Thursday 13 & Friday 21 August: 10.00pm

The Femmes of Colo(u)r Comedy Club presents the fiercest mixed bills unapologetically celebrating and centering women and trans comedians of colour.

Hosted by founder Kemah Bob, each show is impossible to repeat, disrupting the status quo with a 100% no-white-dudes-onstage guarantee.

FOC IT UP! has hit London, Latitude, Southbank Festival and Just For Laughs London with electric, sell-out nights packed with big laughs and big energy. Now they’re back in Edinburgh bringing the party to the Shed!

This will be a special Shedinburgh version of the show.

Guests include:

13 August

Sydnee Washington - Emmy nominated; Toured with comedians Chelsea Handler, Matteo Lane, Janelle James; Seen on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Comedy Central, & Don't Tell Comedy Anna Leong Brophy - BAFTA nominated; One half of sketch duo EGG; Acting credits include Netflix's Shadow and Bone. Joyelle Nicole Johnson - Seen on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Search Party & Survival of the Thickest; Writer for Broad City & Hasan Minaj's Patriot Act.

21 August

Lara Ricote - Winner of Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Fringe; Seen on Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable, QI, Live At The Apollo & Mitchell and Webb Are Not Helping.

Thursday 13 August: 11.30pm

In 2015 Jordan’s Nanna, Gwendoline Brookes, passed away. This show is a genuine attempt to pay tribute to her.

That can’t be the whole thing, can it? Is he just going to talk about his Nan for an hour? Surely not.

Nominated for Best Show at the Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2017.

‘Wildly entertaining stand-up that demolishes the conventions of comedy’ ★★★★ (Guardian)

​
‘A crazy, wonderful show – Brookes is a startlingly talented comedian’ ★★★★ (The Scotsman)

This will be a special stripped-back version of the hit Fringe show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Friday 14 August: 1.45pm

Join Birmingham Hippodrome’s Head of New Musical Theatre, Deirdre O’Halloran, for this panel Q+A exploring the UK’s musical theatre landscape, and the process of getting a show from your notebook and keyboard to the West End. Featuring Jack Godfrey (Writer, Hot Mess), Anoushka Lucas (Writer/Performer, Elephant) and Cheeyang Ng (Writer, Legendary).

This is a free-to-attend SHEDx talk, discussing themes around the Fringe and the wider arts industry.

Thursday 13 & Friday 14 August: 3.15pm

Directed by Alex Mitchell. Produced by Silent Uproar.

Sally’s a happy person. She doesn’t let little things get her down and almost never cries. But she’s got an illness. It makes her feel like she isn’t the person she wants to be, but she doesn’t want anyone to know about it.

Written by Olivier Award winner Jon Brittain (Kathy & Stella Solve a Murder!, Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho) with music by Matthew Floyd Jones (Kathy & Stella Solve a Murder!, Frisky and Mannish), prepare for a hilarious cabaret musical about depression that talks about how it’s OK to not be OK.

This will be a special stripped-back version of the hit Fringe show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Thursday 13 & Friday 14 August: 5.00pm

Directed by Hannah Hauer-King, Produced by DEM Productions

This is the untold story of Sappho — poetess, queer icon, and history’s first great songwriter.

Torn from the woman she loves and forced into a marriage she never wanted, Sappho fights to reclaim her voice and her lost love — learning the heavy price the world demands of those who defy its rules. Guitar in hand and lyrics sharp as flames, she returns — part oracle, part rock star — in a musical memoir of women who dare to love, to dream, and to create in defiance of the world.

This will be a special stripped-back version of the show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Wednesday 12 August, Thursday 13 August & Friday 14 August: 6.45pm

directed by Anna Himali Howard, presented by Birmingham Hippodrome

Unable to face the pain of her grief, Agnes withdraws from the world. But when her husband inherits a crumbling farm on a small Scottish island, it offers them the chance to start again. As lambing season arrives they must quickly learn how to take care of a hundred neglected sheep and that it takes a village to survive.

Tender, funny, and deeply human, Elbow Deep by Elinor Peregrin is a soaring new folk musical about love, loss, and finding joy again.

This is a chance to see a brand new piece of work from a rising star as a part of Shedinburgh. Please note this will be a work-in-progress performance.

Friday 14 August: 8.30pm

presented by Birmingham Hippodrome

The multi-award-winning musical theatre composer & writer, Jack Godfrey, returns to Edinburgh with an evening of songs from his musicals, including Fringe favourite Hot Mess, 42 Balloons, and more! Expect pop-musical excellence and a surprise guest or two.

Popcorn Writing Award Winner 2025 and Stage Debut Award for Best New Composer, Lyricist or Bookwriter Winner 2024.

This will be a special stripped-back show for Shedinburgh.

Friday 14 August: 10.00pm

This performance is currently sold out. Standing tickets will be released 24 hours before the performance.

Stuart Laws as Michael Caine Saying Never for One Hour is a Fringe favourite, this isn’t that, it’s something new. Nish returns as Nolan. It will be a unique hour, with other guest stars and undoubtedly Caine will say Never at some point and Nolan will get exasperated. Guaranteed to be unlike any other show you see at the Fringe.

This will be a special stripped-back show for Shedinburgh.

Saturday 15 August: 3.15pm & Friday 28 August: 6.45pm

Starring David O'Doherty (15 August) and John Kearns (28 August).

Written by an anonymous woman. Performed by an unprepared man.

Following an international tour with the Royal Court Theatre, MANWATCHING is back. A funny and frank insight into heterosexual female desire, read out loud by a male comic, with new material appearing for the first time at Shedinburgh. This is a show about what one woman thinks when she thinks about sex with men.

Saturday 15 August: 3.15pm: starring David O'Doherty - Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner, as seen on Live at the Apollo (BBC), 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown (Channel 4), Would I Lie To You? (BBC)

Friday 28 August: 6.45pm: starring John Kearns - Double Edinburgh Comedy Award Winner, ★★★★★ THE GUARDIAN, ★★★★★ CHORTLE, as seen on Taskmaster (Channel 4) and Live at the Apollo (BBC)

This will be a special stripped-back version of the hit Fringe show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Saturday 15 & Sunday 16 August: 5.00pm

I’m gonna be sharing some songs I’ve written solo, over the years, that have lived in my voicememos, unlistened-to - until now! They’re mostly sad little songs written when I was sad, so if you’re a fan of the upbeat, comic vibes of my work in things like SIX and Why Am I So Single? - then please prepare to be somewhat disappointed! The singing (not by me) will be great, though.

This will be a special stripped-back show for Shedinburgh.

Saturday 15 & Sunday 16 August: 6.45pm

Join the Drag Race Superstar, Celebrity Masterchef Champion and ‘powerhouse of entertainment’ (Curtain Call Reviews) as she kicks down the stable door and lets her Show Pony run free: outrageous, untamed, and completely off the reins.

Expect high camp, low morals, and double helpings of Ginger’s trademark ridiculousness in this barnstorming hour of whip-smart comedy from the ‘unholy drag spawn of Evel Knievel, Lucille Ball and Danny La Rue.’ (List)

This is a chance to see a brand new piece of work from a Fringe legend as a part of Shedinburgh. Please note this will be a work-in-progress performance.

Monday 10 August: 6.45pm & Saturday 15 August: 8.30pm

Directed by Dan Wye

After a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe 2025, award winning character comedians and IRL Sisters, Maddy and Marina Bye (Byes) are back. Set your alarms to see Siblings swoop you into the surreal world of your own sleepy mind as they crack open brains and backflip in. Prepare yourselves for a knock(ed) out hour of raucous comedy. This is sketch comedy gone subconscious.

★★★★ (Scotsman) ★★★★ (The List) ★★★★★ (ThreeWeeks) ‘So savagely funny' ★★★★★ (Ed Fringe Review)

This will be a special stripped-back version of the hit Fringe show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Saturday 15 August: 10.00pm

Dane runs a day centre for pensioners. He thought it would be cute, twee even. Wrong! Fights in the chair-based Zumba, affairs by the crafts table, accidental kidnappings, and their first trip to Pride. It’s all go.

Join Dane for an hour of stand-up about his beloved Coffindodgers and their hilarious and heartwarming shenanigans.

As seen on Channel 4's 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, BBC One and Comedy Central.

“Personal, delightful, genuinely hilarious!” - Tom Allen

This is a chance to see a brand new piece of work from a Fringe legend as a part of Shedinburgh. Please note this will be a work-in-progress performance.

Sunday 16 & Monday 17 August: 1.00pm

Directed by Oisín Kearney, Presented by Serpentine Productions & 19th Street Productions

Cocaine. Crocodiles. Colin Farrell. Welcome to a one night stand gone full on rogue. MERCURIAL is a twisted dark comedy that pays homage to our most memorable worst dates. It asks the question: How far will we go for love?

Winner of ‘Best Show’ at Riverside Studios’ Bitesize Festival and programmed as a Shed Original reading in 2025, MERCURIAL returns to the shed as a pressure cooker dialled up to 11.

This will be a special stripped-back version of the show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Sunday 16 August: 3.15pm

Join Nick Helm for an evening of funny, heartfelt and gloriously overdramatic poetry about love, failure, anxiety, music, growing older and trying to survive modern life whilst screaming into the abyss. Blending stand-up, storytelling and spoken word, this is a show about heartbreak, hope, shame, joy and finding beauty in the mess. Some poems are uplifting. Some are ridiculous. Some are angry. One of them might accidentally change your life. Or at the very least ruin your mascara.

This is a chance to see a brand new piece of work from a Fringe legend as a part of Shedinburgh. Please note this will be a work-in-progress performance.

Sunday 16 August: 8.30pm

Directed by Siân Docksey with cinematography by Ben Sutton and animation from Foxdog Studios

For one very special evening, the Edinburgh Award Best Show Winner 2025 revives her 2022 cult-hit multi-media trans-frog stand-up odyssey. Wokeflake is a surreal deep-dive into the digital hellscape of online hate speech, the cringe awkwardness of early transition, the concept of frogs, of dreams, and of a disembodied floating appendage.

This glitch-out froggy freak-fest is not to be missed.

★★★★ (The Guardian)
★★★★ (The Times)

Monday 17 August: 3.15pm

This performance is currently sold out. Standing tickets will be released 24 hours before the performance.

Presented by Plosive Live

It’s really important to punch up these days, so much comedy is mean and choosing easy targets so please boycott that and come and see Sara Pascoe (daughter of a jazz man) slag off Jazz.

‘First-rate confessional comedy’ ★★★★ (Times)

‘Charming and open-hearted’ ★★★★ (Guardian)

‘Gloriously funny’ ★★★★ (Evening Standard)

‘One of the most likeable voices in stand-up’ ★★★★ (Telegraph)

This is a Work-In-Progress performance.

Monday 17 August: 5.00pm

Pioneering alt-comedy hero Paul Foot is coming to Shedinburgh 2026 with a special re-imagining of his hit 2022 show, Swan Power. A tour-de-force of surrealism, and astute and eye-catching observational journeys, Paul Foot presents one of the best and most definitive hours of comedy in his repertoire.

Tired of the goose? Swan Power is here…again…for one night only.

PS. There is no mention of swans in this show.

Chortle Awards 2024 Best Show Nominee
Winner: (ISH) Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2023 – Best Show

This will be a special stripped-back version of the hit Fringe show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Monday 17 August: 6.45pm

Comedians share their poetical musings, short stories, parodies, lyrics and spoken word. Sometimes sincere, sometimes funny, always out of their comfort zone - these comics have their guard down. Previous guests include Rob Auton, Kemah Bob, Johnny White Really Really & more.

After sell-out events at its spiritual home, Review Bookshop, the ink is spilling out further afield.​ These clowns are getting literary...

This will be a special stripped-back version of the show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Monday 17 August: 8.30pm

This performance is currently sold out. Standing tickets will be released 24 hours before the performance.

Produced by Queenie Miller for Hat Trick Productions

Cult comedy night Wanting to be Cool, Having to be Funny makes a one-night-only appearance at Fringe 2026, hosted by SNL UK's Jack Shep. Featuring a TBC list of the best comics in the world. At least to those who are freaky and know how to have a laugh. ‘Effortlessly and intimidatingly cool’ (The Independent)

This will be a special stripped-back version of the hit comedy show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Wednesday 19 August: 1.00pm

Screen Fringe join us to talk all things adaptation, taking you on the journey from festival stage to TV set. Inspired by the iconic TV shows to come out of the Fringe, from Fleabag and Baby Reindeer to The Mighty Boosh.

This is a free-to-attend SHEDx talk, discussing themes around the Fringe and the wider arts industry.

Wednesday 19 August: 3.15pm

A work in progress ‘something’ from SNL UK writer and award-winning character comedian Lorna Rose Treen.

‘A gloriously daft hour that is heavily reminiscent of peak-era French and Saunders’ (Telegraph)
‘I laughed so much I violently bit my tongue’ (Independent)
‘Killed comedy’ (Sun)

This is a chance to see a brand new piece of work from a Fringe legend as a part of Shedinburgh. Please note this will be a work-in-progress performance.

Wednesday 19 August: 5.00pm

Edinburgh Comedy Award nominees Crybabies present a collection of standalone sketches.

Expect phones, burgers, weddings, ‘nduja and other ambiguous nouns in a leisurely jaunt through the archives of Cry-Corp. So if you love their signature storytelling but have always thought ‘I could do without the plot’ you’re in luck. This is narrative sketch comedy with NONE of the narrative.

‘Dear Lord, did it make me howl with laughter’ ★★★★★ (The Telegraph)
‘Simply top-tier’ ★★★★★ (Chortle)
‘Spectacular’ ★★★★ (The Times)

This will be a special stripped-back show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Wednesday 19, Thursday 20 & Friday 21 August: 6.45pm

Presented by Fuel

Award-winning poet and playwright Inua Ellams, born to a Muslim father and a Christian mother in what is now considered to be Boko Haram territory, left Nigeria for England in 1996 aged 12. Littered with poems, stories and anecdotes, Inua tells his ridiculous, fantastic, poignant immigrant-story of escaping fundamentalist Islam, finding friendship in Dublin, performing solo at the National Theatre, and drinking wine with the Queen of England, all the while without a country to belong to or a place to call home.

This will be a special stripped-back version of the hit Fringe show, reimagined for Shedinburgh as part of the Lowry x Edinburgh season.

Thursday 20 August: 11.30am

Dramaturgy, Direction and Development by Maria Crocker, All original stories by Victoria Gimby

The Gap is a time-travelling love letter to the North East, inspired by the felling of the world-famous Sycamore Gap tree. Blending original stories, folklore, history, and imagined futures - from the Roman’s building Hadrian’s wall to the to the filming of Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood. It asks why the loss of a single tree felt so profound, and what it reveals about our connection to the past, to the future and to each other.

This is a chance to see a new work-in-progress show from one of the most exciting writers from across the UK and Ireland, as part of our Shed Originals script development programme in partnership with The Lowry, suppported by Northern Stage.

Thursday 20 August: 1.00pm

Directed by James Riordan, Based on the novel by Doireann Ní Ghríofa

This urgent adaptation of one of Ireland’s most stunning recent literary debuts, the award-winning A Ghost in the Throat, crosses centuries as it tells the story of one woman finding her voice by reaching into the past and summoning another's. An Irish noblewoman in the 1700s and a young mother in the present day, both touched by and adjacent to tragedy, make unexpected contact as parallels between their lives emerge.

Cast includes Juliette Crosbie.

This is a chance to see a new work-in-progress show from one of the most exciting writers from across the UK and Ireland, as part of our Shed Originals script development programme in partnership with Abbey Theatre.

Thursday 20 August: 3.15pm

A new documentary theatre dance hybrid interrogating the intersection of gym culture and addiction in Dublin. Infusing street dance choreography, original music and video design, this timely and unflinching work invites audiences to explore  the gym as a cultural space, where stories converge, and bodies are broken as well as built. Based on a series of interviews, BULK sheds light on issues surrounding male adolescence, fractured relationships, body dysmorphia and stimulant abuse.

Cast includes Kenneth Hudson and Josh Winters.

This is a chance to see a new work-in-progress show from one of the most exciting writers from across the UK and Ireland, as part of our Shed Originals script development programme in partnership with Abbey Theatre.

Thursday 20 August: 5.00pm

Directed by Brian Logan, Presented by Traverse Theatre Company in association with A Play, A Pie & A Pint

Following a raucous run at the Traverse in December 2025, Dancing Shoes returns with heart, humour and high-energy moves. Donny’s life has been shaped by addiction and isolation, but an unexpected friendship with Jay and Craig begins to change everything. When videos of Donny’s private dancing routines suddenly go viral, newfound attention threatens the bond they have built. A joyful and deeply moving story about connection, recovery and the courage to let yourself be seen.

This is a chance to see a new work-in-progress show from one of the most exciting writers from across the UK and Ireland, as part of our Shed Originals script development programme in partnership with Traverse Theatre.

Friday 21 August: 1.00pm

Directed by Gareth Nicholls

In an attempt to understand each other again, one couple undergoes an experimental procedure that allows them to fully experience the other’s consciousness for one minute. To Be A Bat is a sharp new play about intimacy, memory and the limitations of empathy in a hyperconnected world.

This is a chance to see a new work-in-progress show from one of the most exciting writers from across the UK and Ireland, as part of our Shed Originals script development programme in partnership with Traverse Theatre.

Friday 21 August: 3.15pm

Three strangers. One billboard. Last one standing wins a home.

Inspired by a real 1980s endurance contest in which competitors lived on a billboard for months, We Have Been Here For… explores what happens when the search for a home becomes a public spectacle.

Set in the American rust belt, but resonating strongly with today’s housing crisis, the show asks how long people will hold on for the promise of securing a future.

This is a chance to see a new work-in-progress show from one of the most exciting writers from across the UK and Ireland, as part of our Shed Originals script development programme in partnership with The Lowry.

Friday 21 August: 5.00pm

Directed by Kate Wasserberg

Siby’s been a lifeguard for 20 years at the same Cardiff pool. Surrounded by biddies, backstabbers and Gen-Z lifeguards who won't last the summer. Then Cole walks in. Is he The One, or just another one? Peep Show meets Fleabag in this filthy, funny romantic comedy about two people drowning in their own heads - and what happens when someone finally notices you. All great romances end with a happily ever after. Right? Right?!?

This is a chance to see a new work-in-progress show from one of the most exciting writers from across the UK and Ireland, as part of our Shed Originals script development programme in partnership with Theatr Clwyd.

Saturday 22 August: 5.00pm

Sonic Dramaturgy by Nicol Parkinson

Electric, eclectic performance artist Frankie Thompson presents a rehearsed readthrough of never before seen work about the brinks between childhood and adulthood.

A contemporary reply to Arthur C. Clarke’s 1953 science fiction novel of the same name, Childhood’s End is a ghost story (sort of), a musical (depending on how you look at it), and an anti child star biopic (whatever that is).

‘Hysterically funny, deeply strange’ ★★★★ (Time Out)

This is a chance to see a brand new piece of work from a Fringe legend as a part of Shedinburgh. Please note this will be a work-in-progress rehearsed reading.

Saturday 22, Sunday 23 & Monday 24 August: 6.45pm

Directed by Ben Lewis, Produced by Sue Tree Limited and Rodeo Productions

The much-loved Sue Timms returns with her faithful band of Sues. Join the piano-wielding prophet on an extraordinary journey across Wales in search of a miracle. A hilarious and life-affirming musical comedy about loneliness, resilience and small acts of kindness, as Sue changes the world, one song at a time.

From Emmy/BAFTA-winning Daf James and team behind The Stage’s must-see My Name is Sue.

★★★★ (The Times) ★★★★ (Time Out) ★★★★ (The Scotsman)

This will be a special stripped-back version of the show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Saturday 22 August: 8.30pm

Sometimes you’ve gotta throw shit at the wall to see what sticks. And then discard the shit. Not us. We put all of our shittest bits into one big shit show. From the multi-award winning artists behind 5 star hits PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD, TRICKY SECOND ALBUM and WE ARE IAN, we bring you 45 minutes of absolute shit. What we made up. You’ll be appalled. Plz wear waterproofs.

★★★★★ ‘There is no-one quite like them’ (British Theatre Guide)

This will be a special stripped-back show for Shedinburgh.

Saturday 8 August, Saturday 22 August & Saturday 29 August: 11.30pm

By Jon Brittain and Matt Tedford, Presented by Wildpark Entertainment

Rejoice! For three nights only, the award-winning, critically acclaimed fringe legend (and former Prime Minister) Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho returns to Edinburgh to host Maggie-oke at Shedinburgh!

Join Mrs T for a historic evening of hairspray, shoulder pads and trickle down economics in this all-80s bangerfest when - for the first time ever - Maggie actually listens to the public! And it’s free!

So come along, sing your heart out and where there is disco… may we bring harmony.

This will be a special stripped-back version of the hit Fringe show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Sunday 23 August: 3.15pm

Save the Queen? is Sabrina Mahfouz’s new theatrical deep dive into the concept of supreme authority, framed by the extraordinary story of Shajah al-Durr, a sex slave who became the last woman to rule Egypt (no, it really wasn’t Cleopatra!).

Shajah rose from the palace harem to the throne of medieval Egypt, winning victories against the Crusaders, before being killed by a group of women she knew well. There’s a lesson in there somewhere, but for who?

This is a chance to see a brand new piece of work from a Fringe legend as a part of Shedinburgh. Please note this will be a work-in-progress performance.

Sunday 23 August: 5.00pm

DreamDate, the classic improvised romantic comedy show devised by Deborah Frances-White has not been seen on stage for many years. But now it’s back for one night only. Two strangers who have never met before have their lives turned into a full romantic comedy by our team of improvisers. Full cast to be announced.

This will be a special stripped-back version of the hit Fringe show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Sunday 23 & Monday 24 August: 8.30pm

First performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2015 to great acclaim, earning a Stage Award for Best Solo Show nomination, Dry Ice returns in a new script-in-hand reading from acclaimed actress Ria Zmitrowicz.

Dry Ice is not (just) a strip club exposé. It’s a story of a young woman trying to find her place in the world; hope, disappointment, sex, power, and the voyeur in all of us. It is also quite funny.

“Magical stuff… immense detail… high velocity… I’d happily see this again”— Guardian, Pick of the Week

This special stripped-back, script-in-hand reading reimagines the hit Fringe show for Shedinburgh.

Sunday 23 August: 11.30pm

A special late night performance of the Fringe cult-hit, House of Life. One part sermon. One part purge. Three parts party. ‘The show that turns strangers into friends’ (Lyn Gardner) is ready to cure your existential dread with a glittering blast of collective joy. 

★★★★ (Guardian) ★★★★★ (Playbill.com) ★★★★★ (Telegraph)

This will be a special stripped-back version of the hit Fringe show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Monday 24 August: 1.00pm

The TV Festival has long been part of Edinburgh’s summer festival scene, but what if it moves elsewhere? Screen Fringe lead a discussion on what the TV fest's presence in the city means for Fringe artists and the industry at large.

This is a free-to-attend SHEDx talk, discussing themes around the Fringe and the wider arts industry.

Monday 24 August: 3.15pm

The Artists Formally Known as Sh!t Theatre

Things aren’t like they used to be, are they? A show about nostalgia; an ode to the crumbling, faded glory of seaside towns and the faded glory of our crumbling bodies. Come relive better days and listen with us to our favourite song, again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again…

This is a chance to see a brand new piece of work from some Fringe legends as a part of Shedinburgh. Please note this will be a work-in-progress performance.

Monday 24 August: 5.00pm

In a fast-moving world where no one stays in one place for too long, Love Letters to the Public Transport System is a show that seeks to find and thank the people who transport us daily - to friends, to lovers, to work, to moments of significance in our lives. But who do you thank, and how do you find them?

‘Fragile and utterly beautiful’ ★★★★★ (The Herald)
‘A traditional monologue of extraordinary exuberance and power’ ★★★★ (The Scotsman)

This will be a special stripped-back version of the hit Fringe show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Tuesday 25 & Wednesday 26 August: 3.15pm

A hilarious, dark-as-hell foray into the inner lives of three women who meet when the endless small things mount up, they can’t hold it together any longer, and they do something drastic. In an alley.

Rachel Mars is an award-winning theatre maker. She’s spent the last few years being a mid-life queer and daughtering. This is the fallout.

“A triumphant show… dripping with uninhibited desire.” -The Guardian on Your Sexts Are Shit

Performed by Lucy Ellinson, Rachel Mars and Paula Varjack

Sound Design by Dinah Mullen

Captioned Performance, Wednesday 26th August: Please find a member of the front of house team upon arrival so they can seat you with the best view of the captioning unit.

This is a chance to see a brand new piece of work from a Fringe legend as part of Shedinburgh.

Please note: This will be a work-in-progress performance.

Tuesday 25 August: 5.00pm

How does the city move us and how do we move it? What desire lines are formed by our collective footsteps? What is the city trying to tell us? A walking artist Alisa Oleva is inviting you to join a walk through the streets of Edinburgh and be surprised by what we can find if we follow our ears and noses, if we look in the cracks and through the holes.

Tuesday 25 & Wednesday 26 August: 5.00pm

“Love Island, but sexier. And on a boat!”

With this dubious pitch uttered to a desperate TV executive, experimental theatre darlings Jess and Tim of Made In China accidentally created the wildly popular reality hit Sex Yacht. Now, the masterminds behind the most unhinged show of the century are back on stage to lift the lid on all the scandalous gossip the tabloids can’t get enough of.

Well, Jess is back. After what happened, Tim’s still not speaking to her.

Includes a live Q&A.

This is a chance to see a brand new piece of work from a legendary Fringe company as a part of Shedinburgh. Please note this will be a work-in-progress performance.

Tuesday 25 August: 6.45pm

This is a show about wanting to bring order to mess, and wanting to disrupt order. About wanting to build new things with old shit. A live-collage performance of cut up bodies, grafted animals, half landscapes, recomposed histories, dissected worlds.

A reflection on control, on losing yourself, and on desire. An intuitive, meditative, image trip, that attempts to burst its own banks and flood the room. With you in it.

This will be a special stripped-back version of the hit Fringe show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Tuesday 25 & Wednesday 26 August: 8.30pm

Created by Gemma Paintin and James Stenhouse

Lost inside a recurring nightmare, a reluctant actor returns to the stage. In an attempt to conquer an 8-year period of intense stage fright - and inside a dream-world inhabited by the phantoms of his disapproving ancestors - he is replaying his own autobiography and starting to lose the plot.

OFFIE award winners and ‘Beckett’s hip, pop-culture savvy descendants’ (Time Out) Action Hero are back with an absurdist nightmare of a show about masking, performing and ‘acting the part’.

This is a chance to see a brand new piece of work from a legendary Fringe company as a part of Shedinburgh. Please note this will be a work-in-progress performance.

Tuesday 25 August, 10.00pm

Featuring performers from across the Fringe

Multi-award-winning, ‘Arresting and abundantly talented’ (Guardian) theatre-maker, Alan Fielden, wrote one play a day for 99 days in 2024, a decade after first undertaking the project in 2014. Written amidst global cataclysm and early fatherhood, the plays are by turns delirious, joyful, wild, and deranged. Joined for one night by performers from across the Fringe, Alan will read from both recent and past works.

‘Sublime… reaches a level of vastness that is striking.’ ★★★★★ Theatre and Tonic (for previous work)

This will be a special stripped-back version of the show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Wednesday 26 August: 1.00pm

Thinking about taking your show on the road? Join producer Harriet Bolwell for this panel Q+A taking you through the essentials of touring theatre and comedy across the country - from venue relationships to budgets to accommodation. Featuring Remi Adefeyisan (HOME Manchester), Suzanna Rosenthal (Freelance Producer), Maddie Wilson (Soho Theatre) and Nick Cassenbaum (Playwright).

This is a free-to-attend SHEDx talk, discussing themes around the Fringe and the wider arts industry.

Wednesday 26 August: 6.45pm

A solo performance about the fact that time keeps going. Using a camcorder video she took on the last day she lived in Canada in 2005, Deborah tries to re-insert herself into the frame. Initially performed in Edinburgh in a video store in 2010 as part of the Forest Fringe programme, it was shortlisted for a Total Theatre Award for Innovation and won a Herald Angel. This is a rare revival for the Forest Fringe Shedinburgh takeover, bringing the show back to Edinburgh, 16 years on.

This will be a special stripped-back version of the hit Fringe show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Wednesday 26 August: 10.00pm

Forget everything you know about magic and magicians…
Now remember it all again.

This is a trailblazing work of theatre-magic in which the magician questions the show itself, and all our expectations along with it.

What makes magic magic? Is there really a Magic Circle Emergency Hotline that magicians call when things aren’t going well?

A unique performance of astonishing sleight-of-hand, and an exploration of theatre’s hidden mechanics.

“Thoughtful, playful, multi-layered… will make you question how we watch and what we see.”
— The Guardian ★★★★

This special version of the hit Fringe show has been reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Thursday 27 August: 1.00pm

By Owen Sutcliffe

A Wonder Fools production, directed by Jack Nurse, performed by Robbie Gordon, with music by VanIves & Ben Deans.

Winner of the 2024 Bestie Award for Best Debut, Òran is an electrifying one-man retelling of the Orpheus myth. Combining spoken word, lyrical storytelling and a pulsating electronic live score, Òran journeys into the Underworld to rescue his best friend. Hades may grant him the chance to lead his friend home, but at what cost?

Following a sell-out Edinburgh Fringe run and UK tour, this will be a special one-night-only presentation of the hit Fringe show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Thursday 27 August: 5.00pm

Produced by Off The Kerb Productions

A Shetland story steeped in both historic truth and elements of myth. Set in the days of the Norse, following Auslag, the daughter of the Jarl who becomes an outcast in her own community. The story includes raids, monsters in the night and blood eagles. Combining folklore and history from Andrew T. Cluness Trouble with Trolls, storyteller Marjolein Robertson brings Auslag’s story to life on the stage.

‘Phenomenal’ ★★★★★ (List)
‘Spellbinding’ ★★★★★ (One4Review)
‘Robertson is simply outstanding in her role’ ★★★★★ (Quintessential Review)

This will be a special stripped-back version of the hit Fringe show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Thursday 27 August: 6.45pm

Andrew Frost has recently been described as the ‘Greatest Card Magician in the World’. Can he live up to the hype? Come and find out if it’s true.

Following an acclaimed Edinburgh Festival Fringe run in 2025 – and working with some of the world’s top magicians – Andrew Frost returns with his innovative and contemporary blend of comedy, theatre and magic.

‘A brilliant magician’ (Derren Brown)

‘A phenomenon’ (David Blaine)

‘One of the most phenomenal card magicians in the world’ (Nick Mohammed)

This will be a special stripped-back version of the show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Thursday 27 & Sunday 30 August: 8.30pm

Designed by David Curtis Ring, Originally produced by Lindsey Price and Hannah Kerr

Following an STI diagnosis, Bryony retraces her chaotic romantic history in this chaotic, hilarious and heartfelt journey through sex, love and self-discovery. Blending cabaret, comedy, dance, song and raw storytelling, Sex Idiot is a glittering confession packed with awkward encounters, broken hearts and unexpected revelations. Somewhere between homemade pop concert and emotional excavation, this bold show celebrates one-night stands, human connection and the messy realities of modern intimacy with humour, honesty and charm.

This will be a special stripped-back version of the hit Fringe show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Thursday 27 August: 11.00pm

Terry’s back from the dead and he’s brought a chat show with him. Featuring interviews with “real” celebrities and accompanied by a live band. Previous guests include: George Lucas, Ray Parker Jr, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Liza Minelli, DB Cooper, Tim Henman, Scarlett Johansson and several different Michael Caines. Terry Wogan is a recipient of a KBE / dead.

‘A clever late-night romp’ ★★★★ (Telegraph). ★★★★ (Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of the Fringe).

This will be a special stripped-back version of the hit Fringe show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Friday 28 & Saturday 29 August: 8.30pm

Multi Fringe First award-winning RashDash are back! (ish), performing songs from their playful, anarchic shows. They are absolutely not struggling with #mid-career #mumlife. Not at ALL. It has never been easier or more lucrative to make experimental, feminist art. Join ‘the punk princesses of late night theatre’ (Guardian) as they soft-launch their comeback and sing for their lives in celebration of the UK’s thriving cultural landscape.

‘Funny, furious - loud, rude, provocative’ ★★★★ (Times, Three Sisters).

This will be a special stripped-back show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Friday 28 August: 10.00pm

This performance is currently sold out. Standing tickets will be released 24 hours before the performance.

Edinburgh Comedy Award winner Frankie Monroe presents a seventies style beauty contest where he will search the fringe for the best trowel.

He will be joined by a flock of hopeful gardeners all presenting their tool in the hopes of winning the crown.

This is a chance to see a brand new piece of work from a Fringe legend as a part of Shedinburgh. Please note this will be a work-in-progress performance.

Friday 28 August: 11.30pm

Mat Ewins reprises his 2017 Edinburgh Comedy Award nominated show. Witness the multimedia sensation at this important nine year anniversary.

‘Refused to explain where the rest of the cast were, merely claiming they were dead’ (ThreeWeeks)
★★★★ (Times)
★★★★ (Fringe Explosion)
★★★★ Top Ten Shows of 2017 (Guardian)

This will be a special stripped-back version of the hit Fringe show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Saturday 8 August: 5.00pm
Saturday 29 August & Sunday 30 August: 1.00pm

Created with Olivia Jacobs

WARNING! This is a very clowns show. Probably too clowns for most. It’s about loneliness and grief and cream pies to the face.
May contain excessive amounts of full-contact, obligatory audience participation.

Previous:
★★★★ “Comic genius” The Guardian
★★★★ “Uproariously ridiculous” The Times
★★★★★ “A fearless artist... one of the great clowns of his generation” The Stage
★★★★★ “A delicate mixture of ‘what the f**k are we watching’, and ‘isn’t it great to be alive and here together” - Theatre Travels
★★★★★ “One of the greatest clowns audiences are likely to see in their lifetime” NZ Herald
WINNER Most Outstanding Show, Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2025

This is a chance to see a brand new piece of work from a Fringe legend as a part of Shedinburgh. Please note this will be a work-in-progress performance.

Saturday 29 & Sunday 30 August: 3.15pm

It’s the fantasy of lesbian bliss: we’re good, everything’s good. Except it’s really not. Bad Lesbians turns domestic space into a combat arena, a villain cabaret that explores queer intimate partner violence through a blend of humour and discomfort.

As Haddaway once asked, ‘What is love?’ Bear witness to Pumpkin, Cowboy, Angel and their emotional / feral support dog as they - sometimes literally - wrestle it out. Expect synchro choreo, red flags aplenty, and conversations we’d rather avoid brought into the spotlight.

This is a chance to see a brand new piece of work from a legendary Fringe company as a part of Shedinburgh. Please note this will be a work-in-progress performance.

Saturday 29 & Sunday 30 August: 6.45pm

In association with ZOO

In 2022 a show was cancelled while it was still in rehearsal. The idea of what the show might be created a demand for it to be left unseen.

A Little Inquest Into What We Are All Doing Here is a show about censorship and freedom of expression. This piece of theatre — part autobiography, part fiction — questions the limits of performance.

The Scotsman Fringe First Award Winner 2024
★★★★ The Scotsman
★★★★ The Stage

This will be a special stripped-back version of the hit Fringe show, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Friday 28, Saturday 29 & Sunday 30 August: 5.00pm

Commissioned and development support provided by The Democracy Cycle, a program of Perelman Performing Arts Center | PAC NYC and Civis Foundation

A raw, work in progress sharing of a new play by two-time Fringe First award winner Javaad Alipoor, America’s Kingdom is his first return to the Fringe, since 2023’s multi-media smash Things Hidden Since the Foundation of the World.

Part satire, part fictional documentary, part surreal journey through the oil fields of Latin America and the Middle East, America’s Kingdom is a show about the oil industry, emergent technology and what it might mean to escape the past.

This is a chance to see a brand new piece of work from a legendary Fringe company as a part of Shedinburgh. Please note this will be a work-in-progress performance.