PRESS RELEASE for immediate release June 2026
With over 90 comedy acts taking part in this year’s Buxton Fringe, it’s no surprise that some performers turn to the wider world for their inspiration. Comedy gold can be found everywhere: wars, religion, the Labour Party and of course Trump are all ripe for satire. Nothing is off limits at the Fringe.
Why Don’t I Talk to People About Terrorism? Well why not? Harun Musho’d asks the question. He tells us he has an Arabic name but the good news is he can’t fly a plane, although he does have a rucksack. A History of the last Conservative Government: In Their Own Stupid Words is Harun’s other show in which he fact-checks the memoirs of Cameron, May, Truss, Hancock and Johnson. He read them so his audiences do not have to.
Tackling another huge subject is comedy writer James Cary. What? Well it’s the Bible obviously. He unpacks the entire thing in one hour in God, The Bible and Everything, a show featuring jokes, props and maybe a song. The venue is rather appropriately Trinity Church.
Literary greats James Joyce and Shakespeare are referenced in The Bard Boys as “half-learned scholars” Ethan Formstone and Dan Coldback spin an epic yarn where a stranger in a strange land is trapped in a culture unwilling to accept him.
Environmental issues and the seaside prove to be ripe comedy ground for Donald McGinty in Going Coastal whilst Anthony Williams is the Pathological Penny Pincher as he goes to frankly absurd lengths to save money. In their triple headliner bill, Are We The Problem?!, rising comics Ciaran Shea, David Martin and Lauren Buck (aka The Problems) ask if it is just them? Join the audience and find out.
No-one could deny that the world is living through troubling times; happily Steve Vertigo is there to help navigate life’s anxieties in Fear. What is worth actually worrying about? This show probably, he suggests. At the other end of the spectrum, Sally Anne Hayward has never been more comfortable in her own skin, especially now it’s a bit looser. Does wisdom come with age? Find out in Older, Bolder.
Fringe Marketing Officer Stephanie Billen says: “Comedy can be enlightening as well as funny and tackling difficult issues head on can prove incredibly refreshing! Certainly Buxton comedians know no bounds!”
There is plenty more comedy on offer at Buxton Fringe. Fringe-goers can just pick up a programme, see www.buxtonfringe.org.uk or download the free Buxton Fringe App.
The Fringe wishes to thank High Peak Borough Council, its Fringe Friends and the town’s many Fringe supporters and venues.
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