How one leith COMMUNITY CENTRE is bringing comedy back to its roots
-With one of the best lineups you’ll find this august
When The Citadel Youth Centre, a community hub since 1980, was hit with a colossal funding cut in December 2023, their team was tasked with finding a solution to a sudden and catastrophic loss of £125,000 per year. Losing 71% of their funding would have meant ceasing vital community projects, reducing opening hours, and had the potential to end a 40+ year legacy of one of Leith’s remaining community spaces.
Now known simply as ‘The Citadel’ to reflect support offered to all ages, in August 2025, centre worker Aislinn knew they had to call in some serious help. Using Aislinn’s connections in the live comedy scene secured through years of creative projects (Including a hand-illustrated set of 52 playing cards each featuring a different comedian) Punchline on Leith was born in August 2025.
I had the absolute pleasure of witnessing a stunning lineup of names including Nish Kumar, Stevie Martin, Liam Withnail, Amy Matthews, Tom Mayhew and Johnny White raise over £3000 for an extremely good cause. If you’re envious, I don’t blame you. The home-brewed electricity of the gig made you feel like you had tickets to something special, a peek into to an earlier version of the fringe. A bit more rowdy… a bit more local and somehow a lot more socialist.
The night wrapped up with headliner Nish Kumar, who’s signature impassioned rants seem purpose-built to save endangered community centres.
Now in its second iteration, Aislinn is getting the band back together with combination of home-grown talent and familiar faces.
“We have two shows this year, with acts including Nish Kumar, Chris Cantrill, Eleanor Morton, Krystal Evans and Sam Lake. It’s important to highlight local talent, so half the performers across our two shows are acts from, or living in, Scotland.”
Aislinn would love to see the Fringe do more beyond the City Centre, but they don’t think this just means adding more venues. “Leith has it’s own proud identity and doesn’t need to become Old Town 2.0.” They add, suggesting that a better move would be larger acts and production companies working with local businesses to bring money into the community. “We want to make this show a celebration of Leith. We are partnering with local businesses like Pizza Geeks to bring more awareness and support to a part of the city that is often forgotten about during the Fringe.”
As well as saving The Citadel, Aislinn hopes gigs in more varied venues like this will inspire working-class talent.
“It is well established that the UK comedy industry is dominated by the privately educated, and has been for a long time. While there are breakout acts from working class backgrounds, it is harder to hit those same heights without connections and a financial safety net.”
Comedy, an art form once honed in community centres and working men’s clubs, has become less accessible as ticket prices continue to soar at the Edinburgh Fringe. Aislinn believes that bringing it back into the community in a more accessible way is a force for good, something that became increasingly evident during the pandemic. “Lockdown was real proof of the impact comedy can and does have; online streams and zoom shows were a real life-saver for people no longer able to leave the house or living alone.”
The funds will help to keep The Citadel’s groups running, currently over 15 a week. It also allows them to continue with other work, including 1:1 and family support, a presence in 5 local primary and secondary schools, and outreach work in the local community.
Tickets are available here
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Punchline on Leith
20:15 | 12 Aug 2026
All proceeds will go directly to fund the Citadel’s vital work with young people and families in Leith.
Interview: Punchline On Leith
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Edinburgh Fringe 2026 
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