Rachel Galvo on the best and worst of the Edinburgh Fringe

Rachel Galvo is performing her second show. The Shite Feminist, at the Edinburg Fringe. Here she shares what she can't get enough of at the festival, her most embarrassing Edinburgh experience and the worst thing about the Fringe. Apart from the cost of accommodation, obviously…

Fringe Binge 

The absolute best part of the fringe is that for a whooooole month you are in a cool city surrounded by the most incredible creative and artistic geniuses. 

It’s so much craic meeting up with other artists for coffee or a cheeky pint – hearing about all their successes, growing increasingly jealous, lying about how successful your own show is going and then doing it all over again the next day. 

I always felt like a bit of an outsider growing up (take a shot every time a performer says that). My school was really strict, and the creative arts were never taken seriously.  I always wished I knew more theatrical weirdos like myself and now I know exactly where to find them.

Fringe Cringe

 Last year I signed up for the Fringe on a complete whim. I got a last-minute spot less than two months before the festival started and decided it would be grandddd (spoiler alert it wasn’t grand – it was like  really hard).

 I arrived  with no experience and no clue how to market the bleedin’ thing. So my mother came to the rescue. She flew over for the first few days and helped me flyer. We would split up for a couple of hours and try to sell the bejaysus out of my show. 

Only problem is, she had never seen the show, she only knew the general gist. So, she was essentially making it up as she went along. Who rocks up one night but a gaggle of nuns who had got all palsy with mum and heard that my show was about the 15 years I spent in my all-girls Irish Catholic convent school. 

Let’s just say, the show isn’t necessarily nun-friendly. I could’ve passed away watching their faces drop with horror. I booked in for a confession later that week.

Fringe Whinge

The worst part about fringe is that it's literally impossible to see every show you want to. Time and money limit the amount of shows you can see and of course, your own show blocks out a few hours in the day where you can’t see anything. 

There’s nothing worse than when a friend says ‘oh my goddddd you have to see X’s show. It’s the best thing I’ve seen- your show excluded obviously, Rachel – this wholeeee month.’

 And then you figure out the show is on the exact same time as yours.  

• Rachel Galvo: The Shite Feminist is on at the Pleasance Dome at 7pm during the Edinburgh Fringe.

Published: 4 Aug 2025