Georgie Grier had a tearful Fringe last year, too

Performer who went viral over her audience of one posted a similar tweet in 2022

She is the performer whose story encapsulated the spirit of the Fringe after tweeting a tearful post about having only one punter at her first Edinburgh show.

But Georgie Grier - who garnered huge press coverage when the likes of Dara O Briain, Sarah Millican and Jason Manford gave her support and encouragement - should have been accustomed to how tough the festival can be by now… as she had the exact same opening night experience last year.

On August 15, 2022 she tweeted: ‘Just had a cry because the only people who turned up to my first show were my parents. But when I had said cry in the bathroom, some other lovely Fringe performers gave me words of encouragement. And I guess two people is better than none? #EdinburghFringe'

Grier's 2022 Fringe post

It got 27 likes and 79 retweets, and attracted message of support such as: ‘You are there, at the Edinburgh Fringe, doing your own solo show. That is brilliant in itself & something only a few are brave enough & creative enough to try. It is part of the stories you will tell. Keep going.’

And one prophetic follower told her: ‘You’ll do better next year.’

Indeed, she did. Last week when the actor tweeted a tearful picture of herself after a disappointing first night, it attracted 13.4million views, almost 5,000 comments, and headlines across the world.

She wrote: ‘ There was one person in my audience today when I performed my one woman play, ‘Sunsets’ at #edfringe. It’s fine, isn’t it? It’s fine…?’

After celebrity comics rallied round, she sold out the next day – and sales look healthy across the rest of the festival.

Cynics has accused her of posting the emotional snap as a PR stunt, which she denied, saying: ‘I did not expect the level of reaction I've had it's been so lovely, so unexpected, so many words for what I have experienced. I am so appreciative of what I have experienced.'

Performing to single-figure audiences is not uncommon at the Fringe, but last year stand-up Robin Grainger garnered acres of press coverage when he revealed he had performed to just one person.

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Published: 6 Aug 2023