For 2024, I was fortunate enough to head to the Edinburgh Fringe for 7 days, formally reviewing 15 productions and staying in the heart of the city centre. It was my third consecutive festival and probably my favourite yet, feeling fully immersed in the Fringe bubble. An annual tradition of mine is to share some favourite moments of the experience, from shows that I watched to some of the things we got up to outside of festival events, so without further ado, here are my 2024 Edinburgh Fringe trip highlights.
Watching some incredible new writing
There were three standout pieces of new writing for me this year, covering plays and an original musical. Spanning comedy and drama, I was particularly moved by each of these shows and they had such a profound impact on me that I wanted to champion them in my festival highlights.
The first was ‘Girlhood’: Tiegan Byrne’s relatable play about the relationships between mothers and daughters throughout the decades, featuring tremendous acting and nostalgic costume design. Playing its last performance today (17th August), I was impressed by Cecilie’s vision for handling multiple timelines on stage and how Tiegan reflects on the role of women in society through the writing.
Completely contrasting in its themes was Alexander Tait and Ivan Hamshaw Thomas’ ‘Kev Campbell Was He’: a one-person comedy set in a toilet with some really impactful messages about the dangers of inaction in the face of homophobia. Brilliantly well written and an example of a spectacular one-person play, I have followed this show from the start of the Fringe season and it was amazing to finally see it on stage during its one-week festival run. The comedic timing is so slick and makes for a really enjoyable watch.
It wouldn’t be a Fringe trip without watching a new musical and ‘Our Little Secret: The 23andMe Musical’ did not disappoint. Inspired by Noam Tomaschoff’s real life experience where a ‘23andMe’ DNA testing kit completely changed his life, this uplifting story of family and self-discovery features a really exciting musical theatre score by Ryan Peters. If you like high energy, celebratory musical theatre, this one should definitely be on your must-see list, with performances running until 26th August.
Pinch Punch Improv’s hilarious whodunnit
Improvisation is such an innovative genre of theatre and what makes it so exciting is that each theatre company approaches the performance style completely differently, some asking for prompts from the audience upfront and others taking suggestions throughout. Pinch Punch Improv’s ‘Locomotive for Murder: The Improvised Whodunnit’ is ambitious in its structure, but it is such an enjoyable piece of theatre, that it had to receive a mention in my highlights.
The social nature of our trip
The more I have immersed myself in the world of the Edinburgh Fringe, the more I have felt part of the community. This year I was able to meet friends, family and some of the wonderful performers that I interviewed in the lead up to the festival during my week in Edinburgh. An absolute highlight was my cousin joining us for a couple of shows at Underbelly, which was actually her first time experiencing the festival. We lived on opposite sides of the world for about 20 years, so having her back in the UK is so special.
On Thursday evening I finally got to say hi to Alexander Tait and Ivan Hamshaw Thomas of ‘Kev Campbell Was He’ who are absolute rising stars and have actually just been nominated for ‘The Scottish Theatre Awards on the Fringe’, which is so well deserved. Spontaneously running into Purple Hat Theatre’s Julia Bolden on the corner of Princes Street was such a lovely surprise, with me calling out ‘Julia’ after seeing her iconic headgear. Lastly, I finally met the fabulous ‘Lisa in the Theatre’ in person, who I have been friends with online for the past couple of years and is the most dedicated Fringe reviewer I know, covering tens of shows in the month of August.
West End Fair craft market
Open daily from 11am to 6pm, visiting the West End Fair based in the St John’s churchyard on the edge of Princes Street was a brilliant way to ease into a busy day of shows. Within the market you can find the work of over 100 creatives, with the items on sale making really unique souvenirs or gifts. Supporting small businesses is so important and I would definitely recommend taking some time out of a busy festival schedule to have a browse at the stalls.
Finally seeing the purple cow in person
An Edinburgh Fringe landmark is the Udderbelly venue at George Square, which is part of Underbelly’s group of performance spaces. It is quite literally shaped like a purple cow and is one of the best-known locations at the festival. Despite visiting the Fringe for the past two years, with so many shows in Edinburgh, the chance of booking a specific venue is quite low. For 2024, I ended up reviewing ‘Lost Girl’ in the Wee Coo which is right next door to the purple cow, so I finally got to walk past the iconic structure. It is just as fun as I imagined in real life and naturally we had to take a selfie in front of it for the memories! Who knows, maybe in a future year we will book a show at the venue and finally go inside?
Strolling through Princes Street Gardens
It is no secret that the Royal Mile is really busy during August, with tourism, flyering and street events taking place on the historic Edinburgh High Street. During the Fringe, sometimes you just need a moment of respite from the hustle and bustle. Princes Street Gardens was the perfect place to pause and reflect, with the gorgeous landscaping and incredible castle views offering some calm amongst our busy schedule.
Seeing the venues lit up at night
Very rarely do I watch late night shows at the Fringe as I am an early riser, but this year in doing so we actually got to see some of the venues lit up at night. On the walk home from ‘Divas of Jazz’ at theSpace @ Symposium Hall, we were able to see Surgeons Hall, Gilded Balloon Patter House and Edinburgh Castle illuminated, which was such a wonderful way to end a 4-show day.
Reflecting on the 2024 experience
When I return from the festival, I always feel a little out of sorts, elated from all of the incredible experiences but also disappointed that my trip is over for another year. This year was no different, reflecting on some amazing memories which for 2024 happened to be so community-focused. It has made me look forward to the future and hopefully making more memories at the world’s largest arts festival. There really is something so special about Edinburgh during the Fringe!
Thanks for reading my blog today.
Love Kat xxxx
*My tickets for ‘Girlhood’, ‘Kev Campbell Was He’, ‘Our Little Secret: The 23andMe Musical’, ‘Locomotive for Murder: The Improvised Whodunnit’ and ‘Lost Girl’ were gifted in exchange for an unbiased review.
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