August in Edinburgh is like Christmas for arts lovers. The historic and beautiful city of sandstone swells to (according to legend) nearly double its size as performers, producers and punters from all over the world descend, filling up every inch of the pavement, anything that could possibly be elbowed into being a venue – and any and all available accommodation/couches/floor space throughout the near four-week long festival of festivals.
A key feature of the Fringe is that anyone can put on a show – the Fringe Society (set up in 1958 to manage and support the festival) itself does not vet the program, although venues do have a say in what is programmed in them.
