How to do Edinburgh Fringe Festival in a day
The city truly comes alive during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival; with street performers everywhere you turn, people handing you flyers left, right and centre, and a general buzz. It’s impossible to walk around and not end up seeing some sort of performance as you wander!
I’ve been coming to Edinburgh Fringe since I was 17, however as we only live a 1hr40 train ride away, we just go for the day – it’s pretty expensive to stay at this time of the year, so I’ve picked up the skill of trying to fit as much as we can in a day.
That being said, if you can go for even a few days, do! I come away every year wishing I was there longer (and actually planning another day trip for later in the month!)
So, here’s my mini guide of how to do Edinburgh Fringe Festival in a day, and some of my highlights!
What to see at Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022
I can only share what I saw at the festival, which was three shows. That’s nothing when you see the vast amount of live comedy, music and theatre on show during August!
Having seen quite a lot of pre-fringe warm-up shows over the last few months, it’s also really worth trying to see Alasdaire Beckett-King, Craig Hill and Daliso Chaponda. However, back to the shows I saw at Edinburgh Fringe Festival, they were;
The Best of Edinburgh Showcase Show
I see this every year, and I recommend it to everyone. Every day at 1:30pm in the Cabaret Bar at Pleasance Courtyard, four comics who have shows that year take to the stage.
The comics change daily, and it’s like a little tapas of what you can find at the show. If you can only go for the day, it’s especially good as you get to fit 4 comics into an hour!
This year, one of the comics was one of my favourites, Masie Adams, who was brilliant!
You never know who’s going to be on, and I’ve never been disappointed watching!
📍Venue 33 | Cabaret Bar, Pleasance Courtyard | 1:30pm daily | Click here for tickets
Catch your Breath – Ed Patrick
We saw this show by complete and utter chance. We got given the flyer 30mins before it started, liked the sound of it, scanned the QR code for tickets and then went to the show!
It was 12pm on previews day, and there were only 6 of us which amazed me because this guy is brilliant. I imagine now we’re fully into Fringe, this show is full because Ed is hilarious and it was a brilliant show!
Ed is a doctor who works in anaesthetics – he’s written a book and this comedy show is inspired by it. It’s a work in progress, but you couldn’t tell because it was so smooth and absolutely hilarious!
📍Venue 88 | Just the Tonic at the Caves, Just Up The Road | 12pm click here for tickets
Rob Madge : My son’s a queer (but what can you do?)
This show had me laughing and crying, and is a must-see when you come to the festival.
Usually, I only go and see stand-up when I go to the Fringe Festival but I follow Rob on social media and they are absolutely brilliant. I love Disney and musicals and when I saw their show was all about how when Rob was 12, they attempted a full-blown Disney parade in their house for their grandma, I knew I had to see it!
Robs talent is astounding, they take you on a complete journey and you really feel a part of it. The ability to take an audience from laughing, to crying, back to laughing again is a true skill, and one Rob definitely has.
📍Venue 300 | Underbelly, George Square | 16:15 | click here to get tickets
How to do Edinburgh Fringe in a day
Okay, lets be honest, a day really isn’t enough to fully ‘do’ Edinburgh Fringe Festival. However, time and money mean it’s not always possible to.
But, it is possible to get a flavour in a day, and see some really good comedy and shows. After 7 years of doing Fringe in a day, here are some of my top tips…
- Have one show booked
This gives you a starting point and a structure to your day. I always recommend The Showcase Show (mentioned above) because you get a real flavour. Plus, it’s in the middle of the day, so you should have time to see at least one more show either side of it! - Let the flyers guide you!
Honestly, I’ve found so many good shows over the years by having a flyer thrust into my hand! This year it was Catch My Breathe but previously we’ve seen things like PotterVision (a must for any Harry Potter fan) - Give yourself enough time to wander
You can see a lot of free things this way, but also just soak up the atmosphere. It’s honestly electric and wandering can give you a really good feel!
So that was my Edinburgh Fringe 2022. I’m hoping to go back again later in the month so will update the post as we go along! If you love Scotland and want to explore more of the beautiful country, click here to read all of my Scottish based posts. If you want more from Postcards From, don’t forget to sign up for our mailing list and get monthly digital postcards!
