Edinburgh Fringe Guide 2022
The Shows I Think Deserve a Combination of Your Time/Attention/$$$ at the Edinburgh Fringe
With the 75th annual Edinburgh Fringe set to kick off in two weeks, it’s officially time to break out one of my favorite annual traditions. As far as yearly rituals go, it ranks right up there with filling out a March Madness bracket, judging everyone else’s Spotify Wrapped, and isitchristmas.com finally reading, “YES” on December 25th.
That’s right! The time has come to scour the Festival’s website, comb through reviews on websites like Chortle, The Scotsman, and The Guardian, and research the winners/nominees for all the major awards at the most recent Edinburgh Fringe, Adelaide Fringe, and Melbourne International Comedy Festivals, all in a massive effort to determine which shows to see when I’m there for the final week of Fringe1.
Longtime readers might remember the 2018 and 2019 Google Doc versions of this Guide. There was no festival in 2020 for obvious reasons, and hardly anyone went to last year’s abridged version, what with the Delta of it all.
But this year, the Fringe is B-A-C-K!2
Hopefully the Festival’s return – not unlike like the Warriors winning the NBA title again – augers a greater return to some semblance of normalcy in the world.
Many of the past nominees and winners of the Best Newcomer and Best Comedy awards have gone on to enjoy major success in various entertainment vehicles.
Had you been to the Fringe in 2005, you could have seen a free show featuring a guy named Lin-Manuel doing hip-hop improv called Freestyle Love Supreme.
In 2010, you might have seen a skinny kid named Bo performing Words, Words Words.
In 2013, you could have caught Phoebe Waller-Bridge doing a solo show called Fleabag.
In 2017, you could have seen the world premiere of Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss’ SIX: The Musical, which went on to be nominated for 8 Tony’s in 2021, winning two.
I could go on and on.
It’s partly stock-picking, partly a crapshoot, and a lot of seeing a show completely on a whim because you overheard someone raving about it in the adjacent urinal stall.
So without further ado, here is my Annual List of Shows I Think Deserve a Combination of Your Time/Attention/$$$ at the Edinburgh Fringe™.
Must-See Solo Shows (Full-Length Run)
Sam Campbell: Comedy Show (Aug 15-28)
Show Blurb: “I hope you do not mind but this show will pretty much just involve me going up there and being nice with it”.
Here’s a full recording of his most recent show, The Trough, which won the Barry at the 2019 MICF.
Recent set from the 2022 MICF Gala
Jordan Brookes: This Is Just What Happens
His 2017 show (Body of Work) was nominated for Best Comedy, and his 2019 show (I’ve Got Nothing) won the whole thing. So technically he’s still the defending champion of the Edinburgh Comedy Award.
Rhys Nicholson: Rhys! Rhys! Rhys!
Just won Best Comedy (formerly the Barry award) with this show at the 2022 Melbourne International Comedy Festival (MICF) in April.
Lightning quick Aussie comic with a razor-sharp wit that’s always a step ahead of the audience. A great deal of fun to spend an hour with.
Mat Ewins: Danger Money
Categorized under “light opera, acrobatics”, I can’t say for certain I know what his show will be like this year, but his 2017 Best Comedy nominated show (Adventureman 7: The Return of Adventureman) was a roller coaster ride of an hour. He tends to do high-concept, multimedia laugh-a-minute shows that blow you away with how good he is at structuring jokes, coding interactive games, and so much more.
His most recent show was called “Actually Can I Have Eight Tickets Please?”, which tells you everything you need to know.
Randy Feltface: Alien of Extraordinary Ability (puppetry, stand-up)
I caught a preview of this in Brooklyn a few weeks back. Just exceptional.
Stewart Lee: Basic Lee (WIP)
Tom Walker: Javelin
Show Blurb: “Award-winning physical comedian Tom Walker has written a love letter to the sport and spear that share a name: the humble javelin. That most noble of pursuits: throwing something very far”.
Check out his physical comedy special, Very Very, on Amazon Prime.
He’s also blown up a bit on TikTok lately, and has the most unique Twitch presence of anyone I know.
Must-See Shows with Limited Runs
A Young Man Dressed as a Gorilla Dressed as an Old Man Sits Rocking in a Rocking Chair for 56 Minutes and Then Leaves... (Wed. 8/10, 3:00 PM)
One night only. This is the show I think of when I think of the Fringe.
A.J. Holmes and Caitlin Cook: Fake Birthday (Wed. 8/17)
Catherine Cohen: one-night-only of her 2019 Best Newcomer winning show, The Twist…? She’s Gorgeous (Fri. Aug 12th)
Dave Malloy’s Ghost Quartet (Aug 16-20)
King of the Table (5, 12, 19 & 26 Aug)
Sam Campbell and Ray Badran host a ping pong tournament with Phil Wang as the ballboy and Mark Silcox as the referee.
Jack Tucker: Comedy Standup Hour (8/14, 8/21, 8/28)
Stamptown Comedy Night (Aug 11-13, 18-20, 25-27)
Consistently the best curation of talent across a wide variety of genres (comedy, music, cabaret, dance, burlesque, magic, music)
VARIETY SHOWS
Shows like Stamptown, Late’n’Live, Spank! and ACMS are great because you can maximize the number of acts you see. Also, when someone only gets 5-10 minutes of stage time, it usually means they’re doing their absolute best material, or are working on something brand new to test out – both of which are a delight to watch. 1-2 acts might bomb, but 2-3 will become people whose full shows you end up seeing.
For the record, ACMS also has their own set of recommendations that are probably more spot-on and comprehensive than some outdated yankee’s.
The Stamptown Cinematic Universe
BriTANicK (sketch comedy)
Business Casual: FERAL (sketch comedy)
Caitlin Cook: The Writing on the Stall (bathroom stall graffiti inspired music)
Emily Wilson: FiXed (solo show about being a contestant on The X-Factor)
Jake Cornell and Marcia Belsky: Man and Woman (theatre, satire)
Jordan Gray: Is It a Bird? (stand-up, cabaret)
Kylie Brakeman: Linda Hollywood's Big Hollywood Night (sketch, absurdist)
Mark Silcox: I Can Cure... [Perfect and Arena-Ready Show] (stand-up)
I got to see New York previews of Business Casual, Caitlin, and Emily’s shows, and arrogantly recommend all of them.
People I just fucking love:
Catherine Cohen: Work in Progress
Daniel Sloss: Work in Progress
Garry Starr: Greece Lightning
Garry Starr Performs Everything was a hit of Fringe circuit’s past, so I can’t wait to see what Damien’s cooked up next for this hack-of-all-trades.
Hannah Pilkes: Woman on the Verge
Saw a preview of this as well, Hannah makes me laugh as hard as anyone out there. She’s also a consistent stand-out on all lineup shows.
John-Luke Roberts: A World Just Like Our Own, But...
Show Blurb: “There’s a world just like our own, but there isn’t a word for sand. There’s a world just like our own, but the keys on pianos are in random order so pianists really have to work for it. There’s a world just like our own, but Edith Piaf regretted five things. JLR returns with a new stand-up show about the worlds we don’t live in, which is secretly actually about the one we do”.
He had a show a few years ago entitled, All I Wanna Do Is [FX: GUNSHOTS] With A [FX: GUN RELOADING] And A [FX: CASH REGISTER] And Perform Some Comedy! Need I say more?
Lauren Pattison: It Is What It Is
An absolutely lovely person to listen to for an hour.
Phil Wang: The Real Hero in All This
Show Blurb: “Hot off the heels of his critically acclaimed Netflix special, Philly Philly Wang Wang, Phil's bringing his highly infective British-Malaysian variant of comedy to the Edinburgh Fringe once more. Phil's last show in Edinburgh was in 2019, so immunity to his charm has faded significantly. Thank goodness he's back with a new hour of absolute gold about race, family and everything that's been going on in his Philly little life. Your doctor called – you’re due for your next dose of Wang”.
Rob Broderick: Discography
Irish freestyle rapper who improvises his whole show. If you like Harry Mack, Marc Rebillet, or Freestyle Love Supreme, this show is for you.
People I haven’t seen but am keen to:
Aurie Styla: Green, Patti Harrison, Shelf: Hair, Tarot: Cautionary Tales
2018 EdFringe Best Newcomer Winner & Nominees:
Ciaran Dowd: King Rodolfo (WINNER)
Sarah Keyworth: Lost Boy, Olga Koch: Just Friends, Sara Barron: Hard Feelings, Maisie Adam: Buzzed
Shows With Great Titles:
Ange Lavoipierre: I've Got 99 Problems and Here's an Exhaustive List of Them
Dan Kelly: How I Came Third in the North Korean Marathon
Directed by Joseph Morpurgo, who I adore
Movin' Melvin Brown: A Man, A Magic, A Music
Seymour Mace Presents Captain Winky's F*ck Off Olympics
Glenn Moore: Will You Still Need Me, Will You Still Feed Me, Glenn I'm Sixty Moore
Aussies Bringing Barry-Nominated Shows:
Danielle Walker: Nostalgia (2022)
Laura Davis: If This Is It (2022)
Michelle Brasier: Average Bear (2021)
Nikki Britton: One Small Step (2021)
Venues Where Stuff is Generally More Likely to Be Good:
110% John Kearns and Pat Cahill (Aug 22-23)
John Kearns: Varnishing Days (WIP), Pat Cahill: Work in Progress
Lou Sanders: One Word: Wow
Luke Rollason: Bowerbird
MC Hammersmith: One Man Eight Mile
also hosting Jordan Brookes, Laura Davis, and Mark Silcox
The Stand (Stewart Lee, Seymour Mace, Simon Munnery)
Blundabus (a literal bus)
Underbelly Cowgate / George Square:
Abandoman, Garry Starr, Sami Abu Wardeh, Spank!
names that caught my eye: Chris Gethard, Elf Lyons, Kevin Quantum, Sarah Squirm (SNL), Janeane Garofalo, Marcel Lucont
The Gaullier Clownematic Universe:
Josh Glanc: Vrooom Vrooom
Julia Masli: CHOOSH!!
Sami Abu Wardeh: Bedu
Siblings: Siblage
Viggo Venn:
The truest clown of them all. No show info because he forgot to submit the admin in time for the festival deadline. Can’t wait to see it :)
Friends of the Mailing List:
Ben Miller: Stand Up Science
Darius Emadi: Hot Ticket
Check out my interview with Darius about clowning a while back HERE
Evan Desmarais: Come See
Lauren Gamiel: One Single Thread
Laugh Mob: Alcohol is Good For You
Enemies of the Mailing List:
Kyle Legacy: The LeBron James of Comedy
Can’t find any showtime/ticket info for the self-appointed Crowdwork King, but I’ll spare roasting him about this since he can’t read anyways.
Zach Zucker: Spectacular Industry Showcase
Other General Best Practices:
This list is just a guide, not an itinerary. Don’t feel like you have to see all (or any) of these shows. Ultimately everything comes down to personal taste.
Listen for what shows have word-of-mouth / buzz. WOM will forever be the best form of advertising because it comes from someone with no vested interest.
Keep your ears open and hands empty when walking around the festival hubs.
The “Big 4” (Gilded Balloon, Assembly, Underbelly, Pleasance) venue conglomerates usually have a lot of shows that get nominated/win awards
I personally tend to reward good ad copy and poster design, hence why I shared some stand-out blurbs and show titles. I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but the Advertising major in me feels like these elements are moderately predictive of a show’s attention to detail, aesthetic, and quality.
It is often a better use of time to see a one-star show than a three-star show.
Timeslots are semi-indicative of the show’s quality / likelihood of selling out.
I’d also just generally rather see a comedy show at 8:15 PM than noon.
Don’t be afraid to let a charming uni student talk you into seeing their show, instead of whatever you had planned in your agenda. It’s how I’ve seen a lot of great shows, and more importantly, made some lifelong friends.
So yeah, I’m pumped. If you’re going to be there at all, please let me know.
Happy Fringe!
and yes, I’m single
at least, until the monkeypox rips through the festival like a California wildfire :)