Ten shows about religion and cults

Here are ten shows about religion and cults at the Fringe... and generally about how bad they are. Amen.

Wild Wild Christian

The 2018 Netflix documentary Wild Wild Country told the story of the  controversial Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (aka Osho) and his followers in the Rajneeshpuram community in Wasco County, Oregon – known for launching salmonella bioterror attacks and an assassination plot against the US attorney for Oregon.  The site eventually became a Christian camp called the Washington Family Ranch, which is where  Simone McAlonen, pictured, spent her childhood in a strict abstinence culture, Her story covers those experiences  as well as exploring the links between American Evangelicalism and the current political climate in the US.

Greenside @ Riddles Court, 19:50

The Buddha Wears Prada

Sofia May used to be part of an off-the-grid Buddhist community in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, where she worked  as the assistant to a cult leader she describes as ‘impossibly chic and diabolical’. But she turned whistleblower, becoming a key witnesses in an exposé that brought stories of sexual harassment into the open. She has now converted those harrowing experiences into a dark one-woman comedy show.

Dragonfly, 15:15

Eat Pray Cult

Eat Pray Cult is a stand-up show about getting divorced and joining a cult. ‘Well, almost ​a cult’ is how Amy Brown Carver describes the ‘seasonal, off-grid, techo-futurist, decentralised intentional community’ she joined in the middle of the Californian desert known as Mars College. She previously featured in a Guardian feature about the experiment. 

Laughing Horse @ Coco Boho, 14:45

Alan Palmer (A Little Bit Gay)

Alan Palmer played Corcus on The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers – but he also grew up as a semi-closeted gay Mormon. This is his ‘outlandish, outrageous’ story - told  with the mantra that ‘life is a musical’.

Just The Tonic at The Mash House, 14:10

Theologist

Raised Catholic, and embracing the faith so much that he once considered priesthood, Oli Riordan has studied the Church’s theology for a decade. The reason, he says, is because as a bisexual atheist he has to know his enemy. In this debut, the runner-up in Dublin’s Next Top Comic 2019 promises to point out the ‘silly, interesting and thoroughly relatable aspects of the world's best-selling, but least read, book’. (That’s The Bible, not Dan Brown).

TheSpace on the Mile, 22:30, Aug 12-18 and 25-29

Jehovah’s Witness For The Prosecution

Chris Ford grew up a strict Jehovah’s Witness – which made it rather difficult when he experienced his queer awakening. His ‘honest, heartfelt,’ show, still a work in progress this Fringe, also covers the absurdities of Kingdom Hall life and stories from his job as an A&E nurse.

PBH's Free Fringe @ Carbon, 15:10, August 15-21 only

The Landlady

Brooke Flint describes herself as an ‘ex-Mormon desperately seeking signs, meaning and a punchline’  in the blurb for her show about faith, addiction, grief and the absurd. Kudos to the performer for her social media handle: brookeofmormon

Greenside @ George Street, 23:00

The Rise and Fall of a Mormon Homecoming Princess

Sticking with the Church of Latter Day Saints, Californian stand-up Meghan Bean uses her Edinburgh Fringe debut to speak about growing up a Mormon girl in the early 2000s and ‘trying to be the best sparkly perfect sexy modest religious school-girly one can be’.

Just the Tonic at The Mash House, 18:25

Hole!

Time for a fictional cult. Hole!, in the musicals section of the Fringe programme, tells of a religious sect in Nebraska that wears butt plugs at all times because they believe a wrathful God shall suck the unplugged, ass-first, to burn on the face of the sun. And wouldn’t you know it – turns out they were right. This show follows two cult members  who survived ‘The Great Sucking’ as they embark on a holy mission across America a decade after the apocalypse 

Underbelly Bristo Square, 21:30

Hajar, Like Badger

In her debut, British-Iranian musical comedian (and Channel 4 Secret Genius finalist) Hajar J Woodland tells of being raised in a strict Muslim household where birthdays weren't celebrated and singing on the stage was considered taboo. But she did it anyway, becoming a professional who performed at luxury events and private parties for elites, including high-profile footballers and City types. 

Hoots @ The Apex, 12:50

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Published: 15 Jul 2026