Edinburgh Fringe 2026
Tartan Tabletop: A Dungeons and Dragons Comedy
Tartan Tabletop
Genre: Comedy, Improvised Theatre
Venue: Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
An accomplished, unpredictable hour of D&D, improv and gleeful chaos. Tartan Tabletop combine quick wit, creative storytelling and an ever-changing roster of Fringe guests to ensure no two performances are quite the same. The dice may make every show unpredictable but Tartan Tabletop have become a reliably brilliant Fringe bet.
Review
Tartan Tabletop D&D is playing at the Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose throughout the 2026 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This Scotland-based Dungeons & Dragons live performance and podcasting outfit proves once again that it is a creative force firmly in its stride, delivering a live D&D experience with confidence, wit and creativity.
Much like reviewing an improv show, it feels like a somewhat fleeting exercise to review a live Dungeons & Dragons production, as inevitably the content will change. This is the second year watching Tartan Tabletop go about their business and judging across both of those performances, one thing I feel I can say is that although the content may change, the overall quality of gameplay and comic timing certainly doesn’t.
Dungeon Master Josh Aitken and long-time regular players Niall Curran and Alex Bathe are now proving to be masters of their genre. They confidently, playfully and symbiotically understand the nuances of when to highlight each other to get the best out of a moment and when to offer space to the visiting guests who may not be as au fait with D&D and therefore needs a nudge or a little help along the way. Our guest players were the fabulous Lewis Gemmell and Alicia Tryde, plucked from the Edfringe show, Mother, Maiden and Crone. Yes, it was Dungeons and Dragqueens and we loved every second of it. They instantly endear themselves to the audience with their impressive costumes and outfits, and do so further by fully committing to the characters they have created for the duration of this one-shot.
Each day is a new story, with new guest players and we were treated to a pretty wacky parody of a well known Pixar film. It was absolute carnage, toys went to places they should never go and it all ended 500 years in the future – such is the scope and creativity of the troupe. DM Aitken always impresses with his detailed and witty descriptions of the scenarios and runs the game with a mixture of bemusement and sadistic glee.
Tartan Tabletop is a fantastic hour if you’re looking for a palate cleanser at the Fringe. It’s more structured than your average improv show, less theatrical than many of the one-person shows on offer and although the dice may make every performance unpredictable, with Tartan Tabletop at the helm, the quality of the comedy is a much safer bet.
