Catherine Bohart, Demi Adejuyigbe, Frankie McNair, Frankie Thompson, Jack Rooke, Hotter Project, Kanan Gill, Max Olesker, Patti Harrison, Salty Brine, Sh!t Theatre, Spencer Jones, Tarang Hardikar, Temi Wilkey, Underground Monk Show, and Xhloe & Natasha
Year-round, Soho Theatre keeps the Fringe spirit alive with our festival-programming. Today we’re announcing our 2026 programme for our home away from home, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In the same month that we’re celebrating the opening of Dave Harris’s TENDER, the final play in our 2025/26 season of in-house produced shows in our Soho home, and the one-year anniversary of our Soho Theatre Walthamstow venue, we’re chuffed to present our Edinburgh Fringe programme.
Rose Abderabbani, Soho Theatre Head of Theatre Programme, and Steve Lock, Head of Comedy, said: ‘Fringe is peak Soho – producing work, seeing everything and getting wildly excited about new talent. This year we’re working with artists from the UK, Australia, India, Ireland and the USA, bringing together long‑time Soho pals and brand‑new discoveries alike. They’re all brilliant, and they’re all ready to light up Edinburgh.’
Featuring 18 incredible shows across theatre, comedy, and everything in between across nine venues, including new shows from Best Comedy Show and Best Newcomer nominees, two Ed Fringe debuts, UK Premieres, World Premieres, a work-in-progress, special presentations and one-offs:
- Two Edinburgh Fringe DEBUTS from comedians who have absolutely smashed it at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival: TARANG HARDIKAR with IF I’M NOT WRONG, about his later-in-life autism diagnosis and hyperfixations, after absolutely smashing it at the, as part of Soho Theatre’s work in bringing fantastically talented comedians from India to the UK; and FRANKIE MCNAIR making their debut with HUGE ASS MINDSET, nominated for Most Outstanding Show at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
- THEATRE WORLD PREMIERES: Following FITTER, HOTTER, and The Last Show Before We Die, Fringe faves HOTTER PROJECT are back with HAM, a kinky eco-hijacking of Shakespeare’s Hamlet; the tornado of talent that is TEMI WILKEY will paint the town red with LOVER GIRL, the second of her Main Character trilogy, charting the surrealist journey of a Black Bisexual in her search for romantic love; we’re co-producing cult Fringe theatre duo and triple Fringe First recipients (and very recent Drama Desk Awards winners) XHLOE & NATASHA’s new show about Bigfoot and fake news with 80s/90s VHS aesthetics; comedian MAX OLESKER adapts his hilarious best-selling memoir MAKING THE CUT about his conversion to orthodox Judaism into a one-man play.
- COMEDY WORLD PREMIERES: 2024 Best Newcomer nominee DEMI ADEJUYIGBE returns to the Fringe with a new show about selling out, featuring Demi’s trademark songs and Robbie the beloved robot; following smash hits CAttS and Body Show, clown performer FRANKIE THOMPSON presents all the HORRIBLE THINGS she’s going to do, including a selection of men in chairs and things that aren’t AI but should be; SPENCER JONES’ newest show DOGS about dogs, dog owners, dog lovers and dog haters, and his EXPERIMENTAL KIDS SHOW; and last but not least, LA-based clowns MAX BAUMGARTEN, DEE MARCUCCI, JOHN NORRIS, BILL O’NEILL and CLAIRE WOOLNER present for the first time the full-fledged unhinged version of UNDERGROUND MONK SHOW, a show that has to be seen to believed.
- UK PREMIERES: HOW STRANGE IT IS, from New York cabaret performer SALTY BRINE, forms part of his Living Record Collection, mixing Neutral Milk Hotel’s seminal 90s indie rock album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea and Anne Frank’s Diary of a Young Girl, exploring the universal experience of first love; and superstar comedian from India KANAN GILL will perform NOT THIS AGAIN featuring his trademark existential angst and signature observational comedy.
- EDINBURGH PREMIERE: SH!T THEATRE bring EVITA TOO, the greatest story never told about Argentina’s first ever female president, to Edinburgh, after a run at the Southbank Centre last December.
- Irish comedian CATHERINE BOHART will present a new work in progress before launching her show at Soho Theatre in September and touring the country.
- And more: Soho Theatre Writers’ Lab alumnus JACK ROOKE performs GOOD GRIEF for the show’s tenth anniversary, following two sold out runs at Soho Theatre; PATTI HARRISON returns to the Fringe to wreak havoc for a limited time only, after a two-week run at Soho Theatre.
Jessica Draper, Soho Theatre Head of Creative Engagement, said: ‘We back new talent all year round through our Labs programmes – we love to see our alumni take work to the Fringe. As Jack Rooke pointed out at the BAFTA TV Craft Awards, fringe theatre and live comedy aren’t optional extras – they’re the proving ground for the whole industry.’
- LONDON TRANSFERS: confirmed for CATHERINE BOHART (and on tour), FRANKIE THOMPSON, KANAN GILL (and on tour), MAX OLESKER, TARANG HARDIKAR, TEMI WILKEY, SALTY BRINE, and XHLOE AND NATASHA, touring dates for JACK ROOKE, and more/dates to be announced.
SOHO THEATRE is London’s most vibrant producer for new theatre, comedy and cabaret. Our central London venue in Soho is celebrating 25 years as one of the UK’s busiest with a buzzing bar, lively audiences and an entertaining year-round festival programme with a queer, punk, counter-culture flavour. Our second London venue SOHO THEATRE WALTHAMSTOW opened in May 2025, bringing our vibrant programme to its biggest stage yet. Work extends beyond our venues with a full touring programme and connections with New York, Melbourne and Mumbai. Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a huge part of our year, we present many shows and scout hundreds more and we are the UK’s leading presenter of comedians from India. Our filmed comedy specials can be seen on international airlines and online. And our artist development and participation programmes are as important as the work on our stages. Soho Theatre is a charitably-owned social enterprise; with annual audiences projected to increase to over 400,000 this year, turnover to exceed £11m and strong international links, it makes a positive contribution to growth in creative industries and UK soft power.
Soho Theatre’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026 Programme is supported by Isobel and Michael Holland.
More information and tickets available here.
You can keep up with everything going on at Soho Theatre here.
