Edinburgh Fringe: Frankie Boyle says a lot of performers at ‘elitist’ festival are ‘parasites’
‘Most of the people you want to hear from can’t come here,’ comic said
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Frankie Boyle has said that many of the acts performing at the Edinburgh Fringe are “parasites” as he discussed elitism within the festival.
The annual arts festival returned to the Scottish capital this August, with more than 3,000 acts performing.
Appearing in the BBC documentary The Fringe, Fame and Me this week, comedian Boyle said that, while the Fringe had produced “a lot of great comedy”, it was a “very middle class thing” and unrepresentative of the larger comedy landscape.
“Think of how much more it could be if it was democratised, if you actually had voices from all the different parts of the country, if you actually had a proper representation of class and race,” he said.
Referencing the huge financial losses made by many performers at the festival, Boyle continued: “That needs to change if you’re going to have any kind of representation or if this is going to be worthwhile.
“Most of the people you want to hear from can’t come here and lots of the people who are here bringing those shows are parasites.”
Performing at the Edinburgh Fringe can be hugely expensive for acts, with artists having to pay to appear in the Fringe programme as well as venue and marketing fees.
The housing crisis in the city has also meant that artists are spending large amounts of money on accommodation costs.
Elsewhere in the documentary, Boyle spoke at length about how “even middle class doesn’t quite cover it” when discussing the Fringe anymore.
“A lot of these people, your standard Fringe act, they’ll have gone to public school, they’ll have gone to Oxbridge.
“If you’ve done that and then you get your own TV show or whatever it is, you’re not in the middle of any kind of experience of the average British person. You’re part of an elite.”
The Fringe, Fame and Me is on BBC iPlayer now.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments