The Edinburgh Festival Fringe’s official programme was launched today, with a raft of shows from A-list stars, newcomers and established cult acts. 

A few of the major themes highlighted by this year’s programme include climate and sustainability, world heritage, the female experience, neurodiversity, AI, capitalism and mental health; but in a programme with 3317 shows, there are topics both niche and populous. 

Plenty of famous faces will make their way to the Fringe this year, including Miriam Margolyes with Margolyes & Dickens: The Best Bits; Adam Kay with Undoctored, returning for one night only; Nish Kumar with his work-in-progress show Don’t Kill My Vibe; Rosie Jones with Triple Threat; and a tenth anniversary celebration from podcast sensation The Guilty Feminist. 

The brochure also features 354 free shows and 577 Pay What You Can/Want shows, alongside information about brand new venues and street events. 

Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said, ‘Revealing the programme is such an exciting moment for everyone involved in the Fringe, and we encourage audiences to jump right in, book some things that you know you will love, and take a chance on something new.

‘The Fringe programme is bursting with every kind of performance, so whether you’re excited for theatre or cabaret, or the best of comedy, music, dance, children’s shows, magic or circus; get ready to unleash your Fringe this August and experience the creativity, excitement and passion artists bring to Edinburgh every year.

‘Thank you to everyone who has a hand in making the Fringe happen. To artists, venues, workers, producers, technicians, promoters and support staff, we appreciate you and hope you have a fantastic Fringe. Thank you to Edinburgh’s local business community for your support; to Scotland’s residents who come out in their thousands, and to all audiences who keep the Fringe buzz alive by coming to see work. Bring on August!’

News of the programme comes as McCarthy announced the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society's decision to maintain its ties with Baillie Gifford, after the investment firm cancelled all of its sponsorship deals with literary festivals in the UK following protests over its links to fossil fuel companies and Israel. 

Over the past month, a number of high-profile book festivals like Edinburgh and Hay announced they were dissolving their partnership with Gifford after significant pressure from activist collective Fossil Free Books, which has demanded the company divest from fossil fuels and claiming that ‘solidarity with Palestine and climate justice are inextricably linked.’

As reported in The Guardian, the board of the Fringe Society had voted to ‘overwhelmingly’ maintain its partnership. McCarthy said, ‘We’re expected to be all things to all people, be the most values-driven organisations on the planet, alert to everything that’s going on in our geopolitical environment and to keep our teams in jobs, keep solvent and deal with deficits and loans from Covid that we’re all still carrying.

‘Expectations continue to grow – particularly for a festival that has a mantra to give anyone a stage and everyone a seat – when we have absolutely no core funding support to do that.’

Main picture: Jess Shurte.