Running on the Fringe for over two decades, Underbelly Cowgate is home to some of the best talent and bars you can find at the Fringe. Complete with licensed bars, a café and six vivacious venues, open 'til the wee hours.

Two bananas wake up duct-taped to the wall of an art gallery. Three artists, two auctions, one audience. Get ready to bid! An award-winning clown-fruit mash-up about making art, surviving and chasing mass a-peel. In a world that values youth, perfection and mass production, can two bruised bananas go the distance? Ripe with potential, can they find their place before they're put up for sale? Find out how starving these artists truly are. Winner of the Melbourne Fringe Tour Ready Award and nominated for Best in Theatre, 2025. 'Clowning at the 11th level of intensity' ****1/2 (TheatreThoughtsAus.com).

How to Art

It's 1943, and the Nazis are winning. Luckily America has one last trick up its sleeve – a super soldier! But uh oh! A moth snuck into the machine! It's mutating! It's becoming a... moth... man!? Written and performed by Alex Franklin (as seen on Channel 4 and HBO Max), Nikola McMurtrie (Sketch Off 2025 third place, Funny Women Shorts winner), Alex Prescot (Musical Comedy Award finalist) and Hudson Hughes (Double Sketch Off finalist). Prepare for the ultimate romantic comedy musical that no one asked for. Mothman! 'Incredibly funny' ***** (TheWeeReview.com).

Mothman: A Romance Musical

It's Roger Prick! The 1970s pornographer, erotic novelist and lecherous Casanova is back for 2026. Now it's time to relaunch his dirtiest novel, revised and edited for the feminist era. Bringing together character comedy, drag, time travel, cardboard props, drawings and all the sex of 70s Soho, this is an alternative comedy extravaganza. Han Whyte is a drag king, character comedian and Leicester Square Theatre Sketch Off finalist 2025. She participated in Soho Comedy Plus Lab in 2025. 'A soft porn Alan Partridge' (MorningStarOnline.co.uk). 'Archetype of puffed up machismo' (Chortle.co.uk).

Roger Prick: Sexopolis

'Harvey Cobb is a born performer, a funny and idiosyncratic improvisational talent' (De Volkskrant). After a wild goose chase for European citizenship, he will be returning to the UK with his debut show – a chaotic and hilarious hour filled with pink boot juggling, ridiculous characters, silly songs, contemporary art, and one Alcoholic Sock Puppet. A Fringe debut not to be missed.

Harvey Cobb: Pink Boots and an Alcoholic Sock Puppet

Mary Floppins has cracked the sh*ts. Wipe the wee from the toilet seat and pick up your dirty undies, because the perfect nanny is back to teach all you little boys – and girls – a thing or two about running a prim and proper household. Hailed 'a rising star and quadruple threat' (TheSpyInTheStalls.com) and returning after a completely sold-out Edinburgh Fringe run in 2025, Jessica Barton combines a spoonful of song, dance, clowning and deep-cleaning to present a skanky and empowering comedy debut. Newly directed by Dan Wye.

Jessica Barton: Dirty Work

Take the "fun" out of "funeral" and throw the rest away! Zoe W is holding a funeral for her childhood dog, and you're invited! Yay! Dressed in Victorian mourning garb and ready to cry on command, she'll teach you how to properly perform your grief. All she wants is your sympathy, your tears and a goddamn glass of wine (please). Sadness is Zoe's passion and this dog was Zoe's best friend. It's gonna be a rough one, so join the solemn ceremony and pay your respects with the good boys (may they rest in peace).

Zoe Wohlfeld: Dog Funeral

It's the return of multi award-winning cinematic drag chaos in stunning CinemaScope vision! Minimum wage cinema employee turned multi award-winning tragic fool, Cabbage the Clown's debut hour marries genres in polygamous holy matrimony in their 'Gen-Z, loudly queer and thoroughly hilarious' (BingeFringe.com) debut. With over 8 million views online for their genre-busting brand of multimedia drag-clowning, Cabbage presents the return of their critically-acclaimed Fringe hit. So talk through the trailers, sit back and enjoy this Bechdel Test-passing, BBFC-unapproved hit. ***** (BroadwayBaby.com). ***** (The Student). ***** (BingeFringe.com). ***** (EdFringeReview).

Cabbage the Clown: Cinemadrome

A comic exploration of grief, inspired by a break-up and over 40 interviews gathered via a social media call-out. In the wake of a relationship, a woman tries to contain the overflow of her thoughts…She ends up stuck in a ladder, fighting against komodo dragons, house leaks, holes and jam jars that only seem to multiply. Deluge puts a magic realist spin on dealing with and overcoming grief. Blurring imagination with real stories by invoking a surreal, tender and humorous dreamscape. ‘Intense physicality and irresistible charm’ **** (BritishTheatreGuide.info). ‘Incredibly beautifully written’ **** (TheSpyInTheStalls.com). ****½ (AYoungishPerspective.co.uk).

Deluge

You're invited to Jill's Tupperware Party. A perfect world where plastic lids click, smiles almost never falter and microwaves hum with divine purpose. Jill's Tupperware Party is an auspicious afternoon where sales records, hearts and bones could all be broken. This interactive comedy-horror blends retro suburban camp with B-movie terror all sealed in a pastel fantasy. Come join the party. What's the worst that could happen? You're in the company of friends...

Jill's Tupperware Party

Second City Mainstage alums Ashley Blair and Drew Reilly are Megasquirt, an experimental comedy music project from Brooklyn. Fully Loaded is the unhinged hybrid concert/sketch show of your wet dreams – a high-octane flood of gay brain rot set to a sickening beat. Imagine being at an underground rave that is also hilarious and maybe illegal. That's the vibe. Featuring hit songs like Butt of the Bread, Gooning in the DJ Booth, Centaur Boyfriend and more! Come thirsty. Leave fully loaded.

Megasquirt: Fully Loaded

The Durham Revue are on an expedition. An expedition for what you ask? An hour of raucous sketch comedy! The group that brought you Ed Gamble, Stevie Martin, Nish Kumar, Ambika Mod and more return. Dubbed Best Sketch Show by the Derek Awards last year, join the Durham Revue, one of the UK's top student comedy groups, for an hour of hilarious, cutting-edge sketches and laughs for everyone! 'Raucously funny with sublimely clever writing' (FringeBiscuit.co.uk ). 'The Durham Revue are back and wackier than ever' (Palatinate).

The Durham Revue: Raiders of the Lost Laughs

For nearly 20 years, Rev Derek Gritt has brought a little bit of holy into Britain's homes with his TV show At Your Service – now only available online (which is FINE!). Mega-fan Jane Plemley's last wish was to have her funeral delivered by the Reverend, so this week he's heading to the quaint village of Godsby-Upon-Treen. As usual, he'll lead the service, chat church and answer your burning questions. Except the ones about Jane. She's NOT a witch. From the creator of cult Fringe hit Hot Rubber. ***** (BroadwayWorld.com)

Hudson Hughes: At Your Service

As seen at Glastonbury – the show that turns into a rave is back. Toys"R"Us has shut its doors for good. Charlie and his mates are left jobless, skint and spiralling in a crumbling, bigot-led Britain. With nothing left to lose and nowhere left to go, Charlie has a vision. An abandoned warehouse. An abandoned nation. It's time to create a sanctuary. An escape. A rave. After playing Glastonbury Festival five times, sold out London's Vault Festival and sold out at the Edinburgh Fringe 2022. Now... it's coming back to Underbelly Cowgate. ***** (StageDoor.com).

Raves R Us

Wanna be a comedy reviewer? Think you have what it takes to sit in a dark room watching something on your own without falling asleep? Then come join Caliban Munroe, 'the single most influential critic of our times' (The Caliban Munroe Podcast), and best-selling author of industry bible The Critic's Way, as he hosts his award-winning once-in-an-afternoon seminar on how to live your dream and crush everyone else's. NB there will be no press tickets available for this show. Previous Praise for Adam Riches: ***** (Times). ***** (Telegraph). ***** (Independent). ***** (Scotsman). ***** (Chortle.co.uk).

Adam Riches: The Critic's Way

Winner, Best LGBTQIA+ Edinburgh Fringe Award (List). An unexpected call from a library derails a performance planned by newly arrived drag artist Goody Prostate, booked to headline the local reading hour. But as they race against the clock to scramble together a new act in real time, they spiral into a chaotic interrogation of childhood, memory and a long overdue examination of what it means to grow up. The library is open – sit down, be quiet and listen. Because sometimes, reading is what? Fundamentalist. ***** (List, BingeFringe.com, TheatreWeekly.com, AYoungishPerspective.co.uk, WhatsTheShow.com.au, SeeDoEatReview.com).

KINDER

Edinburgh, are you ready? Warriors, are you ready? The cult hit from New York and Chicago, BATSU! returns to the Fringe after a wildly successful, sold out 2025 run. This high-energy spectacle pits fearless comedians against each other as they compete to avoid hilarious, jaw-dropping punishments. Inspired by Japanese-style game shows, expect the unexpected in this late-night Fringe hit. With visits from Sake Ninjas to shocking twists like paintball guns, electric shocks and even a giant chicken – don’t miss the chaos, the laughter and the unforgettable madness that is BATSU! – the wildest show at the Fringe! 

BATSU!

An immersive comedy experience. Step into the world of a very serious, very secret, very important secret society. As a member of the society, you are privy to astonishing secrets and command powers beyond all imagination. But as you enter the chambers for the weekly meeting, all is not as it seems. Mysteries unravel, rifts form and the wrong choice could mean the end of the society itself. So you'd better make the right decision... no pressure! From the team behind multi award-winning comedy CSI: Crime Scene Improvisation a brand new comedy immersive experience like no other!

The Secret Society

Hang onto your space hats (technical term) for a surreal sketch odyssey through the best worst film you've never seen! BBC New Comedy Awards 2025 semi-finalist and Buxton Fringe Best Comedy Show 2025. In Moon Team IIIV (2 if you think about it), Apollo Moon is just a humble prince on a mission to stop a space tax. To pull it off, he'll need a team... a Moon Team. 'Brilliant, bonkers, and totally fringe!' ****½ (BruceOnTheFringe.blog). 'Not just a performance but a Fringe experience – so weird it's unmissable' **** (EdFringeReview.com).

Will BF: Moon Team IIIV

Walden has a pretty good life. Happily married to his mannequin wife, he works his pigeon children into the ground and feasts upon their eggs for sustenance. Walden is doing everything he's supposed to do – so why does he feel so empty? Can his fantasies about his pigeons sustain him? Or must he face up to a great hurt done to him in the past? The Pigeon Factory is a darkly absurd one-man show that explores work, family and finding purpose in a broken society. 'Ingenious, consistently entertaining' **** (Irish Times).

The Pigeon Factory

*Ring ring* Who is it? It's drag comedian, delusional icon and all-round cheeky northern piglet Crudi Dench! She's taping the pilot episode for her new TV show Someone Help Her! and needs the assistance of surprise celebrity guests in the audience (you) to help those phoning in. Chaos ensues in this long-awaited debut hour from the star and writer of award-winning, sell-out Fringe shows Drag Queens vs Zombies and Drag Queens vs Vampires. Expect stand-up, audience interaction and a fabulous telephone. 'Riotously funny and surprisingly poignant' ***** (SussexOnlineNews.co.uk).

Crudi Dench: Someone Help Her!

You are the Head of Public Relations at MirrorMinds.ai, a company preparing for the launch of their newest product that allows anyone to create fake videos that look perfectly real. As sole audience member and active participant in this immersive theatrical experience, you will video chat with co-workers, investigate the materials in your office and argue for your own perspective on the appropriate use of AI. It's up to you to make this launch a success... or not. Part puzzle room, part quiet horror story.

DeepFake

After the horror of being dumped by her boyfriend for the shiny new freshmen, wannabe queen bee Beth and her two unruly dorm-mates Mercy and Bo, spiral down a path of competitive obsession. When each of them discover their own unruly magical powers, pressure hits a boiling point, exploding into a surreal and haunting conclusion – a roller coaster ride into the secret world of girlhood: with all its ups and downs, twists and turns: alliances always shifting and personalities revealing themselves more and more each second.

Rip Her to Shreds

Believing themselves to be revolutionary leaders, two overconfident artists attempt to liberate the masses through the power of theatre. Ethan & Gigi are here to upstage fascist pigs and break legs (literally). The revolution will not be televised, it will be live! Alt-comedian legend Chris Gethard says: 'These kids are funny, brave, some of the hardest workers I've ever met and also might be legitimately unwell in a mental sense. Either way, huge fan. Restores my faith and makes me believe in the connective power of comedy.'

Ethan & Gigi Present: THE MOVEMENT

A play disguised as a magic show where history and illusion intertwine. Enslaved in America, Henry 'Box' Brown conjures his life and reenacts his daring 1849 escape when he shipped himself to freedom inside a wooden crate. Each illusion mirrors a chapter of his journey: love, loss, confinement, faith and defiance. Gospel-infused soundscapes and stagecraft transform the theatre into a site of both sanctuary and reckoning. As boxes appear, vanish and break apart, Henry's story becomes more than spectacle – it becomes testimony, inviting audiences to witness liberation not as legend but as lived and embodied resistance.

Blackbox

Two puppeteers cast giant shadows to conjure a hilarious occult mystery. Teenage sceptic Vi is forced to live with her grandmother, who claims to be the 200-year-old mystic and spiritual guru Madam Blavatsky. When Vi's friends begin to disappear, she reluctantly teams up with Granny to uncover a conspiracy of séances, unhinged cultists and suspiciously interested government agents. A visually striking dark comedy. Based on a possibly true story. Learn real magic. Summon demons. Impress your friends. Sceptics welcome. Spirits optional. From the award-winning Japanese company behind Shunga Alert and Space Hippo. ***** (ThreeWeeks).

Book of Shadows

Hair is everything. Until it's not. This one-hour, one-woman, one-night stand of a show is about Amy. Everyone wants to be Amy. Until her hair falls out in all the wrong places. What follows is a knotty mess of swimming caps, cat shit and four-finger foreheads. Things buried threaten to rear their ugly bald head. She can't stop thinking about the door. Her bedroom door. And the man hiding behind it. Now Amy attempts to take back her body, one fake eyebrow at a time. This show uses drag and comedy to explore sexuality, alopecia and assault.

BASIC BALD B*TCH

Chris Martin lied to us. He said it was all yellow. But that isn’t true! Will has rewritten Coldplay's breakout hit song Yellow eight times, to more accurately represent the entire visible spectrum of light. Now he's become embroiled in a conspiracy of missing impersonators and something ominous is coming for him. In this debut comedy hour, Will Spence (A Night of Drama, Poltergeist Theatre) takes you on a hyperactive trip into the rainbow, using PowerPoint and a karaoke track. Suitable for Coldplay lovers, Coldplay haters and everyone ambivalently in-between. 'Beguiling silliness' (WhatsOnStage.com).


Chris Martin Lied To Us

What if we kissed? Right now? Xx xXx Xx xxX X X x x (*kissing*). Wow. That was wonderful. Until we meet again. As seen / heard on Channel 4 / HBO Max / BBC Radio 4. 'Deeply affecting and incredibly funny' ***** (TheWeeReview.com). 'A one-woman multiverse of gleeful possibility' ****½ (The Reviews Hub). 'Fabulously funny, absurd and intelligent' **** (Everything-Theatre.co.uk).

Alex Franklin: Kiss Me x

Sold out for its entire run at the Edinburgh Fringe 2025. Winner of the Spirit of the Fringe Award. A poetic musical inspired by Japanese classical literature. The male performers wear only two shoulder pads as their costume – playful, never sexual. What begins as laughter at wriggling bottoms soon releases the audience's imagination, revealing countless costumes and worlds. By the final scene, many are moved to tears. Overflowing with the joy and power of theatre, it explores life and death, parting, and human connection through humour, songs and Kabuki-inspired physical expression.

2ShoulderPads: Galaxy Train

Georgia Polly-Taylor: Very Hot. Very Messy. takes you on a grungy gondola trip through the kaleidoscopic sewers of celebrity. We find wannabe socialite model, Hot Mess, at her first ever MET Gala – poses are struck, bowels are loose and dreams are crushed faster than you can say nepotism. Part absurd clown, part catwalk diva: Georgia Polly-Taylor's remarkably eccentric character celebrates the often disastrous reality of being human. 'Audiences bellow with laughter... tears streaming down their faces' ***** (Everything-Theatre.co.uk).

Georgia Polly-Taylor: Very Hot. Very Messy.

Eva’s falling through time. We join her as she struggles to piece together her reality following the crash that changed everything. Fractured is a story about memory, shame and grief. It’s about the little bad things that inexorably lead to the big bad thing. It’s about the magnetism of the past to anyone refusing to face it. Don’t miss the trippy, pacy Edinburgh Fringe debut play from Bill Cashmore Award-winning writer Shona Graham (Lyric Hammersmith, Old Vic Theatremakers, London Library).


Fractured

Remember when people were excited for the future? With visions of jetpacks, friendly robots wheeling around and solar-powered bidets. Well, we don’t have visions like that anymore, do we? But the universe is not over. The light has not gone out. Here’s a candle in the dark. Contagious and whispering. And you can take it with you when you leave. A new stand-up show from pioneering alt-comedy hero and star of Cats Does Countdown. (ISH) Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Show winner, 2023. ‘Has the audience laughing so hard they’re about to leave their bodies’ ***** (Chortle.co.uk).

Paul Foot: The Future

Abandoman is back – and this year, it's a party. Blending hip-hop with euphoric dance music, Rob Broderick's award-winning improvised comedy show turns your suggestions into original bangers, live and unrepeatable every single night. Razor-sharp wit, genuine warmth and unstoppable audience interaction make this one of Edinburgh Fringe's most joyful, unpredictable nights out. 'Clever, quick-witted and audacious' **** (Scotsman). 'Raucous, expansive, and relentlessly hilarious' **** (Times).

Abandoman – God is a DJ

Brand new show. A show so entertaining you can scarcely believe it. Written and performed (both!) by a man in crisis, desperate to find meaning in life. What is stand-up comedy for? Buy a ticket and find out, let me amuse you like you’ve never been amused before; I doubt you’ll ever need amusing again. 'The best thing I saw last year' (Stewart Lee). 'Wow! F**k! Wow!' ***** (Scotsman). 'Totally compelling' **** (Guardian). 'Forensically funny' **** (Times). Chortle Best Show Award Winner 2022. Edinburgh Comedy Award Nominee 2022.

Alfie Brown: The Entertainer

Every weekend has been the same for the past six months, and Morgan Shields wouldn't change it for a f*cking thing. Currently thrilled to be at a loss for direction and lacking in motivation, Morgan finds herself every weekend at Dalkeith Miners Club without fail. It's the place to be. Every Saturday night. haim. teeth. CLUB. is a visceral darkly comedic one-woman play that places a working class Scottish young woman at the centre of her own narrative – as a living, breathing, contradictory person.

haim. teeth. CLUB.

An actor makes a deal with the devil. This new version of Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus features a rotating cast of brave guest performers taking on the challenges of a devilish ensemble. One problem... they've never rehearsed with the rest of the cast. The Faustus Project is funny, a little dangerous and an actor's worst nightmare. With a fresh victim every night, this will be the ultimate theatrical torture. Funny, dangerous, devilish. 'Uproarious' **** (BroadwayBaby.com). 'Wonderfully silly fun' ***** (AllEdinburghTheatre.com). 'Camp, outrageous and utterly unexpected' ****½ (The Student).

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