I have never known a final week of the fringe to be so quiet. Normally, the final weekend is one of the busiest. But this year, it was all rather dead. Streets traditionally swarming with punters were replaced with dribs and drabs.
My show trundled along in the final week with the room averaging about a third full, which it must be said is still some achievement in this quietest of fringe weeks.Saturday was almost full. With previous Saturdays indicating they’d sell out in advance, I had 35 in presales for the fourth Saturday. This almost doubled with a flurry of last-minute ticket purchases and people paying on the door. The show was a fun one, with lots to riff with.
Then on Sunday, I performed to my lowest ever paying audience in with 11 paying in advance and two people showing up on the door. It was a little more sedate than previous shows, but I made the best of it. In fact, several of my lowest-ever paying Edinburgh Fringe audiences have all been this year, as we as my four highest ever.
After wishing I had ended my fringe run on Saturday, Monday was looking equally quiet. Thankfully, ticket sale numbers picked up and the final show at least ended on something of a high. This was half the audience size of last Monday, which was the show that made me want to do shows on the final official day of the fringe. But as I keep repeating, you can only play what’s in front of you, and that is exactly what I did, and the audience punched above its weight.
My fringe run of 2026 is now complete. Given the challenges with the final week, I am considering the run a defiant success. I will write a more detailed summary once I am back in the real world. I am currently very tired, after having walked up Arthur’s seat for the first time since 2025.