The 60 best shows to see at the Edinburgh Festivals and Fringe 2022

Each August, Edinburgh becomes the world's busiest cultural hotspot. The Edinburgh International Festival celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, as does its plucky offshoot the Fringe, which has grown to become the world's largest arts festival. The likes of Tom Jones and Michael Kiwanuka headline the city's music festivals, while the Edinburgh International Book Festival boasts a literary line-up to rival Hay-on-Wye.

But with thousands of shows to choose from, where to start? Here, The Telegraph's critics share 60 recommendations to help you make the most of your summer.

Theatre

Exodus

Uma Nada-Rajah’s headline-grabbing satire about an ambitious Home Secretary “contains depictions of violence... references to suicide, the process of seeking asylum, homophobia and systemic racism”. Presented by the National Theatre of Scotland. Traverse (traverse.co.uk), July 31-Aug 28

Hamlet

Ian McKellen made a youthful splash at the Fringe in 1969; now, aged 83, he makes a striking return, launching the new 400-seat Ashton Hall with a Hamlet (his third stab at the role) that combines his actorly felicity with the dance-steps of Johan Christiansen. Directed by Peter Schaufuss. Ashton Hall, Saint Stephens Theatre (edfringe.com), Aug 3-28

Winston and David

Robert Lloyd George, historian great-grandson of David Lloyd George, details the relationship between the Liberal leader and PM who led Britain to its gruelling victory in the First World War, and Winston Churchill, drawing on material from rare family documents. The Dairy Room, Underbelly (underbellyedinburgh.co.uk), Aug 3-29

Watson: The Final Problem

A monologue, performed by Tim Marriott, in which Watson, bereft of Holmes, gives the inside-scoop on his life with the great detective. Written by Bert Coules, writer of Radio 4’s The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Drawing Room, Assembly Rooms (assemblyfestival.com), Aug 3-28

Afghanistan Is Not Funny

Comedian turned playwright Henry Naylor recounts the trip he made with photographer Sam Maynard to war-torn Afghanistan in 2002, “in which they were threatened by a war criminal, captured by the Mujahideen and nearly blown up by the Taliban”. Dining Room Gilded Balloon, Teviot (gildedballoon.co.uk), Aug 3-29

Boy

In a timely-sounding show, Carly Wijs revisits the heartbreaking story of Canadian Bruce Reiner who was raised as a girl from the age of two following a botched circumcision, and suffered long-term harm on the altar of faith that gender identity is socially constructed. Main Hall. Summerhall, Edinburgh (festival.summerhall.co.uk), Aug 3-28

We Are Traffic: An Uber Adventure

After a relationship break-up, Jonathan Tipton Meyers found a new life “rideshare” cabbing in LA. He has beans to spill, on peculiar passengers, wild escapades and the corporate agenda that keeps us down – “I’m blowing up the lie that we all hate each other,” he promises. Drawing Room, Assembly Rooms (assemblyfestival.com), Aug 3-28

EastEndless

In Tim Fountain’s new play, James Holmes plays EastEnders-obsessed Tony Coventry, who has recorded every episode of the soap but loses the plot when he gets a walk-on part. Directed by Mike Bradwell. Cellar, Pleasance Courtyard (pleasance.co.uk), Aug 3-27

Boris the Third

“When Boris Johnson was 18, he played Richard III in a school play. Apparently, he wasn’t prepared, didn’t learn his lines and the result was chaos.” Written and directed by Adam Meggido, starring Harry Kershaw as the proto-BoJo. Pleasance One, Pleasance Courtyard (pleasance.co.uk), Aug 3-29

Godot is a Woman

Silent Faces theatre company responds, in song and dance, to the gender-specific restrictions placed on Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett’s estate, which make the world’s most famous play about the human condition an actress-free zone. Queen Dome, Pleasance Dome (pleasance.co.uk), Aug 3-28

Making a Murderer: The Musical

Created by and starring the actor and comedy writer Phil Mealey (The Royle Family) this musicalises the Netflix-promulgated story of Steven Avery, who had a conviction for attempted murder quashed, 18 years into his sentence, only to be successfully charged with murder two years later. Cowbarn, Underbelly (underbellyedinburgh.co.uk); Aug 3-29

Never Let Go

Michael Kinnan packs James Cameron’s three-hour blockbuster Titanic into a reportedly ingenious 60-minute tribute. Assembly George Square Studios (assemblyfestival.com), Aug 3-29

Opal Fruits

The (pointless?) rebranding of the much-loved Opal Fruits as Starburst provides a springboard for Holly Beasley-Garrigan’s lauded, semi-autobiographical one-woman show looking at “class, nostalgia and five generations of women from one council estate in South London”. Pleasance Beneath, Pleasance Courtyard (pleasance.co.uk), Aug 3-28

Are You Being Murdered?

Arthur Bostrom – Officer Crabtree in ‘Allo ‘Allo! – plays a supporting actor turned sleuth in a murder mystery “set in the golden age of BBC sitcoms”. Cromdale Theatre; Pleasance at EICC (pleasance.co.uk), Aug 4-20

I Feel the Need

Former US Navy aviator Loree Draude was one of the first women to fly combat jets in the military and was deployed twice to the Persian Gulf – here she recounts the highs and stomach-lurching lows of her airborne days. Powder Room, Assembly Rooms (assemblyfestival.com), Aug 4-27

Hiding Anne Frank

Prudence Wright Holmes plays Miep Gies, who hid the Frank family from the Nazis. Holmes has been on the fringe before with another solo show, about Agatha Christie, and has appeared on Broadway with Meryl Streep and Maggie Smith. Wolfson Theatre, RSE Theatre (edfringe.com), Aug 5-28

Truth’s a Dog Must To Kennel

Tim Crouch’s one-man shows based on Shakespearean characters are among his finest work; here, he turns attention to Lear’s Fool, who “leaves before the killing starts and enters a virtual reality”, entwining verse and metaverse. Lyceum studio, Edinburgh (lyceum.org.uk), Aug 6-28

Temping

In this dinky “immersive” show for just one audience member at a time, from NYC theatre company Dutch Kills, you’re ushered into a work cubicle, complete with computer, printer, shredder etc, and told that you’re filling in for vacationing Sarah Jane Tully, who works in the realm of retirement plans. The Cubicle, Assembly George Square Studios (assemblyfestival.com), Aug 9-28

A Little Life

Hanya Yanagihara’s Booker-shortlisted novel of 2015 follows the friendship of four men, centring on the life of the disabled, self-harming Jude St Francis. Belgian theatre-maker Ivo Van Hove’s adaptation was seen to acclaim in Amsterdam in 2018 and now visits the UK with Dutch actor Ramsey Nasr as Jude. Edinburgh Festival Theatre (eif.co.uk), Aug 20-22

Opera

Rusalka

Garsington Opera make their first Edinburgh Festival appearance with an acclaimed new staging of Dvorak’s fairy-tale opera by Jack Furness. The stunning Welsh soprano Natalya Romaniw sings the title role. Festival Theatre (eif.co.uk), Aug 6-9

Fidelio

Donald Runnicles, the leading Scottish conductor, takes on Beethoven’s only opera. Clay Hilley is Florestan and Jennifer Davis is Leonore, with narration (hopefully replacing the laboured dialogue) by Sir Willard White. Usher Hall (eif.co.uk), Aug 10

Salome

In Strauss’s visceral opera, Malin Byström plays the stepdaughter of Herod who demands the head of John the Baptist and performs the voluptuous Dance of the Seven Veils. Edward Gardner conducts the Bergen Philharmonic. Usher Hall (eif.co.uk), Aug 14 

Books

Patricia Lockwood: Postmodernism for the Internet Generation

Who better to say how the internet is changing us than the Twitter sensation, poet and author of hit novel No One Is Talking About This. Baillie Gifford West Court (edbookfest.co.uk), Aug 14

Serhii Plokhy with Allan Little: Ukraine at the Crossroads of Europe and Russia

Plokhy, Harvard professor of Ukrainian History, and Little, ex-BBC Moscow correspondent, put Putin’s invasion in context. Central Hall (edbookfest.co.uk), Aug 16

Katherine Rundell: I Am a Little World

The author of Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne reminds us just how fresh, funny, filthy and radiantly beautiful his poetry still sounds, 400 years on. Northside Theatre (edbookfest.co.uk), Aug 23

Norman Scott: The Establishment (Almost) Always Wins

A rare chance to hear the survivor of Jeremy Thorpe’s assassination plot tell his side of A Very English Scandal. RIP Rinka the dog. Baillie Gifford Sculpture Court (edbookfest.co.uk), Aug 24

Lea Ypi with Allan Little: What Does Freedom Mean in Europe?

Economist Ypi talks about Free, her stunning memoir of growing up in Hoxha’s isolated communist Albania, and witnessing its painful transition to a market economy. Baillie Gifford Sculpture Court (edbookfest.co.uk), Aug 26

Comedy

Ciarán Dowd: King Rodolfo

Half Zorro, half Don Juan, swashbuckling idiot Don Rodolfo (played by Dowd) is one of the funniest comic characters of recent years. Queen Dome, Pleasance Dome (pleasance.co.uk), Aug 3-28

Norris and Parker: Sirens

The winningly vulgar, vaguely gothy, League of Gentlemen-esque duo Norris and Parker return to the Fringe with a naughty, nautical-themed hour that promises to be a late-night treat. Monkey Barrel Comedy (monkeybarrelcomedy.com), Aug 3-28

Jordan Brookes: This Is Just What Happens

The self-professed “existentialist Michael McIntyre” won the Edinburgh Comedy Award with his last semi-improvised stand-up hour in 2019. This follow-up should be a treat. Monkey Barrel (monkeybarrelcomedy.com), Aug 3-28

Crybabies: Bagbeard

This young trio's first show was a rip-roaring 1940s-set spy pastiche that brought the surreal spirit of the Goon Show into the 21st century. For this eagerly awaited follow-up, Crybabies are spoofing sci-fi. 10Dome, Pleasance Dome (pleasance.co.uk), Aug 3-28

Nina Conti: The Dating Show

If you’re afraid of audience interaction, steer clear. Conti’s clever “human ventriloquy” act – in which she controls mouth-waggling masks worn by helpless volunteers, to make them say unspeakable things – finds its apotheosis in this five-star smash. Grand, Pleasance Courtyard (pleasance.co.uk), Aug 3-28

Tarot: Cautionary Tales

A dark horror-comedy show with a clever twist. The audience draw tarot cards from a deck to decide which skits will be performed on any given night by this sketch troupe, a supergroup of sorts, comprising members of Edinburgh Fringe favourites Goose and Gein's Family Giftshop. Beside, Pleasance Courtyard (pleasance.co.uk), Aug 3-28

Lara Ricote: GRL/LATNX/DEF

The winner of 2021’s Funny Women award (which launched the careers of Katherine Ryan and Zoe Lyons), Mexico-born comic Ricote makes her Fringe debut with an hour of stand-up about “what it’s like to be Latin and deaf and a girl”. Monkey Barrel (monkeybarrelcomedy.com), Aug 3-28

Thom Tuck and Tim FitzHigham: Macbeth

Each day, a different guest director devises a new, unreheased Macbeth, with comics Tuck (The Play What I Wrote) and FitzHigham (Radio 4's The Gambler) playing all the roles. What could possibly go wrong? Underbelly Cowgate (underbellyedinburgh.co.uk), Aug 4-20

Jacqueline Novak: Get On Your Knees

A hit off-Broadway, this is a wickedly intelligent 90-minute cod-lecture on what the papers coyly refer to as a “sex act”, delivered with unstoppable charisma by a star-in-the-making. Forth, Pleasance Courtyard (pleasance.co.uk), Aug 11-Aug 14

Liz Kingsman

Densely written, gloriously daft, this merciless Fleabag spoof was 2020’s most entertaining hour of live comedy. Now Kingsman (of sketch troupe Massive Dad) is back for a victory lap. Traverse (traverse.co.uk), Aug 16-28

Tim Key: Mulberry

Key’s two books of lockdown verse featured some of the wittiest writing to come out of the pandemic. This spin-off stand-up show from the beer-guzzling poet is, miraculously, even funnier. Queen Dome, Pleasance Dome (pleasance.co.uk), Aug 3-17; Beyond, Pleasance Courtyard, Aug 18-28

Nish Kumar: Your Power, Your Control

"It's an unpaid charity gig," Nish Kumar thought to himself before a show in 2019. "What's the worst that could happen?" He answers that question here with a car-crash gig anecdote for the ages. This terrific hour might be his best show yet. Gordon Aikman Theatre, Assembly George Square (assemblyfestival.com), Aug 22-28

Kids

Manual Cinema Presents: Leonardo!

With their ingenious mix of cardboard cut-outs, projections and live music, Manual Cinema’s plays are theatrical magic. Their latest, for ages 3+, is billed as “A Wonderful Show About a Terrible Monster”. Cowbarn, Underbelly Bristo Square (underbellyedinburgh.co.uk), Aug 3-29

A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings

Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s magical realist short story of 1968, in which a couple find an angel-winged ancient and cage him, is brought to the stage for ages 8+ by two puppeteers - and a load of goose feathers. Summerhall (festival.summerhall.co.uk), Aug 3-28

Marcel Lucont: Les Enfants Terribles

Superb character comedian Alexis Dubus’s pretentious French alter-ego Marcel Lucont might not seem like a natural family entertainer. But his award-winning “Gameshow for Awful Children” sounds très amusant. Dining Room, Gilded Balloon Teviot (gildedballoon.co.uk), Aug 3-14

Peppa Pig: My First Concert

Tired of the Peppa Pig theme-tune? In this 50-minute concert, the ubiquitous porcine heroine introduces young fans to Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Mozart, with help from the Aurora Orchestra. Assembly Hall (assemblyfestival.com), Aug 4-21

Joseph Coelho & Fiona Lumbers: Groovy Moves with Luna

This morning event packs a lot into an hour. Coelho, the new Children’s Laureate, reads his book Luna Loves Dance, plus there’s a drawing workshop from illustrator Lumbers and a dance class for tiny feet. Northside Theatre (edbookfest.co.uk), Aug 13

Dance

Light of Life

Diabolo Dance Theatre kicks off the Taiwan Season 2022 – a kind of mini dance festival within the Fringe – with this elaborate “multi-media fantasy” show that draws on the oceanic nature of that country, aimed at all ages. Assembly George Square, Studio One (assemblyfestival.com), Aug 3-28

Burn

This brand-new show by the one and only Alan Cumming sets out to challenge the cosy popular image of Robert Burns and his poetry and focus on the great, complicated man himself. King’s Theatre (eif.co.uk), Aug 4-10

Ballet Freedom

Kyiv’s leading ballet company celebrate their 20th anniversary with a new version of their touring hit Boudoir, a rather steamy-looking modern dance piece for a 12-strong ensemble. Lennox Theatre, Pleasance at EICC (pleasance.co.uk), Aug 4-28

Coppélia

Scottish Ballet is taking this light-hearted 1870 classic about a fellow who falls for a mannequin and yanking it into the 21st century, using it to ponder existential questions about living in a world of artificial intelligence, not to mention what happens when you fall in love with a machine. Festival Theatre, Edinburgh (eif.co.uk), Aug 14 & 15

This Is Not Swan Lake

Denmark’s Granhøj Dans company explores the fraught relationship between Tchaikovsky and his devoted wife, in an intriguing four-person show that promises to be “beautiful, touching and comic”, with various passages of the wonderful titular score played live. Dance Base, Studio 1 (tickets.edfringe.com), Aug 16-21

An Untitled Love

Talented US choreographer Kyle Abraham (Royal Ballet’s The Weathering) dives into the back-catalogue of Grammy-winning soul and R&B star D’Angelo. It could prove quite a party. King’s Theatre, Edinburgh (eif.co.uk), Aug 20 & 21

Pop

Michael Kiwanuka

The soulful, self-questioning British singer-songwriter concocts a warm melting pot of rock, funk and folk to frame compelling songs of doubt and pride. His complex and beguiling third album, Kiwanuka, won the Mercury Prize in 2020. Princes Street Gardens (smmrsessions.com), Aug 8

Tom Jones

The 82-year-old Welsh superstar has been on strong form in recent years, developing more rootsy and reflective aspects of his barnstorming persona. Princes Street Gardens (smmrsessions.com), Aug 10-11

Simple Minds

One of the great Scottish bands, Simple Minds’ epic, yearning rock was one of the defining sounds of the 1980s, and they have lost none of their passion. Charismatic vocalist Jim Kerr and inventive guitarist Charlie Burchill have been playing together since 1977 and still going strong. Princes Street Gardens (smmrsessions.com), Aug 12-13

Rage Against the Machine

The fiercely political American quartet are back on the warpath after 10 years. Their bold rap, funk, metal and punk fusion forges an unlikely link between Led Zeppelin and Public Enemy, driven by sensationally inventive guitarist Tom Morello. Royal Highland Centre (ticketmaster.co.uk), Aug 24

Connect Festival

A three-day event, with polemical rockers Idles headlining on Friday, the Chemical Brothers taking charge of block-rocking beats on Saturday and American alt rockers The National waxing poetic on Sunday. A massive supporting bill of intriguing leftfield talent includes John Hopkins, Moses Boyd, Bonobo, Low, Mogwai and Little Simz. Royal Highland Centre Showground (connectmusicfestival.com), Aug 26-28

Classical & Jazz

Herbie Hancock

When Hancock is in full flood, zipping from grand piano to Synthesiser, spinning dazzling virtuoso variations on one of his irresistible funky classics such as Canteloupe Island or Watermelon Man, he is truly a sight to behold. Edinburgh Playhouse (eif.co.uk), Aug 7

Sons of Kemet

With its admixture of Caribbean carnival joyousness, hip-hop inspired protest, Ethiopian jazz lyricism and free-jazz freedom this quartet, led by the hugely inventive saxophonist Shabaka Hutchings, is a star in the British jazz firmament. The group will disband forever at the end of the year; catch them while you can. Leith Theatre (eif.co.uk), Aug 14

Dunedin Consort

Edinburgh’s own “early music” group and tenor Nicholas Mulroy offer a feast of Italian and German sensuousness and seriousness from 17th-century Europe, capped by a cantata from the greatest female composer of the age, Barbara Strozzi. Queen’s Hall (eif.co.uk), Aug 16

Ibn Battuta: The Traveller of Time

Jordi Savall, the great Catalan musician and ardent proselyte for the power of music to heal divisions, leads his group Hespèrion XXI in a musical exploration of the travels of the great 14th-century Islamic scholar Ibn Battuta. Usher Hall (eif.co.uk), Aug 17

London Symphony Orchestra

The sheer excitement of Berlioz’s Corsaire overture, the violent city-scape of Bartok’s Miraculous Mandarin and the granitic seriousness of Sibelius’s Seventh Symphony – plus a brand-new piece from Daniel Kidane – make this concert unmissable. Simon Rattle conducts. Usher Hall (eif.co.uk), Aug 18