By Grace Hatchell
I do like a good book. I also quite like a packet of crisps. Throw in some wine and a bit of theatre, and suddenly a book club sounds much more tempting.
New Stagers is bringing Book Club to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, a lively comedy following Linda and her fellow book clubbers as they work their way through 12 months of literary classics, friendship and, apparently, a fair amount of wine.
The group begins as a collection of fairly random acquaintances, brought together largely thanks to Linda’s powers of persuasion and their varying degrees of enthusiasm for books. As the months roll by, though, the question becomes whether this motley collection of people might actually become friends.
And, perhaps even more importantly, what exactly is a cheese puff?
Book Club is the debut play from writer-director Kate Bromage and arrives at Edinburgh Fringe following sell-out runs at the Bread & Roses Theatre in London and the Rye Arts Festival. The cast features Ailsa Wright, Colin Sheehan, Joanna Dodd, Joe Waterfield and Kate Bromage.
There is already a nice bit of Fringe momentum behind it too. The production has picked up four-star reviews from The Reviews Hub, Everything Theatre and London Pub Theatres, with reviewers praising its comedy, warmth and exploration of finding community in unexpected places.
The company behind the show has plenty of history of its own. New Stagers is South West London’s longest-running theatre company and appeared at Edinburgh last year with its Love Island-inspired version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. This year, they’re returning with two productions: Book Club and Long Story Short.
I always have a soft spot for productions coming to Edinburgh with something a little different, and the idea of watching friendships gradually form amid books, crisps, wine and the occasional literary disagreement sounds rather fun.
Book Club plays at theSpace @ Surgeons’ Hall from 17–22 August 2026 at 12:55pm, with a running time of one hour. Tickets are £12, with £8 concessions, plus booking fee, and the production has an age guidance of 12+.
So, if your idea of a good lunchtime involves comedy, friendship, literature and rather more wine than your average library would permit, Book Club might be worth adding to your Fringe reading list.
Grace x
Book Club | Edinburgh Festival Fringe
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