The 1,564 shows span many genres of the Fringe programme, including cabaret and variety; children’s shows; comedy; dance, physical theatre and circus; music; musicals and opera; spoken word; and theatre. They join the 1,792 shows revealed previously, resulting in a total of 3,356 shows so far.
Show themes tackle some of the most topical issues in the world today, from women’s history and life in the US to the paranormal; living with illness to modern dating; queer joy and existentialism to club culture and conspiracy theories.
The official Fringe programme launch will take place on Tuesday 03 June 2025.
With less than 100 days to go until this year’s Fringe, audience members are encouraged to start compiling their favourite shows, book early to support artists, and share their excitement online using the hashtag #DareToDiscover in the run-up to this year’s festival.
Tony Lankester, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: ‘In this last release of shows before the full programme launch on 03 June, it’s incredibly exciting to see the range of work that artists are bringing to Edinburgh this year. I can’t wait for you all to #DareToDiscover at this year’s Fringe!
‘August is ever closer, and if you’re keen to support artists in advance of this year’s festival, you can book tickets in advance, add free and unticketed shows to your favourites lists, and mention artists and companies on social media to share their show further.’
Below is a small representative sample of shows available to book from today.
Cabaret and variety
For ‘girlies, bathroom belters, and car karaoke queens’, ‘choir is back’ at Sink or SING! (Gilded Balloon). For the ‘ultimate drag showdown’, head to Glam Slam: A Drag Lip-Sync Smackdown! at The Three Sisters.
At Assembly, Sugar is the story of a ‘gender-queer twink who discovers there's money to be made from transactional relationship’ while Priscillified: Drag, Disco and Desert Drama is a ‘glittering journey in the spotlight – with big dreams and even bigger heels’ at Laughing Horse.
Fringe favourites The Lady Boys of Bangkok – Glow Up Tour are back with a ‘night of pure escapism’ at Theatre Big Top, while Caspar returns to the Fringe to 'showcase his renowned sleight of hand’ with Caspar Thomas: The Art of Close-Up Magic (Volume 2) at C ARTS.
Go With The Flow explores ‘the 28-day cycle with music, mischief and menstrual mayhem’ at ZOO.
Head to Ambitious Underachiever at PBH’s Free Fringe for a ‘jazz-tinged’ one-woman show ‘recounting undiagnosed traumatic brain injury, too many prescribed drugs and a dearth of available therapeutic alternatives’.
At Brewhemia, Dragged Through the Mud ‘digs into the loneliness of the spotlight, the challenges of professional entertainment and the true costs of living for your alter ego’.
Expect ‘glamour, chaos, clowning, a confetti of catharsis, and a show-stopping finale of hope’ at STARDUST Starring Star Dust (In Person) (Underbelly). Also at Underbelly, Skinny ‘unpacks society's toxic obsession with diet culture’ with ‘stunning vocals and eye-opening interviews’.
‘Night owls, insomniacs and anyone who has ever tossed, turned or are now two days past their bedtime’ should check out Basically Nocturnal at Gilded Balloon.
Christine Bovill: Piaf Revisited (The Famous Spiegeltent) is the story of a ‘young Glasgow girl, reluctant in school French until she heard No Regrets’ ‘interwoven with Edith Piaf's life’.
Children's shows
At theSpaceUK, join Moody, ‘the slowest snail in the forest’, in A Slow Tale for a ‘celebration of courage, kindness and friendship’ or join an ‘adventure where kids become heroes tackling climate change’ in Journey to the Moon.
Keep it Fringe recipient The Last Oak Tree will help us discover ‘a sense of guardianship for this beautiful land we live on’ at Greenside.
The Ugly Duckling has been rewritten and now is about ‘belonging and celebrating difference’ at Underbelly.
Join ‘Mint, Rosemary, Lemongrass and Lavender on a sensory journey through the seasons’ in Once Upon a Flowerbed at Assembly or explore a ‘mysterious undersea world’ inspired by ancient Chinese mythology in The Legend of Shanhai at C ARTS.
tooob is an ‘an enchanting wordless show’ ‘encouraging empathy and playful interaction’ at Pleasance.
ScotlandsFest: To War With Wallace (St Columba's by the Castle Scottish Episcopal Church) features a ‘familiar hero, seen from a brand-new perspective: an English boy caught up in the Scottish resistance of 1297’.
At Gilded Balloon, Sing, Sign and Sensory – On Safari combines ‘the power of music, sign and sensory play to create a magical experience for babies’ while Monski Mouse's Baby Cabaret at Assembly covers all the big topics - ‘elephants, fish, wiggly worms, transport and the existential ways of the toddler’.
‘Meet a real snake and discover what snakes have to do with bladders’ at Snakes and Bladders at Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, or learn of Scottish ‘fiddlers in fairy hills to golden harps and magic geese’ at Magical Melodies: Musical Storytelling (St Cecilia's Hall).
Comedy
Adrian Minkowicz: Latin America guides us through ‘an epic road trip through 500 years of Latin American history’ at PBH’s Free Fringe.
Join Kaye Adams and Karen Mackenzie as they discover How To Be 60! at Gilded Balloon, or watch Maria ‘figure out if she’s the problem, or everyone else is (it’s them)’ at Maria McAveety – A Problem Like Maria (The Stand Comedy Club).
At Greenside, Edib Farhan navigates ‘exile from Syrian dictatorship, gender confusion and sketchy situationships’ in Syrian Cheese, while John Gibson asks ‘if you’re working class and accidentally become middle class, do you fit in anywhere?’ in John Gibson: The Likes of Me.
Check out It’s Pronounced Nguyen (Just the Tonic) for ‘rapid-fire jokes with a cool demeanour’ or join Juliette as ‘she enters her villain era’ in Juliette Burton: Rogue Knights (Laughing Horse).
Josh Glanc: Family Man brings ‘surreal stand-up' and ‘wonderfully silly songs’ to Monkey Barrel.
‘Robo-kitty, taxidermy survivor and leading feline life coach’ L3NT1L is the star of CatGPT: Feline and Feral at theSpaceUK.
Hoani has ‘a kiwi passport, a mix of observational and absurd jokes and a Maori name to put it all together’ at It's Getting Hot-ene, So Tell Me All Your Jokes (Hoots).
Check out Andrew O’Neill’s History of Punk at Bannermans for ‘a full-volume love letter to punk’ or head to Rumourville at C ARTS to experience the ‘improvised story of a small town where a rumour ruins all.’
At Underbelly, Cabbage the Clown: Cinemadrome is ‘one part breathless parody of cinematic history, one part thoughtful dissection of minimum wage careers, one part rolling around on the floor covered in popcorn.’
Marise Gaughan: A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again ‘debuts a story about addiction (but not the serious TED-Talk kind, swear)’ at Monkey Barrel.
For Oasis fans, there’s Laugh Forever: An Oasis Comedy Special (The Stand Comedy Club) delivering ‘90s nostalgia, hysterical indie insights and rock n roll routines.’
‘Find out the true story of how one man dealt with a global pandemic’ while ‘working at a grocery store’ at "Essential" Worker (Paradise Green) or head to Boyfriend Material (PBH’s Free Fringe) where ‘therapy is sexy, arguments are strategic and love languages come with subtitles.’
Gavin Lilley: Signs of the Times draws on Gavin’s ‘experiences as a sign language user, traveller and weary father of three’ at Deaf Action. Enjoy ‘comedy and songs from hit shows and other places’ at ...It's Not My Problem! (Gladstone's Land).
Punchline on Leith is a ‘feel-good night of stand-up' at Citadel Youth Centre.
‘The iconic villain of Back to the Future takes centre stage’ in Biff to the Future at Assembly, while ‘legendary Canadian actress and comedian’ Caroline Rhea returns to the Fringe to celebrate Gilded Balloon's 40th anniversary.
I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar (Underbelly) is a ‘sonic love letter to sapphic institutions of a bygone era’.
Meet a ‘Japanese businessman, Trump and Krazy Kitty’ in Are You Lovin’ It? at ZOO.
‘Mischievous Taiwanese comic’ Kuan-wen ‘wants to raise public awareness of the dangers posed by Andrews including – but not limited to – Prince Andrew, Andrew Tate, Julie Andrews and the two pieces of human garbage he once dated’ in Kuan-wen: Andrews Are the Worst (Hoots).
Claire Parker, ‘host of internationally-acclaimed podcast Celebrity Memoir Book Club’, discusses ‘the pros and cons of having kids, turning 30 and being terminally online’ in Claire Parker's 32 (Just the Tonic).
Both at Pleasance, Business Casual: Cowboys tells the story of ‘a gunslinging hero seeking revenge on the gang who killed his family’ while Dusty demonstrates ‘how to move like a jellyfish, dance like a shoe and show everyone your grapes’ in Dusty Creases: Dance Your Life Away.
After Leo Mahr is a Seasoned Whore. Spicy Tales of a Swiss Village Gay (Laughing Horse), ‘you will know exactly why the office gay is always so vague about his weekend’.
At The Art Club, The Van Gogh Shogh is ‘one part deranged sip'n'paint, one part karaoke night and one part Sotheby's with the greatest painter to ever live’.
Familiar faces at this year’s Fringe include Abi Clarke and Larry Dean (Assembly); Nick Mohammed and Bill Bailey (Edinburgh Playhouse); Rosie O’Donnell (Gilded Balloon); Bridget Christie, Olga Koch and Jacqueline Novak (Monkey Barrel); Cat Cohen, Rosie Jones, Ziwe and Patti Harrison (Pleasance); Adam Kay (Underbelly).
Representing Scotland this August is Kathleen Hughes and Ray Bradshaw (Scottish Comedy Festival), Jeannie Jones (Steel Coulson Southside), Amanda Hursy (Gilded Balloon), Mark Nelson (Monkey Barrel) and Phil O’Shea (The Stand Comedy Club).
Dance, physical theatre and circus
Spirit of the Favela (Mirage Spiegeltent at Gyle Shopping Centre) celebrates the indomitable spirit of its people and their fight to preserve their home.
Inspired by T.S. Eliot's poetry, Peregrinus at Summerhall ‘follows a contemporary everyman through a single day’.
Returning favourite Sophie's Surprise 29th is back at Underbelly, offering ‘award-winning circus, comedy and chaos disguised as a house party’.
Head to VanagwenyaMbira – Vibes of the Drum! for a ‘feel-good journey through African ancestral wisdom, laughter and love’ at The Edinburgh Academy, or enjoy an evening of ‘traditional Ukrainian music, dance and culture’ at Ukrainian Dancers (Ukrainian Community Centre).
PERSONALLERY 4.0 ‘merges classical Chinese narrative with psychological exploration’ at WU.
In The Nest (theSpaceUK), ‘a blank body surrenders to the continuous cycle of birth and death’.
At Pleasance, Champions offers a ‘raw and moving portrait of identity, acceptance and healing’ while ‘exploring parent-child relationships, homophobia, grief, loneliness and personal resilience’.
The Urban Monk ‘uses the parable of Three Monks to reflect the realities of modern urban life’ at Paradise Green.
‘Embarks on a philosophical journey that asks, ‘how does one prove existence?’’ at Zhuangzi’s Dream (C ARTS).
Performed by ‘Armenia's first contemporary dance company’ The Song of a Refugee (Assembly) ‘gives voice to stories of forced displacement, longing and resilience.’
NORMAL at Assembly is about ‘people, bodies and stories that do not belong to mainstream society’, while Rite at C ARTS is a ‘meditative ritual celebrating the human experience.’
Music
Across venues, you can enjoy tributes to Liza Minnelli (Argyle Cellar Bar); Frank Zappa (Bannermans); Bach, Handel and Vivaldi (Canongate Kirk); Bob Marley (Gilded Balloon); The Allman Brothers Band (Stramash); Bill Withers, Etta James and Gladys Knight (The Jazz Bar); PP Arnold (The Queen’s Hall); Robert Burns (The Speakeasy at The Royal Scots Club) and Shane McGowan (The Voodoo Rooms).
The Wrong Trousers fans will be pleased to hear of Wallace & Gromit Live at Greyfriars Kirk, offering ‘brilliant brass, British humour and a dash of Wensleydale charm’.
‘Listen for the ancestors, feel the land's heartbeat and awaken the untamed wilds within’ at Animaura: Sonic Soul Pilgrimage (Arthur Conan Doyle Centre), or enjoy a blend of ‘Zazakî-Kurdish folk music with jazz, classical and world music influences’ at Mikail Aslan Ensemble (Ps & Gs Church).
At Assembly, 27 Club is a ‘must-see live rock-umentary will get you praying to the rock gods for more’, while I’ve Bodyswapped with Noel Gallagher is a ‘smash of Britpop hits and freak clown comedy is sure to keep your feet tapping’ at theSpaceUK.
The Russian protest art collective Pussy Riot are at Summerhall with Pussy Riot: Riot Days.
Coven – Major Arcana Energy uses ‘the powers of the tarot’ to pick their set each night at The Jazz Bar letting ‘the universe decide what they must do’.
Cap off your day with ‘live classical music by candlelight in this beautiful historic church’ - and enjoy a hot chocolate – at Hot Chocolate at 10 (Old Saint Paul's Church).
For saxophone enthusiasts, there’s Sax Appeal 2025 at Edinburgh New Town Church and A History of Jazz in Four Saxophones at the Scottish Arts Club.
Dynamic Earth returns with Planetarium Lates: Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, ‘offering fans and first-time visitors a fresh way to enjoy the iconic album’.
The Tall Pines ‘conjure road-trip music for everyday life, juke-joint pit stops, and out-of-body experiences’ at Bannermans. The 900 – Tony Hawk's Pro Skater Cover Band celebrate 25 years of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater by bringing 'a rampful of live classics from the series' enormously influential soundtracks’ to La Belle Angele.
Head to Hibiscus and the Thistle – A Panorama of Hunan (Signet Library) to enjoy ‘world-class players of Chinese traditional instruments' joined by UK artists.
Sounds of St Cecilia's IV: L'Homme Armé (St Cecilia's Hall) is ‘an exploration of the music heard during the period of the Hundred Year War’, while Resonance ‘brings together live music, live art and architecture’ at St Giles' Cathedral.
‘Experience an evening of exceptional new Scottish music’ at The Corner Room at the Fringe: Alma, Juliette Lemoine and Chris Amer (Hope City Church Edinburgh) while ‘three times Grammy Award winner’ Fantastic Negrito ‘debuts his latest album’ at La Belle Angele.
Enjoy traditional Scottish piping at Royal Scottish Pipers' Society and Friends or join ‘a musical voyage into outer space for solo piano’ at Morris Pert: Voyage in Space, both at artSpace@StMarks.
Musicals and opera
Well-known musicals being staged this August include Matilda (C ARTS); Chicago (Nicolson Square Venues); Grease and Merrily We Roll Along (Paradise Green) and The Wizard of Oz (theSpaceUK).
For an ‘an afternoon of country classics’, check out A History of Country at Grand Lodge.
Join Salt and Light ‘around the campfire for shanties, stories and spoken word’ at Palmerston Place Church, or if you fancy a ‘a girl meets boy medical romcom’, try First Aid at Greenside.
In The Family Copoli: A Post-Apocalyptic Burlesque Musical ‘a ragtag troupe of post-apocalyptic performers brings sensuality and sequins to the few survivors left on Earth’ (theSpaceUK).
At Underbelly, Miss Brexit is an ‘extravagant musical satire about young migrants surviving in a place that no longer welcomes them’.
Join ‘trans artist Hunter King on his journey of gender self-discovery' at A Northern Tr*nny Hootenanny (C ARTS).
‘Masks, mistaken identities, trysts and twists make for a night of surprises’ at Die Fledermaus at Stockbridge Church.
At Central Hall, ‘In Ancient Greece, Artemis, Athena and Aphrodite have had enough’ in jukebox musical The Olympians, while No More Bull (theSpaceUK) is a bold reimagining of the myth of the Minotaur, exploring the complex dynamics of power, resistance and political autonomy’.
Nerds follows as ‘Bill Gates, the mastermind behind Microsoft, meets Steve Jobs, the innovator of the smartphone’ at Underbelly.
‘Inspired by some of R L Stevenson’s characters’, Edinburgh Days is a ‘twisted romance of possession and retribution, of passion and betrayal’ at St Bride's Community Centre.
Little Squirt, the ‘one-man musical comedy about sperm donation’ is a ‘hilarious and heartfelt adventure through genetic questionnaires, medical screening and psychological evaluations’ at Gilded Balloon.
Spoken word
Scottish storyteller James MacDonald Reid and Scottish-Korean musician Ryan Williams present a ‘classic Gaelic folk tale, blending tradition with innovation’ in Desperate Battle of the Birds (artSpace@StMarks).
‘Choose your own path through the apocalypse’ at ‘interactive, mythology-inspired modern story’ Poor Life Choices (PBH’s Free Fringe).
Fringe classic A Young Man Dressed as a Gorilla Dressed as an Old Man Sits Rocking in a Rocking Chair for Fifty-Six Minutes and Then Leaves... 16 is back at PBH’s Free Fringe.
‘LBC radio presenter, author and podcast host Iain Dale returns for a fifth Fringe season’ of Iain Dale All Talk at Pleasance, with the line-up including Rachel Reeves MP, Jeremy Hunt MP and Lord Michael Heseltine.
Learn more about the Burke and Hare: Body Snatchers, Serial Killers, Ulstermen ‘iconic characters in Scotland's great story – yet Irish born and bred’ at Greenside.
ScotlandsFest: Choose Life, Choose Leith – Trainspotting on Location ‘brings out key local and universal insights, adding depth and colour to the 1990s shooting star’ at St Columba's by the Castle Scottish Episcopal Church.
At C ARTS, Beyond the Horizon Might Be Better: Memoirs of a Black Doctor tells of a life ‘from an abusive childhood divided between Nigeria and England to confronting prejudice from both NHS staff and patients as a medical professional’.
The Stand Comedy Club brings a season of The Provocateurs, inviting debate and discussion with experts, tackling topics such as ‘what’s gone wrong with psychological therapy’ (at The Provocateurs: Bad Therapy / Other People).
Familiar Strangers ‘invites you to listen closely, laugh gently and maybe cry a little’ at Just the Tonic while the poetry in Eating Satsumas in the Sun and Forgetting About Heartbreak (Laughing Horse) hopes to ‘untangle the threads of love, identity, parenthood, friendship, loss, belonging and the pure unadulterated joy of eating satsumas in the sun and forgetting about heartbreak’.
Thin Places: A Fae Storytelling Gathering (The Speakeasy at The Royal Scots Club) is a ‘soulful performance of Scottish folktales, with a focus on our relationship to fairies and the lands they're born from’.
Theatre
Big Little Sister ‘jumps through a timeline of growing up with a brother who has severe learning disabilities’ at ZOO. Pictures of Willy (theSpaceUK) explores the ‘complexities of queer parenthood’ and asks the question ‘does love truly win?’
‘Designed with, and for, neurodivergent families and their friends’, Burst is ‘a sensory escape from the intensity of the Fringe’, presented at Summerhall as part of the Made in Scotland showcase.
At Concrete Block Gallery, Hostage Part 2 asks ‘could it be wise to assume that the internet has now taken the place of our body, as a container for the self?’ while Escape the Noise (Central Hall) is a ‘heartfelt, funny and poignant exploration of mental health, friendship and what happens when we truly stop and listen’.
Go West! from Irish company AIMSIR is ‘an absurdist mapping of legacy, sunshine and fervent hope’ at theSpaceUK.
‘The most critically acclaimed production’ of CS Lewis' the Screwtape Letters is back at Palmerston Place Church while A Woman of No Importance, ‘Oscar Wilde’s biting satire’ exploring ‘the moral hypocrisy, injustice and double standards of the Victorian era’ is at St Ninian's Hall.
Buen Camino at Gilded Balloon is ‘a walk through 540 miles of rain, resentment and redemption, exploring grief and surrender’.
At Ghillie Dhu, Casablanca: The Gin Joint Cut ‘will have you raise a Bogart-style eyebrow, shed a Bergman-like tear and drown out the Nazis’.
Darkfield are back at Summerhall, presenting ‘three award-winning 360-degree sound experiences, from the DARKFIELD Radio project’: DOUBLE, VISITORS and ETERNAL, in addition to ARCADE, a ‘choose-your-own-path experience’ ‘in a completely dark shipping container’.
In Second Class Queer at C ARTS, ‘Krishna, a queer Indian-Malaysian man, attends a gay speed-dating event in Berlin’ and ‘his regret and grief at never coming out to his late mother emerge’.
‘You're invited to share an evening’ celebrating Uncle Barry's Birthday Party at Braw Venues, or you could join ‘ex-con Jimmy as he brings you along to get ready for his first date since he got out of prison that morning’ in Jimmy Made Parole (Paradise Green).
At Nicolson Square Venues, Blind Fury: The Untold Story of the Queen of Hearts ‘invites us to witness the birth of an icon’ while ‘a star team of investigators faces unspeakable terrors in a live game of Call of Cthulhu’ in Call of Cthulhu – Live in the Library (National Library of Scotland).
In Sins of the Mother at Bedlam Theatre, ‘family tensions are exposed, regrets are laid bare, and the Devil is forced to confront her very own demons’. At Assembly and in association with A Play, A Pie and A Pint, Lost Girls / At Bus Stops is a ‘Queer love story and a lost letter to Edinburgh’.
‘Spend an hour not feeling so bad about failing to fix the planet’ at Single Use (Pleasance), a ‘one-woman comedy about takeaways, trash, love and laziness’.
Wannabes (Greenside) asks ‘who do you really really really wanna be?’ while exploring ‘being working class, wrestling with your identity and the power of female friendship’. Also at Greenside, Semi-Automatic Smoke Show imagines ‘an unhinged American landscape that definitely would never happen and certainly isn’t happening right now!’
At The Famous Spiegeltent, The Unfair Advantage is ‘an intimate, unique and unprecedented hour-long theatrical event’ from ‘Australia's leading sleight-of-hand magician Harry Milas’.
The Burns Project at The Georgian House is an ‘immersive theatrical Burns experience like no other’ having had ‘unprecedented access to Burns’ private letters’. Set during the ‘Age of Enlightenment’, Nancy's Philosopher (The Royal Scots Club) tells the story of David Hume’s ‘much younger woman’.
Mushroomification (Legs, Legs, Legs) (Just the Tonic) tells the story of a chance meeting between ‘a talking mushroom, desperate to break away from the constrictive, authoritarian mycelium’ and ‘a scientist by the name of Karies is working night and day to develop a human hive-mind'.
‘A 100-year-old clown comes offstage after his final ever performance to tell the story of his life: epic, hilarious and tragic’ in Scaramouche Jones (Hoots).
‘For anyone who’s ever had to split themselves into parts just to survive’, Bitter Baby at Le Monde ‘follows an autistic Brazilian woman navigating the pressure to succeed in a system not built for her – juggling a PhD by day and sex work by night’.
‘Set yourselves for a story of unique rhyming adventure that’ll have you uprooted in your seat and stretching for the pepper spray’ at Grizzly Jim and The Gary Chronicles, A Collection of Adventurous Verse (89 George Street).
At St John’s Church, Insiders ‘gives insight into the challenges of life in jail’ and at Underbelly, Chokeslam is a ‘knockout solo show about one woman's love of pro wrestling’.
