As the sun sets on another season, we would like to thank everyone who has made this Fringe special for us.
In no particular order, we would like to thank:
- The comedians, artists, actors, musicians, dancers, acrobats, jugglers, and performers of all types who have worked tirelessly through the year to put on some fantastic performances.
- The technicians who have worked so hard to bring the sets to life in light and sound.
- The writers who have crafted a myriad of stories through script, song and verse and brought new perspectives on issues old and modern.
- The marketeers and street crews who have come out rain or shine to entertain us at sites across the city.
- The designers who have created posters and flyers that are works of art.
- The Fringe Society for organising the impossible every year.
- The audience members, journalists, bloggers, photographers and Fringe enthusiasts who have provided us with valuable insights, camaraderie and laughter.
This was a toe in the water year for us; to find out what it truly meant to report the Fringe. And you know what? We loved it! We have some ideas on the direction we want to take next year and they are detailed below. We would value your feedback on them, but first a little ask from us.
Please, please, please can you do us one small favour? Our site will not continue to grow unless we get support on social media. To do this, we need you to like and follow our Facebook page. It will literally take 30 seconds to do and you just have to click here, and then click ‘like page’. Thank you so much!
We will of course be back next year, and we will hopefully be bigger and better than last year. But what does it mean to be better? We have some ideas below, but would really value your insight too. We will continue reviews next year, but will not set out to review thousands of shows – there are existing sites that do that well. We will concentrate on the quirkier, niche and unusual acts, plays and performers that represent the spirit of the Fringe. Additionally, we will focus on the human interest stories behind the shows and the Fringe experience itself.
We are based in Edinburgh so will continue to write stories all-year round. If you have an idea for a story, comment on our focus or suggestion on what we should cover, we welcome your feedback. You are welcome to email: [email protected]
Some thoughts on our Fringe this year :
Street performers do not perhaps get the recognition they deserve
We noticed a great street musician called Hugo Bladel and wrote a 5 star review on him. He deserved it. Street performers face the same costs and risks of coming to Edinburgh, but receive barely any critical praise or feedback. Next year, we will seek to redress that imbalance and seek out more opportunities to see the performers in action, and write more about their work on our site.
Càit a bheil a’ Ghàidhlig?
Gaelic is all around us. The map of Edinburgh by Wee Ginger Dug shows the plethora of Gaelic place names in the Lothians. Yet there is very little Gaelic to be seen or heard at the Fringe.
We are committed to preserving the Gaelic language and making it visible to a wider audience. We will therefore strive to include Gaelic in our marketing and content next year.
Our website name and branding
We get that our website name does not exactly trip off the tongue. So at some point this year we will rebrand to a shortened name of TheEdinburghFringe.Com
We will always pay our way
For any show we have reviewed this year, we have always paid full ticket price. For non ticketed or free shows, we have always given a minimum of £5 to the performer at the end of the show. We believe this is the right thing to do and will continue to pay our way next year.
The street teams handing out flyers deserve our thanks
The street teams bring Edinburgh to life. Without them, the Fringe would just be a collection of shows behind closed doors. They bring the vibrancy, colour and excitement of the Fringe shows onto the Royal Mile and beyond. And for that they deserve our thanks. Here are some of the ‘Royal Mile All Stars’ we met this Fringe Season. See you all next year!
