Greetings to the Fringe-addict and Fringe-curious alike, and welcome to our carefully curated guide to the finest family-friendly shows appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe 2026.
To me, finding a show that captivates a room of children while keeping accompanying adults genuinely entertained is one of the Fringe’s greatest pleasures. The family programming this year is rich as ever, spanning heartwarming live-dubbed animation, joyful disabled-led dance, rooftop accordion comedy, and inventive clowning that serves as a welcome antidote to screen time. These selections all come from theatremakers and creators known to us here at theQR.co.uk for delivering work of the highest quality.
So, with no further ado, and in no particular order, here are our recommendations for family shows you’d be mad to miss at the Edinburgh Fringe 2026…
Cinematic Holiday Chaos in KEVIN!!!!!
Having come late to the Recent Cutbacks party with their astonishingly fabulous Fly, You Fools!, wild horses wouldn’t keep us from catching their new offering for 2026. KEVIN!!!!! is a loving, hilarious, and endlessly inventive live recreation of one of the greatest Christmas movies in the cinema canon. Using a hyper-talented cast of four actors alongside a live Foley artist, expect an astonishing blend of physical comedy, puppetry, and low-tech magic as they deliver a shot-for-shot homage to the 90s classic about leaving your kid home alone. Do not miss this.
- Dates: 5 – 31 Aug 2026 (not 13, 24)
- Time: 12:20
- Venue: Pleasance Courtyard (Forth)
- Tickets: £17.50 (£15.50 concession)
- Book Direct: Book KEVIN!!!!! on EdFringe.com
Subversive Play in Crested Fools: A Clown’s Lullaby
Mrs QR caught Crested Fools’ superbly atmospheric The Rotting Hart back in 2023 and urged audiences not to miss it on tour. This year, the company returns with A Clown’s Lullaby, following one clown’s effort to cheer up her friend, Loo Krayina, who has been picked on by the mean Mr Bellicose. Intended for children aged 5 to 11 (and their adult +1s), expect these inventive theatremakers to offer something gently, but potently subversive—a joyous, silly, theatrical antidote to lives increasingly spent plugged into 24-hour media noise.
- Dates: 7th – 17th August
- Time: 14:00
- Venue: 65 Pip at Rotunda Theatre
- Tickets: £12.00 (£10.00 concession)
- Book Direct: Book A Clown’s Lullaby on EdFringe.com
Multilingual Wordplay in Greg Sinclair’s Tongue Twister
We caught Greg Sinclair’s Tongue Twister at the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival last year, awarding it four stars for its “highly polished, joyful yet considered plunge into the avant-garde.” The award-winning performance artist and musician embarks on a multilingual quest, getting his mouth around complex, difficult-to-articulate phrases gathered from Setswana to Gaelic, Japanese, and French. Set against an inventive yellow canvas with multi-tiered props, brain-frog hybrids, and whimsical costume transformations, think of this as a musician’s guide to language. Infused with an upbeat calm by co-directors Lu Kemp and Hannah Venet, it focuses the ear on the pure texture and rhythm of words. This is engaging avant-garde theatre for all ages.
- Dates: 8th – 22nd August
- Time: 11:30
- Venue: 150 Cromdale Theatre at Pleasance at EICC
- Tickets: £13.00 (£12.00 concession)
- Book Direct: Book Tongue Twister on EdFringe.com
The Master of Nonsense in Olaf Falafel’s Double-Bill
The master of family-friendly lunacy holds court once more with two distinct offerings. For everyone over the age of three, Olaf Falafel’s Stupidest Super Stupid Show: This Time It’s Stupider! promises truth-telling cheese, drawing lessons, and an escalating barrage of delightfully foolish jokes. Meanwhile, his afternoon comedy hour, I Used to Work in a Helium Balloon Factory Until They Let Me Go, offers a slightly more grown-up (12+) slab of absurd mind-reading mic stands and sausage-based nonsense. It is simply impossible to spend an hour in a room full of cackling folks aged 3 to 73 without feeling significantly better about life.
- Dates: 6th – 30th August
- Times: 11:30 (Stupidest Super Stupid Show) / 14:30 (Helium Balloon Factory)
- Venue: Laughing Horse @ The Counting House – The Ballroom / Main Room at Laughing Horse @ The Pear Tree
- Tickets: Free / Pay What You Can
- Book Direct: * Book Olaf Falafel’s Stupidest Super Stupid Show on EdFringe.com
Musical Character Comedy in Sandy Not Just on Sunday
Last year, one of Scotland’s finest accordionists, Sandy Brechin, successfully translated his popular Facebook broadcasts into a live Fringe show at the gorgeous Lochrin Rooftop Bar. He returns to the venue again this year in a prime afternoon slot, allowing the whole family to take in his wonderfully old-school brand of musical character comedy alongside sweeping views of Edinburgh Castle. Featuring ten different characters, comic songs, virtuoso playing, and interval raffles, it is a delightfully charming, high-energy hour.
- Dates: 19th – 29th August (excluding 23rd – 25th)
- Time: 13:00 / 14:00 (check dates)
- Venue: Lochrin Rooftop Bar at Moxy Fountainbridge
- Tickets: £16.50 (£13.50 concession)
- Book Direct: Book Sandy Not Just on Sunday on EdFringe.com
Creative Voice Acting in Anime-Zing! Game Show
Following a sold-out debut season, former Hello Kitty voice actor Soness Stevens Kitano returns with this unique invitation to youngsters curious about cartoon making. Calling on her network of professional voice-acting chums, Kitano gives kids the chance to create characters, invent sound effects, and live-dub indie animation over 45 supportive, playful minutes. Participation is completely optional—children can join in from their seats or take to the stage—making this unique opportunity a brilliant confidence booster for creative minds.
- Dates: 6th – 30th August (excluding 19th and 26th)
- Time: 15:00
- Venue: Laughing Horse @ City Cafe – Las Vegas Room
- Tickets: Pay What You Can
- Book Direct: Book Anime-Zing! Game Show on EdFringe.com
Defiantly Joyful Movement in Boys Don’t Dance
Caught earlier this year at the Edinburgh International Children’s Festival, Marc Brew’s newest work is a fresh, inventive, and defiantly joyful piece of dance-theatre. Tracing the acclaimed disabled artist’s refusal to accept limits placed upon him, the show features an infectious 80s soundtrack, brilliant storytelling, and a thrilling BMX–wheelchair duet. Watching a packed Traverse Theatre of schoolkids sit in rapt, delighted attention from start to finish proved that this is accessible, vital, and genuinely cool theatre for young audiences.
- Book Direct: Book Boys Don’t Dance on EdFringe.com
- Dates: 7th – 23rd August (excluding Mondays)
- Time: 13:15
- Venue: 22a Assembly @ Dance Base – DB1
- Tickets: £17.00 (£13.50 concession)
And with that, so ends this list of family shows coming to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2026 that we strongly recommend for your ticket booking consideration. There is, I think, something for everyone, and if you do catch one of the above and love it, let them know who sent you! If you hate it, keep it to yourself. Until you visit again, happy Fringe planning!
Featured Image: Boys Don’t Dance by Marc Brew, photo Brian Hartley
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