Comedy shows and college mysteries – the best things to watch, visit and read this week

I need a bit of cheering up this week. It’s so hot I can hardly focus, my local supermarket is all out of ice lollies and my homemade solar eclipse glasses showed little more than a few cornflake crumbs. So if I could be beamed up to Edinburgh Fringe for the world-famous comedy festival, I’d be gone in a heartbeat. And I’d be glad to have our guide to the 11 best shows of 2026 to steer me. As a former nerdy child who spent my school lunch breaks gossiping with the dinner ladies, I’m…