What's the worst room to perform in at  the Fringe and why? | Edinburgh's biggest dives, by the comedinans who play them

What's the worst room to perform in at the Fringe and why?

Edinburgh's biggest dives, by the comedinans who play them

Anything that has a ‘yurt’ in the title.
Micky Bartlett: Typical, Gilded Balloon, 17:15

The T-bar/The Tank. I performed a sketch show/play there last year and they absolutely ruined it by having raves literally four feet from the door. You couldn't hear a single word. It was horrendous.
Stoph Demetriou: The Dunning-Kruger Effect, Free Sisters, 23:10

The Arches. I did a full run there one year. They found a dead body the first day, and it was robbed and burnt down in the third week. A friend of mine, the American comic Sid Singh said he had pigeons having an orgy in the rafters for his show. It wasn't built for comedy, it was a quick fix and it was never a venue before that one year, and has never been one after. I believe my particular arch is now a wine shop, so nobody ever came. I hope people go this year, the wine in there looks pretty grade.
Rahul Kohli: A Not So Chubby Brown, The Stand, 19:05

I performed in a room that used to be a strip club and the seats were booths so most of audience had their back to me.
Kat Bond: Loo Roll, Pleasance Courtyard, 17:45

The Tron. The security are over zealous and frankly disgusting. At least they were in 2013 when I performed there.
Andrew Ryan: Did You Get Here Alright?, Assembly Studios, 18:45

The weird cupboard one at the Three Sisters. It's literally a cloakroom the other 11 months of the year
Will Duggan: Perspicuator, Just The Tonic At The Mash House, 17:20

The tent outside the Free Sisters is brutal. Drunk people lean on it, but it's a bloody tent so they just fall through the wall mid-set. I had to literally kick one person back through the canvas to stop them taking out the PA once.
Popular Comedian Rob Mulholland, Just The Tonic @ The Caves, 20:00

Published: 17 Aug 2017

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