Expecting every LBGT show to include a coming out story and a rainbow flag would be like presuming every straight white male comic has the ‘tears of a clown’. Edinburgh Fringe is awash with sharp, clever imaginative performers, who all share their own individual take on life.
Here are some of the incredible highlights from the comedy roster that also happen to come with a pink perspective. Sparkling.
Priya Hall: Grandmother’s Daughter
A show about parents and grandparents sounds like a good place to start when reflecting upon your own journey into motherhood with your girlfriend, which is exactly where Hall takes us. Turning to her nan for a spot of wisdom, Hall reflects upon what kind of parents to become – as well as navigating through IVF treatment and the NHS’s ‘support’ system. Boasts displays of wordsmithery which have already bagged Hall her own BBC sitcom pilot.
Priya Hall: Grandmother’s Daughter,16:20 Monkey Barrel 2, 31 July-27 August (except 11
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/priya-hall-grandmother-s-daughter
Robin Tran: Don’t Look At Me
Making her Edinburgh debut, Tran has a lot to say about being an American Asian transgender lesbian, skirting and playing with audience boundaries as she says it. Lauded Stateside by such comedy luminaries as Margaret Cho and Patton Oswalt, Tran’s star is rising meteorically, strapped to a message of optimism and gratitude. Covering race, gender and lesbian porn, Tran’s crude opinions may shake up a few dusty ideas for the better.
Robin Tran: Don’t Look At Me 18:25 Assembly George Square – The Box, 2-27 August (except 15)
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/robin-tran-don-t-look-at-me
Josh Jones: Gobsmacked
Coming back on a high after being nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award’s Best Newcomer prize in 2022, Jones returns with a fresh new show and an even higher profile thanks to all the telly work he’s been doing in the meantime. Expect a slice of Mancunian life accompanied by practised wit and smart talking, as well as material mined from his two popular podcasts Dave’s Hard Sell (with Darren Harriott) and Chatting With Cherubs (with Morgan Rees).
Josh Jones: Gobsmacked 20:20 Pleasance Courtyard – Baby Grand, 2-27 August (except14)
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/josh-jones-gobsmacked
Andrew O’Neill: Geburah
The non-binary wildebeest of a comic has a bag of tricks that include black metal, steampunk, surreal whims of fancy, the occult, a BBC radio sitcom in which demons from another universe come through a hole they accidentally made in North London while celebrating their wife’s birthday and a counter-culture inclination that takes joy in the sublime. See what the creative adventurer brings to town this time.
Andrew O’Neill: Geburah, 22:25 Monkey Barrel 1, 2-28 August (Except 15 & 22),
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on#q=%22Andrew%20O’Neill%20–%20Geburah%22
David Ian: (Just A) Perfect Gay
David Ian took that moment of never quite fitting in as gay within a small town to the big city, with hopes and dreams of embracing his tribe where other gay people lived – and found he was just as awkward and compromising as he had been back home, just in new and different ways. One of the founders of The Queer Comedy Club (the UK’s first permanent LGBTQ+ comedy club), Ian shares anecdotes of his own different types of faux gayness for work, play, and all the places in between until he finally stopped and took a look at who he might be when he wasn’t trying to fit in.
Just The Tonic @ The Caves – Just Upstairs, 3-27 August (except 14), 21:05, £7/6
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/david-ian-just-a-perfect-gay
Sophie Santos: Is Codependent!
Acclaimed author and musical comedian Santos brings their debut over from the States to unpack a road trip to LA with their invisible pal, undiagnosed ADHD. Undertaken after being advised by a life coach that the best way to win their ex back was to start taking care of themselves, what results is a hot house of self-discovery with a side order of heartbreak and hopefully self-acceptance. Nominated for the Queerty Awards Best Read, and head writer and producer for ‘Lil Interns, starring SNL’s Kenan Thompson, this is Santos standing alone and being honestly funny.
Sophie Santos: Is Codependent! Just The Tonic @ The Caves – Just Upstairs, 3-27 August (except 14), 21:05, £7/6
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/david-ian-just-a-perfect-gay
Baga Chipz: Material Girl
In for a short run is the marvellous star of RuPaul’s Drag Race Baga Chipz, promising big production values and snazzy dancers. Expect cutting quips and camp cabaret from her first ever hour-long solo show, with out-loud laughter and bold as brass comedy.
Baga Chipz: Material Girl. 20:30 Gilded Balloon Teviot – Debating Hall, 4-9 August
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/baga-chipz-material-girl
A Tinderella Story: Swipe, Wince, Repeat (A Hilarious Journey Into Pansexual Dating)
Canadian comic J Murphy’s TED talk-esque show on surviving and even thriving in the modern pansexual dating world arrives to help and entertain all. With a smorgasbord of anecdotes ranging from casual lies about height and marital status, to less familiar money laundering and crypto scams, there are universal truths and absolute one-offs to learn and laugh with. It’s modern dating in a modern age, in the pursuit of the oldest happiness known to human.
A Tinderella Story: Swipe, Wince, Repeat (A Hilarious Journey Into Pansexual Dating)
22:00 Just The Tonic @ Grassmarket Centre – Little Kirk, 3-10 August
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/tinderella-story-swipe-wince-repeat
Kuan-Wen Huang: Ilha Formosa
The titular Ilha Formosa refers to Huang’s home island of Taiwan, land of his family, and his ancestors, and of an impending global threat as the tinder box of China’s desire for the territory. With this in mind he becomes the proverbial fish out of water and joins his country’s armed forces – not the natural environment for a self-described ‘over-the-top, effervescent musical-theatre gay boy’. Bullied and tear-gassed, with the world held hostage by Taiwan’s major control of its semi-conductor chips, this is a macro and micro story to compel from start to finish.
17:40 Gilded Balloon Teviot – Lounge, 2-27 August (except 15
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/kuan-wen-huang-ilha-formosa
Jodie Mitchell: Becoming John Travula
Jodie Mitchell shares the remarkable perspectives they experience as non-binary – and as their on stage drag male persona John Travula. Guess which one seems to demand more authority and space? Yup, it’s Prince of the drag scene and off Broadway award winner John. Examining gender identity, perceived masculinity, and experimenting, there’s plenty to get your head around from this exciting comedian, writer and actor.
Jodie Mitchell: Becoming John Travula, 21:50, Pleasance Below, 2-27 August (except 16)
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/jodie-mitchell-becoming-john-travulva
Tim Murray: Is Witches!
Mixing stand up and songs, Murray, painted green and in drag, celebrates his favourite pop culture witches. It’s a perfect allegory for growing up gay and finding your magic and your coven. With classic parallels to witch-hunting and exclusion, original songs include ‘I Wanna Be Witches’ and ‘I Hate Kids’ to accompany this autobiographical tale of a fem closeted boy growing up into his own magical self.
Tim Murray: Is Witches! 21:30 Underbelly Bristo Square – The Dairy Room, 2-28 August (except 14)
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/tim-murray-is-witches
Adam Kay: Undoctored – This Is Going To Hurt… More
New book, new tour – Adam Kay is back for his first full month at the Edinburgh Fringe since 2016 when he brought his show ‘This Is Going To Hurt’ to town. Now a bestselling book and multi award-winning BBC television series starring Ben Whishaw, Undoctored is the sequel, with added tales of happenings on and off the wards. A dark, brutal, accurate and humourous critique of the NHS and medical profession in general, as well as its impact on his relationships away from the white coat.
Adam Kay: Undoctored – This Is Going To Hurt… (Various times) More Pleasance Courtyard – The Grand, 2-28 August (except 15)
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/adam-kay-undoctored-this-is-going-to-hurt-more
