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The Edinburgh Festival Fringe

No section on Edinburgh would be complete without mention of the Fringe. It's not technically "wyrd" - but it's certainly strange!

History

The Edinburgh Fringe began in 1947. It got its name from the fact that it was initially an add-on extra to the prestigious Edinburgh International Arts Festival. Whereas the Festival concentrated on well-known, respected artists the independent Fringe exists to give newcomers a chance to be seen. It also allows those who can't afford the prices at the main Edinburgh Festival to enjoy the performing arts. The Fringe today is far larger than the Festival.

During August, central Edinburgh becomes one huge Fringe venue. Almost every space available is taken over by performers. I've seen events at everything from church halls to squash courts. There is also a huge amount of street theatre.

The atmosphere is wonderful - so long as you don't want to get anywhere quickly! The city gets very crowded.

The popularity of the Fringe also means that finding accomodation in the city during festival season can be tricky. Just about every hotel room and flat is occupied, either by tourists or performers. So book early to be on the safe side.

The Fringe is host to the annual Perrier Comedy Awards. These awards are often the first step to stardom for a previously little-known comic.

There is far, far too much going on at the Fringe for anyone to see more than a fraction of it. Everything from broad farce to experimental theatre, music to metalism - and any combination of genres you can think of! That's without even considering all the traditional Edinburgh tourist attractions.

Many visitors like to plan their visit to the Fringe in great detail, getting the programme and booking tickets weeks in advance. Others prefer just to wander around and see what takes their fancy. An approach between these two extremes is to pick up a copy of the daily fringe programme every morning.

With so many performers trying to make a name for themselves, competition for audiences is fierce. It's difficult to walk along the Royal Mile without ending up carrying a ream of fliers. It's also not uncommon to be given free tickets to a show by desperate performers - and still find yourself in a single figure audience. Sometimes you feel sorry for an excellent show that isn't being seen. At other times you just can't wait to escape from a show that doesn't even deserve a single figure audience! Doing the Fringe is a series of gambles, that's one of the things that makes it so exciting.

As well as variations in quality, Fringe shows also vary tremendously in content and style. Many are traditional entertainment, many push the boundaries of both art and taste - some break through completely.

Recently some of the Fringe has gone more up-market, with well-known performers and ticket prices to match. Fortunately there are still enough unknowns performing in basements for the Edinburgh Fringe to remain a very affordable experience.

If you can book a hotel room - the city sells out early.

In 2006 the Fringe will run from August 6 to August 28.

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