Jokes. Set to music.
If you think the prospect of standing on a stage and telling jokes is terrifying, imagine if instead of telling the jokes, you had to sing them! Well, thankfully there are a number of brilliant comedians who make it look effortless.
To save you scrolling endlessly through the website or flicking through the programme to see what's worth going to see, I've picked 9 shows from musical comedians who I think are worth seeing at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe...
Since discovering Abandoman, I've been to see him every single year at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and have never been disappointed by his innate ability to craft songs on the spot.
For his brand new hour, Discography, Rob Broderick (to use his real name) creates a full discography for a fictional artist created by you, the audience.
Using a sample pad necklace to trigger high-production beats, Rob will create what promises to be the kind of exhilarating live experience that has won him a string of awards, and the highest of international critical acclaim.
In 2020, Alex MacKeith won the Musical Comedy Awards and now he's about to debut his first hour at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Thanks for Listening is being described as a musical odysset of surreal narratives, deep anxieties and piercing social observations. Expect Alex, his guitar and hopefully other audience members, as he shares a set of songs that are playful, dark, and a maximum of three minutes long. Although his blurb makes it clear that some songs will be longer than that.
The show promises to see Alex take the likely fodder of observational comedy and spin it in wholly unexpected directions in an MTV-Unplugged style as he uses his brutally witty refrains to prove, once and for all, that acoustic guitar musical comedy is the purest of all art forms.
From 2010 until 2018, comedian and YouTube sensation Chris Turner performed a brand new hour at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe every single year and now he's back with his 13th hour.
Described as a one-man hip-hop spectacular, and his most ambitious show yet, Rap God promises to combine jaw-dropping freestyle rap and hilarious stand-up for an hour of high-octane musical comedy.
Chris has been viewed over 40 million times on YouTube and was the first British comedian to perform on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
4. Diane Chorley
Cult icon Diane Chorley is returning to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year and she's bringing her iconic 80s haunt The Flick, which was a huge hit in 2019, back with her.
Down The Flick will see Diane Chorley, and sidekick Milky in charge of the entertainment at 80s nightclub where the dancing doesn’t stop, the band keeps playing and the Babycham's on ice ’til the early hours.
And when the show's over, the party’s only just begun, with the bar open and late-night entertainment until 5am!
Plus, in a limited run of her 2021 show Modern Love, we join The Duchess of Canvey on what promises to be a hilarious journey of self-discovery as she reclaims her place in the heart of divided Britain.
As part of their current sell-out international tour, Nicola and Rosie Dempsey, better-known as musical comedy duo Flo & Joan will stop off for their fifth full run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Sweet Release will see the duo climb out of their pits, armed with a piano and percussion section to bring what promises to be another hour of unique songs and comedy which pokes around all the classic topics of the day to a Fringe audience.
In 2019, I saw Jenny Bede perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and in my review, described her jokes as hilarious, her vocals as pitch perfect and her delivery of both immaculate. Now she's returning to the Fringe with a brand new hour.
In The First Pregnant Woman in the World, as the title would suggest, Jenny teaches us about an incredible new process called pregnancy. And she has the authority to do so, because she's the first person to ever go through this particular ordeal.
Jenny's new hour promises to navigate the entire gamut of human emotions, from despair all the way through to despair, as she jokes, sings and (at last, justifiably) Mum-dances her experiences to life.
In 2017, after three years of performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Jess Robinson reached the live semi-finals of Britain's Got Talent, and she has returned to the Fringe every year since. And now after a two-year pandemic enforced break, she's back with a brand new hour.
Legacy promises to showcase Jess as you've never seen her before, described as a musical multimedia one-woman show.
Audiences can expect to be blown away by stunning original music and Jess’ jaw-dropping speaking and singing impressions including the likes of Olivia Colman, Zoella, Lady Gaga, Gal Gadot, Kim Kardashian and Adele to name a few.
After winning a very different Britain's Got Talent in 2020, Jon Courtenay is performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year for what will unbelievably be his first time with his unique mix of comedy, music and drama.
Against All Odds promises to explore the true story of his television success while secretly fighting for his life. Audiences will accompany him backstage as he wrestles jokes and jeopardy to survive not only the competition but also to just... survive.
Doctors and nurses, judges and jokers all become players in Jon's musical journey through jubilation, heartache, tumours and television. Reminding you that laughter can be the best medicine, but so can immunotherapy.
Rachel WD and Ruby Clyde, better known as south London musical comedy double act Shelf are debuting their first hour at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Hair, produced by Berk’s Nest and directed by Phoebe Bourke, promises to be about one bizarrely life-changing haircut.
Shelf are also co-founders of The Lol Word which showcases queer women and non binary comedians.