There are a whopping 2695 shows to choose from at this year's Edinburgh Fringe; over 1000 of which are comedy. So how do you find the best of what's on offer? Spoonfed is here to help.
It’s August – how the heck did that happen? We blame the appalling weather for the lack of summery vibes we’ve been feeling here at Spoonfed. Happily, the 66th Edinburgh Festival Fringe is here to cheer us up and what’s more, we know what to expect from the Scottish capital’s climate. The better the devil you know and all that. As usual, we will be featuring loads of reviews, interviews and guest comedy blogs throughout the month on our Edinburgh Fringe homepage, but first, we’ve drawn up a handy guide to the best comedy on offer. From new talent to Fringe favourites, international acts, sketch acts, unusual and free shows, we think the following comics are well worth seeing.
Fringe favourites
Russell Kane: Posturing Delivery – Last year’s Edinburgh Award winner never fails to produce an intelligent and thought-provoking show. This year’s offering is themed around fatherhood.
Richard Herring – Talking Cock: The Second Coming – The Fringe veteran returns for the 25th time to perform one of his early shows, a male version of The Vagina Monologues.
Josie Long: Romance and Adventure – For her sixth solo show, the 2011 Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee talks about politics, turning 30 and how to keep going when things are tricky. *also features a Godzilla impression.
Daniel Kitson: Where Once Was Wonder – The gifted monologist and legendary comic returns performs his first stand-up show in three years. We. Can’t. Wait.
Jerry Sadowitz: Adults Only – The vitriolic Glaswegian and close-up magician stirs up more shit about people he hasn’t met.
New talent
And Now For A Nice Evening With Wallan – Prop-based silliness from charming newcomer Lou Sanders who had a blinding debut last year.
Jamie Demetriou's People Day – The brilliant new character comic makes his debut. His MC and ‘accidental’ stand-up Big D is a genius creation.
Nish Kumar: Who Is Nish Kumar? – The sharper half of the Gentlemen of Leisure makes his solo debut about being proud of your roots.
Mae Martin: Mae Day – We’ve really enjoyed this gentle Canadian lady’s stand-up sets this year - demonstrating a delightfully offbeat humour sense of humour.
Dave McNeill: Canoe Ride 3000 – The creator of cult hit sketch show Zimbani presents his first solo character show, featuring a homemade canoe and a sizeable measure of the ridiculous.
Sketch
Oyster Eyes: Some Rice – This quartet’s silly, irreverent sense of humour makes us cry (with laughter). Not to be missed.
The Beta Males in...The Space Race – Kings of sketch storytelling, the Betas new show sees them blast off into space.
Cardinal Burns – Offbeat brilliance from the E4 hit duo.
Max and Ivan are...Con Artists – One of our favourite shows from last year was Max and Ivan’s Sherlock Holmes mystery. This year the duo present another action-packed narrative about six ex-cons.
Jigsaw: Gettin' Jiggy – After a fantastic debut last year, Nat Luurtsema, Dan Antopolski and Tom Craine return with more inventive, fast-paced tomfoolery.
Pappy’s: Last Show Ever! – Are Pappy's doing a Phil Collins on us?! Either way, the knockabout sketch heroes can always be relied upon for laughs.
International
Sam Simmons: About the Weather – The Aussie prop-loving surrealist is an exhilarating whirlwind of absurdity. It might not make sense, but by jove it’s funny.
Trevor Noah: The Racist – The sharp young stand-up taking South Africa by storm, talks about coming-of-age in a post-Apartheid country.
Kumail Nanjani – (real) Anecdotes and offbeat wit from the NYC alt comedy favourite
Chilly Gonzales: Piano Talk Show – Having sold-out several runs in Soho, the Canadian pianist and rapper brings his extraordinary musical comedy show to Edinburgh.
Eddie Pepitone's Bloodbath – This popular American comic makes his Fringe debut mixing raging social commentary with self-doubt.
Michael Mittermaeier: A German on Safari – The best-selling left-wing German performs his first solo Edinburgh show about his experiences as a tourist and stand-up all over the world.
Unusual
John Robertson: The Dark Room – This escape game may have driven you mad on YouTube. Now play it live!
Monkey Toast: An Improvised Chat Show – A talk show with a twist, the first half features celebrity interviews while the second half sees Monkey Toast players use the interview material to build funny, improvised sketches.
Simon Munnery: La Concepta – The conceptual restaurant which actually doesn’t serve food returns with Munnery playing maitre’d, sous chef, trainee and head chef. Creative, bonkers fun.
The Beta Males' Midnight Movie Theatre – Late night horror movie thrills featuring special guest comics.
Frisky and Mannish: 27 Club – The pop mash-up comics take an unexpectedly dark turn this year with a show about the untimely deaths of talented musicians.
Free/bloody cheap
Thom Tuck Goes Straight to DVD – Themed around heartbreak and straight-to-DVD Disney movies, Tuck’s cracking debut was nominated for the ‘Best Newcomer’ award last year. now he performs it all again for free.
The Tim and Pat Show – Two of the most exciting and innovative acts to emerge over the last few years, Tim Shisodia and Pat Cahill present an hour of absurd stand-up, sketches and silly songs as part of the Free Fringe.
Ivo Graham & Liam Williams – A talented young pair of stand-ups (who already have several award nominations and wins between them) perform at the Laughing Horse Free Fringe Festival.
Josie Long and Sam Schafer's Awkward Romance – Free show about loves lost and loves won from the well-loved stand-up and up-and-coming newbie Sam Schafer.
Alternative Fringe – Held at The Hive throughout August, this features alternative shows from ground-breaking comics like Phil Kay, Bob Slayer, Trevor Lock and the Greatest Show on Legs, these are all £5 per show or £12 to see all. Bargain!
Benjamin Crellin: Stands To Reason – Dubbed ‘Comedy’s Dark Knight’, this Kiwi stand-up covers socio-political topics with a sharp and scathing wit at the Free Fringe.
10 Films With My Dad – A heart-warming free comedy show about a father and a son bonding through films with some amusingly DIY versions of Jaws, Indiana Jones and Die Hard (also featuring comic Aidan Goatley’s dog).
Lead photo credit: MrGiles
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe takes place at various venues in Edinburgh from 3rd-27th August. Visit www.edfringe.com for a full list of shows.
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