At the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the artists do everything: they produce their shows, they act in their shows, and they market their shows. It's not strange to see one artist wearing multiple different hats. Playbill got a first look of this when we were in Edinburgh for the 2023 Fringe Festival.
On August 5, we took part in the annual "Meet the Media" event, hosted by the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society. There, artists lined up to meet the members of the press who were there covering the festival, in order to pitch their shows to us for coverage. Over the span of 6 hours, we estimate we talked to around 300 artists. Seeing their enthusiasm and creativity on full display, it was truly an inspiring day.
Here were some of the artists we met that day (and many of them successfully convinced us to see their shows).
The cast of The Messenger, a physical theatre piece from Korea about a breakup.
Michael Tonkin-Jones and his puppet friend from Tales From A Haunted Bookshop, a children's show that is so dark, it's fun for adults.
The Canadian ladies of the drag show Are You There Margaret? It’s Me, Gahd.
Liz Toonkel, who is a magician and designer, poses with her moving animal purse—which is an important prop in her show Magic for Animals.
It's not unusual for people to walk around in costume, and Deacon Griffin-Pressley can be spotted from yards away. He plays Lucifer in his one-person show Satan vs God.
The Fringe may be over, but you can read our on-the-ground coverage of the festival here. See more artists that we met below.
Deacon Griffin-Pressley of Satan vs God and Faith Martin Abongo of Tituba
Ryan Simpson
Accordion Ryan's Pop Bangers
Cast of The Messenger
Alex Gibbon
Fat Femme and Crippled
Caroline O'Meara
Calling in Love
Natalya Samee
Saturn Return
Ben Fensome and Pearse Egan
Buff
Jersten Ray Seraile
God Done Opened the Sky
Laura Thurlow
A Preoccupation with Romantic Love
Sarah Albritton
Awake and Narcoleptic with Sarah Albritton
John Jiler
The Rosenberg/Strange Fruit Project
Katherine Rosina and Nicki Rochford
The Mind of a Narcissist
Nicole Nadler
Why Am I like This
Angelika Christoforou
The Ocean and the Star
Marshall Mandiangu, Jane Westhead, and Aaron McVeigh
Darwin in Edinburgh
Marshall Mandiangu
Darwin in Edinburgh
Michael Tonkin-Jones with Tales From A Haunted Bookshop
Cast of #Since1994
J Murphy
A Tinderella Story: Swipe, Wince, Repeat
Uma Gahd and Selma Gahd of Are You There Margaret? It’s Me, Gahd
Liz Toonkel
Magic For Animals
Delson Weekes
Elvis Died of Burgers
Jemima Langdon and Joy Adeogun
The Cambridge Footlights International Tour Show
Truly Siskind-Weiss
The Strongest Girl In The World
Glenn Clarke
The Extras Strike Back
Stephanie Marion
Mr & Mrs Love
