In August, a significant proportion of the theatre community decamps to Edinburgh, not only from across the United Kingdom but also the world.
The Edinburgh International Festival and its associated Fringe had become staples since soon after the Second World War. However, as a result of the pandemic, they are still trying to get back to the heights of years before 2020 when the size and scope expanded annually.
There is one week to go and visitors will already be filled with expectation, whether they are planning to perform, work behind the scenes or sample the delights as members of the paying public. This is an event like no other, with somewhere in the region of 3,000 different shows on offer. There is something for everybody, whether you are a fan of drama, comedy, music, dance, opera or even circus. Alongside, there are also film and book festivals as well as the Tattoo.
The city is transformed, although residents are not always grateful for that fact. On the plus side, it provides employment and, subject to much greater restrictions in the past, a chance to let your property for four or five times the normal rate. Against that, the city will be crowded and can become gridlocked, it is often impossible to book a halfway decent restaurant and you could be kept up half the night by drunken revellers (not to mention fireworks).
For visitors, the main issue of late has been cost. To start with, ticket prices are reaching the point where someone can easily spend £100 to fill a day, without even getting to the International Festival. Unless you happen to live in the city, there are transport costs which have been boosted by the cost-of-living crisis, along with food and drink. Worst of all though is the cost of accommodation, which has spiralled out of control. In part, this results from a clampdown by the local council which has a very reasonable aversion to short-term lets, since these can prevent locals from living within a reasonable distance of their work.
Given these negatives, some readers might wonder why anybody would want to visit the city at this time of year. The answer to that is to try. Whether you head up for a long weekend, a week or so or for the duration, there is still nothing like the Edinburgh International Festival and Fringe.
At one end of the scale, those attending the International Festival get a chance to watch artistic endeavour of the highest quality from international companies. Slightly further down the feeding chain, the best theatres on the Fringe offer the kind of work that you might expect to see in high quality regional theatres or London theatres outside the West End but at a fraction of the price.
For many, though, the greatest pleasure lies in making discoveries. You might wander along the Royal Mile and be bombarded by tired but hopeful performers desperately pressing flyers offering free entry to their shows and give something a go.
In all honesty, 90% of them are probably as amateurish as you would expect from random accountants, solicitors, bar staff, students and schoolchildren who take three weeks out from real life to fulfil their dreams of becoming performers. You will find comedians who aren’t funny, actors who can’t act, exhibitionists with nothing worth exhibiting and unintelligible plays that will not be finished for another year or two, if ever.
Occasionally, though, you might come across an individual who is heading for the West End, off-Broadway and Hollywood (take a bow Phoebe Waller Bridge), comedians who have you rolling around in the aisles and will soon be fronting a TV series or enjoy a play that becomes iconic such as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead or Black Watch.
In addition, one should never forget that Edinburgh is a gorgeous, highly cultured city with panoramic views, iconic architecture and fantastic art galleries, botanical gardens and a zoo plus so much more, especially if you are willing to venture a little way beyond the main festival areas.
There can be few people who leave Edinburgh that are not exhausted, but most will also have been exhilarated, drunk too much, eaten too little and quite possibly made friends or even partners for life.
The very lucky might even have found their lives transformed, having begun August as an artistic hopeful and ended it with the prospect of a new, exciting career with stardom on the horizon.