Edinburgh festivals diary: How financial fairness is the reoccurring theme of this year's Fringe

Performers have warned they cannot afford to do full runs, with some regulars opting not to turn up at all this year, citing soaring accommodation costs.

Meanwhile, others have raised the issue of an often very uneven playing field for performers, contrasting the expensive marketing and PR machine behind big names with that of individual artists doing their own flyering for a self-produced show in a tiny venue.

Comedian Barry Ferns penned an open letter to the Edinburgh Comedy Awards, requesting a second main award for a self-produced comedian - an idea that was rejected by the organisation behind the gong. Then this week, Free Fringe founder Peter Buckley Hill told the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society’s AGM that he believed the Keep It Fringe fund, which gives out grants to performers to pay towards their Fringe experience, was in violation of the principles of the society.

He said: “If Show X gets a £2,000 grant and you do not, you are at a big disadvantage. Even before you start. It’s biased against you and somebody has made that judgement.”

This comes as Two Door Down star Kieran Hodgson warned the Fringe had become a “great monster” amid widespread professionalisation of the festival. Speaking at the same panel event at Shedinburgh, producer Owen Donovan pointed out that well-known TV comedians were selling out fast as audiences cut back on the number of shows they are willing to pay for - and choose not to spend their hard-earned cash on risky acts they have not previously seen.

There is no doubt that a gulf is widening between the Fringe haves and have-nots. The question is what, if anything, can be done about it.

End of an era for Arkle

A sculpture has been unveiled to mark the end of an era for amateur theatre company Arkle, which has seen the curtain close for the final time after 30 years performing on the Fringe.

Founders Rob Mackean and Michael Mulligan decided to step back after this year’s festival season following 30 years of straight Fringe performances, including an online show during the pandemic.

Commissioned from Edinburgh blacksmith and artist Jack Waygood, the sculpture depicts a figure of Puck sat atop a step ladder and holding the full moon. The design was inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Patrick Barlow’s adaptation of The 39 Steps; two favourite plays of Arkle Theatre founders and the ensemble productions that made up the company’s final Fringe performances.

It will be displayed in the new Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society hub when it opens on Infirmary Street next year.

The last laugh

An audience member at one of Scottish comedy legend Karen Dunbar's recent shows in the Caves had to be taken out of the room after she was laughing so hard she triggered an asthma attack.

As she left, the Chewin' the Fat star reportedly started singing Queen song Another One Bites the Dust.

She told The Scotsman: “I heard someone had a mild asthma attack at my Fringe show ‘cos they were laughing so hard. As much as I can’t guarantee my comedy won’t cause medical issues, I’m hopin’ ye will laugh yer arse aff.”