Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2023

[Debra326]

Posted: 5/6/23 at 4:10pm

Hello-

I am traveling to Edinburgh the second week of the fringe festival. I have never been before and I was hoping for some pointers. There are so many events/shows, I have no idea what to see or where to begin. Are there shows that are known to be must sees? How does one begin to narrow down the options?

Thanks so much...

[Jumpin_J]

Posted: 6/2/23 at 1:16pm

As a regular of the Fringe since 2000, I know how daunting it can be. First thing I'd recommend is got to the festival website (www.edfringe.com) and use their show filter. Pick the dates you're planning on attending and the type(s) of shows you're interested in (musicals, plays, cabaret, circus, comedy, etc). That should narrow things down considerably. After that, these are usually my guides to selecting shows: 

• Avoid shows from schools or colleges. These productions are usually there simply because they raised the money. As one might expect, they're usually amateurish. 
• Look for shows that have several reliable reviews. Broadway Baby, while it's appreciated that they review shows, is generally pretty generous in their admiration.

That being said, there's several shows returning to the Fringe this year I'd recommend. If you've never been to the festival or Edinburgh, the Mountebank Comedy Walk is fun. It's a two hour walking tour of the Old Town lead by a stand up local comedian. It's pretty daunting to keep it up that long but I thought he was very good. Belfast comic maniac Paul Currie is back with his stand up show Shtoom, except this time it's non-spoken. Shakespeare For Breakfast is finally returning after a two years with their silly one-hour modern take on Shakespeare, and croissant and coffee / tea is included. The Thinking Drinkers are always silly fun and booze is included. Chris Dillford of the band Squeeze is playing a one hour show at the fest. I've seen him before. It's him and a guitar as he talks about the unlikely path that made the band a sensation, and of course he plays some of the hits. The Traverse Theatre usually does very good programming of new work (some shows are part of the fringe, some not, so check when booking). And finally, Tim Crouch is coming back with another one man experimental reimagining of a Shakespeare play., this time being Lear He's remarkable and usually a must see. This is not part of the Fringe but definitely worth seeing while you're there. That's a few ideas. Have fun!

[Skywalker3]

Posted: 6/3/23 at 7:26am

There is the 'The Big Four': Assembly, Gilded Balloon, The Pleasance and Underbelly. 
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edinburgh_Festival_Fringe helped me the first time)

They show the more accessible performances. 

If you never seen it before and love musicals (you're here so..) go see Showstopper:
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/showstopper-the-improvised-musical

[Jumpin_J]

Posted: 6/3/23 at 2:21pm

There is the 'The Big Four': Assembly, Gilded Balloon, The Pleasance and Underbelly. 

This is true but by all means, don't be restricted to them. C Venues and Traverse are also highly regarded, There's also interesting things at Summerhall so check them out too.