FIRST TIME FRINGING
A few people have been asking my advice about coming to the Edinburgh Fringe for the first time and, having provided a load of (hopefully) useful information I thought it might be of interest to others making their way here for their first August.
I'm not going to touch on accommodation since, as a resident of the city, I have no experience of what's what. My only suggestions would be to book as many months ahead as possible, and try not to stay too far away from the centre, budget permitting.
And I'm going to stick to talking about The Fringe, with no reference to the International Festival, the Book Festival, or the Politics Festival (or even the Fringe by the Sea a few miles along the coast in North Berwick!). But much of what I'm setting down here applies anyway.
Of course what kind of Festival experience you end up having depends on a huge variety of factors. Your own tastes, budget, the number of days you are able to spend here and how adventurous you are. But if you're baffled where to even begin then the following might just give you a starting point.
WHAT TO SEE
All good things must have a beginning and the best way to plan your time here is to get your hands on the Fringe Programme as early as possible. It comes out in early June.
Which can immediately paralyse the decision making processes. At over 400 pages, and with up to a dozen shows on each page, the first question is usually 'where do I start?'. There are over 3,000 shows scattered across more than 300 venues so paucity of choice is not a problem.
There's also the Fringe website, which begins listing some shows in Spring, so you could choose to book some early and spread the cost of tickets. The website allows you to search for acts if you know some key words for the kind of shows you want to see. Whereas the paper version is probably a better bet if you want to browse and see what catches your eye.
If comedy is your thing you're both in and out of luck, because it's by far the largest section in the programme. You'll see names in there you recognise off the telly, and/or radio, but don't let them distract you too much. Have a look for shows that sound interesting and do a bit of research about their past reviews, maybe see if they're on YouTube.
The Fringe has venues dotted about the city, but the vast majority are in three adjoining areas of the centre. Going from north to south these are
1. The New Town, centred on George Street and Saint Andrews Square. (It's New in that it only dates back to the late 18th century.)
2. The Old Town, centred on the Royal Mile between the Castle and Holyrood.
3. The University district, usually centred on Bristo Square, although for 2015 that's less the case as there's a lot of redevelopment work taking place there. Which means even more activity in George Square than usual.
If you're planning your days I'd suggest trying to stick to shows in one of those areas on each day. Less hassle having to rush from one venue to another. But more on that below.
It all depends on how hard core you want to be - I've known people to do ten shows a day - but cramming shows into every waking hour is only worth the effort if you're here for a couple of days at most. Not only does it become exhausting, but you miss out on so many other aspects of the Fringe experience if you adopt that approach. So I'd recommend only pre-booking a couple of shows each day, some of them from people you have never heard of, and letting fate take a bit of a hand the rest of the time.
Fate can hit you in several ways. You should, at least once while you're here, go for a daytime walk down the High Street, in the pedestrian area running from George IV Bridge down to the Tron Kirk. (This is also where you'll find the Fringe office, so you may be drawn there naturally.) Do plan to allow yourself a bit of time. You'll need it. Because unless the heavens have opened you will be faced with a sizeable crowd, few of whom are looking where they're going. (If you don't like crowds this may not be the place to go, but if you don't like crowds what on earth are you doing in Edinburgh in August?) You will also be confronted by a small army, many of them in outlandish costumes, brandishing fliers at you. You'll be tempted to ignore them. Don't. They are working their butts off to try and get people along to their shows, so at least take the proffered flier, and talk to a few of them along the way. The results can be extremely funny, and fate may feel like nudging you in the direction of their show.
This area also hosts several outdoor stages and performance areas. On a couple there are casts doing short acts aimed at tempting you to come and see their full length offerings. There are music stages with a huge variety of acts appearing, many of them making their living from busking (so don't forget to donate something if you enjoy the performance). And professional street entertainers, usually doing some form of physical comedy. There are a few who do something really spectacular (look out for a Canadian called Stickman), but after years of Fringe going I have decided that there are only so many fire-eating, unicycling jugglers I can take!
Then there are the various Free Fringes running under the overall Fringe banner. Some of their shows are in the big programme, but not all. The two most important are PBH's Free Fringe and the Laughing Horse Free Festival. Although the shows are on their websites it's a good idea to get to one of their venues as soon as you can and pick up their paper programmes.
'Free' is a misnomer of course. It's free to get in the door, but there's a bucket to pay into when you leave, and you put in what you feel the show was worth. So you know the performer(s) will be trying their hardest to entertain you. There's a certain amount of snobbery attached to the Free Fringe from people who say you'll find nothing decent to watch there. Nonsense. In my experience the range of quality, from simply superb to catastrophically crap, is little different from that you'll find in the ticketed shows. I've been to see Phill Jupitus on the free fringe, and this year one of Scotland's top comedians, Janey Godley has chosen this route rather than feeling she's getting ripped off again by one of the big venues. We've found some of our favourite acts this way and the likes of Aidan Goatley, Kelly Kingham and Chris Coltrane are often far funnier than "that guy we know from off Mock the Week". And how you could resist going to see "The Danish Bagpipe Comedian"? (Recommended!) So make sure you leave time to go see some of these people. Oh, and the PBH Fringe also has one of the best venues in the city to visit, the Voodoo Rooms.
Finally I'd suggest a visit to the half price ticket hut on Princes Street. There's a big display showing what's available later that day and it's a good way of discovering someone you never knew you liked.
If I was to distil all this into one aphorism it would be "Don't try to enjoy yourself all the time". Which might sound like strange advice. The fun of the Fringe is finding stuff you never even knew existed. As a rule of thumb I'd say that if at least 10% of what you end up seeing wasn't to your taste, or proved too hard to understand, or was just a bit shit, then you probably haven't been doing it right. Take a few risks in your choice of shows and you'll get a lot more out of your time. Trust me.
Throughout the Fringe period I'll be posting reviews of shows I've seen on my Go Live blog, so if want some recommendations....
GETTING AROUND
Walk. As much as your feet and health and stamina allow. There's a lot to see and some of it might surprise you. Just accept that everywhere you go it will be uphill and into the wind. Even on the way back.
But if you're staying out of town you're lucky that Edinburgh has one of the best bus services around. Worth having a look at the Lothian Buses website before you come and check out which services will be of use - and if your accommodation has a night bus service near by.
The bit that catches out most newcomers is that no change is given on the buses. So you may want to come armed with a good supply of pound coins and 50p pieces. A single fare (any distance) is £1.50, a day ticket allowing unlimited usage on the day) is £4. So if you think you'll take more than two buses that day then grab the second option.
There are a couple of options that can save lugging all that change around. If you have a smartphone there's an app that allows you to buy tickets and flash your phone at the driver as you get on board. Minimum purchase is £10 and you can buy both single and day tickets. This is the Android version. There's also a great app that lets you see how long you will have to wait for the next bus to turn up (although the same info is displayed on Tracker boards at many stops in the city centre). Once again, here's the Android version.
If you're going to be here for five days or more it may be worth going into one of the Lothian Buses Travelshops and getting a Ridacard. A seven day card costs £18, plus £3 for the card itself and having your photo taken. For twenty eight days the charge is £54. You can do the sums yourself. It's the most hassle free way to travel, and you get to keep the card for your next visit (you'll be back).
And when you go to get the card remind yourself this isn't a passport - you're allowed to smile in your photo.
A couple of bits of bus etiquette. Stick your hand out to get your bus to stop or you may see it fly past. And the locals, well most of us, are in the habit of saying thanks to the driver as we get off. It's just what we do here. Join in.
AND FINALLY
Although your main reason for being here is to get to those shows, take a bit of time to find out why Edinburgh is a big tourist attraction throughout the year.
Stand at one of the junctions on George Street and look north to see the Forth glistening and hills of Fife in the distance.
Go and see the Floral Clock (on Princes Street, on the other side of The Mound from the Art Gallery).
Go up Calton Hill for the views (and to stand on the spot where TV journalists love to interview politicians), or climb up the steps inside the Scott Monument.
Walk down Victoria Street, that steep curving chunk of old architecture that seems to feature in every film drama set in the city.
Have fun.
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