Why Edinburgh?

Ernesto, what has made you want to do the Edinburgh Fringe? I had been toying with the idea of performing in Edinburgh for some time, especially, while preparing the material for “In the Name of the Flesh” (which I first previewed at the Camden Fringe, in North London, a couple of years ago). Last year, I went up to Edinburgh for a long weekend during festival time, taking the opportunity to take a few brief slots at open stage events. I had already visited Edinburgh in August in the 90s but nothing had prepared me for what I found there last year. The sheer madness and gigantic proportions of it all totally overwhelmed me. It fascinated me and terrified me in equal measures. I guess I was bitten by some mysterious (and scary) showbiz bug. Then, last January (as I have already mentioned earlier in this blog) at the end of a preview of my show at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, in South London, a member of the audience encouraged me: ‘You should take this to Edinburgh. This show is perfect for the Fringe!’ Did I need more encouragement? A few weeks later, when Richard Tyrone Jones approached me to do a run at the Spoken Word Section in this year’s PBH’s Free Fringe, I had to accept (not without apprehension)!