The Royal Mile is Edinburgh Fringe’s battleground. Shows compete for attention and the public are bombarded with flyers, but how can you tell the good from the bad?
Kirsty Fraser has first-hand experience of flyering at the Fringe, and provides The Herald with an insiders guide on how to best tackle the Royal Mile.
- Approach the mile with a willingness to talk to the performers. Remember that they have been there all day, probably in the rain, frantically trying to sell tickets. Take a minute to talk to them and ask questions about their show – it takes less time than trawling through the Fringe Brochure!
- Look at the quality of the flyers. Use the “flap-ability” test. If the flyer doesn’t flap like a fan then it is a cheap flyer which, unfortunately, probably reflects the quality of the show.
- If you want to move quickly on the mile, walk on the far right or far left. The centre will be choc-a-block with performers, but the sides will move along at a faster pace.
- Keep a hold of your flyers. If you see a show and want to recommend it to people, then you can pass it on to someone else. The Fringe is all about word-of-mouth, so help spread the word about the best shows to see.
Finally, wear good shoes. The mile was not made for boot heels and brogues. Sturdy boots and trainers is the way to go on this long-cobbled street as you battle your way to the other end.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article