2026 reviews will be added here throughout the festival
The Upwards Journey of a Champagne Bubble
I gave an enthusiastic five stars to this company in 2023, so was excited to see what disturbing delights they were bringing to Fringe 2026. It’s safe to say I was not disappointed.
While dipping into similar thematic and stylistic waters as previously, this is by no means a retread, pushing the envelope a little further while exploring ideas around class, sexuality and the blackest of humour. Writer/Director Harry Daisley’s expertly and densely written script takes gloriously deranged left turns every time you begin to feel settled, and saying almost anything about it feels like a spoiler.
I can’t recommend this enough. It’s not for the easily offended, perhaps, but should probably be compulsory viewing regardless.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Mythos Ragnarök
I first saw this awesome extravaganza of Viking smackdowns in 2022 and have returned several times over the years, with it becoming bigger, better and even more action-packed each time. Mythos Ragnarök is a thrilling fusion of Norse mythology and professional wrestling that delivers a spectacular and unique theatrical experience.
This is a raw, bold and wildly entertaining must-see for anyone looking for something different at the Fringe.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Table for Two
Based around the novel and entertaining concept of a ‘date’ with a randomly chosen audience member, Jack Kenyon, in his Fringe debut, delivers an impressive hour of magic encompassing card tricks, audience participation, mentalism and more.
I had a great time at Table For Two and left both suitably baffled and with a huge smile on my face. A must for fans of magic
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Homunculus
Written by Santiago Mallan, Homunculus is a gloriously chaotic collision of old and new: a classic farce built on Elizabethan and Jacobean screwball mechanics, written in loose iambic verse and set in the present day. Mistaken identity and accidental alchemy combine with more than a dash of A Midsummer Night’s Dream to make a Frankenstein for the Jeremy Scott generation.
Homunculus is exactly the kind of weird, auteur insanity that the Fringe is for. It won’t be everyone’s jar of hex-goo, but if you like your comedy both cerebral and slapstick, please do not miss out on it while it’s here.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote
This is now my fourth year seeing this show, and honestly that’s as good a recommendation as any I can give you. A must-see for Murder, She Wrote devotees, but equally perfect for anyone wanting a fun, friendly and occasionally bitchy night of interactive TV.
My only problem with Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote is that when it gets to the end, I just want to grab some snacks and watch another four episodes with him.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Unexplained Live
I've been a listener of the Unexplained podcast for a while now, so I was excited to see how its fantastically unsettling, too-spooky-to-fall-asleep-to atmosphere would translate to the stage.
Richard MacLean Smith's storytelling is simple but hugely effective, and he makes clever use of lighting, sound and a few small props to build mood and tension without ever feeling overdone. Whether you’re already a fan of the podcast or coming to it completely fresh, this is a great example of classic storytelling done well: no unnecessary distraction, no irony, no forced humour. Just a well-told, eerie tale, delivered with real craft.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Material Girl: Madonna The Icon
Just as the real Ms Ciccone is enjoying a late-career renaissance with Confessions II, there couldn’t be a better time to celebrate her startling contribution to and impact on pop music. While this is not a 1:1 tribute act, what you get instead is a high-energy, glorious rip through an hour of Madonna hits, backed by a live band and, for the most part, given a fabulously rock & roll treatment.
Maia Elsey is stunning throughout, bringing joyful energy, top-notch vocals and a splash of sexy to this fantastically fun celebration of the Queen of Pop. If you are a fan, or just like great live music, you should not miss this.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
The Yellow Wallpaper
This darkly atmospheric dance thriller takes Charlotte Perkins Gilman's 1892 story and turns its interior horror inside out through movement. The unnamed narrator, confined to a room after the birth of her baby and diagnosed with a “hysterical tendency”, becomes a study in claustrophobia. The piece builds a nightmarish atmosphere, switching between exhaustion, delirium and hysterical ecstasy as her grip on reality slips. Hauntingly staged, sharply danced, and quietly furious underneath: highly recommended.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
exit strategy's How to Win a Gameshow
Part bleakly dystopian satire, part interactive improv comedy, any description I give of How to Win a Gameshow will fail to do it justice. There's dancing, there's singing, there's a very tantalising cash prize..
I'm loath to say much more for fear of spoiling it, but I can't recommend this show enough. Go for a shot at the money; stay for the hope of ever leaving.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Mark Vigeant: OUT THERE
I loved Mark’s previous Fringe outing The Best Man Show so much I saw it two years in a row, so I had high hopes for his latest expedition into the more rugged subject matter of outdoor adventuring. I’m glad to say I may have left the theatre a little soggy, but in no way disappointed.
If you like your comedy on the verge of a breakdown, this is one for you - just make sure you pick a big fern on the way in, you’ll thank me later.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
I Made You A Mixtape
I Made You A Mixtape is an absolute joy from start to finish. There are glowsticks, there is beer pong, there is audience participation, and above all there is fantastic, exuberant dancing. There are a few downbeat moments but the overall feeling is one of pure exhilaration and the kind of glorious, effervescent girl-bonding that, if we are lucky, lives on in our own mental mixtapes too.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Spraywatch: A Beautiful Rescue
“HAIR! TEETH! TITS! FACE!”
If you haven't had this sung to you by the cast of Spraywatch: A Beautiful Rescue, while thrusting their fanny-packs and making increasingly uncomfortable eye contact, then you haven’t really experienced the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe yet. Smart, sexy and thoroughly good fun - make sure you (slow-mo) run, don’t walk, to get your ticket for this before it sells out.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It
As both a huge fan of Xhloe and Natasha’s previous Fringe shows and someone who has voluntarily listened to a fourteen-hour podcast deep-dive on the Patterson–Gimlin film, I think it’s fair to say that this was my ‘must see’ for the festival - and I’m glad to report it did not disappoint.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
★ ★ ★ ★ ★