It’s very nearly August, which means it’s time to scour the Edinbugh Festival Fringe programme for the best shows to see.
The physical programme has over 3,350 shows across 265 venues, meaning it can be a daunting task to work out what exactly you are going to see.
While it’s fun to take a punt and hope for the best, it’s sometimes nice to go for a known quantity - a performer who has delivered acclaimed shows in the past.
At The Scotsman we review hundreds of shows every year, with the best receiving a sought-after four or five star rating.
While previous success is no guarantee that they will deliver the goods again, it’s as good an indicator as any - particularly since many of the shows in Edinburgh have never been performed before.
So, here are all 31 returning comedians who earned a four or five review from us in 2024 - and what we said about their shows.
13. Jason Byrne: Head in the Clouds
What we said about last year's show: "Byrne is such a master of crowd manipulation that he’s decided to come to Edinburgh with no show whatsoever – challenging himself to create the laughs out of the people and situations he finds in the room." (Four Stars) | Contributed
14. Jazz Emu: The Pleasure is All Yours
What we said about last year's show: "With his exquisitely realised character and pitch-perfect pastiche of music video pretension, it's incredible no-one has yet transplanted Jazz Emu onto television." (Four Stars) | Contributed
15. Joe Kent-Walters is Frankie Monroe: DEAD!!! (Good Fun Time)
What we said about last year's show: "Monroe is the owner and MC of The Misty Moon working men's club in Rotherham, preserved in its old-fashioned, Northern variety posterity thanks to a Faustian deal he struck 24 years ago with a shadowy entity known as The Committee. Think Phoenix Nights set in an adjunct to Hell that time otherwise forgot." (Four Stars) | Contributed
16. Jordan Brookes: Until The Wheels Come Off (WIP)
What we said about last year's show: "As is typical with this past winner of the Edinburgh Comedy Award, you find yourself lurching between agonising laughter and shock, and then lying awake for hours thinking about what it all means." (Five Stars) | Contributed