There are too many comedians with too little material : Correspondents 2024 : Chortle : The UK Comedy Guide

One anonymous performer gives their verdict on what’s wrong with the Fringe

The consensus is that the Edinburgh Fringe is at breaking point, having grown so big that costs – especially for accommodation – have skyrocketed, pricing out all but those with the deepest pockets. We’ve been asking participants if they have any ideas to make the festival better…

The main issue is that it’s comedians with five minutes of material doing hour-long shows, getting media attention and getting famous. 

Stop that happening and that will resolve the issue of the festival becoming amateur hour, and amateurs getting famous. 

It’s broken the ecosystem that was in place to make good acts and then good TV. 

There are too many ghostwritten shows written by people who don’t care about stand-up and don’t care how it works, who then go on to create crap TV. 

TV people are working with acts in the way they used to. They expect them to be good because they’ve done a Pleasance hour, but they haven’t written it themselves so they’re not actually comedians, and then they end up with sitcom commissions. And clearly that’s going to end up producing more garbage 

Eddie Izzard is an interesting case study of a shit act that made his stuff work. But there’s no space for this type of alchemy to happen any more because the circuit is clogged up with all this ghost-written stuff. 

Promotors don’t take risks like they used to because they don’t have to because there’s so much ghost-written material, that sort of works but doesn’t, because no one really likes it. Ultimately this is a terrible strategy and very short-sighted . 

Maybe some of the acts would become good if they had space to develop, but even if they could have been great they’re getting stifled in this process which promises a shortcut to fame. 

How are you going to hone your art, even if you had the ability to, if you are meant to be a four-star pro act. You just have to keep getting stuff ghost-written. You will never find your voice , even if you actually have one. 

Personally I’d like to see some real women’s comedy. Female comics are popular right now but I don’t think there’s much genuine material about. It’s just karaoke. It is just the same as it ever was – jaded old middle-aged white men dominating comedy, but now they’re getting women to perform it.

Also shows shouldn’t have directors. That’s part of the problem. If you talk to older acts they’re very defensive about other people being involved in their creative process and they’re right. 

No one ever painted a masterpiece by committee – same for a stand-up show. It’s called a solo show for a reason.

Any money you contribute will directly fund more reviews, interviews and features – the sort of in-depth coverage that is increasingly difficult to fund from ever-squeezed advertising income, but which we think the UK’s vibrant comedy scene deserves.

Published: 25 Jul 2024