'Rising costs are pricing Scottish performers out of Edinburgh Fringe'

Rising costs are pricing performers out of the Fringe, and there’s not enough support for Scottish artists, or artists in general, a comic has said.

Edinburgh is preparing to welcome millions of people from around the world for a month of art and culture, including the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Edinburgh International Festival, and the Edinburgh Art Festival.

Comedian Ayo Adenekan has said rising costs and the expense of producing and promoting a full-length show are making it “less and less possible” for homegrown talent.

“The Fringe should be oversubscribed by Scottish performers – you shouldn’t be able to move for Scottish performers,” he said.

“But this year, in one of the big four [venues] there’s only three Scottish acts. It’s really impossible if you don’t have financial backing or if you’re not fortunate enough to come from money.

He added: “If you’re a regular person, which is where art comes from, you can’t perform, you can’t create without that money. There’s not enough support for Scottish artists, or artists in general.”

However, Mr Adenekan described himself as “lucky”.

He’s been sponsored by Red Bull UK to bring his show Black Mediocrity to the Festival Fringe this year.

Brass Tacks Comedy, run by Edinburgh local Katie Palmer, spearheaded the funded Fringe idea after speaking to comics in the Scottish industry who felt the Festival was not an option for them due to costs.

She worked with Red Bull UK to invite applications to win a funded debut.

Comedy venue Blackfriars of Bell Street also joined forces with Brass Tacks Comedy to offer a funded Fringe debut for Scottish comedian Jack Traynor.

Ms Palmer said the idea came to her during Fringe 2024 when a Glaswegian comedian said he would not return in 2025 because he was “completely priced out”.

“All of up front costs like venue deposits, marketing, and tech are unaffordable for so many people,” she said.

She added that’s it’s also like a “full time job” to produce and write a Fringe show.

Those challenges are something the First Minister and his Government are hoping to address with more funding.

Speaking to invited guests at the headquarters of the Edinburgh International Festival on Thursday, John Swinney said it’s his and his Government’s role to assist artists in any way they can.

The Scottish Government previously promised to increase arts and culture spending by £34m this year, which includes increasing festival funding by £4m.

It’s part of the Government’s wider commitment to invest at least £100m more annually in arts and culture by the end of the decade.

“We’ve acknowledged that there’s more we could do to support festivals than has been the case in the past,” the First Minister said.

“This fund is designed to put in more public expenditure to ease those pressures and difficulties.”