Will Owen on the best and worst of the Edinburgh festival

Will Owen is back at the Edinburgh Fringe with Looking Fab At Fifty, about replacing the empty gratifications of his forlorn life with the deep profundity of light entertainment. Here he shares what he can't get enough of at the festival, his most embarrassing Edinburgh experience and the worst thing about the Fringe. Apart from the cost of accommodation, obviously…

Fringe Binge

My favourite part of Edinburgh is its slopy, winding streets. As a self-identifying pedestrian, I literally love going from A to B, and Edinburgh as a city really facilitates that for me. Nothing makes me happier than putting on my headphones and just striding the heck around. 

On the very few occasions I’m having to get a bus or an Uber round the Fringe, I’m feeling like a fraud. I want to be on the ground, ambling through bypasses and striding across the cobbles. Nothing gives me a greater thrill than bumping into people I met two nights before; the ten seconds that feel like an hour when you’ve made eye contact with someone you’re walking towards, and you have to fill the time before you’re in close enough proximity for a conversation, are what makes Edinburgh glorious. 

Sometimes, I’m having a bit of fun with it, on account of my rich inner world. Often, I’m pretending to be in TV show or film. I’ve been known (by me, I did this alone) to walk up Arthur’s Seat, hold my arms wide, look up at the sky and take a long deep breath as I let go of the imaginary stresses about what life might look like once I graduate and my fictional lover moves to Europe for his masters.

Elsewhere, I am striding down Pleasance pretending to be a reality TV host about to deliver a game-changing twist to some contestants. Friends would try to greet me in the street last year, and I would strut past, dead-eyed, mouthing ‘Islanders can you please gather round the fire pit.’ It alienates me from the community, but wow does it make me feel alive. 

Fringe Cringe 

This is a tricky one because as far as I am aware I’ve only ever behaved flawlessly at Fringe and been a real credit to my family at every turn. 

When I was a student, I came to the festival and went to watch a very cool and famous American comedian with my friend at Assembly. After the show, we were having a drink right outside the venue, and we spotted her by herself looking down at her phone. 

Our delusional 18-year-old minds decided that this mid-30s self-respecting artiste was lonely, and too shy to ask for our company. We decided it would be only right for the two of us to tell her to join us for a drink. Just as we were about to reach her, another equally stylish and brilliant comedian appeared to join her. My friend and I were now stood a metre away on an otherwise empty concourse, staring at these two people we did not know. We then proceeded to babble at her in a way that was not only off-putting, but also egregious.

 I guess the advice is if you’re 18, please keep yourself to yourself at Fringe. 

Fringe Whinge

Last year, I stayed in student halls, and we experienced a lot of fire alarm evacuations over the month. By the third, I was growing tired of the same old routine, gathering in the courtyard. 

This year, I would love to add a new element to these drills. Perhaps, the quickest group to fully evacuate their flat gets a turn sitting in the fire truck? Or maybe we choreograph a flashmob to the sound of the alarm that every breaks into in perfect harmony? Could everyone stop focusing on their shows actually, and give a bit of attention to how we can build a bit of community at fire assembly point, please?!

• Will Owen: Looking Fab at Fifty is on at 8.30pm in Assembly Roxy during the Edinburgh Fringe

Published: 11 Aug 2025