Comedian Ollie Horn Brings Two Cult Comedy Shows to 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Indulgently silly and wildly inventive, Ollie Horn is bringing up two cult comedy shows to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year: The Most Toast (8, 17 and 30 August) and Let’s Listen to Some of Lou Bega’s Other Songs Together for an Hour (12, 19 and 26 August).
Ollie has performed stand-up in over 25 countries, supported the likes of Jason Manford on tour, and has played across Australia as part of the ‘Best of the Edinburgh Fest’ cast, and featured at their major clubs.
A proven stand-up, it’s Ollie’s inventive side-quests that have propelled his success, with projects including his charming and skillful Kids Can Heckle stand-up hour, where Ollie deftly creates an hour of comedy from the unpredictable interventions of children, to the crowdwork masterclass The Most Toast, an interactive comedy experience where audience members are interrogated from their seats about how much toast they’ve had.
Very much in the original Fringe spirit of offbeat and alternative, The Most Toast is back this year and it is joined by the self-explanatory and only-Ollie-could-do-this show, Let’s Listen To Lou Bega’s Other Songs For An Hour.
The Most Toast is comedy from nothing, where the audience are also performers. Ollie asks his audience how much toast they’ve had, and the audience answers. A unifying, hilarious and fringe-only experience demonstrating Ollie’s skillset as one of the foremost quick-witted improvisers in the country. Bella Hull (Have I Got News For You, SNL UK, QI, Would I Lie To You?) will be joining Ollie for the show!
Ollie finally presents the most important show at the Edinburgh Fringe. After bringing multiple stand-up hours to the festival, being recognised by the British Comedy Guide as having “best-reviewed” shows, and packing out houses nationally and internationally: at last a show that matters: presenting critical analysis of some of Lou Bega’s other songs.
For too long Mambo Number 5 has reigned supreme as the go-to Bega banger. But what about Sweet Like Cola? Why did Scatman agree (posthumously) to collaborate with Mr Bega on a song where “Scatman” rhymes with “Hatman”? Erica might be by Lou’s side, but why might Rita be his favourite señorita?
We’ll be looking at the work in its historical context, and critically analyse the work. Is it credible that “[Lou] even got a girl in the Vatican Dome” in “I Got a Girl”? Why is it implicit from Sweet Like Cola that Rita may be overweight (by 90s standards)? When Mr Bega titles a song “1+1=2”, is he saying something more than a mathematical tautology? The answer to the last one is no.
Since starting stand-up comedy in 2014, Ollie Horn has toured to over 25 countries as a headline act. His debut show (Pig in Japan, 2019) chronicled his four years working in Japan as a minor TV and radio personality and Ollie was celebrated as a “gifted storyteller” (The Wee Review). His second show (Before/After, 2021) was a gag-filled take on body positivity, and full of “compelling and innate funny” stories (Steve Bennett, Chortle) of Ollie’s time stranded abroad during the Covid-19 pandemic. Ollie’s most personal show to date (Not Much, 2023) regaled stories of ten years on the comedy circuit, therapy and meeting his childhood comedy hero. It earned Ollie a string of four-star reviews and was optioned by Next Up for broadcast release. Ollie returned to the Fringe in 2024 with the unique ‘Comedy for Toxic People and their friends’ which was one of the best-reviewed shows that year.
In addition to club comedy and touring his solo hours, Ollie is in demand as a host and broadcaster. A resident MC at Top Secret Comedy Club, his sharp improvised crowd work clips have amassed millions of views online. Ollie has appeared as a commentator on BBC R4, Times Radio, The Spectator Podcast and NHK among others. He has presented for brands such as Snapchat, National Geographic Traveler, and Techstars.
Ollie is a co-founder and resident host of RGB Monster, a comedy production company that develops technology-driven format comedy shows. This year, those shows will include: 11PM Live at the Big Cave and Not My Audience! and 5 Headliners for £10.
Let’s Listen to Some of Lou Bega’s Other Songs Together for an Hour runs on 12, 19 and 26 August at 22:30 at Just The Big Room at Just The Tonic at The Caves. To buy tickets, click here - https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/let-s-listen-to-some-of-lou-bega-s-other-songs-together-for-an-hour.
The Most Toast runs on 8, 17 and 30 August at 15:00 at Just The Big Room at Just The Tonic at The Caves. To buy tickets, click here - https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/the-most-toast