Anesti Danelis shares his best and worst of the Edinburgh Fringe

Musical stand-up Anesti Danelis is back at the Edinburgh Fringe with  This Show Will Change Your Life, on at Underbelly, Bristo Square at 3.55pm. Here he shares what he can't get enough of at the festival, her most embarrassing Edinburgh experience and the worst thing about the Fringe. Apart from the cost of accommodation, obviously…

Edinburgh binge

To sidestep the obvious answer of watching more shows, I’ll say the food, I always buy groceries and cook all meals to cut costs (and ohhhh my does it cut costs by like 90 per cent) but last year I let myself indulge and I tried a bunch of great food. I tried a few fish and chip spots, and a couple of pizza spots, but my favourite find was the Greek Artisan Pastries shop on Bread Street. They have the best Greek coffee and Tiropites (cheese pies). This year I want to get out there and try a bunch of new places. 

Edinburgh cringe

In my second year, a couple of familiar faces came to a really really  bad show. I was excited because after my show sold-out at Toronto Fringe, the first half of Edinburgh Fringe was going great, and the second half of Edinburgh Fringe went even better, but that one show near the middle was the worst show of my life. I don’t know who that audience was, or where they came from, but I think someone hired them to come and humble me. And humble me they did. 

Those old pals of mine very politely sat through the whole show, as I died on the inside. I think I even saw one of them look at the door in a ‘when is this over?!’ kind of expression.

Afterwards, they came up and even exchanged the classic ‘great show’ greeting. We both know it wasn’t but we forced a smile, and parted ways never to speak to each other again. 

Edinburgh whinge

Okay, this might be a controversial whinge since I am a performer, but the flyering. I don’t know how to say ‘no’ so I always end up back in my room with a backpack full of flyers. I have even taken flyers back to Canada with me because I feel bad for throwing them out.

Alternatively, another whinge is the rude people who make a big deal out of saying no to flyers. Just say no and move on. You don’t have to deliver a one person show about how inconvenienced you are. 

I think flyering is the worst for everyone involved. Performers being vulnerable and putting themselves out there, and pedestrians just trying to move on with their day without constantly being stopped. We’re caught in a continuous cycle of giving each other stress. 

On the topic of flyering, another huge whinge is performers who poster over other performers' posters. (woah, that was a tongue twister).

Imagine the privilege you must have to see someone’s poster and be like: ‘You know what, I know that you showed up before me and took up a spot, but no thank you.’

These are the same people who will walk up to you while you’re waiting in a line for a pub/club/restaurant/whatever, and be like ‘can I please line up behind you? The line is sooo long. Straight to jail. 

Published: 18 Aug 2023