Edinburgh Fringe: The Entire City Becomes a Stage

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival is renowned for hosting shows in unconventional venues, transforming almost every corner of the city into a performance space. Over the years, the festival has seen shows taking place almost anywhere but traditional theaters.

I’ve experienced productions in the most unusual places – from my own flat, where a version of The Tempest saw Ferdinand fry eggs for Miranda in the kitchen, to intimate shows about serious subjects like sex trafficking and sexual assault in people’s homes.

I’ve been part of an audience of three in a moving car for an underworld murder mystery, watched a Ukrainian version of Othello by a swimming pool where actors performed laps, and even attended a play about food consumption among Debenhams’ clothing rails after hours.

Whether it was a dance piece in room 206 of the Caledonian Hotel, shows near rare specimens at the Royal Botanic Garden, or performances in tents atop Calton Hill, unconventional venues have been an integral part of the Fringe experience.

This site-specific trend has its roots in the very origins of the festival. In 1947, when the term “fringe” had yet to be coined, eight companies came to Edinburgh intending to partake in the Edinburgh International Festival but ended up performing in a variety of makeshift venues like cinemas, YMCA halls, and even a restaurant at Dunfermline Abbey, 18 miles from the city.

These days, you’ll find shows in lecture rooms, church halls, sports halls, and even rooms above pubs. A key example of this adaptive use of space is Summerhall, a venue that thrives partly due to its history as a veterinary school, where actors now perform where dissected animal carcasses once lay.

If you’re up for some offbeat adventures this year, you could catch a variety show on the fourth floor of Harvey Nichols, or an object-theatre performance in Tills bookshop. In an even more unusual setup, Playbill’s FringeShip, a cruise liner moored in Leith until August 15, offers shows to its guests right onboard.

The FringeShip initiative was designed to tackle the challenge of securing accommodations during August when both the fringe and the Royal Military Tattoo attract hordes of tourists. As Ed Plog, president of Playbill Travel, notes, bringing extra “hotel rooms” to Edinburgh via the cruise ship helps solve the accommodation crunch.

Onboard entertainment features US comedians Rachel Redleaf and Tim Murray, and West End performers Rob Madge, Frances Ruffelle, and Norman Bowman. While the cheapest weekly rate of £1,250 might sound hefty, it’s actually more affordable than staying in a budget city-centre hotel during the festival.

For a glimpse into local life, I visited comedian and promoter Rick Molland’s Hoots Comedy Club, where he has recently set up three yurts. These unique spaces, seating 55, 25, and a small beer garden, reside next to the pedestrian underpass to Bristo Square, a location previously occupied by a comedy bus.

Molland, who also organizes the Scottish Comedy Festival in two nearby pubs, describes his venture as akin to “running Glastonbury all over the city.” While chatting, a woman walked by with an enormous sign for her Charles Darwin-themed walking tour, wondering where she could display it.

Outdoor shows come with their own set of challenges. At the Beehive Inn, Molland performs with Danny O’Brien and Billy Kirkwood in An Englishman, an Irishman and a Scotsman, where they sometimes compete with noise from the bar and nightly fireworks from the castle.

Molland emphasizes that no venue is perfect, but each comes with its own charm. He recounts attending a show at the Gilded Balloon where the act had to incorporate noise from an adjacent venue. “The fringe is put together like an Escher painting,” he muses.

He believes certain shows thrive in less-than-ideal conditions. For instance, he recalls a basement gig by Doug Stanhope that was incredibly impactful until air conditioning was later installed, which diluted the atmosphere.

Exploring four less-familiar venues, I found each show notably matched to its surroundings. At the Hoots Big Yurt, Freddie Hayes’ The Magic Lady felt intimately engaging with 40 tightly packed audience members. Her entertaining faux-magic show was amplified by the close quarters.

On Leith Walk, Tim Licata’s A Magic Morning! at Little Plaza captivated a packed cafe crowd, with sunlight streaming through a high sash window, adding to the magical ambiance. Licata’s smooth conjuring kept his audience spellbound.

No11 Boutique Hotel & Brasserie hosted Liz Mance’s A Cup of Tea With George Eliot. In a cozy lounge next to a baby grand piano, Mance captivated a 20-strong audience with her crisp portrayal of the Middlemarch author, creating an atmosphere akin to a literary salon.

Finally, the Hibernian Supporters Club hosted Athens of the North in the Pat Stanton Suite, named after a beloved player. Here, Mark Hannah performed three interlinking monologues that deeply resonated with the local culture and history, proving once again how settings profoundly enhance the narrative.

“This venue is intrinsic to the themes and the politics in this piece,” says Hannah. Performing in a place imbued with history adds a visceral layer to storytelling, making the show much more impactful.

Source: The Guardian