Return of the Edinburgh Fringe

In the interest of clarity, it should be remembered that a post-Covid Edinburgh Fringe was attended by many festival-goers last year. This was a cut-down affair was many restrictions. This month a Fringe more closely resembling that of pre- Covid days is there to be enjoyed during August. Mark Ritchie looks at who and what is on offer.

 

Proudly claiming to be the single greatest celebration of arts and culture on the planet, there is also stand-up comedy of not so arty or cultural to enjoy too. Aside from some of our friends from the acting profession, who I believe take themselves way too seriously at times, for lovers of ‘stand-up’ the Fringe provides a very large oasis of mirth and merriment, even in these troubled times.

Hopefully virtue-signalling, wokeness and seismograph-sensitive PC types can be side-lined for a while, in favour of a more relaxed and carefree festival atmosphere. It is quite noticeable that experimental comedy ideas are tried in Edinburgh. For example, only a few years ago I saw and enjoyed a number of speakers in a ‘free-Fringe’ pub setting, finding fun in outdated books by quoting from epic tomes from the 1950’s, such as A Housewife’s Guide to Looking After Your Husband, to a book from the 1970’s by Rolf Harris, in which Mr Harris invites kids to ‘Come Out and Play with Rolf’.

For stand-up comedy fans, it really is all about the stars and I have seen the likes of Eddie Izzard, Mark Steel, Larry Dean and many other huge comedy names, all on the top of their respective games.

Around The Royal Mile and St Georges Square areas the action, both on the streets and in and out of theatres, pubs and all manner of makeshift venues, the laughs come thick and fast.

I am personally accredited by the head-honchos at the Fringe as a journalist/ reviewer, so we plan to publish a few reviews here in UK Cabaret, which can’t be bad.