Forget Oasis — the real stars of Edinburgh are still on stage this weekend. Check out our Week Two Fringe favourites, the shows that outshone everything else and prove the buzz is here at the Fringe, not at Murrayfield.
Two weeks into EdFringe 2025, and we’ve now reviewed more than 80 pretty amazing shows. Unusually, we’ve still to come across anything ‘in need a lot of work’ (and long may this streak last!). If you missed my Top 3 picks from Week One, you’ll want to catch up — they set the bar high. And now Week Two has delivered five more that are on another level.
Amy Mason: Behold!
With her smartphone hacked, Amy Mason lost access to her facebook communities, porn, and her med supplies. Soon after, the hackers began sending sex toys in the mail…Amy is turning a unique episode in her life into a ridiculously funny hour of deadpan comedy complete with the the best pet-based schtick anywhere in fringeland this year. Her colourful anecdotes and out-there observations are just superb – just the way she thinks about her life and the world is funny – made all the better by laid-back, but deadly timing.
I wrote in my review, “‘Behold!’ is a masterfully paced, well-constructed, and deceptively tight set even if I’m not convinced it ends purposefully enough, given the number of loose ends. Otherwise, I have no criticism of ‘Behold!’ which held up to the ultimate test. Reader, I related said cat/dog joke to Mrs. QR once I returned home. She not only laughed, she cried.”
Nerds: The Bill Gates vs. Steve Jobs Comedy Musical
This musical came into existence back in 2007, won a few awards and faded away. Why? Maybe the time was wrong; maybe it was just bad luck, because boy is Nerds: The Bill Gates vs. Steve Jobs Comedy Musical a first rate musical! A memorable score makes this laugh-out-loud funny comedy musical streets ahead of any other musical theatre I’ve seen this August. The secret? Populating the show with caricatures with heart, rather than making a joke of everyone and everything. Oh, and making everyone wander out into the street singing, “I am just a NERD!”
I wrote in my review, “‘Nerds: The Bill Gates vs. Steve Jobs Comedy Musical’, scored by Hal Goldberg, with words & lyrics by Jordan Allen-Dutton and Erik Weiner, premiered in 2007. It is a crying shame it has taken quite so long to make it to Edinburgh. What an utterly sensational production.”
John Robertson: Plays with the Audience
John Robertson, beloved master of the Dark Room continues his foray into stand up with John Robertson: Plays with the Audience. That is precisely what he does: Glyn Grimstead would be proud. Think of this as immersion therapy for folks with a phobia of crowdwork. Why do people queue up for John’s show? Well because after he picks on you, you’ll feel better about yourself. No one, I think, likes his audience more than John Robertson. He has a big heart, a big voice, and a talent for judging books by their covers. He also has a ukulele, and a catalogue of filthy songs to sing – assuming he doesn’t get too carried away conducting his room like a kind but dangerous ringmaster.
I wrote in my review, “It’s just a very funny man making the most of his time here on Earth, and hoping to enjoy an hour of it as madly as possible with a ballroom full of kindred spirits. Will ever show be an unfettered success? Probably not, but when it’s great, expect the sublime. The rest of the time, you’ll just have to settle for very, very good.”
She’s Behind You
Scottish panto-dame royalty, Johnny McKnight – or should I say, Dorothy Blawna-Gale? – is ruling the Traverse stage this August, resplendant in Gingham and alot of padding. This memoir of two decades in the pantomime business is an absolute delight, whilst pulling no punches. If you’d like to see a master of their craft at work, look no further.
I wrote in my review, “Yet if McKnight has learned lessons, he’s yet to see the change he’s made in his person and panto practice, replicated throughout the pantosphere. ‘She’s Behind You’ is thus a clarion call for a tectonic shift throughout the pantosphere. It’s hard to argue with his effect on box office sales every Christmas, so maybe, just maybe, some of the right people will be listening. If not, will he and Dorothy give up? Oh no, they won’t! (No apologies.)”
Bing!
At heart, all theatre is an act of storytelling. With BING!, Jason Woods has boiled that down to its essence, leaving only a thrilling fantasy, comedy adventure stuffed with vibrant characters and gripping from start to end. His voice work is sensational, as is his carefully composed soundtrack, and well judged physicality. It’s simply magnificent.
I wrote in my review, “In ‘BING!’ Jason Woods has created nothing less than a big-hearted cinematic comedy adventure with a cast of one – who contains multitudes – using a set and special effects (lovely soundtrack aside), entirely conjured by the imagination. Bravo!”
Featured Image: Clockwise from top right: Nerds, Amy Mason, Bing!, John Robertson. Centre: She’s Behind You!
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