Edinburgh Fringe 2026: Two New Musicals Turn Heads — A Drag Boyband Send-Up and a 17-Strong Princess Fairy Tale
Two new musicals are drawing attention at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this August, and they could not be more different. One is a four-person drag show satirising boyband culture. The other is billed as the largest new musical the Fringe has ever seen, with a cast of 17 West End performers. Both are playing at Pleasance Courtyard, one of the festival's busiest venue complexes, and both have already prompted talk of London transfers.
Man!fest, by OnTheNose Productions, is a drag musical that takes aim at toxic masculinity and its effect on boybands and the fangirls who worshipped them. The show follows a fictional four-member boyband — Ash the bad boy, Ewan the pretentious home-counties heartthrob, Cody the abs-obsessed one, and Ruben, described as a prepubescent mess. It runs at The Green (Venue 33) at Pleasance Courtyard from 5 to 31 August, listed under comedy on the official Fringe website.
WhatsOnStage critic Alex Wood reviewed the production on 9 August, praising its concept, comedy, audience interaction, choreography, and soundtrack. The review flagged two problems: pacing and an abrupt ending that leaves narrative threads unresolved. Wood suggested the show would benefit from an extra 15 to 20 minutes to expand into a full 90-minute narrative, arguing that with that breathing room it could become what industry people call a transfer — a production moving from its original venue into a commercial West End house. WhatsOnStage
Running at the same venue complex is Bliss, an 85-minute premiere with a 17-strong cast, choreography by Josh Prince, and a book and score by Emma Lively and Tyler Beattie. The story follows four princess sisters locked in a tower by an overbearing father. They emerge over-educated but entirely naive. The cast includes Akshara Gunda as the astronomy-obsessed princess Piper, Matilda Shapland as the animal-loving princess Holly, Jordan Calloway as Prince Devin, and Tom Bennett — known to television audiences from House of the Dragon — as the Fairy Godfather Glimmermore, a self-serving villain. Paloma Young designed the costumes; Jai Morjaria handled lighting.
Bliss plays at Pleasance Courtyard's Grand venue from 5 to 31 August, with performances at 1pm. The official Fringe listing describes the show as featuring 17 West End performers with "electric vocals and a pop-rock punch." Preview tickets on 5 and 6 August were priced at £11, according to the show's official website. WhatsOnStage
WhatsOnStage's review of Bliss, also published 9 August, predicted a London transfer and described the show as a packed-out hit aimed at a young teen demographic. The Fringe has long served as a testing ground for new musical work — shows can open on a small budget, gauge audience response, and attract producers willing to back a London run. Both productions are playing the full Fringe duration, which runs from 7 to 31 August 2026, though both began performances on 5 August, ahead of the official festival opening.
For Fringe-goers, the appeal is straightforward. Man!fest offers drag performance and boyband parody in an intimate space. Bliss brings the scale of a West End-sized cast to a festival better known for solo shows and two-handers. Whether either show makes the journey south will depend on audiences, producers, and the arithmetic that determines whether a Fringe run can become something bigger.
