How to Art
How to Art is a show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2026, performing at Underbelly, Cowgate. It has 24 performances listed, running from Wed 5 Aug, 21:40 to Sun 30 Aug, 21:40. The run has finished — every listed performance has taken place.
About this show
Two bananas wake up duct-taped to the wall of an art gallery. Three artists, two auctions, one audience. Get ready to bid! An award-winning clown-fruit mash-up about making art, surviving and chasing mass a-peel. In a world that values youth, perfection and mass production, can two bruised bananas go the distance? Ripe with potential, can they find their place before they're put up for sale? Find out how starving these artists truly are. Winner of the Melbourne Fringe Tour Ready Award and nominated for Best in Theatre, 2025. 'Clowning at the 11th level of intensity' 1/2 (TheatreThoughtsAus.com).
Details
- Venue: Underbelly, Cowgate
- Space: Iron Belly
- Genre: COMEDY, Theatre, Clown
- Country: NEW ZEALAND
- Running time: 60 minutes
- Room size: about 60 seats (Iron Belly) — the Fringe box office sells a share of the room, not all of it
- Performances listed: 24, of which 0 still to come and on sale
Accessibility
- Access features: Relaxed performances
- Venue notes: Accessible entry: There are 50 steps into this venue from the cowgate entrance. Stairs: 20+ Number of stairs is provided as guidance and is not in addition to any wheelchair access type (lift/ramp etc) stated above.
What the reviewers said
We have captured 3 published reviews and 16 audience reviews for this show from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe’s own listing. The excerpts below are the reviewers’ words, not ours — follow each link for the full review.
Clowning shows at this year’s Fringe just got even more appealing, as New Zealand company Ratbags riff on the 2019 artwork ‘Comedian’ by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan and the outlandish commodification of the art…
— The List (3 out of 5 stars)
It encapsulated what it means to have a feel-good time in the most absurd way possible: watching two pieces of fruit discover their place in the world, before they are back to being duct-taped to the wall and sold.
— The Student (4 out of 5 stars)
How does one write about two sentient bananas taped to a wall discovering they are "art"? This is the precise conundrum one faces when making sense of How To Art, the New Zealand sensation confusing the nation.
Performance dates and ticket availability
- Wed 5 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £8.50
- Thu 6 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £8.50
- Fri 7 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £8.50
- Sat 8 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £13.00
- Sun 9 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £13.00
- Mon 10 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £13.00
- Tue 11 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £13.00
- Wed 12 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £12.00
- Thu 13 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £12.00
- Fri 14 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £13.00
- Sat 15 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £13.00
- Sun 16 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £13.00
- Tue 18 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £12.00
- Wed 19 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £12.00
- Thu 20 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £12.00
- Fri 21 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £13.00
- Sat 22 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £13.00
- Sun 23 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £13.00
- Tue 25 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £12.00
- Wed 26 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £12.00
- Thu 27 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £12.00
- Fri 28 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £13.00
- Sat 29 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £13.00
- Sun 30 Aug, 21:40 — Already performed — £13.00