Underbelly has unveiled its spectacular 2026 circus, cabaret, and musicals line-up for the upcoming Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The extensive programme features a highly anticipated global circus focus alongside viral musical transfers and late-night variety. Audiences can expect an energetic mix of international productions alongside returning festival favourites spanning multiple venues this summer.
International circus takes centre stage this year with boundary-pushing performance companies arriving from Palestine, Zambia, Kenya, Japan, Australia, the USA, Canada, and Sweden. The West Bank-based Palestinian Circus will debut Step and a Half at the Circus Hub, beautifully blending contemporary circus with traditional folk dance to highlight daily life and resistance. From Japan, The Sumo Show Hirakuza brings authentic professional wrestling and audience participation to the festival for the very first time, while Yoah fuses stunning digital visuals, electro soundscapes, and traditional instrumentation. Additionally, Afronauts explores Zambia's fascinating 1964 space race history through high-flying space adventure, and Kenya’s Black Blues Brothers return with their explosive rock-and-roll acrobatics.
The musicals and theatre programming features the highly anticipated festival transfer of Heated Rivalry: The Unauthorized Musical Parody. Fresh from a viral off-Broadway run, the high-energy production tracks the closeted enemies-to-lovers romance of two rival hockey stars. Other musical highlights include Legendary, a solo musical by Cheeyang Ng exploring queer identity through Chinese mythology, and the award-winning bio-musical Woody Sez, making its first festival appearance since 2009. Returning comedy favourites include the provocative 2025 hit Hole! and the Spirit of the Fringe Award winner Galaxy Train.
Late-night variety and cabaret remain a cornerstone of the venue's identity, led by the debauched Weimar-style circus of Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett. Audiences looking for messy, live-band comedy can catch Reuben Kaye hosting the iconic Kaye Hole, or experience the immersive audiovisual party of DJ Yoda: 90s Mixtape Live. Trans expression is celebrated in Fempaths: Transistor Radio Hour, while Liberace and Liza - A Tribute crafts a dazzling, sequin-filled performance that never was. Tickets are currently on sale across all platforms.
