There have been highs - after a tentative return last year, most feel the fringe has found its feet again and audiences are back in bigger numbers. But also lows - not all performers saw those audiences in their rooms and everyone mentions accommodation costs.
"It is a tough and stressful month," says Zach Zucker, a comedian and producer at Stamptown. "Last year, it was three years since we'd had a proper fringe, everything felt harder." Despite that, 2022 was a triumph for Stamptown. They sold out their namesake variety night, while two of their acts, Jordan Gray and Emily Wilson, received glowing reviews and Edinburgh comedy award nominations. This year, the group built on that momentum, bringing 17 shows, including the Edinburgh comedy award nominee Martin Urbano, and are likely to have sold out 11 of those. Ticket pre-sales have been their highest ever, and they're on track for a healthy profit.
Across the festival though, many had a more mixed experience.
Some only had one review, others struggled to sell tickets. Emily Beecher is doing the fringe for the first time as a producer of three shows with the REcreate Agency, and as a performer in one of the three, Summer Camp for Broken People. "One day is great, the next day is not," she says. "Each show has a life of its own." People strive to find the magic formula, but with her producer hat on, Beecher says it's not clearcut. "I know we're doing the same things on all three shows, but the outcome is different. We haven't unpicked it enough to figure out what it is." One show seems to be benefiting from its location and flyering.
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