A review of Juliette Burton: Villain Era, Fringe 2026

Last year I reviewed Juliette Burton‘s work-in-progress show Rogue Knights. This year, I was delighted to be invited back, and despite it being only the second preview night of Fringe 2026, I can already say this more fully-formed offering feels like a slightly more polished version of last year’s WIP show, only with (personal opinion) a better title – and still, most definitely for nerds.

Vibe

Let’s be honest here, Villain Era is 100% my vibe; we’re talking nerdy, geeky, fun and with plenty of references to comic books, sci-fi, cosplay, video games, BDSM, LGBTQIA+. I mean, come on; show where we get to discuss Witcher *and* BDSM in the same hour?! You can’t really go wrong.

Because it was a preview, the room was a lot quieter than is usual for one of Juliette’s shows (they’re usually packed), but that didn’t really phase Juliette and I thought we were able to vibe pretty well, with most people in the audience being nerds and exactly who the show is for.

The show itself

Juliette is an absolute diamond (much like one of her favourite comic book anti-heros, Emma Frost) in terms of Edinburgh Fringe stand-ups, and you always know you’re in safe hands at one of her shows. Importantly, it’s also a safe space in terms of topics like being poly/pansexual, along with autistic and having ADHD (in Juliette’s case, all of these things apply and she isn’t afraid to tell us).

What I particularly like about Juliette is that she will quite authentically bare her soul; she’s unfiltered, but also approachable, friendly, and fabulous – feminist comedy at its finest. She wants to know what you’re in to (my answer was Anne Rice’s AMC+ vampires), and I was really glad I brought my poly friend along with me because the humour also suited her down to a tee.

A lot of laughs came from the Geralt vs Paddington section, which we kept coming back to with even funnier results. I too appreciate Henry Cavill, and have much in common with Juliette when it comes to what they did to the final season of The Witcher on Netflix (I actually boycotted it in disgust).

And finally, onto villains! Having just reviewed an LGBTQIA+ show about there not really being villains and heroes, and how you can be one or the other in someone else’s story, this part of Juliette’s show hit a bit differently than it might have otherwise. And no, I don’t see Juliette as a villain (in the traditional sense of the word at least) for dressing how she wants at a family-friendly convention. A baddie? No. An utter inspirational badass? Absolutely.

If this is Juliette’s ‘villain era’ then I’m 100% here for it, and yes, I’ll have some more, please. (I’m also jealous of her most recent Yennefer of Vengerberg cosplay)

Overall

A really enjoyable, fun and relatable hour of funny stand-up from an absolute gem of the Edinburgh Fringe. I laughed a lot, and I’ll try and see a couple of Juliette’s other shows (yes, she’s doing THREE this year: Juliette Burton’s Board To Distraction and Get Your Geek On: A Nerdy Comedy Showcase.

Highly recommend.