Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026 award winners announced

The 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe has concluded with various industry awards recognizing outstanding performances and creative achievements.

The Asian Art Awards 2026, presented by the Asian Art Fund Scotland and the Fringe in partnership with WU Asia Pacific, honored several international productions. The Outstanding Show award went to “2Shoulderpads: Galaxy Train” from Japan. Other winners included “The Palestinian Circus: Step and a Half” as a runner-up, “Our Town Needs a Nando’s” for Outstanding Youth Show, and “Tether” for Outstanding Drama. “Shhh! (A Wordless Comedy)” from Vietnam won Outstanding Children’s Show, while Cheeyang Ng from Singapore received the Outstanding Individual Performance award for “Legendary”.

Additionally, Theatre Weekly announced its “Best of the Fest 2026” awards. The production “The Distance” at Summerhall was named Best Show of the Fringe, noted for its unique staging involving a treadmill. Eilidh Loan’s “Cathy” at the Traverse Theatre received the award for Best New Writing.