Gilded Balloon has announced a huge roster of legendary names to celebrate its 40th anniversary this August. The Edinburgh-owned venue will welcome Alan Davies, Rosie O’Donnell, Smack the Pony, Caroline Rhea, Fred MacAulay, BBC Newscast and a special In Conversation series to three venue hubs this summer as Gilded Balloon mark 40 years of top talent and celebrate the very best in comedy with almost 200 shows.
Renowned as the Fringe’s original home of comedy, Gilded Balloon was founded in 1986 by Karen Koren, meaning this summer the female and family run business will celebrate 40 years at the world’s biggest arts festival. The venue has played host to acts from Bill Bailey to Hannah Gadsby, Peter Kay, Tim Minchin, Maisie Adam, Jo Brand and many more, evolving from a one studio theatre with seven shows a day, to its current 18 venues in three hubs, and 197 shows.
Acts from across four decades of Gilded Balloon programming will descend on Edinburgh this August to mark the anniversary, as mainstays of the comedy scene return to join the very best rising talent including: Alan Davies’ first Fringe show in 10 years, Rosie O’Donnell’s first ever Edinburgh Fringe show, a Smack the Pony reunion, In Conversation series featuring Jenny Eclair, Michelle McManus and a Two Doors Down reunion for Kieran Hodgson and Doon Mackichan, a comeback for Gilded Balloon’s hit 90s show Women in Comedy and even a Donald Trump musical parody.
Karen and Katy Koren, Artistic Directors of Gilded Balloon said, “We can’t believe it’s been 40 years since Gilded Balloon first presented shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, from small beginnings in the Cowgate. We’re so proud to still be working with some of the most exciting acts in the country at the world’s biggest arts festival. To mark our 40th anniversary, we’ve revisited our archive to revive iconic shows like Women in Comedy, and invite back some of Gilded’s closest friends and success stories like Alan Davies and Jenny Eclair, as well as a Fringe debut for the inimitable Rosie O’Donnell. We’re thrilled to throw back to the heyday of British sketch comedy with the likes of Smack the Pony and Oblivion Boys.”
Alan Davies said, “The Gilded Balloon is my home from home at the Fringe so I’m delighted to be in their programme for my first Fringe show since their 30th anniversary in 2015. I never come to the festival without seeing something or doing something at Gilded Balloon - it’s an incredible achievement to run so many venues for so many decades while still championing the quirky, risky, bonkers Fringe shows we all love.”
Doon Mackichan, Fiona Allen and Sally Phillips of Smack the Pony said, "This is slightly surreal because it's 24 years since we finished - we’re not old comedy, we now qualify as vintage, which is cool. Is it?”
"Because we always talk sketch ideas when we get together, on some level it’s almost as if Smack the Pony never really stopped - that it just kept going in some parallel universe. So it feels like Gilded Balloon is some kind of portal and we’ll be popping into catch up with Series 26. We're very grateful to have this chance to hang out and take the piss out of ourselves again - we’ve missed it!"
Rosie O’Donnell said, “I'm beyond excited for my first Fringe Festival! I'm thankful to be a part of this historic gathering of artists of all shapes and sizes - I'm so happy to be included and hope you can stop by and say hello!”
English comedian, actor, writer and presenter Alan Davies will return to Fringe for the first time in 10 years, with brand new show Think Ahead. The QI panellist and Jonathan Creek star first appeared on Gilded Balloon’s stage back in 1994, and will now address life as a ‘late middle-aged stand-up’ on tour, ahead of releasing his new memoir this autumn.
An 11-time Tony and Emmy award winner, American talk show host, comedian and actress, Rosie O’Donnell will make her Edinburgh Fringe debut after recently moving to Ireland from the USA. Her brand new hour Here & Now will reflect on her life and extraordinary career, with Rosie’s signature blend of heart, humour and honesty. Starting her stand-up career over 45 years ago, The Rosie O’Donnell Show ran for eight years, winning multiple Daytime Emmy Awards with Rosie’s Fringe debut sure to be a huge hit.
One of British comedy’s most iconic sketch shows, Smack the Pony will see Fiona Allen, Doon Mackichan and Sally Phillips get Back in the Saddle. The comedy legends will join broadcaster Kirsty Wark to take a deep dive into the Emmy award winning show, revisit favourite sketches and unveil new surprises from the Ponies. Gilded Balloon will also resurrect one of its hit shows from the 90s - Women in Comedy - featuring powerhouse comedians who have made their mark on the Fringe over the past 40 years. Daily line-ups will feature women and marginalised gender comics as the show laughs in the face of anyone who ever said women weren't funny!
To mark the historic anniversary, some of the Fringe’s most famous faces will come together for 40 Years of Fringe, an in conversation series featuring comedian Jenny Eclair, broadcaster Michelle McManus and a special Two Doors Down reunion conversation for Doon Mackichan and Kieran Hodgson.
Hit BBC news podcast Newcast will make its Gilded Balloon debut as host Adam Fleming welcomes special guests to discuss the big news of the day, Aunt Hilda herself heads to the Fringe as Canadian comedian and actress Caroline Rhea showcases a new hour, whilst one of Scotland’s premier comedians Fred MacAulay returns with No Podcast - LIVE! Award winning blind Glaswegian comedian Jamie MacDonald will perform his new hour, plus TV’s Kaye Adams and her filter-free pal Karen Mackenzie discover How to Be 60 in a riotous live show.
80s comedy double act Oblivion Boys will reunite once more as Stephen Frost and Mark Arden, from cult classics The Young Ones and Blackadder, are joined by Brenda Gilhooley as fan-favourite character Gayle Tuesday. Michelle Brasier and Chloe Petts host Comedians On Stage Auditioning for Musicals, a sell-out late-night cult show fresh from Melbourne Comedy Festival where a line-up of comedians audition for a fictional theatre group, plus, Matt Forde’s Political Party will once again welcome top guests from the world of politics.
As always, Gilded Balloon’s programme features a host of rising Scottish talent with debut solo shows from West Coast comedians including Amanda Hursy and Hannah Morton, as well as hard-hitting theatre from Scottish theatre company Tatty Pants Theatre with 24Weeks, which explores a not-so-distant UK transformed by anti-abortion politics. A Play, A Pie and A Pint hit show Faye’s Red Lines will star River City actress Gail Watson, with award winning writer Ian Pattison from BBC’s Rab C Nesbitt, at the helm.
Hal Cruttenden and Ronni Ancona join forces for In Pieces, a podcast where they seek help from celebrity guests on dealing with performance jitters, whilst smash hit and award winning one-man musical Little Squirt tells the hilarious and heartfelt story of sperm donation.
In addition to this year’s special 40th anniversary programming, Gilded Balloon will welcome a pitch-perfect roster of musicals including: Kath and Kim drag parody Fountain Lakes in Lockdown, Five: The Parody Musical which features the five leading ladies of Donald Trump’s life from Ivanka to Stormy following a successful off-Broadway run, and Vagabond Skies will paint Van Gogh in a new light as the stunning new musical uses real-life letters between the artist and his brother to examine his tragic life.
Gilded Balloon’s 40th anniversary Fringe programme will operate across a pink-tastic Patter House (3 Chambers Street), the National Museum of Scotland (Lothian Street) and Appleton Tower (11 Crichton Street) at the centre of the capital’s Fringe buzz, whilst Teviot Row House undergoes continued renovations.
Gilded Balloon’s famous ‘Pals in Pink’ staff will welcome audiences from around the world as all three venues are transformed into fabulously pink homes of creativity, art and wall-to-wall comedy for the month of August. From international comedians, rising stars, groundbreaking theatre, spellbinding magic shows and wild and wonderful kids shows, Gilded Balloon’s 2025 venues have something for everyone.
Gilded Balloon shows take place from 30th July - 25th August
Alan Davies, Rosie O’Donnell and Smack the Pony on sale from 12pm Friday 2nd May
Full programme on sale from 12pm on Tuesday 6th May
