Comedians share the best Fringe shows they've ever seen

We asked some comedians to tell us what was the best show they've ever seen at the Edinburgh Fringe. Here are some of their answers...

Joz Norris

Geoff Sobelle’s The Object Lesson in 2014, pictured above. This completely changed the way I think about making stuff. It was the point where I lost interest in making shows that just went ‘Look at me!’ and moved towards making shows that followed my curiosity, and said something I needed to say. I’m so grateful to it.

It was essentially 90 minutes of a man rooting through a roomful of crap while slowly opening up little chinks of light as to how he got there, without ever actually explaining anything. It left me with images and phrases that have become core foundations of how I think - ‘That’s the same traffic light’, ‘Why would you ever leave?’, ‘Give that to somebody,"’the vegetable ice skate salad tap dance. 

The first 20 minutes was one of the most ingenious slow-burn reveals I’ve ever seen, the central half hour was gloriously, tear-inducingly wonderful, and the final half hour was terrifying. 

As someone who has always had a strong emotional trigger around sentimental objects, the site of an entire lifetime’s worth of accumulated junk appearing from out of the aether and heaping on top of itself until it was reduced to a dead, withered root was kind of existentially horrifying.

 I went to see his next show, Home, which saw him build and then deconstruct an entire house onstage in real-time, and it was phenomenally impressive, but I’ll never forget how it felt to watch that first show.

Joz Norris: You Wait. Time Passes is on at Pleasance Dome at 7.10pm during the Edinburgh Fringe

Liz Gutterbock

The best show I ever saw at the Fringe was Sam Campbell’s Bulletproof 10 in 2023, mostly because it made me laugh before I’d even seen it. As they say, it’s always a good sign when a show’s brochure listing makes you laugh. I giggled so much when I saw that Sam had booked one of the biggest Edinburgh Fringe venues (Pleasance Grand) for the shortest amount of time (10 minutes).

 I loved that the show name poked fun at the annoying, often male tendency to make a basic stand-up set sound like you’re prepping for a session at the Thunderdome. I also loved that, for a 10-minute show, Sam had the nerve to book a venue that would take the audience 20 minutes to get into and another 20 to get out of. 

And let me tell you, Sam’s 10 minutes of comedy was bulletproof. It was absurd, fun, and included a surprise appearance from one of my other favourite comics, Mark Silcox. 

More than the gags, though, I remember how happy I felt before, during and after it. I watched this show in my debut year at the Fringe, and I think I loved Sam’s show so much because I’d been taking everything so seriously that year. He reminded me that comedy can be whatever you want it to be – and the sillier the better. Thank goodness for Sam Campbell’s silliness – it’s a show I’ll never forget.  

Liz Guterbock: Nice is on at PBH’s Free Fringe Southsider  at 7pm

Bron Waugh

The first time I met my girlfriend Ada’s mum, I took her to see Garry Starr at the Edinburgh Fringe – totally unaware he gets completely naked at the end. I was so exhausted I fell asleep early on, and woke up to Garry Starr’s willy in my face – and Ada’s mum beaming with joy. I’ve never seen anyone look so happy. Best show ever!

Ada and Bron: The Origins Of Love is on at Pleasance Courtyard at 11pm

Daisy Doris May

When you're performing in Edinburgh, the way you watch shows changes completely. In theory, when we’re not flyering, sweating on stage, hustling... we should be chilling. Realistically? We overcommit and convince ourselves we’ll catch five shows a day around our own.

When it’s good, it gives you LIFE. When it’s bad... you immediately regret not just going for that spicy ramen (you know the one, people). One highlight for me was an afternoon where I was huskier than Phil Mitchell and had zero energy. Someone handed me a spare ticket to The Ice Hole and I have never looked at cardboard the same way again.

It was clowning gold, beautiful theatre, laugh-out-loud comedy and Blue Peter wizardry all rolled into one. No words. No set. Just two absolute lunatics, pure commitment and a lot of DIY genius. Laurel & Hardy... meets a paper IKEA... on acid. I’ll never forget it. 

Daisy Doris May: Big Night Out is at Assembly George Square Studios at 9.50pm during the Edinburgh Fringe

Douglas Widick

I saw an incredible stand-up hour from Terence Hartnett about testicular cancer last year. From diagnosis to remission, he had us (and his nether regions) in stitches. At the end, he handed out little foam testes to each audience member.  

Douglas Widick: Paperclip is on at Gilded Balloon Patter House at 10.20pm during the Edinburgh Fringe

• More tomorrow!

Published: 30 Jul 2025