High-impact spectacular heads a new batch of shows released this week

The Wrestling is returning to the Edinburgh Fringe, once again pitching comedians against real-life grapplers.

This year’s one-off will be taking place in the biggest room at the festival, Assembly Hall, on August 23.

The star line-up is yet to be revealed, but past guests have included Joe Lycett, James Acaster, Sara Pascoe, Katherine Ryan, Nish Kumar, Aisling Bea and Joel Dommett.

The Wrestling is the invention of comedy duo  Ivan Gonzalez and Max Olesker, who formerly wrestled under the name Max Voltage. The pair also used their love of the sport to create the ITV comedy  Deep Heat.

Tickets are available here, priced £25, with profits going to Comic Relief.

It is one of a swathe of shows due to be added to the Fringe programme this week – the last major batch of additions to the festival and marking the last which have been submitted in time for the printed guide.

The Pleasance has announced dozens of new shows including:

• Shrill star Patti Harrison, and one of Variety's 10 Comics to Watch 2019, making her Edinburgh debut with a self-titled show
• Fellow US comedian Jacqueline Novak performing her highbrow show about blow jobs, Get On Your Knees (Read our 4* review here)
• Big Boys & Friends, a silly comedy-cabaret mixed-bill from Channel 4’s critically acclaimed Big Boys, fronted by its creator Jack Rooke and star Jon Pointing
• Drag Race star Bianca Del Rio returning to the stage in a new show called  Unsanitized
• Richard and Greta: the risque alter egos of  Nina Conti   and Shenoah Allen (The Pajama Men) presenting a show called Comedy Sassafras
• The Chortle Student Comedy Award Final on August 15. Tickets

Elsewhere:

• Ed Gamble will be bringing his latest show Electric to Assembly from August 8 to 14
• Loose Women anchor Kaye Adam is to play two dates in Gilded Balloon’s Debating Chamber, based on her podcast How To Be 60
• Thom Tuck and Tim FitzHigham present a comic version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth at Underbelly  with a different guest director each night  

Tickets are available from the venues, and will be added to the official edfringe website – and Chortle's Edinburgh Fringe listings – on Thursday.

Fringe performances run from August 3 to 29, and each day until the final Saturday Chortle will be presenting the Fast Fringe showcase of some of the best acts at the festival,

Published: 7 Jun 2022