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August is fast approaching, and the cobbled streets of the Scottish capital are calling. Still the world’s biggest arts festival 78 years in, Edinburgh Fringe remains the most exciting place for performers and punters to spend their summers. Here, emerging acts and student performers can play the same stages as seasoned actors, get discovered by Netflix – or struggle to break even. It can be brutal, and it can be brilliant; truly, there is nowhere like it.
Of course, much has been written over the years about the problems the Fringe is facing when it comes to the rising costs of venues, tickets, and accommodation. The latter has only been amplified in 2025. A little band called Oasis are conveniently playing three nights at Murrayfield the same month, leading to an even higher surge in costs to stay in the city. Expect, too, further strain on local services.
And yet the Fringe trundles on, as it always does. This year, you can catch prolific actors like Brian Cox in Make It Happen at the Edinburgh International Festival (of which the Fringe is an offshoot), and comedians you adore from the telly playing to small, captive audiences: Alan Davies, Sara Pascoe, even Rosie O’Donnell.
But having spent many a summer watching, reviewing, and even performing at the festival, I’d argue that big-name acts shouldn’t dominate your Fringe schedule, given the sheer breadth of talent on offer. Watch some free comedy in a dingy room above a pub! Join a random queue and see where it goes! Ask around for the “Fringe celebrity” acts who would struggle to get recognised out of Edinburgh in August but are considered rock stars here.
That’s the fun of the Fringe – and here are 11 of the most exciting shows you can see in Edinburgh this August…
Rob Auton: CAN (An Hour-Long Story)
Assembly Roxy, 30 July to 24 August, 1.25pm
Unassuming in appearance, with his thick beard and wild hair, Rob Auton is a softly spoken poet and comedian with the ability to spin lexical gold on stage. For 11 years, Auton’s had Fringe audiences eating out of the palm of his hand, garnering a cult following with his eccentric comedy stuffed with bizarre metaphors and surprisingly sweet sentiments. This year marks his first official foray into storytelling, as he tells the tale of a man called Can. Fans of the equally whimsical Tim Key will certainly love Auton. You’ll definitely laugh, and don’t be surprised if you cry, too.
Pickled Republic
Summerhall, 31 July to 25 August (not 11, 18 August), 1.15pm
Every year, a title pops up with intriguingly elusive promotional material and ends up being the most talked about show of the Fringe. My money this year is on Pickled Republic by Moldovan performance artist Ruxandra Cantir, which sight unseen appears a natural successor to Julia Masli’s hit clowning hour of 2023 (and 2024 and 2025), ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. It promises Lynchian (yes, really) existentialism from a woman dressed as a pickle, together with a mix of clowning, puppetry, and mask. Given it’s already won a load of the festival’s top prizes and grants, rarely has such a rogue premise felt like a sure thing.
Cat Cohen: Broad Strokes
Pleasance Courtyard, 31 July to 24 August (not 6, 12, 13, 19 August), 9pm
In the summer of 2023, Cat Cohen was riding high. She’d recently released her first Netflix special and was heading to the Fringe to perform her sophomore hour. Then, in Cohen’s own words, she “randomly had a stroke”. The New York comedian and star of Only Murders in the Building was forced to cancel that run at the festival; now, two years later, she’s back with her most personal show yet, musing on her major health emergency through sharp musical comedy. Expect hilarious songs and adept crowd work, as Cohen mines the scariest experience of her life for big laughs.
Nowhere
Here and Now Showcase, Traverse Theatre, 12 to 24 August (not 18 August), various times
To most people, Khalid Abdalla is best known as The Crown’s Dodi Fayed, if not for his performances in The Kite Runner and the National Theatre’s 2024 revival of Mnemonic. But Abdalla has another side to him: he’s an activist from a family of political dissidents and a prominent presence at London’s recent Palestine rallies. It’s this side of himself he’ll be exploring – and deconstructing – in Nowhere, a self-described “anti-biography” that sees Abdalla take audiences through his personal involvement in the 2011 Egyptian revolution. A multimedia musing on what it means to belong both personally and politically, Nowhere is not to be missed, anywhere.
Emmanuel Sonubi: Life After Near Death
Pleasance Courtyard, 30 July to 25 August (not 12 August), 8.10pm
It’s always fun to see a comedian who’s lived a life before starting a stand-up career, and few acts have a better backstory than Emmanuel Sonubi. A former nightclub bouncer and dance teacher, Sonubi has quickly risen up the comedy ranks, wowing audiences at the last two Fringes and even snagging a spot on Live at the Apollo thanks to his witty writing and commanding stage presence. In his new show, Sonubi examines another curveball life has thrown at him: the time he nearly died on stage – and not in the metaphorical sense.
Figures in Extinction
Festival Theatre, 22 to 24 August, various times
Bringing together leading choreographer Crystal Pite and theatre maker Simon McBurney, Figures in Extinction is a head-first confrontation of the climate crisis. It’s been created in collaboration with Complicité and Nederland Dans Theatre for the Edinburgh International Festival, and at two-and-a-half hours of performance, will be a confronting watch to say the least. But there’s light too; Figures in Extinction is a call for unity as much as it is a warning, emphasising the importance of working collectively to provide hope in dark times. Here’s hoping audiences listen.
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Sikisa: Serving Justice
The Tron at Monkey Barrel Comedy, 30 July to 24 August (not 12), 5.50pm
One of the most exciting – and hardest-working – voices on the British comedy scene, Sikisa has several strings to her bow. In addition to doing (and teaching) stand-up, the multi-faceted talent is also a burlesque performer… and an immigration lawyer. It’s that last role that gives Serving Justice its title, as Sikisa goes deep on the realities of the legal system she works in. An unabashed performer, she’s also unafraid to explore her own personal story, as she pushes back against the expectations placed against her as a child-free Black woman in her thirties.
Pear: Phobia
Belly Dancer at Underbelly, Cowgate, 31 July to 24 August (not 11 August), 7.20pm
All comedians need an identifier: a visual cue by which the audience will remember them and, hopefully, tell others to go see their show. Few have one better than Patrick and Hugo McPherson aka Pear. When it comes to sketch comedy, you’ll struggle to find two more instantly recognisable performers than these 6ft 7in identical twins. Staples of Fringe, Pear are back with Phobia, a rambunctious, light-hearted hour of sketch and silliness. Expect audience participation and plenty of props.
A Gambler’s Guide to Dying
Traverse Theatre, 31 July to 24 August (not 4, 11, 18 August), various times
Picture it: you win big betting on a historic football match. How do you spend that money? Chances are not in the same way that the protagonist of Gary McNair’s 2015 play chooses to. A stoic Glaswegian who is diagnosed with cancer, Archie Campbell gambles his winnings from the 1966 World Cup on the likelihood that he will live to see the year 2000. The premise might sound a little bleak, but McNair’s intergenerational story (the tale is told from the perspective of Archie’s grandson) is the stuff of Fringe legend. Warm and witty, it’s now being restaged 10 years after its debut, and still feels delightfully fresh.
Scatter: A Horror Play
Underbelly Cowgate, 31 July to 24 August (not 11 August), 3.40pm
Fancy a good spooking in Scotland this summer? Then form an orderly line for Scatter, a horror play from actor (and comedian as part of Fringe favourites Pear with his identical twin brother) Patrick McPherson. Cloaked in mystery, the play follows a man who travels to a remote Welsh village to scatter his father’s ashes but finds something sinister waiting for him. It’s McPherson’s first shift into the horror genre but, given the acclaim for his previous high octane shows, you can expect the theatre maker to go all out in his attempt to make you scream.
Thanks for Being Here
ZOO Southside, 12 to 24 August (not 18 August), 1.45pm
The winners of no less than eight Fringe First awards, Belgian theatre company Ontroerend Goed have earned universal acclaim for their stunning, often infuriatingly twisty projects that mix performance art, poetry, and movement. That multimedia melting pot is being stirred once more this Fringe with Thanks For Being Here; little detail has been shared about the show’s content, but I’m expecting another moving production guaranteed to shift perspectives and blow audiences away.
