Arts blog: ‘I thought I’d be grateful for a break from the relentless rain, flyering and egotism. How wrong I was’ - Lucy Porter on why she’s addicted to the Fringe

Published on 08/08/2012 13:28

LAST year was the first year since I was 19 that I didn’t have anything to do with the Edinburgh Festival. Initially I came to the Fringe as a member of the Perrier Awards Panel, having won a competition in Time Out magazine.

Then I came up for a few years as a journalist, then a TV talent scout, and then a comedian’s girlfriend until finally I realised that what I really wanted was to be a turn in my own right.

I had a few happy years of that, until I foolishly decided to have children and was forced 
to take a leave of absence. I thought last year that I would be grateful for a break from the relentless rain, flyering and egotism that makes up the typical Fringe experience. How wrong I was.

As a comedian, not being in Edinburgh in August is like being a salmon in Alaska saying: “No, you guys go upstream to spawn, it’s fine. I’ll just stay here and play Nottingham Jongleurs to a load of hen and stag nights.”

A few years ago, Tim Vine legendarily took out a poster ad on Cowgate with a massive picture of his face, and text reading: “TIM VINE … is not appearing at this year’s Edinburgh Festival.” Comedians loved it, because it seemed the perfect solution to the age-old question: How do I get to have a high profile at Edinburgh without all the heartache and stress of actually doing a show?

Ultimately though, we comedians love that stress – the adrenalin rush you feel on the first night of your Edinburgh run is a feeling that can’t easily be replicated. I certainly missed it like crazy last year, which is why I’m back. As is Tim Vine.

• Lucy Porter: People Person, Stand Comedy Club. 5:15pm, until 26 August