Best for families:
Villain: DeBlanks
Where: theSpace @ Venue 45
When: August 20-25 at 10:05am
Duration: 50 minutes
Age: 5+
Price: £8/10
Fill in the blanks of the actors’ scripts with this hilarious show. The audience provide the words as the actors read their newly crafted script for the first time on stage. Every show will be different as new audiences put the word’s in the actors’ mouths.
Best for music lovers:
Geraldyne: Improv from Music
Where: Bar Bados Complex
When: August 11-25 at 9:15pm
Duration: 1 hour
Age: 16+
Price: Free
This show features a guest musician every night, from rock-pop artists to classically trained opera singers. Listen to their greatest hits, and watch as Geraldyne does a hilarious improvised version. Expect musical talent mixed with roaring laughter.
Best for audience participation:
Steen Raskopoulos: Stay
Where: Underbelly Cowgate
When: August 2-12, 14-26 at 8pm
Duration: 1 hour
Age: 16+
Price: £11.50/12.50
For audiences who love to get involved in the action, the Steen Raskopoulos show will not disappoint. His sketches rely on audience members who love to throw themselves into a crazy character. Lively and interactive, don’t expect to sit back and watch.
Best for absurd comedy:
Neal Portenza’s Final Edinburgh Show Will Be a Bad Magic Show on a Bus. BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Netflix and Amazon Prime Are All Welcome
Where: Heroes @Bob’s Blundabus
When: August 2-26 at 10:40pm
Duration: 55mins
Age: 14+
Price: £7
Exactly as it says in the title, this is Neal Portenza’s final Fringe show. Step onto the bus and enter a surreal world of comedy. Audiences try to keep-up with Portenza and catch a breath from laughing.
Best for parents:
Aidan Goatley: 10 Films with My Dad
Where: Sweet Grassmarket
When: August 3-14, 16-26 at 8pm
Duration: 1 hour
Age: 16+
Price: £10
Aidan Goatley takes the audience through a comical journey of how fathers and sons communicate. For him and his dad, it was through films. Chatting film plots, characters, and popcorn, Goatley charms audiences through ten films that connected him and his dad.
Best for late night bingo players:
Bongo’s Bingo
Where: The Jam House
When: August 2-31 every Thursday and Friday at 10:45pm
Duration: 3 hours 45 minutes
Age: 18+
Price: £15
Get the night started with Bongo’s Bingo party. This is not the average bingo night, expect dancing on the tables, sing-alongs and crazy prizes as the audience experience their wildest night of bingo yet. Cross out your scorecards as you party the night away.
Best for politically correct feminists:
Ayesha Hazarika: Girl on Girl
Where: Gilded Balloon Teviot
When: August 2-11 at 6:45pm
Duration: 1 hour
Age: 14+
Price: £11/12
Ex-political adviser Ayesha takes to the stage to analyse the fight for feminism in the 21st Century. This brutally honest and humorous look at feminism is both entertaining and informative. Ayesha questions what has happened to feminism and whether women of the world are really uniting.
Best for nerds:
Action Figure Archive with Steve McLean
Where: 52 Canoes Grassmarket
When: August 4-6, 8-13, 15-20, 22-25 at 4:45pm
Duration: 50minutes
Age: 16+
Price: Free
For adults who are still holding onto their childhood action figures, Steve McLean welcomes you to his show. With a hilarious walk down memory lane, McLean discusses every nerd’s unanswered questions about their figurines.
Best for mash-up cult fans:
Rob Kemp: The Elvis Dead
Where: Pleasance Courtyard
When: August 1-5, 8-12, 15-19, 22-26 at 10:20pm
Duration: 1 hour
Age: 14+
Price: £10/12
Fans of Evil Dead II and Elvis Presley unite with multi-award winning Fringe comedian Rob Kemp. Watch as Kemp reinvents this cult classic through the songs of the King of rock n roll. Expect to be laughing and singing along with this “groovy” late night show.
Best for history buffs:
Daniel Downie: 2 o’clock gun
Where: The Beehive Inn
When: August 2-19, 25-26 at 2pm
Duration: 1 hour
Age: 16+
Price: £5
Ever wondered why a massive canon is fired from Edinburgh castle every day? Find out why with Daniel Downie, who takes a comical look at Edinburgh’s history and traditions. Perhaps not the most historically accurate, this show will certainly open your eyes to Edinburgh and teach you a thing or two about this brilliant comic.
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