The best shows to see at Edinburgh Fringe 2025

The world's biggest arts festival is back with an incredible line-up

Desiree Burch on stage during stand-up show.
The American stand-up and actor Desiree Burch: 'always compelling and thoughtful'
(Image credit: Matt Crossick / Alamy)

"There's nothing quite like the Edinburgh Fringe Festival," said Andrzej Lukowski in Time Out. With more than 3,000 shows to choose from, spanning everything from comedy to cabaret, "flicking through the phonebook-like Fringe programme can be more than a little daunting".

The giant arts festival is returning to the Scottish capital from 1-25 August 2025, so it's time to start planning your trip. Here are some of the best shows to look out for.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More

Irenie Forshaw is a features writer at The Week, covering arts, culture and travel. She began her career in journalism at Leeds University, where she wrote for the student newspaper, The Gryphon, before working at The Guardian and The New Statesman Group. Irenie then became a senior writer at Elite Traveler, where she oversaw The Experts column.