With so much choice, and so many shows to see at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, August can quickly become an expensive month for arts-loving audiences.
If like me, you want to see as many shows as possible but keep the cost down, it's advantageous to be aware of some of the money saving schemes on offer.
This article does not touch on the astronomical cost of physically staying in Edinburgh during the Fringe. Nor does it cover the plight of performers who need to pay for venues, marketing, posters, flyers and so forth on top of accommodation. Everyone needs very deep pockets and I'm aware that it's a privilege to be able to attend at all.
So with that in mind, here are just some of the great ticket deals it's worth being aware of:
➡️ While you are here, why not take a look at my Edinburgh Fringe recommendations and reviews? https://www.lisainthetheatre.com/edinburgh-fringe
💗 And make sure you are following me on Instagram to see my daily stories and adventures from the festival!
PBH Free Fringe
The Free Fringe celebrates its 27th year in Edinburgh this year with at least 5000 performances.
🆓 All shows are free admission, non-ticketed, first come first served.
🆓 No performer is charged for use of the performance space.
🌟 The Free Fringe is a non-profit organisation.
The Free Fringe was started on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1996. Disheartened by what he saw as unreasonable hire charges for venues and high ticket prices for the public, Peter Buckley Hill (PBH as he is more commonly known) tried a new model for putting on shows. Instead of paying for a venue and charging for tickets, there should be no hire charge and free entrance for everyone. If the audience like the show, they put a voluntary donation in a bucket at the end.
Fortunately, a lot of people seem to like this model, which is why PBH’s Free Fringe is now the biggest producer at the Edinburgh Festival, with over 600 shows and 10,000 performances in 2018 and the total rising every year.
The venue makes money from increased drinks sales, the performer goes away several thousand pounds less broke, and visitors get to see far more fantastic quality shows than they could ever have imagined previously. It’s fair to say that the Free Fringe has totally transformed Edinburgh, and now attracts big comedy names, produces award winners and is the most dynamic thing to happen to the festival since the beginning of the Fringe.
Listings
🎟️ Search for PBH Free Fringe shows and venues here https://freefringe.org.uk/
🍎 They also have an app you can download from the App and Google stores.
Fringe 2 for 1 tickets
Many shows offer a two for one ticket deal in the early days of their run. For shows playing the full festival month of August, the discount days tend to be the first Monday and Tuesday of the Fringe. This year that's Monday 7th and Tuesday 8th August 2023.
This scheme helps shows build an audience, and hopefully generate 'word of moth' early in the run. But means you can grab a bargain if you're able to go see some performances on these dates.
If you are booking your tickets on https://tickets.edfringe.com/ look out for the yellow highlighted '2 for 1 days' in the calendar of each show.
Traverse £1 tickets
The Traverse Theatre's 2023 Fringe programme is one of the best, most exciting showcases I have seen this year.
You can find details of all their shows here: https://www.traverse.co.uk/whats-on/travfest-23
🎟️ But did you know that the Traverse offer £1 theatre tickets all year round to anyone under 25 or on low-income benefits?!
Full details here: https://www.traverse.co.uk/get-involved/traverse--1-tickets
🌟 The Traverse £1 ticket offer is valid during August / Edinburgh fringe / Travfest23! #Travfest23
Fringe Half Price Hut
The Fringe Half Price Hut (HPH) sells tickets for performances taking place on the day of purchase, or the following day if the show takes place before 14:00. There are thousands of half-prices tickets available each day.
There is no physical HPH on the mound this year. To take advantage of this offer you must visit the Fringe Box Office counter in person at 180 High Street.
🎟️ More info here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/box-office/half-price-hut
PWYW / PWYC (Pay What You Want / Pay What You Can)
Some shows operate on a 'pay what you want' model, where you decide how much you want to pay at the end of the performance. To secure tickets for these shows, customers can sometimes pay a token amount (eg £5) in advance; however, you are still encouraged to donate more at the end of the show if you are able to.
Some shows operate on a 'pay what you can' model, where you decide how much you want to pay at the time of booking to secure tickets. However, you are still encouraged to donate more at the end of the show if you are able to.
EdFest offers
EdFest is a gathering of seven of the core venues that present a world-class programme of shows as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe; Assembly, Gilded Balloon, Just the Tonic, Pleasance, theSpaceUK, Underbelly and ZOO. The collaboration was initiated in 2022 after the impact of the Covid pandemic that created a two-year hiatus for the Festival.
New for 2023 they have introduced EdFest Members. Becoming a member is completely free, and entitles you to exclusive offers across all EdFest venues.
For more information and to see all current offers: https://showcatcher.com/edfest/offers
➡️ While you are here, why not take a look at my Edinburgh Fringe recommendations and reviews? https://www.lisainthetheatre.com/edinburgh-fringe
💗 And make sure you are following me on Instagram to see my daily stories and adventures from the festival!
🌟 Edinburgh Festival Fringe Tickets: Free and Cheap ticket deals 2023 🌟
📧 For media and review requests contact Lisa_InTheTheatre@outlook.com
📸 To see more pictures and watch my videos follow @Lisa_InTheTheatre on Instagram
