Search

Toggle dark mode:

Saved articles

You have not yet added any article to your bookmarks!

Browse articles

GDPR Compliance

We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service.

Six Exciting Clown Shows to see this EdFringe!

Salvador Kent Salvador Kent
23 Jun 2026

Clown is one of those tricky mediums that you can find in bucketfuls at any Fringe festival but would be hard to come by anywhere else. This is partially because clowning work thrives on small, live rooms, so it is not obviously scalable in the same way that a dramatic monologue such as Fleabag, or a more scripted affair such as stand-up comedy is. The result is a first-time fringe goer might not know what to expect from a clown show. The purpose of this article is to describe what you might expect, and then to recommend some great Clowns to watch this Edinburgh Fringe. I have attempted to pick work from the whole spectrum of the ginormous, gloriously overstuffed Fringe program, so do go seek shows out yourself as well. 

That being said - what can you expect from a clown show? The medium has long ditched the uniform costume of a red nose and whiteface. Clowns can come in all shapes and sizes, and represent anything from a ping-pong player to a businessman to a slug. The great clown teacher Phillipe Gaulier had three pillars of pedagogy that are also pretty good principles of what to expect from a clown show — complicité, play and humanity. 

Complicité - because clown builds a routine from and thrives on audience interaction. Play - because a clown show is light and fun, but can also playfully take us to new extremes. Humanity - truly the content of clown, an experience where aspects of ourselves we might find too awkward to share in polite conversation can be exposed in the irreverent, slightly sublime, totally hilarious room of a clown show. 

Now, here are six clown shows I am really excited about this Edinburgh Fringe. Some I've seen, others have been recommended to me, some just look brilliant! 


1. Don Toberman Ping Pong Champ. 

18–31 August. 13.30. (One Hour) 

Venue 33. Bunker Two at Pleasance Courtyard. 

Tickets Here

I caught Chase Brantley's show last Fringe, and I think he's found a great clown here. Don Toberman is a ping pong champion who always wins, and over the course of the hour the audience plays along with him, clacking their tongue to invent the imaginary ball. It is a brilliant piece of clowning that serves as the most assured distillation of what makes the medium hilarious and beautiful. He takes the show to some pretty wild places on the right sort of night – you might see a ginormous ping pong ball, a striptease, or have to eat a marshmallow out of Don Toberman's mouth. Who knows?! But this is thorougly recommended. 


2. Gutter 

18–30 August. 23.20 (One Hour and ten minutes) 

Venue 302. Friesian at Underbelly, Bristo Square

Tickets Here

Billed as London's first and only Bouffon collective, Gutter seems to be an excellent oppurtunity to catch an element of clown training that is hard to come by. Bouffon, championed by the maestros Gaulier and Lecoq is a darker, more biting form of performance that could be considered clowns evil younger cousin. It's hilarious, but in an excruciating way. Trust me though, it's a great night out - grab a few pints before and you might be slightly upset but thorougly entertained. 


3. The Passion of Mr Cardboard 

5–30 August. 19.20 (One Hour) 

Venue 300. The Wee Coo at Underbelly, George Square.

Tickets Here.

Miles Calderon of Stamptown, an EdFringe staple, presents this solo show. It comes highly recommended to me and sounds utterly bonkers. Mr Cardboard will fly us to the Land of Cardboard and battle with a higher power for the pleasure of the audience? Sure. This sounds like it will be a great hour and I am intrigued by the prospect of it. 


4. Teatro Fisico Venue 359a

Various shows. 

Tickets Here.

Located at the Fruitmarket Gallery right next to Waverley Teatro Fisico promises an eclectic programme "dedicated to Lecoq-inspired physical theatre, presenting Italian productions at the Fringe. Movement, clown, and contemporary theatre". I'm most intrigued by Hamlet: Prince of Sweden, which seems like a riotous take on the tragedy and Shaolin Clown, where Tom Corradini will "relive his childish and clownish soul in his Zen practice". It's great to see a new fringe space dedicated to this sort of alternative performance. It seems to be worth a visit! 


5. & taxes 

7-29 August. 21.10, 18.10. (45 minutes)

Venue 53. The Space @ Surgeons Hall, Theatre 3.

Tickets Here.

This is the only Clown show I've managed to spot so far at The SpaceUK but it looks like it could be brilliant. Performed by Michael Thomas Kennedy "What started with [him] doing 5 minutes of stand-up about being a ghost has turned into a full-length clown spectacular". The prospect of Jasper the Ghost sounds ripe for clowning potential, and the title is glorious. I would be intrigued to catch this one in August. 


6. Edith Alibec: The Void

8-30 August. 20.55 (One Hour). 

Venue 156. Cinema Room at PBH's Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth.

Non-ticketed, but listing here.

Banshees Labyrinth is home to some of the kookiest stuff you can watch at Fringe, so it seems only natural that it's hosting Edith Alibec's "The Void" - billed as a debut clown hour in which nothing gets resolved. Alibec describes the void as "the thing most people carry inside themselves". An interesting thought, and one that I think might create a beautifully human hour of clown at the PBH Free Fringe. 


The nature of these preview articles is there are always so many shows you can't feature, so go seek out new artists yourself, have a beer in the sun, and enjoy the wonderfully weird world of Clown in Edinburgh this August.

Salvador Kent

Salvador Kent

Salvador Kent is an aspiring Director and Playwright in Edinburgh. He is especially drawn to experimental theatres including Clown, Postdramatic, Political and Ritual theatres - especially when formally playful. He is co-producer of Edinburgh experimental performance night @theatrelaboratory.

Related to this article:

Les Miserables
Lion King
The Producers
Popular now
Wicked
Titanique
Matilda