Edinburgh Festival Fringe Top Picks: COMEDY
Whilst many theatre lovers will be flocking up to Edinburgh Festival Fringe to seek out the best new plays and musicals, the Fringe is primarily known around the world as a comedy festival. Whether you’re after big names or rising stars, there is a plethora of comedy shows on offer this summer.
Here are some of the comedy shows we like the look of…
Hamish Lloyd Barnes: Stage Presence
Actor, comedian and co-artistic director of the theatre company Spies Like Us, Hamish Lloyd Barnes brings his debut character comedy show to Edinburgh this year and it sounds like the perfect show for the stagey people out there who want to dip their toe into some comedy.
Loosely inspired by the real murder of actor William Terris at the Adelphi Theatre stage door in 1897 and the subsequent sightings of his ghost, Stage Presence sees a company of ghosts alongside a talking ticket, curtain and spotlight tell their stories, tie up their loose ends and have their moments on the final night before the haunted theatre is demolished.
Photo credit: Rebecca Need-Menear (Hamish Lloyd Barnes
Lloyd Barnes is an acclaimed actor having recently been seen in Rivals and heard in Harry Potter on Audible. He is also recognised as a talented comedian - he was a Leicester Square Theatre Sketch Off Finalist this year and a BBC New Comedy Awards in 2025.
Hot off the back of his Best Comic nomination at The Pantomime Awards 2026, ventriloquist Max Fulham returns to the Fringe with his show Memory Foam. The show is about memory, nostalgia and the strange emotional value people attach to the things they keep.
As Fulham rummages through forgotten objects and family history, unexpected voices begin emerging from the clutter, including new puppet characters, chaotic inner monologues and advice from his much-loved Grandad.
For those with kids, you can catch Fulham’s other show Monkey Business, a fast-paced family comedy about a disastrously run company headed up by Max and his mischievous sidekick Gordon the Monkey.
Another panto star heading up to the Fringe is George Coppen. Coppen will take audiences through his life from early beginnings at school to trying to find ‘normal’ jobs to finding his calling in pantomime, and how he lives day to day meeting and interacting with different types of people.
Coppen starred in Snow White at Sheffield’s Lyceum Theatre which won Best Pantomime at The Pantomime Awards 2025 and received 5 stars from us.
Won’t Be Long is part of PBH’s Free Fringe so there’s no need to book, just turn up!
Photo credit: Karla Gowlett (Max Fulham)
Christopher Hall returns to the Fringe with his sparkling new show, Pizazz. He promises to give us a hilariously fun soiree and let us be tucked up in bed at a sensible time!
Instantly recognisable from iconic background singer videos with Sugababes, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Shania Twain, as well as his podcast Stay Hydrated, Hall is back with a hilarious stand-up show with a high possibility of an outbreak of dancing.
Ayoade Bamgboye: Swings and Roundabouts
Saturday Night Live UK star Ayoade Bamgboye will perform her show Swings and Roundabouts at the Fringe for three performances only! This critically acclaimed debut show about suffering and smiling was a hit at last year’s Fringe - Bamgboye won Best Newcomer at the 2025 Edinburgh Comedy Awards.
Fans of Bamgboye can also see her Work In Progress show Small Talk, which has a limited run ahead of the return of Swings and Roundabouts.
Another Saturday Night Live UK star appearing at the Fringe this year is Larry Dean. The Glaswegian comedy favourite, who has also been seen on Live at the Apollo, QI and The Royal Variety Performance, presents a riotous new show about refusing to grow up.
Thor Stenhaug: Happy To Be Here
Rising comedy star Thor Stenhaug will be at the Fringe this year with his new Work In Progress show Happy To Be Here for three performances only. This comes off the back of his sold out debut show and UK tour. Don’t miss your chance to be the first to see this new show from the 2025 Channel 4 Sean Lock Award finalist, who the Scotsman described as “the Norwegian comedy god thunder”.
Beloved clown and panto star Tweedy makes his festival debut with this brand new solo show for all ages.
Christopher Hall: Pizazz
Tweedy finds himself battling mischievous props in a series of increasingly absurd situations, but however chaotic things become Tweedy can always find a creative way to get out - much to the delight of audiences young and old.
Big name comedians:
There are also a whole host of plethora comedians heading to Edinburgh, either for a run of a new show or very limited dates. These include: James Acaster, Gyles Brandreth, Traitors Series 1 winner Hannah Byczkowski, Ed Byrne, Palladium panto favourite Julian Clary, Nina Conti, Jack Dee, Troy Hawke, Rosie Holt, Reginald D Hunter, Rhys James, Rosie Jones, Sooz Kempner, Nish Kumar, Susie McCabe, Geoff Norcott, Pierre Novellie, Sara Pascoe, Frank Skinner, Daniel Sloss, Ian Smith, Ghosts star Kiell Smith-Bynoe, Garry Starr, Tim Vine, Seann Walsh, Phil Wang and Ruby Wax.
Be sure to check back for more of our picks of this year’s Fringe, Besties…