Mariann Yar brings moving feminist perspective on Afghanistan and its diaspora with solo show, LANDSFRAU
Home of boundary-pushing performance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, arts charity and year-round cultural hub, Summerhall Arts has announced the first seven shows of its 2026 festival programme on sale NOW.
Following a hugely acclaimed and multi-award-winning inaugural festival programme last year, the first batch of shows in Summerhall Arts 2026 programme spans theatre, dance, circus, music and storytelling from artists and companies hailing from Scotland, Afghanistan, Denmark, England, Italy, and the United States.
Part ceilidh, part storytelling, and an all-round good night out; acclaimed Glasgow-based theatre company Wonder Fools (Òran; Alright Sunshine; The Kelton Hill Fair) premieres Tether 인연 – a bold new collaboration with South Korea’s Theatre SAN. Spanning sixty years and three generations, Tether 인연 weaves together folk songs, love letters and war stories – tracing the invisible threads that bind two nations together in a shared experience of music and memory.
Award-winning company YESYESNONO (We Were Promised Honey!; Nation) returns to Summerhall with a brand new prophetic storytelling show. Written and performed by Sam Ward, the show is a hallucinogenic journey through a world of anomalies – about holes appearing in the ground and about prices that go up and up. Sam urges audiences to continue trying to understand what’s going wrong in a world that refuses to be understood.
Award-winning Danish queer art company HIMHERANDIT (Mass Effect; Champions) returns to Summerhall with a brand new performance celebrating imperfection, queer joy, and the courage to find your tribe. GOOD ENOUGH? is a queer, quirky and boisterous physical theatre performance about reclaiming your story and having the courage to be loud, awkward and unapologetically yourself.
Fringe legend Keith Alessi returns to Edinburgh with his much-loved comedy-musical-storytelling show, Tomatoes Tried to Kill Me but Banjos Saved My Life, for a fourth festival in a row after back-to-back-to-back sell-out runs. Told with warmth, humour and banjo music, this highly awarded, internationally toured, and inspirational true story is about overcoming obstacles, pursuing passions and the healing power of the arts.
Through donations, including 100% of all artist fees, Keith has raised over $1.2m dollars as of December 2025 for various charities including cancer charities and arts organisations, and all proceeds from the 2026 run will contribute to Summerhall Arts.
Acclaimed Devon-based company Kook Ensemble brings SAND – a new non-verbal circus theatre show exploring the lives of people living with Dementia.
Set against Devon’s dramatic coast line, SAND combines exceptional acrobatics with meticulously crafted storytelling to create a profoundly moving and resonant theatrical experience.
Fringe debutant Beatrice Festi and TeatroE ETS bring a bold new immersive solo performance with PUTTANA. A work that questions the things society has normalised and the boundaries between body and commodity, PUTTANA sees a single actress give voice to five characters, through a uniquely delivered combination of music and words, to tell an uncomfortable and cruel story.
Afghan theatremaker Mariann Yar brings her solo show, LANDSFRAU, a story of a life shaped by war and distance.
Moving between 9/11 and 2021, Mariann dismantles images of Afghanistan and builds her own counter-archive through songs, dance and memories – exposing a feminist perspective on Afghanistan and its diaspora. LANDSFRAU is about attempting to let go of inherited guilt without taking on more, offering an intimate of diasporic life, marked by both deep fractures and undeniable privilege.
This is the first of three programme announcements ahead of this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 7th – 31st August. The remainder of Summerhall Arts’ festival programme will be announced on 31st March and 6th May.
