The definitive guide to what to binge at the Fringe
Edinburgh Festival returns next month with more than 50 Jewish acts - here's our pick of what to see
After performing at the Edinburgh Festival for the eighth time last year, comedian Bennett Arron decided he wouldn’t be returning. “Not because the show hadn’t gone well — quite the opposite. It played to full houses and received excellent reviews,” he says. “Nor had I been cancelled, protested or chased down the Royal Mile by an angry antisemitic mob.
No, The reason was much simpler: he felt he was getting a bit old for it. “I used to love going to the industry parties during the Festival. But last year I felt like I was someone’s dad who had come to pick them up. So why have I decided to go back this year? Well, one reason is because I am someone’s dad.”
Arron’s son Zander is returning to Edinburgh for the second year. Last year he and his fellow acting graduates brought the comedy play Holly Street to the Fringe and it picked up four and five-star reviews across the board. “I was incredibly proud… also slightly jealous. At his age I was celebrating if a joke got a laugh from someone who wasn’t related to me.”
This year they are returning with a new play, Is This Your First Crime? and Arron wants to see it – “although hopefully not six times, which was my tally last year and I knew the lines so well, I was one step away from demanding my own dressing room.
He is also returning to perform his own show. He is one of more than 50 Jewish performers taking to the stage at Edinburgh this year. Here is our pick of the ones to watch – literally.
Rachel Creeger: Queen of the Jews!
Rachel Creeger returns to the Fringe with a brand new show following the cancellation of her appearance last year. Queen of the Jews! is a warm and funny exploration of the line between paranoia and reality, asking when people really are out to get you. Described by The Telegraph as “one of the Fringe’s big talking points”, Creeger once again brings her trademark sharp observations and clever banter to the stage. There is also another chance to see Rachel’s long-running Ultimate Jewish Mother show where she shares relationship advice, solves family dramas and debates the correct way to cook brisket with warmth, wit and plenty of Jewish humour.
Daniel Cainer: What Am I, Chopped Liver?
Award-winning songwriter Daniel Cainer returns to the Fringe for his 21st year with a new collection of stories told through song. Inspired by current affairs, family life and relationships, What Am I, Chopped Liver? blends comedy with heartfelt storytelling accompanied by piano.
Joe Bor: The Adventures of Jasper Cromwell Jones
Comedian Joe Bor swaps stand-up comedy for character comedy as he revives the eccentric explorer Jasper Cromwell Jones. The hopelessly upper-class adventurer recounts his latest exploits in an hour of storytelling, absurd encounters and larger-than-life adventures. As seen on BBC, ITV and Channel 4, Bor was also crowned Jewish Comedian of the Year and called a ‘’must see’’ by Alan Carr.
David Benaim combines stand-up, storytelling and live Excel demonstrations in a show for spreadsheet experts and casual users alike. Alongside the comedy, audiences can pick up practical Excel tips from the self-confessed maths enthusiast and Excel YouTuber, who regularly advises Microsoft on future developments for the software.
Zoe Brownstone: How to be Happy all the Time
Two-time award nominated Canadian comedian Zoe Brownstone presents an hour-long survival guide exploring hard choices, family drama and the search for happiness. Combining honest storytelling with offbeat humour, she examines relationships, difficult decisions and the feeling of chasing happiness as though it were a competitive sport. Strangely relatable yet unimaginable and joyfully unhinged, Brownstone’s latest show is an unconventional take on modern life.
Julia Atkin makes her Edinburgh Fringe debut with a dark comedy that begins when she loses her big toenail and gains an unlikely spiritual adviser in her Ukrainian-Jewish podiatrist. Revisiting medical mishaps, identity crises and grief, Crying At My Podiatrist combines absurd body horror with a reluctant search for meaning. Blending existential dread with unexpected tenderness, Atkin finds humour in life’s more uncomfortable moments.
Bennett Arron: I Regret This Already
BAFTA shortlisted comedian Bennett Arron returns to Edinburgh with a new hour about a life where everything seems to go wrong. Despite making the Top Ten Jokes of the Fringe, Arron insists life still finds ways to laugh at him. Packed with self-deprecating humour, the show comes from the comedian described by The Guardian as “A Welsh Seinfeld” and praised by The Times as “genuinely original and funny”.
Debra Tammer: Extraordinary Alien
Debra Tammer brings Extraordinary Alien to Edinburgh, charting her journey from Leeds misfit to New York oddball. Through combining characters, Jewish humour and stories of marital survival, she takes aim at family drama, Botoxed New Yorkers and the horrifying challenges of US immigration. A fearless, funny and personal stand-up show, it celebrates being “too loud, too Jewish, too much” and discovering that is exactly the point.
Ben Dali: Humdinger Words for Lollygaggers & Fuddy-Duddies
Ben Dali presents a comedy, cabaret and poetry show exploring language, childhood and the unusual path that took him from seven-year-old poet to stage hypnotist and primary school teacher. Dali uses sharp wordplay, visual humour, comedy rap, trivia and improvised rhyming mentalism to celebrate the richness of the English language in all its forms. Packed with many surprises, the show promises an inventive hour that encourages curiosity, laughter and plenty of unforgettable talking points.
Fringe First winner Nick Cassenbaum returns with a new version of his sell-out international hit Bubble Schmeisis. Staged inside the UK’s first purpose-built sauna theatre, the promenade production follows Cassenbaum on a personal journey through identity, belonging and home. Sharing intimate stories with live klezmer music, ritual and memories of the Canning Town Schvitz, the show explores Jewish identity through humour and reflection in an immersive theatrical setting unlike any other at this year’s Fringe.
Sophia Wolbrom: Danger Plan!
Sophia Wolbrom’s Danger Plan! combines solo theatre, cabaret, original songs and dark humour to explore anxiety, generational trauma and growing up with the belief that you should always be prepared to run.Telling deeply personal stories with music and comedy, Wolbrom examines how family history can continue to shape the way we think about the future.
Leslie Gold brings back the hit panel show and podcast that sold out at last year’s Fringe. Joined by a rotating line up of guest comedians, the audience is invited to hear and vote on a series of humorous proposals designed to make the world a better place. Every performance features a different line up and a fresh set of ideas.
James O’Donoghue: James O’Donoghue Is Normal
James O’Donoghue presents a stand-up show discussing a lifelong struggle to be “normal”. Mixing surreal observations with stories ranging from Soviet tank warfare and artificial intelligence to childhood hecklers and an ongoing grudge against Mickey Mouse, the show embraces life’s absurdities. O’Donoghue blends personal experiences with alternative comedy in a performance that celebrates spectacularly failing to fit in.
Hot on the heels of a London show, multi-award-winning impressionist and singer Jess Robinson returns to the Edinburgh Fringe with Elton Reimagined, celebrating Elton John’s greatest hits through the voices of iconic female performers. This is Robinson’s 10th Edinburgh Fringe, combining pitch perfect impressions with powerhouse vocals, reimagining Elton classics as sung by the likes of Britney Spears, Barbra Streisand and Amy Winehouse.
Izzy Salant: Do Better: A Dramagedy
After successful runs at the San Diego and Hollywood Fringe festivals, award- winning playwright, actor and magician Izzay Salant brings Do Better: A Dramagedy to Edinburgh. A one-person comedic drama play with magic, this show follows how we navigate life after unwavering grief. After experiencing unimaginable loss, the only way forward is to laugh through the pain and do a card trick. In essence, this is how we “do better.”
Edinburgh Fringe Festival runs 7 – 31 August. Tickets at edfringe.com