Brace yourselves – Brighton is hurtling towards the best month of the year and that means the return of Brighton Fringe, the world’s third-largest Fringe festival. Heading into its 21st year this May, the festival’s bringing a full month of comedy, theatre, dance, cabaret, plus plenty of shows you’ll struggle to explain.
The full line-up is out now and, true to the Fringe’s open-access roots (anyone can put on a show), it’s a suitably eclectic mixture of the weird and utterly wonderful.
Around 30 percent of shows are from Brighton & Hove artists this year, and the ‘Made in Sussex’ strand is back spotlighting local talent – which is where you’ll often find the hidden gems before they blow up.
Plus, the Fringe is still one of the few places where you can take a punt on something totally unknown… and accidentally discover your new favourite act.
And if you fancy a taster of what to expect, you can get your Fringe started early at the Fringe launch party on Wednesday 25th March at Ironworks.
Although half the fun of the Fringe is just picking a show at random, it can still feel a bit overwhelming, so we’ve done some digging for you.
The shows we reckon everyone will be talking about
If you only book a handful, make it these:
- Jonny Woo’s Suburbia – part drag, part storytelling, part burlesque, and already an award-winner at Edinburgh last year.
- MAN!FEST: A Boy Band Fantasy – a drag musical about a chaotic boyband on tour. Camp, ridiculous, and likely to sell out.
- GODZ – Back with more hedonism, acrobatics, strength, and a lot of very impressive half-naked bodies (one of our top picks last year – read our review here)
- Custard Club – queer, camp, messy theatre (there’s actual custard involved)
- NIUSIA – a powerful, more serious one, weaving family history and identity through a Holocaust survivor story
Comedy picks
Brighton Fringe comedy is always gloriously eccentric – and 2026 is no exception:
- Ratmageddon – sketches, clowning and apocalyptic madness – straight out of Soho Theatre’s Comedy Lab
- Police Cops: The Original – cult favourite, fast-paced, ridiculous, and very very funny
- Alexis Sakellaris: Child Star – queer musical comedy with big main character energy
- Guess Boo: The Mystery of My Nan’s Ashes – we’d book this one for the title alone
- Biscuit Barrel: The 69-Sketch Show – lightning fast-paced sweary skits (including characters with biscuits for heads). Read our review of last year’s show here
Something a little bit different
This is where the Fringe really shines, cooking up all the stuff you didn’t know you needed and will stick with you:
- Portals – immersive dance for everyone with headsets and dreamlike worlds
- Resonant Void – solo experimental Butoh (Japanese dance of darkness) performance with multiple materials and projections.
- Buster – a physical theatre tribute to Buster Keaton using mime, puppetry and film-style staging
Cabaret, nightlife and late-night shenanigans
When the sun goes down, things get… even more Fringe:
- Beaverhausen – burlesque comedy brilliance from a gender-bending drag king
- Cabarave – DJs, cabaret, seriously extra Spiegeltent energy from the party gods to kick off the Fringe
- Big Quiffy Bingo – camp, sweary, iconic, and a Fringe staple (read our review from last year here)
- Nerd Ball – drag plus fandom plus full-blown silliness equals a great night out
Unexpectedly cool stuff
And here’s a few curveballs worth your time:
- A Night at the Museum – choose-your-own-adventure-style immersive theatre inside Brighton Museum after hours
- Running With Scissors – a darkly funny take on navigating the world of surgery as a woman
Get out and about (literally)
If sitting still isn’t your thing:
- Ghost Walk of the Lanes – these classic spooky tours are always fun
- Fearless & Fabulous Women of Brighton – local history but make it interesting – the lesser-known female characters of the city’s past who liked to do things differently
- Witchcraft & Magic Tour – a peek into Sussex’s mystical side
- Daddy Long Legs Rides Again – part walking tour, part time travel exploring the electric ‘car’ on stilts that ‘walked’ through the sea
BOTI’s tips
Book early for anything drag, immersive or vaguely mad-sounding – these usually sell out first. Not sure? We’d always recommend taking a risk on something random, that’s the whole point of the Fringe. And don’t try to over-plan it, half the fun is ending up somewhere you didn’t expect.
Keep an eye out for our reviews, too – we’ll be getting out to as many shows as we can manage! Interesting in reviewing for us? Drop us a line to hello@brightontheinside.co.uk.
1st – 31st May; various days, times and prices
brightonfringe.org
Photo credit: Lynsey Nichol
