Every year we say we’re bringing you our biggest programme yet to Ed Fringe and… SURPRISE… this year’s no different. There’s just too much incredible work we want you to see. Why wouldn’t we treat you to some of the very best in new theatre, comedy and cabaret (and cabaret for theatre lovers – we see you) this festival. So, for the first time ever, we’ve over TWENTY glorious shows to choose from (or choose all!) across six venues in our 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme.
For over 10 years now Soho Theatre has been the driving force behind ‘the unstoppable rise of Indian comedy in the UK’ – not our words, the Guardian’s (May 2024) – and this year we bring you:
- a world premiere from Emmy Award winning comedy legend Vir Das: The Fool
- Edinburgh debuts from Anirban Dasgupta: Polite Provocation, Kanan Gill: What is This? (nominated for Most Outstanding Show at this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival), Rahul Subramanian: Who Are You? and Sumukhi Suresh: Hoemonal
- the world’s highest subscribed mentalist Suhani Shah returns with more mind-bending feats in Spellbound 2.0
- and a work-in-progress from 2023’s Edinburgh Comedy Newcomer Award winner Urooj Ashfaq: It’s Funny To Me
We have world premieres for:
- Theatre: RuPaul Drag Race UK’s reigning Queen Ginger Johnson: Blows Off! (in also their Ed Fringe debut), My English Persian Kitchen – a life-affirming new play written by award-winning Hannah Khalil, Rifco Theatre: Pali and Jay’s Ultimate Asian Wedding DJ Roadshow (UK), and returning after too many years away from the festival are Alison Larkin: Grief… A Comedy (USA) and multi-award winning Sh!t Theatre: Or What’s Left of Us (UK)
- Comedy: creator of hit shows LAID and NATE Natalie Palamides: WEER (USA)
- 3–8-year-olds (and their families): Rosie and Hugh’s Great Big Adventure, featuring songs from Nick Cope and story by Victoria Saxton (UK)
and Ed Fringe debuts from:
- UK’s comedy circuit powerhouse Josephine Lacey: Autism Mama, USA’s endlessly innovative writer/comedian/filmmaker/musician Demi Adejuyigbe Is Going to Do One (1) Backflip directed by BriTANicK, and cabaret for theatre lovers legend the NYC cult sensation Salty Brine: These Are the Contents of My Head (The Annie Lennox Show)
alongside Ed Fringe premieres:
- of critically acclaimed shows from Catherine Bohart: Again, With Feelings (UK/Ireland) and Zoë Coombs Marr: Every Single Thing In My Whole Entire Life (Aus)
and because you couldn’t get enough in 2023, we also have return runs from:
- Urooj Ashfaq’s Award-winning Oh No!
- Ben Target’s Scotsman Fringe First Award-winning LORENZO
- Patti Harrison: My Huge Tits Huge Because They Are Infected NOT FAKE
- House of Life, last year’s underground hit reinvented for 2024
As we’re a collaborative team at Soho, together our Head of Theatre David Luff, Head of Comedy Steve Lock and Head of Creative Engagement Jess Draper had this to say: We’re so proud of our 2024 Ed Fringe programme, we’re working with the most incredible artists, creatives and venues to bring you shows we hope will become your festival highlights for 2024. As ever we also can’t wait to be out and about watching hundreds of shows: we’re on the lookout for artists we want to work with in the future and of course the very best shows to bring to Soho Theatre from September and Soho Theatre Walthamstow from next year.’
Our engagement work is in full swing. Since last year’s festival, 371 participants have completed our Stand up, Comedy, Cabaret & Drag Labs, and currently underway is our 2024 Edinburgh Fringe Lab for those taking their first show. Look out for them and other Labs alumni, we’re super excited to see what they do. And, as we near the 2025 opening of our 1000 seat venue Soho Theatre Walthamstow, two Waltham Forest residents have been given the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in this year’s festival over four days in our first Edinburgh Festival Experience funded by Waltham Forest Council in partnership with us. What a treat.