Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Jessica Fostekew has announced she will be heading out on a brand-new live tour in 2026 with Iconic Breath. Jessica is set to kick off the tour in Norwich on 13th February 2026. She will perform at venues across the UK before concluding in Swanage, her hometown, on 16th May. The tour will follow Jessica’s highly anticipated return to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this August.

Pre-sale tickets are available from today 28th May with general on sale taking place at 10am Friday 30th May and will be available from www.plosive.co.uk.

Since debuting at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2011, Jessica has garnered international recognition as a tour de force on the comedy scene. With a string of smash-hit shows behind her and TV appearances including on QI and Live At The Apollo.

Iconic Breath is a monster’s guide to tolerance and temperance. Jessica can feel herself becoming an emotional wildebeest right when her world (and the whole world, thanks) demands cool, collected ultra detached saint-like kindness and understanding. S**t. The show finds Jessica digging around in her DNA for answers where finds so many beautiful horrors. She gets cancelled, she gets touched, and she gets a dolphin-based epiphany all in one show. The silliest of comedy for the scariest of days. 

As Jessica wrestles with how to stay sane (and vaguely nice) in a world that’s on fire - where opinions calcify and empathy is in short supply, can Jess resist her inherited rage? Should she? This show explores personality - how it’s shaped and how it’s warped. One side of the family tree is held up by a serene, resilient Nana; the other, by a father so angry he once picked a fight with a prawn. Between them? Jessica. There’s existential dread, reluctant self-reflection, accidental romance at airport security, and a chance encounter with a sensei half-way through a Hyrox. 

Jessica’s following keeps growing and Iconic Breath marks the next bold chapter in a career that continues to go from strength to strength. With podcasts, TV appearances and a coveted comedy award nomination, this show promises to be a highlight of this year’s Edinburgh Fringe.

Jessica said: “All my forces have gone into building this new show. It’s the funniest show I’ve ever written and I honestly cannot wait to take it out and show it off“

Jessica Fostekew is a comedian, writer, and podcaster with an unmistakable voice and unstoppable energy. She’s the creator and co-host of Contender Ready, the Gladiators fan podcast, alongside Olympic weightlifting powerhouse Emily Campbell. On screen, Jess has appeared on panel shows including QI, Celebrity University Challenge, and Richard Osman’s House of Games as well as taking to the stage on Live at the Apollo. She’s also appeared on Travel Man (Channel 4), World’s Most Dangerous Roads (Dave), and Celebrity Pointless (BBC One). A regular voice on BBC Radio 4, Jess has featured on The News Quiz, Evil Genius, Great Lives, and she has created two acclaimed series of her own show about women in ‘unladylike sports’, Sturdy Girl Club. Podcast fans will know her as the creator and host of The Hoovering Podcast, and as a long-time co-host of The Guilty Feminist. Jess's acting credits include the award-winning feature film Scrapper, as well as roles in Motherland, Cuckoo, The Trouble with Maggie Cole, Official Secrets, and Halo.

Picture by Matt Stronge

TOUR DATES:

FEBRUARY 2026
13.02.26                NORWICH            PLAYHOUSE
20.02.26                CAMBRIDGE        JUNCTION 2
21.02.26                OXFORD               THE NORTH WALL
22.02.26                LEICESTER             THE Y THEATRE (LEICESTER COMEDY FESTIVAL)
26.02.26                BRIGHTON            CORN EXCHANGE
28.02.26                READING              SOUTH STREET

MARCH 2026
05.03.26                ALDERSHOT          WEST END CENTRE
06.03.26                NOTTINGHAM     ARTS THEATRE
10.03.26                NEWCASTLE         THE STAND
11.03.26                EDINBURGH         MONKEY BARREL
12.03.26                GLASGOW           THE STAND
15.03.26                BRISTOL                 OLD VIC
20.03.26                POCKLINGTON   ARTS CENTRE
21.03.26                LANCASTER          THE DUKES
22.03.26                SALFORD              LOWRY QUAYS
26.03.26                CANTERBURY       THE MARLOWE (ON SALE 4TH AUGUST)
27.03.26                EASTLEIGH            THE POINT
28.03.26                COLCHESTER       ARTS CENTRE

APRIL 2026
09.04.26                BATH                      RONDO
10.04.26                CARDIFF                CABARET (ON SALE 20TH JUNE)
11.04.26                CORSHAM           POUND ARTS CENTRE

16.04.26                LEEDS                     CITY VARIETIES
17.04.26                HULL                       HULL TRUCK THEATRE (ON SALE 1ST JULY)
22.04.26                PLYMOUTH           QUAD THEATRE
23.04.26                TAUNTON              BREWHOUSE
24.04.26                EXETER                   NORTHCOTT
25.04.26                SWINDON             ARTS CENTRE

MAY 2026
01.05.26                BIRMINGHAM      MAC
15.05.26                LONDON              LEICESTER SQUARE THEATRE
16.05.26                SWANAGE            THE MOWLEM