We’re in the last week of the Fringe.
That means so many things. For the performers and comedians who have been doing one, two, or even more shows every single day, it’s a feeling of relief that they can maybe have a few days off before the next thing.
For the punters, it’s a sudden rush of desperation to fit everything in that they thought they had so much time to see.
For the Street Teams and bar staff, it’s a strange mix of the light at the end of the tunnel and a return to the relative quiet of sedate Edinburgh in early September.
People have come and gone, some for a week, some simply for one day.
Over the past month I’ve spoken to people who make a yearly trek to the Fringe-filled city, and others who don’t know Edinburgh from Kathmandu. Next year, I think I’m making a t-shirt answering the many questions I frequently get asked.
‘No, this is St Andrew Square. George Square is over the other side.’
‘Ok so get to North Bridge and the Mile is just beyond.’
‘Well, there’s a nice fish and chip shop just one street over’ and more.
I’ve started using the tram lines as pointers, because people just don’t get street names – I hardly know myself. So instead of saying ‘head to York Place’ it becomes ‘out those gates and follow the tram lines, you can’t miss it.’
At least, the trams are useful for something finally…
I’ll be finishing my flyering work at the end of this week. What comes next for me I’ve yet to work out – maybe travelling to another country and trying to fill my head with stories of that place; maybe staying put in Edinburgh and working while the stories come to me.
Whatever happens, as the end of the Fringe 2016 approaches, the last burst of energy is expended. A frenzy of promotions descends on the shows, comedians fine-tune the last touches of their routines ready for their tours, we flyerers work nineteen-to-the-dozen in order to fill all the seats. A sold-out show becomes a personal victory for us, and attendance is used as feedback for how well we did. But whether the show is sold out, or the comedian makes the 4 people in the seats laugh, it’s still widely accepted to have been a good Fringe.
Soon everyone will leave, a hush will descend on Edinburgh, the locals will poke their heads out thinking the worst is over, and across the city people will dust themselves off and prepare to resume normality.
Then the students will arrive.