Pleasance Theatre Trust Expands 2026 Programme with 95 New Shows

This summer, Pleasance returns to the heart of the Fringe. From global comedy heavyweights to first-time performers, intimate new writing to large-scale spectacle, a further 95 shows announced today expand a programme that reflects the range and energy of the festival. Across comedy, theatre and family work, returning favourites sit alongside bold debuts, while anniversary productions and new commissions highlight a venue that supports artists at every stage of their careers. More than a programme, it is a snapshot of the Fringe, where breakthrough acts, established names and future classics share the same stages.

Comedy

More acclaimed comedians head to Pleasance this summer.Flo & Joan’s award-winning Edinburgh Fringe smash hitOne Man Musicalreturns as audiences watch an icon of the musical theatre world finally turn the spotlight onto the one story he’s yet to tell: his own.

Not Going Out’s Tim Vine unleashes a barrage of new drivel as the real world is left behind inSillypun Valley. After his last show earned an Edinburgh Comedy Award nomination, followed by a Broadway run and HBO special that garnered both a Tony and an Emmy,Alex Edelman returns withWhat Are You Going to Do, a hilarious mix of personal examination, seashells, various deities and a Jerusalem hospital ward. Meanwhile,ALOK dissects desire, denial and heartbreak inEat Pray Leaveand legendary children’s entertainerJeremy Lion staggers through his chaotic career with songs, surprises and possibly a drink in“My Life!”. 

Fringe favouriteLucy Porter unveilsThe Name of theGames(WIP), a brand-new hour of stand-up all about the life lessons she’s learned from quiz and games shows. Fresh from wrapping up his biggest tour yet, leading political comedian and satiristMatt Forde bringsProject Holy Moly, a mission tackling the impossible odds of global political turmoil, the rising tide of populism and his own health. 

Catch him whilst you can, as for three nights only,Nick Helm, the greatest all-round entertainer and his band launch his much delayed/anticipated 3rd studio albumDown ‘N’ Dirty. 

Following three consecutive years of sell-out Fringe runs,Patti Harrison is back withJust Ironing Some Things Out!, for pure, chaotic fun, joined by some of her friends. One of India’s most prominent stand-up comedians,Kanan Gill delivers his brand-new show,Not This Again, blending everyday insight with a global sensibility, whileBritain’s Got Talent 2023 winner,Viggo Venn hangs up his hi-vis vest inOnly One.

At the EICC for an exclusive limited run,Hannah East presents a new comedy show that hilariously captures the madness of parenting in a brutally honest, wildly relatable, and laugh-out-loud way.Andrew Maxwell will also take to the stage, fresh from winningCelebrity Mastermind, with a new hour of politically charged and fearless comedy guaranteed to challenge, provoke and leave audiences breathless. 

Co-host ofGilmore Guys and writer on NBC’sThe Good Place,Demi Adejuyigbe is back following his 2024 Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Newcomer nomination with a brand-new show as he abandons all senses and desperately attempts to become famous. 

Last year’s Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Show nomineeKatie Norris heads back to Pleasance with new musical comedy showMother Succubus, set to spook boys of the manosphere.Taskmaster New Zealand’s Chris Parker’s latest hour asks audiences toTake A Good Hard Look At MeandRosalie Minnitt’s cult-hitLady Clementine returns for a second chapter inClementine 2. All whileCourtney Büchner becomes your next best friend, and ultimately Instagram follower, inOne of the Girls. 

Set to make their Fringe debuts at Pleasance are: multi-hyphenate comedy geniusZachary Ruane from acclaimed Australian sketch group Aunty Donna, exploring the history and future of comedy; comedian and actorIfy Nwadiwe, host of Dropout’sUm Actually, bringing his own game show to Edinburgh,Big Facts, where special guests will learn, lie and learn to lie!; viral sensationAlfie Dundas, revealing the truth about life and death at the extremities of society inFirst Class Panic; andCecily Hitchcock, taking audiences on a nostalgic dive into 2000s Britain inFamily Recipe. Joining them is online comedy sensationImogen Andrews, with her highly anticipated Fringe debutThe Unlikeable Wormspacked with sketches, song, multimedia and worms, and Australian sketch groupMates Rates, discovering humanity is entering a new Golden Age inThe Golden Age Begins. 

Further newcomers to Pleasance are ready to make their mark. Legendary stand-up comedianSasha Nezlobin who fled Russia, now faces the Edinburgh withI’m Fine, while duoLara Ciulli andRiana White take Those People,introducing two struggling best friends as they cliff-dive, naked into a joyfully absurd hour of clowning, chair-duets and uncompromising vulnerability. Former Page 3 model,Keeley Hazell auditions to play “Keeley”, a version of herself she no longer recognises inEveryone’s Seen My Tits.

Star ofSaturday Night Live UKand last year’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Newcomer,Ayoade Bamgboye returns to Pleasance for three shows only with her critically acclaimed debut stand-up show about suffering. And for five nights only,Ada & Bron bring back their smash-hit and critically acclaimed debutOrigin of Love,a cursed-couple’s-character-comedy spectacle.

Returning for its 20th show is thePleasance Comedy Reserve. Catch four of the best up-and-coming comedians, hand-picked by Pleasance; this year’s line-up featuresCiara O’Connor,Eli Hart, Laura Walsh andRoman Harris. Previous alumni include Joe Lycett, Brett Goldstein, Roisin Conaty, Jack Whitehall and loads more. 

 Theatre

Further acclaimed theatre productions take to the stage this summer. Edinburgh 2003’s legendary classic12 Angry Menis revived in the hilarious11 ½ Angry Men, as a group of very angry comedians attempt to decide the fate of a boy accused of heinous murder in 1950s New York City. Starring Stephen K Amos, Joe Pasquale, Mark Maier, Spencer Jones, Andrew Maxwell, Glenn Wool, JJ Whitehead, Ian Coppinger, Terry Alderton, Phil Nichol, David Calvitto, Owen O’Neill as the jurors they seek a unanimous verdict while the evidence against him stinks.

Pleasance continues its commitment to offering unparalleled support to artists through The Charlie Hartill Fund. This year’s winners of its flagship fund include Maryam Garad’sReparations, direct from Soho Writers’ Lab, exploring rehabilitation, jealousy and wealth disparity, as Aisha sets out on a journey of self-healing after three years in prison. As well as WIT? Theatre’sRemember, Remember!,where the story of the Gunpowder Plot is turned on its head in an incredibly inaccurate retelling featuring hilarious songs and explosive action in this must-see camp musical.

The Edinburgh National Partnerships programme showcases the best theatre from across the UK by partnering with leading producing houses to support bold new talent bring their work to the festival. From OnTheNose Productions and Chichester Festival Theatre, riotous drag musicalMAN!FEST:The Drag Boyband Musical exposes toxic masculinity as the biggest boyband in the world kick off their second tour. Laugh-out loud Belfast storyThe Pitch from Moya Jane Productions and Lyric Belfast sees plans to turn East Belfast pitch into a Gaelic Football ground spell trouble for three local players on the eve of a United Ireland referendum. Three queers battle entrenched bureaucracy in BOY Theatre and Leicester Curve’sCAMPITALISM: Three Gays Try to Fix The Economy, where a TedX talk meets a drag brunch meets theLehman Trilogy. Eccentric documentary-theatre from Alex Robins and Theatre Royal Plymouth seesMeet Mayor Max, charts the impossible-to-believe rise to office of an unlikely underdog. And Kimberly Hart-Simpson and Sherman Theatre’sAmnesia follows dementia carer Kelly as her life implodes into a spiral in this heartwarming production.

Set to make their Pleasance premieres this year, musical séanceThe Real Kyle McCarren sees Andy writing a musical following the passing of his bandmate Kyle. Haunting psychodramaBuggers follows painter Francis Bacon and petty criminal George Dyer from 1963 London as they form a passionate and sadomasochistic relationship that descends into a black hole only one can survive. Carmen Collective return with the world premiere ofGameplay, an audio-described myth for the end times that races through history, into the contemporary, and far into the future. 

Fringe First winners Tom Brennan and The North Wall return to the Fringe withOvertone, an unflinching play about love, getting older and the cost of honesty.Trans People Are Awful is a true crime infused with dark comedy, dissecting identity, morality and the effects of extreme loneliness.

Pleasance welcomes back incredible shows celebrating milestone anniversaries. Marking 20 years at the Fringe isThe Big Bite-Size Breakfast Show, once again presenting rotating ‘menus’ of comedies, eccentricities, and mini-dramas, complete with complimentary tea or coffee, croissants and strawberries. The Charlie Hartill supported smash hit productionWE ARE IAN returns to Pleasance for its 10th anniversary, a decade after its Pleasance premiere, taking audiences back to Manchester in 1989, in an era of drugs, beats, illegal raves and acid parties.

Nearly half a century after playwright legend Arnold Wesker wrote the critically acclaimedAnnie Wobbler (Revisited) for Olivier award-winner Nichola McAuliffe, she reprises the roles of three women examining their ingrained imposter syndromes. 

Returning after last year’s sold-out run is Fringe First award-winning Alaa Shehada’sThe Horse of Jenin. Blending storytelling, mask and standup, this universal story of resilience and imagination follows a boy growing up in Jenin, Occupied Palestine, who just wants to play. 

Children and families are set to be dazzled this Fringe. OlivierAward-winning improvisers The Showstoppers bringShowstoppers! The Kids Show. This interactive musical show sees children’s ideas turned into marvellous, mischievous adventures from scratch, right in front of their noses. BAFTA and two-time Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Spencer Jones unleashes an hour of wild, no-story visual comedy inThe Spencer Jones Experimental Kids Show, packed with a chaotic mix of clowning, silly stories and mayhem. Part of the Made in Scotland Showcase,Tongue Twisters features one man’s attempt to say tongue twisters in as many languages as possible, whilst dancing, making music and changing costume, andFloat invites babies and grown-ups to a beautiful, calm, interactive world inspired by the healing powers of water.

Expect further fantastic shows to be announced over the coming weeks, with more incredible comedy, theatre, circus, magic, dance, and kids’ shows ready to make Pleasance the place to be once again this summer! 

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