The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is back for 2023, and this year the month-long festival is spanning from 4 August to 28 August.
This will be the 5th time I’ll be attending the comedy festival, and I’ve already painstakingly gone through the Edinburgh Fringe 2023 programme to work out my schedule and cram in as many acts as I can. From Monday 14 August to Saturday 19 August, I’m going in for an intense week of comedy, and so you don’t have to do the same hard work, here’s my Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023 Lineup!
A quick overview of some unmissable acts at the Edinburgh Fringe 2023:
- Nish Kumar: Them Changes (WIP)
- Reginald D. Hunter: The Man Who Could See Through Shit
- Stewart Lee: Basic Lee
- Mat Ewins: Mr TikTok
- Ivo Graham: Organised Fun
- Mitch Benn: The Point
Who to see at the Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Festival 2023
Monday 14 August 2023 Lineup
Nish Kumar: Them Changes (WIP)
⏰ 20:30
👛 £7
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 515 – Monkey Barrel 3, Monkey Barrel Comedy, 9-12 Blair Street, EH1 1QR
An hour of new material from the brilliantly funny Nish Kumar, occasional TV host, full-time human being.
Nick Doody: The Difficult Twelfth Album
⏰ 17:30 👛 Free 🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 5 – Stand 2, The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 5 York Place, EH1 3EB
Kieran Hodgson: Big In Scotland
⏰ 19:00 👛 £13 🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 33 – Forth, Pleasance Courtyard, 60 Pleasance, EH8 9TJ
John Robertson: The Dark Room
⏰ 22:00 👛 £12.50 🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 14 – Dining Room, Gilded Balloon Teviot, Teviot Row House, EH8 9AJ
The Alternative Comedy Memorial Society (ACMS)
⏰ 23:55 👛 £8 🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 515 – Monkey Barrel 1, Monkey Barrel Comedy, 9-12 Blair Street, EH1 1QR
Tuesday 15 August 2023 Lineup
Reginald D. Hunter: The Man Who Could See Through Shit (WIP)
⏰ 19:55
👛 £17.50
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 20 – Music Hall, Assembly Rooms, 54 George Street, EH2 2LR
In these supercharged socio-political times the challenge is separating what’s true and what’s real. Join Reg for an hour of exploring this phenomena.
Larry Dean: Work in Progress
⏰ 12:00 👛 £8 🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 515 – Monkey Barrel 3, Monkey Barrel Comedy, 9-12 Blair Street, EH1 1QR
Ahir Shah: Ends
⏰ 13:25 👛 £12
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 515 – Monkey Barrel 3, Monkey Barrel Comedy, 9-12 Blair Street, EH1 1QR
Stuart Goldsmith: Spoilers
⏰ 15:20 👛 £9
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 515 – Monkey Barrel 1, Monkey Barrel Comedy, 9-12 Blair Street, EH1 1QR
Helen Bauer: Grand Supreme Darling Princess
⏰ 16:45 👛 £10
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 515 – Monkey Barrel 1, Monkey Barrel Comedy, 9-12 Blair Street, EH1 1QR
Tom Ballard: It is I
⏰ 18:10 👛 £8
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 515 – Monkey Barrel 1, Monkey Barrel Comedy, 9-12 Blair Street, EH1 1QR
Ed Byrne: Tragedy Plus Time
⏰ 21:30 👛 £20
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 20 – Music Hall, Assembly Rooms, 54 George Street, EH2 2LR
Adult Film Club
⏰ 23:25 👛 £8
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 515 – Monkey Barrel 2, Monkey Barrel Comedy, 9-12 Blair Street, EH1 1QR
Wednesday 16 August 2023 Lineup
Stewart Lee: Basic Lee
⏰ 13:50
👛 £20
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 7 – Grand Hall, The Stand’s New Town Theatre, Freemasons’ Hall, EH2 3DH
70-minute selection of highlights from the current touring show. One man, one microphone. Classic, pure, simple.
Daniel Kitson: First Thing
⏰ 10:30 👛 £10
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 26 – Roundabout @ Summerhall, 1 Summerhall, EH9 1PL
Tiff Stevenson: WIP
⏰ 12:00 👛 £8
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 313 – Hive 1, Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 15-17 Niddry Street, EH1 1LG
Bilal Zafar: Imposter
⏰ 15:50 👛 £11
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 302 – Fresian, Underbelly, Bristo Square, Teviot Place, EH8 9AG
Benjamin Alborough
⏰ 17:50 👛 £12.50
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 8 – The Crate, Assembly George Square, George Square, EH8 9LH
Olga Koch: Prawn Cocktail
⏰ 19:35 👛 £8
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 515 – Monkey Barrel 1, Monkey Barrel Comedy, 9-12 Blair Street, EH1 1QR
Mark Watson: Search
⏰ 21:00 👛 £14.50
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 33 – Pleasance One, Pleasance Courtyard, 60 Pleasance, EH8 9TJ
Petting Zoo Comedy
⏰ 22:20 👛 £11.50
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 14 – Sportsmans, Gilded Balloon Teviot, Teviot Row House, EH8 9AJ
Viggo Venn: Club Comedian
⏰ 00:05 👛 £10
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 515 – Monkey Barrel 4, Monkey Barrel Comedy, 9-12 Blair Street, EH1 1QR
Thursday 17 August 2023 Lineup
Mat Ewins: Mr TikTok
⏰ 21:00
👛 £8
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 515 – Monkey Barrel 4, Monkey Barrel Comedy, 9-12 Blair Street, EH1 1QR
With nearly 1,000 Tiktok followers, be sure to catch “the king of online” as he surfs cyberspace and reveals the World Wide Web’s silliest internet videos.
Seymour Mace Does Drawring
⏰ 13:20 👛 £10 🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 5 – Stand 2, The Stand’s New Town Theatre, 5 York Place, EH1 3EB
John Robins: Work in Progress
⏰ 15:10 👛 £10 🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 393 – Just the Sub-Atomic Room, Just the Tonic Nucleus, The Charteris Centre, EH8 9RR
Kathy Maniura: Objectified
⏰ 16:40 👛 £11
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 14 – Wee Room, Gilded Balloon Teviot, Teviot Row House, EH8 9AJ
The Crisp Review: Live
⏰ 17:50 👛 £8
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 29 – The Annexe, 11 Merchant Street, EH1 2QD
Pierre Novellie: Why Are You Laughing?
⏰ 19:05 👛 £12 🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 515 – Monkey Barrel 3, Monkey Barrel Comedy, 9-12 Blair Street, EH1 1QR
Jazz Emu’s Pleasure Garden
⏰ 23:30 👛 £16 🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 17 – Underground, Assembly George Square Studios, George Square, EH8 9LH
Friday 18 August 2023 Lineup
Ivo Graham: Organised Fun
⏰ 18:30
👛 £13
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 33 – Pleasance Beyond, Pleasance Courtyard, 60 Pleasance, EH8 9TJ
Ivo ropes his audience into chaos against the clock. Expect quizzes, tangents and fluster.
Neil Harris: Codebreaker
⏰ 10:30 👛 £8
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 209 – Fern Studio, Greenside @ Nicolson Square, 25 Nicolson Square, EH8 9BX
Phil Ellis’s Excellent Comedy Show
⏰ 12:30 👛 £8
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 313 – Hive 2, Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Hive), 15-17 Niddry Street, EH1 1LG
Ian Smith: Crushing
⏰ 13:35 👛 £8
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 51 – The Tron, Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron), 9 Hunter Square, EH1 1QW
Olaf Falafel: Look What Fell Out Of My Head
⏰ 15:45 👛 Free
🎟️ Learn More
📍 Venue 257 – Main Room, Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree, 36 West Nicholson Street, EH8 9DD
Max & Ivan: Life, Choices
⏰ 17:20 👛 £13
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 33 – Pleasance Above, Pleasance Courtyard, 60 Pleasance, EH8 9TJ
Darren Harriott – Roadman
⏰ 19:40 👛 £12
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 33 – Beneath, Pleasance Courtyard, 60 Pleasance, EH8 9TJ
Cabaret Impedimenta
⏰ 20:55 👛 £15
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 3 – Piccolo, Assembly George Square Gardens, George Square, EH8 9LH
Mad Ron: Crime School
⏰ 22:35 👛 £10.50
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 8 – The Box, Assembly George Square, George Square, EH8 9LH
King of the Table
⏰ 23:55 👛 £12
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 515 – Monkey Barrel 3, Monkey Barrel Comedy, 9-12 Blair Street, EH1 1QR
Saturday 19 August 2023 Lineup
Alice Fraser: Twist
⏰ 20:30
👛 £11
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 302 – Jersey, Underbelly, Bristo Square, Teviot Place, EH8 9AG
This is a show about the unexpected and the twists… or is it?
Rose Matafeo: Work in Progress
⏰ 11:20 👛 £7
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 515 – Monkey Barrel 4, Monkey Barrel Comedy, 9-12 Blair Street, EH1 1QR
Robin Ince – Weapons of Empathy
⏰ 13:00 👛 £13
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 64 – Auditorium, Gilded Balloon at the Museum, Lothian Street, EH1 1HB
Grotto
⏰ 14:10 👛 £10
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 88 – Just the Fancy Room, Just the Tonic at the Caves, Rowantree Bar, EH1 1LG
Spencer Jones: Making Friends
⏰ 16:15 👛 £12
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 515 – Monkey Barrel 3, Monkey Barrel Comedy, 9-12 Blair Street, EH1 1QR
Anuvab Pal: The Department of Britishness
⏰ 18:05 👛 £13.50
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 17 – Studio 5, Assembly George Square Studios, George Square, EH8 9LH
Paul Foot: Dissolve
⏰ 19:20 👛 £11
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 61 – Belly Dancer, Underbelly, Cowgate, 66 Cowgate, EH1 1JX
Elliot Steel: Love and Hate Speech
⏰ 21:55 👛 £11
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 61 – Delhi Belly, Underbelly, Cowgate, 66 Cowgate, EH1 1JX
Not Another Quiz Night
⏰ 23:30 👛 £12
🎟️ Buy Tickets
📍 Venue 14 – Nightclub, Gilded Balloon Teviot, Teviot Row House, EH8 9AJ
Getting around Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Edinburgh is hilly, and walking back and forth between shows might mean climbing up and down the same hill a few times a day. But the venues are often so close together that you’re generally only walking for 5-10 minutes between them anyway, so it’s not too strenuous. Make sure you have comfortable walking shoes on!
There’s also plenty of buses to get around the city on, as well as Uber taxi services. You can pay for a single ticket (£2) or a day ticket (£5) on the bus by using the exact change or contactless card. Just make sure you time it well if you haven’t left yourself a lot of space between shows.
Read more about Lothian bus fares & tickets here.
Where to eat in Edinburgh
During EdFringe, lots of street food stalls pop up around the main venues such as George Square Gardens and Bristo Square, which are ideal for a quick bite to eat between shows.
For an excellent cup of coffee, Black Medicine Coffee Co on Nicolson Street is the place to go.
Start the day right with a hearty Scottish breakfast at Richmond Café, which can be found on the corner of Richmond Street.
For a light lunch, head to Asian food bar Bento, who serve up freshly made sushi, dim sum, and hot bentos like chicken teriyaki rice bowls. They have three shops on South Bridge, Lothian Road and Raeburn Place.
For dinner, you can’t go wrong with Kawaneko Katsu & Coffee on Elm Row – just about everything on their menu is downright delicious.
Where to sleep at the Fringe Festival
Unfortunately you’re very unlikely to find affordable accommodation if you haven’t already booked something, or are willing to sleep in a shared dormitory. Even staying outside of central Edinburgh in a place like Leith will cost you, and there’s the commute in to consider as well. But keep checking comparison sites like booking.com and you might be lucky and grab a cancellation.
For more information and to browse all the performances at Edinburgh Fringe this year, head to www.edfringe.com.