Our critics at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe need to pace themselves – or burn out

It’s often hit and miss at the Fringe but we’re all in the same boat, writes Charlotte Cripps

It’s the world’s biggest arts festival (Getty)

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe starts next week, running from 5 to 29 August. It’s the world’s biggest arts festival – but how do our theatre critics survive it? Or anybody else for that matter? It’s overwhelming. Eating and sleeping can easily fall by the wayside. It’s a mad dash around the city’s venues – a comfortable pair of trainers is essential. It’s about gambling on the off-piste shows and then catching the more hyped-up ones.

This year’s highlights include Ian McKellen in a balletic Hamlet and stand-up comedian Phil Wang’s new show The Real Hero in All This. It follows his critically acclaimed live show Philly Philly Wang Wang, which sold out its entire run before the festival even began in 2019 and is now a Netflix special.

Frank Skinner’s 30 Years of Dirt is a highly anticipated brand new show, while Sophie Duker, whose 2019 debut Venus saw her nominated for best newcomer, returns with her new show Hag, about turning 30.

We are running a Fringe guide and reviewing many of the live shows. Our Saturday interview this week is with Alan Cumming, who plays the Scottish poet Robert Burns in a solo dance-theatre show titled Burn.

For three weeks in August it’s a melting pot of theatre, comedy, dance, physical theatre, circus, cabaret, children’s shows, musicals, opera, music and spoken word across hundreds of stages.

There’s too much to choose from. The trick for our reviewers is to be spontaneous. Part of the thrill is stumbling on that gem that nobody guessed would become a mega hit – think Fleabag.

While there is a temptation to go to as many shows as possible, we can’t review them all. Our theatre critics must pace themselves – or burn out.

It’s often hit and miss at the Fringe but we’re all in the same boat. The only big difference for critics is that they aren’t just whizzing to the next show, like you – they are writing up the last one.

Yours,

Charlotte Cripps

Senior culture writer