We asked comedians heading to the Edinburgh Festival to recommend acts who are doing their debut show. It gets harder each year for new comedians to head up to Edinburgh, with rising costs as well as having to find an audience amongst the hundreds of other comedy shows on daily. Hopefully this article will help our audience discover new acts to check out this year as well as being reminded of all of the regular Fringe performers.
The legendary Edinburgh Festival is upon us. The biggest arts festival in the whole entire world has been running for over 70 years and attracts around two million punters during the month of August. Every type of art form is available; comedy, circus performers, jazz bands, drag acts, mime and a quite a lot of student performances of Shakespeare. Its a paradise for fans of the arts, just as long as they can afford it.
Stuart McPherson
My show this year is called Crisps and a Lie Down. It’s a dispatch of where my life’s at at the moment with my wife (girlfriend) and child (dog). It’s about taking them home to my (original) family at Christmas and realising that we’re the adults now and wondering whether we have what it takes to have a human child, given we tell jokes for a living and pretend to be farmers on the Nintendo Switch. I also tell the story of the 4 times I meet Noel Edmonds on the same day.
Stuart McPherson: Crisps and a Lie Down -Monkey Barrel, Cabaret Voltaire 1, 5.15pm
@StuartMcPherson_
Stuart’s debut recommendation
Ayo Adenekan
Ayo is a great new comedian from Leith who has had a very quick rise on the Scottish scene and will be a buzzy show this year.
Ayo Adenekan: Black Mediocrity | Edinburgh Festival Fringe
@ayo_adenekan
Burt Williamson
This is my third hour of stand-up comedy and my best so far. It’s a show that deals with a very heavy topic: myself. It’s a mix of densely worded stand-up and stupid punchlines which has made it such a fun show to do and I can’t wait to take it to the Fringe this year. It’s got a little bit more vulnerability in it than I’ve done in previous years which makes it both exciting and scary to perform. Mainly just really good jokes though.
Burt Williamson: 104KG of Pure Banter- Voodoo Rooms, 3.05pm
@burtcomedian
Burt’s debut recommendation
Amelia Hamilton
I’m always envious of comics that can do things I can’t, which is why one of the debuts I’m most excited for is Amelia Hamilton. Her show, Forget Me Not, is a mix of stand-up and rap – that is to say I can’t rap, hopefully I’ll have the stand-up covered at this point. Can’t wait to catch it at this festival, from what I’ve seen of it it’s going to be a belter.
Amelia Hamilton: Forget Me Not | Edinburgh Festival Fringe
@ameliahamiltoncomedy
Sikisa
Serving Justice is my latest show at the Edinburgh Fringe 2025, where I bring my background as an immigration solicitor into the spotlight along with my love of wrestling and mental health awareness—because why not? Expect sharp comedy, personal stories, and legal insights all wrapped up in a show that is chaos.
I’ll share some bizarre case stories about aspects of my life, and explore how wrestling (and my questionable therapy habits) are helping me stay sane in the process. It’s a fast-paced, funny show that combines some serious issues with all the chaos and excitement of a wrestling match. Just don’t expect me to take a bump—I’m already dealing with enough!
Sikisa: Serving Justice-Monkey Barrel (Tron) 5.50pm
@sikisacomedy
Sikisa’s debut recommendations
Sharon Wanjohi and Ayoade Bamgboye
I couldn’t pick just one debut act this year—Sharon Wanjohi and Ayoade Bamgboye are both absolutely brilliant and deserve your attention. Sharon Wanjohi’s show is called ‘In the House’ and I can’t wait to see her host this show. Her ability to blend humour with insightful social commentary makes her a standout. Ayoade Bamgboye, on the other hand, brings a fresh and exciting perspective to the stage with her show ‘Swings and Roundabouts’. Her unique approach to observational comedy and experimental storytelling is a breath of fresh air, and her infectious energy will have you hooked from the first punchline.
Sharon Wanjohi: In the House | Edinburgh Festival Fringe
@sharonwanjohi_
Ayoade Bamgboye: Swings and Roundabouts | Edinburgh Festival Fringe
@ayoadezahrah
I took a very different process to writing this year – previously I’ve just written a whole script front to back from a story idea, and then swapped a few sections and songs in and out that needed punching up.
This time round, I started writing as much material as I could around a theme (satisfaction) and then let the shape of the show grow from the bits that emerged. What I’ve ended up with is lightyears away from what I imagined at the start but I think and hope it’s ended up making it a much more coherent show, and a more interesting look at the character that I’m playing and why I felt the urge to perform as him.
After doing a tour show with a full bells-and-whistles band show earlier this year, initially I wanted the challenge of stripping things back scale wise and keeping a lid on things, whilst still trying to make it as spectacular as you can go in a badminton court with big blankets hanging up. But it gets to July and it’s just too fun to spend the rest of our prop budget on insane props. So the show is just me, but I’m going all out gizmo-wise. We’re cramming a lot into those 50 square feet…
Jazz Emu: The Pleasure Is All Yours:-Queen Dome at Pleasance Dome 9:50pm
@thejazzemu
Jazz’s debut recommendation
Ada and Bron
Definite ones to watch are Ada and Bron, The Origin of Love. Extremely weird and highly loveable duo.
Ada and Bron: The Origin of Love | Edinburgh Festival Fringe
@ada_pea
Joz Norris
You Wait. Time Passes. is a show for everyone who’s ever told themself that one of these days they’ll do all the things they keep saying are of vital importance. It’s for Wile E. Coyote, endlessly believing that his life’s purpose is to catch the Roadrunner, and utterly oblivious to the secret knowledge that his actual purpose is merely to chase it forever. The project at the centre of this show used to be a bit like that – something I always said I would finish one day, but which I was scared of finishing because if I didn’t have it to work on any more, I didn’t know what I would become. Then I found a robot for sale on the internet that changed everything, and I realised it was time to finish my life’s work. Needless to say, there’s a lot riding on this for me.
Joz Norris: 10 Dome at Pleasance Dome 7:10pm
@joznorris
Joz’s debut recommendation
Mayor & His Daughter
The debut show I’d like to recommend this year is A Genuine Appreciation Of Comedy by The Mayor & His Daughter. I’m biased because I have directed this show, but the Mayor & His Daughter (Ciaran Chillingworth and Kit Finnie) are such a unique, bizarre, hilarious and inscrutable double act and everyone who likes weird comedy will be utterly beguiled by them. I’m in the privileged position of having built up a bit of an audience at the Fringe of people who like weird comedy, and it would be remiss of me to not steer that audience towards this show, which I think they will love.
The Mayor and His Daughter: A Genuine Appreciation of Comedy | Edinburgh Festival Fringe
@mahdcomedy
Lulu Popplewell
My show ‘Love Love’ is about is space between love and madness. It looks at how and why we hang on to people and the risks of falling for the wrong ones. There are also some songs on a piano (NOT a musical comedy show, this is a mental health assistance piano) and a nice small dog called Dotty who’s mainly there for branding.
Lulu Popplewell;Buttercup at Underbelly, George Square 6:45pm
@lulubirdpopplewell
Lulu’s debut recommendation
Toussaint Douglass
A debut show I would recommend is Toussaint Douglass: Accessible Pigeon Material. He’s been around for a while, but only just debuting this year. A fantastic comedian and human being.
Toussaint Douglass: Accessible Pigeon Material | Edinburgh Festival Fringe
@toussaint_gram
Barry Ferns
My 7 Years as Lionel Richie is the jaw-droppingly true tale of how I went from being a 16 year old Fringe hopeful to homeless, bankrupt, and living in a squat. It’s a show about delusion, ambition, and the price of chasing your dreams… even when the bank says “No, Absolutely not”.
And then when I was finally offered a £½ million TV deal that could fix everything — it came with one catch. One “small” catch.
This is my 25th year at the Fringe (I started when I was 16!), and I’ve seen it all: drizzle-soaked flyering, voice-loss on press day, and the madness of 10 comics sharing one (small) toilet. Part confessional, part cautionary tale, part Lionel Richie — I promise you, this is the funniest bankruptcy you’ll see all month.
Barry Fern: Just Out Of The Box at Just the Tonic at The Caves 6:40pm
@barrybarryferns
Barry’s debut recommendation
Thor Stenhaug
My Newcomer Pick is Thor Stenhaug who came though the Angel Comedy system, and has grown into a magnificent stand up in so many ways. His show is a very funny, heartfelt and joyful extravaganza of a debut.
Thor Stenhaug: One Night Stand Baby | Edinburgh Festival Fringe
@thortellsjokes
Michelle Brasier
My show this year is probably my most honest I think. It’s about the things we say about each other and how they stick with us and keep us up at night. I’ve tracked down the kid who said something mean to me when we were 12 and it was such a good experience I figured I’d make a show about it as well as a spiral I went on after a bad review and of course the fast and furious franchise
Michelle Brasier: Auditorium at Gilded Balloon at the Museum 7:30pm
@Michellebrasier
Michelle’s debut recommendation
My fringe debut recommendation is Elouise Eftos! She’s so smart and funny and most importantly she’s hot.
Elouise Eftos: Australia’s First Attractive Comedian | Edinburgh Festival Fringe
@weezasqueeza
A big thank you to all of the comedians for contributing to this article and hopefully they will all have a brilliant run .
@comedypodcastdevotees
CHECK OUT MORE COMEDY FROM RGM HERE