Keep it Fringe Fund 2026 – artists who will receive bursaries announced

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society has announced on Thursday the names of the artists who will be supported with bursaries from the Keep it Fringe Fund.

The fund was launched in 2023 and this year it has been boosted with donations from actress Miriam Margolyes, the Williamson family and James Seabright.

Cheez-it also helped with a fundraising partnership with the Co-op.

Previously th fund has helped a range of shows covering club culture, nostalgia, PTSD, declining seaside towns, moving back in with your parents, hypnosis, eating disorders, declining journalistic standards and growing up in the shadow of the British Empire, with companies and artists spanning the cabaret, comedy, musical, spoken word and theatre categories in the Fringe programme.

Almost half of the successful applicants identify as disabled or have a health condition. More than a third come from a working class background.

Tony Lankester, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: “We recognise the significance of the Keep it Fringe fund and the number of applications this year demonstrates how important it has become. We know that bringing work to Edinburgh comes at significant cost, and Keep it Fringe goes a long way to helping artists bridge the gap.

“We are extremely grateful to Miriam, James, the Williamson family and Cheez-It for their kind donations to this year’s fund. We are busy working on fundraising to ensure Keep it Fringe continues in 2027 and beyond and would encourage anyone able to support us in this work to reach out to us.”

The Fringe Society says it hopes to continue the Keep it Fringe fund for as long as possible and is actively seeking new funding and donations to ensure the long-term sustainability of the fund. Donations can be made here, and updates will be provided as the project progresses.

The successful recipients of the Keep it Fringe Fund 2026 are the following shows in alphabetical order:

• Abbie Edwards: Knee Touch
• Crush
• Ele McKenzie: Bringing It All Back Home
• Fantasy World Adventures Mega Park! The Musical
• Giraffe
• Half-Time
• hame. teeth. CLUB
• The Hypnotist & Mind Reader Live
• Mothman: A Romance Musical
• One Dog One Nutter – PTSD to Pleasure
• paywall
• The Poetical Life of Philomena McGuinness
• A Simply Beastly Murder
• SLAY
• Target Audience
• The Wreck