2026 marks my fifth Edinburgh Fringe and fourth time reviewing at the world’s largest arts festival. It has quickly become one of my favourite things to do each year, heading up to Scotland with my Mum to experience lots of exciting new writing and the unrivalled event atmosphere. I might have only been on the ground at Fringe for one week, but after three months of publishing pre-festival interviews, writing this piece feels like I am closing a chapter on Edinburgh for another year. This year I ended up giving a 5-star review to my very first show (Sally Brooks’ STAY), which hasn’t happened before, and it kicked off a really exciting week at the festival. So as another Fringe season comes to a close this weekend, here are my Edinburgh Fringe 2026 trip highlights.
Watching incredible new theatre in the morning
As an early riser, one of the things I adore most about Fringe is being able to watch new writing before midday. This year I managed to see four fantastic pieces of theatre first thing in the morning: thought-provoking World War II-themed play A Little Green Leaf, Samantha Streit’s deeply personal show Letters to Joan, new musical about friendship A World Apart and toe-tapping family-friendly musical The Big Bad Wolf. Whilst the streets of Edinburgh are much quieter at this time, there is no shortage of brilliant work that is definitely worth getting out early for.
Catching some shows that have been on my list for a long time
With this being my fifth Edinburgh Fringe and only being able to watch a finite number of shows each year, I am sure it is no surprise that I have a growing list of Fringe regulars that I’d like to see each year. For 2026, I managed to finally watch a Highly Suspect murder mystery show, and Abbasolute Murder was absolutely hilarious. Visual theatre company Half a String also returned to the festival with new show Tiny Planet, which was a breathtaking puppetry piece that I awarded 5 stars. Finally, it was also the second year of Liz Coin’s Lizzy Sunshine at the Fringe and hopefully Coin returns year after year as her creativity, spirit and dedication to flyering outfits is what the festival is all about.
Watching two shows inspired by Eurovision
On the Wednesday afternoon we watched two Eurovision-inspired shows in A Highly Suspect Murder Mystery: ABBAsolute Murder and Carys Should be the UK’s Next Eurovision Entry. My Mum and I called it our Eurovision afternoon at Fringe, featuring a creative song contest-themed murder mystery centred around pop group BABA (yes really) and Carys Jeffrey Evans’ personal pitch to be the UK’s next Eurovision entry. Sometimes it’s really tricky being a reviewer as you need to publish your thoughts quickly post-performance and whilst I had some constructive criticisms for Carys Should be the UK’s Next Eurovision Entry, I wanted to acknowledge on a personal level how much I loved seeing all of the research and the performer’s passion for the contest.
Relaxing at Surgeons’ Hall
One of my favourite places to have a breather during Fringe is theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall, which is home to lots of exciting theatre, music and cabaret shows. This year it was by far my favourite place to take a pause between shows, largely down to the courtyard benches where you can sit for a drink with friends and soak up the amazing festival atmosphere. Lots of flyering happens here as well as the occasional spontaneous music performance and it’s just such an upbeat place to hang out during the festival.
Community spirit of the Fringe
I have been fortunate enough to meet quite a few people through Fringe, whether that be fellow reviewers, artists, venue staff or PR companies. On the ground this year I spontaneously bumped into various people that I know in the theatre industry and also met up with longtime friends that I try to see at the festival each year. The Edinburgh Fringe wouldn’t be the success that it is without every single person that is a part of it, and this year I felt so at home getting to say hello to so many people.
Witnessing stars in the making
Playwright and performer Amy Lever’s To Do Lists was one of my favourite shows of this year’s festival and this was largely down to the exceptionally clever writing. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen Lever’s work, as I actually reviewed Lost Girl at the festival in 2024. Back then I thought the performer was someone to watch out for in the future and it was so exciting to see her share a new piece of work this year. Two years on, I thought there was more clarity and confidence in the writing and I left the venue thinking the performer had created such a powerful piece of theatre about the pressure on young people. I cannot wait to see what Lever does next!
Seeing my Mum acknowledged as a huge part of my online platforms
It’s no secret that this site and my social media has grown to the point that I can’t run things single-handedly anymore. Whilst my Mum has been a silent partner since the beginning, lately she is really embracing being a part of the katmasterson.com team and it was lovely to see so many people at the festival acknowledge her contribution. This brought a huge smile to my face and who knows, maybe at a future festival she will have her own press pass?
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