Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2026: Comedy Highlights

BOOT
1 hour ago
4 min read

For one month Edinburgh becomes the centre of the cultural universe, inviting the best comedy, theatre and performance talent from across the world to enjoy a summer of pure cultural expression. We had the pleasure of visiting Edinburgh Fringe towards the end of the month and here's a quick rundown of our comedy highlights:

Rob Auton - Jupiter

With his trademark combination of dead-pan humour, absurd story-telling and strangely sentimental poetry, 'Jupiter' was Rob Auton at his best. The new shows tells the story of an estate agent on the planet Jupiter who is asked by a couple of potential homeowners to describe what life was like as an estate agent back on earth. As the show spirals through the weird, the wonderful and the downright bizarre, you find yourself oddly caught up in a poignant reflection on the beauties of everyday life. The sudden cuts from his comedic ramblings to his spoken-word poetry doesn't feel incongruous but it catches you off guard and before you know it you're holding back a tear thinking about a family tortoise.

His ability to chuck in throw-away lines that will stick with you long after you leave the room is what makes him one of our favourite performers. It's full of laughs throughout but its the blend of storytelling and poetry that straddles the line between comedy and poignancy that always blows us away! The most impressive show at the fringe we saw!

Will & Noah: Dinner Dinner Chicken Winner

We were complete newcomers to Will and Noah but the sketch duo really made an impression on us. Their sketches had clear influences from the likes of Mitchell and Webb and offered a mix of classic sketch plots and relevant modern observations. The chemistry of Will and Noah really made the show as they could easily improvise, throwing in little jokes off the cuff to throw each other off.

The standout sketch was certainly their old school comedy duo 'Arm and a Leg' which we could have watched an entire hour off! The show had just the right amount of audience interaction while maintaining its structure and the time just flew by. If you're a fan of Edinburgh Fringe sketch icons 'Foil, Arms and Hog' then these are some great newcomers who could follow them down a similar road.

Paul Foot - The Future

Paul Foot has long been one of our favourite comedic performers. His erratic on-stage persona is instantly loveable and when someone can make you life by merely walking around the stage and letting out the odd "Mhh" and "Ahh" then you know the show's going to be unbeatable. Paul has said himself that he never used to include any factual stories about his own life in his sets yet, his two most recent shows have begun to blend his absurd comedy with deeply moving real-life stories that completely throw you off and hit you hard in the heart.

'The Future' tackled the growing pessimism for the coming years across the world but in doing so he looked back to reflect on the story of his grandma fleeing Nazi Germany. It was a shocking story in every sense but his ability to tie it together with some of the funniest observations at the Fringe was incredible. Much like Rob Auton, it was a dizzying blend of poignancy and absurd comedy that will stay with you!

Fly, You Fools!

One of the most unique shows we saw at Edinburgh Fringe this year was 'Fly, You Fools!'. Take three fantastic actors, one expert foley artist and 50 minutes to tell the story of one of the most loved fantasy epics of all time... and its an absolute winner.

The performance took a less than serious look at the first installment of the Peter Jackson trilogy. Every scene mad us laugh with how inventive they were with their storytelling but what impressed us the most was the range of mediums. There was a blend of acting, quick changes, clever lighting and shadow puppetry that made every section feel unique. The addition of the life foley artist also offered another point of interest and you could have just watched her for the whole show. A very unique comedic theatre performance.

BATSU!

We've been to see BATSU! three years in a row now and its delivered every single time. It combines a Japanese game show with improv comedy to create one crazy high-energy show.

The comedians compete in crazy improv games to avoid having to face dreaded punishments that range from being hit with a paintball gun to eating soy sauce out of a mans bellybutton... It's a crazy show that never lets the energy drop for one minute and the comedians are some of the best improv performers we've ever seen. It's a must see every year the fringe.

Not Another Quiz Night

If you combine your local pub quiz with Bongo's Bingo then you get Not Another Quiz Night... led by comedian Jake Bhardwaj the night is a wild ride of genuine quiz questions and on-stage contests between audience members.

The guest characters that emerged on stage included Severus Snape, Cupid and Puss Puss and all gave hilariously insane performances but the quiz itself was genuinely interesting in itself too. It was a supercharged evening bit its not for the faint hearted as some of the audience interaction is only for the brave...