Latest news with #LovetheFringe
Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Heading to the Fringe? Here's how to snag a bargain
Most shows will have previews on Jul 30-31, during which the teams iron out any technical wrinkles and charge less for tickets. If you hang around outside venues you might land a two-for-one bargain at the last minute. Nearly all shows offer two-for-one on Aug 4-5. Don't despair if a show you're interested in is sold out: additional dates are often added to satisfy demand. Tickets can be bought online via or direct from venues. You can buy full-price tickets direct from venues — but your best bet is a one-stop shop for event information and ticket bookings at eight core venues (Assembly, C ARTS, Gilded Balloon, Just the Tonic, Pleasance, Summerhall Arts, Underbelly and Zoo). Book at and you'll save money, too: booking fees are capped at £5, versus the £7.50 you'll pay elsewhere. Better still, booking through means you'll be directly supporting the festival, with 50 per cent of your booking fee going direct to venues. Planning to see more than one show at the Fringe? Check out Love The Fringe ( a tiered membership scheme that lets you double the value of the amount you spend on tickets at the eight venues under the umbrella. Members get access to limited free tickets, bar discounts, VIP rewards and early-bird advantages. There are five levels of membership, the cheapest of which (Iron: £20) gets you free tickets worth about £45, further ticket offers and a review digest to help you plan what might be worth seeing. Benefits of higher, more expensive membership levels include higher numbers of free tickets and hospitality discounts. Don't despair if a show you're interested in is sold out: additional dates are often added to satisfy demand. Love the Fringe is a tiered membership scheme that lets you double the value of the amount you spend on tickets. Members get access to limited free tickets, rewards and early-bird advantages. There are five levels of membership, the cheapest of which (Iron: £20) comes with three free tickets worth about £45, further ticket offers and a review digest to help you plan what might be worth seeing. Benefits of higher, more expensive membership levels include higher numbers of free tickets and hospitality discounts. Profits from the scheme are shared equally between the participating shows and venues. Love the Fringe was created by a collaboration between Assembly, C Venues, Gilded Balloon, Just the Tonic, Pleasance, Summerhall, Underbelly and Zoo, and other venues are expected to join. For all show details, offers and bookings go to and
Scotsman
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Edinburgh Festival Fringe in danger of becoming 'one monologue festival' due to soaring costs
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The head of a major Edinburgh Festival Fringe venue has warned the event is in danger of becoming a 'one monologue festival' due to the soaring costs of performing in the Scottish capital. Speaking on Thursday at the launch of Love the Fringe, a cross-venue membership scheme created to attract financial support to the festival, Pleasance director Anthony Alderson insisted 'we need to re-examine the [Fringe] model" as artists scale back shows due to affordability. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He warned it had "never been more expensive to bring a show to the Fringe" and said producers were bringing smaller casts, cutting the length of runs and had "less technical ambition" because of the rising costs of accommodation in the city. Mr Alderson, who revealed he had got his first job at the Fringe when he was 15 - having lied about his age - warned 'people are swapping production values for somewhere to sleep'. 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. Anthony Alderson warned performing at the Fringe is becoming too expensive, | EdFest '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.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Mr Alderson added: 'This isn't just entertainment. It's cultural identity. And yes - it's getting harder to sustain. Pleasance director Anthony Alderson | Contributed 'Culture is our soft power. If we want to push back against populism and division, the arts are one of our best hopes. 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. Big stadium concerts at Murrayfield might be exciting — but they miss the point.' Mr Alderson called on local businesses to support the Fringe. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Anthony Alderson is director of the Pleasance. | EdFest He said: 'That's why we launched Love the Fringe - because this work matters. And it needs to be supported - properly. Funded, respected. But by whom? 'We're calling on local businesses - you benefit from the Fringe, you have a stake in its future. 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.' Mr Alderson also called for more state financial support, particularly from Arts Council England. The Fringe Society earlier this year was given multi-year funding from Scottish Government-funded arts body Creative Scotland. He said: 'International support is flowing in. Countries around the world recognise the global value of this festival. But one country is noticeably absent: England. Where is Arts Council England in all of this? Why is the nation that benefits most from this platform not stepping up to help sustain it?' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Love the Fringe, launched last year, was created to boost visibility for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, champion artists and offer a win-win model for both audiences and performers.
