Keep the Kids Out!

Keep the Kids Out!

A rare treat of the Fringe is being able to speak your mind in a venue without having the talent shout you down. 

Not Just a Funny Turn

Not Just a Funny Turn

It was a shock just sitting down in the Stroke Association Scotland’s venue - on every seat was a leaflet telling us that one in six people in Scotland will suffer a stroke in thei… 

The Universal Recipe

The Universal Recipe

A trio of friends, our plucky heroes, stand before us. 

Paul Gilbody

Paul Gilbody

Newcomers to the city should come to the Jazz Bar regardless of what’s on. 

Mark Watson's Comedywealth Games

Mark Watson's Comedywealth Games

In 2012, Mark Watson’s Edinborolympics caused controversy by having comedians throw pineapples at audience members. 

Short & Curly - Who Dunnit?

Short & Curly - Who Dunnit?

There’s been a murder at the after-show party! Hammed-up accents and paisley dressing gowns at the ready, Short and Curly take us back-stage after their wildly successful show in… 

Gower Rangers

Gower Rangers

Fresh from their West End debut, UCLU’s premier sketch troupe Gower Line have downsized a little. 

The Lift

The Lift

A lift at full capacity is not what anyone could call comfortable at the best of times, and less inviting still is the idea of being trapped in said lift with no promise of escape … 

Auntie Rene's Memory Box is the Smallest Museum in the World

Auntie Rene's Memory Box is the Smallest Museum in the World

A very ambitious performer, Guy Combes was not content with the idea of simply telling jokes. 

Katerina Vrana: Feta with the Queen

Katerina Vrana: Feta with the Queen

In the appropriately multi-lingual halls of Espionage is this hidden gem of the Free Festival. 

AKA MissD

AKA MissD

Roughly halfway through her show, Miss D asks us- “So, has anyone else had Chemical Weapons training?”. 

Umbilical Brothers: KiDSHoW (not for kids)

Umbilical Brothers: KiDSHoW (not for kids)

If the Umbilical Brothers were part of your upbringing, you probably would have repressed it. 

Lucy Porter: Me Time

Lucy Porter: Me Time

Comedians can be a cynical bunch. 

Adam Belbin: The Third Half of Next Year's Show

Adam Belbin: The Third Half of Next Year's Show

For half an hour in a room somewhere in the back of the Free Sisters, Adam Belbin is doing a comedy show about leaving the comedy world. 

Javier Jarquin: Joke Ninja

Javier Jarquin: Joke Ninja

Javier Jarquin looks almost surprised that we’re here to see him. 

Le Flop

Le Flop

There are quite a few shows every year which can’t be categorised in the traditional sense of the Fringe programme. 

Afternoon Delight

Afternoon Delight

Overwhelming as the Festival is, it’s a good to try a pick-and-mix of shows. 

Jonny & The Baptists: The Satiric Verses

Jonny & The Baptists: The Satiric Verses

From Bruce Springsteen to Mitch Benn, music has long been a great vehicle for political enlightenment and for having a good liberal whinge. 

Simon Feilder: All The Things I'm Not

Simon Feilder: All The Things I'm Not

One of a stampede of comedians making the London-Edinburgh journey for the festival, Feilder knows his Fringe conventions well and isn’t afraid to use them to meta-comic effect. 

Abigoliah Schamaun: It's Pronounced Abigoliah Schamaun

Abigoliah Schamaun: It's Pronounced Abigoliah Schamaun

Abigoliah Schamaun has been painted as caustic, controversial and not for the faint of heart. 

Angry Young Women in Low Rise Jeans with High Class Issues

Angry Young Women in Low Rise Jeans with High Class Issues

It is possible to do feminist comedy very, very well. 

Croft & Pearce: Give and Take

Croft & Pearce: Give and Take

Making their way north for the fourth year on the trot, Croft and Pearce have brought us their best show yet. 

Lights! Camera! Improvise! - The Improvised Movie

Lights! Camera! Improvise! - The Improvised Movie

Back for another year of improvised madness are Mischief Theatre, the improvised movie and Oscar - the man with the biggest collection of DVDs in the known Universe. 

Funny Women Pop Up Fringe

Funny Women Pop Up Fringe

Unfortunately, it still seems remarkable enough for a comedy show’s bill to be entirely populated by women that the Funny Women Pop-Up Fringe marketed their lineup as such. 

Red Hot Chilli Pipers

Red Hot Chilli Pipers

Any classic rock enthusiast will tell you that ACDC are pretty good. 

Tartan Ribbon Comedy Benefit

Tartan Ribbon Comedy Benefit

When it comes to variety shows, it’s often the case that each act is really just shamelessly attempting to entice bigger crowds to their own solo shows, suddenly amazed that they h… 

The Complete History of the BBC (Abridged)

The Complete History of the BBC (Abridged)

Are you sitting comfortably? Then we’ll begin. 

The Edinburgh Revue: Sketch Show

The Edinburgh Revue: Sketch Show

It was with boundless energy that the five-strong Revue troupe leaped onstage and it seemed that this was an energy which would not dwindle - even as the quality of the proceeding … 

Science, Love and Revolution

Science, Love and Revolution

First things first: this show is not for the faint of heart. 

At the Fringe of Reason

At the Fringe of Reason

Entertainment comes in many forms during the Fringe and for those of us who value cerebral stimulation as much as funny-bone tickling, I cannot recommend the Edinburgh Skeptics eno… 

The Scottish Burly Ceilidh Club

The Scottish Burly Ceilidh Club

For first-time ceilidh-goers, some tips: do not wear high heels. 

Dana Alexander: Is This Really Happening?

Dana Alexander: Is This Really Happening?

Multimedia can be a tricksy thing. 

The Durham Revue: Friends Without Benefits

The Durham Revue: Friends Without Benefits

For years, the Durham Revue have been one of the strongest university sketch troupes around and this year is no exception. 

The Rat Pack Stand-up Comedy

The Rat Pack Stand-up Comedy

The Rat Pack did far more than sing. 

Tricity Vogue's Ukulele Cabaret - Free

Tricity Vogue's Ukulele Cabaret - Free

Tricity Vogue’s voice has a peculiar tone that suggests everything she says is really an innuendo. 

The Sign of Four

The Sign of Four

As one of the earliest Holmes stories and not one of the best known, the Sign of Four is perhaps not the best of choices for a theatrical adaptation. 

Will Franken: Concert to Benefit the Victims of My Father

Will Franken: Concert to Benefit the Victims of My Father

It seems Will Franken has set himself an impossible task. 

Max and Ivan: The Reunion

Max and Ivan: The Reunion

There will be leaping and spinning, there will be theme music and coloured lights, and your expectations of what is possible with a two-man cast will be changed forever. 

Dan Cook: Community Service

Dan Cook: Community Service

When a man chooses to present an hour of unrelenting comedy wearing an orange jumpsuit and sequinned jacket, you know he doesn’t take himself too seriously. 

Abandoman: Moonrock Boombox

Abandoman: Moonrock Boombox

Rap: the final frontier. 

The Rat Pack - Live

The Rat Pack - Live

Throw on your suit, kick off your shoes and do not be afraid to sing along.