Shedinburgh Fringe Festival has announced its full 2025 programme, alongside the reveal of a brand-new, purpose-built venue at the Edinburgh College of Art.
The Olivier Award-winning producers behind Fleabag and Baby Reindeer are launching this innovative space at the heart of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, running from 2 to 24 August.
The festival will present 28 one-night-only performances featuring a stellar line-up including Jayde Adams, Kieran Hurley, Sophie Duker, Shôn Dale-Jones, The Showstoppers, Ivo Graham, and Mark Watson.
Audiences can expect a mix of iconic Fringe hits and brand-new work, including stripped-back versions of The Duke, Heads Up, Age is a Feeling, Lorenzo, Showstopper! The Improvised Musical, Songs of the Heart Trilogy, Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen, and My Arm.
The programme also includes work-in-progress readings of three Shed Originals: REBELLION: After the B’nei Mitzvahs by Nick Cassenbaum, The Briar Patch by Ciara Elizabeth Smyth, and Mercurial by Rosaleen Cox, with more to be announced.
New shows from Flo & Joan, Annie Siddons, Christopher Brett-Bailey, Chloe Petts, James Ley, and Gary McNair will also feature, alongside The Sophie Duker Show, The Hillswick Wedding, and Talking About The Fire.
The daytime SHEDx talks will be free to attend and include panels hosted by Francesca Moody, Tim Bano, Annelie Powell, and Harriet Bolwell.
Deborah Frances-White said: “I’m giddy to have been invited to be part of this year’s Shedinburgh programme with my show Voices in Your Head which promises to be a raucous hour of unpredictable comedy in which the audience & I give the actors an experience none of us will ever forget. The Edinburgh Fringe is where I truly began my life as a comedian & where I’ve grown up and forged my most meaningful artistic relationships. I’m grateful I had the opportunity to make work there at a time when an ordinary person who was prepared to sleep in a bunk bed could afford to go – so it couldn’t be more exciting to have been gifted a whole shed to play in this year. I can’t wait to see who else will have the chance to get messy in the shed.”
Gary McNair added: “It’s incredible that a project founded on a pun and made during the pandemic has become such a beacon of potential and positivity for artists. I’m totally bowled over by the passion, determination and insane hard work that has gone into launching this festival, venue and idea. Personally, I owe a great debt of gratitude to the Edinburgh Fringe, I’ve had the most amazing experiences as an artist there over the years and I’m excited that Shedinburgh will now give that opportunity to others to do the same. I’m also particularly thrilled to be representing Scottish work along with Kieran Hurley, Marjolein Robertson and James Ley. And to top it all it’s a massive intervention that all tickets will be pay-what-you-can, Shedinburgh being as accessible to audiences as it is to artists is a game changer and I’m thrilled to be part of that when I get into the shed in August.”
Francesca Moody said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to be making this first programme announcement for Shedinburgh. A hugely diverse range of original work from an incredible roster of artists from the emerging to the emerged. We’re delighted that Shedinburgh means that these much-beloved shows, artists and makers of the future can perform at the Fringe this year. It’s likely I’ll be permanently sat in Shedinburgh for the duration of August and I’m thrilled we’ve been able to set up our home in the Edinburgh College of Art at the heart of the Fringe.”
Shedinburgh continues to challenge the traditional Fringe model by paying artists, covering travel and accommodation, and offering Pay What You Can tickets to audiences.
Listings and ticket information can be found here
