The renowned Scottish theatre festival, held annually in August, is the birthplace of musicals, plays, comedy acts, and more that have gone on to global success.
Every August, Edinburgh, Scotland comes alive with art at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Founded in 1947, “EdFringe” now boasts over 3,000 productions and performances throughout the month, including theatre, comedy, music, children’s entertainment, and more.
The now-established term “fringe festival” — or "festival fringe," as they say in Scotland — refers to the independent artists who performed on the fringes of the concurrent Edinburgh International Festival. Though the Scottish capital has just a fraction of NYC's population, Edinburgh Fringe is considered the largest arts festival in the world, and it has become arguably more famous than the International. Performing at EdFringe is a real status symbol in the theatre and comedy scenes.
Many shows that originated there have gone from fringe to mainstream. The late Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead premiered at Fringe in 1966, and multiple modern TV hits have Fringe origins as well: Phoebe Waller-Bridge performed Fleabag at Fringe in 2013 before adapting it into the BAFTA and Emmy Award-winning series, while the Netflix show Baby Reindeer was based on two of writer/performer Richard Gadd’s Fringe shows.
Many successful Fringe shows also stage Off-Broadway and even Broadway runs, including at Fringe-themed festivals across the city. Below, discover shows that have played the storied Edinburgh Festival Fringe that you can catch in NYC this summer and fall.
Six
Rosie O'Donnell: Common Knowledge
Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody
Cat Cohen: Broad Strokes
Garry Starr: Classic Penguins
Are You Mad At Me??
SoHo Playhouse's International Fringe Encore Series
59E59 Theaters’ East to Edinburgh
Six
The long-running Broadway show about the six wives of King Henry VIII premiered at Edinburgh Fringe in 2017, taking the musical theatre world by storm. After selling out Fringe and embarking on a British tour, the concert-style musical opened in the West End in 2019 and came to Broadway in 2020, winning two Tony Awards the next year for its pop score and costume design.
Get Six tickets now.
Rosie O'Donnell: Common Knowledge
Rosie O'Donnell returned to the stage at the 2025 Fringe to talk about rebuilding her life in Dublin, Ireland, where she moved in part to escape the second Trump administration. The multi-Emmy-winning comedian and former talk show host gets frank about motherhood, immigrating to her father’s native country, death, and more in Common Knowledge.
O’Donnell has also performed the show in Australia and Dublin, and it's in NYC through August 8. Read New York Theatre Guide's interview with Rosie O'Donnell about Common Knowledge.
Get Common Knowledge tickets now.
Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody
It’s a musical based on a TV show based on a book series based on... fan fiction? Heated Rivalry was Canada’s number-one export of 2025, and now the Off-Broadway musical parody is headed to the 2026 Fringe. The hockey romance musical has been critically acclaimed despite (or because of) its goofy, smutty premise.
Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody will continue playing The Culture Club off Broadway through November 1. After the Fringe in August, the production goes to London in October, when it will compete in a heated rivalry against Deep-Heat Rivalry, an unaffiliated parody musical.
Get Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody tickets now.
Cat Cohen: Broad Strokes
In Broad Strokes, comedian Cat Cohen examines her own mortality through cabaret-style songs. After suffering a stroke at age 30, Cohen quickly sought to turn the near-death experience into musical comedy material. The show premiered at the 2025 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, of which Cohen was already a veteran: Her 2019 Fringe show, The Twist…? She’s Gorgeous is now a Netflix comedy special.
David Dabbon co-wrote Broad Strokes’s songs, and the Off-Broadway run, on through September 25, is directed by Tony Award winner Alex Timbers (Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Just in Time).
Get Cat Cohen: Broad Strokes tickets now.
Unlock your exclusive guide, full of the best attractions, food, free events and more.
Regularly named one of the city’s best bagel shops, the unassuming Liberty Bagels is the perfect spot to get a classic NYC breakfast sandwich.
One of the world’s largest stores, Macy’s is a sight to behold, especially when it’s decked out for the holidays.
Garry Starr: Classic Penguins
In Damien Warren-Smith’s hourlong show Classic Penguins, he reenacts stories from world literature in the (mostly) nude. As his clown persona Garry Starr, Warren-Smith first showed off a high-speed performance of every theatrical style in 2018’s Garry Starr Performs Everything, then brought Classic Penguins to Fringe in 2024. The show plays New York’s Studio Seaview from September 3 to October 4 after an Edinburgh encore, so get ready to bring your flippers together and shake a tail feather.
Are You Mad At Me??
Comedian and chronic people-pleaser Bryan Safi brings his 2025 Fringe show to New York — if you’re okay with that. If not, it’s totally fine! Are You Mad At Me??, at HERE Arts Center through August 15, is an exploration of anxiety told through song, comedy, and audience participation. Safi, an actor, podcaster, and Emmy Award-winning writer, has also performed the show in Los Angeles.
Get Are You Mad At Me?? tickets now.
SoHo Playhouse's International Fringe Encore Series
SoHo Playhouse annually hosts the International Fringe Encore Series, gathering productions from Fringe festivals around the world, including Edinburgh. The 2026 series took place from January 3 to March 29.
In recent years, the festival hosted the American premieres of multiple EdFringe shows by acclaimed clown duo Xhloe and Natasha, who are once again venturing to Scotland this summer.
59E59 Theaters’ East to Edinburgh
59E59 Theaters’ East to Edinburgh festival produces New York previews of shows headed to EdFringe later in the summer. If you can't make it to Scotland, this Upper East Side venue is a great place to get a first look at soon-to-be festival highlights.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is an annual theatre festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. It showcases over 3,000 productions spanning theatre, comedy, dance, clown, and more.
In America, the event is sometimes called the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe takes place every year in August. The 2026 festival runs from August 7-31.
Though Edinburgh isn't a leading year-round theatre hub like New York or London, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival has become famous as a launchpad for shows that go on to successful runs in those cities and others around the world.
Famous musicals (like Six) and plays (like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead) debuted at the Fringe, and some Fringe shows have even been adapted into popular TV shows, like Fleabag and Baby Reindeer.
Broadway shows to see based on your favorite new movies
What is Edinburgh Fringe? Festival guide and Fringe shows to see in NYC
Micaela Diamond, Will Pullen join 'Awake and Sing!' Broadway cast
‘Hadestown’ names new Broadway cast including Jasmin Savoy Brown, Norbert Leo Butz, Amber Iman
'The Rocky Horror Show' tickets now available through February 2027
‘Purple Rain’ musical to transfer to Broadway this spring
Russell Daniels joins 'Titanique' Broadway cast; Jim Parsons temporarily departs
33 things to do in NYC this month
Aurelia Williams, Awa Sal Secka join 'Wanted' Broadway cast
Jake Shears, Kevin McHale, Lorna Courtney to star in 'The Rocky Horror Show' on Broadway; Luke Evans, Andrew Durand, Stephanie Hsu to depart