Pins & Needles Is Back From Edinburgh Fringe, and the Room Has Not Stopped Talking

Thirteen nights. One venue. More ink on stage than most comedy festivals see in a decade. Pins & Needles Comedy — New York City's tattoo-culture stand-up showcase — just wrapped a run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the biggest arts festival on the planet, and it did exactly what a good Fringe show is supposed to do: it made people who thought they'd seen every kind of comedy show admit they hadn't.

For anyone new to it, the premise is simple and a little insane: hosts Justin Hartmann and Taylor Drew bring out heavily tattooed comics who strip down, show the work, tell the story behind it, and then launch straight into a set. It's part stand-up showcase, part living gallery, and it only works if the comics are willing to actually be that exposed — literally and otherwise. At Edinburgh, they were.

Why This Show, Why This Festival

The Fringe isn't just another comedy stop. It's three weeks, thousands of shows, every discipline you can name packed into one city — the same festival that launched Fleabag onto the world stage. Dropping a scrappy, New York-born tattoo-and-comedy hybrid into that lineup is a real swing. Pins & Needles Comedy took it, landing a 13-night residency at The Raging Bull, August 6 through August 18, in the 22:15 slot — late enough that the room already knew what it signed up for. 18+, no exceptions.

Inside the Run

Four of those thirteen nights — August 7, 13, 14, and 16 — had their lineups completely booked out well ahead of the run. And because every comic on the bill is working from their own ink and their own story, no two nights played the same. That's the mechanic that makes this show hard to replicate: the material is quite literally different every time, because the canvas is different every time.

The whole residency was also filmed professionally, which means footage from Edinburgh is headed to Pins & Needles Comedy's channels in the near future.

What Audience Members Said

"I've seen a lot of stand-up at Fringe, but never this much skin and ink. Wildly funny and completely unapologetic." — Audience member, August 8th

"Justin and Taylor keep the energy high and the crowd roaring. The exact kind of late-night chaos you want at a comedy festival." — Audience member, August 10th

"Come for the amazing tattoo art, stay because you're laughing too hard to leave. A brilliant concept." — Audience member, August 12th

"Raw, hilarious, and literally stripped down. Hands down the most unique showcase I've been to this year." — Audience member, August 14th

"If you think you've seen every type of comedy show, you haven't seen this. Great comics, great art, zero inhibitions." — Audience member, August 16th

FAQ

What is Pins & Needles Comedy?

A New York City stand-up showcase where heavily tattooed comics show their ink, tell the story behind it, and then do a set. Hosted by Justin Hartmann and Taylor Drew.

Did Pins & Needles Comedy perform at the Edinburgh Fringe?

Yes — 13 nights at The Raging Bull during the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, August 6–18, with four nights booked completely full.

Who hosts Pins & Needles Comedy?

Justin Hartmann and Taylor Drew.