The Edinburgh Festival Minute

🎭 Edinburgh Festival Minute: 9 & 10 August 2026

Amanda Knox verdict (not that verdict), the Saturday Night Live effect, four & five star reviews, the Queer Fringe guide + see Colin Firth's wet shirt

👋 Good morning festival fans. The last edition generated 15,000+ clickthroughs, which tells me it was useful (hopefully) and your feedback has been positive too. I think the format/template of the newsletter is locked in, but if there's anything that does or doesn't work for you, or something missing, please let me know in the comments section. Same goes for if you went to a show and want to recommend it. Your tips are welcome. Genuine tips though, please, no mates' favours! And there are some big discounts coming up later this week...

📆 Links to the programmes:

🎭 Fringe 🟨 International Festival 📚 Book Fringe (starts Thurs 13th) 🎬 Film Festival (starts Thurs 13th) 🎨 Art Festival (starts Fri 14th) 📚 Edinburgh International Book Festival (starts Sat 15th) 👍 Free Fringe 👍 PBS Free Fringe 🌊 Fringe by the Sea (last day today!)

🗞️ Talk of the town: Festival news

✈️ The traditional Red Arrows flypast over the castle during the Tattoo has been scrapped because they are stranded in Canada due to the weather. - David McKenna, BBC News.

🎤 After weeks of 'news' about Amanda Knox's show 'Cartwheel', and a 30,000+ signature petition to cancel it, the first reviews are in and they're mixed. 'Stilted, sincere and certainly not standup. Her Edinburgh Fringe Festival show is billed as comedy, which is wide of the mark — but neither can you accuse this flawed show of being sensationalist.' - by Dominic Maxwell in The Times Scotland.

'Amanda Knox says her murder trial evidence was ‘just vibes’ in comedy show' - Brooke Davies, Metro.
"Neither the author of this petition nor anyone who signed it has seen ‘Cartwheel.’ The petition contains many false assumptions and completely mischaracterizes the show." - Alyssa Ray, The Wrap.

🎬 'Sketch satire bites back at the Edinburgh Fringe thanks to Saturday Night Live effect: Comedians say the UK version of the hit show has created a new buzz around a format that had fallen out of favour.' - John Simpson reports in The Observer.

🎧 11 podcast shows to see this Fringe - Brian Donaldson in The List.

🎤 'Drag kings rule the Fringe: meet the women taking on masculinity at the Edinburgh festival' - Arusa Qureshi in The Scotsman.

🤐 'Mario Banushi on his non-verbal show: ‘There are moments in life that become too important for words’' - Lucy Ribchester in The List.

🗞️ 'The most powerful man at the Edinburgh Fringe: Chortle, Steve Bennett’s website, can make a comedian’s career – or break it', claims Ralph Jones in The New Statesman.

🎒 'I have some important advice for tourists this Edinburgh Festival Fringe' - Gaby Soutar speaks up for the locals in the Evening News.

📲 Something you might have read a lot so far this month are claims like: 'THIS IS THE BEST FRINGE APP!' + 'ALL THE SHOWS ON A MAP!' etc. The rise of AI tools means anyone can rustle up a festival app within minutes. But that's not a good thing, as many are flawed. Fergus Morgan of The Stage has noticed too, writing: "There is a plethora of online planners most of which have been vibe-coded with AI, which seems antithetical to the fringe ethos. It is best to stick to trusted voices." He'll be discussing this and more with an expert panel for The Crush Bar Live at Pleasance Courtyard on Thursday 13 August. - Read more here.

💰 Another topic that eventually comes up annually: money and the cost of performing. Kie Carson, Tamsyn Kelly, Selina Mosinski, Ahir Shah and Jack Skipper share their costs in this piece by Emma Sullivan in The Skinny.

🏳️‍🌈 This year's Queer Fringe guide has been published by the folks at Somewhere For Us. The listings feature 340+ shows and 113 original interviews. - Check it out here.

⭐️ 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.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Lou Wall: Where Are All the Tall Grandmas? Until 30 Aug. Monkey Barrel Comedy. - Tickets.
⮑ "Peak Fringe. None of it should work. But such is the geeky charm and dogged curiosity of Lou Wall that their audience is happy to follow them on the oddest of sociological investigations. Wall leaves their audience feeling intelligent, surprised, positive and giggly. A perfect fringe show." - Thom Dibdin, All Edinburgh Theatre.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Trainspotting Live. Until 30 Aug. Pleasance at EICC. - Tickets.
⮑ "The noise coming out of London currently would have us believe that Trainspotting has run its course, with the cancellation of the new musical based on Irvine Welsh’s original novel." - Ed Boulter-Comer in All Edinburgh Theatre.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Cecily Hitchcock: Family Recipe. Until 30 Aug. Pleasance Courtyard. - Tickets.
⮑ "It’s the tale of trying to fit into British monoculture when you’re the kind of teen who thinks about the bodies underneath your hamlet; whose love of Austin Powers threatens to come out at all times, even when you’re tying to pretend you’re not gay in the nearest All Bar One." - Louis Cammell in Fest Mag.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Li Jin Hao: Falling From a Moon. Until 30 Aug. Pleasance Courtyard. - Tickets here (some dates are now selling out).
⮑ "As with his debut show, you find yourself almost holding your breath because you don’t want to miss a thing by laughing too loud. It’s soft and special, and a uniquely communal experience." - Ashley Davies in The Scotsman.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Dee Allum: Raumdeuter, Pleasance Courtyard, until 30 Aug. - Tickets.
⮑ "Most importantly, it’s consistently funny, and Dee is a joy to spend time with. While some set-pieces could feel forced, they work, and it’s all tied up with a solid World Cup analogy. Well played." - Si Hawkins, Fest Mag.

🤔 How do critics begin to cover it and how do they decide what to review? Kate Copstick talks about The Scotsman's coverage with Scott Simon of NPR.

👀 Here's a handy page: Every show with a four or five star review from The Scotsman so far.

🎟️ Minute readers’ ticket discounts!

(Loads more coming this week ahead)

2️⃣4️⃣1️⃣ Lots of shows take part in the Fringe 2for1 days, which this year are on Monday 10 and Tuesday 11 August. - More details here.

🎟️ Craig Hill: You’re Not Even Safe Up The Back!

Venue: Just The Tonic, NUCLEUS (140 The Pleasance, EH8 9RR) This SUNDAY 9 August. 7.25pm-8.25pm.

"A Minute-only special preview price to see a riotous hour of standup comedy by Scotland's pocket-rocket Kilty Treasure who the Scotsman gave 5 stars and called “a revelation” and The List wrote: “Laugh-out-loud… Absolutely hilarious” "

Discount details: 2-for-1. Book one ticket at Just The Tonic, get two for the same price. DISCOUNT CODE: KILTY

🎟️ 2 Truths, 1 Lie, by Simon Caine

"The format is simple - 3 comedians on stage. 2 are telling the truth. 1 is lying. The audience can ask anything to work out who it is. Past comedians include Goeff Norcott, Lou Wall, Laura Lexx and more. And this year we've got acts like Mark Silcox, Tom Houghton, Milo Edwards, Finlay Christie, Spring Day and more."
Venue: Hoot 2 at Hoots @ The Apex. Daily until 31 Aug.

Discount details: Use code: Minute20 to get 20% off. Tickets here.

👀 Minute readers’ tips

"Karen Houge's show Dreamgirl will make you feel better no matter how your day is going. An exploration of immigration with a lot of laughs that reminds us what we share as humans, and how fragile that hope can be." - Thanks to Josh Cake for sharing this on the Minute Instagram post.
"I have compiled a list of the 11 shows that I – an academic specialising in humour and comedy – am most excited about this year in Edinburgh." - Emma Sullivan, Associate Lecturer, The Open University, in The Conversation.
"Thought I’d share this exciting news story about Colin Firth’s wet shirt coming to Edinburgh. It will be on display from tomorrow!" - Thanks to the wonderful Elinor at Dovecot for sharing this.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Local interest

🏡 The annual Colony of Artists weekend dates have been announced: On Saturday 20 & Sunday 21 September, 134 artists across more than 60 venues will open their homes, gardens and spaces across the Abbeyhill Colonies and surrounding area for a weekend celebrating art, creativity and community. - More details here.

👋 One of the most terrifying local traditions I ever witnessed as a child was seeing The Burryman in South Queensferry. After 15 years in the bizarre burr-covered outfit, Andrew Taylor signed off in his last Ferry Fair outing on Friday. - Lee Dalgetty reports.

💌 Thanks for reading edition 2 of the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Minute! See all the editions here. Back tomorrow around midday.

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