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Tom's Guide
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
Peacock's 'The Office' spinoff just got its first trailer — and now I'm concerned
We've just gotten our first proper look at Peacock's upcoming "The Office" spinoff, "The Paper." We first learned about the forthcoming sitcom back in May, and the "The Paper" release date followed in mid-July, but this trailer finally gives us a glimpse at the series in action. Check it out below: I know it's tough to judge a show by its trailer, but I don't think this sells the show as a must-watch comedy. I'm a big fan of Tim Key's work (seek out "The Ballad of Wallis Island," if you haven't), so seeing him involved is a big plus for me, but I'd be lying if I said "The Paper" trailer was the funniest thing I've ever seen. The opening "order of quality" line got a quick laugh from me, as did Oscar's brief crash-out at the end, but otherwise, it makes for a pretty bland watch. It's not exactly making me want to bump it to the top of my watchlist. It is just a trailer, though, so I don't want to judge it too harshly. We're yet to get to know any of these new characters (apart from Oscar, obviously) or what makes them tick. Plus, the fact that "The Office" co-creator Greg Daniels is on board (teamed with "Nathan For You" co-creator Michael Koman) is promising, and several fans on YouTube also point back to the first season of "The Office" not being the show's strongest outing, too. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Thus, I'm concerned, but I'm going to remain optimistic that there's still a chance the new show is a worthy "The Office" successor between now and its premiere. As a reminder, "The Paper" is getting a four-episode premiere on Peacock on Thursday. September 4, with new episodes airing Thursdays through to the finale on September 25. Peacock previously released a full series synopsis for "The Paper," though it doesn't give too much away about what's in store. It reads: "The documentary crew that immortalized Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch in the Emmy Award-winning series 'The Office' find a new subject when they discover a historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it." Across its run, "The Office" boasted a ton of great stars, and "The Paper" looks to be no different. The main cast includes Domhnall Gleeson, Sabrina Impacciatore, Chelsea Frei, Melvin Gregg, Gbemisola Ikumelo, Alex Edelman, Ramona Young, Tim Key, and "The Office" alum, Oscar Nuñez. NBC's also confirmed the guest stars for the season. Expect to see Eric Rahill, Tracy Letts, Milly Ephraim, Mo Welch, Allan Harvey, Duane Shepard Sr., Nate Jackson and Nancy Lenehan popping up at some point in the new show. And, of course, it features the same documentary crew that filmed all the chaos back in Scranton. Looking for something to keep you entertained while you wait for "The Paper" to arrive? Check out our round-up of the best Peacock shows you can watch right now for more top recommendations. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
The Office gets a new chapter with spinoff ‘The Paper'; here's all you need to know
The long-awaited spinoff of The Office, titled The Paper, has unveiled its first trailer. The series adopts the mockumentary style of its predecessor but shifts the focus to the Toledo Truth Teller, a struggling local newspaper in Toledo, Ohio. The storyline follows the publication's efforts to revive itself with the help of new volunteer reporters. The comedy series is scheduled to premiere on September 4 on Peacock, which also streams both the U.K. and U.S. versions of The Office. The Paper features Domhnall Gleeson , known for his role as Bill Weasley in the Harry Potter film series, and Sabrina Impacciatore, recognized for portraying Valentina in The White Lotus. Other cast members include Gbemisola Ikumelo, Ramona Young, Tim Key, and Chelsea Frei. The trailer opens with Tim Key's character listing paper-based products: 'Toilet tissue, toilet seat protectors and local newspapers — and that is in order of quality.' It then introduces Esmeralda (Impacciatore), who presents an article she wrote titled 'You Won't Believe How Much Ben Affleck Tipped His Limo Driver.' Ned (Gleeson) enters the newsroom as the newly appointed editor-in-chief. In an exchange with Chelsea Frei's character, he acknowledges reading the paper and remarks that while it 'sucks,' the team is going to make it better. Later, Ned tells Esmeralda he hopes his arrival will not be 'too disruptive' as he works to 'shake everything up.' Esmeralda responds, 'Oh, no, no, no. Don't be so self-defecating.'
Yahoo
27-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Tom Basden Wants the Heartwarming Success of ‘The Ballad of Wallis Island' to Give British Indie Filmmakers Hope
Even Tom Basden is surprised by how affecting his new film is. The Brit, who stars in and wrote The Ballad of Wallis Island with comedian Tim Key, is talking to The Hollywood Reporter about finally getting his film out in theaters in his native Britain and, oddly enough, being a little taken aback by its reception. More from The Hollywood Reporter New Just For Laughs Fest Owner Tells Ticket Buyers: Laugh or Get a Refund 'Top Boy' and 'Eddington' Star Micheal Ward Charged With 2 Counts of Rape by London Police Kieron Moore Relishes Taking on Complex Characters, From 'Code of Silence' to Queer Camboy 'We hit a few ideas early on,' he explains, referencing the short film he, Key and director James Griffiths first made about the characters all the way back in 2006. 'Herb's a little bit washed up, pining for his mid-20s, Charles has been obsessed with this band for a very long time and used to watch the gigs with his wife, who's now died. Quite organically, a sadness began to come out on the page, a kind of longing,' Basden recalls. 'It took us by surprise. And even at the point where we were watching a finished film with an audience, I don't think we realized how emotional those threads were. It's very hard to plan for the moments that the audience is going to become emotionally invested.' Basden and Key's comedy-drama debuted earlier this year at Sundance, later earning a limited theatrical release in the U.S. in March before it hit theaters in the U.K. in May through Focus Features. It follows musician Herb McGwyer (Basden), formerly half of folk duo McGwyer Mortimer, who has been contracted to play a private gig on the remote Wallis Island by widowed superfan Charles Heath (Key). But things start to go awry when Herb discovers Charles has also invited ex-bandmate (and actual ex) Nell Mortimer, played by Carey Mulligan, to join. Akemnji Ndifornyen stars as Michael, Nell's American husband, and Sian Clifford as Amanda, the island's sole shopkeeper. What transpires is a film bursting at the seams with heart, adored by laymen and critics alike. 'We drew up a list for who could play the part of Nell and Carey was at the top of that list, but we didn't know her,' says Basden about getting Oscar nominee Mulligan on board. 'Tim had been emailed by her about five years earlier, so he had her email by stealth and basically cold-called her.' According to Basden, Mulligan connected with the material immediately. 'She just really responded to the script — I think she wanted to do a comedy,' he says. 'She'd done quite a lot of, let's say serious, quite dark films in the last few years. She wanted to do something that was more comic and more touching. She really believed in it as it was, and had exactly the same aims for the type of film that we wanted it to be.' After the release of their 2007 short, Basden and Key left Wallis Island well alone until 2018. It was then — and with the help of an industry-shattering pandemic — that the pair returned to their feature-length dreams in earnest. The low-budget movie got everything it needed in just 18 shooting days on location, but even at a cheaper rate, it took some time to find the financing. 'We really believed in the script and we deliberately made it very small,' says Basden. 'We're all in our 40s, or in James's case, 50s. We've made a lot of TV, we understand budgets. We made it a very small film with a very small cast, all shooting in basically two locations and even so, we struggled to get any interest,' he admits. 'We were turned down by all the funding bodies in the U.K.: Film4, the BFI…' 'And Tim is such an idealist that he always believed we'd make it,' continues Basden. 'I'm a bit more defeatist. (Laughs.) Then we sent it to Carey and not only do you suddenly have something quite real to hold onto — a genuine, Oscar-nominated film star attached to your film — but it gives renewed momentum and confidence for us that people, someone like Carey, really likes the script. But it just feels quite arbitrary, the funding system in the U.K… It's a fundamentally British film and it's done best in the U.K., but it took American money to actually get the thing made.' Basden hopes that The Ballad of Wallis Island — a well-received, popular movie written and starring British talent, about British people and shot in Britain — will provide hope to fellow filmmakers. 'I believe that it's possible in cinema to make things that are original and also really popular,' he says. 'There shouldn't be this divide between reboots, sequels, recycled IP and live-action and then the slightly soporific art-house movies. We must be able to make stuff that's original and funny and moving but also can be popular and attract a mainstream audience. I haven't given up on that.' One of the more amusing aspects of releasing the film both in the U.S. and in the U.K. has been seeing different reactions from Americans and British audiences to the adventures of Herb, Charles and Nell. He says that being in the States when The Ballad of Wallis Island debuted reminded him that his project was 'very much an international movie.' 'They'd never seen anything like Tim's character,' he remembers. '[They were like], 'He just makes no sense to me.' And then you show it in the U.K., and we all know people like that. One in four people in the U.K. are like that,' he says of Charles' bumbling awkwardness and quirky personality. 'It's a very different thing [in the U.K.], where people just tap into the very British subtext of it. But American audiences have been really into it. I think they feel like they've discovered something really fresh.' The heartwarming success of The Ballad of Wallis Island has only left fans with one question: what do Basden and Key have planned next? He jokes: 'Carey talks passionately about the sequel and I think, because we made the short and 18 years later released the feature, I think 18 years later we should come back and make the sequel to the feature. Maybe Charles and Amanda will get married, and McGwyer Mortimer are playing at the wedding.' He tells THR that him and Key have a few ideas they're working on — one or two of which they are 'very excited by.' For now, the duo are trying to soak up the fervid fan reaction to this pretty neat indie they've put out into the world. 'There'll come a point where we think about another one, maybe with a slightly bigger budget [and] made with love… But it feels very special to us that we've got here.' 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Scotsman
26-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Tim Key returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with Loganberry, a 'skewed nod' to his breakthrough screen success
Tim Key is dividing his time between a book, a film, a TV series and a new Fringe show. Not bad for someone who 'doesn't have enormous range,' finds Jay Richardson Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Tim Key is meeting his drinking buddy John Kearns later, his fellow Edinburgh Comedy Award-winner immortalised in his writing as 'The Colonel'. Climbing Arthur's Seat, Key will survey a city that's been integral to his singular career, encompassing comedy, poetry, radio, television and film, and 'take stock'. Lest you imagine him a pretentious versifier though, a full Scottish breakfast and 'poem about sausages' is all he's managed so far today. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Tim Key returns to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2025 with a new show, Loganberry. | Tim Key The 48-year-old appears relaxed in his customary baseball cap. That's despite a whirlwind four months since the US release of The Ballad of Wallis Island, a film in which he plays an eccentric millionaire who hires his favourite, disbanded folk duo for a private gig. Co-written with long-time collaborator Tom Basden, starring the pair and Carey Mulligan, it's attracted considerable acclaim and is still showing in UK cinemas. The Paper arrives a little over a month from now. Spun-off from the US version of The Office, the mockumentary is set in a struggling Midwestern newspaper and features the Cambridge-born comedian as part of a transatlantic ensemble. Some 14 years after the sitcom's showrunner, Greg Daniels, sought a recommendation for comedy in London and was directed to him by Friday Night Dinner creator Robert Popper, Key was given just 48 hours to decide whether to take the potentially life-changing role. He retains his own voice but sports an outlandish haircut, and his grapples with an American accent are tongue-in-cheek referenced in L.A. Baby!, his newly published fourth volume of poetry with (and featuring the semi-fictionalised thoughts of) his illustrator and 'emotional crutch' Emily Juniper, chronicling his Hollywood culture shock and mental instability. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Somehow, he's also found time recently to appear in Bong Joon Ho's sci-fi comedy Mickey 17, with the Oscar-winning Korean director another avowed admirer. And to shoot his 'most intense scene' yet with Steve Coogan, reprising his role as floundering 'Sidekick' Simon Denton on the BBC's upcoming spoof documentary, Alan Partridge: How Are You? Right now though, Key is fine-tuning, 'adjusting the levers' of poetry, comedy and crowd-engagement of his latest Fringe show, Loganberry. Typically, his playing cards, those ones he affects to read his gnomic poems off, remain close to his chest in terms of what it's about. 'It reflects where I am in life at the moment,' he says when pushed of a show that's been in development for 18 months. 'There's stuff that's happened since, which, if I was starting a show now, would be very different.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad One theme though is 'confronting' his breakthrough success and what it means for his artistic integrity. He wonders if he should even mention his and Basden's indie darling, hailed 'one of the great British films of all time' by Richard Curtis. 'It's interesting,' he admits. 'I usually keep stage stuff separate. But there are bits I've been developing which maybe give a slightly skewed nod towards it. I need to work out exactly how I deal with it, if I deal with it at all. Because there's something appealing in not acknowledging what's going on. In my shows, there's always an element of not knowing exactly what's happening, a contradiction inside it all.' Tim Key promoting his film The Ballad of Wallis Island. | Getty Images His poet persona is shambling but in command, alternately playful and passive-aggressive, 'sort of an underdog but also sort of arrogant. A guy who has everything and also nothing, vulnerable but sometimes in his interactions with the audience, almost taunting. I'm way above the audience and way below them.' He attracts people to work with him. His brass neck in sneaking into the Cambridge Footlights when he wasn't at the university has been well documented, facilitating his debut Fringe appearance in the group's 2001 show Far Too Happy, featuring another regular collaborator, stand-up Mark Watson. The university was also where he met Taskmaster creator Alex Horne, sowing the seed for him becoming Task Consultant on the hit show. And it was where he formed the sketch group Cowards, featuring Basden, with whom he's making a seventh series of Tim Key's Late Night Poetry Programme for Radio 4 next year. What's less remarked upon is how he created his ineffable act, leaving even the shrewd Coogan struggling to work out 'why what he was doing was funny'. After ten gigs in 2002 as a conventional, 'mediocre' stand-up in 'jeans and jumper', he turned up in a suit to perform in a friend's living room of all places and 'everything just clicked, every single building block was there and it had a really strong, distinctive flavour.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I'd bought a can of beer on the way, then opened it and it went everywhere, so I tucked it under my jacket, started reading my poems from scraps of paper - which five years later would become the playing cards – and quizzed the audience about them.' All to Soviet lounge music, a legacy of him studying Russian at his real alma mater, the University of Sheffield. Previously, stand-up had been 'horrific'. Now, 'it was bearable, there were possibilities. I was finding it funny and so were others. I thank my lucky stars that the other stuff was bad enough to stop. If it had been better, I wouldn't have tried something so different.' His 2009 Comedy Award-winning show featured film footage. Subsequent Fringe hours have seen him sink fully clothed into a bath and a hidden dancer belatedly emerge from his bed. His last show, 2022's Mulberry, poignantly captured the Covid lockdown experience. 'I wanted to write a show about that time that was knockabout and funny' he explains. 'Quite a difficult assignment I think. But it was relatable because we'd all been through it. I have a lot of affection for that show. I want this one to find the same place in my heart so I fall in love with it.' The Ballad of Wallis Island will undoubtedly bring more high-profile acting roles. Key modestly confesses to being someone who 'doesn't have enormous range', yet for nearly 20 years he's had a Zelig-like capacity to pop up in some of British television's most iconic comedy, including successive Alan Partridge vehicles, Peep Show, Detectorists, Inside No. 9, Stath Lets Flats and Taskmaster's debut series, stealing scenes every time. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Regardless, 'I'll always do live stuff whatever else is going on' he confirms. 'It's quite nice, a pleasure, not to be on stage for three months. But then I start thinking of things I want to say and start to miss it.'
Telegraph
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The ultimate guide to Edinburgh Festival – and the top shows to book
The largest arts festival on the planet is back. Every August, thousands of performers from around the world descend on Edinburgh's cobbled streets. Pubs, libraries and even occasionally buses turn into pop-up theatres. The Royal Mile becomes an obstacle course of jugglers and magicians. The atmosphere is quite unlike anything else on earth: exhausting, ridiculous, sublime. Kick off this year is Friday 1st August. After watching hundreds of performances in Edinburgh over the years, the buzz still hasn't worn off for me. I have been writing about Edinburgh Fringe shows for The Telegraph since 2015, and attending the festivals for most of my life, in various guises – awards judge, journalist, director, spotty teenage performance poet, etc. I've seen the likes of Richard Gadd, Tim Key and Rose Matafeo give dazzling performances in tiny, sweaty rooms, long before they found success on screen. Although every summer brings a new spate of headlines asking whether the Fringe can survive another year – is it too large for the city? Are costs simply too high? I'm convinced there's still no better place to discover the stars of the future. The festival can be overwhelming – particularly if you're experiencing it for the first time. In this guide, I've gathered together everything I wish I had been told before my first visit. Skip to: Overview Conceived by the great impresario Rudolf Bing to prove that the arts could rise again from the ashes of the Second World War, Edinburgh's first International Festival of Music and Drama was held in 1947 – and was immediately met with grumbling from those artists who hadn't been invited. Not to be outdone, they set up their own unaffiliated, informal performances around the city. This 'fringe' very quickly outgrew the official festival, and today dwarfs it. In 2024, there were around 160 performances at the official Edinburgh International Festival (or EIF for short) but more than 50,000 at the Fringe. Confusingly, when people refer to 'the Edinburgh Festival', they might mean either the EIF or the Fringe – or both. Both festivals span the performing arts, from music to theatre. (The city hosts a television festival in August, too, but it's largely for people in the TV industry, rather than the general public.) Aiming for quality rather than quantity, the EIF has a more high-brow reputation and more expensive tickets (albeit with generous discounts). As the name suggests, it emphasises work from international companies, and has a particularly strong track record in opera. At the Fringe, meanwhile, the largest and liveliest part of the programme is comedy. Many new comedians heading up to Edinburgh have their eye on the Edinburgh Comedy Awards. The most prestigious prizes in the stand-up world, since 1981 these gongs have helped to launch the careers of dozens of household names – Steve Coogan, Sarah Millican and Stephen Fry among them. This year, incidentally, will be my third time judging the awards, and throughout the festival I'll be updating this guide with my verdicts on the best shows I see. Where does it take place? The Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) Compared to the Fringe, which sprawls across around 650 venues (all listed in the official Fringe Programme), the EIF has only a small handful of venues. There are classical concerts in the Usher Hall and Queens Hall; lectures in the Hub; opera at the Edinburgh Playhouse; dance and major plays at the Festival Theatre; and more experimental theatre at the Church Hill Theatre and the Lyceum. There are also a couple of outdoor EIF shows this year: Dance People, a promenade dance piece in the Old College Quad (Aug 7-10); and music in the bandstand of Princes Street Gardens (Aug 3). The Fringe Major Fringe venue companies often oversee more than one venue. The Pleasance, for instance, has three, each very different, and a significant distance apart: the Pleasance Courtyard, a nice spot for outdoor drinks on a sunny day; the EICC or Edinburgh International Conference Centre, huge and expensive; and the Pleasance Dome, which has the distinct atmosphere of a student union bar – unsurprisingly, since it is one, outside August. So, if someone says a show is at 'the Pleasance', ask them to specify which venue they mean. 'The Big Four' Four of the largest and longest-established venue companies – Pleasance, Gilded Balloon, Underbelly and Assembly – are sometimes referred to as the 'Big Four'. Their tickets can be more expensive than those for smaller venues, but they often attract better-known performers. Some individual theatres within the Big Four maintain a distinctive look and feel. At Underbelly for instance, the Circus Hub on the Meadows is a classic big top, while the Udderbelly is a huge purple tent shaped like an upside-down cow. For the most part, they're interchangeable in terms of the kinds of work they programme. Comedy dominates, followed by theatre, with a decent spread of cabaret, dance and children's shows. But these four venues don't have a monopoly on quality: many of the best shows will take place in one of the venues below. Best venues for comedy The Stand – in the 'New Town' north of Princes Street – used to be seen as the leading comedy venue, and still draws a number of celebrated older performers (Mark Thomas, Jo Caulfield, Simon Munnery). But in this critic's opinion, the Monkey Barrel is head and shoulders above the rest: it consistently attracts the most acclaimed younger acts. Its venues are tightly clustered on the streets around South Bridge, including the titular year-round comedy club, and the less-delightful Hive, a sticky-floored nightclub notorious for staying open till almost dawn. I've rarely seen a bad show at the Monkey Barrel – although a few have been too strange even for my outré tastes. If you're wary of anything advertised as 'contemporary clowning' and prefer comedy with proper gags, Just the Tonic may be a safer bet. It runs four Fringe venues, has reasonably priced tickets and attracts lively crowds; here the emphasis is on mainstream stand-up, often with plenty of crowd-work. You get the occasional household name (Simon Evans) but performers tend to be rising stars from the club circuit. Duck into the lively Caves, at the foot of Niddry street, for a spontaneous hour of stand-up. Best venues for theatre Summerhall, one of the Fringe's southernmost venues, is my favourite place to go for new writing: it has a lively, eclectic programme (slightly skewed towards experimental theatre), and some unusual spaces – including a hundred-year-old anatomy lecture theatre. The grand old Traverse – a year-round venue, west of the Castle, off the main Fringe drag – has the best reputation for new plays, but a relatively small Fringe programme of around a dozen shows. Shedinburgh is a brand-new venue for 2025, run by Francesca Moody, the sharp-eyed producer behind such Fringe-to-screen successes as Baby Reindeer and Fleabag. Each show is here for a single performance only, so tickets are likely to disappear quickly. Highlights include Or What's Left of Us (a show about grief and British folk music that brought a tear to my eye) and Haley McGee's five-star one-woman show Age is a Feeling. ZOO has two large venues – Southside and Playground – and a strong track record in physical theatre. Their offerings can be quite bonkers (see Up Your Ass, below), but I like their anarchic spirit, and the quality is usually pretty high. Two large venue companies you ought to know about have confusing names: C Venues/C Arts (it uses both) and theSpace (which, ironically, refuses a space after 'the'). Quality in both venues is more variable, and shows here can feel amateurish, but they have nurtured some outstanding companies: theSpace has the charismatic Xhloe and Natasha – see A Love Letter to Lyndon B Johnson, below – while C Venues was home to the much-missed Belt Up. Both are popular destinations for theatre students, as are (slightly slower down the pecking-order) Paradise and Greenside. Speaking of students, I'd warmly recommend the Bedlam Theatre, a gorgeous 90-seater in a neo-gothic church. It's run by Edinburgh University, and home to its reliably good comedy troupe the Improverts: they are to improv what the Cambridge Footlights are to sketch comedy. Best venues for free shows There are two major Free Fringe companies – Laughing Horse (with 16 venues across the city) and PBH (with 26). As the name suggests, Laughing Horse's line-up is almost entirely comedy, but with a good offering of children's shows, particularly at The Three Sisters and The Counting House. (At the latter, I'd warmly recommend the kids' show from Best Joke of the Fringe winner Olaf Falafel.) PBH has a slightly more eclectic line-up, with a bit more theatre and spoken word, and some very cool spaces, especially the Banshee Labyrinth (a kind of medieval dungeon-cum-dive bar, with a cinema), and the Voodoo Rooms (a cabaret club with a speakeasy vibe). How to book tickets Officially, the Fringe runs from August 1 to 25, but some shows actually begin their runs as early as July 28. The EIF, meanwhile, takes place from July 30 to August 24. For EIF tickets, I strongly recommend booking in advance, by calling 0131 473 2000 or going online to For Fringe tickets, the simplest way to book is through the Fringe Society, whether via their website ( their well-designed app (EdFringe), or their phone line (0131 226 0000), or simply by popping into their box office on Edinburgh's Royal Mile (180 High St, EH1 1QS), which is also now the home of the long-running Half-Price Tickets Hut. Alternatively, you can book through individual Fringe venues – but with hundreds of different theatres (see the venue guide, above), it can be difficult to keep track of your tickets. Do you need to book Fringe tickets in advance? Not always. It's possible to have a packed day of entertainment by just wandering from one show to another. Embracing spontaneity can save you money, too: 'flyerers' doing last-minute promotion on the street for their shows will sometimes hand out two-for-one coupons (or offer other discounts) along with their leaflets. Prices have crept upwards in recent years – alarmingly, some Fringe tickets now break the £20 barrier – but there are a number of 'Free Fringe' organisations which aim to keep shows affordable for performers and punters alike. In fact, many of the best shows here are free. For instance, when Baby Reindeer's Richard Gadd won his Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2016, it was for a Free Fringe show at the Banshee Labyrinth. The oldest of the rival Free Fringes is PBH, named after its founder, comedian Peter Buckley-Hill. PBH shows are unticketed – performers just pass around a bucket at the end of the show. To guarantee a seat at their most popular shows, turn up very early and brace yourself for a long wait in the queue. Other venues (such as Just the Tonic and the Monkey Barrel) have a two-tier system. They sell full-price tickets ahead of the show to punters keen to guarantee themselves a seat, but also offer free entry on the door for performances that haven't sold out. The Laughing Horse Free Fringe has a similar system, though its advance tickets are sold for a 'pay what you can' amount, with suggested donations starting at £2.50. Dos and don'ts Do: Get hold of the official Fringe Programme. The size of an old Yellow Pages, it's an invaluable guide, and can be picked up for free at shops and venues across the UK. Alternatively, for £7.50, the Fringe Society will deliver a copy to your door. Do: Tip performers. If you haven't paid for a ticket, and you see the cast plaintively waving a bucket at the end of the show, it's a real faux pas not to give them something on your way out. Thanks in large part to Edinburgh's eye-watering accommodation costs, even successful performers will often make a loss at this festival. Throw the starving artists a bone. Do: Dress carefully. It's impossible really to anticipate the ideal attire for Edinburgh in August – I've known it to go from blazing sunshine to freezing sleet and hail in the space of 15 minutes – but a lightweight waterproof coat and comfortable shoes will save you from a great deal of suffering. Do: Take risks. Watch a performer you haven't heard of, or a piece of new writing (edgy theatre hub Summerhall is especially good for the latter). Chat to strangers – word of mouth is everything in Edinburgh. 'Seen anything good today?' is a good ice-breaker in a queue. Don't: Take geography for granted. Some of Edinburgh's streets could have been designed by MC Escher. Your map might tell you a theatre is in front of you, when in fact it's 40ft above you on a different street. Unless you know the city intimately, allow an extra 15 minutes of getting-lost time for any theatre-to-theatre walk. (Cabs in the city aren't too expensive, but it's usually easiest to walk if you can.) Above all, don't arrange to meet a friend at the entrance of Underbelly Cowgate – one of the main venues – without specifying which entrance you mean; one is five storeys higher up than the other. Don't: Forget to eat and drink. Bring a water bottle and (non-noisy) snacks. Some under-ventilated venues are sweltering, and you'll burn a lot of calories trekking from one theatre to the next. Don't: Get up too early. There's relatively little worth watching before noon, and many of the best shows begin after 10pm. Having a guilt-free lie-in will help you to avoid Fringe burn-out. You don't want to fall asleep and start snoring in the middle of someone's soul-baring one-man show, do you? Don't: Leave booking your accommodation until the last minute. In Edinburgh in August, affordable hotel rooms are rare as hen's teeth. I know some very well-organised Fringe-goers who make a point of always booking a flat in September for the following summer, a decision which looks more sensible with each year that passes. So start thinking about 2026 now. Insider's tips Seek out 'secret' shows and alternative programmes Despite clocking in at almost 400 pages, the official Fringe Programme doesn't actually list everything there is to see. Some performers, particularly on the Free Fringe, would rather not pay the hundreds of pounds it costs to get an official listing. To find out about these 'off-menu' shows, check the listings at individual venues, or pick up one of the rival mini-programmes: the PBH Free Fringe produces a guide known as the 'wee blue book' (available in its venues), while the Alternative Comedy Memorial Society makes a brochure of recommended shows, handed out at its terrific cabarets in the Monkey Barrel. Snack on some late-night 'comedy tapas' Mixed-bill gigs are a great way to sample of lots of different acts, and choose which performers you'd like to see more from the following day. The best mixed-bill shows happen late in the evening: my top recommendation is ACMS (charmingly ramshackle alternative comedy), followed by Stamptown (boisterous cabaret), Late'n'Live (mainstream stand-up) and Piggy Time (transatlantic weirdness). Escape to another (much quieter) festival Taking place at the same time as the Fringe and EIF, the Book Festival is the Cinderella of Edinburgh festivals, drowned out by its more famous (and noisier) siblings. But it has a terrific programme to rival Hay-on-Wye's: guests this year include Ali Smith, Geoff Dyer, Maggie Nelson, Mark Haddon and Jonathan Coe. Its best events often take place in the morning or early afternoon, when there's less to see at the Fringe, reducing clashes. Eat like a king Several larger venues have outdoor pop-ups with excellent but expensive street-food vans (the best are at the Pleasance Courtyard, followed by those dotted around the George Square Gardens). But the city's permanent establishments tend to offer better value. For a modern take on Scottish haute cuisine, Montrose does a three-course set lunch for £30. If you're hungry, on a budget and in a hurry, I can recommend a quick curry at Mosque Kitchen. If it's 4am, your feet hurt, it's raining and you desperately want a sit-down restaurant meal with proper cutlery and service, Pizza Paradise on South Bridge has you covered. And for breakfast, Snax Cafe does a full Scottish fry-up in a bun that can raise the dead, or at the very least cure your Fringe hangover. Drink like a fish For a traditional pub away from the festival hubbub, the Halfway House is a lovely matchbox-sized nook on Fleshmarket Close, the near-vertical street immortalised by Ian Rankin's novel of the same name. For craft beers, the Brass Monkey has a decent selection and enormous beds to sprawl on while you sip your stout. The Telegraph's top 30 shows to see this year Our picks: Edinburgh International Festival More prestigious and glamorous than the Fringe, the EIF has returned with fewer events than 2024, but still boasting a handful of very exciting premieres. Make It Happen A new play from James Graham (Quiz, Dear England, TV's Sherwood) is always a major event. His latest ripped-from-the-headlines drama looks at the collapse of RBS in the 2008 financial crash. Sandy Grierson stars as disgraced banker Fred 'The Shred' Goodwin, while Succession's Brian Cox – treading the boards in Scotland for the first time in a decade – will appear as the ghost of economist Adam Smith. Festival Theatre, until Aug 9, 2.30pm/7.30pm Mary, Queen of Scots The team behind 2022's EIF hit Coppélia return with a new, punk-tinged dance piece about the Scottish monarch's troubled relationship with Elizabeth I. Festival Theatre, Aug 15-17, various times Orpheus and Eurydice 'The greatest musician in the world' is a tricky role to cast. But if anyone can fill Orpheus's mythical sandals it's terrific counter-tenor Iestyn Davies. He's joined by Australian soprano Samantha Clarke as the doomed Eurydice. Performed in a white box with circus trapeze-work, Opera Australia's striking production of Gluck's haunting tragedy seems to owe a debt to Peter Brook's famous staging of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Edinburgh Playhouse, Aug 13-16, 8pm Faustus in Africa! Christopher Marlowe is having a moment this summer: his influence on Shakespeare has inspired both a major biography by Stephen Greenblatt and a forthcoming RSC play with Ncuti Gatwa. The most promising piece of international theatre at the EIF also has a Marlovian flavour: this is William Kentridge's radical 1995 re-imagining of Dr Faustus, revived with help from Handspring, the puppetry wizards who staged War Horse. Lyceum, Aug 20-23, 7.30pm Figures in Extinction Two of the most exciting talents in contemporary theatre – Complicite's Simon McBurney and Kidd Pivot's Crystal Pite – have collaborated on this new piece for Nederlands Dans Theater, which takes an alarmed look at the state of the world, from melting icecaps to insufferable social media influencers. Festival Theatre, Aug 22-24, various times 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!) Alan Davies: Think Ahead A long overdue return to the stage for the charmingly rumpled, puppyish Jonathan Creek star and QI panellist, kicking off what will be his first stand-up tour in a decade. After the harrowing personal revelations of his 2020 autobiography, might he show a more vulnerable side here? Orchard at Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, July 30-Aug 10, 7.15pm Motorhome Marilyn Soap star Michelle Collins (Eastenders, Coronation Street) makes her Edinburgh debut as an obsessive Marilyn Monroe fan who moves to Hollywood to emulate her idol, in this 1980s-set dark comedy, inspired by a true story. Gilded Balloon Patter House (Downstairs), July 30-Aug 25 (not Aug 13), 5.30pm 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. 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 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 Barney 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 A Letter to Lyndon B Johnson Or God: Whoever Reads This First Xhloe and Natasha – the Fringe's most dynamic theatrical duo – revive their beautifully choreographed 2023 play about childhood and the Vietnam war, in rep with their two previous award-winning two-handers about American archetypes: What if They Ate the Baby, a Lynchian nightmare about 1950s housewives; and And Then The Rodeo Burnt Down, an early-Stoppard-ish, fourth-wall-breaking fable about rodeo clowns. The Space @ Niddry St (Upper Theatre), Aug 2-3, 5-6, 8-9, 12-13, 15-16, 19-20, 22-23, various times 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 Our pick: The Future of Theatre Edinburgh has always been the place to go for new writing. In 1966, audiences who took a chance on the first play by a twenty-something writer discovered the genius of Tom Stoppard; his Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead premiered here. These new plays all look more than worth a punt. Aether A 'disillusioned illusionist' and a physicist hunting for dark matter get mixed up with a murdered mathematician, in the intriguing-sounding second show from TheatreGoose, the company that made a memorable Fringe debut in 2023 with gripping jungle-survival story Her Green Hell. Summerhall (Anatomy Lecture Theatre), July 31-Aug 25 (not Aug 11, 18), 7.15pm Ohio A musician grapples with faith, hope and hearing loss in this piece of autobiographical gig-theatre by award-winning folk duo (and married couple) The Bengsons, from the producers of Baby Reindeer and Fleabag. Assembly Roxy (Upstairs), July 30-Aug 24 (not Aug 11, 18), 3pm Ordinary Decent Criminal Comedian Mark Thomas made an impressive swerve into serious acting at the Fringe with England & Son in 2023. He reunites with its writer, Ed Edwards, for a new prison drama set in the aftermath of the 1990 Strangeways Riot. Summerhall (TechCube 0), July 31-Aug 25 (not Aug 5, 12, 18), 11.50am Monstering the Rocketman by Henry Naylor Elton John's feud with the tabloids is given what sounds like a darkly satirical treatment in this new play from comedian and author Naylor, following his acclaimed Afghanistan Isn't Funny (2023). Pleasance Dome (Ace Dome), July 30-Aug 24, 4.10pm Philosophy of the World The bizarre true story of the Shaggs – three musically challenged girls who were forced to form a 1960s rock band by their father, in order to 'fulfil a prophecy' – looks set to be given a fittingly odd treatment by anarchic theatre troupe In Bed With My Brother. Summerhall (Red Lecture Theatre), July 31-Aug 25 (not Aug 11, 18), 10.45pm Our pick: Only at the Fringe… The Fringe isn't just about discovering the stars of the future; it's also about the bonkers 'happenings' that would never be staged anywhere else. I've had some of the strangest experiences of my life at this festival. I've sat in a cinema at 3am watching a man eat a medically inadvisable amount of cheese. I've been to the infamous gorilla show (or, to give it its full, Ronseal-esque title, A Young Man Dressed as a Gorilla Dressed as an Old Man Sits Rocking in a Rocking-Chair for Fifty-Six Minutes Then Leaves), a cult hit now in its 16th year. Out of the shows below, I have seen and can sincerely recommend Mythos and The Gummy Bears' Great War. As for the others, well, I'm just glad to know they exist. Mythos: Ragnarök The entire canon of Norse Mythology – from the creation of the universe to the world-ending battle of the Gods – is reimagined as a series of chest-thumping, ring-shaking, WWE-style slam downs by a troupe of pro wrestlers. Must be seen to be believed. Underbelly's Circus Hub on the Meadows (The Lafayette), Aug 1-23 (not Aug 11, 18), 8.40pm Attila the Stockbroker's Early Music Show If you were a young punk who now prefers a bit of Purcell at the Proms, you'll probably enjoy this unlikely lecture on musicianship, from the middle ages to the Renaissance, delivered by a punk poet who found a fanbase alongside the likes of John Cooper Clarke in the 1980s. Expect to hear a demonstration of the dulcet tones of the crumhorn, the rauschpfeife and the sausage bassoon. St Cecilia's Hall (Concert Room), Aug 12 & 22, 2pm The Gummy Bears' Great War A bite-sized 30-minute satire on the madness of war, performed by edible ursine confections on a tabletop, and set to the heart-soaring strains of Tchaikovsky. In Italian, with subtitles and plastic dinosaurs. It left me equally charmed and confused. Zoo Playground (Playground 3), Aug 1-24 (not Aug 13), 3pm Up Your Ass A curio for art-history fans. We remember that Valerie Solanas shot Andy Warhol, but we forget the source of her grudge against him: he refused to produce her avant-garde play 'Up Your Ass', a shockingly filthy comedy about prostitution. The script was lost for decades, then rediscovered in 1999, and now finally makes its UK premiere. It's being staged at brunch-time, and possibly best seen on an empty stomach. Zoo Southside (Main House), Aug 12-24 (not Aug 18), 11:30am Robot Vacuum Fight Club Love Robot Wars? Hate Roombas? This is the show for you. Off-brand motorised vacuum cleaners are hot-wired and rebuilt as Mad Max-style murder-vehicles, forced to battle each other for the amusement of a baying crowd. When the AI revolution arrives, ChatGPT will surely cite this show as a justification for wiping us out. Outhouse Bar (The Loft), Aug 10-11, 17-18, 24-25, 8pm
