With just over a month to go now until the start of this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, we’ve taken a look at the best theatre shows to check out in August.
The world’s largest arts festival has, as always, got hundreds of great theatrical treats to choose from, performing across the city in our theatres, function rooms, gym halls and even pubs.
Among the 42 theatre shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe we’ve highlighted are a great mix of returning shows, debuts and even some world premiere runs in Edinburgh.
Check out our galley below to help you choose which theatre shows you will be watching in Edinburgh this August.
13. Oil & Whiskey
For a one-week, special engagement, the award-winning, off-Broadway, country rock musical, Oil and Whiskey, will make its way to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe ahead of a three-week Off West End London run. Oil and Whiskey will perform at The Nightclub at The Street as part of PBH’s Free Fringe, Sunday 23 - Sunday 30 August. ‘The Last Five Years’ meets Nashville Honky Tonk; Oil & Whiskey is a dramedy about two ex-lovers who meet for a drink and relive their entire relationship over a couple of rounds of whiskey. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and by the end you will remember why: you don’t text your ex. At the forefront of the recent Americana resurgence in Edinburgh and NYC, this toe-stomping musical written in Nashville, Tennessee, will immerse audiences in an authentic country rock cabaret concert akin to an evening at the Grand Ole Opry. Oil & Whiskey, 7.45pm, August 23-30, at The Nightclub at PBH's Free Fringe @ The Street. | Submitted
14. PILATE: The Lost Gospel
International Stage and Screen Actor Maxwell Caulfield brings powerful one-man drama PILATE: The Lost Gospel to Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026. Best known for his screen work in Grease 2, Empire Records, Dynasty, Casualty and Emmerdale, Caulfield has also enjoyed a rich theatrical career spanning Broadway and the West End. Written by Michael Punter, directed by Asaad Kelada and presented by Mark Rozzano the engagement runs from August 5-30 at the Pleasance Courtyard at 10.45am each day.The setting is Rome in 36AD and the notorious Pontius Pilate has been summoned back for his conduct as Governor of Judea. Through his eyes we learn the events that led up to and determined the fate of Jesus Christ. The account Pilate relays is not the one Rome nor we might expect. Drawing on the Gospels, the historian Josephus and other primary sources, Punter constructs a Pilate who is neither a villain nor an innocent but a man of his world, undone by a decision he cannot escape. The play asks not whether he was guilty but whether guilt itself is something a man can outrun. PILATE: The Lost Gospel , August 5-30, (no performances on 12, 19 and 25 August), 10.45am, at Above at Pleasance Courtyard, 60 Pleasance. | Four PR
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15. Annie Wobbler (Revisited)
Olivier Award-winning actress Nichola McAuliffe will return to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 45 years after playwright Arnold Wesker originally wrote Annie Wobbler especially for her, in a powerful new revival exploring identity, insecurity and the pressure people feel to perform versions of themselves to fit in the world around them. Originally written in 1981, the play has now been revisited for a new generation at a time when conversations around confidence, visibility, ageing and self-image feel more intense than ever. In an era shaped by social media, constant self-surveillance and pressure to appear successful, confident and in control, the production asks a question that feels urgently modern: how much of who we present to the world is really us? The play follows three entirely separate women confronting their own forms of imposter syndrome, all played by McAuliffe in a tour-de-force one-woman performance. Annie Wobbler (Revisited), Pleasance Dome - Ace Dome, 1pm, August 7-31 (no performances on Monday 17 and Tuesday 18 August) . | Four PR
16. Murder, She Didn’t Write
Edinburgh Fringe veterans, Murder, She Didn’t Write, is returning to the festival for its 12th year at the Edinburgh Fringe. In Murder, She Didn’t Write, the improv legends Degrees of Error perform an entirely improvised Agatha Christie-inspired murder mystery each night, where the audience become the author. The show will run at 14:15 daily from 5 to 31 August, at the Gordon Aikman Theatre, Assembly George Square. The Edinburgh Fringe run is part of a UK-wide tour the company is undertaking, including September dates across Scotland, and performances in London’s West End at the Duchess Theatre. Each night, the ensemble of brightly coloured characters invite an audience member to choose the murderer and victim, in a Cluedo-esque take on the improv format. From a poisoning at a synchronised swimming gala, to being crushed to death at a Love Island recoupling, the slick and experienced cast use quick-witted humour to turn nonsensical story lines into a hilarious and unique show every time. Murder, She Didn't Write, at Gordon Aikman Theatre, Assembly George Square, August 5-31, 2.15pm. | Submitted