Each year at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe there are stand out shows which very quickly become difficult to get tickets for.
Whether it’s a new hour of stand-up from a rising comedian or a heartfelt theatre production with all the right elements to tug at the heartstrings, the busy festival programme can mean it’s easy for highlights to pass you by.
If you found yourself in that position last year, the good news is that some of the top shows from the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe will be returning to the city once more.
Based on The Scotsman’s reviews from last year, here are 14 of the highest rated returning Fringe shows.
13. Creepy Boys: SLUGS
Back at the Fringe for 2026 is Sam Kruger and SE Grummett with their four star winning show SLUGS. Our review from last year reads: “Kruger and Grummett’s commitment to the bit is stupidly funny, and their splicing together of genres and mediums extremely clever. But it’s the sudden glimpses of vulnerability that lend SLUGS its compelling emotional and ontological weight.” SLUGS is on at Summerhall from August 6-17. | Contributed
14. Charlie Mulliner: Love Hunt
On at Pleasance Dome from August 6-12, Charlie Mulliner: Love Hunt earned four stars due to “Mulliner's affecting, exquisitely pitched performance” which will have you “laughing hard at the character's romantic naivety, her commitment to conventional illusions of happiness, then sad and guilty for doing so.” Charlie Mulliner: Love Hunt will be at Pleasance Dome from August 6-12. | Contributed