Edinburgh Festival Fringe - Across the City

It's here, oh yes it is definitely here, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the largest arts festival in the world. Throughout August a phenomenal 2,500 shows will take place in more than 250 venues across the city, thousands of performers taking to countless stages in an eclectic assortment of buildings dotted around Scotland's capital. Big names rub shoulders with unknown artists taking their first steps into the limelight, encompassing a whole host of genres - comedy, theatre, dance, physical theatre, opera, musicals, music, exhibitions, it's all there waiting to amuse and entertain expectant audiences of every age, culture and nationality. So much to see, so much to do and a whole month in which to do it!
Fringe programmes are readily available around Edinburgh and turn up in a variety of formats. And just in case you're not aware that anything of any note is going on, posters and billboards fill every inch of empty space in every city centre street .... and indeed further afield. So even if the Fringe is not your cup of tea, you cannot escape the onslaught of entertainment that flows in its wake. Bizarre signposts accompany the colourful wallpapering of Edinburgh streets and buildings. Still lost? Just follow the crowds. Listen for the laughter.
Fringe venues are as interesting and as diverse as those who perform within their confines. The huge purple cow that is the Underbelly, the multi-faceted Assembly with its Bosco Tent and Spiegeltent, the Gilded Balloon - no, not a real balloon - and the Pleasance with its intricate collection of performance areas including the the Cellar, This, That, the Shed (yes, a real shed) and the Cabaret Bar, all offer a genuine Fringe atmosphere with their bars and food stalls. And all are great for celeb spotting if that is your thing.
Events will pop up in the Royal Botanic Gardens, churches, cathedrals, bars, bookshops, museums, libraries, even the summit of Arthur's Seat for those with more than a little stamina. Take the chance to call in to places you may normally walk past without giving a second glance. Face Frankenstein in his bar, enjoy a musical interlude in the unusual Tron Kirk, or delve into the atmospheric Caves with their quirky rooms and interesting stairways. And there is always the Bedlam Theatre ....... Appropriately named? Go and see for yourself. And of course the BBC are very much in evidence as usual. I could list every venue, every nook and cranny that has been sought out in every possible corner of the city. But I am not going to. Pick up a programme, polish up your sense of humour, unravel your fun side, get out there and drown yourself in the incredible experience that is the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It doesn't matter how old you are, or what you class as entertainment. There is something for everyone. Free shows, ticketed shows, indoors, outdoors, underground, overground, daytime or the middle of the night, it's all there waiting for you to seek out and enjoy. You are never far from a box office, never far from tickets reeling you in and tickling your fancy. You know you want to, so go on, take the proverbial bull by the horns and throw yourself in to the unique experience that is the Fringe.