Festivals diary: Record book signing and why even sell-out shows don't make money at the Fringe

Her play, Eat The Rich (but maybe not me mates x), had its funding pulled in June, she explained, meaning the show nearly did not make it to the Fringe.

“We haven’t broken even, even though we’ve sold out every single show, which is insane,” she told the crowd. “If you don’t have 30k in your back pocket, it’s really difficult to do.”

From surgery to sell-out in 70 days

Joseph Maudsley, writer and performer of Back to the Future parody Biff to the Future, has been a popular hit at Assembly's Piccolo tent, achieving sold-out shows in its opening week.

However, the feat of attending the Fringe at all is an all the more impressive one when I found out that Joseph underwent urgent mastoid surgery in May, after being diagnosed with a rare condition after the Fringe brochure went to print in April.

Worst-case prognoses of the procedure include a lost of hearing, facial paralysis, brain infection and balance issues. However, an unbelievably quick recovery meant Joseph was able to go into rehearsals within just a few weeks, taking just one day off to return for a check-up which gave him the green light to leap back onto stage in this energetic show which involves singing, improvisation and audience interaction - as well as remembering 10,000 words of script.

Joseph’s team describe the standing ovation he received at his first sell-out show as “an emotional sweet relief”.

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Female revenge

Hal Munger from Fringe show Thorn and Petal Stick: UnScripted Shakespeare recently tried composing a sonnet while wearing a period cramp simulator provided by The Apologies Play.

Their struggle was shared in an Instagram reel with 43k views and 3k likes.

“It pulses through my stomach and my soul,” said Hal, in iambic pentameter. “And now I feel like every period cramp hath left me like a shattered whole.”

Marathon signings

Fringe By The Sea (FBTS) author Hamza Yassin should get a Guinness World Record gong for his book signings. At his event this week, the wildlife cameraman-turned-children’s-book-author kept going for three hours 14 minutes after his show, signing his Hamza’s Wild World books and chatting to fans.

The queue was kept well entertained by a Boomtown Rats soundcheck and nourished by free chocolate ginger biscuits handed out by the FBTS crew.

What’s in a name?

Is Arthur Hull the only performer at the Fringe to be named after both a statue and a hill? The 20 year-old Australian who is in town with his show, Flop – The Best Songs from The Very Worst Musicals, was born in Edinburgh.

His parents could see both the statue of Arthur Conan Doyle and Arthur’s Seat on their way home from the hospital and chose his name accordingly. He’s lucky they didn’t drive home via Wallyford or Parrotshot.