London: Soho Theatre / Friday 24th and Saturday 25th July 2026
Edinburgh: ASSEMBLY – Upstairs at Assembly Roxy / 21:15 (70 minutes) | 5th – 30th August (not 12th, 19th & 26th)
Berlin’s gloriously dysfunctional sibling rock duo, Otto & Astrid, bring The Stages Tour to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe – an irreverently side-splitting, lipstick-smeared, tantrum-loving rock gig that blends anarchic comedy with pitch-perfect pop parody.
Otto wants the show to be a grand emotional spectacle in the style of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Astrid wants a tight, blistering rock’n’roll gig. He keeps sneaking in unauthorised songs the moment her back is turned. She just wants to finish one number without a meltdown; though when it comes to derailing the show, it turns out neither of them is entirely innocent.
Fresh from a sold-out US tour taking in Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Burlington and New York, Otto & Astrid arrive in Edinburgh with international acclaim in tow. Expect glitter, drama, Europop, and the kind of sibling rivalry that makes Noel and Liam look well-adjusted.
The intimate setting pulls the audience into the action – drafted into hosting after-parties, conscripted as second-best friends and woven into running jokes that last the whole show. The show has a deliberately chaotic feel while remaining tightly constructed and precisely timed.
Beneath all the chaos is a genuinely tender story about family, co-dependence and two people who may drive each other mad but cannot imagine life apart. For all its noise and irreverence, moments of real feeling sneak up between the laughs – sudden, unguarded, and all the more affecting for it.
The Stages Tour is a jukebox musical of their greatest hits, with songs as ridiculous as they are infectious – about burger-store dinosaurs, robots mistaken for lions, second-best friends whose names you never learned, and an Iggy Pop-indebted ode to wanting to be your kitten. Rooted in new wave, punk and electroclash, these are gleefully absurd songs that are also, underneath it all, immaculately constructed and genuinely great pop songs.
Together they’ve sold out venues from Melbourne to New York, played Glastonbury, and spread their glitter-soaked chaos across Belgium, Ireland, Germany, New Zealand, the US and the UK – including a smash-hit run at London’s Soho Theatre. Their cult following stretches across continents with celebs fans including Boy George, Bobcat Goldthwait, Perez Hilton, P!nk, Johnny Knoxville and Tom Kenny (the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants) all counted among their devotees. Twenty years of international touring has produced a show that is fast, precise and driven by an onstage chemistry that can’t be faked, making anarchic moments feel inevitable.
A video of their track, The Situation, went viral on TikTok, amassing over 2.5 million views and sparking a wave of lip-sync responses across the platform. There are exciting plans in the pipeline for the Berlin-born duo: a limited run ‘Best Of’ vinyl release is forthcoming in mid-July, in-store performances and signings at independent record shops across Scotland to be announced for the week before the Fringe run, and the filming of a TV mini-pilot is planned in development with US producers.
Their long list of accolades includes recent recognition at the 2025 Green Room Awards, where they won Outstanding Ensemble and received nominations for Outstanding Original Songs, Writing, Musical Direction, and Production. In 2024, they were nominated for Best Music and Best Cabaret and Musical Theatre at Sydney Fringe. Past honours include Green Room Award wins in 2014 and 2008 for Most Outstanding Production, a TO&ST Award nomination at Edinburgh in 2013, and multiple Best Comedy and Best Production awards across Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Victoria Fringe festivals.
Praise for The Stages Tour (AUS AND US PERFORMANCES)
“The best thing you can do is urge everyone you know to see it immediately” ★★★★.5 The Front Row Centre, NYC
“A lipstick-smeared sonic collision between the B-52s, The Pixies, Kraftwerk, and the early Ramones – and somehow, impossibly, it works.” ★★★★★ Opening Night Online, NYC
“A masterclass in musical comedy…absolute hysteria from the second they walk on stage to their final, sweaty bow” Hilary Topper, NYC
“All hail to glam rock royalty…Prepare to be tickled silly with excitement as you rock your socks off” Theatre Beyond Broadway, NYC
Previous praise for Otto & Astrid
“Otto and Astrid are a triple threat: consummate musicians, comics and actors… together they are phenomenal.” ★★★★★ Arts Hub
“Pitch-perfect pop parody.” ★★★★ The Scotsman
“The perfect musical comedy act. It should not be missed.” ★★★★★ Broadway Baby
“Imagine an indie rock version of Tenacious D, Flight of the Conchords or Steel Panther!” ★★★★ Theatre Weekly, Edinburgh
“Wild cabaret rock!” ★★★★★ Herald Sun [city]
“Unapologetically quirky, audibly resonant, and thematically rich…attendees are left with the sensation of having witnessed something unparalleled” ★★★★ The Quintessential Review, UK
“Fiendishly smart comedy…The show is a riot of fabulous visual sight gags, sharply witty banter and big musical beats.” ★★★★★ Shadows on the Wall, Edinburgh, UK
“Otto & Astrid have enough musical clout to rock as hard as they joke.” ★★★★ The List, Edinburgh
“Anarchic, chaotic and absurd fun. This is a hidden gem of a show, and unlike anything else you will see at the (Edinburgh) Fringe this year. Hilariously disestablishmentarian!” ★★★★ North West End, UK
“They are masters of their craft; the skill of execution and the hilarious comedic elements from many levels makes this production a must-see bucket list show.” ★★★★1/2 Theatre Matters, Melbourne