Edinburgh Festival Fringe

For three inspired weeks each August, Edinburgh really is a stage.

The Festival Fringe runs alongside the Edinburgh International Festival, combined they make up what is, without doubt, the biggest arts festival in the world. There’s been a Festival Fringe since the very first International Festival back in 1947 when a group of eight theatre groups, who weren’t part of the official programme, came and performed their shows regardless. These additions were so popular that year on year more performers came to Edinburgh and a sub festival – the Fringe – blossomed. The Festival Fringe Society was formed in 1959 and the festival was formalised; programmes were produced and a central box office created. The society, then as now, did not vet any of the programme, so anyone with an act to share and a venue that would accommodate them could come and perform.

The festival has launched some pretty high profile careers over the years including Dudley Moore, Peter Cook, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson, Rowan Atkinson, Eddie Izzard, Robin Williams, Jude Law and Clive James.

For these three weeks the streets of the capital are alive with performers and artists and the population of the city doubles with visitors soaking up the carnival atmosphere. With international celebrities and debut performers sharing programme space, and shows everywhere from theatres to the street, churchyards to private homes, and big tops to shops, the city is literally buzzing.

This year the festival will hold a record 2,453 shows. We chose one day in the life of the Fringe – August 26th, from morning until midnight to show the unbelievable scope of comedy, theatre, music, cabaret, children’s shows and so much more that’s on offer.

So expect the unexpected and view the festival as a key to exploring the nooks and crannies of the city; keep an open mind and a sense of adventure and see where your day leads you. It could be to where you least expected it.

From ‘Beethoven for Breakfast’ to a midnight comedy extravaganza

9.00 ‘Impossible Things Before Breakfast’ at the Traverse Theatre is a series of breakfast plays commissioned for the festival by some of the most exciting playwrights currently based in the UK. The coffee and the breakfast roll included should set you up for the morning.

9.30 ‘Beethoven for Breakfast’ at the Royal Over-Seas League is part of the 11th sell-out series of Beethoven and contemporaries concerts. Performed in the beautiful surroundings of the Over-Seas House on Princes Street by international award-winning musicians there are different programmes for each performance.

10.00 ‘The Scaredy-Cat Prince’ at the Scottish Story Telling Centre off the Royal Mile tells the tale of Rapunzel’s would be rescuer who’s afraid of heights.

12.10 ‘Cathedral Lunchtime Concerts’ at St. Giles’ Cathedral and St Mary’s Cathedral are free events featuring top musicians and a chance to explore the city’s stunning cathedrals – and escape the madding crowd.

12.45 ‘The Ukulele Project’ at Underbelly on the Cowgate are four ukulele players who promise to deliver everything from “Elvis to Elgar, ‘Greensleeves’ to Gaga”.

12.55 ‘Mervyn Stutter’s Pick of the Fringe’ at The Pleasance Courtyard shows live extracts from eight of the best shows at the festival from the comedy, theatre, music and dance programmes. Now in its 18th year the show is hugely popular, clearly Mr Stutter is doing something right.

13.00 ‘Belt Up’s Odyssey’ at Chambers Street is Homer’s Odyssey told through the eyes of a homeward bound traveller. The play is one of seven being performed by the highly acclaimed Belt Up Theatre Company based in York, England.

14.50 ‘Potted Panto’ at the Pleasance Courtyard crams seven classic fairy stories into 70 minutes. From the creators of the hugely popular ‘Potted Potter’ and ‘Potted Pirates’ the show includes tales from Aladdin to Cinderella.

15.00 ‘Alba Flamenca,’ Scotland’s only flamenco dance specialists and venue, perform highly acclaimed flamenco dance. Glowing reviews are aplenty, claiming “impeccable musicianship and dancing” and “a rich musical display” or just simply “astounding.”

16.30 ‘I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change’ at Chambers Street is a collection of 18 sketches exploring the “quirkier side of relationships, from the cradle to the grave, from dating at funerals to marriage guidance from a mass murderer!”

17.00 ‘Hamlet! The Musical’ at The Pleasance Courtyard features a cast of six and a live orchestra who expertly turn Shakespeare’s classic tragedy into a brilliantly timed and observed comedy.

17.15 ‘Five Guys Named Moe’ at Udderbelly’s Pasture is literally a party onstage. Following the enduring success in London’s West End and Broadway the production features the show’s creator Clarke Peters.

18.30 ‘Hardeep Singh Kholi – Chat Masala’ at the Gilded Balloon Teviot is “an irresistible blend of chat show and curry!” In this unique show the enigmatic Glaswegian comedian and writer presents an evening of chat with top festival performer guests and ending with a curry cooked up on stage. The food should be good too as Singh Kholi was a runner up on ‘Celebrity Masterchef’.

18.50 ‘Vladimir McTavish in Whisky: An Idiot’s Guide’ at The Stand Comedy Club is a comical and sobering look at the Scotland’s favourite tipple and the role it plays in the country’s identity. ‘The Scotsman’ described the show as simply “painfully funny.”

20.30 The City of the Dead Tour from St Giles’ Cathedral on the Royal Mile takes brave souls on a storytelling walk to the locked graveyard haunt of one of the most documented supernatural cases – The Mackenzie Poltergeist. Dare you?

21.05 ‘The Rat Pack – Live’ at Chambers Street is a stylish tribute to the original Rat Pack; Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jnr featuring a live big band. The show promises “all the patter and razzamatazz of the Rat Pack’s infamous stage show.”

21.20 ‘Circus Burlesque – Lola LaBelle’s House of Burlesque’ at the Assembly on George Street present an adult only show of quality, slick art house burlesque. Featuring Ringmistress Tempest Rose and the Wam Bam Belles.

22.00 ‘Footstomping @ Whiski is a free show that features top Scottish musicians and Scottish bands bringing the best of Scottish and Irish traditional music at Whiski Bar on the Royal Mile.

00.00 ‘Best of The Fest’ at the Assembly on George Street is, as the name would suggest, a fast paced revue of some of the best comedy acts performing at the festival. Expect a show of bite size comedy gold.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe runs from 6th-30th August 2010