Carl Baldwin
Aug 24, 2026
Well, the 2026 Edinburgh festival can now be considered officially closed as the 16th Darkchat Awards have taken place.
The 2 biggest winners of the night were "On Some Far Shore" and "Dreamgirl" with 4 wins each, the latter gaining the coveted Best Show Award.
This year 24 different shows fought for awards across 16 categories with a total of 120 nominations.
Let's take a look at who the winners and other nominees were.
BEST COMEDY
Rob Auton – Jupiter
Absolute Bus Stops of Northern Europe And Beyond
Paul Foot – The Future
Olaf Falafel – I Used To Work In A Helium Balloon Factory
John Robertson – Excitable Boy
Seymour Mace Is Covered In Stickers|
Mark Thomas : 40 in Stand Up Years
SPECIAL AWARD
The Palestinian Circus
KAREN HOUGE'S COSTUME - Dreamgirl
KIRKCALDY LIBRARY CAFE
Malin Lewis - BAGPIPE PLAYING – not for glory
The Band - Frisky's Reboot Remix
A1 Taxis
Joe Sellman Leava's Impersonations – Copycat
The Band – Next To Normal
Buzzcut Productions – The Wreck
Louis Benneyworth – On Some Far Shore
BEST ENTERTAINMENT/MUSICAL/DANCE /CIRCUS
On Some Far Shore
HOW TO FRINGE: a chat show with Thom Tuck
Carys Should Be the UK's Next Eurovision Entry
Next To Normal
Tomatoes Tried To Kill but Banjos Saved My Life
The Wreck
The Palestinian Circus
Strange Face : Adventures with a Lost Nick Drake Recording... The Story Continues
not for glory
Cheryl – A Rock Opera
Frisky's Remix Roulette
BEST PERFORMANCE IN A THEATRICAL PIECE
Karen Houge - Dreamgirl
Julie Flower – Grandma's Shop
Andrew Slade - 1 King, 2 Princes And Shakespeare's Lie
Joe Sellman Leava – Copycat
Alex Stewart – About A Bogle
Innis Thorborn - About A Bogle
BEST PERFORMANCE IN AN ENTERTAINMENT/ MUSICAL/ DANCE (JOINT WINNERS)
Briakh Flore - Next To Normal
Michael Burdett - Strange Face : Adventures with a Lost Nick Drake Recording... The Story Continues
Thom Tuck -HOW TO FRINGE: a chat show with Thom Tuck
Carys Jeffrey Evans - Carys Should Be the UK's Next Eurovision Entry
Gregor Robertson – Next To Normal
Keith Alessi - Tomatoes Tried To Kill but Banjos Saved My Life
Camilla Anvar = The Wreck
Morgan Beale – The Wreck
Malin Lewis/ Jack Anderson/ Charlotte Mclean – not for glory
Thomas Perry - On Some Far Shore
Nicole Palka - On Some Far Shore
Frisky - Frisky's Remix Roulette
BEST THEATRE
Dreamgirl
Grandma's Shop
Copycat
1 King, 2 Princes And Shakespeare's Lie
Kismet
BEST SONG/ MUSIC PERFORMANCE
Bangaranga - Carys Should Be the UK's Next Eurovision Entry
Hold Me Closer - Carys Should Be the UK's Next Eurovision Entry
Teenage Dirtbag – Frisky's Remix Roulette
Baby Shark - Frisky's Remix Roulette
Satisfaction - Frisky's Remix Roulette
Cheryl's Going Home – Cheryl – A Rock Opera
Geneva – Cheryl – A Rock Opera
Count Binface – Cheryl – A Rock Opera
Wish I Were Here – Next To Normal
I'm Alive – Next To Normal
Let Me Love - On Some Far Shore
BEST VENUE
Bijou Theatre at St Andrews Square
Pleasance Dome
Assembly Roxy - Central
Dance Base
The Space At Surgeon's Hall
BEST DIRECTOR (JOINT WINNERS)
Maddi Bouchta & Adam Paterson - On Some Far Shore
Ahmad Abu Taleb – The Palestinian Circus : Step And A Half
- Dominic Whitefield-Holbrook - Next To Normal -
Gabe Winsor – The Wreck
Heather Linn – About A Bogle
BEST COMEDY PERFORMANCE (JOINT WINNERS)
Rob Auton – Jupiter
Jim Judges - Absolute Bus Stops of Northern Europe And Beyond
John Robertson – Excitable Boy
Paul Foot – The Future
Olaf Falafel – I Used To Work In A Helium Balloon Factory
Seymour Mace Is Covered In Stickers|
Mark Thomas : 40 in Stand Up Years
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
Francesa Knoop - On Some Far Shore
Kelsey Mackenzie – Next To Normal
Zac McGuire – Next To Normal
BEST MUSIC
On Some Far Shore
Frisky's Cabaret Remix
Cheryl – A Rock Opera
Next To Normal
Tomatoes Tried To Kill but Banjos Saved My Life
The Wreck
The Palestinian Circus
not for glory
BEST FREE SHOW
Olaf Falafel – I Used To Work In A Helium Balloon Factory
Cheryl – A Rock Opera
John Robertson – Excitable Boy
Seymour Mace Is Covered In Stickers
BEST MOMENT
David deals with his fear of heights by looking over the Forth Railway Bridge
Bus Stop rating system - Absolute Bus Stops of Northern Europe And Beyond
Meeting at Kirkcaldy Library
Thuranie being the leader of Frisky's Cabaret Remix
CPR on Bagpipes in Not For Glory
John Robertson – Excitable Boy - “ NOT YOU” to David
To Kajagoogooyou have to think like a Googoo – Olaf Falafel
Perry's impromptu rap - Frisky's Cabaret Remix
Carrot Anne being drowned – Dreamgirl
Paul Foot – The Holocaust
Cat Getting The Cream – Rob Auton – Jupiter
Underwater sequences – The Wreck
Being in an empty Pleasance Dome on Eclipse night
Coincidences - Strange Face : Adventures with a Lost Nick Drake Recording... The Story Continues
The Boat - On Some Far Shore
Owl Impersonation - Seymour Mace Is Covered In Stickers|
Being A Carer - Mark Thomas : 40 in Stand Up Years
BEST ONE PERSON SHOW
Dreamgirl
Absolute Bus Stops Of Northern Europe
Carys Should Be the UK's Next Eurovision EntryGrandma's Shop
Copycat
1 King, 2 Princes & Shakespeare's Lie
Tomatoes Tried To Kill Me
Strange Face : Adventures with a Lost Nick Drake Recording... The Story Continues
BEST SHOW (Must have received a 10 mark from someone)
Dreamgirl
Rob Auton : Jupiter
Copycat
Palestinian Circus : Step And A Half
Strange Face : Adventures With A Nick Drake Recording . The Story Continues
not for glory
Olaf Falafel Presents – I Used To Work In A Helium Balloon Factory Until They Let Me Go
Cheryl – A Rock Opera
On Some Far Shore
Mark Thomas : 40 In Stand Up Years
Frisky