🎭 Edinburgh Festival Minute: 12 & 13 August 2026
Punchline on Leith returns, Half Price Hut begins, inside Sauna Theatre at Summerhall + five stars for one song repeated over and over
👋 Good morning festival fans. It's a busy one today! Thanks to everyone sending things in. The film festival and book fringe both begin tomorrow. Links to their programmes are below.
📆 Links to the programmes:
🎭 Fringe 🟨 International Festival 📚 Book Fringe (starts tomorrow) 🎬 Film Festival (starts tomorrow) 🎨 Art Festival (starts Fri 14th) 📚 Edinburgh International Book Festival (starts Sat 15th) 👍 Free Fringe 👍 PBS Free Fringe.
👀 The most-visited links from the last newsletter:
- 🚎 A 5-star show about bus stops that is selling out multiple dates.
- 🤠 How the Tattoo 'suddenly got cool': The Guardian.
- 🍿 Ten films to see at Edinburgh Film Festival: The Skinny.
- 💰 Pleasance boss: Tourist tax 'kneecapping' EdFringe performers.
- 🎭 How acts are turning bad reviews around: Kevin Fullerton, The List.
🗞️ Talk of the town: Festival news
🎤 After last year's sell-out, Punchline on Leith returns with two shows today. It's a comedy fundraiser with all proceeds going directly to fund the Citadel Youth Centre's vital work with young people and families in Leith. Previous guests include Nish Kumar and Stevie Martin. - Tickets here.
🎭 'The Battle for the Soul of the Edinburgh Fringe' - Local journalist Charlie Ellis spotlights the Free Fringe, described as 'a major countermovement fighting to keep the festival accessible'.
Edinburgh University Press
🏆 The first awards of the festival will be handed out on Friday morning. - Fergus Morgan has the details in The Crush Bar.
Fergus Morgan
🧖🏻♀️ The team behind the 80-seat Sauna Theatre at Summerhall this month say it 'couldn’t be further from being a gimmick'. - Katie Chambers, The Stage.
- "After you’ve got changed in one of the huts outside (bring you own swimming costume or, for a more Fringe experience, borrow one from a bucket and a pair of communal flipflops), you enter the sauna (rent two – yes, two – or bring your own) and the Aufguss ceremony, which originated in 20th-century German bathhouses, begins." - Sally Stott, The Scotsman.
- See what the Sauna Theatre is like and find line-up details on its Instagram page.
🎟️ With so many apps being promoted this year, and not much phone signal going around, you might want to buy a physical ticket for a show or two. Well now EdFest has opened what's described as 'a novel concept in the internet age: a physical box office on The Mound, allowing customers to purchase tickets in-person.' - Kevin Fullerton has the details in The List. It's the first time there's been a Fringe box office on the Mound since 2019, reports Jane Bradley in The Scotsman.
⭐️ Four & five star reviews
- There are a lot of 'good' reviews from people who don't normally review. The Minute avoids these and only sources from reliable regular reviewers you can trust.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Man Sings the Same Song Over and Over Again for an Hour. Until 31 Aug. Red Lecture Theatre at Summerhall. - Tickets (multiple dates are selling out).
⮑ "Conk delivers a masterclass on how to win over a skeptical audience. Has cult Fringe hit written all over it." - Lauren McKay, The List (with no spoilers about which song it is). The show gets three stars from Louis Cammell in Fest Mag and four stars in Chortle. So far everybody reviewing is behaving and honouring the artist Conk's wish for the song to remain a surprise for those attending.