And with that, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024 comes to an end. Trying to capture everything that happened is a task worthy of Hercules, so I hope that I’ve brought you a flavour of the Fringe during August.

The Fringe has always faced challenges from its first days to this year and beyond. Instead of an interview to close out August, I wanted to talk a little about our Fringe community and my hope that over the next year, we can all listen to everyone’s concerns and work on solutions that benefit everyone.

Let’s ensure that when we all return to Edinburgh in 2025, the Edinburgh Fringe is the best it can be.

• With music from Daniel Cainer (Jewish Chronicles).
• More from Daniel at danielcainer.com.

Listen to more from the Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or in your favourite podcast app never to miss an episode.

As we come to the end of week three, we sit down with Anthony Alderson, director of The Pleasance Theatre Trust.

We touch on several critical issues running one of the largest venues at the Edinburgh Fringe, including the continuing impact of COVID and the importance of government funding to the Fringe community and The Pleasance. Given the cost of the Fringe is on everyone’s minds, we talk about turnover, tickets, and artistic risk.

We also talk about the work of The Plesance to support and promote the arts at Edinburgh in August and throughout the rest of the year, including various Pleasance Futures projects and the ambition of creating sustainable touring for theatre in the UK.

• The Pleasance Theatre Trust.
• The Pleasance at the Edinburgh Fringe.
• The Scotsman Fringe First awards for Week Three.

Listen to more from the Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or in your favourite podcast app never to miss an episode.

Tim Benzie joins us on the show today to talk about his two Fringe shows, “It’s A Mystery” and “Solve Along A Murder She Wrote”. Yes, he loves his cosy crime shows, but doesn’t everyone secretly love a mystery?

We start with the rules of detective fiction before our talk turns to Agatha Christie and Dame Angela Lansbury, how you can do a solve-along-a with a murder, and the advantages of having two shows at the Fringe where one is guaranteed to get the ticket sales.

• Tim Benzie, Solve Along A Murder She Wrote.
• Tim Benzie, It’s A Mystery.
• Edinburgh Comedy Awards shortlist.
• Malcolm Hardee Awards shortlist.
• More murder at solvealongamurdershewrote.com.

Listen to more from the Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or in your favourite podcast app to never miss an episode.

Mark Dean Quinn joins me on the show today to do his best not to talk about his show ‘Oh No (That’s Not Your Cheese).’ He’s found the right level of fame, and doesn’t feel the need to go any further.

Nevertheless, we’ve lots to talk about, including the importance of the Free Fringe and how this can offer more artistic freedom, his work on the Edinburgh Fringe Performers’ Forum, and why he is ready to help people before they get to Edinburgh.

But does he eat cheese?

• Mark Dean Quinn, Oh No (That’s Not Your Cheese).
• The Edinburgh Fringe Performers’ Forum on Facebook.

Listen to more from the Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or in your favourite podcast app to never miss an episode.

Juliet Cowan has an impressive CV of character roles in TV and film following her stand-up appearances, yet 2024 is her first hour of comedy at the Edinburgh Fringe.  The delightfully titled show has Cown looking at the impact of the menopause and its reflection on the rush of hormones in her teenage life.

We talk about how stand-up was a way into an acting career and how that had to fit around family life, being recognised by different generations for different roles, and the challenge of having your children come and watch such a confessional show.

• Juliet Cowan, F*ck Off and Leave Me Alone.

Listen to more from the Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or in your favourite podcast app to never miss an episode.

To open up week three, I speak to Nina Gilligan on her show Goldfish. We start with the classic observation of a Goldfish’s memory before exploring what that means to Nina and how it ties in with the show.

We also go into the importance of “the hour” at the Fringe, why it is well suited to Nina’s show, and how she could never be as vulnerable on the regular circuit as she can be in Edinburgh.

Like every interview, I never want to give up spoilers on any show, and it’s something I check with artists before we start. So, while there are no spoilers to the show, the show itself does touch on topics that may be triggering, and this interview is going to hint at.

• Nina Gilligan, Goldfish.
• More from Nina at ninagilligan.com.

Listen to more from the Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or in your favourite podcast app to never miss an episode.

Rachel Kaly is over from the US to bring their debut hour to the Fringe. Hospital Hour looks at Kaly’s many appointments and visits to the American healthcare system for psychological treatments.

We also talk about what the fringe means in general and Edinburgh specifically. How do you know when an hour is ready for the Fringe, and how does the show change throughout the month?

• Rachel Kaly, Hospital Hour.
• More from Rachel at rachelkaly.com.
• The Scotsman’s Fringe First awards for week two.

Listen to more from the Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or in your favourite podcast app to never miss an episode.

A fun conversation with Louise Atkinson today as we talk about her show She’s Got The Look. The press release provides my first question (to the light of morning DJs the world over), but we go into more topics on the business and art of being a comic.

How can you make comedy accessible to everyone? How does Edinburgh fit into the United Kingdom’s festival circuit, and why is the Fringe one of the biggest routes into comedy? And if it’s all about rhythm, what beat does Louise work to? 

• Louise Atkinson, She’s Got The Look.
• More from Louise on her Instagram, @_latkinson_.

Listen to more from the Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or in your favourite podcast app to never miss an episode.

John Meagher joins me on the podcast today to discuss his life and Edinburgh Fringe debut. 8 years after starting on his performing career, he has an hour for the Fringe. Big Year is that show, and it’s an opportunity for John to look back over his life, from an island off the coast of Ireland to his own home in England.

We talk about his approach to writing material and why it has to be personal, the various culture shocks throughout his life, finding love and looking back on his life to find the good times.

• John Meagher, Big Year.
• More from John Meagher on his Instagram, @Johnmcomedy.

Listen to more from the Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or in your favourite podcast app to never miss an episode.

Today, I speak to Natasha Pearl Hansen. Following her breakout hour and comedy special retelling the moment she cancelled the wedding and turned it into a recording session for a live show, Natasha returns to the Fringe with The Right Amount of Wrong.

It looks at life after that not-wedding day, finding the joy and the win in the day, and the journey that followed. We talk about that, but also the challenge of transferring US comedy to the UK, how to name a show so it can be easily pitched and flyered, and (of course) the weather.

• Natasha Pearl Hansen, The Right Amount of Wrong.
• Follow Natasha at her website, nphcomedy.com.

Listen to more from the Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or in your favourite podcast app to never miss an episode.

Vyte Garriga’s Paper Swans is a mesmerising and thought-provoking piece of absurdist theatre that is picking up critical acclaim in the media covering the Fringe, and offering an emotionally complex hour for the audience.

We talk about moving from Lithuania to the UK and London and why RADA felt like the only option for Vyte to further her career. From there, she talks about her academic studies and why she was hungry to be on stage, both individually and as part of a theatere company. Finally, we talk about the writing process and the challenges presented by the repeating motif in Paper Swans and the challenge if offers the audience.

• Vyte Garriga, Paper Swans.
• Follow Vyte on her website vytegarriga.com

Listen to more from the Fringe at edinburghfringe.thepodcastcorner.com. Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or in your favourite podcast app to never miss an episode.