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Aug 20Liked by anna burnside

I’m not ever doing 6 shows a day, so a big thank you for doing that for us all. You do make me think that next year I should maybe step out of my official festival only mindset. Will stalk you. But with later starts.

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My niche fringe curation service is available to paying subscribers only

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Aug 20Liked by anna burnside

As someone who is also knee-deep in Fringe madness, I totally agree with ALL of this!! I would add: "Location Matters". My friend and I stacked our first weekend with one full Summerhall day, and one full Traverse day, so that we could see some of our favorite programming without sprinting across the city and back again. We now consider ourselves geniuses/visionaries/etc. "Lunch Matters" is on our list of considerations as well. I'll look over our proposed show schedule sometimes and say: "but when do we eat?" Easy to forget about, and a show will be ruined if your stomach is growling during it!

Loved the call-outs to Hamlet, Comala, Comala, and The Sound Inside, which were big faves of ours. Adored the call-out to Weer, which ruined me (in the most perfect way). Transcendent. I actually sat next to the harpist from I'm Almost There during Weer and we bonded, and I'm so looking forward to seeing her next weekend!

And last, but not least, did you read Fergus Morgan's piece in The Stage about the exact phenomenon you're describing re: traumedy? https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/why-is-the-edinburgh-fringe-flooded-with-solo-shows-about-awful-experiences

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A conversation with Fergus was one of the things that informed the bit about traumedy, although I hadn't read his piece so thanks for signposting. I suggested seeing Weer as an instant antidote.

Geography and meal breaks also crucial - hard agree - if only I took my own advice. I am usually the harassed person eating a hard boiled egg in the queue.

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