Edinburgh 2025: The Best of the Best – Top Theatre Shows at the Fringe & International Festival

Edinburgh in August is a feast of theatre. Between the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF), the city hosts every possible type of theatre in every possible type of venue: Over 3,800 shows!

To cut through the noise, we’ve conducted our annual comparison of the top picks from leading publications – including The i Paper, TimeOut, The Independent, The Scotsman, The Times, The Guardian, The Stage and The New York Times – then compiled a “Best of the Best” ranking based on how often each show is recommended. You’ll find the full critics-by-publication lists at the end of this article, after our ranked roll-up with venues and dates for every title that gets two or more mentions.

Expect a strong year across both festivals: big-ticket EIF centrepieces such as Make It Happen and Faustus in Africa! sit alongside Fringe buzz magnets including Ohio – which is coming to the Young Vic in London, Consumed, Ordinary Decent Criminal, Club NVRLND and Pickled Republic.

Best of the Best Edinburgh 2025

Ohio – 5 mentions

The Bengsons’ autobiographical “ecstatic grief concert”: losing religion, finding meaning, and living with hearing loss. Assembly Roxy (Upstairs), to 24 Aug. Edinburgh | London

Consumed – 4 mentions

Paines Plough + Traverse: a pitch-black family reunion where four generations of Northern Irish women collide. Traverse 1 at Traverse Theatre, to 24 Aug. Website

Faustus in Africa! (EIF) – 4 mentions

Handspring Puppet Company & William Kentridge recast Marlowe as a searing, puppet-driven critique of colonial extraction and climate crisis. Lyceum Theatre, 20–23 Aug. Website

Make It Happen (EIF) – 4 mentions

James Graham tackles the RBS crash, as Brian Cox appears as Adam Smith in a timely state-of-the-nation epic. Festival Theatre, to 9 Aug. Website | Read more

Ordinary Decent Criminal – 4 mentions

Mark Thomas & Ed Edwards: a Strangeways-era story of addiction, reform and a risky prison experiment. Summerhall (TechCube 0), 31 Jul–25 Aug (not 5, 12, 18). Website

She’s Behind You – 4 mentions

Panto doyen Johnny McKnight, directed by John Tiffany, lifts the curtain on the craft and politics of the dame. Traverse 1 at Traverse Theatre, to 24 Aug (not 4, 11, 18). Website

Thanks for Being Here – 4 mentions

Ontroerend Goed’s ode to audiences: playful, metatheatrical, and intent on dissolving the line between stage and seats. ZOO Southside (Main House), 12–24 Aug (not 18). Website

As You Like It: A Radical Retelling (EIF) – 3 mentions

Cliff Cardinal hijacks Shakespeare for a provocative land-acknowledgment and anti-colonial reckoning. Church Hill Theatre, 20–23 Aug. Website

Club NVRLND – 3 mentions

Jack Holden’s immersive, 00s-pop-fuelled Peter Pan riff about millennial “lost boys/girls” who can’t afford to grow up. Assembly Checkpoint, to 24 Aug (not 6, 13, 20). Website

Paldem – 3 mentions

David Jonsson’s debut: an “anti-romcom” where a filmed one-night stand forces two friends to confront intimacy, race and online porn culture. Summerhall (TechCube 0), to 25 Aug (not 19). Website

Pickled Republic – 3 mentions

Ruxy Cantir’s Made-in-Scotland absurdist cabaret of clowning, puppets and… pickled vegetables; weird, witty, winning. Summerhall (TechCube 0), to 25 Aug (not 11, 18). Website

A Gambler’s Guide to Dying – 2 mentions

Gary McNair’s beloved 2015 solo returns: a grandad’s outlandish bet becomes a tender tale of legacy and luck. Traverse Theatre (Traverse 2), to 24 Aug (not 4, 11, 18). Website

Darkfield Radio – 2 mentions

Fringe stalwarts of the blackout: immersive audio pieces that toy with fear and perception. Summerhall (Old Lab & other sites), to 25 Aug. Website

Fuselage – 2 mentions

Annie Lareau’s Lockerbie near-miss memoir blends survivor’s guilt with voices from the town’s aftermath. Pleasance Courtyard (Above), to 25 Aug (not 13, 19). Website

Hamlet – Wakefulness – 2 mentions

Song of the Goat’s late-night vocal ritual: a hypnotic, polyphonic meditation around Hamlet’s origins. Summerhall (Main Hall), 3–15 Aug. Website

Miles. – 2 mentions

A multimedia riff on the making of Kind of Blue, with trumpeter Jay Phelps channeling Miles Davis live. Summerhall (TechCube 0), to 25 Aug. Website

Monstering the Rocketman – 2 mentions

Henry Naylor revisits Elton John’s tabloid libel case and a media age of rumour, shame and retraction. Pleasance Dome (Ace Dome), to 24 Aug. Website

Nowhere: Fuel – 2 mentions

Khalid Abdalla’s “anti-biography” of the 2011 Egyptian revolution: personal history, agency and aftermath. Traverse 1 at Traverse Theatre, 12–24 Aug (not 18). Website

Philosophy of the World – 2 mentions

In Bed With My Brother dive into The Shaggs: part tribute, part feminist reclamation, part chaotic gig-theatre fever dream. Summerhall (Red Lecture Theatre), to 25 Aug. Website