The Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2024 is just around the corner, and comedy enthusiasts are in for a treat. This year, the Fringe promises to be bigger and funnier than ever, featuring an impressive line-up of fresh talent from around the globe.
Known for its vibrant and diverse comedy scene, London has been a breeding ground for some of the most exciting up-and-coming comedians who are set to take the Edinburgh stage by storm. In this article, we highlight our top recommendations for must-see comedy shows at the Fringe, showcasing the brightest stars off the London Comedy Circuit and their unique brands of humour.
Get ready to laugh out loud as we introduce you to the future of comedy, straight from the heart of London to the world-renowned stages of the Edinburgh Fringe.
Comedy in Your Eye's guide to the best cheap comedy Shows from London's Top Up and Coming Comedians at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2024
2 Muslim 2 Furious: Mecca Drift
“2 Muslim 2 Furious: Mecca Drift” (2M2F) was written before Aisha and Hasan realised its impact on their US visa applications. So their “dream of conquering America” is on hold (how were those visas ever rejected?!). But these ethnically-challenged British Muslims also have a domestic goal - smashing stereotypes! Aisha and Hasan prove that not all Muslims are terrorists or perform useful jobs, like doctors, nurses or playing for Liverpool FC. But just try to name a funnier Kazakh-Iraqi double act… we’ll wait!
2M2F is a work-in-progress stand-up comedy show, supported by a Keep It Fringe grant from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, from:
“Birmingham Comedy Festival Breaking Talent Award 2023” winner Hasan Al-Habib and
“Bath Comedy Festival New Act 2024 2nd Runner Up” Aisha Amanduri
“Deliciously funny” - The Guardian (no surprise they're fans 🙄)
“Clever, edgy and unexpected” - Kemah Bob (BBC’s “Richard Osman's House of Games”, “FOC it up” podcast)
“He’s a man of a thousand voices” - Rob Beckett
“Super talented” - Mae Martin (Channel 4’s Taskmaster, Netflix’s Feel Good)
"he’ll make a million doing this" - Jamali Maddix (BBC’s Never Mind The Buzzcocks)
“Very good” - Paul Sinha (ITV’s The Chase)
“F***ing brilliant” - Limmy (BBC 2’s Limmy’s Homemade Show)
Where: Dragonfly Cocktail Bar (Venue 414)
When: Aug 1-25 (except Mondays 5th, 12th & 19th), 2:00pm
How Much: Pay What You Can - Buy Tickets Here
Alex Franklin: Gurl Code
'In 2023, trans girl Alex started HRT. Now she feels the most alive she's ever felt; and she wants to make you feel alive too, or die trying. A ludicrous, musical, chaotic, joyful show about the colours of the world becoming slowly brighter and giving people furniture via the tube. Also being trans. As seen / heard on Channel 4 / HBO Max / BBC Radio 4. 'Undeniably ludicrous comedy gold' **** (Entertainment-Now.com). 'Eclectic, risk-taking and inventive' (Scotsman). 'Winningly weird... this young comic is on the way up' (Telegraph). Directed by Dom Stephens.'
Where: Delhi Belly, Underbelly Cowgate
When: Aug 1-25 (Not 12th), 8:25pm
How Much: £9.00-£11.00 - Buy Tickets Here
Alex Kitson: Must I Paint You a Picture?
Alex Kitson is an award-winning comedian with a secret. One he's fed up of keeping. Come find out what made this 'incredible... so clever' (BBC Radio) 'master of his craft' (Capers Comedy) perform the show he never thought he'd do. A debut hour about hope, escaping the woods and jokes. Lots and lots of jokes. Tour Support for Fin Taylor, Tom Ward and Vittorio Angelone. 'A knack for making you burst into laughter...[a] comedic sensation' (Big Belly Comedy Club). Best of Brighton Fringe Comedy Award 2023 (Nominated). Best Joke Winner (Bath Festival).
Where: Hoots @ Potterrow
When: Aug 2-25, 10:55pm
How Much: £8.00 in advance or Pay What you Want at the venue - Buy Tickets Here
Alex Prescot: I've Got A Song About That
The musical comic with a lightning-fast turnaround, Alex Prescot has some fresh new songs, some so fresh you’ll see them made up before your very eyes! Expect everything from quick-witted observational bangers to daft one-line ditties, all suitable for the whole family! With a different comedian opening every day and several songs made up on the spot, kick-start your day with a high-energy show that’s custom-made for you! Winner of Clap Back To Reality 2023/24, previous Kingston New Act & Chichester New Act Finalist and Musical Comedy Awards & So You Think You’re Funny Semi-Finalist.
Where: Hollywood Room, City Café
When: Aug 1-25, 10:20am
How Much: Pay What You Can - Buy Tickets Here
Alfie Dundas & Benjy Wilder: Cold Brew Comedy
Cold Brew Comedy is a split-bill hour of stand up from the self-appointed 24-year-old spokesmen for the worst generation on record (so far): Alfie Dundas (Beat the Frog Winner, Leicester Square Theatre New Comedian semi-finalist) and Benjy Wilder (two time Chortle Student Competition semi-finalist, Soho Labs graduate).
The show is a casual stroll through life's biggest topics, including religion, masculinity and scented candles. And everyone who comes to the show gets a free coffee on us!
Where: Just the Snifter Room at The Mash House
When: Aug 1-25 (not 12th), 1:55pm
How Much: £5.00 in advance or Pay What you Want at the venue - Buy Tickets Here
Alfie Packham: My Gift to You
Double BBC New Comedy Award nominee Alfie Packham was not a man who
would “seize” things, such as the initiative, opportunities, or the day. But surely his
mum’s terminal cancer diagnosis in 2014 would change everything? As it turned out,
no.
Alfie's mum lived for eight years with her illness, a period that spanned Alfie’s
twenties. In that time, she lived life to the full – much more than Alfie did. She taught
him a lesson in how to seize upon life – by carrying on as normal.
A highly anticipated Fringe debut, My Gift to You is a stand-up show about gifts. It’s
both about the literal gifts Alfie's mum left him before she died and the gift of a routine and boring life. With observational bits, stories and props, this cerebral-but-
silly show covers love and death, and less thematic stuff like football and his girlfriend’s shoplifting habit. Add this show to your bucket list today.
Alfie Packham is a stand-up comedian and writer based in London, where he has
worked as a journalist for eight years. He was brought up in the rural West Midlands.
He was twice nominated for the BBC New Comedy Award and was the Max Turner
Comedy Prize winner in 2022. He writes regularly for The Guardian and Observer as
well as BBC Radio 4's The Now Show and The News Quiz. Alfie also hosts the twice Chortle Award-winning comedy night Comedy Bandits, and co-created Gun and Wand: The Official Companion Podcast, a podcast about a TV show that doesn't exist (recommended by The Guardian).
Where: Underbelly Bristo Square (Dexter)
When: Jul 31, Aug 1-26, 2:45pm
How Much: £7.00 - Buy Tickets Here
Ben Pollard & JoJo Maberly: A Tale of Two Fitties
Daddy’s boy Ben Pollard (BBC1) (Channel 4) (OutTV) is a demonic twink who was sent to Earth to rock. Hailing from the South West of England, Ben’s favourite dating app is ancestry.com and his favourite night out is speed dating - because he loves amphetamines! Fresh off the televised 2023 BBC New Comedy Awards, Ben was finalist in So You Think You’re Funny 2022, The 2024 Musical Comedy Awards and LGBTQ New Comedian of the Year 2022. Ben is “DARKLY FUNNY” (Attitude) with a “very funny persona” (Chortle).
JoJo Maberly (BBC Radio 4) was the winner of 2023’s Musical Comedy Awards’ ‘Best Newcomer’ award. JoJo is sweet and charming, with the voice of an angel (and the scuffed knees of a devout choir boy). She has ‘talent and likability in equal measures’ (Funny Women).
"Crass, sexy, silly" (LostInTheatreland), Ben and JoJo are ready to embark on a night like no other as they seek to become sex and relationship gods!
Where: The Bottle Room, The Mash House
When: Aug 13-25, 11:30pm
How Much: £5.00 in advance or Pay What You Want at the venue - Buy Tickets Here
Best Of So You Think You’re Funny?
A line-up show starring the top three acts from the 2023 edition of So You Think You're Funny? The UK's biggest new comedy competition, with Samira Banks, Christopher Donovan and Lizzie Norm. See the best up-and-coming comedians before they make it big! Previous winners and finalists from the competition include: Aisling Bea, Tommy Tiernan, Maisie Adam, Peter Kay, Lee Mack, Fern Brady, Rob Beckett, Romesh Ranganathan, Sara Pascoe, Daniel Sloss and many more.
Where: Gilded Balloon, Patter House
When: July 31, Aug 1-26, 10:15pm
How Much: £5.00 in advance or Pay What You Want at the venue - Buy Tickets Here
Character Building Experience
Character Building Experience is a Dungeons-and-Dragons-style comedic interactive roleplaying game show, suitable for the experts, the novices and the uninitiated-but-curious. No two quests are alike; a unique mini-adventure with improvised music, songs and questionable choices, hosted by Gamesmaster Sasha Ellen. 'Plenty of laughs and nerd camaraderie' **** (BroadwayWorld.com); 'Endlessly pleasing, voraciously funny hour of unpredictable nonsense' **** (Indiependent.co.uk); 'A massively enjoyable microcosm of the D&D experience' **** (TheatreAndTonic.co.uk); 'Funny and engaging' **** (PhoenixRemix.com); 'Sasha Ellen is one of the best Dungeon Masters we've ever seen' ***** (StarburstMagazine.com); Shortlisted for Broadway World's Comedy Award.
Where: Bedlam Theatre
When: Jul 31, Aug 1-11, 13-18, 20-25, 8:00pm
How Much: £10.00 - Buy Tickets Here
Dru Cripps: Druniversal Credit
Award-winning, 'sensational' **** (Time Out), unemployed clown Dru Cripps is back inside a tent after last year’s sold-out run. Witness as Cripps plucks hilarity out of thin air in the most Fringe experience of your life. Improvised songs, spontaneous audience musings and a search for meaning, becoming, and maybe even a job. Supported by Arts Council England and Universal Credit... Dru is one of our favourite headliners at Comedy In Your Eye and the audience go absolutely wild every time he's in because he is: Hilarious' **** (BroadwayWorld.com). 'Unafraid to try the untriable' (BBC Shropshire). BBC Comedian Of The Year nominee. 'Incredible' **** (TheRendition.co.uk). 'Immersive and chaotic' **** (AllThatDazzles.co.uk). 'Very funny, organic' (TheNewCurrent.co.uk)
Where: Wee Yurt, Potters row underpass, Hoots Comedy
When: Aug 2-12, 7:55pm
How Much: £7.50 in advance or Pay What You Want at the venue - Buy Tickets Here
Jin Hao Li: Swimming in a Submarine
In his debut hour, Jin Hao walks you through the seascape of his mind, filled with nightmares of being a spider, dreams of joining the yakuza and breezy memories of serving in the military with the boys.
Confronting fear with mischief and imagination, he surprises with gritty softness, honest lies and pockets of joy.
Where: Pleasance Below
When: Jul 31, Aug 1 - Aug 25, 7:10pm
How Much: £9.00-£12.00 - Buy Tickets Here
Jon & Sam are Free and Happening Right Now!
Sam Adamson and Jon Hipkiss join forces to present you their greatest hits. Their absolute gold. Featuring a smattering of special guests from across the fringe, this show will deliver both barrels. This is all killer, no filler. You get the picture. Sam is the West End New Act Finalist 2024. Jon is the LCF People's Choice Award Nominee 2024.
Where: Carbon room 1
When: Aug 3-4, 6-11, 13-18, 20-25, 10:30pm
How Much: Free - More Info Here
Joshua Bethania: Coming Home
A debut from the 2022 So You Think You're Funny? winner. The show is an Indian immigrant's attempt at fixing the UK, filled with anecdotes and observations about how his life has always been influenced by England. Joshua touches upon his childhood, his adulthood, his religion, his relationships and the contractually-obligated topic of colonialism, all sprinkled with subtle political views (yes he does have ADHD).
Where: Gilded Balloon - Bothie
When: July 31, Aug 1-26, 5:20pm
How Much: £12.00 - Buy Tickets Here
Lee Hudson: Baggage Limit
Everyone has baggage, Lee Hudson has quite a bit. In this show he shares his and asks how early into dating or a new relationship should he be telling people about it all? How much baggage is too much baggage? Through candid storytelling, Lee brings you into his world and invites you to help him figure it all out. 'A modern spin on a classic club comic' (TheWeeReview.com). Tour support for Tom Stade, Justin Moorhouse and Vittorio Angelone. Featured on the Kill Tony podcast.
Where: The Hanover Tap
When: Aug 14-25, 10:00pm
How Much: Pay what you can - Buy Tickets Here
Leslie Gold: A Chip Off the Gold Block
Leslie Gold (as seen at the Comedy Store) is taking her first solo stand up show to Edinburgh this year. It's a storytelling hour about identity, nature, nurture, and her dead dad - it'll be fun! (No, seriously, it's not dark. You're in safe hands here.)
'Savvy comedy chops' (EdFringeReview.com).
'An assured performer with charm, charisma and very relatable' (Esther Manito).
'Massive laughs in a small package. One of my faves!' (Jordan Gray).
Recipient of Keep it Fringe funding.
Where: Bar 50 Upstairs
When: Aug 1-25 (not 13), 4:00pm
How Much: Pay what you can - Buy Tickets Here
Lila Robirosa and Holly Ludlow: FANCY
FANCY is a split bill comedy by two Soho Theatre alumnus. Holly Ludlow (West End New Act of the Year winner 2024) is a punk rock babe trapped inside the body of a Victorian orphan. Lila Robirosa (Max Turner Prize and Musical Comedy Awards Finalist 2024) is on a mission to make anxiety chic again with her super chill chaos-comedy.
Where: Canons’ Gait – Lower (venue 78)
When: Aug 11-18, 5:45pm
How Much: Free - More Info Here
Lou Taylor: Jeans and a nice top
‘Jeans and a nice top’ is Lou Taylor's debut show about growing up in the ’90s and early ’00s. It’s fun, silly, and nostalgic. Lou really seems to be obsessed with this time period so she delves into the whys of that. There are funny videos, as well as stand-up and storytelling so a little something for everyone and the show's previews have gone down incredibly well with audiences so far.
Where: Bunker 3, Pleasance Courtyard
When: Aug 2-25 (not 12th), 8:30pm
How Much: £7.00 - Buy Tickets Here
Michael Shafar: Lots to Say
After a sold-out 2023 season, your favourite Jewish Australian cancer survivor with one testicle is back with lots to say about the state of the world.
In this brand-new, boundary-pushing show, Michael will weigh into the culture wars and touch on the topics that most comedians are smart enough to avoid.
'A wildly inventive, darkly comic imagination' ★★★★★ (TheEdinburghReporter.co.uk).
'Shafar circumnavigates the line between edgy and offensive with beautiful finesse' ★★★★½ (TheAge.com.au).
'If you fear comedy has gotten too politically correct, this show will put those fears to rest' ★★★★ (Time Out).
Where: Hootenannies @ The Apex Grassmarket
When: Aug 2-26, 7:30pm
How Much: Pay What You Can - Buy Tickets Here
Sadbh Peters & Scott Oswald: Platonic Sex
Platonic Sex is the debut comedy split bill from Sadbh Peters (Semi-finalist for Funny Women Stage Awards 2023) and Scott Oswald (Semi-finalist for So You Think You’re Funny and West End New Act of the Year 2023). Expect a tasty little hour of laughs.
"Genius, a sure crowd pleaser" ***** - MumbleComedy (for 'Gigl')
"Sadbh and Scott are brilliant, talented up-and-coming comedians and I’d rush to buy a ticket." - Dec Munro
Where: The Counting House, Loft
When: Aug 1-14, 16-25, 12:15am
How Much: Pay What You Can - Buy Tickets Here
Sasha Ellen: My MILF-shake Brings all the Boys to the Yard
Sasha doesn't need a child to be a MILF. In fact, a child would probably get in the way. A stand-up show about all the things that hit you like a ton of bricks in your thirties. No one warned Sasha that doctors were going to start telling her what to do to live longer or what she'd have in common with those slutty turtles. **** (BroadwayBaby.com). **** (BroadwayWorld.com). **** (EdFestMag.com). **** (Edinburgh-Reviews.co.uk). **** (GonzoMagazine.co.uk). Material heard on BBC Radio 4. Nominee: Best New Show Leicester Comedy Festival 2022.
Where: Cabaret Voltaire
When: Aug 1-25 (Not 12th), 6:30pm
How Much: £5.00 - Buy Tickets Here
Sophie Garrad & Leigh Douglas: Daddy's Girls
Sophie Garrad (So You Think You’re Funny Finalist 2023, Funny Women One to Watch) and Leigh Douglas (BBC New Comedy Regional Showcase 2023, Live at the Queer Comedy Club for OutTV) are coming to the Fringe with a split-bill of the girliest comedy you can possibly imagine. Daddy’s Girls is unabashedly a show for the girls, gays and theys. Only the bravest cis-straight boys will survive (or buy a ticket for that matter).
Sophie and Leigh are Daddy's Girls on the loose. With Sophie's Dad in and out of prison and Leigh's dead dad only contactable via the help of a clairvoyant, these girls are doing it for themselves and taking a split-bill to the Fringe, because "What, like it's hard?" They're ready to order the Business Woman Special and spice up your life in men's shirts and short skirts and be your fairy godmothers of comedy as they enter their drunk auntie eras and make you say, "Man! I feel like a Woman!" Out of the sea of Edinburgh shows, they wanna be part of your world. Everyone's invited because it does not say RSVP on the statue of liberty.
In Daddy’s Girls, Sophie unpacks what it’s like to have a Dad who’s a bit of a dodgy bloke and carry the burden of being the only posh one in her family. She’s been called stuck-up, shallow and even nouveau riche but maybe that’s just the cost of being a girl’s girl these days. Sophie may be a delusional queen but she’s unflinching and unashamed about her chaotic childhood, being driven to girls private school in a police car and dreaming of the day when she’d have a mugshot of her very own, just like her idol, Paris Hilton.
Leigh is a gay girlie and too femme to function. She’s too femme, too furious. Leigh takes a blinding look at the sexual liberation of Irish women via a tribute to The Corrs. Brought up by an Irish Catholic father (God rest him) and an English spiritualist mother, she reflects on her own misguided journey through spirituality in the wake of her latest harrowing lesbian breakup. Her set is a mildly unhinged tribute to the gal pals, tarot card readers and nonbinary fuckboys who got her through heartbreak.
With their split-bill, Leigh and Sophie want to represent the importance of friendship and allyship between the straight girlies and lesbians (the straight girlies need all the help they can get after all, they have to date icky boys.)
Leigh is building up an online following of queer women after going viral with a video ranking the Disney princesses from least to most gay and a series of sketches about dating as a queer woman. Sophie is also growing her online presence with sketches about her own community: Posh Girlies. They are both regulars at the Queer Comedy Club in London where Leigh is proud to represent the lipstick lesbian community onstage and Sophie has been heralded as Queen of the Gays.
The show will be the girls’ night out you didn’t know you needed as Sophie and Leigh give you permission to be your most outrageous self.
Praise for Sophie Garrad: "She’s definitely got a cracking Edinburgh in her… Huge potential for comedy" - Steve Bennet, Chortle
Praise for Leigh Douglas: "leaves you eager to see what Leigh Douglas will do next.” - Andrew Lynch, Sunday Business Post Ireland
Where: Gilded Balloon, Patter House, Bothie
When: July 31, Aug 1-22 (not 19th), 6:40pm
How Much: £12.00 - Buy Tickets Here
Will Davies: WRONGS
Two wrongs don't make a right, but how many wrongs does it take? Will Davies embarks on a dangerous scientific experiment to find out. Piling up everything wrong with him, and everything wrong with the world until it's all sufficiently wrong to become even slightly right. BBC New Comedy Shortlist 2023. 'Razor sharp... laugh-out-loud funny' (ARichComicLife.blog). 'Brilliantly original' (The Poodle Club). 'Delightfully dry' (Sofa SoFunny). 'A sharp-witted navigator' (Big Belly Bar and Comedy Club).
Where: The Spare Room @ The Caves
When: Aug 1 - 25 (except 12th), 11:40 am
How Much: £5.00 in advance or Pay What You Want at the venue - Buy Tickets Here
Viva La Visa
Viva La Visa is a one-hour stand-up comedy double bill starring Darcy Moreland and Henry Bretz, two Australians in a race against their visa to make it in the accommodating, unoccupied and in-no-way-saturated world of UK comedy. Darcy Moreland is a BBC New Comedy Awards 2023 shortlisted comedian and 2024 Max Turner Prize finalist, who performs at some of the UK's biggest clubs. Henry Bretz is a two time State Finalist in Australia's RAW Comedy Competition (2016, 2018) whose show Loser sold out every show at Good Chat Comedy Festival.
Where: The Spare Room @ The Caves
When: Aug 1 - 25 (except 12th), 9:00pm
How Much: £5.00 in advance or Pay What You Want at the venue - Buy Tickets Here
Zoe Brownstone: A bite of yours
Zoe Brownstone has been performing stand-up since before dating apps existed, and yet still does not know how love works if you can even believe it! That's not the whole truth.
In fact she is quite certain that she's unlocked several mysteries of the heart along the way, including how to survive step-parenthood, deportation and bilingual visa break-ups.
She may even be willing to share some of these top tips with you, but how will you know unless you come and see her debut stand-up show?
Where: Pleasance Courtyard, Bunker 3
When: July 31, Aug 1-23 (not 13th), 7:15pm
How Much: £9.00 - Buy Tickets Here
We hope you have enjoyed our guide to the best cheap comedy shows from London's fastest rising Comedians at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2024.
If you can't make it to the fringe and find yourself in London, then why not catch some of the best live comedy that the capital of England has to offer by buying a ticket to one of our Camden Town Comedy shows off our tickets page here.