The likes of Taskmaster , Fleabag , and Baby Reindeer all started life on stage at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival – but the reality of being a comedian in this rollercoaster month is at odds with these success stories. ‘It’s a collective breakdown, but a fun one,’ says comedian Garrett Millerick, a comedy circuit stalwart who has worked on shows at the free access arts festival in the Scottish capital for 22 years now. Garrett has been featured on every Best Reviewed Shows of The Edinburgh Festival list since 2018.
But it’s not like every show – or any, for that matter – is going to get ‘discovered’ and have their creative baby burst into the mainstream, like what happened with Richard Gadd ’s Netflix show Baby Reindeer. The acclaimed TV series started life as Gadd’s Edinburgh Fringe show in 2016, called Monkey See Monkey Do. Eight years later it was commissioned for the big screen.
‘I’ve had absolutely nobody in the audience a handful of times in 20 years,’ says Garrett. This is not unusual, as many comedians will experience this in their Fringe careers (unlike what those viral tweets from sobbing comedians might make you think, which handily end in sold-out shows ..
.). ‘I think there are quite a lot of people who are sort of mis-sold Edinburgh as being a place where you’re going to go up there and there’s going to be someone sat behind a panel, and they’re going to wave a magic wand and say you are anointed now, you can go and be rich and .