Festival diary: How I found fame at the Edinburgh International Festival - and entering the Fringe's dark underbelly

I’ve had to wait the best part of a year to write about my finest moment covering the festivals – and it’s already been surpassed before this year’s fun and games properly got going.

Taking my seat on the front row for a play inspired by celebrated and much-missed Scottish piper Gordon Duncan on the last night of the 2023 Fringe, little did I suspect I would be plucked from the audience for my debut stage “performance” for a pivotal piping lesson scene.

Thoughts of how to top this artistic triumph have crossed my mind occasionally in the run-up to this month’s festivals. But I doubt I’ll be able to do better than a starring role in the Edinburgh International Festival’s (EIF) promotions.

Where to Begin, the Edinburgh International Festival's opening event, is being staged at George Heriot's School. Picture: Jess Shurte

I had to use some gentle powers of persuasion to join the handful of photographers invited into the grounds of George Heriot’s School for a sneak peak at the EIF’s big curtain-raiser event, Where to Begin.

With a few silhouettes required by the snappers for shots of images which will be projected onto the 17th-century building, I was made an offer I simply couldn’t refuse and ended up in several official publicity pictures – one of which was used across two pages in The Scotsman. Fame at last.

The Olympics comparison

Fringe Society chief executive Shona McCarthy has spent years comparing the event to the Olympics as part of her relentless campaigning for more funding.

Street performers entertain the crowds on the Royal Mile during the Fringe. Picture: Jane Barlow

With Edinburgh’s cultural feast going head-to-head with the sporting celebration, I think she may have a point, particularly after the first proper evening of previews, launches and events.

An already cluttered schedule became even more ridiculous when the new Labour government scheduled a festival reception between the Underbelly and Assembly Fringe launches, which involved a fair amount of ducking, diving, dodging, weaving and slaloming around the crowds between Bristo Square, East Market Street and The Mound.

Even Assembly head honchos William Burdett-Coutts and Dani Rae managed a visit to Queen Elizabeth House before their own launch, which I only made on time by ditching the Olympic spirit and jumping in a cab.

The traditional marathon event at the Assembly Hall was even more of an endurance test than normal thanks to the unusually balmy Edinburgh weather.

Gravity & Other Myths are appearing at the Assembly Hall on The Mound in the Fringe show Ten Thousand Hours. Picture: Lisa FergusonEight world-class acrobats investigate physical skill; how we obtain it, how we perfect it, and how it can transform our lives highlighting the nuance of high-level acrobatics.Dance, Physical Theatre and Circus (acrobatics, family-friendly)Venue35Assembly Hall - Main Hall11:40 Aug 2-11, 13-18, 20-24Following the hit sell-out sensations Macro and The Pulse at the Edinburgh International Festival, and Fringe-favourite smash-hit A Simple Space, Gravity & Other Myths return with their critically acclaimed, brand-new show Ten Thousand Hours. This is an ode to the countless hours needed to achieve great things. Eight acrobats investigate physical skill: how we obtain it, how we perfect it and how it can transform our lives. This family-friendly acrobatic extravaganza is filled with everything you love about Gravity & Other Myths and a tribute to the dedication required to become a world-class acrobat.

Those that made it to the end were treated to impromptu stripped-to-the-waist acrobatics, which were unlikely to win any medals, but which absolutely brought the house down – thanks to the reunited comic double act of Jason Byrne and Adams Hills.

The Hive mind

My ”week zero” had begun in a dark underbelly of the Fringe landscape.

Not to be confused with venue operators Underbelly, the Hive nightclub is pressed into Fringe action as a Monkey Barrel venue, and had the look and smell of a student-friendly hotspot even though it was almost empty when I arrived.

Mark Nelson was one of the first comics out of the preview traps at this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Mark Nelson, one of the first Fringe comics out of the preview traps, tested the audience waters with topical material about Jay Slater, Huw Edwards and the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

He told one audience member wearing a mask: “If you’re going to catch something in Edinburgh, this is where you’re going to catch it.”