Of the hundreds of shows reviewed by The Scotsman at this year’s Fringe, only a handful are worthy of a five-star review.
There are just over twenty shows which our critics have given such a high rating, despite 2026 marking the largest festival to date with more than 4,000 shows included in the programme.
Whether you’re a fan of comedy, or enjoy spending some time immersed at the theatre, there is a huge range of entertainment to explore at the Edinburgh Fringe - including the many excellent four-star productions running.
If you’re looking to pick the best of the best, however, here is every five-star show at the Edinburgh Fringe 2026.
13. Little Animals — Theatre
The debut play of writer and actor Paul Ready, Little Animals earned five-stars in Joyce McMillan’s review for The Scotsman. Taking on climate change, the performance follows Ready who is attending a memorial for his late best friend Richard. Our review states: ”The result is a challenging and hugely empathetic hour of theatre, brilliantly paced and structured as it steadily draws into the daylight the conversations so many of us are now having with ourselves, but which our political and economic systems seem unable to address, beyond empty slogans and greenwashing. As Ready neared the end of his second Edinburgh performance, the heavens opened over the city, dumping millimetres of rain in less than 15 minutes, and battering against the Lyceum Studio skylights. Climate change is here, the roar of the rain seemed to say; and it’s time to listen to brave artists like Paul Ready, who dare to confront this frightening moment with heart, mind, body and soul.” Little Animals is on at Studio Theatre, Traverse @ The Lyceum Studio until August 30. | Chew Boy
14. Ndlovu Youth Choir — Music and Cabaret
From rural Limpopo, South Africa, the Ndlovu Youth Choir offers a high-energy show which blends together African music, choreography and global hits. In her review, Kelly Apter writes: “If you ever doubted the power of music and dance to bring people together, then Ndlovu Youth Choir is here to set you right. Not only has it united the members of this South African group, taking them from an uncertain future, in an area rife with unemployment, and given them a professional career, but looking around the room, it’s as if every single person in Assembly Hall has been gripped by an infectious enthusiasm. To say these young people are party starters would be an understatement.” Ndlovu Youth Choir will perform at Assembly Hall (Venue 35) until August 30. | Contributed
15. Our Other Organ — Theatre
Described as "extraordinary" by The Scotsman’s reviewer Fergus Morgan, Our Other Organ is a piece of theatre from Israel-born, Denmark-based Jewish artist Boaz Barkan and his company NoLands. Part of this year’s Danish showcase, our critic wrote in his five-star review: “There is no guts or gore in Barkan’s demonstration, but there is something viscerally compelling about this show – in the way it slyly shifts from casual chat into deep political and philosophical ideas, in the way Barkan macabrely manipulates Degerfeldt’s prone body, and in the way the allegorical identity of that body evolves. The fact that it is being staged in Summerhall’s Anatomy Lecture Theatre feels deeply resonant, too. Decades ago, animals’ entrails were examined in this auditorium. Barkan conducts a dark, strange and superb dissection of a different kind.” Our Other Organ is on at Anatomy Lecture Theatre at Summerhall (Venue 26) until August 31. | Jakob Tekiela
16. Peter Buckley Hill: Miscellaneous Sh*te — Comedy
One of three rotating shows on for the Free Fringe, Peter Buckley Hill presents Miscellaneous Sh*te. In her five-star review, Kate Copstick writes: “This is the kind of show that takes decades to get this comfy. In something of a first for me, a loud outpouring of disappointment is heard in the room, as Peter announces we are coming to the end of the show. In its own way, this is a masterclass. Dishevelled and idiosyncratic to the nth degree, but a masterclass.” You can catch various shows as part of PBH’s Free Fringe until the end of August. | Contributed