Feathered thinkers and more: Edinburgh Fringe’s best animal‑adjacent shows of 2025
Celebrating all things furry, feathered, and fabulously odd here are the best shows featuring animals this Fringe:
Wild Thing!
Genre: Physical Theatre / Comedy / Drama Venue: Summerhall
Tom Bailey goes full David Attenborough on caffeine in this jaw-dropping, side-splitting performance of animal impersonations that morph into something truly moving. From a flirtatious frog to a melancholic parrot, the absurdity builds into a VR-powered elegy for extinct species. A stunning mix of clown, activism, and theatre - it’s “Planet Earth” on mushrooms.
Don’t miss if you like: weird animals, wild comedy, and sobbing into your tote bag.
Chickens Confront Existence
Genre: Absurdist Comedy / Theatre Venue: Underbelly Cowgate
This clucking masterpiece follows three chickens in a factory farm having a full-on existential breakdown. Philosophical, funny, and feathered, it’s Waiting for Godot with beaks. Expect Nietzschean angst, squawking rituals, and surprisingly tender moments.
Don’t miss if you like: existential crises, dark comedy, or fowl language.
FISH
Genre: Clown / Solo Show Venue: Royal Society of Edinburgh, Jade Studio
A lone fish dreams of becoming human - and what follows is a gentle, poetic piece of physical theatre exploring identity, isolation, and anxiety. Funmi’s performance is charming and heartfelt, with clowning that slips between laughter and loneliness like water through gills.
Don’t miss if you like: soft clowning, sad fish, and soul-searching under the sea.
Yes, We’re Related
Genre: Comedy / Theatre Venue: Underbelly Cowgate
While not technically about animals, this darkly funny two-hander does involve a squirrel (don’t ask - just go). A tale of two sisters, grief, genetic inheritance, and chaotic trifle-based mayhem. Think Fleabag meets Planet Zoo.
Don’t miss if you like: sibling rivalry, surreal comedy, and unexpected rodent cameos.
Final Word: Which Animal Are You This Fringe?
- Feeling silly but woke? → Wild Thing!
- Deeply existential and clucking about it? → Three Chickens Confront Existence
- Just want to swim away from your responsibilities? → FISH
- Living in chaotic squirrel energy? → Yes, We’re Related