Hello,
Paul Richards here, I'm a writer/performer based in Cambridge, UK. I did my first Edinburgh Fringe way back in 2006, and have kept going back ever since in various guises, although, let's be honest, it's mostly been one-man plays. I've had some major life highs at the fringe, and a whole lot of lows...yet, for some reason I go back, every year. And I imagine always will, once you've done it a few times, it is rather addictive. I'm 44 now and probably should have grown out of this in my twenties but, if anything, I love it more than ever.
But it's not just Edinburgh...there are LOADS of fringe festivals around the UK (and worldwide, of course), and, whilst Edinburgh is seen as the holy grail, the other ones I've done have (mostly) been lovely. But are they worth doing? I guess it depends on what you want to get out of it...stage time? Financial gain? Building an audience?
This year, 2026, I intend to do as many fringe festivals in the UK as possible. I'm lucky enough to be freelance, so I can be quite flexible and not have to worry about using annual leave. There are lots of festivals, and a lot of admin, so there will inevitably be times when I miss out thanks to missing deadlines, even with my trusty spreadsheet (notepad), and there will of course be the odd festival that just doesn't want me and that's fine, but I'd like to think my CV holds up well enough with plenty of positive reviews and awards from previous projects. This marathon of fringe festivals will be a bit of a project in itself. I'll be filming much of it and probably write a book or something.
The purpose of this project? Well, selfishly I want to have fun. I like this country and I'd like to see more of it. Also, I've written a load of new shows and I want to get them out there, some solo, some with a cast, one show that's a duo collaboration. I like what I'm doing right now (and that hasn't always been the case) and I'd like people to see it, fringe festivals are perfect for that. But, also, I'm going to be really transparent about my experiences at each festival, including from a financial perspective. Hopefully this site will help others in the future - there have been so many times when I've looked at a festival and thought, "is it worth me doing it?". Well, I'm doing 'it', lots of 'it' this year, and maybe this will be of use to others next year and beyond. This won't be a definitive guide to fringe festivals in the UK, but it will be the rambling diary entries of a man experiencing it all first-hand.
I fully predict that I won't even break even on a chunk of these festivals, but that's why I do other work, too, to fund these adventures as a touring performer. But I prefer the term Fringe Boy.