Kieran Hurley is known for his award-winning plays about social and interpersonal politics, including Mouthpiece and Beats. With his latest work, Adults, created for Traverse and premiering at Fringe 2023 in a production by Roxana Silbert, he pivots into uncharted territory with a contemporary take on the bedroom farce.

Ruby McCollister’s Fringe debut is a wild ride from the haunted attic of an L.A. theatre to the late night comedy clubs of New York, via addiction, larceny and the odd torch song ballad. Seeing (and indeed, seeking) tragedy around every corner, McCollister wraps personal frankness and intellectual curiosity in a vividly camp comedic voice pitched somewhere between Mae West and a latter day Lucille Ball.

Lucy McCormick is a Fringe favourite, bringing her fearless blend of comedy, choreography and ketchup to a packed house every night. Her newest solo show, Lucy & Friends, leaves her trademark historical reenactments behind in favour of a raucous, solo cabaret the likes of which Pleasance Courtyard has never seen.

Megan Stalter’s debut Fringe hour ricochets between the sweet and the psychotic in the blink of a perfectly lined eye. Featuring everything from a song that never seems to start (or end) to a Q&A about her latest novel Diane’s Cunt, Stalter’s unique brand of madness is deranged and delightful in equal measure. The persona may seem delusional, but this evening of mayhem is presided over with the finely tuned skill of a woman who knows exactly who she is.

Tell us about your show.  What can we expect?

The show is going to be very exciting. It's not like a lip-syncing and not that boring s***. It's actual live stand-up comedy and music. It's going to be fabulous.

Wait, Catherine Cohen won 2019 Best Newcomer AND she’s gorgeous?! It sounds unfair, but it’s true. Luckily for us, this year she’s back at the Fringe with her long awaited second show, Come For Me. Expect savage and sexualised skewering of millennial mores and a cabaret voice for the ages. All while dressed to (literally?) kill. I spoke to Cohen about blow dries, body image and being delusional.