The Edinburgh Festival
One main argument which people offer for going to the Festival is that you get to watch the most famed stand-ups, and get to watch the up and coming acts in comedy while they're still relatively unknown. My own experience differs. The most famous stand ups' gigs inevitably end up being sold out in advance of the stage where you've actually heard they're happening, and as a result you are less able to see them doing their act compared to any other time of the year.
And the point that you'll have the opportunity to witness the up and coming acts being discovered: to be fair, I suppose it's possible, but you are more likely to watch someone who gives you fifteen mins of quite entertaining jokes, and 40 mins of rubbish. None the less, they had a terrific review since the reviewer just had long enough to stay for the first ten minutes.
What are the explanations that people offer to back up their argument that the perfect opportunity to experience standup in Scotland's capital is in the Fringe? 1 argument is the number of shows that are on. Instead of the normal few stand-up gigs, there are loads during the Festival. However my point is that abundance does not necessarily mean great material. In my time I have gone to loads of stand up comedy events at the Festival, and a large proportion of them were dire.
I've left a lot of shows after sitting for nearly 30 mins without even getting the urge to smile, far less giggle. Simply because a stand-up show is part of the Fringe does not necessarily mean it's going to be funny. I attend many comedy performances throughout the year, and from my standpoint there are way fewer truly dreadful gigs on outside of the Festival.
Most folk are of the opinion the best time to go and see stand up comedy in Edinburgh is during the Fringe every August. I am in the minority that disagree with this statement. Experience the Festival whenever you've got the opportunity, but see beyond it as well.
Often the warm-up performers somewhere else would be better.
Sometimes you can grab cheap comedy tickets during the Festival because there are many 2-for-1 offers on.
All that genuinely means is that if you use a 2-for-1 promotion, it costs you the same amount to attend a performance as it would ordinarily, because in the Fringe all the entry fees double. I will go for stand up night at my neighborhood stand-up place any day.