Edinburgh Fringe 2024 – Top Picks: Cabaret

Aidan Sadler: Melody 
The Voodoo Rooms, 2-25 Aug (not 5, 12, 19), 7.50pm

In Melody, award-winning cabaret star Aidan Sandler will blend 80s-inspired synth-wave melodies with comedic observations on everyday life and surviving the apocalypse. With original tracks, Sadler makes living in the moment his signature style.

Colin Cloud: Consequences
Underbelly, Bristo Square, 31 Jul-26 Aug (not 13), 7.20pm

What are your beliefs, and how do they influence your life? Comedian and magician Colin Cloud returns to Underbelly with an ambitious show, set to reveal some of the secrets of our reality and how our decisions are shaped by how we see the world. 

Ellie MacPherson: Babe Lincoln
Pleasance Courtyard, 31 Jul-25 Aug (not 7, 12, 19), 4.35pm

Having unearthed a previously unknown script of Abraham Lincoln’s secret stand-up special, cabaret star Ellie MacPherson will transform herself into Babe Lincoln, resurrecting the former president’s apparently long-forgotten comedy routines. With a diverse musical repertoire, she employs her vocals and humour to make striking parallels between history and the present. 

Janie Dee’s Beautiful World Cabaret 
Pleasance Dome, 31 Jul-25 Aug (not 7, 13, 21), 2.20pm 

Janie Dee has twice won the Olivier Award and in an enlightening musical cabaret will spotlight the climate and ecological crisis. Beautiful World Cabaret features an array of special guests and celebrates composers such as Sondheim, Sting, Peggy Lee and Vivaldi. Dee and her friends challenge us to consider the small steps we can take to genuinely care more for our world.

Swamplesque 
Assembly Hall, 1-25 Aug (not 12), 10.20pm

A burlesque and whimsical drag parody of Shrek, Swamplesque has wowed audiences across Australia and now debuts in Edinburgh. Celebrating queer and plus-sized performers, Trigger Happy Productions tribute to the ogre breaks down stereotypes and embraces individuality.