Shay Mace
At a ceremony at Surgeons’ Hall Museum this morning, Binge Fringe honoured 5 acts with the Queer Performers’ Awards, now in their third year. The awards celebrate the contribution of queer performers across genre and theme at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. 4 non-specific awards were given from shortlisted acts alongside the Queer New Writing Award, recognising emerging talent and work in its first iteration. The awards were judged by independent assessors from leading publications and international Fringe Festivals.
Award-winning playwright, translator, poet and performer, the author of over eighty plays including The Gospel According to Jesus, Queen of Heaven. Clifford opened the ceremony with remarks referencing the piece celebrating queer visibility at the festival, commenting on the changes in the industry that since she first presented the piece in 2009. Using a quote from the seminal piece, she added that despite challenges facing the queer community, the world needed to hear LGBTQIA+ voices now more than ever.
Queer Performers Award Winner: Alex Franklin: Kiss Me x
Our reviewer described Alex Franklin’s show as unique, disarming and carrying a sense of humour that is bound to make you laugh.
They went onto say that it powerfully succeeds in bringing home one point: that being the target of transphobia, whether it comes packaged as fetish or villainy, will impact your day-to-day life, including your dating experience. The first recipient of our Queer Performer’s Award for 2026 is Alex Franklin: Kiss Me x
Queer Performers Award Winner: Trans People Are Awful
Our reviewer described Ros Watt & company’s show as “A genuinely thrilling watch, that turns from hilarious to gut-wrenching and back again in seconds.”
They went onto say that the show unfolds in frantic tangents and unravels when faced with a chilling third-act twist, the script remains tightly balanced, no section overstaying its welcome and each plot thread pulled almost agonisingly taut.
The second recipient of our Queer Performer’s Award is Trans People Are Awful.
Queer Performers Award Winner: My Grandpa Doesn’t Follow Me On Instagram
Our reviewer described Yoz Mensch & company’s show as “A triumph of pure theatremaking that expands the voices and stories we’ve been taught to expect for society and for ourselves”
They go onto say that it is a piece which finds queer joy in the space between what our families know, what we cannot tell them, and how fiercely we love them anyway.
The third recipient of our Queer Performer’s Award is My Grandpa Doesn’t Follow Me On Instagram.
Queer Performers Award Winner: CAMPITALISM: Three Gays Try to Fix The Economy
Our reviewer described BOY Theatre’s show as “a blast off into the manosphere, where the grindset takes over your body for an hour.”
The show covers the performer’s own heartfelt anecdotes from the generational struggle of their immigrant parents, to living through the 2008 financial crisis, to being thrust into a world where it’ll be impossible to be financially stable for our lifetimes.
The fourth recipient of our Queer Performer’s Award is CAMPITALISM: Three Gays Try To Fix The Economy.
Queer New Writing Award Winner: The Body I Left in Susquehanna National Forest
Our reviewer described Ur Mean Kathleen’s show as “Ripe, high-concept dark comedy that rings with vivid allegory, and will totally grab your full attention.”
They went onto say that the show is “a thoughtful allegory for closeted queerness, and the things we refuse to accept within ourselves in the process of self-discovery.”
The recipient of our Queer New Writing Award for 2026 is The Body I Left in Susquehanna National Forest. The award was accepted on their behalf by Hayley Goodlich, as the company had departed Edinburgh.
Isobel Jacob
Hannah Hamilton
Lola Rose Wood
