How do you deal with nerves or bad reviews? What if you don\u2019t sell any tickets? For debutants, the list of potential worries is huge. So we paired a few up with veterans to talk past mistakes, coping strategies \u2013 and the odd celebrity encounter<\/p>\n
Binge on the fringe: the must-see shows at Edinburgh 2026<\/p>\n
Explore the rest of our coverage of the Edinburgh festival 2026<\/p>\n
Everyone has to start somewhere \u2013 even at the Edinburgh festival fringe. But what made Smack the Pony actor Fiona Allen take up standup in her 50s? Why is veteran TV entertainer Joe Pasquale making his fringe debut in his 60s in an ensemble comic play? How many taboos will newcomer Sepideh Kaav, a Berlin-based Iranian comic in her early 30s, break by talking about sex? And what will the 78-year-old, seven-time Edinburgh veteran Gyles Brandreth make of debutant Brandy Bex, a 50-year-old NHS nurse performing in drag? We paired six fringe stalwarts with relative newcomers to compare their hopes, fears and survival tactics for this year.<\/p>\n
The veteran Black Country comic, back with a new work-in-progress show, chats with the newcomer, whose 2000s-themed show is set to be silly for silly\u2019s sake<\/p>\n
Frank Skinner My worry is that my first Edinburgh was so long ago \u2013 1987 \u2013 that any advice I give will be archaic. I did it completely the wrong way. I went up with a play, was blown away by alternative comedy, then booked a venue for the following festival having never done standup. I wasn\u2019t even planning to practise until someone pointed out that I probably should.Cecily Hitchcock Did it work?FS My biggest audience was nine people. One day, nobody came at all. That\u2019s how people get their hearts broken at Edinburgh.CH I wouldn\u2019t mind a couple of people, as long as they liked me. Is there anything I should avoid?FS I\u2019d say: \u201cDon\u2019t read your reviews,\u201d but everyone likes talking about the bad ones. I got two reviews that year. They both essentially said: \u201cThis guy clearly doesn\u2019t know what he\u2019s doing,\u201d but insinuated: \u201cHe\u2019s got something.\u201d That was just enough crumbs to keep me going. Apparently, younger comedians are now obliged to have a theme or theatrical element. Someone like me, who just does jokes, is old-fashioned.CH Since Fleabag everybody feels they need some tragedy. But it\u2019s not frowned upon to be silly. My show is silly for silliness\u2019s sake, although it does have a theme of nostalgia and childhood innocence.FS Edinburgh used to feel like a folk festival. Anyone could turn up and do weird stuff. It\u2019s much more professional now. The first time a comedian handed me a business card, I thought: \u201cIf you\u2019d done that in the 90s, you\u2019d have been torn to pieces.\u201d The one word you couldn\u2019t use on the circuit in those days was \u201cambition\u201d. Now, people are very upfront about what can be gained from Edinburgh. I mean, this year, I\u2019m doing work-in-progress, using Edinburgh in a way that it\u2019s previously used me. I\u2019d be happy just doing work-in-progress for the rest of my life \u2013 80 people in a room, just tinkering, trying new stuff. Even one line working is like receiving nectar from the gods.CH How do you avoid going mad, surrounded by other comics for a month?FS I used to have lots of \u201cdressing-room friends\u201d, and stay out until 4am, even if I was drinking Vimto. But years of solo shows turn you into a lonelier, more desolate outsider. Having friends on the circuit helps. Thinking \u201cWe\u2019re all in this together\u201d is a good stabiliser.CH The last time I went, everyone wanted to see the man who eats a kilogram of cheese. Do you still feel you\u2019re getting better?FS I think I\u2019m funnier than I\u2019ve ever been. But I\u2019m biased. Obviously.<\/p>\n
Cecily Hitchcock: Family Recipe is at Pleasance Courtyard, to 30 August. Frank Skinner: Work in Progress runs to 16 August; Crowd Work With Frank Skinner, 17 to 26 August; both at Assembly George Square Studios.<\/p>\n
The Edinburgh stalwart and the television, panto and variety veteran are appearing together in 11\u00bd Angry Men, an ensemble spoof of the courtroom drama 12 Angry Men<\/p>\n
Stephen K Amos Has Edinburgh never been on your radar before?Joe Pasquale It\u2019s always been on my radar. I\u2019ve just never been asked. There\u2019s always been this barrier between middle-of-the-road and alternative comedy. SKA My first Edinburgh was in a package lineup in 1997. Back then, it was all about being discovered. Now the joy is the creativity: you\u2019re surrounded by comedians of all ages.JP Before Covid, I\u2019d almost had enough of being on the road, stuck in traffic, eating crap. When the world disappeared for two years, I was just a bloke in his pants with nothing to do. Now I love younger comics\u2019 energy and ambition. How do youngsters cope nowadays? How can they afford it?SKA They can\u2019t. Everything\u2019s gone through the roof. Edinburgh felt corporate-y even when I started. It feels even more corporate-y now.JP I\u2019m worried that I\u2019m supposed to tap-dance. I phoned the director and said: \u201cYou do know I can\u2019t tap-dance?\u201d He said: \u201cWhat do you mean you can\u2019t tap-dance? You\u2019ve been doing variety for 40 years!\u201d I said: \u201cI\u2019ve never tap-danced in my life.\u201d He said: \u201cWell, you\u2019ve got four months to learn.\u201d SKA Don\u2019t read reviews. If you believe the good ones, you\u2019ve got to believe the bad ones. Did I have a good time? Did the audience? That\u2019s enough for me.JP None of us are trying to get rediscovered, not at our age. I\u2019m there for the experience of being on stage with you and the lads.<\/p>\n
11\u00bd Angry Men is at Pleasance EICC Pentland theatre to 22 August.<\/p>\n
The Edinburgh comedy award nominee and SNL UK host discusses pre-gig routines with the actor-comedian presenting her debut standup hour<\/p>\n
Ele McKenzie My primary concern is that I won\u2019t sell any tickets, and no one will come. The idea of being reviewed terrifies me.Ania Magliano You\u2019ve got to have someone to throw under the bus as a scapegoat. That\u2019s what directors and producers are for. Being misunderstood by the public shivers my timbers. Having said that, I still have a Google Alert set for my own name, which completely goes against my Zen Buddhist state.EM It must be incredibly reassuring knowing your dates are sold out.AM Ticket sales are a useful anchor. The fringe is so abstract, scary and unknown. Deep down, we\u2019re all terrified of being exposed through our art. And it is art. It\u2019s tough on your body because you burn through so much energy, but you\u2019re fuelled by adrenaline.EM What do you eat?AM Last year, I stayed in a flat with an air fryer. I got into having a nice big egg frittata every morning and a banana before going on stage. The fringe is like managing depression: you need to remember basic self-care. A long shower can buy you an extra week of energy if you time it right.EM What time are you on?AM 1.25pm.EM I\u2019m envious that you can get up and get on with it. I\u2019m on at 8.10pm, thinking: \u201cHow will I spend my days?\u201d I usually have a pint or two before a gig, as an unhealthy pre-show ritual.AM I used to be precious about my pre-show routine because I wanted control. I\u2019d meditate for five minutes in the toilet, to get in the zone. The bottom line is trusting yourself to do a good show, whatever gets thrown at you.EM I\u2019m fully expecting to make plans \u2013 \u201cI\u2019m going to do this, I\u2019m going to do that.\u201d Then it\u2019ll go to shit almost immediately.AM It\u2019s surreal performing comedy 28 days in a row. Whatever you need to do to get through it is fine, even if that means having a chocolate brownie before every show. Hashtag: be kind to yourself.<\/p>\n
Ele McKenzie: Bringing It All Back Home is at Pleasance Courtyard, to 30 August; Ania Magliano: Peach Fuzz is at Monkey Barrel, to 22 August.<\/p>\n
The Smack the Pony actor, who began standup in her 50s, talks about late starts and homesickness with the Berlin-based Iranian comic<\/p>\n
Fiona Allen I\u2019ve only done one solo show \u2013 three years ago. I was acting, having babies, but hadn\u2019t done standup. It was very much \u201cmum on the run\u201d. This time, it has more of a theme, set over a single day, where I wake up dreading having to go to a party that evening.Sepideh Kaav: That\u2019s my struggle \u2013 do I need a theme? I already have one, as an Iranian woman in her early 30s. But there will be expectations.FA People\u2019s expectations can be whatever they like. There are thousands of shows at Edinburgh. It sounds trite, but you should just do you.SK I am so scared of living away from home for a month. Do you get homesick?FA I\u2019m a total homebird. I miss my dog. Bring your home comforts, your favourite PJs. A month sounds like for ever, but you\u2019ll suddenly be halfway through.SK I mostly gig in Berlin, where I live. English is my second language, and words carry less emotional weight when they aren\u2019t in your mother tongue. We don\u2019t have a comfortable, everyday way of talking about sex, so discussing it in Farsi is very difficult. Speaking English makes everything easier. Few Iranian women do standup, and my comedy is quite dark. Even if I go to Edinburgh and fail, it might inspire somebody to think: \u201cI can do better.\u201dFA I was 54 and thought: \u201cI hope somebody else is sitting there at my age, going: \u2018Well, she\u2019s done it. Now I\u2019m going to do it.\u2019\u201d Edinburgh is like a club full of open-armed, like-minded people, so you\u2019re going to have a lovely time.<\/p>\n