Written by: Si Hawkins
Published: Thursday 1st September 2022

What were the best shows at this year's Edinburgh Fringe? Here are some more top tips from the class of 2022:

Sam Nicoresti

(Cancel Anti Wokeflake Snow Culture, PBH @ Banshee Labyrinth)

Mat Ewins: Danger Money - Every year is a jealous joy to watch Mat Ewins effortlessly be the funniest person in the city. Pure comedy instinct.

What Broke David Lynch? - Paul Vickers has made the perfect show for Lynch-heads and fans of DIY theatre. I am the target demographic, I loved it.

Ania Magliano: Absolutely No Worries if Not - Ania is a rare blend of patently talented and genuinely likeable and I think she's going to have a great decade.

Moni Zhang

(Child from Wuhan, Laughing Horse @ Three Sisters)

Luke Rollason: Bowerbird - It's great clowning and physical comedy to its extreme. Good show for the whole family.

Ciarán Dowd: King Rodolfo - A beautifully written & delivered comedy play, with great twist.

Roger Swift's Machine Pun: Reloaded - Absurd comedy with multimedia and DIY props. It's fast, funny, and fantastic. I was laughing uncontrollably.

Daniel Muggleton

(Oh, More Mr White Guy? Laughing Horse @ Counting House)

Andy Field: Ideas (,) Man - After a few weeks of Fringe shows, you need a palette cleanser. No higher meaning, no message, no stance... just someone being as funny as possible for the previously-agreed length of time. Go see Andy Field, you'll laugh so much that you'll want to see another show.

Cassie Workman: Aberdeen - I was psyched that Cassie was coming to Edinburgh, she's a great comedian from Australia and I was excited to see her hour. But turns out Aberdeen is an hour-long poem, written in rhyming couplets, about Kurt Cobain. Now I'm so excited (by easily the most unique show at this festival) that I'm actually going to cut one of my shows short to go see it.

Sean McLoughlin: So Be It - There's a reason that every comedian I've ever met loves Sean McLoughlin. I never miss his show. He always has a joke that sticks with me for years and in this show, he has two of them.

Bryony Byrne

(Fan/Girl, PBH @ Banshee Labyrinth)

Liz Kingsman: One-Woman Show - I'd heard so much hype about this show and was worried that it wasn't going to live up to it but it absolutely surpassed my expectations. It's a really slick show, with so many dumb jokes packed into each minute and operating on all levels.

Luke Rollason: Bowerbird - Luke's such a charming performer I think I'd watch him do anything on stage and this show was chock full of amazing bits that could have easily entertained me for an hour on their own.

Zach Zucker: Spectacular Industry Showcase - I don't even know how to define what it is that Zach does but he's an agent of chaos and it's fun madness.

(And Bryony snuck in an extra one...)

An Evening With Tara Boland -This is just a proper joyful show and I love it. I'm teching it every night but I'd watch it again in a heartbeat. People often cry with laughter.

David McIver

(Work in Progress @ Whistlebinkies)

Rob Copland: Mainstream Muck (Gimme Some of That) - Rob is one of a kind, truly original and incredibly silly. He has a real talent for act-outs and stupid voices, and he has the most joyful ending to a show I've seen this Fringe.

Patrick Spicer: Who's This All of a Sudden? - A really cheeky show about mental health, insecurity and masculinity. Patrick takes big personal topics and jokes about them with great ease, playfulness and charm.

Ania Magliano: Absolutely No Worries if Not - This hardly needs recommending because it sold out so early, but Ania is a really unique voice and I like how she blends bits of weirdness and absurdity into a super tight and accessible hour of stand-up.