Which Shows Combined Bingo And Comedy At The Edinburgh Fringe?

Every year, the highly popular Fringe Festival wows an audience of thousands with its cult humour and innovative entertainment acts. This years’ event was no exception, opening on August 7 to rave reviews and closing on the final day of the month. These 24 days are packed full of exceptionally good acts, traversing the diverse spectrum of music, comedy, and popular culture.

With this in mind, we decided to take a look at the most unusual and innovative acts – involving bingo of course – that wowed crowds at this years’ festival.

The Pop Disco Show

In recent times, bricks and mortar bingo halls have looked to breathe life into traditional formats in a bid to compete with online operators. This has led to the development of musical bingo, with rock and roll shows including Rock & Roll Bingo wowing crowds nationwide and substituting numbered balls for up-tempo track listings. The Fringe Festival looked to tap into this trend, and successfully hosted a Pop Bingo Disco extravaganza that combined classic, up-beat tracks with one of the world’s most popular games.

Wedding Bingo

Weddings and bingo are two exceptionally popular aspects of modern life, and they were combined to create an interactive hour of entertainment at this years’ Fringe Festival. Ridiculous, comical and insightful in equal measure, the audience was invited to play along by watching out for and reacting to trigger words such as ‘buffet blockers’ in order to tick off phrases on a unique game card! Winners were rewarded handsomely, with a golden scotch egg topping the list of prizes.

A Live Performance from Barry from Watford’s Bingo Bonanza

Barry from Watford’s Bingo Bonanza is fast becoming a household name, primarily as the nation’s favourite octogenarian and the star of BBC Radio 4’s upcoming series Barry’s Lunch Club. He returned to his roots at the Edinburgh Festival this year, following on from the success of his hit 2013 show which offers a unique fusion of stand-up, variety entertainment and bingo. It was a roaring success too, as Barry produced his trademark line in witty and insightful comedy while referencing the classic game of bingo throughout. In many ways he stole the show, with reviewers praising his ‘wonderful observation skills’ and ‘top quality character comedy’.

Did you have a favourite variety performance at this years’ Fringe Festival? If so, feel free to let us know…

Last updated: May 18, 2023