Rosie Holt on the highs and lows of the Edinburgh Fringe

Rosie Holt is back at the Edinburgh Fringe with That's Politainment!, charting the attempts of her viral hit MP to follow ‘politainers’ like Nadine Dorries, Nigel Farage, Matt Hancock and Jacob Rees-Mogg into lucrative media careers. Here she shares what she can't get enough of at the festival, her most embarrassing Edinburgh experience and the worst thing about the Fringe…

Edinburgh binge

The best part of the festival is going to one of the private members’ bars and seeing if there are any people that can connect me to more connections in my bid to connect with the people. 

I am passionate about connecting with the people, this is what I really love about the Fringe, connecting to the crowds and the common man which can lead to the less-common-but-considerably-more-useful man coming to your show, which can lead to more connections preferably via lucrative TV contacts or on stage for a small and reasonable fee.  

Edinburgh cringe

Last year, I was connecting with a TV producer at a private members’ bar about my zest and passion for connecting with the people for a medium-sized and reasonable fee, when the producer let slip he was a Liberal Democrat supporter. 

This brought back memories of the 2010 coalition between David Cameron and Nick Clegg, and I worried that said TV producer would become the Nick Clegg to my Cameron – and I am not a Cameron but a Thatcher. 

I was so panicked I ran out and ended up on the Royal Mile. To calm myself down, I repeated Maggie Thatcher’s phrase, ‘It pays to know the enemy – not least because at some time you may have the opportunity to turn him into a friend.'

But various performers started throwing fliers at me to the point I lost control and started yelling, ‘Defund the arts! Defund the arts!’ This was mortifying as I am sure some floating voters witnessed it while eating their mac and cheese. 

Edinburgh whinge

What’s the worst thing about the Fringe? I’d say connecting with the wrong people. Sometimes you can be in a private members’ bar and realise you have been talking to someone for two hours and they haven’t got anything to offer (in regards to connecting with other people via a large but reasonable fee.)

In fact, you may have thought they were a booker or a TV producer but instead they are but a lowly clown with a nice shirt on and you bought all those tequila shots for nothing (though at least you can claim it on government expenses.) So yes connecting with the wrong people, or watching their shows. 

Published: 11 Aug 2023