The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival, showcasing thousands of performances across hundreds of venues each August. With so much on offer, it can be overwhelming to decide what to see.
To help you navigate the programme, we’ve rounded up 17 emerging theatre companies to see at Edinburgh Fringe 2024.
From dark comedies to immersive musicals, these are the shows to watch from up-and-coming talent.
Meg Rose-Dixon – Abrasion
Meg Rose-Dixon brings her hilarious and vital one-woman show Abrasion to the Fringe, tackling women’s struggles to be heard in the health sphere. This side-splitting tour de force reflects on a diagnosis journey, shining a light on how women’s health issues are frequently ignored.
Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose (Bothie), 31 July – 26 August (not 12th), 21:20 Book tickets:Â https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/abrasion
Brooklyn Rep – All The Fraudulent Horse Girls
This feral equine fantasia follows 11-year-old Audrey who is telepathically linked to all the other horse-girls in the world. Expect an outrageous, queer, absurd colt-comedy-melodrama from award-winning company Brooklyn Rep.
Assembly Roxy (Downstairs), 1-26 August (not 7th, 12th, 19th), 16:35 Book tickets:Â https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/all-the-fraudulent-horse-girls
Charlotte Anne-Tilley – Oh, Calm Down
From award-winning writer Charlotte Anne-Tilley comes a moving play about OCD, misdiagnosis and self-discovery. The show explores postnatal OCD and existential OCD through two interconnected stories set in 1999 and 2024.
Summerhall, Cairns Lecture Theatre, 1-26 August (not 12th, 19th), 15:00 Book tickets:Â https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/calm-down
Knock & Nash – Pillock
Pillock has ADHD and is trying to keep his head above water while navigating loneliness and hook-up culture. This darkly hilarious coming-of-age story captures the essence of the ADHD experience.
Assembly Rooms – Front Room, 1-25 August, 18:25 Book tickets:Â https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/pillock
Sacred Heart University Theatre Arts Program – Reject Me, Already
This innovative musical puts the audience in charge as matchmaker. You’ll pick who plays which role and who ends up with who in this feel-good romcom about two hopeless romantics searching for their soulmates.
Greenside (Lime Studio), 2-10 August, 19:40 & Greenside (Thistle Studio), 12-24 August (not 18th), 22:00, 23:10 Book tickets:Â https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/reject-me-already
Love Song Productions – Seconds to Midnight
Exploring queer friendship and platonic love against a backdrop of nuclear anxiety, this play follows Jo and Eddie through the first seven minutes of their friendship – and the final seven hours of the world.
Pleasance Courtyard – Bunker One, 31 July – 26 August (not 7th, 14th, 21st), 11:45 Book tickets:Â https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/seconds-to-midnight
Dan Hazelwood – Ascension
This historical drama delves into the life of 18th century castrato Leendert Hasenbosch, illuminating an ongoing journey of queer identity. Dan Hazelwood adapts Hasenbosch’s haunting diary, written during his exile for sodomy on Ascension Island.
Bedlam Theatre, 31 July – 26 August (not 12th, 19th), 11:00 Book tickets:Â https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/ascension
Fake Escape – DID YOU MEAN TO FALL LIKE THAT?
From award-winning writer Stephanie Martin comes a comedy about modern masculinity and sexual fluidity. James McGregor stars as Charlie, who’s on a journey of healing while rejecting societal pressures.
Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker 3), 31 July – 26 August, 11:35 Book tickets:Â https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/did-you-mean-fall
Daisy Boulton – Edge of Time
This groundbreaking one-woman musical is inspired by the life of feminist pioneer Hannah Gavron. Audiences are immersed in a dream world of original music as we experience moments from Gavron’s life in the 1960s. Underbelly (Belly Dancer), 1-25 August (not 12th), 12:50
Book tickets:Â https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/edge-of-time
Unleash The Llama Productions – In Defiance of Gravity
Ezra Montefiore is the greatest psychic of all time, defying all scientific explanations. But when his affair with Prince Felix Yusupov is exposed, he must fight for his reputation and his life in this story based on real historical events.
Summerhall – Demonstration Room, 1-26 August (not 12th, 19th), 21:15 Book tickets:Â https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/in-defiance-of-gravity
Stephanie Martin – Juniper and Jules
This queer rom-com explores falling in love, polyamory and navigating relationships without a template. Jules has just discovered she likes girls, while Juniper has always known in this sex-positive show.
Pleasance Courtyard (Bunker Two), 31 July – 26 August (not 12th,19th), 13:45 Book tickets:Â https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/juniper-and-jules
Kafka’s Metamorphosis: The Musical! With Puppets!
Commemorating the 100th anniversary of Kafka’s death, this witty musical features puppetry, shadow play and surreal meta-humor to bring the classic story to life in an entirely new way.
Pleasance Dome (Ace Dome), 31 July – 26 August (not 13th), 13:30 Book tickets:Â https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/kafka-s-metamorphosis-the-musical-with-puppets
Rachel E. Thorn – Me For You
Longlisted for the Kenneth Branagh Award, this new play tackles the paradox of wanting to be good people while being inherently self-absorbed. It follows a gay couple who join Extinction Rebellion, forcing them to confront their own motivations.
Pleasance Courtyard (The Green), 1-25 August (not 7th and 13th), 18:10 Book tickets:Â https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/me-for-you
Pearl Whirl Productions – The Emu War: A New Musical
Based on the bizarrely true tale of Australia’s Great Emu War of 1932, this uplifting musical carries a moving anti-war message that remains pertinent today. Expect catchy songs and plenty of laughs.
Pleasance Courtyard (Pleasance Two), 31 July – 25 August (not 14th), 12:00 Book tickets:Â https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/emu-war-a-new-musical
Baloney – The Room Upstairs
This genre-defying show explores ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) through the lens of a mother-daughter relationship. Featuring immersive audio, original compositions and puppetry, it shows how laughter can be the best medicine.
Pleasance Courtyard (Cellar), 31 July – 26 August (not 13th and 20th), 12:30 Book tickets:Â https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/room-upstairs
Kobold Blue – Things Between Heaven and Earth
This psychological thriller depicts the aftermath of a widow discovering her husband’s affair and murder through a book written by their close friend. It’s an explosive descent into human psychology and hidden truths.
Underbelly Bristo Square (Jersey), 8-26 August (not 13th), 13:00 Book tickets:Â https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/things-between-heaven-and-earth
Three Chickens Confront Existence
Three factory farm chickens attempt to find greater purpose through philosophical debates, games and emotional breakthroughs. This critically-acclaimed show promises to make audiences laugh, cry, and gain a fresh perspective on humans’ place in the universe.
Assembly Roxy (Downstairs), 1-26 August (not 12th), 14:50 Book tickets:Â https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/3-chickens-confront-existence
With such a diverse and exciting lineup of emerging theatre companies, the Edinburgh Fringe 2024 promises to be an unmissable event for theatre lovers. Book your tickets now to catch these innovative new works before they hit the big time!
