Festival performers shed light on the state of the festival accommodation market

We asked Edinburgh Fringe comedians to reveal how much they were spending on accommodation costs this festival, This is what they told us...

It exceeds £4,000 for five to six people, but we're one of the lucky ones who booked this in January. Some comedians I know have paid over £1,000 each for this year. Biscuit Barrel: The 69-Sketch Show Gilded Balloon Teviot, 3.40pm

I am paying £2000 for a studio flat. It's right in town, literally above the gay sauna. I am delighted as my show is really for women and the gays, so now I don't have to flyer on the Royal Mile. I can just chuck my flyers out the window. The gay gods smiled upon me and led me to this flat. (Also Theatre Digs). Credit where credit is due.

Abigail Paul: Involuntary Momslaughter Greenside Riddle's Court 6:35pm

£2,000 for a bedroom for 19 days

Anu Vaidyanathan: Blimp Underbelly Bristo Square, 7:15pm

In AUD - $4,000 (just over £2,000) This pays for a student dorm - hopefully with a bathroom but I don't know for sure. Access to a shared kitchen, around a 25 minute walk from the Royal Mile. I am staying by myself in the room but it is still the cheapest solo accommodation I could find.

Matt Harvey: Wage Against the Machine Canons' Gait, 8:15pm

I'm paying £1800 for the full month. It's an entire flat about 30 minutes from the Old Town. I'm very lucky to have a friend in town looking to escape for the festival!
Zoe Brownstone & Dom McGovern: Tied For Second  Just The Tonic- Subatomic 4:30pm

I commute from Glasgow because I am such a brave (35-year-old) girl, and also because I live there. The monthly ticket pass is about £400. I will be working every morning in Glasgow then getting the train to perform. I did this last year, it was tiring, but it is the only way to ensure I can pay my rent at the end of the month. Yes, yes, you are right, very brave etc. I have friends paying extortionate prices for accommodation, and everyday I videocall them, so that I can laugh in their face.
Ruth Hunter: The Ruth is on Fire The Banshee Labyrinth, 5:10pm

I’m paying £3,000. What I am getting for that is my own fortress of solitude and no holidays for the next three years

Jaz Mattu Emerges The Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, 3pm

Sharing a double room in student halls for £1,400 on recommendation of a friend, which is doable but still more than I've ever paid before. But the month leading up to that insider knowledge was occupied exclusively by panic
Benjamin Alborough: Absolute Monopoly Assembly George Squae, 5:50pm

Nearly £3,000 for student housing. Ensuite room that I'm sharing with one other person, the kitchen is shared with an unknown number of grubby fringe artists and probably some other lifeforms.

Laufey Haralds: Pip Gilded Balloon, Patter Hoose 4.20pm

£1,200. A double bedroom (w/en suite) in a student hall 20 minute walk away from the city centre. Shared kitchen with 10 other people
Raul Kohli: Full Inglish City Cafe 4.55pm

We managed to find cheaper accommodation a bit further out of the city. We get a kitchen, plenty of rooms (there are 8 of us there) and some space to relax. It is half the price of what we were quoted for something smaller in the city. And no, we're not going to tell you where it is, at these prices we want to book it again for 2024!
ComedySportz Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters1.45pm

That’s a bit of a personal question. £500. I’m renting a flat or a room from a friend who has no idea what she could be charging… I haven’t told her as the last time I had no one to stay and the  the friend spent all the money on drugs and ended up needing to go into rehab. So I’m keeping my mouth shut

Becky Fury: Identity  Laughing Horse @ Bar 50, 7.45pm

I'm paying £750 for a double room in a two bedroom flat in central Edinburgh. I'm sharing the space with another comedian that knows the owner of the flat
Lucas Jefcoate and Serena Smart: Smart and Dumber West Port Oracle, Plane Room 6:15pm

Is Edinburgh accommodation too expensive in August? Here some comedians reveal what they are paying....

£1,400 and I will be staying in University halls for the first time since, predictably, University
Ian Smith: Crushing Monkey Barrel at The Tron at 1.35pm

My accommodation is costing me £1800 for the entire month. It's a one-bed flat far out of the centre of Edinburgh (biking distance) and I will be sharing it with my wife, who will also be doing a solo show.  We got mates rates, and feel pretty lucky about that price point, which is insane given how far away it is and it's also nearly twice our London rent.

Michael Kunze: Infinity Mirror Laughing Horse at Three Sisters, 11am

I'm staying on the floor of my sisters' friend's living room
Alex Kitson: Fired Up! Ready to Go! The Mash House, 7:30pm

I am paying £750 per month because I got put in touch with a Greek couple that were way, way too kind and I am sharing with them. I have my own room and I feel like I hit the jackpot!
George Zacharopoulos: Wonderland Pleasance Dome, 8:30pm

I’m paying £1k for the month (for a single room), which everyone keeps telling me is a great deal, shockingly. It’s over £200 more than my rent in London, which I thought was bad enough. I’m sharing with three other performers, and it was one of them who found it - not totally sure how, we’re renting from a private landlord - and I got lucky in nabbing the final slot.

Kathy Maniura: Objectified  Gilded Balloon Teviot, 4.40pm

This makes me incredibly hate-able, but a fan offered me free lodging in what looks like an amazing spot in Dean Village. It's an apartment to myself, underneath their home. So I either hit the jackpot or am about to be carved up into little pieces! Or both! (Before that, I had booked student lodging in Musselburgh with five other comedians.)
Avital Ash Workshops Her Suicide Note Monkey Barrel at The Tron at 10:05 pm

Wayyyy too much. I'm from Toronto, and I pay less there for a 1 bedroom + balcony apartment, than a room with a bed for Edinburgh Fringe. Plus the money exchange rate is always a gut punch.  The accommodation here is nice though, it's the Unite Student university dorm at Salisbury Court. It's a bedroom with a private washroom, and a shared kitchen. The kitchen is shared with 10-12 other performers, and it's a fun way to meet other performers. Everyone is always respectful there.
Anesti Danelis: This Show Will Change Your Life Underbelly Bristo Square, 3:55pm

I am paying approximately just under £900 for a small student room attached to a shared area with six others. It is a short train ride into town. Alexander Richmond: One Man 12 Angry Men City Cafe, 2.25pm

I'm staying in a shared hostel in the Edinburgh area, split between four folks. The total cost is about £500 for me for the week, which covers a furnished flat, utilities, and WiFi
J Murphy, A Tinderella Story: Swipe, Wince, Repeat Just The Tonic @ The Grassmarket, 10pm

I'm lucky to be paying just £700, because a lovely resident of Edinburgh has offered her spare room to artists coming to the Fringe.

John Tothill: The Last Living Libertine Pleasance Courtyard, 8.30pm

Found on a theatre digs page, staying with Edinburgh residents and paying £1,000 for 2 people in 2 rooms for the month. (We got very, very lucky)

My Last Two Brain Cells The Gilded Balloon Patter Hoose, 9:40pm

I'm paying £1,550 for a single room with a private bathroom in university housing and I feel like I lucked out because even though it's expensive it's so much cheaper than everything else I've seen. I'd been struggling to find somewhere to stay but a university group dropped out and the organiser offered up their space at the group rate they had.
Colleen Lavin: Do the robots think I'm funny? Greenside Riddles Court Clover Studio, various times

Sharing with one person, we get a one bedroom luxury apartment for 4k for the month...luckily my management is paying for it :)
Ciaran Bartlett's Machine Gun Of Filth Gilded Balloon Teviot, 10:30pm

Insane to see ‘£1,200’ and the word ‘bargain’ together - but that’s people’s response when I tell them what I’m paying for a month. I’m staying with some of my best pals also on the Fringe - Paddy Young, Horatio Gould, Dan Tiernan, Mike Rice (Sam Eley for half and Josh Glanc for the other). It’s on Cowgate in student accommodation so it’s good to know we’ll get 0 per cent sleep. We’ve got a kitchen, a communal space, and I believe a toilet, so it’s all very fancy. One thing I do know is there is going to be an ongoing poker tournament - so that’s yet  another avenue for me to lose money this Fringe
Adam Flood: Remoulded Monkey Barrel at The Hive 3:20pm

£1500. Student accommodation, sharing with 4 other comedians. Cowgate. My bed is listed as ¾ size; praying it’s three quarters of a double, not a single
Paddy Young: Hungry, Horny, Scared Pleasance Courtyard 9:35pm

Just under 2000 for a one-bedroom flat that I have to myself close to Pleasance Courtyard. I was super fortunate to find this old lady that just simply does not feel it is right to put up her place to four times the price during Fringe. As soon as my tickets go on sale I immediately let her know and I book the whole place for the full fest.  This lady may well be the only one of her kind. They're harder to find than Nessie
Schalk Bezuidenhout: Keeping Up Gilded Balloon Teviot, 5pm

I’m bunking with a friend, thank god, who is only charging me £200 a week. I'm not excited about paying double rent though to keep my flat in London though
Bronwyn Sweeney: Off- Brand Pleasance Courtyard, 3:20pm

Published: 3 Aug 2023