
Can we have a shorthand for ‘I think your work is cool but I’m not going to be weird about it’?
Cerys Bradley on the best and worst of the Edinburgh Fringe
Cerys Bradley is presenting Queer Tales for Autistic Folk at Underbelly Bristo Square at 2.45pm. Here they share what they can't get enough of at the festival, their most embarrassing Edinburgh experience and the worst thing about the Fringe. Apart from the cost of accommodation, obviously…
Fringe binge
The best part of the festival is definitely seeing shows. I’ve got a soft goal to see 60 shows this year so fingers crossed on that front.
What I’m particularly looking forward to this year is seeing shows with friends who aren’t so comedy-focused and they will take me to see, like, plays and things.
Last year, my wife and I went to the circus and were reminded of how incredible trapeze artists are. She also loves magic so when she comes up we’re going to see some cabaret and magic and circus shows.
I am going to see as much comedy as possible but it’s nice to be reminded that other things exist and be inspired by other kinds of work.
Fringe cringe
At what point in the conversation, after you’ve been introduced to someone, do you casually say, 'by the way I saw your show and loved it?’ Because, after many, many years, I have still not learned how to do this in a way that does not make me look like a deranged fan (eg, by blurting it out as a non sequitur, saying it very quietly to myself as they walk off, feeling like I have to justify my opinion and so immediately listing all the things I like about the show in alphabetical order…)
I think a non-verbal, universally agreed upon sign for ‘I think your work is cool but I’m not going to be weird about it’ would save us all, but especially me, a lot of embarrassment and time.
Fringe whinge
Edinburgh suffers from the same issue as all major cities during peak tourist season – there are people there to amble about and browse shop windows and then there are people who have to get from one side of the city to the other in 15 minutes because they have, yet again, failed to schedule sensibly.
I feel like I spend a lot of time hopping anxiously from one foot to another as I wait for a tour group or (worse) a silent disco to clear, sweating profusely, with one eye on my watch and the other on Google Maps, increasingly distressed that the time is only changing on one of them.
• Cerys Bradley’s Queer Tales for Autistic Folk is at Underbelly Bristo Square at 2.45pm throughout the Edinburgh Fringe.
Published: 10 Aug 2025