Tom Neenan returns to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2026 with Portrait of a Tom as a Young Neenan, a darkly funny and sharply observed new hour about art, identity, body image and the difficult task of becoming a version of yourself you can actually live with.
The show runs from 5th to 31st August 2026 at Underbelly George Square, in the Bluebell venue, at 3.15pm each day. Tickets are available through Underbelly, with prices listed from £10.50 including booking fee.
- Tom Neenan is back at the Fringe
After several years away from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Tom Neenan returns with a new comedy storytelling show that brings together stand-up, long-form narrative and his precise, literary style.
Neenan is a BAFTA-nominated writer, actor and comedian. He is known for his work on The Mash Report, Spitting Image, The Last Leg, Have I Got News for You and Prince Andrew: The Musical. He also created and starred in the BBC Radio 4 comedy series The Hauntening.
- The show starts with a portrait commission
Portrait of a Tom as a Young Neenan begins with two invitations received in 2024.
One is a destination wedding, which unexpectedly brings up old insecurities about appearance, confidence and self-worth. The other is a commission to paint the portrait of an 86-year-old man.
What sounds like a simple artistic job soon becomes far more complicated, as the sitter repeatedly rejects the painting. Each revision opens up bigger questions about art, judgement and the gap between how we see ourselves and how we want others to see us.
- It is about body image, shame and self-perception
This is not just a show about painting. Through the increasingly difficult process of trying to capture someone else, Neenan begins to look again at himself.
The story takes in past creative failures, abandoned ambitions, body image and disordered eating. It also explores male shame and the pressure many men feel to appear fine, even when they are not.
It sounds personal, but the subject is widely relatable: how much of ourselves do we hide, edit or try to improve before letting the world see us?
- It asks what art means in the age of AI
The show also reflects on creativity and artistic expression at a time when AI is changing the way people think about art.
Neenan uses one very human story to make a witty defence of art made by people. Through the portrait commission, he explores why human creativity still matters: the flaws, misunderstandings, vulnerability and effort that sit behind something handmade.
It is a comedy about art, but also about why art is never just about the finished picture.
- Expect a clever, funny and carefully built hour
Neenan’s previous Fringe show It’s Always Infinity was praised for its sharp writing and elegant construction, receiving four-star reviews from The Telegraph, Chortle, The List and Broadway Baby.
Portrait of a Tom as a Young Neenan promises the same careful craft: callbacks, punchlines, spiralling over-analysis and a story that moves between the absurd and the heartfelt.
It is a show about portraits, perfection, insecurity and the exhausting business of trying to frame the best version of yourself.
Credit: Matt Stronge