From solo drag kings to sketch duos stuck in 1925, gonzo apocalypse brainstorms to anti-rom-coms, this year’s comedy picks aren’t just about laughs, they’re pushing form, politics, and your comfort zone. Here are the shows that’ll have you howling, gasping, and maybe questioning your entire existence.
THE BURTON BROTHERS: 1925
The Crate at Assembly George Square 30th July–24th August
The only sketch comedy show set entirely in the year 1925! We think that’s probably true. Button up your glad rags and feast your peepers on this petting pantry as the The Burton Brothers take their unique sketch comedy style and play it to the tune of the roaring 20s! Best Comedy Nominee, Melbourne Fringe 2023 and 2024.
http://assemblyfestival.com/whats-on/1108-the-burton-brothers-1925
DESIREE BURCH
Monkey Barrel Comedy, Monkey Barrel 3 28th July– 10th August
Desiree Burch returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with her brand-new show, guaranteed to get you rolling around in your seat. Veteran of Live at the Apollo, Taskmaster, and voice of Netflix’s Too Hot to Handle, Burch explores death, menopause, spirituality, and nationality in her new set.
http://edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/desiree-burch-the-golden-wrath
PALDEM
Summerhall, Tech Cube Zero 31st July–25th August (excluding 12th and 19th August)
Friends Kevin and Megan are caught in an awkward situation when their desperate one-night stand is immortalised on camera. PALDEM, a selfdescribed ‘anti-romantic comedy’, explores the amateur porn industry in an era of hook-up apps, dating fatigue, and OnlyFans.
edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/paldem
LIONESS
Greenside @Riddles Court, Clover Studio 1st–23rd August
Goalkeeper and newly-appointed captain Marnie has a long way to go to save both her teammates and her career from getting the boot. This one-woman comedy act tackles the juggling act of women’s football – the fan culture, the fickleness, and the fiscal inequalities.
edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/lioness
DEGENERATE
Pleasance Courtyard, Bunker One 30th July–23rd August (excluding 5th, 12th, 19th August)
Maria Teresa Creasey binds horror and comedy as she holds up a mirror to society and draws on some of life’s larger questions. Creasey packs a lot into her allotted 55 minutes as Degenerate looks at various iterations of the ‘manic-pixie-scream-girl’, piling references from all corners of the internet for some big laughs!
pleasance.co.uk/event/degenerate
DAISY DORIS MAY: BIG NIGHT OUT
Underground at Assembly George Square 1st–24th August (excluding 12th)
This is the first time you have the chance to experience all three of this critically acclaimed drag king and character comedian’s iconic guises explode across one show. We’ve got Steve Porters, who’s God’s gift to women and the ultimate iPod DJ, with a titillating goatee to match. There’s also The Divine Karen Moonstone – yes, The with a capital ‘T’. She can read your aura almost as well as she can read the back of the shampoo bottle, which she doesn’t do often, as she has eschewed all sorts of modern trappings like that, you know, and medicine and vaccines and such. Last but not least, KlubKid HÄNS OFF, ze sehr cool Berlin fashionista.
BROWN GIRLS DO IT TOO: MAMA TOLD ME NOT TO COME
Underbelly Bristo Square 1st–26th August (excluding 11th)
Rubina Pabani and Poppy Jay elevate their groundbreaking and award-winning podcast for the stage with songs, sketches, and, we are warned/promised, some very graphic content. Frankness and fun combine to celebrate and explore the highs and lows, the lovely and gross, the hilarious and heartbreaking of navigating life as Brown British women.
THE LAST MAD MAN
C Venues, C alto 30th July–24th August (excluding 11th, 18th)
his is one we can identify with. In the not-toodistant future, ecological catastrophe has left what we could call civilization as nothing but a rancid husk. Doesn’t seem so far fetched so far. Been on Twitter lately? A stark raving adman at the end of the world tries to rebrand… the end of the world. It’s either that or choosing a side and begin dealing in propaganda, we’re guessing. SNACK’s editor and advertising guy has never contemplated what he could do to be useful at the end of civilization, never. Steven Phillips-Horst takes the audience on a gonzo brainstorming session as our protagonist faces his own existential crisis.
res.cthearts.com/event/34:4966/
KAZAKH PRINCESS DIARIES
C Venues, C alto 11th–24th August (excluding 18th)
In this fast-paced, cabaret-style solo musical comedy, one actress plays six vibrant characters to tell the story of Tom, a luxury-obsessed teen whose world flips when she discovers she’s the heir to the Kazakh throne. Thrust into a remote village, Tomi faces intense culture shock, eccentric relatives and a journey of chaotic self-discovery. Featuring original music blending jazzy and theatrical styles, Kazakh Princess Diaries promised to be a bold, heartfelt exploration of identity, privilege and what it really means to belong, told through the eyes of a Kazakh performer reclaiming her narrative.
res.cthearts.com/event/34:4964
Main Photo BROWN GIRLS DO IT TOO: MAMA TOLD ME NOT TO COME
