Phoebe Waller-Bridge: Fleabag star poses with festival staff on Royal Mile

Fleabag creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge stopped by to visit festival staff during her recent visit to the Scottish capital to soak up the season’s cultural offerings.

Covid-19 means this year’s festival is a scaled-back version of the internationally acclaimed arts extravaganza, which was cancelled entirely in 2020.

And it’s the first for the actor and writer since she took up the reins as president of Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society earlier this year.

The position, which is the first of its kind, will see Waller-Bridge act as a representative and advocate for the Fringe Society – the charity that exists to support everyone who wants to participate in events.

Fleabag creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the first ever president of Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, stopped by to visit staff during her recent visit to the Scottish capital to see performances

Speaking about the launch of this year’s Fringe, she said: “The Edinburgh Fringe is back.

“In an act of pure artistic heroism, the Fringe Society and thousands of artists, writers, dancers, actors, designers, comedians, musicians and creatives have fought to bring this festival back to the streets of glorious, glittering Edinburgh.

“We have a lot of time to make up for, and this festival is more than ready for you.

“With hundreds of live and online events you can see as many shows in a week than you would have in the whole of last year and we are finally able to reconnect, inspire, surprise, and entertain each other like we used to.

“I have never wanted to have a leaflet thrusted at me more.

“We’re being offered a giant cultural sprinkler after a year of drought and I can’t wait to jump through it, shrieking, with you all.”

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