The sheer choice is bewildering at the Fringe. With around 1600 comedy shows vying for attention, where do you spend your hard-earned? Here, Managing Editor Kevin Ibbotson-Wight recommends 10 shows that are as close to guaranteed crowd-pleasers as could be. From long-standing favourites, to those following up a sterling debut, there’s something that will cater for most tastes here. 

Ahir Shah – ‘Ends‘ (Pleasance Courtyard – Pleasance One, 12-23 Aug, 19:30). The safest of safe bets as Shah returns with a reprise of the show that won him the Comedy Award in 2023. ‘Ends’ was something of a surprise nomination for the award given that Shah brought it to the Fringe as a work-in-progress. The man himself is, of course, no stranger to being nominated, but to saunter in and win the top prize with a show that by definition wasn’t fully ready is quite something. An eloquent and fiercely intelligent comedian with an hour that must by now be polished to dazzling clarity.

Dan Tiernan – ‘Stomp‘ (Monkey Barrel 1 , 29 Jul – 25 Aug, 21:00). It wouldn’t be quite true to say Dan Tiernan’s debut ‘Going Under‘ was entirely a word-of-mouth phenomenon. There had been some buzz about the Stockport comic prior to last year’s festival, but there was little that could prepare for the whirlwind of bullish energy that Tiernan brings to a stage. Riffing on his dyspraxia and his sexuality, ‘Going Under’ was a brilliant calling card that deservedly received a nomination for Best Newcomer at the Comedy Awards. The shock of the new may be missing this year, but as with other acts who are following up a startling debut it will be more than intriguing to see how he builds on such strong foundations.

Elf Lyons – ‘Horses‘ (Pleasance Courtyard – Above, 31 Jul – 26 Aug, except 13, 21:20). The only thing you can predict about Elf Lyons’ shows is that they will be unpredictable. The versatile comedian, clown, actor, and director has brought a succession of surreal, original, and eccentric shows to Edinburgh. She married clowning with economics in ‘ChiffChaff‘, riffed on Tchaikovsky in the Comedy Award-nominated ‘Swan‘, and mined her darker side in the Poe-indebted horror-comedy ‘Raven‘. ‘Horses’ promises to be the first ever Fringe show performed by a horse. How will that play out? Can’t wait to find out.

Grubby Little Mitts – ‘Eyes Closes, Mouths Open‘ (Assembly George Square Studios – Studio Five, 31 Jul – 26 Aug, except 10, 16:35). Rosie Nicholls and Sullivan Brown knocked our socks off with their debut show in 2022. ‘Determined silliness with a hint of something darker’, we said. Last year’s show ‘Hello, Hi’ maintained that approach and pushed it further. With their signature red aesthetic, handmade props, and absurdist take on everyday life, the ‘Mitts’ have rapidly become one of the finest sketch acts at the Fringe in a very short space of time.

Jo Caulfield – ‘Pearls Before Swine‘ (The Stand 3, 2 – 25 Aug, except 12&19, 19:10). Jo’s shows never disappoint. Razor-sharp stand-up that always revolves around the things that have pissed her off in the previous year. Fortunately, there’s always a multitude of things to draw her ire. ‘Pearls Before Swine’ is her 2024 tour of the UK distilled down to the funniest stories and jokes. Her approach to comedy follows the maxim, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ to the letter. You know what you’re getting with a Jo Caulfield show, and that is partly what draws the crowds year after year.

Laura Davis – ‘Albatross‘ (Monkey Barrel 2, 1-25 Aug, except 14, 14:55). Now on their twelfth show, Laura Davis still flies under a lot of radars. Or too close to the sun. The title of their show lends itself to all manner of winged metaphors. Since ‘Ghost Machine’ in 2018, in which they performed cloaked in a sheet, Laura has been appointment viewing for me. There’s a formidable intelligence and self-possession at work in their shows that make them a distinctive performer. There’s also a sense of a solitary soul paradoxically compelled to seek an audience. Frequently challenging, but always original and fascinating.

Louise Atkinson – ‘She’s Got the Look‘ (Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose – Coorie, 1-25 Aug, 17:00). Along with Dan Tiernan, Louise Atkinson’s ‘Mates‘ was the debut that was most exciting in 2023. An introductory hour that gradually filled in her persona through the framing device of her friends, it was structurally clever and consistently hilarious. Her follow up deals with some disparaging comments she received at the time from someone in the industry. Picking apart issues of body image and societal expectations, and what your choice of biscuit says about you, ‘She’s Got the Look’ looks to have no indications of ‘difficult second album’ syndrome.

Mat Ewins – Ewins Some You Lose Some‘ (Monkey Barrel 4, 29 Jul – 25 Aug, 21:15). Few acts put more effort into a throwaway visual gag as DIY multimedia whizz Mat Ewins. Utilising a wide range of technology in the noble pursuit of being very silly indeed, Ewins stuffs his shows will all manner of madcap games, skits, and gags. It would give the illusion of being pure ramshackle whimsy if it wasn’t so evidently labour intensive. All the while Ewins leans into his nerdy persona and always has an infectious sense of kid in a candy store glee. This year sees him roping in some lucky audience members for the gameshow of the title. We’ll be there!

Seymour Mace – ‘Seymour F*cking Mace You C*nts!‘ (The Stand 2, 31 Jul – 25 Aug, except 12, 12:10). There’s a certain sweary theme to Seymour Mace’s shows, his 2015 Comedy Award-nominated show ‘Seymour Mace is Niche as F**k!’ being a good example. This carries through to the shows themselves, with the constant volley of profanities masking comedy that would be otherwise palatable to most tastes. Part stand-up, part clowning, part prop comedy, Mace packs all manner of styles into his anarchic shows. Open about his battles with depression, Seymour’s comedy is as much therapy for him as it is entertainment for us, which adds a slight edge to proceedings. A true original, and a unique comic performer.

Tom Ballard – ‘Good Point Well Made‘ (Monkey Barrel 2, 29 Jul – 25 Aug, 16:20). Like Jo Caulfield, you more or less know what you’ll be getting from a Tom Ballard show; an excoriating hour of bombast aimed predominantly at the right wing of politics. But the voluble Australian is just as likely to turn his invective in on himself, cheerfully acknowledging that even some of the most right-on members of his audience might flinch at the extremity to which he takes some of his material. It’s this this balance of self-righteousness and self-deprecation – along with his undeniable knack for a well-structured joke – that prevents him becoming a one-note polemicist. Someone’s snapped him up for review here at The Wee Review every time he’s performed at the Fringe, and it’s rare to get that level of uniform interest among our disparate writers.