Edinburgh One Week In

Hello there. So, we’re one week into the Edinburgh Fringe and I’m back with an update. I hoped to be sooner than this, but sat in a laundromat waiting for washing, I finally have some time to sit and type. 

It has been a WHIRLWIND! We’ve performed 7 times, seen 35 shows, attended industry events, seen friends, made new ones and managed to sleep and veggies. I’m particularly proud of that last part. We are actually doing a very good job of looking after ourselves despite the chaos so a big self-pat on the back for that. 

How’s the show going?

Super well. We had some rough edges for the first few runs but we’re well into the swing of it now. Audiences haven’t been massive, but they haven’t been tiny either. I’m immensely grateful that we’ve had at least 6 people every show and it’s never felt like too hard work. 

We’ve also had some really kind audience reviews from total strangers which is very affirming. The show is working and people are having fun, which is everything we hoped for. 

I’m also grateful to our friends who are here and have made the effort to come early and help us get the show rolling. We’re feeling the love, (and I’m super surprised how many people we actually know who are in this city…even if just for the fringe). 

I had a lovely surprise, when a classmate from primary school and her family turned up to Monday’s show too!! Big ups to the Gale clan. It was lovely to see you all. 

It’s strange to think that we’re 7 days into the season and we still have 14 shows to go. Normally, this would be it. Done and dusted- arguably a long season. I assume as we get into next week, we’ll start to test the stamina but for now, we await our first day off on Sunday. 

How’s Edinburgh?

I love this city. It’s so old and pretty, and the festival atmosphere is like nothing else. There are just people everywhere making art, watching art, talking about art. I fear I might become addicted and have to do this every year. Totally unrelated question…Can you remortgage a student loan?? 

I love that this city is walkable and compact, and being a week in I already feel I have a pretty good grasp of how to get around and am getting to know all the major venues well. Having said that, every available room is turned into a performance space and you’ll never see them all. It’s quite fun trying to collect them all though. 

There are some strange and/or challenging things about Edinburgh though which folks should be aware of:

• Phone Reception is pretty trash. When you’re going from show to show, relying on google maps to get around and the fringe app to find what to see next, it is a bit of a nightmare. But I’m getting in the habit of making sure I’m planned ahead of time and can just go about my day once I’m out as best as possible. This makes it less of a big deal. 
• It’s a city built on top of a city. Literally. This does mean that sometimes I’ve been looking down at a map, and confused that I should be on the street it says to go to…only to look up and discover that I’m beneath it. It’s a very odd sensation, but again you work it out eventually. 
• Food out is so expensive. I was warned about this, but it’s still surprised me. So we’ve been making sure to breakfast and lunch at home (or packed lunches) and trying to just buy one meal a day. Food trucks, bakeries and Tesco Meal Deals have truly been the saviours we needed so far. Drink pricing is pretty comparable to NZ. 
• There aren’t a lot of public bins. This is really just a complaint I’d like to make to the City of Edinburgh. Outside of the Royal Mile you’ve got bugger all bins and every time I eat a Banana I end up carrying the peel a kilometer to the nearest bin. 
• I’m getting my steps in. While the city is walkable, running from show to show all day long- you do cover some miles and my legs are starting to feel it (in combo with the many squat I do in our show). My health app reckons I’m walking 10-12kms every day and well over 15, 000 steps. Turns out Edinburgh is an excellent fitness regime. 

What’s the Best Show You’ve Seen?

We’re 35 shows deep and I’ve been lucky to see some really awesome stuff. Here are just a few quick highlights:

The Land of the BeatA Korean Drumming show. Had a fun mix of serious/traditional pieces and some fun clowny stuff. Was an absolute blast and such a cool display of how many different ways you can use a drum to entertain. 

By a ThreadThis was an aerial circus show which was entirely performed using one 30m long rope. They used in so many different ways and there was everything from spellbindingly beautiful moments, to fun ensemble chaos. 

Chloe PettsI saw her last night and it’s a contender for the funniest stand-up show I’ve ever seen. Just crack-up, well thought out and super self-aware. 10/10 

For a full list of shows I’ve seen and micro-reviews of all of them you can checkout my bluesky thread at the link below:

https://bsky.app/profile/austinharrison.bsky.social/post/3lv72r2urys23 

And Finally, How Are You?

Well thanks for asking. I am good, I am tired. Lots of people told me that this festival is an endurance event. While I think I’m holding up pretty well, I’m beginning to understand what they mean. It is 24/7 stimulus, performing every day and genuinely lots of exercise. 

I actually think so far, I’ve been surprised by my own fitness and am grateful to my body for holding up so well. 

I’m also grateful to be doing this with my partner. Nina is the best, and she’s so good at checking in and reminding us to pace ourselves. I think I get locked into a mindset of “We’ve paid so much money to be here, and CNZ gave us money and we might never do it again so I have to see and do everything all the time!” and she reminds me it’s ok to take a few hours off in the middle of the day, and that we need to do laundry. Love you Nins. 

Mostly though, I am feeling inspired. In most part I’m feeling inspired by seeing so many kiwi artists crushing it here. There are kiwis who I’ve seen recently play to less than 50 people in NZ who have queues going round the block to see them here at the world’s biggest arts festival. I’m realising that the bar of work being put out in little old Aotearoa is world-class. I think both us and our audiences need take us a bit more seriously. We’ve got some of the most talented people in the world, and if we take it for granted they will all leave because they found an audience in Scotland when NZ wouldn’t give them a chance. 

So I guess, if you’re reading this from NZ- go see a show. Check out a local film in the Film Fest. Read a book by a New Zealand Author. Consume some local art this week. Because we don’t realise how lucky we are!