Shedinburgh Fringe Festival makes its return as a live venue with a mix of Fringe favourites, household names and rising stars appearing in a diverse line-up of theatre, comedy, performance art, live music, and talks. Today sees the first announcement of the inaugural programme of 28 one-off, one-night-only shows. Further shows are still to be announced, with special ‘Secret Sets’ revealed during the festival.

Shedinburgh will set up home in a purpose-built, 100 seat venue at the Edinburgh College of Art. By day a cafe and bar for artists to meet, collaborate and create; by night a stage for performance. Audiences will be able to experience an exciting mix of iconic Fringe shows alongside brand new never-before-seen work.

Alongside the already announced Jayde Adams, ‘How to Lose and Not Cry’; Mark Watson, ‘20 Years of Doing My Absolute Bloody Best’; Deborah Frances-White, ‘Voices In Your Head’; Ivo Graham, ‘Balloons’; Sh!t Theatre’s ‘Or What’s Left of Us’; Marlow & Moss, ‘An Evening With Marlow and Moss’; and Maimuna Memon, ‘Manic Street Creature’; Shedinburgh will also feature stripped back versions of legendary Fringe hits including Shôn Dale-Jones’ ‘The Duke’, Kieran Hurley’s ‘Heads Up’, Hayley Mcgee’s ‘Age is a Feeling’, Ben Target’s ‘Lorenzo’, ‘Showstopper! The Improvised Musical’, James Rowland’s ‘Songs of the Heart’ Trilogy, Marcelo Dos Santos’ ‘Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen’, and Tim Crouch’s ‘My Arm’.

New shows from Flo & Joan ‘The Birds, The Birds!’, Annie Siddons ‘Dickie Dimplethorpe Has a Day’, Christopher Brett-Bailey ‘I Saw Satan At The 7-Eleven’, Chloe Petts ‘Miscellaneous’, James Ley ‘First, Let Me Ask You Some Questions’ and Gary McNair ‘Clamjamfry’ will feature alongside work from Sophie Duker, ‘The Sophie Duker Show’; Marjolein Robertson, ‘The Hillswick Wedding’; and Chris Thorpe, ‘Talking About The Fire’.

With a commitment to supporting emerging artists within the programme, the Shed Originals series will see brand new work from Nick Cassenbaum; ‘REBELLION: After the B’nei Mitzvahs’, Ciara Elizabeth Smyth ‘The Briar Patch’ and Rosaleen Cox ‘Mercurial’. These will be work-in-progress readings, with development supported by Shedinburgh. Further writers for the series are to be announced.

The daytime programme will also feature a series of free-to-attend SHEDx talks designed to encourage conversation and dialogue within the industry, with the first four announced today to be hosted by key figures from within the sector; ‘How to Produce a Fringe Hit’ hosted by Producer Francesca Moody, ‘Navigating the UK Touring Network’ hosted by Producer Harriet Bolwell, ‘Casting, Who Needs It?’ hosted by Casting Director Annelie Powell and ‘How to get a 5 star review at the Fringe’ hosted by Theatre Critic Tim Bano. Further panellists and SHEDx talks are to be announced.

Deborah Frances-White said: ‘I’m giddy to have been invited to be part of this year’s Shedinburgh programme with my show ‘Voices in Your Head’ which promises to be a raucous hour of unpredictable comedy in which the audience and I give the actors an experience none of us will ever forget. The Edinburgh Fringe is where I truly began my life as a comedian and where I’ve grown up and forged my most meaningful artistic relationships. I’m grateful I had the opportunity to make work there at a time when an ordinary person who was prepared to sleep in a bunk bed could afford to go – so it couldn’t be more exciting to have been gifted a whole shed to play in this year. I can’t wait to see who else will have the chance to get messy in the shed.’

Gary McNair said: ‘It’s incredible that a project founded on a pun and made during the pandemic has become such a beacon of potential and positivity for artists. I’m totally bowled over by the passion, determination and insane hard work that has gone into launching this festival, venue and idea. Personally, I owe a great debt of gratitude to the Edinburgh Fringe, I’ve had the most amazing experiences as an artist there over the years and I’m excited that Shedinburgh will now give that opportunity to others to do the same. I’m also particularly thrilled to be representing Scottish work along with Kieran Hurley, Marjolein Robertson and James Ley. And to top it all it’s a massive intervention that all tickets will be pay-what-you-can, Shedinburgh being as accessible to audiences as it is to artists is a game changer and I’m thrilled to be part of that when I get into the shed in August.’

Francesca Moody said: ‘We’re absolutely thrilled to be making this first programme announcement for Shedinburgh. A hugely diverse range of original work from an incredible roster of artists from the emerging to the emerged. We’re delighted that Shedinburgh means that these much-beloved shows, artists and makers of the future can perform at the Fringe this year. It’s likely I’ll be permanently sat in Shedinburgh for the duration of August and I’m thrilled we’ve been able to set up our home in the Edinburgh College of Arts at the heart of the Fringe.’

Shedinburgh is committed to keeping the Fringe sustainable and accessible to artists and audiences. It reimagines the traditional fringe model by paying financial guarantees to all artists and creatives and covering their travel and accommodation, with ‘Pay What You Can’ tickets available to audiences for every show.

Shedinburgh will also be opening applications for its Shedload-of-Future Fund. The fund will award three £5,000 grants to artists making their Fringe debut in 2025. The bursaries can be put towards any costs associated with bringing a show to the Fringe, including travel, marketing, accommodation, set, and artists’ time.

A £2 levy on all tickets sold to Shedinburgh’s season will go directly towards the Shedload of Future Fund for future years.

In its dedication towards supporting artists, creatives are invited to register for a Shedinburgh Artist Pass, giving them priority booking for shows, a discount on food and beverages, along with access to an exclusive Artist Newsletter.

Supporter tickets on sale from Tuesday 27th May

Shedinburgh Artist Pass holders tickets on sale from Wednesday 28th May

General tickets on sale from Thursday 29th May

Full programme details available now at www.shedinburgh.com