Comic: Expense of Fringe is pricing out working-class voices
Working-class voices could be lost to comedy due to the spiralling costs of the Edinburgh Fringe, according to comic Sara Pascoe.
The annual arts festival is a training ground for aspiring comics and was pivotal in growing stand-up star Pascoe’s career. She performed her show, Sara Pascoe Vs Her Ego, there in 2010, and was nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2014. She has since gone on to have a successful TV career, including hosting The Great British Sewing Bee, as well as continuing her stand-up work.
The TV regular is in no doubt about the Fringe’s importance but fears it will no longer be a viable proposition to all artists.
“Some people are being priced out of it now and so it can’t be the only place people can go to be discovered. A lot of working-class people are successful in comedy but the minute it becomes a case of needing to have money or supportive parents or a flat in Edinburgh, it becomes really problematic.
“The accommodation issue, and I understand it’s a business, but the landlords in Edinburgh who rent out their flats will charge whatever people will pay and it’s been spiralling out of control and now is out of control. Maybe Glasgow can start an August comedy festival, for some healthy competition!”
The mum of one added: “Edinburgh makes you a better comic because it makes you obsessed with your comedy. Also, if you do well there, it can be a ticket into other rooms.”