It’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe time again and I’m sad to not be heading up to Scotland’s beautiful capital this August (I’m determined to go back next year!) but I have been a couple of times before and it is a brilliant experience. So, for anyone lucky enough to be heading there this year, here are my top five tips for making the most out of your trip to the Festival…
1. Don’t have a plan
There are so many shows to see at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that it’s best to go in not being sure what you’re going to see and when. Likewise, if there’s a show you desperately want to see it probably is worth booking in advance to avoid disappointment but, for the most part, you can figure out what to see while you’re there. Trust me, take a walk along the High Street and you’ll be handed hundreds of flyers for all kinds of performances, many of them cheap and many of them great.
2. But also do have some of a plan
This is probably more advice for next year at this point but make sure your travel and accommodation is booked well in advance. So many people descend on the city of Edinburgh in August that all the cheap accommodation is snapped up quickly so book ahead to avoid paying a fortune unnecessarily.
3. Surprise yourself with what you see
There are so many shows to see at the Festival and so many of them are so cheap that it’s a great opportunity to push yourself to see something you wouldn’t usually see without the pressure of paying out a lot of money to see it. I’ve seen musicals, stand-up comedians, magic shows, spoken word, bizarre one-person comedy plays, a live sketch show, a beat boxer, burlesque shows, improvised performances and more at the Fringe and trust me, it’s always the shows you’re most unsure about that end up being the most memorable.
4. Make the most of free fringe but make sure you also have cash on you
Free Fringe shows are perfect for filling your free time between shows but you should be aware that ‘Free’ doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t have to pay anything. At the end of Free Fringe shows the performers will usually stand by the doors with a bucket for you to add a tip so it’s important to carry around some cash with you so you’re always prepared.
5. See some variety shows
As I’ve said already, there are so many shows that you could see at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe that even if you’re planning to see five or six shows a day (which is actually perfectly doable), you’re still not going to get through them all. A great way to counteract this is to see some variety shows and cabarets. A lot of performers at the Fringe promote their full shows by doing short segments at variety shows. This means you not only get to see a lot of different short performances but it can also help you pick your next show to see if you particularly liked one of the performances. One particular variety show I’d recommend is The Midnight Show at Just the Tonic. It’s a bunch of comedians doing 5/10 minutes of stand-up to promote their shows in a cool underground venue at midnight. I went to The Midnight Show both times I went to the Fringe and saw some brilliant comedians both times.
So, there you have it. If you are heading to Edinburgh for the Fringe this year, lucky you, I’m very jealousI hope you have an amazing time and make sure you take photos and cram as many shows into your time there as possible, you won’t regret it!
Georgia Haze 