One of the great benefits of London in summer is the stacked line-ups at comedy clubs, where performers test new material in work-in-progress (WIP) shows. It is a chance to see top-quality comedians in intimate spaces, often with audiences numbering in the dozens, honing routines for the Edinburgh Fringe and for bigger theatres in the West End and beyond. The unpolished sets can also bring bigger laughs when moments go off script.
I have been taking every chance to check out early versions of shows before the Fringe officially gets under way on Friday. Here are some highlights to have on your radar when planning your itinerary.
Best new acts
Freddie Meredith is much loved by the young crowd at MOTH Club in Hackney, where he regularly hosts his Groom of the Stool mixed-bill nights. Even skits based on Clarkson-era Top Gear work, thanks to his odd man's distant stare and uncomfortable self-awareness. Viewers who enjoyed him as Seb in the underappreciated BBC sitcom Such Brave Girls - even after its Bafta win - will have an idea of his live persona. Need a Light? is at Baby Grand at Pleasance Courtyard.
Ele McKenzie, also often seen in front of the MOTH Club's gold curtain, brings debut show Ele McKenzie: Bringing It All Back Home to Bunker Two at Pleasance Courtyard. Known for BBC sitcom Funboys, she self-describes as 'a sort of horny teenage boy in the body of an adult woman'. Expect shame-free self-deprecation.
Harriet Richardson's debut show, Creep, had mouths agape in an early WIP at The Bill Murray in Angel. The performance artist, known for going viral over 100 virtual dates on Valentine's Day, playfully opens with that story before turning darker over the advances of a male TV comic, who becomes date 101. Creep is at Below at Pleasance Courtyard.
Any of these could be in the running when Edinburgh Comedy Awards best newcomer nominees are announced on Wednesday 26 August.
Stars of SNL UK
Just over four months ago, 'live from London it's Saturday night' was said down the camera lens for the first time as SNL UK debuted on Sky One, with clips going viral every weekend since. Many of the cast are no strangers to Edinburgh, but now they arrive as primetime TV stars.
Ania Magliano and Paddy Young, the two faces of the show's Weekend Update segment, have already sold out their runs. Magliano's Peach Fuzz, which could have been called Jorts and All as it teases the mystery of loose-fitting clothing, sexualised performances by Sabrina Carpenter and what you mustn't do in a floatation tank, sees the 2023 Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee sell out a full run at Monkey Barrel 3. Young's Will Sir Be Laughing Alone? is at Monkey Barrel 1 for the first half of the month, with flights of fancy about hating stag-dos, hating his flatmate and hating himself in pursuit of childhood crushes. Post-Fringe tour dates for both shows are already selling out.
Larry Dean: Hellbent is a slick hour of smart gags occasionally touching the naughty side, with a strong range of accents and impressions that made him a perfect fit for SNL UK. Loosely themed around gay weddings, including his own, it is at Beyond at Pleasance Courtyard - rather than the back room of Hot Toddy's in Mornington Crescent, a remarkably dire bar where I saw the preview.
SNL UK's writing team also step back in front of audiences. Celya AB's We Must Stop Meeting Like This is at Monkey Barrel 1, and the ever-joyful performer may have tales of transmission night. Head writer Jonno brings Here Comes Mr Funny to Monkey Barrel 2 at Monkey Barrel Comedy, a largely musical act that is laugh-out-loud even for people who do not usually like musical comedy or James Bond theme tunes. Having appeared in the sketch group Sheeps with Liam Williams and Al Roberts, it is his first solo show, making him eligible for the best newcomer award. Is he worthy of a shout? You can bet your cowboy potatoes.
Ayoade Bamgboye brings back Swings And Roundabouts, the show that earned her the best newcomer award last year, for three nights only at Forth at Pleasance Courtyard, plus five nights of new WIP Small Talk at Monkey Barrel 2. For SNL UK fans, there are also three nights to catch Al Nash and Friends at Pleasance Two at Pleasance Courtyard.
Returning 2025 shows and old favourites
There is another chance to see last year's Fringe shows, including Luke McQueen: Comedian's Comedian, my top pick from 2025. With four performances at Ace Dome at Pleasance Dome, it remains the best way I have seen AI put to use, even though the technology has had a year since last August.
Tim Key has also had a year, starring in The Office spin-off The Paper. His show Loganberry has him playing venues he might describe as beneath him - in this case Beyond at Pleasance Courtyard - fresh from his film Wallis Island being a critical hit last summer.
For old favourites, the Fringe would not be complete without easing into a Sunday afternoon in the life-affirming warmth of Rob Auton: JUPITER at Central at Assembly Roxy, or spending a late evening with Jordan Brookes: The Part of You That's Always Screaming at Queen Dome at Pleasance Dome. If this is a developed version of the WIP he brought to Edinburgh in 2025, there is one frighteningly good - or plain frightening - routine no one will forget.
