From hidden gems to Fringe favourites, the full programme is now on sale
- Over 400 shows on sale across six Edinburgh Fringe venues
- New writing, returning favourites and international companies from around the world
- A musical theatre line-up featuring suffragettes, superheroes, lifeguards and mafiosos
- Political satire takes aim at everyone from Liz Truss to reality TV traitors
- Award-winning circus, cabaret and physical theatre from some of the Fringe’s most exciting companies
theSpaceUK has unveiled its full programme for the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, with more than 400 shows appearing across its six venues this August.
This year’s programme brings together returning Fringe favourites, first-time companies, ambitious new musicals, award-winning international productions and hundreds of hours of brand-new writing. From political satire and physical theatre to family shows, cabaret and comedy, the season offers audiences the chance to discover everything from future Fringe hits to unexpected hidden gems.
Alongside familiar theSpaceUK names, the 2026 programme welcomes artists from across North America, Europe and Australasia, with stories ranging from ancient mythology and Scottish history to influencer culture, reality television and the end of the world.
Theatre Highlights
If reality television has taught us anything, it’s that betrayal is much more entertaining when everyone is wearing velvet. A Traitors Pantomimetakes the nation’s favourite game of deception and gives it a healthy dose of panto nonsense, complete with Dame Claudia, suspicious faithfuls and traitors who wouldn’t know subtlety if it voted them out at the roundtable.
Politics remains fertile ground for Fringe comedy. The Last Days of Liz Truss? joins Britain’s shortest-serving Prime Minister on her final morning in Number 10, while January 6th The Musical asks perhaps the most important question of modern American politics: how do you celebrate your birthday when it’s become synonymous with an attempted insurrection?
Meanwhile, influencer culture comes under the microscope in atticwife, where a seemingly perfect tradwife lifestyle starts to look rather less aspirational once the attic door is locked.
There are darker journeys too. In The Hunger, two women cling to survival on an isolated Yorkshire farm as the outside world grows steadily more dangerous. At the other end of the emotional spectrum, The Cut of Her Jib delivers menopause, murder and marital breakdown with a large gin and absolutely no apologies.
Shakespeare also gets the full rock-star treatment in Rockbeth. Macbeth has always been ambitious, but this time he’s armed with the music of AC/DC, Black Sabbath and The Sex Pistols. What could possibly go wrong?
Musical Highlights
The musical programme this year is gloriously unhinged.
In Spraywatch: A Beautiful Rescue, a Californian lifeguard finds herself marooned in a struggling British seaside town where crabs, suspicious locals and civic pride collide in what promises to be one of the Fringe’s most joyfully ridiculous new musicals.
Elsewhere, Texas Annie: The Legend of the Moan Ranger follows a fugitive sex-toy salesperson across Texas after an unfortunate change in legislation. As Fringe premises go, it’s certainly memorable.
History takes a more serious turn in VOTE: The Musical, a stirring exploration of the suffragette movement and the women who refused to remain silent. Meanwhile, New Zealand company The Barden Party arrives with Heracles: Of Men and Beasts, a folk musical that finds fresh humanity within one of mythology’s greatest heroes.
Then there’s This Little Thing of Ours, proving once and for all that organised crime and show tunes make surprisingly comfortable bedfellows.
Comedy Highlights
Death, taxes and the Edinburgh Fringe. Two of those things are unavoidable, & taxes somehow manages to make all three funny. Jasper the Ghost has spent an eternity waiting for his big break as a stand-up comedian, and now he’s finally ready to take centre stage. What follows is part clown show, part existential crisis and part bucket-list adventure.
New York comic Tori Piskin turns her attention to the strange rituals of the ultra-wealthy in Poor Little Rich Girl. Raised among Manhattan’s elite, she approaches her own upbringing with the curiosity of an anthropologist and the ruthless honesty of a stand-up comedian. Think Gossip Girl with fewer filters and more self-awareness.
Fellow New Yorker Tori Morancay arrives with Le French c’est Freak, a fast-paced hour exploring cultural confusion, dating disasters and the peculiar experience of trying to build a life while stubbornly refusing to lose your accent.
Returning after previous Fringe success, Grant Sharkey’s cult musical comedy WEBBER! once again charts the rise of Andrew Lloyd Webber under the unlikely mentorship of Margaret Thatcher. Equal parts affectionate tribute and merciless satire, it remains one of the Fringe’s most gloriously cheeky musical comedies.
Meanwhile, American troupe Big Tobacco asks the question nobody was brave enough to ask: what if Pinocchio was completely and utterly broken? Big Tobacco’s Pinocchio takes the beloved children’s story, throws it out of the nearest window and rebuilds it as a relentless barrage of absurd comedy.
And if you need a reminder that clowning is alive and well at the Fringe, All Tied Up sees two office workers literally tied together by a rope and forced to cooperate. Simple premise. Endless chaos.
Dance, Physical Theatre and Circus Highlights
Some stories are best told without words. Award-winning company Flying Rabbit Circus brings Box [M] to Edinburgh following multiple Best of Fringe awards. Using acrobatics, movement and visual storytelling, the production explores gender identity, family and belonging through the relationship between siblings growing up in an Asian American immigrant household. Personal and specific, yet strikingly universal, it has earned acclaim wherever it has travelled.
Fringe favourites Suitcase Dance Theatre return with Allura, another beautifully crafted fusion of dance and theatre. Tap, jazz and contemporary movement combine in a dreamlike exploration of distraction, connection and the things we spend our lives searching for.
Elsewhere, I Made You a Mixtape transports audiences back to a 1990s dorm party where friendships are formed, tested and remembered through music rather than dialogue. Funny, awkward, nostalgic and occasionally chaotic, it captures the emotional rollercoaster of youth with remarkable honesty.
Music Highlights
Fresh from her induction into the Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame, Anne Martin brings An Tinne to the Fringe. Inspired by the true story of a Highland family displaced during the Clearances, it connects Scotland, Australia and generations of family history through one remarkable object – a cooking pot chain carried across the world.
Celebrating fifteen years of touring and acclaimed Fringe appearances, Elsa McTaggart presents #SHORN, an intimate evening of original music, storytelling and reflection. Personal, honest and occasionally vulnerable, it marks both a milestone and a fresh chapter.
For those craving a little soul, Divas of Soul traces the evolution of one of music’s most enduring genres through iconic songs and the stories behind them. Elegant, heartfelt and packed with timeless classics, it’s a welcome opportunity to slow down amid the frenzy of the Fringe.
Then there is Elias Faingersh’s Solo from the Pit. Part concert, part stand-up comedy and part personal memoir, the internationally acclaimed trombonist reimagines famous operas while sharing stories from a remarkable life in music. Not many performers can claim awards from Reykjavik to Orlando, but Faingersh makes it look effortless.
Returning to the Fringe once again is Frankie Mack with Wired Differently – Scotland’s ADHD Showman. One evening might feature Sinatra. The next could include Elvis, Michael Bublé or one of Frankie’s own songs. The only certainty is that no two performances are likely to be the same.
Cabaret and Variety Highlights
Magic, music and mayhem collide throughout this year’s cabaret programme. Sean Alexander returns for a third consecutive Fringe with 1 Moment in Time, blending illusion, mind reading and audience stories into an experience that is as much about memory and personal milestones as it is about impossible feats.
Direct from Canada comes The Cheesecake Burlesque Revue, celebrating twenty years of body-positive burlesque with enough glitter, glamour and joyous silliness to power half of Edinburgh. Winners of the Burlesque Hall of Fame’s Best Large Group award, the Cheesecakes continue to prove that confidence is contagious.
For something completely different, Human Jukeboxturns the audience into contestants in an interactive musical game show. Expect theme nights, surprise challenges, questionable competitiveness and the very real possibility that complete strangers will become stars for the evening.
Meanwhile, BBC’s All Together Now finalists The Sundaes bring Diva Las Vegas back to the Fringe for a limited run. Combining powerhouse vocals, comedy and the music of some of the greatest divas of all time, it’s Vegas by way of Edinburgh – and considerably easier on the airfare.
And in Banjos and Juggling: A World Vaudeville Adventure, Brian Tomaszewski somehow manages to combine live music, storytelling, juggling and global musical traditions into a one-person variety show that sounds delightfully impossible until you see it happen.
Children’s Highlights
Award-winning author Gareth P Jones invites audiences to help transform his picture book into CinderGorilla: The Musical. Armed with a ukulele, piano, trumpet, loop pedal and a pair of puppets, he creates a musical adventure that is different every time.
Young princes, princesses and enthusiastic singers can join Jasmine Alice for Once Upon a Tune, a magical singalong celebration packed with beloved animated classics and enough sparkle to brighten even the rainiest Edinburgh morning.
And for children who prefer making up the story themselves, Improv Banana – Kids Comedy puts creativity centre stage. Led by the quick-witted Roy Allaway, young audience members are invited to jump into games, create scenes and discover that in improvisation there really is no such thing as a wrong answer.
Charles Pamment, Artistic Director of theSpaceUK, said:
“In our 31st year of presenting work at the festival it is without doubt that our enthusiasm and passion to present the very best new writing platform hasn’t wavered. Indeed it is with renewed energy that we present not only the largest platform at the 2026 festival but also the most diverse programme bursting with original writing from every genre and presented by rich tapestry of global production houses. We can’t wait for you to enjoy and experience our 2026 programme. Welcome. “
