The annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe is just around the corner, with another year of queer comedy gold and hilarious LGBTQ+ artists arriving in Scotland.
Fringe is the world’s largest performance arts festival, with thousands of people set to showcase their talents from August 7th to 31st.
For those looking specifically for queer talent, here are some artists to keep an eye on:
Adi Parmar: sunny boy
North Indian comedian Adi Parma will make his fringe debut. sunny boya show about queer identity, masculinity, and migration. Reflecting on family expectations, Palmer also explores what it means to build a life across cultures.
Palmer’s show looks back on his early life as a “miracle child” whose parents prayed for him for six years. She also talks about her current life in a loving queer relationship and co-parenting two Dutch children with her partner and a lesbian couple.
Get tickets to Adi Parmar: sunny boy here.
Amy Matthews: toast definition
Edinburgh-based cartoonist Amy Matthews presents a thoughtful show about emotional processing of anger. The show explores homing pigeons, queerness, and Amy’s attempts to express her emotions when a Best Supporting Actor award in her own life delivers them.
toast definition You will also navigate the experience of loving people on your sobriety journey. The show has been described as deeply personal, yet universally relatable.
Get Amy Matthews tickets: toast definition here.
Ayo Adenekan: anxiety in the homeland
Ayo Adenekan’s new show marks his second return to Fringe and comes after Adenekan served as a writer on series 1 of SNL UK. The comedian’s Fringe debut was all about growing up black and bisexual in Edinburgh.
Now, Adenekan is back to joke about unrequited love, summer romances, working in the hospitality industry, and his experience starting a career in stand-up comedy. With his razor-sharp wit, Adenekan finds humor and confusion that catches emotions where it shouldn’t.
Get your tickets to Ayo Adenekan: anxiety in the homeland here.
Chat LGBT
Exchange ChatGPT Chat LGBTis an interactive show that asks viewers to put down their phones and ask questions directly to a panel of expert queer comedians. Bianca Bouler, Jordan Bonner, Willow Marler and Robert Gould have all the answers.
However, this hilarious concept also comes with a warning. You can get slammed for comedic value or receive terrible advice to make the plot more exciting.
Get your ticket and Chat LGBT here.
cruising
Queer women’s theater company Dreambite Collective makes its Fringe debut with the premiere of Katrina Bennett’s new play cruising. This subversive romantic comedy explores themes of polyamory, protest, and passion.
The play depicts an encounter between a dancer and a climate activist on a Mediterranean cruise. They quickly become friends, but soon realize that they are in a relationship with the same person. Drama! The two must navigate these treacherous waters as their connection turns into a fierce rivalry.
Get your ticket and cruising here.
Eva Peroni: turned into a jungle
Eva Peroni arrived at the Fringe with her debut show at just 22 years old. turned into a jungle Peroni is the story of Peroni, who emigrated from Livingston to Costa Rica at the age of 17 as a “crazy boy” and returned as a bald lesbian.
Peroni’s debut hour also explores her views on classism at Edinburgh University and queer Latin America. This show is about coming home and coming out. moreover, turned into a jungle I strive to show what makes Eva who she is and the impact of expressing your truth.
Get Eva Peroni tickets: turned into a jungle here.
Hannah Pratt: cult classic
Hannah Pratt’s new stand-up show explores cult thinking, queerness, neurodiversity, and self-improvement culture. Pratt strives to distinguish between therapy culture, internet rabbit holes, identity, and modern-day anxieties with brutal honesty and candid humor.
The show explores everything from hypnotherapy and mental health to her theory that polyamory is a sign of depression. Looking at self-improvement through a new lens, Pratt explores that feeling of not belonging and asks whether we should all start a cult.
Get tickets to Hannah Pratt: cult classic here.
Rivalry Heated: Unauthorized Music Parody
After its premiere off-Broadway in New York, Rivalry Heated: Unauthorized Music Parody It will make its UK debut at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. If you can’t get enough, fierce rivalrythis is perfect for you!
Inspired by the hit show, this musical parody recreates some of the series’ most memorable moments set to a pop-bop soundtrack. There are also cameo appearances from characters such as Rose Landry and Elijah’s butt. The show is a camp that celebrates the passionate community the series has created.
Get your ticket and Rivalry Heated: Unauthorized Music Parody here.
Jack McGregor: prophet
prophet is a dark psychological thriller set in a rocky and remote outpost in Saint John. The show follows a Scottish researcher who arrives on an island and discovers that the population is under the control of a growing cult.
As the day of the cult’s paradise approaches, researchers begin to shift their focus from the earth to the people. The duo’s drama examines the intersection of faith and cults, and is also an exploration of violent faith on the edges of the world.
Get Jack McGregor tickets: prophet here.
Glasgow-based Canadian queer comic Kate Hammer’s show is about one mission: to get a visa and stay in the UK. She’s willing to do anything, even become Keir Starmer’s court jester.
Digging into the complex visa process may seem like a joke, but Hammer finds humor in it. First, she realized that making people laugh was literally her ticket to avoiding deportation.
Get Kate Hammer tickets: Government certified comedian here.
Linus Karp was hit with an umbrella
Awkward Prods brings a new show to the Fringe. Linus Karp was hit with an umbrella. The best known is Gwyneth goes skiing and Diana: The untold storythe company’s latest work moves into a more personal realm. Additionally, the new show is inspired by a real-life homophobic attack on Linus Karp that took place in SoHo in 2024.
Linus and his partner Joseph were attacked with umbrellas and subjected to homophobic slurs. This is the starting point of the program. after that, linus karp It explores the impact of the attack and the aftermath of being targeted for being clearly gay.
Get your ticket and Linus Karp was hit with an umbrella here.
Reuben Kay: difficult to swallow
International cabaret icon Reuben Kaye returns to the stage. Combining political provocation, powerful vocals, and explosive queer performances, difficult to swallow It’s more political than ever and full of hard-hitting comedy.
difficult to swallow It takes aim at politics, identity, hypocrisy, and an increasingly absurd world situation. As always, Kay’s chaotic and unapologetic energy brings this show to life.
Get Reuben Kay tickets: difficult to swallow here.
Selina Moshinski: Puss in Boots – a real-life fairy tale
Selina Moshinski, best known as Charity Shop Sue, is heading to Edinburgh for her Fringe debut. Before Charity Shop Sue, Selina Moshinski was Randy Kane. An 18-year-old stripper from Derby, with a big personality and big ambitions, she had no intention of staying in her small town.
Puss in Boots – a real-life fairy tale Blending memoir, character comedy, and surreal storytelling, it tells the story of how far one man will go in the name of fame and fortune.
Get Selina Moshinski tickets: Puss in Boots – a real-life fairy tale here.
Scout box oar: god’s favorite
Australian non-binary comic Scout Boxall, winner of the 2025 Pinder Prize and nominated for Melbourne’s ‘Best Show’, is coming to Edinburgh. and god’s favoriteBoxall embarks on a show about being stuck without medication for the first time in 12 years.
One surreal night, Vauxhall becomes manic and withdrawn, imagining life in the Middle Ages, making peace with their own mediocrity and temporarily surrendering to God.
Get your ticket and Scout box oar: god’s favorite here.
Swamprusk
This will be his third consecutive year of return, Swamprusk is a Shrek-inspired burlesque and drag parody show. The show inspired by everyone’s favorite ogre is back. It’s a Fringe fan favorite, so grab your tickets while you can!
Full of camp dances and heart-pounding gags. Swamprusk We promise a night of laughs, surprises, and a little risqué. Don’t wait, get your ticket to the swamp!
Get your ticket and Swamprusk here.
Source: PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news – www.thepinknews.com
