Shay Mace
The ties between Prague Fringe and India have been ever increasing in recent years, with Prague-based Artistic Director Steve Gove teaming up with Mumbai-based Simar Singh to launch the first ever Fringe festival in India earlier this year, Mumbai Fringe. A roaring success that saw acts travel from across the World to perform alongside local talent, the festival was much in the community-focused, vibrant and unique atmosphere that Gove creates each May in Prague.
So it’s perhaps no surprise then that this year’s upcoming Prague Fringe, which kicks off this weekend, features a group of acts from India crossing genre, theme, stand-up, spoken word, theatre and more. After last year’s critically acclaimed The Chai Queens, which transferred on to Colchester Fringe later in the year, ‘The Forbidden Productions’ return to the festival with a new solo show piloted by the commanding Taranjit Kaur. Rani and Rumi (27th & 29th-30th), directed by Vansh Bhardwaj, explores memory, love, loss and the ‘quiet war’ between clinging and release.
A smörgåsbord of Indian stand-up comics will arrive at the festival, each with a unique offering, and some performing at the festival’s new venue Tequila Tales. Sumit Sourav’s offering Fast Lane (27th-30th) will explore the societal pressure to earn more, upgrade everything, and constantly “fix” life, only to realise you might still be standing in the same place. Meanwhile, Tarang Hardikar will return to the festival and take on its biggest stage at Malostranská beseda, with an offbeat hour exploring his journey through stand-up comedy, overthinking, and his quest for an elusive Czech ‘Moss Cake’, in the aptly named Back for the Moss Cake (25th-27th).
Arriving at the festival after viral internet success, Saikiran Live (25th, 27th & 29-30th) is an autobiographical stand-up hour performed entirely in English, and looking back at Saikiran’s upbringing as a South Indian middle class child who grew up in an ever changing India with dreams, fantasies and opinions. Alternatively bringing an entirely Hindi set to the festival is Varun Grover, in a one off performance he’ll explore his two biggest fears – death and the world running out of ketchup – in another well-titled piece, Love, Death, and Ketchup (25th only).
Fellow returnees to the festival Unerase Poetry will offer up a new triptych piece featuring Yahya Bootwala, Priyanshi Bansal and the aforementioned Simar Singh. The collective behind the show have amassed millions of followers on social media, and were praised by Binge Fringe in 2024 for their intimate, funny and enlightened insight into the expectations, relationships and all-consuming love that shape Indian life and culture. Catch a new poetic glimpse into the Indian partition of 1947 following a Muslim boy, a Hindu girl and a Sikh boy who suddenly find their world divided in Last Train from India (26th-29th)
Festival staple Best of the Fest (29th-30th) will also see Singh take the driver’s seat, bringing together stand-up comics from across Prague Fringe as well as from the local scene together in a late night line-up that promises equal doses of hilarity and variety.
Prague Fringe 2026 is the 70th edition of the festival, and will run from May 22nd – 30th at venues across Malá Strana in the Czech capital. Find out more and book your tickets using the Prague Fringe Online Box Office.
