We’re nearing the end of the last week of the Fringe and we’re all ready for a lie down. But as you hear performers wandering the streets exhausted or emotional, think of those who have survived near-death experiences to perform. Some of these comedians might be a bit more in need of some time off than the rest of us. And some of them deserve to have a moan about things, having overcome accidents and terror charges to get their show to the Fringe.

Veteran Fringe comedian Seymour Mace has been performing at the Fringe for over 20 years, so is used to the marathon month. But this year, Mace has survived severe head injuries and a damaged leg to perform his show, after being hit by a car on Edinburgh’s Dublin Street while on his bike. Two days after suffering severe injuries, the comic was back at The Stand performing his show, Seymour Mace Does Things With Stuff.

We reviewed Mace in 2023, saying: ‘Beneath his bile, the furiously creative jokes and entertaining drawings is an altruistic message.’

Another comic who has overcome a brush with death is John Tothill, who survived not one, but two near-death experiences: before his 2023 debut show The Last Living Libertine, the comedian contracted malaria as part of a medical trial. And then while performing his show in 2024, Tothill started suffering from severe stomach pain. He later found out his appendix had burst and had to cancel nine performances. This year, Tothill seems to have made it through the Fringe with all body parts intact and without adding another near-death experience to his list.

Glasgow comedian Susan Riddell was forced to cancel her Fringe run due to terrorism charges, after a Ford transit van was driven into the perimeter fence of the controversial Leonardo facility in Edinburgh. Riddell has long been a mainstay of Scotland’s comedy scene, receiving a nomination for the Billy Connolly Spirit Of Glasgow Award and appearing in our Hot 100.

The comedian will beam her show How Do You Sleep At Night? into Monkey Barrel Comedy via Zoom from her Glasgow home for one night and one night only, on Friday 22nd August.

Award-winning comedian Mark Nelson also had to cancel shows due to ill health, saying: ‘I am sorry and gutted to do this. This is the first time I have ever pulled a show in 12 years.’ After 2 days, Nelson returned to perform his show on Thursday 21 August, and said on Instagram that he had rewritten some of the show during a fever dream. We’ve previously described the comic as possessing ‘a talent that is simply obscene.’

Seymour Mace Does Things With Stuff, The Stand Comedy Club, until 24 August, 12.45pm; John Tothill: This Must Be Heaven, Pleasance Courtyard, until 24 August, times vary; Susan Riddell: How Do You Sleep at Night? (The Bail Restriction Edition), Monkey Barrel, 22 August, 10.40pm; Mark Nelson: Nearly Liquid Gold, Monkey Barrel, until 24 August, 7.05pm.