This year's Fringe

When you offer advice, sometimes it’s a good idea to take it yourself. I was thinking about this when I re-read last year’s Theatresnob’s Guide to the Fringe. I could have saved myself a great deal of trying to juggle stuff around if I’d have remembered the advice about the handbag!

This year felt a little different. I didn’t stay over last year, and so it was nice this time to be able to plan evening shows again. That said, there were so many that clashed that the only solution would be to go for more than one night.

So, in the best tradition of my annual guide, here are this year’s tips:

1. Stay as centrally as possible if only there for one night. This time we stayed in Hunter Square, just off the Royal Mile, and really handy for so many venues. My favourite visits have been where we have stayed within a stone’s throw of what’s going on, and surprisingly this wasn’t too loud late at night.

2. This year the Fringe has embraced Twitter in a way that I don’t think it had last year. Companies tweet information, publications tweet reviews, or re-tweet positive comment. It’s all out there now, so use it, and see which shows have a buzz about them from people whose opinions you respect.

3. Download the various iPhone Apps, and use them for your planning. Whilst I still carried my Fringe brochure around, I was constantly checking reviews, venues and timings on the Apps I had downloaded. My favourite was iFringe, which I found better then the official App, as it was good for reviews, and tips about venues, e.g. location, bars, and eating. I also liked Theatreninjas, who offer free tickets to certain shows on a daily basis, though I didn’t actually use them.

4. A hard copy map is still a good idea though, just to make sure that you know where you’re going, and can have a quick check if unsure.

5. Shows that offer food are still good, though if a show says ‘with strawberries’, I would like to actually get some. A show that offers a full lunch is an excellent idea, but it probably won’t sell well, as most people factor in the cost of tickets and food separately, and won’t want to pay that much for a ticket.

6. Embrace the spirit of the Fringe by wearing a flowery headband. There’ll be plenty of others doing the same.

7. Carry water! So many of the venues were baking hot, and packed.

8. Ditto a pashmina, for when it cools down later on.

After a couple of year’s seeing a mix of theatre and comedy, this year was pretty much all theatre, (mainly because the comedy acts I really wanted to see clashed with things we’d booked), and all in all it was a good selection. Nothing was particularly poor, though some were better than others. A few were very good indeed. Which is a good thing, as tickets are getting more and more expensive (unless you can tap into Theatreninjas, or FreeFringe, 2 for 1’s, or the half-price booth), so it becomes more and more difficult to go for something off the wall, and unheard of. I’m not sure if I want to add up what I paid for 8 shows.

My favourite? BeltUp Theatre’s Lorca is Dead. Most definitely.