Hit shows that started out at Edinburgh Festival Fringe

One minute you’re standing in a dingy underground bar in Edinburgh at god knows what hour, and the next you’re reading that the show you saw a few summers ago in Edinburgh is transferring to the West End!

Such is the power of arts and Fringe festivals in providing a platform for tomorrow’s biggest hits. We have Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the largest performing arts festival in the world, to thank for so much genre-defining brilliance, including groups such as The Mighty Boosh, The League of Gentlemen, and Flight of the Conchords, as well as a whole host of big-screen adaptations.

As well as making the annual pilgrimage up to Scotland this summer, here at WhatsOnStage we’ve put together a helpful guide to steer you through the proceedings, launching with our ever-popular recommendations for new musicals.

But as a refresher, here are just some of the shows that started life in Edinburgh and continue to play and grow!

An Oak Tree

Tim Crouch’s An Oak Tree first premiered at the Fringe in 2005 and has since gone on to welcome more than 250 guest performers for one night only. Regarded as the first “cold read” play, it has seen many stars experience the piece for the first time while they’re performing it. The show will be staged in London as part of regarded producer Francesca Moody’s season at The Other Palace.

Baby Reindeer

Richard Gadd’s solo show, chronicling his experience being stalked, premiered in 2019 at the Fringe. It was his breakout theatre success and quickly transferred to London with its eyes on the West End before the Covid lockdowns scuppered it. However, the delays worked to Gadd’s advantage as Netflix then commissioned a TV adaptation, written by and starring Gadd as Donny. Upon its release, with an award-winning cast including Jessica Gunning, Nava Mau, and Tom Goodman-Hill, Barclays Bank reported a rise in subscription payments to watch!

Black Watch

The Choir of Man

The musical pub experience first served up pints and pop hits in Edinburgh. Created by Nic Doodson and Andrew Kay, and directed by Doodson, the show opened up the Jungle in the West End, playing over 1000 performances at the Arts Theatre – and serving considerably more beer. It received an Olivier nomination for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play and is currently out on tour.

Fleabag

To the friend who challenged Phoebe Waller-Bridge to come up with a sketch at their storytelling night, we thank you. It’s from there that we got Fleabag. The one-woman show was then adapted into a popular TV series, but that didn’t stop Waller-Bridge from returning to the stage for further productions and being immortalised in a generational live recording.

Jerry Springer: The Opera

Richard Thomas and Stewart Lee’s outrageous (and controversial) musical based on the talk show is endorsed by the host himself, who saw the piece when it was first presented as a concert in Edinburgh! The Olivier Award-winning show was fully staged at the National Theatre not long after, in 2003, before transferring to the West End.

Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder!

When the Matthew Floyd Jones and Jon Brittain’s murder mystery musical comedy first premiered in 2022 at Edinburgh Fringe, it was 70 minutes long. The crime caper returned the following year with an added 20 minutes, before becoming the two-act show that tickled audiences’ funny bones in the West End, where it was co-directed by Brittain and WhatsOnStage Award winner Fabian Aloise!

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead

Tom Stoppard’s tragicomedy was first seen at the Fringe in 1966 by the Oxford Theatre Group, before heading to London, New York, Sydney, the airwaves, and eventually to the big screen. It follows the two minor characters from Shakespeare’s Hamlet as they ponder their existence. The movie starred Gary Oldman and Tim Roth, and to this day marks Stoppard’s only foray into directing for the big screen. A part of his great legacy.

The Shark is Broken

The piece has seen Ian Shaw and Joseph Nixon sink their teeth into the behind-the-scenes challenges faced during the filming of Steven Spielberg’s classic film, Jaws. Early on in its life, the play debuted at the Fringe Festival. Since then, it has enjoyed time in the West End, Toronto, and on Broadway.

Six

It’s one of a kind and a massive part of Fringe and musical theatre’s her-story! If you’re a regular reader of WhatsOnStage, you won’t need us to explain anything about Lucy Moss and Toby Marlow‘s mega-musical celebrated across the world, which hands the mics to the ex-wives of Henry VIII. Since premiering at the Edinburgh Fringe (and starring Marlow’s sister and SNL UK alumni Annabel Marlow), it has been, and continues to be, staged across the world. Last year, a filmed version made its way into cinemas with the original Queens and broke box office records!

Stomp

Stomp began as a series of street theatre performances across Edinburgh, transforming everyday objects into percussion instruments throughout the 1980s! Created by Steve McNicholas and Luke Cresswell, the show has since thrilled audiences across the world – spending 15 years in London and playing over 11,000 performances in New York. We’ll raise a broom to that!