It’s EdFringe time again, folks! Dust off your walking shoes and prepare to be dazzled by a kaleidoscope of comedic brilliance, theatrical innovation, and artistic expression. With over 3,500 shows to choose from, the Fringe is a treasure trove waiting to be explored. So, grab your program, dive into the madness, and discover your new favorite act!
AMY MASON
VENUE: The Cellar – Pleasance Courtyard, EH8 9TJ
TIME: 8pm
DATES: 31 st July – 26 th August (not Mon 12 th )
PRICES: Previews £9/ Off-peak £11 (£10) / Peak £12 (£11)
TICKETS: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/amy-mason-free-mason / 0131 556 6550
AGE RESTRICTION: 14+
After coming out in her late 30’s, the off-kilter Funny Woman finalist and BBC New Act nominee talks raising kids, rinsing homophobes, sobriety, being bipolar and confronting her wild past in her debut solo hour.
She has written for The News Quiz, The Now Show and Hypothetical, and has written three autobiographical plays in collaboration with the Bristol Old Vic. In 2014 Amy won the Dundee International Book Prize with her novel The Other Ida.
With over 10 million views on TikTok, multiple TV projects currently in development with BBC Studios and Clerkenwell Films, Amy is already gaining fans in the likes of Bridget Christie, Jess Fostekew and Dawn O’Porter.
ANDREW MAXWELL
VENUE: Just the Tonic Nucleus, The Charteris Centre, 138 Pleasance, EH8 9RR
TIME: 5:40pm
DATES: 1st – 25th August (not Mon 12th)
PRICES: Previews £10/ Off-peak £12.50 (£11.50) / Peak £15 (£14)
TICKETS: http://www.justthetonic.com/edinburgh-festival
AGE RESTRICTION: 16+
The double Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee and one of the EdFringe’s favourite storytellers is back and doing what he does best – finding the funny in everything going on in this crazy world today and, let’s be fair, being damned good at it. Often referred to in his score of first-rate reviews as one of the most skilful comics of his generation, Maxwell has long been at the top of his game. His expertise in finding the perfect balance between humour and insight in any given situation, his lightning quick wit and his fierce intellect have ensured that he remains the King of Comedy long after he was crowned.
His TV credentials over the last 20 plus years since winning Channel 4’s King of Comedy has seen Maxwell engage in a battle of wits on Mock The Week to a battle with cockroaches in I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here. He’s appeared on Have I Got News For You, Never Mind The Buzzcocks, QI, Richard Osman’s House of Games, Pointless Celebrities and Live at the Apollo and is the recognisable voice behind MTV’s hit show Ex On The Beach. He has even won Celebrity Mastermind which, for anyone who has been in a room with him for more than 5 minutes, will come as no surprise.
BABY WANTS CANDY
TIME: 8pm
DATES: Weds 31 st July – Sun 25 th August
PRICES: Previews £12/ Midweek £16.50 (£15.50) / Weekends £17.50(£16.50)
TICKETS: https://www.assemblyfestival.com/ 0131 623 3030
AGE RESTRICTION: Suggested 14+
One of the world’s most celebrated improv shows EVER heads back to the EdFringe for its 17th year with a run of 26 brand new one-off musicals, each one completely different from the others and never to be seen again! With the title taken from audience suggestions, the (let’s face it) adored ad-lib comedy ensemble, alongside a full live band, sing and dance their way through musical extravaganzas like Nicola Sturgeon; Hypnotist, Kanye West Side Story, Big Sunak Attack and Nightmare on Nicholson Street.
Unscripted, unguided, unpredictable… and often uncontrollable! With casts in Chicago, LA and New York and an international touring company, Baby Wants Candy has launched the careers of various top comedic actors and writers in the US
CHRIS GRACE: Sardines (A Comedy About Death) (1:40pm, Assembly George Square, Studio 5)
VENUE: Studio Five – Assembly George Square Studios, George Square, EH8 9LH
TIME: 1:40pm
DATES: 31 st July – 26 th August
PRICES: Previews £8 / Off-peak £12.50 (£11.50) / Peak £13.50(£12.50)
TICKETS: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/chris-grace-sardines-a-comedy-about-death / 0131 623 3030
AGE RESTRICTION: 14+
Following a highly acclaimed sell-out debut hour at last year’s EdFringe, Chris Grace returns to Edinburgh to explore the tragic, hilarious and important questions of our time. Why do we die? How do you enjoy something when you know it’s going to end? Does art actually help us deal with complex, universal issues? And should we really hum Another One Bites the Dust when performing CPR?
This is a comic look at the people in Chris’s life who have died, and how he has managed to live a full, joyous life in spite of that. His existential ice cream sundae has every flavour of grief in it; from parents to siblings to partners, he’s experienced it all and he’s made it out the other side.
A long-time member of EdFringe improv favourite Baby Wants Candy, you may also have seen him in the likes of Atypical (Netflix), Stumptown (ABC), This Is Us (NBC) and most notably as Jerry in Superstore (Netflix).
Last year Chris won first place in Houston’s international comedy contest The Riot Comedy Festival and his Tik Tok channel views have reached the millions. His 2023 EdFringe show Chris Grace: As Scarlett Johansson had an amazing run last Fringe. It was filmed to be released as a special on Dropout and has been booked to tour nationwide Stateside from Austin to Boston and he is soon set to finish shooting Netflix’s new Shonda Rhimes TV show The Residence.
HARRY STACHINI
VENUE: Underbelly Dexter – Bristo Square, Teviot Place, EH8 9AG
TIME: 5:45pm
DATES: 31 st July – 26 th August (not Mon 12th)
PRICES: Previews £7 (£)/ Off-peak £11 (£10)/ Peak £12.50 (£11.50)
TICKETS: https://underbellyedinburgh.co.uk/event/harry-stachini-grenade
A masterful storyteller with one of the most amiable and easy-going stage presences on the comedy circuit today, Harry Stachini looks at honesty in his latest hour.
We all carry our own grenades with us; our own problems to deal with in our own lives. Do we pull the pin, or do we not? With a focus on his own family’s dynamics, Harry looks at how pulling his own pin destroyed an eight-year relationship, a mortgage and a blue whippet. A former teaching assistant to children from disadvantaged and challenging backgrounds, Harry delves into his former years educating future serial killers in a surprisingly relatable, honest, and hilarious show.
Now a regular at the circuit’s top clubs and venues, Harry performed his debut EdFringe show to sell-out audiences in 2019. In fact, he often finds himself playing to sell-out audiences in his home town of Manchester. His online videos have amassed millions of views across his social media and his first podcast series, The Staff Room Podcast (where teachers share their anonymous stories from the classroom) was nominated for Best Comedy at The British Podcast Awards.
MARK THOMAS
VENUE: The Stand Comedy Club (Stand 1), 5 York Place, EH1 3EB
TIME: 6:30pm
DATES: 31st July-25th August (not Mon 12th)
PRICES: Previews £8 / Full price £12 (Concessions £10)
TICKETS: 0131 558 9005 / https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/mark-thomas-gaffa-tapes
AGE RESTRICTION: 18+
Mark’s now famous mix of standup, theatre, journalism and the odd bout of performance art has made him one of our oldest surviving alternative comics. Often referred to as the ‘godfather of political comedy’ (amidst many other things), Mark has been performing comedy for nearly 40 years. With a recentish step towards theatre in his last few shows, Mark is back to his finest stand-up form and anti-Tory sentiment in Gaffa Tapes, his latest Edinburgh offering.
If you don’t know what Mark does, ask your parents. In his time, he has won 8 awards for performing, 3 for human rights work… and 1 he invented for himself. He has made 6 series of the Mark Thomas Comedy Product and 3 Dispatches for Channel 4, made 5 series of the Manifesto for Radio 4, written 5 books and 4 playscripts, curated and authored 2 art exhibitions with artist Tracey Moberly and was commissioned to write a show for the Royal Opera House. He has forced a politician to resign, changed laws on tax and protest, become the Guinness Book of Records world-record holder for number of protests in 24 hours, taken the police to court three times and won (the fourth is in the pipeline), walked the length of the Israeli Wall in the West Bank (that’s 724km), and generally mucked about trying to have fun and upset (shall we say) the right people.
SHAMILTON THE IMPROVISED HIP HOP MUSICAL
VENUE: Studio One – Assembly George Square Studios, George Square, EH8
9LH
TIME: 6:20pm
DATES: Weds 31 st July – Sun 25 th August
PRICES: Previews £11 / Off-peak £14.50 (£13.50) / Peak £16.50 (£15.50)
TICKETS: www.assemblyfestival.com / 0131 623 3030
AGE RESTRICTION: Suggested 14+
Last summer, a brand-new smash hit improv show based on a little-heard-of off-Broadway musical called Hamilton arrived at the EdFringe to standing ovations and multiple sell-out nights. This year it returns to ‘rise up’ once more with a month’s run of completely unchoreographed choreography and unrehearsed hip hop delights.
Join the Shamilton! cast and their excellent band The Shamiltones as together they improvise numerous epic musicals based on a historical figure/celebrity of your choosing – be it Prince Harry, Boris Johnson, Nicola Sturgeon or Paul Hollywood – all 100% made up on the spot!
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