China Plate’s EdVH Edinburgh Festival Top Tips 2016:
General
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world and takes place every August for three weeks in Scotland’s capital city. If you’ve not been before there is a wealth of information – including an introductory video – on their website at
The edfringe website has good search engine and booking system for shows and is optimised pretty well for your smartphone:
But get hold of a copy of the brochure too (they are everywhere) as it can sometimes be quicker and easier to flick through this and it has a useful map of the city showing the location of all venues. If you want to order one to read on the train up you can do that here:
Most things that are on in Edinburgh are in the edfringe brochure, but not all. Some shows that take place on the free fringe won’t be in there and nor will anything happening at Forest Fringe – details below for both of these.
There is also an interactive venue map on the edfringe website, which will immediately give you a sense of the scale of the festival:
Fringe Central has pretty reliable free wifi - and you won't feel obliged to buy loads of coffees that you don't really want. It’s also home to a bunch of interesting talks, seminars and events so check out the programme:
Take a brolly/mac, the weather in Edinburgh is notoriously changeable.
Walking between venues/shows can be tight - cabs are plentiful and inexpensive.
It’s ok to leave shows if you are running late because they have overrun.
Planning ahead can save you money with tickets, accommodation, travel etc. The early bird saves money.
Check out the half-price hut for daily deals on shows:
There are also plenty of free shows on offer during the festival – of varying quality like everything else – and you can search for free and discounted tickets by ticking under ‘special pricing’ on the left hand side of the search engine on the edfringe website.
If you haven’t sorted your accommodation yet, Edlets are now official partners of the fringe and it might be worth checking out what’s on offer there:
Walk down the Royal Milefor the experience - probably only do this once.
Finally, try and avoid travelling back on the last bank holiday Monday – it’s awful.
What to see
In addition to the China Plate list of recommendations…
Read reviews daily - but don’t believe all the hype.
Don’t be charmed by a flierer on the Royal Mile into seeing rubbish work – but do take a punt on something that seems genuinely interesting that no one else has heard of.
There will be a bunch of useful blogs focussed on The Fringe, which are good things to follow both in the run up to your visit and whilst you are there. Here’s a couple to get you going:
Look out for which shows win Herald Angel (Glasgow Herald) and Fringe First (The Scotsman) Awards – good indication of quality.
Forest Fringebegan in 2007 as a totally independent, not-for-profit space in the midst of the Edinburgh Festival – making 2016 their 10 year anniversary programme! From the outset they sought to build a community around The Forest Café, a space in which experimentation and adventure were cherished and supported.Forest has since moved to the Out Of The Blue Drill Hall down on Leith Walk, but remains like nothing else in Edinburgh. Programming is towards the live art end of the theatre spectrum but if you are in Edinburgh long enough it’s well worth spending a day there and seeing as much work as you can. You will need to reserve tickets for most of the shows at Forest, but you pay for the shows via a bucket that is handed round at the end of every show – so make sure you have cash with you. They usually tell you what a suggested donation is –around the £10-15 mark.They are open from the 11th to the 20th:
You’ve got a good chance of catching good quality theatre work if you head to the Traverse Theatre. They have a revolving programme so have quality theatre every day at 10am when there's not much else on. The Traverse Bar is also a nice place to get away from rain and phone signals (it’s underground) and if you are catching an early show there you can grab a coffee and bacon roll on your way in.
The Free Fringe sprang up as a kind of protest/alternative to the commercial nature of the Big Four and has grownup in recent years as a kind of fringe of the fringe. It takes place, mostly in pubs and bars, in a widerange of very low-fi venues across the city.It used to be a bit off radar (certainly for industry and critics) butthat is changing – the Fosters Comedy Award was won by a show on the Free Fringe in 2013.
(laughing horse free pick of the fringe)
Use the #EdVH hashtag to update our list and to tell colleagues what to miss AND what not to miss. Remember that social media is public and try to be sensitive to companies’ feelings when discussing their work - they might be having a tough Edinburgh.
Where to hang out
For many years hanging out at the Pleasance Courtyard – mostly comedy in the evening these days - felt like being at the heart of the Fringe and to a degree it still is. It’s also a good place to bump into people.
However, increasingly Summerhall’s Courtyard is where it’s at. Great programme of work, excellent artisanal snacks and in recent years a whole bar devoted to gin! It’s also where China Plate will be based for 2016 so do come and say hello.
If you fancy a hipster cocktail, head to Dragonfly in the Grassmarket. Great cocktails and great atmosphere
If you want a more trad cocktail experience then the bar in the old Scotsman building is very nice too.
Oh and don’t forget that you can’t buy booze from a supermarket or off-license In Edinburgh after 10pm but you can find a pub open in Edinburgh 24 hours a day – so don’t despair!
Need a break from fringe theatre…
Visit the Edinburgh’s Botanic Gardens if you fancy an oasis of calm:
For an alternative to the fringe, The Edinburgh International Festival the Edinburgh International Book Festival the Edinburgh Art Festival run at the same time.
If you fancy seeing some stand up comedy, check out The Stand programme. The Stand is one of the only Fringe venues (along with The Traverse and Summerhall) that is open all year round, attracting the best stand-ups at the festival:
If you fancy giving something a little different a whirl then check Brian Logan’s comedy picks in the Guardian:
The Famous Spiegeltent, an absolutely stunning antique cabaret tent, is setting up shop in St. Andrew’s Square,and is a good place to hang out in late night (if you can get in - always worth a try).
Where to eat
Unsurprisingly given that Edinburgh is Scotland’s capital there is a huge range of food available – some of our regular haunts are:
Valvona and Crolla – excellent deli/café and one of the best places for brunch in town
the dogs - a good restaurant in the New Town
On the hoof between shows, Pleasance Dome is near loads of good cheap places to eat around the University
Red Box – West Nicolson Street opposite Pear Tree Pub - does really good cheap noodles with fresh veg -
Black Medicine coffee shop does good coffee and is on Nicolson Street on your way to The Pleasance Courtyard -
Mum’s opposite The Drill Hall is good for comforting school dinners:
Muscles and Steak is a great restaurant on the Royal Mile if you fancy muscles... or steak
The Mosque Kitchen does excellent and inexpensive Indian food.
Assembly George Sq has become something of a Street Food hub – frequently a good place to get your fix of Aperol Spritz!
If you are going down to Forest Fringe there is a very decent pizza place round the corner on Leith Walk called Origano Café and Pizzeria. There is also a mysterious pie shop that only appears late at night which sells great freshly baked pies… its somewhere on Leith Walk on the way back from Forest Fringe on the left hand side. It’s impossible to find during the day…
Also worth joining and visitingmoneysavingexpert.comfor offers on Edinburgh's many chain restaurants.