Edinburgh comedy reviews: The best shows at the 2025 Fringe
Our picks: Famous faces
Performing at the Fringe is a rite of passage for young artists. There's not much in it for established stars – so when they do choose to appear, it's often as a way of giving something back to the festival that made them famous. (Although in the case of some of this year's unexpected Fringe comebacks – I'm looking at you, Bobby Davro – it's hard not to think of the old music-hall joke: They say you play this place twice in your life. Once on the way up… Well, it's nice to be back!)
Rosie O'Donnell: Common Knowledge
★★★★☆
'I couldn't tell you my story without my tragic Irish beginning,' drawls Rosie O'Donnell, as she recalls losing her mother on St Patrick's Day in 1973 when she was 10. The mood is sober, but then O'Donnell pops a confetti cannon to reassure us that this is, after all, a comedy show. In her Edinburgh debut, the 63-year-old New York comedian and talk-show host shares a raw yet richly witty account of her life – including the ongoing feud with President Trump that led her to flee the US and move to Dublin with her adopted child after his re-election.
The pair's war of words escalated last month when Trump threatened to revoke her US citizenship and described her as a 'threat to humanity'. O'Donnell retorted by calling him 'King Joffrey with a tangerine spray tan.' In this show, O'Donnell addresses their fractious relationship by showing off her anti-Trump art, depicting a red-faced. 'The orange menace had been in for four years. I was depressed,' she explains. She's made over 700 pieces in total.
A multi-Emmy and Tony Award winner, O'Donnell is, unsurprisingly, a masterful storyteller. Though the show is supposedly autobiographical, with a chunk dedicated to her relocation to Ireland, it gradually becomes as much a tribute to her child, Clay, whom she adopted when she was 50. Diagnosed with autism and hyperlexia (a condition which means their reading ability is far beyond their years), Clay regularly corrects O'Donnell on facts they consider to be 'common knowledge'. 'I had to stop watching Jeopardy! with when she was six,' O'Donnell quips.
A few references fall flat for a largely British audience; a visual gag involving an American news anchor is lost on most, and some cultural touchpoints don't quite land. But these are minor stumbles in an otherwise beautifully constructed show.
Common Knowledge is tender, wise, and at times heart-wrenching. A warm hour that lingers long in the memory after the final laugh. LP
Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, Aug 10, 8.45pm
Alan Davies: Think Ahead
★★★★☆
Returning to stand-up for the first time in a decade, Alan Davies – star of Jonathan Creek and long-serving QI panellist – ventures into edgier, darker territory than those familiar with his affable screen persona will expect.
Having lifted the lid on the childhood sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of his late father in his acclaimed 2020 memoir Just Ignore Him, Davies is now finally, bravely, broaching the subject on stage. A barrel-load of laughs? At points, no. But he's raising a sensitive, under-discussed issue that demands attention and makes you admire more fully his ongoing achievement in seeing the funny side of life after what was plainly a lasting trauma. DC
Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, until Aug 10, 7.15pm
Bill Bailey: Thoughtifier
The bearded wonder (and former Strictly champion) returns with more ingenious musical comedy and whimsical flights of fancy. Nobody makes intelligent nonsense look quite so effortless.
Edinburgh Playhouse (Auditorium), Aug 23-24, 3pm/8pm
Smack the Pony
Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan and Sally Phillips – the creators of Channel 4's classic all-female sketch show – reunite after more than 20 years apart for this chummy in-conversation event hosted by Kirsty Wark.
Gilded Balloon at the Museum (Auditorium), Aug 17-20, 2.45pm
Margolyes and Dickens: More Best Bits
After trotting through Dickens's best-loved characters in an acclaimed 2024 Fringe show, the mischievous, potty-mouthed character actress returns for an encore.
Pleasance at EICC (Pentland Theatre), Aug 9-24 (not Aug 18, 21), 6pm
Our pick: Comedy stars of tomorrow
Already well-known among committed comedy fans, each of these acts is on the cusp of breaking through to the mainstream. This year might be your last chance to catch them in an intimate venue, so don't miss it.
Lou Wall: Breaking the Fifth Wall
★★★★★
Off the back of several highly-rated shows, Lou Wall returns to Edinburgh with a manic, musical, PowerPoint-aided hour that questions how much truth a comedian owes their audience. It is a meta-commentary on the nature of stand-up storytelling, and a tightly engineered show that repeatedly pulls the rug from under you… deliberately, and delightfully.
It opens with the Australian comedian's now-viral 'Facebook Marketplace' bit, a musical routine about trying to sell a bed frame for free online and the resulting ridiculous interactions with an illogical customer. Wall recounts the story beat by beat, rhymes landing in sync with perfectly timed visuals, before addressing the question raised by countless commenters: did this really happen?
Where the line lies between fact and fiction forms the backbone of Breaking the Fifth Wall. It feels like a pertinent time to tackle this topic with the recent controversies around Richard Gadd's Baby Reindeer and Raynor Winn's The Salt Path, both of which have come under scrutiny for how 'real' they really are. Wall dives straight into the debate. But rather than retreat into earnestness, this show goes the other way: embracing artifice, subversion, and sleight of hand.
Over the hour, Wall fuses anecdotes, musical numbers, and gloriously silly audience participation, including a crowd-pleasing round of 'Stand-up Comedian or Serial Killer?', with an exhausting number of technical cues (well over 300). The result is a tightly orchestrated onslaught that never drags. This is the kind of all-singing, all-poetry-slamming gem that the Fringe is made for. LP
Multiple venues, until Aug 24, 10pm
Thor Stenhaug: One Night Stand Baby ★★★★☆
A fast-rising name on the circuit, Norwegian comedian Thor Stenhaug is making his Edinburgh Fringe debut in an intimate 56-capacity Pleasance bunker. 'In Norway, this would be classed an arena show,' he quips. It might be a bit early to tip him for a best newcomer nomination but Stenhaug's material is razor-sharp; he could very well be destined for real arenas in the future.
One Night Stand Baby, as the name suggests, is about growing up as the product of a one-night stand, with parents who are not together… as well as the high expectations placed upon you when you're named after a Nordic God.
Stenhaug's observational storytelling is effortlessly compelling. He speaks with relatable ease about the class-based imposter syndrome of dating someone posher than you, the jarring similarities in standards of living between a flat share in London and what he imagines Scandi jail to be, and the quiet, cringing angst of being a late bloomer. It's funny material with a warm, heartfelt undercurrent: the show reads as a subtle love letter to his parents for the stable, warm home they provided despite its complexities.
The hour zips by with confident pacing, confirming Stenhaug as a comedian with serious potential. You can easily picture him holding court on a panel show, quick-witted, personable, and armed with a point of view.
As a final gimmick (it's the Fringe, so it's allowed), Stenhaug hands out condoms with his face on at the exit to remind the crowd to be safe, or face the consequences. LP
Pleasance Courtyard, Bunker One, until Aug 13, 8.40pm
Ahir Shah: Work in Progress
Shah has one of the sharpest minds in stand-up; even his half-written shows are better than most other people's finished work. The last time he brought a work-in-progress show to the Fringe, in 2023, it won the Edinburgh Comedy Award.
Monkey Barrel Comedy (Monkey Barrel 3), Aug 14-24, 12pm
Gianmarco Soresi: The Drama King Tour
An Edinburgh debut for one of the most buzzed-about names in American stand-up, whose snappy crowd-work has won him a large following online – and ensured that his Fringe run sold out long in advance. Keep your fingers crossed for last-minute returns.
Monkey Barrel Comedy (Monkey Barrel 3), Aug 18-24, 2.50pm
Jacqueline Novak
Ninety minutes of exquisitely written gags about sex, Novak's Netflix special Get on Your Knees ingeniously balanced low-brow filth with high-brow literary flourishes. Hopes are high for this New Yorker's follow-up hour of stand-up.
Monkey Barrel Comedy (Monkey Barrel 4), July 30-Aug 23 (not Aug 12,19), 5pm
Lorna Rose Treen: 24 Hour Diner People
Treen is fun on the radio (as creator/star of Woman's Hour spoof Time of the Week) but far better on stage; her previous Fringe show was a masterclass in sketch comedy, with shades of French and Saunders.
Pleasance Courtyard (Beneath), July 30-Aug 24 (not Aug 12), 6.20pm
Jazz Emu: The Pleasure Is All Yours
The funniest musical comedy act in the country, preening pop star Jazz Emu is the wonderfully odd alter-ego of character comic Archie Henderson. He returns with more of his smoother-than-smooth funk-pop.
Pleasance Dome (Queen Dome), July 30-Aug 24 (not Aug 12), 9.50pm Our picks: Guaranteed Gold
Our picks: Guaranteed Gold
A number of shows The Telegraph has recommended in the past are returning to this year's Fringe for a victory lap. I've seen each of these myself, and would pay to watch any of them again in a heartbeat.
How to Win Against History
This exceedingly witty little musical biography of Henry Cyril Paget, the eccentric Marquess of Anglesey, makes a welcome return to the Fringe, where it was a word-of-mouth hit nine years ago.
Underbelly George Square (Udderbelly), July 30-Aug 24 (not Aug 4, 11, 18), 7.15pm
Julia Masli: ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Trained at École Philippe Gaulier (the fearsome French clown school where Sacha Baron Cohen learnt his tricks), Julia Masli is a mercurial comic talent. In this brilliant, semi-improvised show she tries her best to solve the problems of every person in the room, one at a time. It's a magical experience – although perhaps not for people who are terrified of audience interaction.
Pleasance Dome (Queen Dome), Aug 11-24, 11.15pm
Trygve Wakenshaw and Barnie Duncan: Different Party
The drudgery of office work is given a surreal spin in this inventive hour of physical comedy from two of New Zealand's top alternative comedians. At the 2017 Fringe, it had me doubled-over with laughter. The pair are also staging a new show, Hot Chips, which they describe as 'verbose mime'.
Assembly George Square Studios (Studio Two), July 30-Aug 17, (not Aug 6, 11), 5.10pm
Elf Lyons: The Bird Trilogy
The mercurial comic – whose work ranges from stand-up to clowning – revives three shows: her breakthrough ballet spoof Swan, her cabaret-lecture on economics Chiffchaff; and Raven, a Stephen King tribute which earned her five stars from The Telegraph.
Pleasance Dome (King Dome), Aug 12-25, 8pm
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