A status report on comic's first Fringe

We asked some Edinburgh Fringe debutants about their expectations of the festival before it kicked off. Now we’re more than halfway through, we wondered how reality had matched up. Here are both sets of answers from Philipp Kostelecky:

What do you hope to get out of the Fringe?

How it started: I’d love to sell out the run, or at least sell a good number of tickets and I'd be super keen to get a bit of industry interest and some good reviews, maybe even one or two 5 stars. I'm trying not to be overly ambitious with my predictions, but I think the main thing I realistically hope for is to really refine my show over the 25+ days and come out the end a much stronger performer.

How it’s going:  So I'd say looking at my old answer that is still definitely my hope, I've gotten about four 4-star reviews which have been really great but still chasing that 5 at this time, but overall the show has been really fun. Definitely refining it and hope to refine it further as the rest of the run comes into play but I do feel that my show is getting better each day.

What's your biggest fear going into the festival?

How it started: Ohh I mean, just selling no tickets, bad reviews, or reviewers in on days that I'm not feeling it or the audience isn't really excited. I think those are the most realistic big fears I have.

How it’s going:  So as for fears, most of my fears have yet to come into play, ticket sales have been really good honestly, not sold out every day but am on the weekends and even on the days I'm not I'm almost always over half full.

How are you feeling about the state of your show?

How it started:  I'm feeling good, certainly a few things to work on but I'm happy with where it's at. It's running a bit long at the moment so I think some trimming will be required!

How it’s going:  Much better than I was at the start, still some work to be done for sure, but lots of bits are being remoulded and changed. Running bang on 55mins/1hr now which is great. It's hard to know if the changes are for the better though as the Fringe audience isn't like every audience but I'm definitely developing a lot of my act-outs and jokes.

What do you hope the reviewers say?

How it started:  Hmm, interesting question. I hope they'll like the energy I bring to the show, the silliness, and the physicality, combined with great jokes and charm. Phrases along the line of ‘international comedy superstar’ or ‘wowee wowee, what a show-ee’  would be cool.

How it’s going:  The physicality has been talked about a lot which I'm really happy about, as well as the energy and physicality, the phrase ‘international comedy superstar’ has yet to be mentioned but was perhaps a little ambitious lol. But overall reviews have been really positive and supportive, have yet to have one from Chortle yet but I'm sure it'll come ;)

What do you think your average audience will be?

How it started:  Well my room is a 40-seater, so I'd say around 75, give or take

How it’s going:  So the venue has informed me that 75 people was never an option given the venue only holds 40, so the reality check has been that my average audience has been between 25-40. Man's gotta dream though.

What steps do you aim to take to look after your mental and physical health?

How it started:  Alright, this took a bit of a turn. I think because I'm living with a good friend of mine at the festival that will help ground me a lot. I may well also be working my day job as well, so both of those should take me out of the festival a little bit. That being said the day job may be overwhelming alongside performing my shows but I think that combined with eating/sleeping well and minimal drinking should help remind me that life's all good.

How it’s going:  So I had a really good start with the above, still haven't drunk any alcohol which has been easy to stick to, but working the day job has definitely taken its toll on me but is the only way I can afford to do the fringe so have had to learn to cope. I think sleeping and eating have been super helpful, and so has hanging out with my friends here. Weirdly enough seeing other people's shows has been the most helpful thing for me, whether friends or not, just seeing people be funny really helps make me feel positive... wild isn't it that comedy makes people happy!

• Philipp Kostelecky: Daddy's Home is on at the The Stand 2 at 4pm

Published: 19 Aug 2023