Samantha Day's new show for Edinburgh Fringe 2026
I've Started So I'll Finish
“What if you’ve chosen the wrong partner, or the wrong job? Try not to think about it. While every self-help book tells you to quit what doesn’t spark joy, I haven’t read those books, and I’m not going to. I am here to celebrate the mistakes I could have avoided, the stories I’d never have had and the stubborn idiots who make us laugh.
Once you choose false hope, anything is possible.”
Show Previews
Thur, 5 June
Tue, 16 June
Thur, 8th July
Sat, 11 July
Wed, 15 July
Sun, 19 July
Wed, 22 July
Thur, 23 July
Sun, 2 Aug (2pm)
Sun, 2 Aug (6.30pm)
And then the finished show:
8-16 Aug
18-23 Aug
25-29 Aug
Former KPMG Tax Chief Samantha Day takes aim at self-help culture in Edinburgh Fringe show
“Perverts and addicts”
Former tax executive turned award-winning comedian Samantha Day is bringing her latest stand-up show to this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, offering audiences a hilariously unapologetic celebration of bad decisions, stubbornness and refusing to quit.
Day, who spent three decades in the City and previously served as KPMG’s Head of Tax in London, swapped corporate boardrooms for comedy clubs in 2019. Now, in her fifth year at the Fringe, she’s set to debut I’ve Started So I’ll Finish at The Banshee Labyrinth as part of the PBH Free Fringe.
The 50-minute show sees Day poke fun at modern wellness culture and society’s obsession with self-improvement, instead championing those who ignore warning signs and carry on regardless.
In a comedy landscape often filled with messages about personal growth and transformation, Day’s latest offering takes a deliberately different approach.
“What if you’ve chosen the wrong partner, or the wrong job? Try not to think about it,” she jokes. “Once you choose false hope, anything is possible.”
Described as a “masterclass in stubbornness”, the show explores everything from corporate leadership and failed relationships to the facelift Day underwent a decade ago, which she promises to discuss with complete honesty.
Rather than encouraging audiences to make better choices, Day embraces the chaos that comes from making questionable ones.
“I am here to champion those who stay until the end,” she said.
“While every self-help book tells you to quit what doesn’t spark joy, I haven’t read those books, and I’m not going to. I am here to celebrate the mistakes I could have avoided and the stories I’d never have had.”
The comedian describes the show as a celebration of what she calls her “no regret philosophy”.
“Don’t regret something just because it is regrettable,” she added.
The new material draws heavily from Day’s own life experiences, from navigating the corporate world to her encounters with what she describes as “perverts and addicts”, creating a deeply personal set that she says is closer to home than anything she has previously performed.
Her growing reputation on the comedy circuit suggests audiences are responding to her refreshingly candid style.
In 2025, Day won the Silver Stand-Up Award at the Leicester Comedy Festival and received four-star reviews for what critics described as her “cathartic venting sessions”. She was also an Amused Moose Award finalist in 2023.
Praise has come from across the comedy industry, with comedian Arthur Smith describing her as “just brilliant”, while Chortle has hailed her as “a highly engaging performer”.
With I’ve Started So I’ll Finish, Day appears determined to double down on the qualities that have made her a Fringe favourite: honesty, self-deprecation and an unwavering commitment to seeing things through, no matter how badly they may be going.
For anyone exhausted by inspirational mantras and endless self-help advice, Day’s latest show may offer a welcome alternative: accepting your mistakes, laughing at them and carrying on anyway.
Samantha Day: I’ve Started So I’ll Finish runs at The Banshee Labyrinth during the PBH Free Fringe throughout August.