They call it Fringe Fever. The slightly manic perma-grin. The eager gait. Fists full of flyers. A day pack stuffed with a street map, energy bars, a sweater and a rain mac, and more flyers.
For this is Edinburgh in August. The setting for the largest arts festival on the planet – the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It’s when the historic, picturesque and, at most other times, fairly sedate capital city of Scotland turns into a tartan-tinged Mecca for arts pilgrims and performers from around the globe.
Busloads of middle-aged Americans in golf sweaters and checked trousers, spiky pink-haired Berlin punks, families of indecently healthy Scandinavians, and the ubiquitous and perennially cheerful Aussie backpackers. Whichever country’s citizens you care to stereotype, they’re all here, swelling the city’s population to three times its usual level. Bars and other venues are crammed, and city centre streets are engulfed by a tidal wave of festival-goers.
Throughout August you can take in the eclectic Edinburgh Festival Fringe itself (3rd-25th), the more high-brow Edinburgh International Festival (10th-30th), the Edinburgh International Book Festival (9th-25th), and the Edinburgh International Film Festival (13th-24th).
The sheer volume of events can be overwhelming, and there are various ways to join in. Culture vultures, heads buried in the mighty tome that is the Fringe Programme, will plan their day with military precision, while others go with the flow and pick up tickets on the day for whatever catches their eye. Or you can just take in the atmosphere, enjoy the plentiful free entertainment, and check out the local papers for daily ticket offers.
Edinburgh, with it’s contrastingly austere and slightly seedier parts of town (think The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and Trainspotting), was once famously characterized as a grand old lady wearing a ‘fur coat with nae knickers’. Well, August is when the old dear hitches up her petticoats and dances a merry jig. The city-centre is alive and bustling almost 24 hours a day, there are shows on at all hours, and the city’s already liberal licensing hours are extended to allow restaurants, bars and clubs to open later.
As for getting around, it’s best to do what we are designed to do and go bipedal. Edinburgh’s a great city for walking – hilly in parts for sure, but nowhere is too far to walk. This way you don’t miss any of the action. And action there is aplenty.
The hub is around the Royal Mile. Confusing for the mind but welcome for the feet, this cobbled area of the Old Town is not actually a mile, but nevertheless runs from battle-scarred Edinburgh Castle down to Palace of Holyrood House and the open green spaces around Arthur’s Seat. Along the way, street performers of varying shapes, sizes and talent compete for the attention of the equally colourful and diverse throng of festival-goers. You can dive straight in, paddle round the edges, or just soak in the atmosphere from one of the many hostelries that occupy surrounding streets.
If you do throw yourself into the Fringe, you’ll return with some great yarns to spin back home. Like, when working in Edinburgh during August, I bumped into a worse for wear Tim Roth of Pulp Fiction fame in the washroom of my local pub. Or the time myself and two friends turned up late for a play. The ticket girl seemed unusually overjoyed to see us. “About time too,” she chastised, before bawling “They’re here!” through a door behind her. When we took our seats all became clear. We were the audience, and the actors had been waiting for us to arrive before starting. They performed as if to a packed theatre, and we gave them the best standing ovation three people in a hall built for 200 could muster. For their part the cast showed their appreciation by inviting us to the pub across the road for post performance pints.
This is the unique thing about the Fringe – it is as much for the performers as the audience. Indeed, often the barriers between the two become blurred. There’s every chance you will encounter the stand-up comedian you just heckled propping up the bar at the venue after the show. If you do, buy him or her a drink – you never know where their career will take them. Many now world-famous acts cut their performing teeth in front of notoriously unforgiving Edinburgh Fringe audiences – the Monty Python crew, for example – and many still return to watch or perform.
A word of warning. The faint of heart should not sit in the front rows of comedy shows, unless prepared to share some of the spotlight. Current events in the Middle East are sure to feature strongly this year, just like last year. Then, at one show I attended, the last in a three comedian lineup swapped verbals with an audience member on political issues. The other two comedians came back on stage and a lively discussion ensued involving them and several members of the audience. The rehearsed material went out the window that night, but such spontaneity is part of the charm of the Fringe. And no one complained.
For visitors to Edinburgh in August, the only real cause for complaint can be the weather. The word changeable doesn’t do it justice. Just as there could be a misty chill in the air one day, it could be sunny and warm the next. Pack for both.
By far the most important item to pack, however, is your sense of humour. With that, and maybe a decent pair of walking shoes, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is yours to conquer. Whether you end up snagging tickets for a star-studded film premiere, perched on a rickety old chair in a suburban church hall clutching a photocopied program, or heckling your heart out at a city-centre open mike show, you’ll have a memorable time.
True, you may well feel quite flushed, experience strange palpitations and have an unusual aversion to sleep, but one thing’s for sure, Fringe Fever will be the only fever you never wanted to find a cure for. It’s the withdrawal symptoms afterwards you should worry about.
More information:
Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Edinburgh International Festival
Edinburgh International Book Festival
Edinburgh International Film Festival
Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can email the author or check out our Europe Insiders page.
