Brace yourselves, culture vultures and masochists alike. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe has wheezed out another 1,564 shows for 2025, bringing the total to a casual 3,356. That’s not a programme. That’s a cry for help.
It’s the usual Fringe fever dream: 3,000-plus shows, one working toilet, and a flyer from someone dressed as a fish
The organisers, in an impressive display of optimism or denial, have invited audiences to #DareToDiscover, because nothing says “meaningful discovery” like elbowing through 40 flyers and five clowns on stilts to find a half-lit venue above a vape shop.
This latest announcement was heralded by Tony Lankester, Chief Executive of the Fringe Society, who is apparently still finding excitement in announcing thousands of shows knowing full well no one will see even two percent of them. According to Lankester, this “last release of shows before the full programme launch on 3rd June” is an exciting peek at what artists are bringing. Let’s hope someone remembered to bring quality.
In classic Fringe fashion, the genres cover everything from theatre and comedy to cabaret, drag, opera, children’s shows, menstrual musicals, and something that claims to be “an interactive, mythology-inspired modern story”, which probably means you’ll end up holding a torch while someone in linen screams about destiny.
If themes are your thing, prepare for a lucky dip of “women’s history,” “conspiracy theories,” “existentialism,” and “club culture.” That last one likely refers to a 10pm breakdown, set in a converted cellar that smells of IPA and regret.
A smattering of titles was wheeled out for flavour. Sink or SING! promises empowerment through karaoke. Dragged Through the Mud offers insight into the loneliness of being fabulous, while Go With the Flow tackles the menstrual cycle through music and mischief, because why not turn biology into performance art?
On the comedy front, punters can enjoy CatGPT: Feline and Feral featuring a robo-kitty life coach; Maria McAveety: A Problem Like Maria, where the comedian questions if she’s the problem (spoiler: probably), and Biff to the Future, where the villain from Back to the Future is apparently centre stage. Because we’ve clearly run out of ideas.
Children aren’t safe either. Shows include Snakes and Bladders, which is somehow about snakes and urinary tracts, and Monski Mouse's Baby Cabaret, where toddlers can contemplate life’s big questions alongside wiggly worm songs.
There are tributes to Liza Minnelli, Frank Zappa and Shane McGowan. There's a show about sleight-of-hand. There’s one about sperm donation. If you think I’m making any of this up, you’re not ready for Mushroomification, which features a talking fungus and a hive-mind scientist named Karies.
In short, it’s the usual Fringe fever dream: 3,000-plus shows, one working toilet, and a flyer from someone dressed as a fish insisting their one-woman mime about climate anxiety is life-changing.
You’ve been warned.
