From online during lockdown to a fully live event, ET looks at how Shedinburgh has successfully established itself in both Edinburgh and London, serving fringe theatre nationwide.
Shedinburgh started life in June 2020 as the ‘Shedinburgh Fringe Festival’, an online-only festival born out of necessity, but designed with one clear goal: to bring the very best of the Fringe to audiences who couldn’t be there in person. By August 2020, performances were being live-streamed from two sheds – one at the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, the other at Soho Theatre in London – a genuinely inventive solution to a year when live performance had all but disappeared. The gamble paid off: this live-streamed event reached over 5,000 people worldwide, a huge success that proved appetite for the Fringe hadn’t gone anywhere, even if audiences couldn’t gather in the usual venues.
The festival has continued to evolve since. In 2021, Shedinburgh became a hybrid event, blending live and streamed performance, and by 2025 it had grown into a fully live event once again at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival itself. Now, after a successful run at the 2026 Edfringe, Shedinburgh has packed up its shed and travelled south, taking up residence at the Young Vic for three weeks of Fringe fun in the capital.
The creators have invited some of the very best performers from the Fringe to entertain over the coming three weeks, and the opening day set the bar high. The first show was a stripped-down version of Jessie Cave‘s Sunrise, first performed back in 2018. Cave delivers a frantic and brilliantly funny version of her iconic one-woman show, squeezing all the humour and joy into a tight sixty minutes. It was a rare and welcome chance to catch a ‘classic’ show in a much smaller, more intimate venue than it might normally play.
And there’s more exciting work still to be had. Forthcoming artists include Sara Pascoe and Nick Helm, alongside several works in progress from up-and-coming comedians and musicians – a nice reminder that Shedinburgh isn’t just about nostalgia, but about what’s up next too.
The venue itself, the Maria Theatre in the basement of the Young Vic, has been reimagined as – yes, you’ve guessed it – a shed! It’s a charming transformation, complete with wood panelling and other shed-like touches dotted around the space. The thrust stage set-up works well, and the venue manages a neat trick: it feels genuinely intimate while still packing in an impressive number of audience members.
At Shedinburgh, you can expect old favourites, rising stars, and world premieres, all under one (shed) roof. Whatever you pick to watch, you’re guaranteed a great time in the Shed at the Young Vic.
Shedinburgh continues at The Young Vic until Saturday 10 October
