A Royal Lyceum Theatre Edinburgh production

Friday 7, Saturday 8 August: 1.00pm & Sunday 9 August: 6.45pm

The Fool leaves King Lear before the blinding. Before the ice-creams in the interval. In this extraordinary solo work, Tim Crouch draws on ideas of virtual reality to send the character back to the wreckage of the world they left.

Truth’s a Dog Must to Kennel switches between scathing stand-up and an audacious act of collective imagining. It’s a celebration of live performance and a skewering of the state we’re in now. ★★★★★ The Scotsman Fringe First, 2022.

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

Written by Charlie Russell and Henry Shields

Friday 7 August: 3.15pm

Mischief are back at the Fringe, with a brand new show in development.

Cleo is an astronaut, and a good one at that. After an explosion she’s left floating in space. The only person at NASA who answers the phone is Kevin, the unhelpful work experience guy. Now they have to work together to get her home, as soon as Kevin can find a pen…

Mischief head in a new direction with this silly and poignant new play.

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.

Friday 7 August: 5.00pm

A remarkable retelling of an Ancient Greek myth from ‘Masters Of Storytelling’ (Fourth Wall).

Dave is 30, sat the bar.
Eurydice is a tree nymph.
Bruce Springsteen is on the stereo.

Wound from soaring live music and searing spoken word, ORPHEUS is a multi award winning story about love, loss, and how far you’d go for the one’s who mean the most.

Now, for its 10th anniversary, its coming here for one night only… with an ensemble.

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

Friday 7 August: 6.35pm

An internationally award winning retelling of a retelling of an Ancient Greek myth.

Leni is 5, holding a superman costume.
Orpheus is about to step out of the underworld.
Eurydice is about to step into the first day of the rest of her life.

The ancient myth, told from her perspective. A wild, empowering reimagining wound from soaring live music, searing spoken word, expansive electronica… and an ensemble.

‘From now on, all stories should be told this way’ (Adelaide Advertiser)

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

Friday 7, Saturday 8 August: 8.30pm & Sunday 9 August: 10.00pm

Josh Sharp (a24’s Dicks: The Musical; Drama Desk Nominee, ta-da!) does an hour of crowd work presented in the round. As we all know, crowd work is currently THE most popular form of comedy… to be fed on your phone. But this show will not be filmed for clips to feed our technocrat overlords. It will simply be a chance to… talk. Come and enjoy the tautology that is crowd work where Josh exclusively asks the crowd what they do for work.

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

Directed by Ursula Martinez, Produced by Michael Kitchin

Friday 7 & Saturday 8 August: 10.00pm

Lucy McCormick returns with a medium-concept queer cabaret spectacular exploring loneliness, labour and the desperate performance of connection. Presented as a stripped-back variety show, Lucy calls on the audience to become her missing friends, stepping into roles she cannot fill alone.

As the show spirals through failed spectacle, emotional manipulation and increasingly chaotic attempts at community-building, Lucy uses the language of cabaret to unravel ideas of narcissism, celebrity and the unhinged woman. A master of theatrical manipulation and crushing personal vulnerability, she leaves audiences needing a hug, a cry and an immediate shower.

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

Produced by Talawa, Directed by Anthony Lau, Dramaturgy by Jessica Siân

Saturday 8 & Sunday 9 August: 3.15pm

A Jekyll/Hyde story about a boy living in the frosted-tipped fantasy of Dawson’s Creek, walking to garage beats, believing he can be anything he sees on TV. But grown-up now, and spliff-round-the-corner-before-the-bottomless-brunch kinda boozy, he’s haunted by the ‘rude boi’ at the back of the class...

So who’s he supposed to be? Which kind of Black is me?

BLESSED is a theatrical mixtape performed by actor and polymath creator Simon Manyonda alongside composer, musician and audio-visual artist Owain Kelly.

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

Created with Olivia Jacobs

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

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.

Directed by Tatenda Shamiso, Produced by JFR Productions

Saturday 8 August: 6.45pm

Multi-award winning 5★ smash-hit, Eat The Rich... is back.

Inspired by Franks’s own time as a working-class student at Cambridge, the show follows Jade, a Scouse fresher juggling secret cleaning shifts with the culture shock of Oxbridge privilege. With razor-sharp wit and a dozen unforgettable characters, Eat the Rich exposes the absurdities of class, money and belonging in Britain today.

Listed in The New York Times among the ‘Buzziest Acts of the Fringe’ and in The Telegraph’s Top Plays to See!

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

By Jon Brittain and Matt Tedford, Presented by Wildpark Entertainment

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

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 9 August: 1.00pm

In this Q+A and panel event, theatre critic and journalist Tim Bano, along with guests, lifts the curtain on the world of arts criticism, exploring how reviews are written, how the landscape is changing, and how to get critics interested in your production.

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

Originally directed by Adam Brace

Sunday 9 & Monday 10 August: 5.00pm

Dating again after a complex break-up, Jessie is trying to get her personal life in order – before her kids wake up.

From actress, comedian, writer and doodler Jessie Cave, Sunrise is an honest, tender-hearted and uproariously funny story about crying in the woods, sexual accidents, Harry Potter conventions and Instagram espionage – but also about motherhood and trying to get stuff done.

‘Frank, funny… wonderfully comedic’ ★★★★ (Evening Standard)

This will be a special stripped-back version of the hit Fringe show partially read from the play text, reimagined for Shedinburgh.

Produced by Off The Kerb Productions

Sunday 9 August: 8.30pm

An audition. A challenge. A methodical approach. The role of a lifetime.

When an exciting offer of a radical new role comes across her desk - and the potential promise of awards glory - Rosie Jones has to figure out whether or not she is allowed to tell the story.

A new work in progress storytelling show about who gets to pretend from a BAFTA nominated writer, comedian and all round bad ass.

Monday 10 August: 3.15pm

So you think you’ve got the next Fleabag? Award-winning producer Francesca Moody hosts this Q+A panel event about what it really takes to make your show the talk of the festival.

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

Directed by Dan Wye

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

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.

Directed by Joe Douglass, Music by Simon Liddell

Monday 10 August: 8.30pm

I’m in love with a man from Dundee
Who lived 100 years before me
He was a poet
He was aware of this
I think he was brilliant
Not everyone agrees
His name? William McGonagall
His life I will now chronicle

Four time Fringe First winner Gary McNair returns to the Shed with his critically acclaimed, 5 star tribute to Scotland’s alternative bard. It’s the incredible true story of ‘the world’s worst poet’. Told suitably in almost-rhyming verse.

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

Produced by Speakerphone Productions

Monday 10 August: 10.00pm

Fringe sensation (Lyn Gardner) Hotter Project brings a one-off juicy special to Shedinburgh: a mash-up of their hit shows HOTTER, FITTER, and The Last Show Before We Die. Like a greatest hits album, except from an obscure fringe theatre company! Expect lip-syncs, shed-safe dance numbers, songs, and an intimate evening in the company of Ell and Mary.

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

Directed by Max Elton, Produced by Soho Theatre

Tuesday 11 August: 3.15pm

In a motel room in the middle of nowhere, as a storm rages outside, twin brothers Dill and Ellroy prepare to make one final drop-off.

From Christopher Brett Bailey, creator of I Saw Satan at the 7-Eleven and This Is How We Die, Coyotes is a feral tragicomedy about siblings, sin, and one last impossible job.

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.

Tuesday 11 August: 5.00pm

Welcome to Edinburgh. Welcome to Scotland.
Come and take a seat in the shed.
We’ll tell you a bit about where we’re from, and the places we call home.

Award-winning theatre company Paines Plough presents Come to Where I Am, an hour of storytelling from three incredible Scottish writers.

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

Directed by Tristan Robinson

Tuesday 11 August: 6.45pm

Lady Clementine has until her 27th birthday to find The One.

When her latest beau goes missing, she embarks on a hilariously unhinged quest to solve the mystery of her ill fortune. But with neither sense nor sensibility, will our romantic heroine find love in time? Set roughly “in the past”, this is a story about sickly sisters, self-love and Sylvanian Families. Bonnets at the ready, ladies, for the debut character comedy show of the season.

‘Delirious, demented stuff’ ★★★★★ (Chortle)

‘Bridgerton-meets-Gen-Z-Jane-Austen-on-Adderall’ ★★★★★ (FringeBiscuit)

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

Tuesday 11 & Wednesday 12 August: 8.30pm

‘Cabaret legends’ (Independent) Bourgeois & Maurice are here to solve all the world’s problems with a piano, some sequins and a lick of mascara so thick it could run for president.

Blending razor-sharp original songs with pitch-black comedy, this glitter-soaked new work in progress transforms contemporary panic into something seductive, ridiculous and unexpectedly moving.

Come for the laughs. Stay for the darkness. Leave humming something you probably shouldn’t.

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.

Directed by Jon Brittain

Tuesday 11 August: 10.00pm & Wednesday 12 August 5.00 pm

The award-winning ★★★★★ sellout smash hit of last year's Fringe returns. Joz Norris has finally completed his life's work, and he's ready to unveil it to the world. But what exactly is it, and what has it cost him? And what can he possibly do with the rest of his life?

‘This is Norris’ Mona Lisa… thoughtful purpose underpinning laughs upon ridiculous laughs.’
★★★★★ (Chortle)
'A latter-day Rik Mayall...A curiously rousing defence of experimental art-making in a conformist, capitalist world.' ★★★★ (Guardian)

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

directed by Anna Himali Howard, presented by Birmingham Hippodrome

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

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.

Wednesday 12 August: 10.00pm

Musical comedy duo Flo & Joan (Nicola and Rosie Dempsey) have invited a selection of “proper” singers to join them in an hour of songs and chat from some unheard musical projects by Nicola and Rosie Dempsey (Flo & Joan).

‘Musical comedy hasn’t been in such safe hands for years’ (The List)

‘These intricately crafted, flawlessly performed numbers will have you howling with laughter one minute, wiping away a tear the next’ (The Telegraph)

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

Directed by Alex Mitchell. Produced by Silent Uproar.

Thursday 13 & Friday 14 August: 3.15pm

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 (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.

Directed by Hannah Hauer-King, Produced by DEM Productions

Thursday 13 & Friday 14 August: 5.00pm

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.

Presented by Birmingham Hippodrome

Thursday 13 August: 8.30pm

The critically acclaimed singer, songwriter and actor, Anoushka Lucas (Oklahoma!), is taking over Shedinburgh with an evening of original songs from both her albums alongside songs from her award-winning play Elephant. With surprise guest performers, get ready for an unforgettable intimate solo set for one night only.

Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical nomination 2023 and Stage Debut Awards Best Writer Winner 2023

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

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.

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 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.

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

presented by Birmingham Hippodrome

Friday 14 August: 8.30pm

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

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

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.

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.

Produced by Off The Kerb Productions

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

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

Sunday 16 & Monday 17 August: 1.00pm

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.

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

Sunday 16 August: 8.30pm

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)

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

Presented by Plosive Live

Monday 17 August: 3.15pm

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.

Produced by Queenie Miller for Hat Trick Productions

Monday 17 August: 8.30pm

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: 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 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.

Presented by Fuel

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

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.

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

Thursday 20 August: 11.00am

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.

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

Thursday 20 August: 1.00pm

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.

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.

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.

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

Thursday 20 August: 5.00pm

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.

Directed by Gareth Nicholls

Friday 21 August: 1.00pm

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.

Directed by Kate Wasserberg

Friday 21 August: 5.00pm

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.

Sonic Dramaturgy by Nicol Parkinson

Saturday 22 August: 5.00pm

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.

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

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

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.

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 Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2015 to great acclaim, and a Stage Award for Best Solo Show nomination.

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

The Artists Formally Known as Sh!t Theatre

Monday 24 August: 3.15pm

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

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

‘A triumphant show… dripping with uninhibited desire.’ (The Guardian on Your Sexts Are Shit)

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.

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.

Created by Gemma Paintin and James Stenhouse

Tuesday 25 & Wednesday 26 August: 8.30pm

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.

Featuring performers from across the Fringe

Tuesday 25 August, 10.00pm

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.

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

Holding Pattern is a 55-minute improvised torrent of language and original sound. Continuing Etchells’ exploration of writing, performance and music, the piece combines sound loops, stream-of-consciousness text and fragments of Google searches. Hovering between poem and delirious narrative, comedy and tragedy, it becomes a whirlwind in slow motion: erratic, exhausting and ecstatic, like the soundtrack to an imaginary film about now, shot on an iPhone from the back of a burning, spinning car. Etchells is an artist, writer and the artistic director of Sheffield-based Forced Entertainment.

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

Directed by Jack Nurse, Produced Wonder Fools

Thursday 27 August: 1.00pm

A man in a suit of armour walks onto a stage, looking for the truth. Inspired by half-reading Don Quixote, this is a new work-in-progress by Wonder Fools, the writers behind 549, Same Team and Kelton Hill Fair, and producers of Òran and Alright Sunshine.

Part stand-up, part confession, part knightly quest, it explores conspiracy theories, belief, and the monsters we choose to fight when the world stops making sense.

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.

Produced by Off The Kerb Productions

Thursday 27 August: 5.00pm

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.

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

Thursday 27 & Sunday 30 August: 8.30pm

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.

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

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

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.

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.

Wednesday 28 August: 10.00pm

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 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.

In association with ZOO

Saturday 29 & Sunday 30 August: 6.45pm

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.