Edinburgh's one-person show warning over Fringe costs crisis

The Herald Scotland

2 days ago

Mr Alderson warned that Edinburgh was in danger of being left with a festival of "monologues" without a rethink over support from the event from the city council and local businesses.
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He suggested that performers were 'swapping production values for somewhere to sleep' when it came to deciding what to prioritise their Fringe spending on.
Mr Alderson also warned that there were declining opportunities - on and off stage - for emerging talent to break through at the festival, which will mark its 80th anniversary in 2027.
This year's Fringe line-up is on the track to be the third biggest in the history of the Fringe, which dates back to 1947, in terms of the number of shows in the line-up.
That has gone up from 3317 to 3352 since last year, while are three more venues in the 2025 line-up than in 2024.
However the overall number of performances has dropped from 51,446 to 49,521 in the space of 12 months and is down more than 10,000 on the biggest Fringe to date, in 2019, the year before the pandemic shut down the festival.
Mr Alderson, who was speaking as the biggest Fringe venues launched their annual joint marketing campaign, said it was 'miraculous' that the festival was able to go ahead every year.
He said this was down to artists taking the 'brave' decision to 'risk their time, their money and their heart' to put their work in front of audiences.
He suggested it was wrong to measure the success of the Fringe by the size of its programme, adding: 'What's happening behind the scenes tells a different story.'
He said: 'It has never been more expensive to bring work to the Fringe. Costs have soared -accommodation, travel, marketing, everything. And something has to give. We have to re-examine the model.
"We're seeing more shows, but shorter runs. Smaller casts. Less technical ambition. People are swapping production values for somewhere to sleep.
"We're losing job opportunities for emerging talent, both on and off stage. If we're not careful, we'll become a one-person monologue festival. That's not good for artists. That's not good for audiences. And it's not good for this city.
"And yet - despite it all - artists still come. This year, we'll see work from across the globe. Work that moves us, that surprises us, that makes us laugh, cry, fall in love. That pushes boundaries, challenges assumptions, and reflects who we are and who we want to be.
'This isn't just entertainment. It's cultural identity. And it's getting harder to sustain.
'Not because we lack talent or vision. But because of cost. The cost of being here, of producing work, of reaching audiences. It's becoming unsustainable.
'We may be a small country, but we have enormous potential. Culture is our soft power. If we want to push back against populism and division, the arts are one of our best hopes.
'This festival dares. It provokes. It heals. It makes us see each other more clearly. This isn't something we add on to life—this is life. It's the fabric of a healthy society. Lose that and we lose something essential.'
Mr Alderson suggested the city council was making it harder and more expensive to put on the Fringe and called for local businesses in Edinburgh to show more support for the festival.
He added: "The city's hotels, bars, taxis, and restaurants flourish every August. So let's not take this for granted. Let's invest in the artists who make it all possible. The success of the Fringe is the success of Edinburgh.
"The venues, the Fringe Society, the city council, Edinburgh University - we need to work together. Artists need clarity, simplicity, and support. Not bureaucracy and barriers."