For those of you who like to plan ahead this news is for you.
The big producers have announced their first Fringe shows for this year between 2 and 28 August and all tickets for these are on sale now.
Assembly
From Gyles Brandreth to Susie McCabe and Frank Skinner, Assembly have comedy in bucketloads, but this is also where you can see a bit of burlesque and shows where the stars perform acrobatics and gravity defying stunts.
At the Pleasance
Adam Key is coming back to appear on the Fringe for the first time since 2016. His show will be called Undoctored – This is Going to Hurt….More. His tales of being a doctor continue to amuse.
Chloe Petts returns with If You Can’t Say Anything Nice after her successful 2022 Fringe.
TONY! [The Tony Blair Opera] is written by the legend that is Harry Hill and his collaborator Steve Brown. A tale of becoming a warmongering multimillionaire from beginnings as a peace-loving long-haired hippy.
Newsrevue – consistently good and topical down the years to remind you of the awful reality of current events.
Leaving no corpse unturned, Diana: The Untold and Untrue Story has drag, multimedia, audience interaction and puppetry. Tasteless but hilarious humour.
War epic In Loyal Company tells the true story of missing WWII soldier Arthur Robinson. His great-nephew David William Bryan performs.
Paul Merton is back! After a gap of three years Impro Chums will return to Pleasance to bring you unmissable nights of laughter.
Showstoppers! The Musical returns better than ever.
Shit-faced Shakespeare returns with an entirely serious bit of the bard with a sh*t-faced member of the cast. This year it will be Romeo and Juliet.
Best of Edinburgh Showcase is great value lunchtime comedy with the best and brightest comics.
Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of the Fringe is 30 years old this year and this showcase allows you to see many different shows or acts all in the one place in 90 minutes.
Book here https://www.pleasance.co.uk
At Gilded Balloon
Gilded Balloon announced the first shows on their 2023 Fringe line up, with tickets on sale tomorrow, Wednesday 15 February at 12 noon. Housed across three major venue hubs, the announcement marks a bright return to the festival, with the full programme of Gilded Balloon events to be unveiled in the coming months.
BAFTA winner and Scottish favourite Gary: Tank Commander brings his new show Gary Talks, Yous Listen to the Fringe following multiple sold-out shows at Glasgow International Comedy Festival, alongside comedy superstar Rhod Gilbert who makes his first appearance at the festival since 2019 with a limited run of work-in-progress shows.
Fresh from her biggest tour yet and a fully sold-out Fringe run in 2022, Grace Campbell returns with her hit show, A Show About More Me(n), promising some brand new, never-before-seen material. The Fringe’s original home of comedy also boasts a brand new show from Schalk Bezuidenhout following appearances on Comedy Central and Netflix, alongside comedy’s brightest rising stars Jack Skipper, Pravanya Pillay and Joshua Bethania, who will star in Best of So You Think You’re Funny? A line up show featuring the winners from the UK’s biggest comedy newcomer competition.
Other shows on the line up include Potty the Plant, a new dark-comedy musical starring a singing, dancing pot plant, JezO’s Car Crash Magic Show, a high-energy magic show from the Family Entertainer of the Year Winner, and The 69-Sketch Show from sketch group Biscuit Barrel, who promise just that: 69 sketches in an hour.
Karen and Katy Koren, Directors of the Gilded Balloon, said: “We’re incredibly proud to present the first shows of our 2023 programme with some tremendous international and local artists and companies. We continue to provide a supportive platform for the very best artistic and creative talent at the best arts festival in the world!”
Book online from 12pm on Wednesday 15th February at tickets.gildedballoon.co.uk
or call Tel: 0131 622 6552
Underbelly have yet to announce any shows for this year’s Festival Fringe.
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
