In comedy, appearing alongside festival favourites David O’Doherty, Susie McCabe and Fern Brady (previously announced), will be more big names including Rich Hall, Frankie Boyle, Nish Kumar, and Simon Evans, plus Irish comedians Des Bishop, Stephen Mullan fresh from Love Island Australia, and Neil Delamere - star of BBC’s The Blame Game, Fighting Talk and The News Quiz.   

2022 also welcomes actor and stand-up comedian Andy Field, Julia Masli with her first solo show, the return of Isabelle Farrah, and hilarious rehearsal conductor Boorish Trumpson (who debuted in 2021); and from Melbourne International Comedy Festival - nominee for Most Oustanding Show and winner of the Directors’ Choice Award at the Sydney Comedy Festival 2021 Michelle Brasier; and 2019 Pinder Prize winner Sam Taunton.  

Drag icon Kate Butch joins Assembly this year with her new show Wuthering Shites, as does Séayoncé with their new occult classic, Res-Erection. Plus, there is late-night comedy from Adelaide Fringe favourites Liars and Clowns; Clive Anderson’s live podcast My Seven Wonders; a raucous Adults Only Magic Show from duo Sam and Justin - ‘The Penn & Teller’ of Australia; New Zealand’s only popsters Two Hearts with We’re Pregnant And The Baby is Music;  Crizards - the Wild West’s rootin’ and tootin’ award-winning comedy duo (Will Rowland & Eddy Hare) with their new show Cowboys; and Assembly’s very own late-night Fringe comedy institution ‘Best of the Fest’ at Assembly Hall.   

In cabaret we welcome the return of smash-hit Fascinating Aida (Dillie Keane, Adèle Anderson and Liza Pulman); queer cabaret artist Aidan Sadler with Tropicana which debuted at the Fringe last year; America’s Got Talent semi-finalist Dom Chambers with his solo show Fake Wizard; fresh from their sell-out Soho run An Evening Without Kate Bush; and Britain’s Got Talent finalist Magical Bones with Soulful Magic. Plus, there’s Assembly’s hot ticket Gala on Wed 3 August which kickstarts the Festival with a snapshot of some of the best acts from our 2022 programme; and Best of the Fest Daytime – offering festival-goers, good clean comedy and new line-ups every lunchtime.  

From our dance and circus programme, joining the unmissable The Black Blues Brothers and FLIP Fabrique’s premiere of Muse, are one of the Taiwanese season of shows Light of Life; Head First Acrobats’ western-themed circus spectacular Railed; and drop dead gorgeous combining movement, clowning and a shedload of sticky fruit.  

In music, Massaoke returns with their biggest and best late-night smash-hit party Rockstar Weekend; and internationally renowned jazz singer-pianist Jeremy Sassoon and his foot-stomping band celebrate the music of famous Jewish musicians including Gershwin, Winehouse, Bacharach and Dylan. 

In theatre, there is a fantastic programme of international and UK work to look forward to this year, including Jon Culshaw as comedy legend Les Dawson in Flying High from BAFTA and Olivier Award winning writer Tim Whitnall and director Bob Golding; soaring melodies, big beats and heart-stopping spoken word in The Gods The Gods The Gods from Wright & Grainger - the brilliance behind smash hits Orpheus and Eurydice; Flabbergast Theatre with a new visceral interpretation of The Tragedy of Macbeth; a hilarious cinematic shadow puppet show Space Hippo from Japan; queer-rom com Confetti from Will Jackson; Looking For Me Friend: The Music of Victoria Wood a touching tribute to Victoria Wood from BBC1’s All Together Now star Paulus; Brian Quirk’s award-winning play Marrow about a journey inside a queer artist’s mind as he learns to heal; and Ram of God - part religious cult sermon, part rock concert and one of the many shows in our 2022 programme that were part of our 2021 digital season.  

From the US there is Gaulier graduate Sam Kruger’s award-winning show Fool Muun Komming! [BeBgWunderful/YEsyes/ Hi5.4sure.TruLuv;Spank Spank:SOfun_Grate_Times] which is part sci-fi, part acid-fuelled mime and performance art; and actor, director and playwright Priyanka Shetty’s one woman show The Elephant in the Room about an Indian woman who struggles to find her way in America.  

This year’s historical theatre shows include Alison Skilback’s critically acclaimed one-woman show Mrs Roosevelt Flies to London; Smokescreen Productions’ play about missing secret agents S.O.E. set in allied occupied Germany; and Earwig about a deaf woman whose entomology research is ignored amidst all the noise of the 1920s’ flappers’ era. 

Two out of the three Assembly Roxy Theatre (ART) Award winners from 2020 will finally go on sale including Sandcastles a deeply poetic play about friendship and forms of grief by Edinburgh born Steve McMahon, directed by Brite Theatre’s Kolburn Bjort Sigfusdottir; and She Wolf – a powerful one-woman play about interspecies, interaction and gender/class politics in a ‘survival of the fittest’ society by Scottish playwright, director and performer Isla Cowan. 

For younger audiences there are new shows and returning favourites joining us this year including US sell-out The Adventures of Sleepyhead part of our 2021 digital programme making a welcome return; crazy Canadian circus act Brotipo; Arty’s Ani-Magination - a new show for animal lovers everywhere about a girl who dreams that everyone around her has turned into an animal; Strictly Come Barking about a homeless dog and a lonely old man who enter the world of ballroom dancing; award-winning ensemble Quick Duck, back with their 5-star show Fashion Spies!; Prehysterical ‘the show that rocks’ about three Neanderthals in the harsh natural world; Jarred Christmas and world champion Beatboxer Hobbit in The Return of the Mighty Kids Beatbox Comedy Show; and direct from Australia The Greatest Magic Show an award-winning must-see for all the family. 

William Burdett-Coutts, Artistic Director of Assembly Festival said: “This incredible line-up of shows illustrates the enormous enthusiasm there is from artists to return to Edinburgh this August. After two very difficult years for our industry, it is wonderful to see how much the Festival has been missed by so many local and international performers who have been longing to return with their new work and Fringe favourite 5-star shows. We really hope audiences will come back to the festival in their droves and have a fantastic time, so that Fringe 2022 can once again be seen the world-over as THE leading cultural celebration of live performance.”   

the festival runs from 3-29 August 2022 . Tickets for all performances are available at www.assemblyfestival.com or by calling 0131 623 3030.