The Price of Laughter
Sometimes you are able to get cheap comedy tickets in the Edinburgh Festival due to the fact that there are lots of 2-for-1 promotions happening. All that genuinely means is that when you get a buy-one-get-one-free deal, it means you pay the identical amount to see a show as it does normally, because throughout the Festival all the ticket prices multiply by two.
I'll take open mic evening at my neighbourhood standup club any day.
A principal reason which people offer for going to the Festival is that you are able to see the most famous comedians, plus get to see the next big things in comedy while they're still relatively unknown.
My personal experience is somewhat different. The most famous stand ups' shows frequently sell out in advance of the stage where you've actually been informed they're performing, and consequently you're no more likely to watch them doing their act in relation to any other time of the year. And the argument that you can get to see the rising stars as they're discovered: in truth, I guess it's feasible, but you're probably going to watch somebody that has fifteen mins of averagely funny material, and forty mins of rubbish. Nevertheless, they got a great write-up since the reviewer only had time to see the beginning of the performance.
What might be the explanations which people offer to back up their belief that the ideal opportunity to witness standup in Edinburgh is during the Festival? 1 argument is the number of shows which are on.
Instead of the standard handful of comedy gigs, there are loads throughout the Fringe. However my argument is that quantity doesn't necessarily mean great material. Over the years I have attended scores of stand up comedy events in the Festival, and most of these were rank. I've left several gigs after sitting for approximately 25 minutes without ever feeling the temptation to crack a smile, never mind giggle. Just because a stand-up show is part of the Fringe doesn't mean it is likely to be funny. I attend tons of stand-up performances throughout the year, and in my opinion there are far less really awful shows being staged the rest of the year.
A lot of folk think that the perfect time to go and see stand up comedy in Scotland's capital is in the Festival every year.
I am one of those who disagree with that logic.
Make the most of the fringe if you get the chance, but see beyond it as well. Sometimes the warm up comedians elsewhere will be better.