From the Royal Mile to Holyrood, Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a sprawling celebration of the arts for those of all ages. If you haven't been to the annual month-long event before, I strongly urge you to investigate it. While the Fringe can be an expensive endeavour, there are corners that can be cut and transport that can be booked well in advance.
In my opinion, this is a spectacular string to add to any teacher's bow. The insight into relevant up-and-coming theatre that this experience can give is unparalleled, providing you with an insight into how our ever-changing cohorts of students may wish to approach devising pieces. If you manage to take a small group of students up with you, all the better! We can learn as much from our student's interpretations of shows as they can from ours.
This year's slogan for the week was ‘unleash your fringe’, which I thought brilliantly summed up the event's ethos of letting loose and absorbing as many acts as possible. Here's my advice for unleashing your Fringe.
1. Book tickets early
I am speaking from experience when I say that things sell out – and fast! I would recommend booking one or two shows a day, if not more, before you take your first steps at the festival. This ensures you can get the best deals possible, with various discounts and bundles available for groups. My first port of call for cheap tickets is the Half Price Hut, which opens on the first Wednesday of the festival. Advance tickets will probably be shows from headline acts, as those are more widely reported on before you arrive.
I would recommend grabbing tickets across a number of venues such as one of the Pleasance Domes, one of the Underbelly stages, one at Traverse theatre and one of The Space's venues. That way, you ensure a variety of different audience sizes and stage formats to analyse and take home. Then, once you arrive in the city, you can afford to be more spontaneous and see some under-the-radar productions, which can often be just as good – and better – as the front runners.
2. Make a note of the things you see
This was a mistake I made when I went with a school group in 2016 – I arrived home and by the next morning I couldn't name a single show I had seen! I recommend writing down the names of any production or act you see on a notes page on your phone, alongside a ‘one-sentence review’ and a star rating. This is a really quick trick that can help you remember small elements of a production that you can unpack and analyse with your students when you return to the classroom.
3. Download the app
On a practical note, the EdFringe App is free to download and contains listings for every show at the Fringe. You can use search filters including time, date and genre to find shows based on your needs. There are also features such as a map of the city with venues dotted across it, ‘nearby now’, which shows you upcoming productions near your current locations, and ‘shake to search’, which picks out a random show for you to see.
4. Be prepared for all weather conditions
Bring shorts, durable walking boots, woolly jumpers and a raincoat. This tip is quick, but not one that should be under estimated! Scottish weather is very unpredictable.
5. Schedule time to wander around the city
Grab a map and take a walk around town. It is easy to get swept up in rushing from stage to stage, but taking a moment to breathe in the Scottish air is important. Speaking to one student on the Royal Mile this year, it became apparent that the street events can be a highlight for many who visit Edinburgh this time of year. ‘I have never seen such a big crowd for street performers,’ they commented. ‘It has definitely made me think about incorporating circus stunts and clowning into our next Sixth Form devised piece.’
Top tip: Take care of yourself and your students
My biggest tip of all is to make sure you take breaks and pace yourself. Only schedule a reasonable number of shows for you to see a day – my recommendation is three or four – and stick to it. It can be a truly exhausting trip if you are not careful, so make sure you stop to digest what you have seen before attempting to hike up Arthur's Seat! Prioritise your mental and physical wellbeing, and the sanity of your students, by not overcommitting and scheduling in regular breaks for food, water and bathroom trips.
The Edinburgh Festival is a magical month, and I really hope you get the opportunity to experience it. If you do get a chance, we want to hear from you! Drama & Theatre magazine would love to publish opinion pieces from teachers on the ground – you can write in to us at drama.theatre@markallengroup.com.