A bit of a Fringe binge

I first visited Edinburgh in 2006 when a friend persuaded me to accompany her to see The Dresden Dolls perform as part of the Fringe. At the time, I hadn’t a notion what this “fringe” she spoke of was but once we touched down in the Scottish Capital, it was virtually impossible to escape.

The Edinburgh Fringe, I quickly discovered, is the world’s largest arts festival, playing host to over 2000 different productions annually during its four week run in August. Although the majority of shows are either conventional theatre or stand-up comedy, the Fringe also showcases a variety of street theatre, visual art, dance theatre and musical performances from around the globe.

Brief as my first experience of the Fringe was, I managed to catch quite a few weird and wonderful shows and succeeded in soaking up enough of the festival atmosphere to be sufficiently seduced. So, when plans for a J1 in Washington this year came a cropper in March, I figured bonnie Edinburgh would be a good base of operations to salvage my summer.

At the end of July, I packed my suitcase (which Ryanair subsequently deemed to be three kilograms overweight) and headed back to “the city of steps” for a month-long Fringe binge. I went by myself, which was risky I suppose, but I firmly believe there is a lot to be said for travelling alone under the right circumstances.

I was fortunate to land a job in one of the biggest Fringe venues and the large roster of staff meant I was never stuck for people to socialise or see shows with. Being Joey-no-mates to begin with forced me to mingle and over the course of the festival I met some incredible people (and even enjoyed my own highland fling…).

Rent during the festival period is fairly extortionate but thankfully my staff pass entitled me to see shows for free in three major Fringe venues. Whenever I wasn’t working or partying, I was at a show and I reckon I saw over 50 in total. These ranged from ‘Pot Noodle: The Musical’ and the Grammy-winning Soweto Gospel Choir to ‘Circus Oz’ and stand-up by Jimmy Carr.

The ethos of the Fringe, for performers and staff alike, seems to be work hard, play hard. Over the course of the festival, I found myself boozing with Ed Byrne, trying to decipher the drunken ramblings of Johnny Vegas and even dancing with Will Young at Silent Disco (well, “dancing beside” is probably closer to the truth.)

With clubs staying open until 5am and some pubs, like the legendary ‘Penny Black’, opening an hour later at 6am, the nightlife in Edinburgh is likely to test the stamina of even the most hardcore party people.

Edinburgh may not seem like the most obvious of holiday destinations. You sure as hell won’t get a suntan but if you’re anything like me you might just find that the city affords you that most fabled experience of youth: the best summer ever.