Edinburgh Festival Fringe has something for everyone but with so much to choose from, how can you narrow it down? Here are a few highlights in several categories to help you choose… Part 1 of our festival guide here. You can find Part Two here.
Max Fosh: Zocial Butterfly
VENUE: BUTTERCUP, UNDERBELLY
TIME: 14:15
DATES: 3rd-29th AUGUST (not 15th)
Armed with the rosiest of cheeks & the floppiest of hair, Max Fosh brings you his hilarious & unpredictable debut live show: Zocial Butterfly. With his ingenious, fast-paced, multimedia hour of comedy that details the weird and wonderful world of a YouTuber, Max will provide a unique insight into the world of online content from the perspective of one of its biggest UK stars. They said he couldn’t make it as a global fashion icon; they were wrong. They said he couldn’t legally become the world’s richest man; they were wrong. They said he couldn’t beat all the odds to become London’s first ever YouTuber mayor… to be fair, they got that one bang on.
Amy Gledhill: The Girl Before The Girl You Marry
VENUE: Monkey Barrel Comedy, (Carnivore 2)
TIME: 15.30
DATES: Aug 4-28 August (not 17)
Amy Gledhill, one half of “cult hit” (The Guardian) favourites and Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Show nominated duo The Delightful Sausage, will be making her solo Edinburgh Fringe debut with Amy Gledhill: The Girl Before The Girl You Marry The Girl Before The Girl You Marry is a good-time stand-up show about resilience and dancing – two of the best things. Expect tales of ballroom triumphs, New Year’s Eve mishaps and (accidentally) flashing royalty. You’ll soon see why Amy is every man’s best (ex) girlfriend.
Rosie Holt: The Woman’s Hour
VENUE: Pleasance Courtyard, The Attic
TIME: 18:00
DATES: 3rd to 29th August 2022 (not 16th)
Swallow your post/mid-work curries and slide your briefcase of booze past security, as social media sensation and Chortle Award winner Rosie Holt is launching her debut solo hour of cutting political satire at the Edinburgh Fringe 2022. Rosie Holt: The Woman’s Hour is a character comedy show bringing Holt’s viral satirical videos to delighted live audiences. There’s a right-wing ‘opinionist’ distorting the news, an MP desperately defending a failing government, a left-winger wanting to say the right thing but scared of getting it wrong. These characters and more come together when their creator accidentally becomes the news, as they try to speak their truth whatever the facts. ‘If she can stay in character long enough, she’ll have a Telegraph column and a seat on Question Time by teatime’ (James O’Brien).
Lew Fitz: Soft Lad
VENUE: Gilded Balloon Teviot, Turret
TIME: 19:00
DATES: 3rd to 29th August 2022 (not 15th)
Winner of prestigious Amused Moose National New Comic Award and BBC New Comedy Award-nominee Lew Fitz is launching his much anticipated debut solo hour: Soft Lad, at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe. Soft Lad is a bold and disarmingly honest show about running away from family, swapping Manchester for Miami, and what happens when you have to come back. Lew is not only an award-winning stand up, but has also scored in the Top 5 Jokes of the Fringe across The Guardian, Dave TV and The Telegraph. Expect explosive comedic energy and a rare vulnerability, as this Northern cherub attempts to reconcile his past and face his present.
Patrick McPherson: Colossal
VENUE: Belly Button, Underbelly
TIME: 12:45pm
DATES: 3rd-29th August (not 15th)
Patrick McPherson is returning to the festival a highly anticipated theatrical treat. Colossal is an hour of dynamic theatre, comedy and music that embraces the spectrum of modern romance, from the first date to the last text, from falling headfirst to falling apart. In his one man comedy play that dives into love stories, morality, and the dance between the two, Patrick weaves sketch comedy, gig theatre and spoken word to tell the comedic and candid story of a man called Dan, his affinity for owls, and his messy recent past. Patrick McPherson is an upcoming writer-performer and Edinburgh Fringe success story, who has seen a swift rise through the British comedy and fringe theatre ranks, following his back-to-back sold-out shows. As a queer writer, Patrick looks to explore and champion LGBT voices and narratives through his writing.
The Delightful Sausage: Nowt But Sea
VENUE: Monkey Barrel Comedy (MB4), 9-11 Blair St, Edinburgh
TIME: 12:45pm
DATES: 5th to 28th August 2022 (not 17th)
Vegetarian? Lincolnshire? Caramelised Onion? Whatever the flavour, all are welcome to join comedy duo The Delightful Sausage in their brand-new show Nowt But Sea. Shortlisted for the biggest prize in live comedy, these Edinburgh Comedy Award nominees return with their darkest ever adventure… When The Delightful Sausage are invited to the luxury private island retreat of elite celebrity agent Cedric L’Shay (played by viral sketch sensation Paul Dunphy), Amy and Christopher-Louise can’t believe their luck. But with the island seemingly deserted and madness on the horizon, the situation looks increasingly dire for Yorkshire’s finest meat themed comedy duo.
Jacob Hawley: Bump
VENUE: Monkey Barrel, Hive 1
TIME: 13:25
DATES: 3 -28 August (not 9th)
Jacob Hawley will be bringing his highly anticipated brand-new show Bump, a deeply personal and hilarious account about miscarriage, mental health and social class, to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this year. Men will literally do a 55-minute show about identity, social class and drinking olive oil instead of going to therapy. Award-winning wide boy Jacob Hawley considers whether ample mental health is an exclusively middle-class pursuit, if he’s finally graduated from drugs to antipasti, and, all considered, if he’s ready to be a father.
Sunil Patel: Faster Horses
VENUE: Monkey Barrel 1
TIME: 13:55pm
DATES: 3rd-28th August
Award-winning comedian and comedy entrepreneur/raconteur, Sunil Patel will be returning to the Fringe with his highly anticipated show Faster Horses. Giving the people what they (really) want, Sunil is galloping into the fringe this year on the fastest of horses, crafting smart gags and exuding a powerful, unspoken presence akin to a benevolent billionaire. He’ll be ruminating on crypto bros, his own past failed enterprises and pitching some of the 100s of business ideas he came up with during lockdown. Join him for what will certainly be his most critically acclaimed hour yet. Your statutory rights may or may not be affected by watching this show.
Circus Abyssinia: Tulu
VENUE: Underbelly’s Meadows Circus Hub
TIME: 14:15
DATES: 6th-27th August (not 15th or 22nd)
A dazzling display of speed, skill and flight lands at the Edinburgh Fringe this year. Following their acclaimed production of Ethiopian Dreams, the incredible 15-strong Circus Abyssinia returns with their exhilarating second production Tulu. Celebrating the true tale of an Ethiopian Olympic icon, Derartu Tulu, this is an unmissable showcase of superhuman strength. A blend of breath taking contortion, awe-inspiring acrobatics, and mesmerising fire-juggling with a rocking, exuberant soundtrack.
Catherine Bohart: This Isn’t For You
VENUE: Monkey Barrel 1
TIME: 15:20
DATES: 4th – 28th August (Not 16th)
Catherine Bohart is returning to the Edinburgh Fringe 2022 with her third solo hour, following her hugely successful UK and Ireland tour, with her
critically acclaimed show This Isn’t For You. Catherine Bohart loves control, hates change and is a serial planner. So imagine, if you will, how the past two years have been. This Isn’t For You contains all this and more, in a blisteringly funny show that regales audiences with Catherine’s mental health rollercoaster ride through lockdown, glimmers with her gutsy resilience and is speckled with horrendous and completely hilarious life advice. Delivered with unbridled honesty, this oversharer marries cheery nihilism and reluctant self-discovery, into “a show that’s worth holding on to” – The Guardian.
