Edinburgh Fringe 2024

[curiouskc]

With a lot of 2024 shows starting to announce, I was wondering what recommendations people have and what shows people are most looking forward to? I was really excited to hear Rob Madge's 'My Son's a Queer' will be doing another Edinburgh run.

I'm doing the 11th - 16th. Can't wait!

[stevej678]

Accommodation booked from 2-11 and 16-25 August, although the length of the second trip may change. Depends how appealing the rest of the line-up is!

Excited for loads more shows being announced this week when the real planning can begin!

Ten of my must-sees from the selection on sale so far include:

• Breathe by Half a String at Pleasance Dome
• The Emu War: A New Musical by Pearl Whirl Productions at Pleasance Courtyard
• Experiment Human by Hooky Productions at Underbelly Cowgate
• Fringe! The Musical by Little Big Stack at Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose 
• The Gardening Club: A New Musical by Wright and McRitchie at theSpace at Venue 45
• A Jaffa Cake Musical by Gigglemug Theatre at Pleasance Courtyard
• Kafka's Metamorphosis: The Musical! With Puppets! by Thoroughline Projects LLC at Pleasance Dome
• Mary: A Gig Theatre Show by Knot Tied Theatre at theSpace at Symposium Hall
• Solve It Squad by Tin Can Bros at Assembly George Square Studios
  
• Stuffed by Ugly Bucket at Pleasance Courtyard

Comedy wise, Dara O'Briain, Grubby Little Mitts, Maeve Press, Milton Jones, Reginald D Hunter and Vlad Ilich are all on my list. Happy to also see Ulrooj Ashfaq back with a new show (and a short run of her award-winning debut from last year too) in Assembly's latest batch of shows - I'll definitely be checking out her new work-in-progress.

It's going to be a slightly strange festival with Gilded Balloon's Teviot Row House out of action this year while it's closed for major refurbishment but all the signs are it's going to be a bumper Fringe line-up, approaching 2019 levels, regardless.

[joem]

I'm going for my fourth (third in a row) and have accommodation booked. There's something about commedia dell'arte in Elizabethan times which I'm looking forward to and I'll probably go and see Richard Pulsford - the king of the bad puns - again, but I intend sitting down this weekend and preparing a grid for the week I'm there. Hoping to see 30/35 shows all together.

[Deleted]

With comedians doing the fringe do established comedians get offers to debut a show there or is it more a showcase for emerging or maybe a veteran talent returning.

Established comedians like Milton and Dara have no financial need to do Edinburgh for example.

I enjoy watching some of the preview shows in the Midlands.

One comedy musical group I saw last year who were very funny and I know are doing Edinburgh again after a national tour are Flat and the Curves.

[zahidf]

Givne the big bump in accommodation prices, is a no for me this year alas. Shame

[distantcousin]

Going this year, but suspect it'll be the last. It's becoming a highly elitist activity - we were very lucky to get our airbnb at the same price as last year (by going direct) everything else is up 50%. The Scottish government are hellbent on killing off the golden goose.

If the average earning performer can't afford to fund their Edinburgh run anymore, then the end is surely nigh?...

[joem]

May 7, 2024 18:22:41 GMT distantcousin said:

Going this year, but suspect it'll be the last. It's becoming a highly elitist activity - we were very lucky to get our airbnb at the same price as last year (by going direct) everything else is up 50%. The Scottish government are hellbent on killing off the golden goose.

If the average earning performer can't afford to fund their Edinburgh run anymore, then the end is surely nigh?...

I fear you are right. Our airbnb from last two years was up 60% but we managed to get another one nearby for more or less same as last year. At some point there is going to be a big shake-up if this is going to survive. The fringe depends on numbers and if people can't afford to stay in Edinburgh they won't go, local audiences probably not even 5% of the total attendances. Add that to the increasingly intolerant attitude towards comedy in particular and perhaps other cities could consider having a go at their own festivals.

[stevej678]

There's no doubt the accommodation is a major barrier to the Fringe, but the fears about the impact it could have on the festival don't seem to have materialised so far. The Scotsman's coverage around the April show reveal date, just before the printed programme deadline, reported that show registrations for 2024 were on a par with the the record-breaking 2019 festival. Whether that's a good thing is, of course, open to debate!

The Fringe Society have at least commandeered accommodation they've offered at affordable prices to performers and the Keep it Fringe fund has been expanded so, despite the woeful lack of funding to support artists from the SNP, the Fringe Society are trying to help. But there's no doubt more is needed.

I think people staying outside the city centre and travelling in daily will be an increasing trend for audiences. I'm in the same accommodation as last year and my accommodation costs are down around 10% year on year (booked the moment they went on sale) which was unexpected. I do agree though the general trend with pricing is not good and, considering all the time it takes to plan as well, I may eventually move away from going every year. The number of shows returning from previous years is another incentive to do that but, for now, the pull of places like Pleasance Courtyard in August remains too strong, despite the challenges.

[monalisa]

I'm finally going for the first time. Going to see the show Diana Vickers is in. We stay in Stirling with my brother so it's only a train ride in.

[lightinthedarkness]

For those going, Edfest.com have launched a 'Love the Fringe' membership. Lots of options, but for £50 you get 8 'free' tickets + early access to the Scotsman ticket giveaway - so that 14 in total.
Only certain venues, but lots of big ones like the Pleasance.

e.g. I've just booked a ticket for Showstopper! that would have been £18 itself. Well worth looking at - you can check what's included before buying it. Just look at shows and the ones you can are marked.

[kz]

lightinthedarkness Thanks so much, that was a great shout! I reckon I've just saved around £100!

[lightinthedarkness]

Glad to hear it kz - I've just finished booking and I look to be about the same. Plus I've taken a punt on some things I'm not so sure of.


For theatre I've got:
- PALS
- Showstopper!
- The Emu War: A new musical
- Gwyneth Goes Skiing
- Solve it Squad!

Comedy wise I've got a bit more, with Bronwyn Kuss, Rob Auton, Grubby Little Mitts, Jin Hao Li and Max Fosh all booked through the scheme.

[kz]

I'm doing Showstopper! and Solve It Squad too. So far I've got a decent mix of musical theatre and comedy, I think 16 shows so far. I started the spreadsheet today and found another selection of things I quite fancy adding. I love this thread, it's such a great place to get recommendations.

[jojo]

May 7, 2024 18:44:50 GMT joem said:

I don't know how accurate the 5% is or what constitutes 'local', but IMO the problem is the Festival has become less and less appealing to locals, and Edinburgh is now a place to be avoided unless there is something you really, really want to see. I know loads of folk who would take the bus or train to Edinburgh for the day just to wander around to enjoy the atmosphere and get a drink and see if there were any decent offers. 

Now all of the public spaces where you used to be able to hang around and enjoy the atmosphere are filled with pop-up pubs charging daft prices. The odds are your bus or train will be delayed, and you always have to turn up for the earlier service because there's a good chance you won't fit on the first one anyway. The streets are filthy and the people making money are the big promoters.

There were always some who would complain about the Festival making it too busy, but they were the minority, presumed misery guts who never were interested in live entertainment. These days they are the majority.

I don't think the problem is regulation of Air B&Bs, and I hope they bring in a tourist tax. People with accommodation will charge what the market will allow, so if it's £300 a night, then the council getting £3 of that £300 to spend on street cleaning and over-time for more bus drivers (for example) is a good thing for visitors and locals alike. 

[jojo]

I realised that a lot of the problems I mentioned are actually problems with public transport in Edinburgh in general. It's not that long ago I squeezed onto the last space on the last bus taking me to where I was staying after one bus was cancelled and the next two were full.

Staff shortages for essential services are a problem, and only enhanced during the Festival. A lot of staff just don't want to work during the Festival and there's talk of a strike by refuse workers etc. If I had my way a tourist tax would go towards enhanced pay for those who do work those jobs, especially if it's overtime, during the Festival.

[stevej678]

Jul 4, 2024 11:51:04 GMT jojo said:

I don't know how accurate the 5% is or what constitutes 'local', but IMO the problem is the Festival has become less and less appealing to locals, and Edinburgh is now a place to be avoided unless there is something you really, really want to see.

The 5% claim in an earlier post is wildly inaccurate. For last summer's Fringe, the Fringe Society's official figures issued on the final day of the festival showed that 33% of attendees came from Edinburgh and 15% from the rest of Scotland. There doesn't seem to be much sign of the festival losing appeal with locals if Edinburgh residents bought a third of the 2.4 million tickets sold.

[stevej678]

Not great news for those going to the Fringe and planning to stay outside the city centre and travel in by train. Scotrail have just imposed a temporary timetable with around 25% of services removed due to drivers not volunteering to work overtime amid an ongoing pay dispute.

Meanwhile, for those who can make it into the city, a repeat of the rubbish strewn streets of 2022 could be on the cards, with waste collection workers voting for strike action.

[aduck]

If it's useful, this year I'm sharing my tracking of which shows are sold out, and which are selling out (more than 2 sold out dates)

fringe-sold-out.humfreybrandes.com/

This is just a personal site, but apologies if this isn't the right place to post it. Every year I agonise over when to stop reshuffling my schedule of shows and start booking — want to wait as late as possible but not after things start to sell out. So this is an attempt to make a bit of a science of it!

[adambrown76]

I'm up from 9th - 15th. Any reccomendations?

Trying to pack in a lot of shows.

Saw a preview of 'Gang Bang' at the King's Head, a hilarious pastiche of Mafia movies set in Blackpool. It's heading to Pleasance Courtyard.

I'm also booked in to see The Grim at the Dexter, Underbelly. A Dark Irish comedy.

[talkingheads]

Jul 10, 2024 10:48:20 GMT stevej678 said:

Not great news for those going to the Fringe and planning to stay outside the city centre and travel in by train. Scotrail have just imposed a temporary timetable with around 25% of services removed due to drivers not volunteering to work overtime amid an ongoing pay dispute.

Meanwhile, for those who can make it into the city, a repeat of the rubbish strewn streets of 2022 could be on the cards, with waste collection workers voting for strike action.

That's shocking. It's economic self harm at this point, just pay the workers more, it's not difficult!

[stevej678]

Jul 23, 2024 10:09:03 GMT talkingheads said:

Jul 10, 2024 10:48:20 GMT stevej678 said:

Not great news for those going to the Fringe and planning to stay outside the city centre and travel in by train. Scotrail have just imposed a temporary timetable with around 25% of services removed due to drivers not volunteering to work overtime amid an ongoing pay dispute.

Meanwhile, for those who can make it into the city, a repeat of the rubbish strewn streets of 2022 could be on the cards, with waste collection workers voting for strike action.

That's shocking. It's economic self harm at this point, just pay the workers more, it's not difficult!

Completely, the seemingly Fringe-hating council and SNP appear to be sleep walking into a crisis.

ScotRail are struggling to operate even the reduced timetable, especially at weekends, so a further reduction seems highly likely. Meanwhile, ScotRail are also now in dispute with the RMT and there could be rail strikes across the final weekend of the festival. The RMT ballot closes on Thursday 8th August so strikes are possible from Thursday 22nd.

It also looks like the waste collection strikes are now inevitable, with all three unions rejecting a final offer this weekend and set to announce strike dates imminently.

[distantcousin]

I'll be in full attendance from 7-12th and have earmarked my faves - although a lot of the more well known people are only doing one offs or week long runs.

What with the increasing elitist vibe the Fringe is taking on, I suspect it may be my last.

[stevej678]

Jul 23, 2024 12:22:24 GMT distantcousin said:

I'll be in full attendance from 7-12th and have earmarked my faves - although a lot of the more well known people are only doing one offs or week long runs.

What with the increasing elitist vibe the Fringe is taking on, I suspect it may be my last.

For me, the level of planning involved, combined with the relentlessly skyrocketing expense, is just becoming too much and it's increasingly hard to feel I can justify the sacrifices needed to attend. And I say that as someone who has lived and breathed the Fringe and regarded it as the highlight of my year for well over a decade.

This year more than ever it feels like professional ensemble theatre shows are getting fewer and fewer, no doubt in large part due to the exorbitant costs of accommodation for an ensemble company in Edinburgh. So many shows seem to have casts of just one. And there also seems to be far more returning shows compared to previous years. Throw in the likelihood of overflowing rubbish bins everywhere for the second time in three years and the magic is definitely waning.

I don't know, it just feels like there's something missing this year. I can usually fill days with what I'd consider 'must-see' shows but beyond The Emu War Musical, Experiment Human, Fringe the Musical, Kafka's Metamorphosis, Who Do Ya Love and Solve It Squad, much of the rest of my picks look enjoyable enough but all much of a muchness.

[distantcousin]

Yes, I've noticed that - very few theatre productions with decent sized casts. Most seem to be small casts.

And yes, the amount of returnees and very similar shows! Two Adele tribute acts, for example!

[aduck]

And it begins — anyone seen a sleeper hit yet?