Comedy shows for the early risers

The Edinburgh Fringe has a reputation for raucous and weird late-night entertainment… but there’s comedy on at the other end of the day too. Here are ten shows before lunch…

A Political Breakfast

This panel show has the honour of being the earliest full-run show in the comedy section – kicking off at 9.30am (although an Aussie one-woman show called Growing Up with Nits and Fleas is on at 9.15am in the finale week). A Political Breakfast is hosted by either Chris O’Neill or Harun Musho’d, who will drag four fellow comedians from their beds to mull over the big stories…

PBH's Free Fringe @ Greek Gyros Grill, 9.30am

Mark Simmons: Jokes At Noon

A lot of the early shows are pun-based, given how family-friendly the genre often is. And a man with plenty of them is Mark Simmons, as seen on Mock The Week and on almost every Jokes Of The Fringe list going.

PBH's Free Fringe @ Liquid Room, midday

Olivia Xing: Baby of Colour

LA-based Chinese comedian Olivia Xing comes to the fringe with her  absurd retelling of her IUD insertion, investigating what it means to create as a woman and comedian.

Gilded Ballon Teviot, 11.20am

Mike Rice: A Work in Progress Show (Testing New Horrible Material)

Many early shows are WIPs from comedians with polished shows elsewhere. But Rice is a bold choice for an 11.20am show, mind, as he’s most definitely a late-night comedian with a penchant for filth whose last shows have been called Cruel Little Man and Nasty Character, which says much about his stage persona…

Monkey Barrel Comedy Club, 11.20am

Amy Weber: Joy Ride

The musical comedian (with an opera degree that’s never been useful) brings her third solo show to the Fringe, after her last one made the 15-strong best show shortlist at the ISH Edinburgh Comedy Awards. 

Hoots @ Nicolson Square, 12:05pm.

I’m Here And It's OK

The Fringe programme’s full of dubious credits and boasts that don’t quite sound as good as the comedian thinks they do. John James Davies promotes himself with ‘as seen on ITV's Jeremy Beadle's HotShots 1996’ and  as the star of The Good, The Bad & The Snugly. That the first was a home video show and the second was an episode of a National Geographic show about prairie dogs suggests this character comedy show isn’t exactly being truthful…

Laughing Horse @ The Free Sisters, 12pm until August 22 

Sooz Kempner: Imposter

Sooz Kempner says she’s always felt like an imposter. Except in one area: singing. But when Sooz's voice suddenly stopped working the way it always had before, she had to face her imposter syndrome head-on.

Hoots @ Nicolson Square, 12:30pm

Alingon Mitra: Clean Cuts

Alingon Mitra came to prominence in the US on Last Comic Standing,  then racked up appearances on many late-night shows and writing credits for The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and Adam Ruins Everything. He’s leaning into the family slot with a swear-free show, promising to prove that ‘comedy without profanity can still cut deep’.

Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 10.30am

Seymour Mace Is Covered In Stickers!

The absurdist Geordie Fringe veteran – Edinburgh Comedy Award just over a decade ago – is doing what the title promises. The stickers have words on, each referring to a snippet of comedy, with the audience choosing what they want to hear…

Alchemist George Street, 12:15pm

Lindsey Santoro: It Was Like That When I Got Here

The Brummie made a splash with her bawdy debut Pink Tinge in 2023, winning NextUp’s Biggest Award in Comedy and earning her an Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer nomination as well as bookings on Live At The Apollo, Mel Giedroyc's Unforgivable and her own Radio 4 series. She’s back for just a half run. She told the Guardian last week that the show was about how she was never going to change as the problems she has are inherent, before adding: ‘I mean… it’s just me talking about fannies, arseholes and willies. But you can’t put that in the Guardian.’

Monkey Barrel Comedy (Cabaret Voltaire), 12:05pm from August 19

• And we previously mentioned SNL writers Chris Catrill, Ayo Adenenjan and Bella Hull, who are on at Monkey Barrel venues at 12.10pm, 1.30pm and 12.30pm respectively.

» Search Chortle’s Edinburgh Fringe listings by date and time

Published: 16 Jul 2026