Mabel Thomas has some suggestions

The consensus is that the Edinburgh Fringe is at breaking point, having grown so big that costs – especially for accommodation – have skyrocketed, pricing out all but those with the deepest pockets. We're asking participants if they have any ideas to make the festival better...

My name is Mabel Thomas. In 2022, I took my show Sugar to the Edinburgh Fringe, and this year I’m back to perform Serious Theatre from Serious People at Gilded Balloon with Charlotte Anne-Tilley.

Fresh out of drama school, the Fringe seemed like the perfect gateway to the industry. The rebellious ‘anyone can put on a show’ spirit coupled with my certainty that Phoebe Waller-Bridge would see me, invite me to lunch and then change my life made the Fringe a perfect next step for me as an emerging writer and actor. 

However, as a broke and unknown drama school grad with stars in their eyes, I quickly learned that the festival of ‘defying the norm since 1947’ actually had plenty of norms, barriers and issues.

The community I built pre-Fringe of incredible women and non-binary folks was invaluable during my run, but in the eyes of the corporate venues, community only goes so far as your venue door. We were banned from flyering our friends' shows with similar tone/vibe/content because we were at different venues. This profit-centred ideology is a significant problem the Fringe faces.

When profit becomes the festival’s main goal, the diversity of acts and performers suffers. Most, if not all, of my friends who did shows at the Fringe took nearly a full year to financially recover. (And we have the privilege of only supporting ourselves.) 

The cost to participate in the festival is significant, especially to emerging artists, and it was only through luck and a harebrained cryptocurrency investment that I was able to participate at all.

Solutions (from most to least helpful):

*disclaimer* I know some of these solutions might not be popular with performers. But if we don’t do something, I believe the integrity of the festival itself is at stake.

1. Construction of Fringe housing. Affordable, dormitory-style accommodation could serve festival participants and, during the rest of the year, help alleviate Edinburgh’s housing crisis and provide emergency shelter in winter.
2. Encourage cross-venue community. There are enough punters to go around, and it benefits venues to allow performers to flyer for similar shows at different locations. The Fringe is an incredible place to build community, and venues should support that instead of discouraging it. A rising tide lifts all boats.
3. Green incentives. A dedicated campaign that promotes shows complying with greener guidelines, such as using A6 black and white posters instead of A5 colour ones etc. Also, more flyer-dedicated recycling bins.
4. Abolish capitalism. Self explanatory. Next.
5. What’s better than one Scottish city overrun with performers for a month? That’s right, TWO. Glasgow need not always be the slightly scrappier, doesn’t-have-a-castle-but-has-great-nightlife bridesmaid to Edinburgh’s quaint bride. If there’s one thing I know about Glaswegians, it’s that they would love to have performers flood their streets, clog their public transportation, and beg every shopper on Buchanan Street to ‘take a chance on the next Fleabag’. Seriously though, what if (through sister venues and encouraging established artists to take the 1 hour 18 minute train ride west for a show or two) the festival could expand physically, lessening the burden on just Edinburgh’s infrastructure?
6. Performance caps. Not the wool kind. Encourage performers and productions to adopt a two-years-on/one-year-off cycle. I know a big factor in many artists’ marketing campaigns is ‘last year’s success’ but perhaps a two-years-on, one-year-off ethos could decrease the demand for venues and accommodation, and reduce strain on Edinburgh’s infrastructure.
7. An extraordinary donation from the Fringe’s rich uncle that no one knew existed. Just a few billion pounds to offer performer subsidies and pay for the construction of festival housing. Simple, right?

Since the Fringe serves as the ground floor for emerging artists, it must remain accessible. If the festival continues to grow without significant changes, the existing problems will only worsen.

• Serious Theatre from Serious People is on at Gilded Balloon Patter House at 1pm during the Edinburgh Fringe.

• Do you have any ideas on how to Fix The Fringe? Email any suggestions to feedback@chortle.co.uk 

Published: 23 Jul 2024