Don’t forget about theatre if you visit the Fringe

This week’s column over on the Caledonian Mercury looks at the issue of audiences at The Fringe, and why there is such a difference between huge numbers for “Off the Telly” comedians and the much lower numbers for Theatre.

It just upsets me when relatively few people coming to Edinburgh explore shows on offer that aren’t mainstream stand-up comics. No matter what label is given to a Fringe show, to me they all do the same thing. They tell a story.

What is a stand-up if nothing more than a someone doing a one hour monologue. Yes, there are audience interactions (sometimes) and certain things that stand-ups can do that others can’t, but there are theatre rules of thumb that I’m sure some of the comics would love to employ. If you’re up to the Fringe and only taking in comedy and “people off the telly” then you are missing out.

Forget about the image of needing to understand technique and study theatre, it’s there to enjoy as much as The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre (Gilded Balloon).

Read on at the Caledonian Mercury.