While Edinburgh Fringe is definitely the place to be for frivolity and fun in the coming weeks, the festival also has a proud tradition of engaging in plenty of politics.

Whether it’s satire or speeches, spoken-word or shenanigans, there’s something for every kind of political mind at the Edinburgh Fringe this year.

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We’ve gone through no less than 397 pages of the Edinburgh Fringe’s official programme to pick out some of the best, most exciting, and original pieces of political performance you can catch this year.

Covering everything from Trump to Brexit to the recent general election, there really is no shortage of political fun to be had!

Satire:

Trumpageddon

Where: Gilded Balloon Teviot (Venue 14)

When: 14.45 – 4-8th, 10-15th, 17-22th, 24-28th August

Length: 1 hour

What is it about? 1,862,364 people signed a petition against Donald J Trump making a state visit to the UK, so he’s doing a Fringe show instead. Trumpageddon enjoyed a sell-out edfringe run when The Donald was a mere candidate and now he returns as leader of the free world. Immerse yourself in Trump’s world vision before he blows it to kingdom come. Created by Simon Jay and directed by Olivier nominee Dan Clarkson, this absurdist satire is as demented, hysterical and disturbed as the man himself.

Margaret Thatcher Queen Of Game Shows

Where: Assembly George Square Gardens (Venue 3)

When: 21.00 – 4-13th, 15-27th August

Length: 1 hour 10 minutes

What is it about? Ding dong the witch is back! Multi award-winning Fringe sensation Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho returns with the most fabulous game show of all! Join the Iron Lady for songs, games and catchphrases as audience members compete for their golden giro cheque!

Talks:

Alex Salmond… Unleashed!

Where: Assembly Rooms (Venue 20) ​

When: 13.45 – 13-27th August

Length: 1 hour

What is it about? Join Alex Salmond and friends in an afternoon of chat, stories, a little bit of music and lots of fun. Have you ever wondered what Scotland’s longest-serving First Minister really thinks? Well, now’s your chance. Alex Salmond, unleashed from the restraints of public office, will appear at Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms for a bit of light-hearted banter and a few behind the scenes revelations about his time in power. Each performance will involve a different celebrity guest from the world of politics, showbiz and sport.

Polly Toynbee and David Walker: In Conversation

Where: University of Edinburgh Business School (Venue 345)

When: 18.00 – 25th August

Length: 1 hour

What is it about? Polly Toynbee and David Walker join Professor Chris Carter to discuss their dream government, constructing an imaginary cabinet from politicians of the past half century. They will also reflect on Labour’s problems, Brexit and what to do about it. Back by popular demand, this talk is part of the Media Series at the Fringe, where prominent and influential public figures reflect on the current political and media scene.

John Prescott: In Conversation

Where: University of Edinburgh Business School (Venue 345)

When: 18.00 – 16th August

Length: 1 hour

What is it about? In conversation with Chris Carter, John will discuss key events from his long and distinguished political career. He will also reflect on the Labour leaders he has worked with, the recent General Election, Brexit and his arguments for a new constitutional settlement between the regions and nations of the UK. Join us for an insightful, thought-provoking and entertaining evening. Back by popular demand, this talk is part of the Media Series at the Fringe.

In Conversation with… Jeremy Corbyn

Where: New Town Theatre (Venue 7)

When: 12.00 – 27th August

Length: 1 hour

What is it about? The journey from backbench MP to ‘PM-in-waiting’ has been long and eventful. Jeremy speaks to comedian and broadcaster Susan Morrison about what makes him tick, how he deals with adversity, and why our country, and its politics, needs to be transformed. Labour’s recent General Election manifesto offered the most radical arts policy for more than fifty years. Fresh from the advances made at the General election and appearances at Glastonbury and the Durham Miners Gala, Corbyn addresses the world’s largest arts festival on why culture must be for the many not the few.

In Conversation With… John McDonnell

Where: New Town Theatre (Venue 7)

When: 12.00 – 11th August

Length: 1 hour

What is it about? Shadow Chancellor since 2015 and MP for Hayes and Harlington since 1997, McDonnell has campaigned against the Iraq war, and argued for curbs in bankers’ bonuses, decent pensions, free elderly care, a fair taxation system, defending the NHS, and extending public ownership. He is a committed environmentalist, trade unionist and anti-nuclear campaigner. Alongside Jeremy Corbyn, McDonnell has been a key figure in setting out a new direction for the Labour Party, pledging to increase spending on infrastructure and research, describing his vision for the economy as ‘socialism with an iPad’.

Comedy Theatre:

Trumpus Interruptus: The Impeachment of Donald J Trump

Where: Greenside @ Infirmary Street (Venue 236) ​

When: 21.55 – 4-12th August

Length: 1 hour

What is it about? It’s November 2019. Donald Trump is in political exile following a constitutional crisis of truly nuclear proportions. The public has neither seen nor heard from the former President since he’s left office – until now. In this political comedy, a journalist and a disgraced president will battle to set history straight in a post-truth world where facts and “alternative facts” explosively collide.

Musical Theatre:

Trump’d

Where: C venues – C (Venue 34) ​

When: 20.25 – 4-14th, 16-28th August

Length: 1 hour

What is it about? The year is 2030. As supreme dictator, Donald Trump has brought American society to the brink. As a unified resistance grows, the time for reckoning has come… Will the Mexican Resistance find their way home? Will the last remnants of ISIS finally have their revenge? Is Arnold Schwarzenegger really a robot, or just that good an actor? Find out on an all-singing, all-dancing parody-musical journey through the desolate wasteland of future America.

2016: The Musical

Where: theSpace @ Surgeons Hall (Venue 53)

When: 14.00 – 14-19th, 21-26th August

Length: 50 minutes

What is it about? The year the world went mad: 2016 the Musical will be an all-out satirical musical looking at what the hell happened last year. Featuring songs such as, ‘This is Gonna be a Great Year’ and the story of Trump and Farage with ‘I’m Not Racist But…’ As the world of politics and the mundane collides, no one is safe from anyone else’s opinion, but in the end, does it really matter and what can we do about it?

Spoken Word:

100 Years Of Balfour

Where: Just Festival at St John’s (Venue 127)

When: 17.15 – 11-12th, 15-16th, 18-19th

Length: 1 hour 20 minutes

What is it about? Dramatised reading of letters exchanged between the British, Palestinian and Zionist parties 100 years ago sheds more light on the events that led to the present geopolitical relations in the Middle East. With visual and musical elements to locate and inform the narrative. For the last hundred years, the history of the world has been blighted by the conflict in Palestine. At the root of this conflict lies the Balfour Declaration, the contradiction perpetrated by the British in 1917 when they promised the same land to three different peoples.

Know Brexit

Where: theSpace @ Surgeons Hall (Venue 53)

When: 16.05 – 4-5th, 7-12th, 14-26th August

Length: 50 minutes

What is it about? ‘The UK has voted out… 48% scream and shout… Will the Union end up dead? Is economic ruin where we head? Brexit plans remain unclear… Who knows where we go from here…’ Enjoy a humorous and entertaining look at the Brexit options, our future relationship with the EU, and what it all means for the UK.

New Writing:

Commons

Where: theSpace on North Bridge (Venue 36)

When: 17.10 – 4-5th, 7-12th, 14-19th August

Length: 40 minutes

What is it about? One hotel room. One impossible scandal. Two men who don’t know what they want. Through the story of Marcus and Sam, watch the machinations of both a complex political satire and an emotionally fraught love story. This highly original piece of new writing portrays the romance of a middle-aged MP and the rent boy he employs. Watch the power dynamic shift between the two in this darkly comic analogy of the UK’s road to Brexit. Set in one claustrophobic hotel room, snapshots of Marcus and Sam’s failed romance play out in reverse chronology.

Bin Laden: The One Man Show

Where: C venues – C (Venue 34)

When: 18.30 – 4-14th, 16-28th August

Length: 1 hour

What is it about? ‘Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, I am going to show you how to change the world…’ The world’s most notorious terrorist tells his remarkable, provocative and multi award-winning story. After a critically-acclaimed USA tour, this incendiary, intelligent show provides fresh perspective; creating a space for debate and dialogue within the unthinkable.

The Cause Of Thunder

Where: New Town Theatre (Venue 7) ​

When: 13.50 – 19-27th August

Length: 1 hour

What is it about? It’s two years after the referendum, and Bob Cunningham has stuff on his mind: whether or not to take early retirement, politics and what to do about the no vote, Brexit, Corbyn, refugees… that weird thing about rising into the heavens… and not forgetting the letter from Ethel, his ex. As he confronts retirement and the onset of old age, is his life’s work done? Is he finished? Can he come to terms with his, and his country’s, past, and future?

Theatre:

Pornography

Where: C venues – C too (Venue 4)

When: 22.30 – 4-14th, 16-28th August

Length: 1 hour

What is it about? Are you laughing or crying? Optimism to despair, euphoria to devastation, national celebration to a country in mourning. Four explosions, 52 casualties, an hour that changed Britain. Pornography offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of a London that went from the euphoria of Live 8 and the Olympics 2012 announcement to the devastation of the July 7th bombings. A play which examines what brings someone to a point of such desperation, Pornography is still as relevant 10 years on. What does it mean, post-Brexit, post-Trump?

1984

Where: Greenside @ Infirmary Street (Venue 236)

When: 15.00 – 23-26th August

Length: 55 minutes

What is it about? Protagonist Winston Smith wrestles with oppression in Oceania, a place where the Party scrutinises human actions with the ever-watchful Big Brother. Defying a ban on individuality, Winston dares to express his thoughts in a diary and pursues a relationship with Julia. These criminal deeds bring Winston into the eye of the opposition, who then must reform the nonconformist.

The full programme of events on at Edinburgh Fringe Festival can be found on their official website.