Local knowledge
Many locals clear out of Edinburgh when it comes to festival time. I used to live there and know how annoying it can be to fight your way through crowds and crowds of tourists when you’re just trying to get to work or buy a sandwich for lunch. Of course, all the negatives are far outweighed by the positives of having some of the biggest names in comedy performing on your doorstep – and you could easily end up spending a fortune making sure you don’t miss the top-rated shows. I once went straight from a one-man Star Wars show to a feminist sketch show and then onto a comedy magician. All the jokes about light sabres, cheap liposuction prices and rubbing magic wands kind of blended into one in the end and I had some very strange dreams that night!
Locals tend to try and avoid the big shows; after all, it’s not cool for a resident to be spotted queuing up with the visitors at one of the cavernous venues like the conference centre. We want to be the ones who discover a great new comedy talent, preferably Scottish, and preferably playing in a church hall basement or the broom cupboard of a pub on the Sighthill estate. If someone else has seen the show and is raving about it, then we’re just not interested…
Now that I don’t live in Edinburgh any more I really enjoy going back to the Fringe, but I’ve still kept many of my “local” traits. Loitering the Pleasance courtyard in the hope of picking up free or cheap tickets to poorly selling shows, scouring the reams of leaflets handed out on the Royal Mile for the stand-ups who are playing to a crowd of ten at 2am, taking in as many of the street performances as possible. Next time you’re in the crowd at one of those outside shows, listen out for the accents of those around you. You might be surprised to hear more Scottish folk than you’d think!
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