We’ve spent the first week of the Edinburgh Fringe seeking out shows that approach sex, sexuality and relationships from very different angles. From BDSM and sex work to queer history, orgasms and gloriously filthy stand-up, here are five of our favourites so far.
1. Yoky Yu: East Infection
Flight Club at Laughing Horse @ West Port Oracle | 6–29 August | 17:00
If you like your Fringe comedy filthy and completely unrestrained, East Infection is one to catch.
Yoky Yu combines sex stories with geopolitical commentary and very enthusiastic audience interaction. Expect an afternoon where circumcision stories and fisting preferences are apparently fair game.
Malu says: “Yoky brings a whiff of fully unrestrained humour in a stand-up built upon the lovely combination of filthy sex stories and geopolitical commentary. Expect unfiltered, unapologetic, absolutely dirty audience work. For a fun and sexy Fringe afternoon, East Infection is a clear pick.”
2. Good Girl
Gilded Balloon Patter House – Blether | 5–31 August, excluding 18 August | 22:20
Good Girl explores finding healing through BDSM in a carefully constructed one-woman show.
When Alix’s marriage begins to unravel, an impulsive decision pulls her into the world of kink, where she encounters a community built around communication, consent and care.
Tabitha says: “Good Girl is a spellbinding one-woman show, beautifully thought out and put together story of finding healing through BDSM.”
3. Homecumming
Summerhall – Anatomy Lecture Theatre | 6–16 August | 16:15
What happens when your body suddenly stops doing something you’ve always taken for granted?
Magalie Rouillard-Bazinet takes the loss of orgasm and turns it into something much bigger: a story about sex drive, heartbreak, shame, self-worth and trying to understand a body that doesn’t always behave the way you expect it to.
Sarah says: “Homecumming is a show for everyone who has ever felt like their sex drive is secretly a tragic heroine. A moving and frank show about how your body doesn’t always know what to do.”
4. Ask a Stripper: The Champagne Room
Laughing Horse @ Dragonfly – The Other Room | 6–9, 11–16, 18–23 & 25–30 August | 21:30
Sex work is often either heavily stigmatised or strangely idealised. Ask a Stripper offers something much more interesting: the chance to hear directly from people actually doing the job.
Two real-life strippers take questions from the audience, covering everything from money and working conditions to the unexpectedly mundane parts of life in the industry.
Iris says: “In a world where sex work is stigmatised and idealised at the same time, Ask a Stripper cuts through the myths by letting the people actually doing the job answer back. From the funny to the mundane, there’s plenty here to learn from.”
5. The BBC’s First Homosexual
Assembly George Square – The Crate | 5–16 August | 13:00
Sex-positive Fringe doesn’t only mean talking about sex itself. Understanding how attitudes towards sexuality developed is just as important.
The play takes us back to 1954, when the BBC recorded its first documentary about male homosexuality. The programme was considered too controversial to broadcast, and a heavily edited version did not make it to air until three years later.
Iris says: “The BBC’s First Homosexual will absorb you for an hour, digging into how homosexuality was discussed, distorted and controlled in 1950s Britain. Historical theatre that feels uncomfortably relevant today.”
Sarah adds: “the show to see if you care about labour rights in the nighttime economy.”
