That time of year is once again upon us – the monumental Edinburgh Fringe. Have you pulled a back muscle yet trying to lift the hefty catalogue? Well, if you haven’t had the chance to browse through the plethora of events, performances, shows and all things weird and wonderful that are on offer during the 2023 festival, we’ve done some legwork for you and are super excited to share our guide to the Fringe, including some keys picks featuring alumni from our very own Scottish Youth Theatre!
SHOWS
Participant | Project | Show | Role | Venue | Dates | Tickets |
Emma Ruse | Help Yourself | Producer | Summerhall – Demonstration Room | 2 - 27 Aug | ||
Jack MacGregor | Everything Under the Sun | Writer | Army @ The Fringe – Drill Hall | 4 – 27 Aug | ||
Mikael Philippos & Bethan Murray | Not Our Crime, Still Our Sentence | Writer & Stage Manager/ Marketting Assistant | Guilded Balloon Patter Hoose – Dram | 2 – 17 Aug | ||
Chelsea Grace | Salamander | Performer | Assembly Roxy – Upstairs | 2 – 16 Aug | ||
Kirsten Hutchison | The Beatles Were A Boyband | Performer | Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose – Doonstairs | 18 – 27 Aug | ||
Drew Gill | Hole | Writer | Paradise in Augustines – The Snug | 21 – 26 Aug | ||
Chaya Gupta | We'll Have Nun Of It | Performer | Underbelly Cowgate – Belly Button | 3 – 27 Aug | ||
Jo Hunter | – | Writer/Performer | various venues | 6 – 26 Aug | ||
Laura Milton | The Wonderful Everyday | Performer | theSpace @ Niddry Street – Lower Theatre | 8 – 12 Aug |
From silly seminars teaching you how to “obliterate sadness”, to scripts chronicling warn-torn lands, to stories of family love and incarceration, to performances probing urgent themes such as protest, sisterhood, sexuality and faith, these shows are a stirring look into new work at this year’s festival and represent a diverse medley of theatre that we’re sure everyone can enjoy.
Additionally, a shout out to Phoebe Byrne (one of the Trainee Producers on the Making Space Online Festival) and Lintong Zhang (one of the 6 writers on textLAB) who have both been selected as one of the 15 producers on this year’s Emerging Producers Development Programme!
We understand that under the current economic climate, huge festivals like the Edinburgh Fringe increasingly run the risk of excluding both performers and audiences. And we realise that visiting the festival and the city during August is a privileged expense that the majority cannot afford. But that’s why we want to share with you the above selection, in the hopes that what you can or do see supports our emerging next generation of theatre!
Be sure to let us know if you visit any of this list by tagging us on social media and using the hashtag #SYTSeeYouThere
Events
The Festival has what feels like a mind-boggling number of things on offer – from shows to seminars to meet-and-greets to networking events – so it can be difficult to pinpoint exactly what is right for you and your time. As part of our guide to the Edinburgh Fringe, we’ve highlighted a couple of opportunities that might be useful for emerging artists:
Meet the Artists 2023 – A chance to meet artists from this year’s various international showcases
Creative Circles: Beyond the Festivals – Creative conversations and socialising with Creative Edinburgh
Fringe Connect – Register (as either an artist or industry member) to get the latest scoop of Fringe news and events
taking care
Finally, while the Fringe can be a totally exhilarating experience, it’s very easy to get overwhelmed by the intensity of the month and everything you feel you need to do. Remember to take time for yourself when you can and keep an eye on your own mental health and wellbeing so you can get the most from the experience. Here are a few helpful resources that might come in handy:
Edinburgh Festivals’ Quiet Spaces – A map of quiet spaces throughout Edinburgh and wider districts
Thriving at the Fringe – A guide produced by iThrive, Edinburgh Health in Mind and Edinburgh Festival Fringe
Health & Wellbeing Tips – Ed Fringe’s practical health and wellbeing tips for artists
We hope you’ve found this guide useful ahead of your time at the Fringe. If you have any of your own tips for visiting the Fringe or things to see whilst there, be sure to let us know on our socials – we’d love to hear from you!
Enjoy!
Jamie