Booking shows
It usually helps to work out some sort of a schedule before you go by looking through the brochures and seeing what you can fit in when, as once you are in the thick of it, is easy to feel overwhelmed and not have the time to study them properly. Having said that, leave a few gaps in case you come across shows you fancy while you’re there, perhaps if you’re persuaded by a charismatic flyerer, read a good review or are offered some free tickets on the street.
The Book and International Festival brochures are each over 100 pages long and the Fringe brochure runs to over 300 pages with a dozen shows on each page. There are shows from well-known performers and companies, mixed with smaller companies, student groups, youth theatres and amateur societies, some who have been playing the Fringe for years and some taking their first tentative steps onto an Edinburgh stage.
Book Festival events are almost all one-offs, but most Fringe and International Festival shows are on every day (but not necessarily for the whole three weeks) and take one or two days off—watch out for the middle Monday, when a lot of shows take a break. The Traverse changes its schedule every day, and one or two others switch times or even venues during the run, so make sure you schedule a show for when it is on.
You may spot the next big thing if you’re lucky—you can hear Phoebe Waller-Bridge talking to us about a little thing called Fleabag during her first ever trip to Edinburgh in 2013 on the BTG podcast—but you may also sit through something that really doesn’t live up to your expectations. Most shows will fall somewhere in the middle.
So how do you know what to book? Once the Festivals have started, you will be able to find reviews from us and from others to help you, but I like an idea I got some years ago from a Fringe podcast that you should book in threes: one show you are sure you will like, probably from someone you’ve seen before or know about; one that has been recommended by someone you trust; one that is a complete shot in the dark. Fringe ticket prices these days make people a lot more reluctant to take those real chances than they used to be, but you can also look at the Free Fringe, where you get in for free but the acts will shake a collecting tin at you on your way out.