{"id":732398,"date":"2026-08-09T10:44:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T10:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/732398\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T10:44:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T10:44:12","slug":"magic-tricks-palestinian-circus-and-a-kinky-hamlet-the-must-see-shows-at-2026s-edinburgh-fringe-edinburgh-festival-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/732398\/","title":{"rendered":"Magic tricks, Palestinian circus, and a \u2018kinky Hamlet\u2019: the must-see shows at 2026\u2019s Edinburgh fringe | Edinburgh festival 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kirsty Mann: Corpse<\/a>
To 30 August, Red lecture theatre at Summerhall
Kirsty Mann bought a house \u2013 and it came with a ghost. Winner of the best theatre award at Adelaide fringe, this real-life one-woman comedy horror is dark, funny and deliciously disturbing.<\/p>\n

Ayo Adenekan: Homeland Insecurity<\/a>
To 30 August, Cab Vol 2 at Monkey Barrel Comedy
Following his sellout debut, Black Mediocrity, the Scottish comic and SNL writer is back with a \u201cromantic hour\u201d of finely observed comedy. Think summer romances, chased dreams and messy endings.<\/p>\n

A maze-ing \u2026 Ben Hart. Photograph: Sarah Clinch<\/p>\n

Ben Hart: The Labyrinth<\/a>
To 30 August, Palais du Vari\u00e9t\u00e9 at Assembly George Square Gardens
The ever surprising magic shows of Ben Hart are always a fringe highlight. With skilful sleight of hand, mind reading and card trickery, he\u2019s good enough to win over any fool who thinks they don\u2019t like magic.<\/p>\n

Campitalism: Three Gays Try to Fix the Economy<\/a>
To 31 August, Attic at Pleasance Courtyard
Three financially illiterate LGBTQ+ people demystify finance in this drag-satire debut from BOY Theatre. There may be no money in the arts, but they\u2019re making art about money. Could be a camp equivalent of The Big Short.<\/p>\n

Dee Allum: Raumdeuter<\/a>
To 30 August, Pleasance Courtyard
Dee Allum tackles the World Cup and the trans experience in this follow-up to her debut show, Deadname. What does it mean to cheer for England when it doesn\u2019t feel like you\u2019re getting anything back?<\/p>\n

Fame academy \u2026 Demi Adejuyigbe. Photograph: Jonny Ruff<\/p>\n

Demi Adejuyigbe Sells Out<\/a>
To 30 August, Queen Dome at Pleasance Dome
Last time he promised audiences one backflip. Now the skilled skit-comedian and writer on The Good Place is ready with his next challenge to complete: becoming famous.<\/p>\n

Kwami Odoom and Jack Henry: Support Group<\/a>
To 31 August, The Penny at Gilded Balloon Patter House
Kwami Odoom (fresh from Soho theatre\u2019s Tender) doesn\u2019t know how to be a dad. Jack Henry (multi-award winner and nominee) doesn\u2019t know how to be \u201cgay, sane and sexy at the same time\u201d. Will their hour of standup offer more clarity?<\/p>\n

Aussie rules \u2026 Lizzy Hoo. Photograph: Giulia McGauran<\/p>\n

Lizzy Hoo: Says Hoo?<\/a>
To 30 August, Studio Four at Assembly George Square Studios
Oversharing Australian Lizzy Hoo is at the fringe for the first time, thanks to winning a big Melbourne comedy prize. With her two-drinks-in storytelling, you\u2019ll feel like you\u2019re best buds by the end of the show.<\/p>\n

Max Olesker: Making the Cut<\/a>
To 30 August, Pleasance Dome
This theatre comedy is adapted from Olesker\u2019s memoir, which is about his realisation that he\u2019s not Jewish enough for the Orthodox woman he\u2019s fallen for \u2013 and the rollercoaster that follows. From one half of Max & Ivan, the brains behind Clash of the Comics.<\/p>\n

Sanctuary<\/a>
To 31 August, Ace Dome at Pleasance Dome
Tracing the hard-fought effort to open an Aids hospice in 90s Suffolk, this time-twisting debut from the National Theatre\u2019s casting director Jacob Sparrow won the exciting new Leodis prize for playwrighting.<\/p>\n

S\u00e3o solid crew \u2026 Border Bodies. Photograph: Adriano Escanhuela Photography<\/p>\n

Border Bodies<\/a>
To 30 August, DB3 at Assembly @ Dance Base
Part of the fringe\u2019s S\u00e3o Paulo Showcase, Border Bodies features the Brazilian company TF Cia de Dan\u00e7a, whose show explores ideas of community and togetherness.<\/p>\n

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The Plot<\/a>
To 31 August, Main Hall at Summerhall
After a run of finely tuned fringe hits, writer-director Emma Howlett is back with a tale of radicalised young men and the stories we tell ourselves, as we dive into the foiled gunpowder plot of 1605.<\/p>\n

Bard to the bone \u2026 HAM. Photograph: Holly Revell<\/p>\n

HAM<\/a>
To 30 August, Old Lab at Summerhall
Fringe favourites Hotter Project lied about their last show being their farewell. We\u2019ll forgive them as they return with this \u201ckinky eco-hijacking\u201d of Hamlet. Expect nudity, messy hijinks and some weird feelings about your next ham sandwich.<\/p>\n

Shedinburgh<\/a>
To 30 August, Shedinburgh
Maybe it\u2019s cheating to pick an entire lineup \u2013 but each show here is one night only. Head to the shed for bold new work from the likes of Sam Nicoresti, Inua Ellams and the Femmes of Colo(u)r Comedy Club.<\/p>\n

The Palestinian Circus: Step and a Half. Photograph: Underbelly<\/p>\n

The Palestinian Circus: Step and a Half<\/a>
To 29 August, The Lafayette at Underbelly\u2019s Circus Hub on the Meadows
Blending Palestinian folk dance with contemporary circus, this swirling show is a celebration of freedom, heritage and resilience. Presented in partnership with Medical Aid for Palestine.<\/p>\n

Badgers<\/a>
To 30 August, Traverse 2 at Traverse theatre
Made by the team behind the Bristol Old Vic\u2019s Outlier, Badgers questions our obsession with true crime. Writer-performer Malaika Kegode leads this shape-shifting show about folk tales, podcasts and the art of letting go.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kirsty Mann: CorpseTo 30 August, Red lecture theatre at Summerhall Kirsty Mann bought a house \u2013 and it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":732399,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[96,59,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-732398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-gb","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/732398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=732398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/732398\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/732399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=732398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=732398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=732398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}