Written by Cameron Pegg

Imagine if Brisbane Festival, Anywhere Festival, Wynnum Fringe and the Brisbane Comedy Festival converged on the city at the same time.

Now multiply that many times over and you have a sense of the staggering scale of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which has just wrapped after overtaking Scotland’s compact, picturesque capital.

Established in 1947, the Fringe has become the largest arts event in the world and is a vital incubator and showcase for theatre productions from every corner of the globe. Because anyone can apply to stage a show at the Fringe at their expense, the program is incredibly eclectic and exceedingly large. There were more than 4000 productions listed on the Fringe website this year.

Fringe acts are free from the constraints of typical theatre festivals and mainstage programming – shows usually run about 60 minutes, are affordable and can be staged anywhere in the city throughout the day and late into the evening.

Some productions play for a few days only, while others span the entire three weeks of the festival. The magic of attending the Fringe is that you never really know what you’re going to get, and every year there are breakout hits that morph into future productions and tours. The acclaimed Fleabag TV series, the stage musical SIX and the Netflix smash-hit Baby Reindeer all began life at the Fringe.

I’m just back from Edinburgh and this year I squeezed in five shows over two days and experienced the theatrical equivalent of a mixed bag – some productions ready to impress; others still finding their shape and voice.

Happily, Swamplesque sits in the first category. Conceived by drag and burlesque artists from Brisbane, this adults-only take on Shrek is utterly bonkers and perfectly pitched for the Edinburgh audience. Lip sync, striptease and live vocals collide in an hour of confected chaos that is magnified by the genteel amphitheatre in which it takes place – the Assembly Hall of New College at the University of Edinburgh.

Having previously played the festival circuit in Australia, Swamplesque succeeds because it knows exactly what kind of show it is, lands its gags and engages its young, rowdy crowd to spread positive word-of-mouth via social media. After the show, the artists were swamped for selfies at the bar. Given we emerged from the show at 11.30pm, it felt entirely appropriate.

At the other end of the spectrum is Non-Player Character, an admirable but overly ambitious experiment fusing virtual reality with musical theatre. Wearing a VR headset, Brendan Bradley presents a short song cycle about the hero’s journey in the world of video games. Staged in the conference room of an Edinburgh hotel, the live visuals frame the top of the stage and the ceiling and splash onto the walls.

Crucially, the show requires four “players” from the audience to join the hero’s quest, and their interactions (complete with VR headsets of their own) trigger the songs. Experiencing multiple wifi drop-outs on the evening I attended, the show was brought to a standstill and the performers were left vulnerable. Nevertheless, Bradley carried on like a trooper and the composer and multi-instrumentalist Maurice Soque Jr showcased his talents throughout.

I Wish You Well – The Gwyneth Paltrow Ski-Trial Musical is the kind of parody that is perfectly engineered for Fringe audiences. The small, hardworking cast devour their roles (and accents) to reimagine the Utah courtroom where in 2023 Paltrow faced allegations of reckless skiing causing injury. Diana Vickers has Paltrow’s glib demeanour down pat, and Tori Allen-Martin is a gas as the lawyer who is less interested in prosecuting the A-list celebrity than becoming her friend. Idriss Kargbo shimmies, splits and dips as the presiding judge and narrator – his spitfire energy sustaining the show in moments where it starts to sag.

Some productions get a second bite of the Fringe, such is their initial success. My Son’s a Queer (But What Can You Do?) debuted at the 2022 festival before landing on London’s West End, and (almost) securing a Broadway season in New York.

Creator Rob Madge returned to the Fringe this year, snagging one of the larger venues to share the story of being a flamboyant child star who staged Disney character parades in the family home’s lounge room. Hilarious archival footage shows a precocious Madge and loving family, who encouraged and nurtured Madge’s talents, despite the haters. The songs do their job, even if they’re not particularly memorable. The overall package is highly polished, with flourishes of stage magic.

Australian artists are always well represented in Edinburgh, particularly in the circus and comedy categories. In addition to Swamplesque, other prominent local acts – including Casus, Circa, and Leah Shelton – all flew the Brisbane flag at this year’s festival.

Although the Fringe program can be daunting, and the crowds overwhelm Edinburgh’s cobbled streets, the event remains a singular destination for theatre makers and audiences alike.

edfringe.com

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