From Grace Hatchell
Well lovelies, what a year for The Pleasance! They’ve just blown out the candles on their 41st Fringe birthday cake – and let me tell you, it wasn’t a wee sponge either. Try 293 shows squeezed across the Courtyard, Dome, and EICC – and nearly half a million tickets whisked through those little scanners. That’s a lot of bums on seats
On just one Saturday, the Courtyard alone welcomed a record-breaking 33,000 souls. That’s basically a small city queueing for pints, snacks and theatre thrills. Families weren’t left out either – over 10,000 tickets went to children’s shows, so yes, the Pleasance is training up the next generation of Fringe fans while keeping the Haribo sellers in business.
And awards? Darling, they needed an extra satchel just to lug them all home. Fifty in total! That’s six Scotsman Fringe Firsts, both of the coveted Edinburgh Comedy Awards, a Popcorn Award, Filipa Bragança, List Festival trophies, Besties, you name it – their mantelpiece must be groaning. Shows like Hot Mess, Kanpur: 1857, Eat the Rich (but maybe not me mates x), and The Horse of Jenin were among the big winners. Comedy too – Sam Nicoresti and Ayoade Bamgboye bagged the big Edinburgh Comedy prizes, setting themselves up nicely for future household-name status.
But it wasn’t just about shiny gongs. The Pleasance dug deep into artist support again this year. Their Futures programme pumped over £100,000 into 30 shows, from surrealist clowns to sharp political storytellers, while the Comedy Reserve spotlighted bright sparks Dane Buckley, Daniel Petrie, Jen Nolan and Maia Tassalini. They even marked Young Pleasance’s 30th birthday with the nostalgic Ghost Light.
Accessibility was another headline. 32 shows were captioned, 42 with extra access provisions, and over 250 staff trained with Sight Scotland to support visually-impaired audiences. They had braille guides, audio descriptions, new hearing loops – the lot. The welfare programme also returned, supporting over 800 participants with counselling, drop-ins, and comfy digs for hundreds of artists and staff. Honestly, that’s no small feat in a city where you’re lucky to find a bed that doesn’t squeak louder than a fiddle.
Locals got a look in too – 24 Edinburgh primary schools were brought into the fun, with over 1,600 kids enjoying subsidised tickets. Plus there were community tickets, outreach projects, and 50 workshops covering everything from technical skills to sustainability. They even gave work experience to local young people and welcomed autistic young adults into the Pleasance team.
And yes, the awards list goes on like a postie’s Christmas shift: Trainspotting Live, A Jaffa Cake Musical, Count Dykula, Lesbian Space Crime, Cartoonopolis, Blaze FM, Wondertwunk – honestly, it’s a miracle there was any glitter left in Edinburgh after that lot.
The cherry on the birthday cake? Their continued partnership with Waverley Care. Between bucket collections and the big Tartan Ribbon Comedy Benefit (with Rosie Jones, Chloe Petts, Emmanuel Sonubi and pals), they raised a whopping £70,042 for charity. That’s a lot of good done alongside the laughs.
So hats off, Pleasance – or should I say, postie caps off. With this year’s haul of tickets, awards, and standing ovations, they’ve proved once again they’re one of the biggest and busiest stops on the Fringe map. And I’ll be keeping my satchel ready for next year, because by the looks of it, the Pleasance won’t be slowing down anytime soon.
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