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.
.jpeg?trim=0,278,0,278&crop=&width=800)
21. Supposing — Theatre
Supposing is another Scotsman Fringe First award winner, which follows Sally as a curse falls upon her house. In her five-star review of the show, Joyce McMillan said: ““If the Western world is currently living through the strangest of moments - a bizarre mix of the apocalyptic, the self-absorbed, and the frantically busy everyday - then no poet or theatre-maker captures that crisis, and its impact on women, more vividly than the brave and remarkable Zinnie Harris. Her latest play, Supposing, tells the tale of Sally is a middle-class wife, mother and manager in her 40s who one day falls into a hole in the street outside the local theatre, and emerges a changed woman. She is haunted by visions, premonitions, and a need to give warnings to those affected, The poetry of Harris’s writing gleams and hallucinates ever more brilliantly as the play unfolds, while every aspect of her own production comes together to support it. And when two new presences appear on stage, towards the end, it seems like a sign that the new world in which Sally now lives is full not only of horrors, but also of unexpected moments of beauty, as surprising as they are wonderful.” Supposing will be at Traverse 2, Traverse Theatre (Venue 15) until August 30. | Mihaela Bodlovic
22. The Palestinian Circus: A Step and a Half — Dance, Physical Theatre, & Circus
The Palestinian Circus: A Step and a Half earned five-stars from reviewer Anahit Behrooz, who wrote: “With over 4000 shows in the Fringe programme, sometimes a single show comes along that reminds you what the entire point is: what this festival can host in terms of innovation and self-expression and cultural exchange, if we only open ourselves up to it. The Palestinian Circus: A Step and a Half is just that show. What a miracle that it exists, and that we have the privilege of witnessing it.” The Palestinian Circus: A Step and a Half is on at The Lafayette at Underbelly’s Circus Hub on the Meadows (Venue 360) until August 29. | Alex Coley
23. Will Adamsdale: AI, AI, Oh... (Or How I Wrote a Hit Sitcom with ChatGPT But We're Not Talking Now) — Comedy
Another of our earliest five-star Edinburgh Fringe reviews was for Will Adamsdale and his show about “writer-comedian-technophobe” Will Adamsdale embracing technology. In her review, Kate Copstick writes: “At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, watching Will Adamsdale back at the Fringe is like watching Fred Astaire, at his peak, tapdance. It looks relaxed. It looks easy. But the more closely you look, the more extraordinary his skill is revealed to be.” Will Adamsdale: AI, AI, Oh… is at Bluebell at Underbelly, George Square (Venue 300) until August 29. | Karen Allain