The Pleasance Theatre has announced its first batch of Edinburgh Fringe shows. Now entering its 42nd year at the heart of the world’s largest arts festival, the Pleasance will once again present a programme of comedy, theatre and dance across its iconic venues; the Courtyard, Dome and EICC, showcasing some of the most exciting productions at this year’s Fringe.
Pleasance is renowned for its world class comedy, and this year is no different. Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee and cult favourite Joseph Morpurgo returns with his new show Highlander 70, showcasing his tried and tested multilayered comedy experience. Sophie Duker, is also back with a beefy hour about sex and privilege in Hot Beef Injection; she’s back on her bullshit and, this time she’s done with dudes. Taskmaster star and BAFTA nominee Rosie Jones arrives with her loveable blend of cheek and charm in I Can’t Tell What She’s Saying.
Sky Arts Award-winning comedian Elf Lyons (pictured) brings Elf Lyons is The Woman on the Edge, her completely normal, autobiographical (and in no way complex), observational stand-up show about love. Melbourne and Edinburgh Comedy Award-nominated star Olga Koch (pictured bottom) is set to comb through recent history in an immersive, genre-defying new show Fat Tom Cruise. Jordan Brookes, the award-winning Elvis of comedy continues his residency at the gates of Hell with his new show The Part of You That’s Always Screaming, inspired by an absolutely shocking incident on a train.
Back to shine a light in the political darkness, Guinness World Record-holder NewsRevue delivers razor-sharp musical sketches and satire to look at a world losing its marbles with felon presidents wreaking havoc, royals stripped of titles and AI on the rise 100% new material every year. Being the place to catch the most exciting newcomers of comedy, Pleasance also showcases BBC New Comedy Award finalist and 2025 Pleasance Comedy Reserve alum Maia Tassalini, who channels the muse (Monica Lewinsky) in I Was 22 and Stunning, boldly asking the question on everyone’s lips: is there anything more cursed than being 22 and stunning? Also, a 2025 Pleasance Comedy Reserve alum, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown’s Dane Buckley is the world’s only Irish, Indian, gay comedian (probably) and you can expect camp mischief in his debut hour about Irish mammies, Indian grannies and his archenemy: the parish priest.
Chicken Shop Date co-writer and BBC New Comedy Award nominee, Dom McGovern comes to the stage with Prize Hog, a show about bodies, blokes and b’something else. Returning to Pleasance this summer is the international sell-out cult-hit sensation Garry Starr: Classic Penguins, ready for more ‘euphoric chaos’ (The Metro). Hell-bent on saving books from extinction by performing every Penguin Classic ever written, Garry Starr takes audiences on a literary adventure through the world’s most iconic novels. An unforgettable show, mostly naked but with flippers! The sell-out improv shows are back at Pleasance for 2026! Kiell Smith-Bynoe (Ghosts, Taskmaster) returns with his smash-hit Kool Story Bro, introducing a celebrity guest every night, a cast of the UK’s best improvisers and stories from the audience to inspire the comedy.
David Elms Describes a Room sees veteran improviser Elms, together with his audience, build a comedy mind palace before your very eyes. Olivier Award-winning West End smash hit Showstopper! The Improvised Musical will once again improvise a hilarious new musical every show, totally inspired by the audience. Paul Merton and Suki Webster’s Improv Show is back for another year of fabulously funny improvised games, scenes, stories and laugh-out-load surrealism.
Making its return to the EICC for its tenth season at the Fringe is the acclaimed immersive rewiring of Irvine Welsh’s classic Trainspotting Live, making the audience part of the action and including the notorious ‘worst toilet in Scotland’ scene. Entering its 21st successful year in the Cabaret Bar, Best of Edinburgh Showcase offers a lunchtime comedy club showcasing your established favourites and rising stars from across the Fringe with a new line-up daily. Pleasance also wouldn’t be Pleasance without its much-loved Fringe staple Tartan Ribbon Comedy Benefit giving us the best night of comedy at the Fringe and raising much-needed funds for Waverley Care, Scotland’s HIV and Hepatitis C charity.
From the Olivier award-winning producers of Cabaret and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Bliss – set to be the biggest new musical of the Fringe – turns the fairy tale inside out. In a faraway land, four sisters escape their tower, fairy godfathers rule and happy endings come at a cost. With seventeen West End performers, electric vocals and a pop-rock punch, Bliss is a fearless musical about ripping up the rule book and the price of perfection. Direct from the Las Vegas Strip, prepare to question everything with Hoax, the brand-new show from Colin Cloud.
With many more incredible shows to be announced, this is only the start of Pleasance’s outstanding programme for Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026.
Tickets for all shows are available at www.pleasance.co.uk and 020 7609 1800.
