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.......The one and only, truly free Fringe!.........

The Free Fringe began in 1996, founded by Peter Buckley Hill, with his show Peter Buckley Hill And Some Comedians.

Peter saw the Fringe as it then was: performers losing thousands of pounds, venues with four or five people in them, and complaints about high ticket prices. He saw that this was a vicious cycle. As costs to the performers rose, ticket prices rose. As ticket prices rose, fewer people went to shows and even fewer went to shows by artists they hadn't heard of. And this was bad for comedy; you can't make people laugh if there are only four of them, one in each corner of an otherwise empty room. And the more empty the audiences were, the more prices went up, to cover the rising costs of the venues. There seemed no escape from the cycle, and yet it was providing no opportunity for performers to rise through the ranks. The circle had to be cut.

Making the space free to performers would not be enough. The benefit had to be passed on to the consumer. Only thus could more people be attracted to see more shows.

The show that started the Free Fringe ‘Peter Buckley Hill And Some Comedians’ was the first of its kind. Peter paid a promoter for the space (there was no other option) and absorbed the loss. People called him mad. But audiences came. And came again. The bar broke all previous sales records.

In 1997 a different promoter attempted to force Peter to charge for admission. He resisted, and won. Peter Buckley Hill And Some Comedians II went ahead, and this time he didn't have to pay for the space. Indeed, it turned out that the promoter had not been charged for the space by the venue; she had sold the slots to her fellow artists and kept the money. The middleman was cut out, and the principle was established that increased drink sales were enough to satisfy the venue.

1998: PBHASC III became more established and increased its length to 1 1/2 hours. Name comedians played guest slots. But the pub manager left, and the area management didn't want the show to continue. A new venue had to be found. The experiment could have died at that point, but PBH was determined that it shouldn't.

After some searching, a new venue was found: the Three Quarter Sports Café on Grassmarket. This converted church had a wonderful performing room on two levels upstairs; this arrangement was marred only by the management's occasional cancellations of the shows to broadcast football and other sports on the big screen. It was in this venue that the first attempt to broaden the Free Fringe idea to more shows was made. The idea was to use weekday afternoons for a three-hour long rolling preview of any Fringe shows that wanted it, in 15-minute slots. This was an ambitious plan involving vast co-ordination between slots in the days before everybody had a mobile phone, and consequently suffered from occasional no-shows and dropouts. For these reasons, it didn't always succeed, but often it did, end the public took it in good part, often having lunch while watching the varied previews going past them. PBH bought an electric piano for this show; it was played twice. He still has it, and he still can't play it.

There were three years at the Three-Quarter; the public came in increasing numbers and name comedians played the shows. But the bar was closed and the venue sold, and yet another venue was needed. This was quite difficult to find.

Eventually, the Canon's Gait was approached. The then manager enthusiastically agreed to host PBH's two shows, but no more than that. Any expansion would have to wait for the future. In fact, the 2002 shows nearly did not take place, since that manager then left and the message about the shows was not passed on. Fortunately, the situation was rectified in time and PBHASC VII took place in the Canon's Gait. Smaller than the Three-Quarter, in nevertheless boasted a warm atmosphere and the audience flocked. After so much upheaval in the past, the Free Fringe had found a home and a place to expand in. Or so it seemed.

It was not to be. One of the numerous parasites who spoil the Fringe intervened. Declaring himself a comedy promoter, he persuaded the Canon's Gait's management that he could programme the space with better shows. PBH said he could do the same, but the management went with the 'promoter'. Who proceded to organise no shows whatsoever, having offered the space he was given free at £2000 per one-hour slot to performers. Meanwhile, no free venue was available to PBH and the cause seemed lost.

A chink of light showed through this darkness in June 2003, when the former manager of the Canon's Gait, Linsay Watts, telephoned PBH to say that she was now manager of a trade union club in Brunswick Street, and would PBH be interested in doing his show there? By that time the Fringe programme had long since gone to press, and PBH had made other arrangements for August. Driving toEdinburgh and back in the same day, he and his partner looked at the space offered, and though he could not change his arrangements, he promised to make something happen. A show called Some Comedians Without Peter Buckley Hill was put in place, and did well despite being in an unfamiliar building, in an otherwise Fringe-less part of Edinburgh, and having no entry in the programme. The enthusiasm of the organisers, and the loyalty of the audience PBH had built over the years, carried the day.

2004 saw the return of PBHASC VIII, and this time another opportunity to expand the Free Fringe, using extra space in the UCW Club. And it was then PBH made the biggest mistake in the whole saga of the Free Fringe. Seeking an easy source of variable-bill shows to complement his own two successful shows, he approached the Laughing Horse organisation. They put on a third variable-bill show and offered PBH a small sum to attach their name to the venue.

The shows went well. The formula worked. Now, after all the years, the opportunity to expand had finally arrived. For 2005 the Canon's Gait was brought back into play, so the Free Fringe had two venues. PBHASC IX went back to its third home, and a full raft of shows was booked for both venues. The booking was supposed to be a joint operation; instead, the Laughing Horse did it and presented PBH with a fait accompli. They also appended, without PBH's agreement, their name to the venues. Well, these were minor annoyances, and the important thing was that the shows went on. It was proven that the Free Fringe concept could work on a wider scale.

2006 saw a collaboration between PBH and the Laughing Horse organisation.This also saw the expansion on the Free Fringe.This worked exceptionally well, with full capacities seen at all venues, to the delight of both audiences and performers.However, behind the scenes the relationship between Laughing Horse and PBH was breaking down.There was a clear division between Laughing Horse’s commercial approach, and PBH’s collaborative not-for-profit ethos.The behaviour of the Laughing Horse organisation during this period was reprehensible, attempting to take control away from Free Fringe founder Peter Buckley Hill, even trying to ban him from his own venues and events.Much about these events has been written elsewhere on the internet.

Its 2007 and the true Free Fringe is back.A collaborative, not-for-profit Free Fringe Festival.Free for Performers, Free for audiences, and free of the commercial trappings that have led to the spiralling cost of both attending, and performing at the Fringe.

The fringe is coming back to the people.This year the Free Fringe is bigger than ever, with more free venues, more free shows, and the best line-up yet.Check out the shows in the directory, and keep supporting
the one and only, truly free Fringe!

THERE is a revolution gathering strength in Edinburgh this August. And when next year comes around we could well see the biggest change to the face of the Fringe since William Burdett-Coutts established the Assembly Rooms and created what has almost become a class system within it.

Over the years the price of hiring a venue has risen and tales of well-known comics coming up to the Big Three Venues, selling out their run and still going home with a four-figure debt abound. One of the main topics of conversation is the mounting costs of venue hire, PR hire, Fringe entry, accommodation, posters, flyers and the whole nine yards. No-one ever hears of any performer who makes a profit.

Audiences increasingly complain about ticket prices and bar tariffs. They also feel - if my eavesdroppings have been representative - disappointed that they don't get value for money. It is a year-on-year source of rancour. Many of Edinburgh's best-known names have, this year, decamped to Tommy Sheppard's Stand Comedy Club. There they get the kind of deal that performers at other venues dream about.

They play to small houses, the toilets are grim and their audiences have to wait outside because the space is so small, but they have a ball and they go home with a few quid. From an audience point of view, ticket prices at The Stand are pretty reasonable, especially considering the quality of acts on down there. All this is, of course, possible because The Stand is here all year round. It is tougher if you have to gear up only for August.

But all across Edinburgh, just for August, in pubs from Bruntsfield to Leith, something really very exciting is happening. The Free Fringe is an inspirational example of what can be done with a dream, determination and a lot of wholehearted cooperation.

In five separate venues, around 69 comedy performers are posting House Full signs. Happy punters are pouring out on to the street, pausing only to check out the leaflets advertising other Free Fringe acts. And the Free Fringe does exactly what it says on the label. The performers do not pay a thing for the venues and the public are not charged for the shows. The venues are happy to take the increased trade and it really works. It is a win-win situation. There is such a thing as a free lunch. Metaphorically speaking, anyway.

Established names like Steve Day and Andrew J Lederer have quit their mainstream venues and are delightedly playing to capacity houses under The Laughing Horse banner in Lindsay's in Brunswick Street and The Canon's Gait on Canongate respectively. I have seen five or six shows in Free Fringe venues and not one dud among them.

In fact, one of precious few five-star reviews I have given this year went to the unbelievably brilliant Martha McBrier, whose show goes on down in Leith at Lindsay's. The night I was there, I took my beer out into the garden and watched 20 comics sit under an awning, kicking back, having a normally priced beer and a smoke and a really good time with their peer group. It reminded me of something we used to have... oh yes, I remember... The Fringe.

The Free Fringe is the brainchild of Peter Buckley Hill, Edinburgh legend and long-time eccentric. In 1996 he brought just his own show and gave it away. Now he is giving away 69 shows. "People thought I was mad," he says. "Why charge nothing for admission when you could charge something? There's an easy answer: if you make it easy for people to come, they will. If you make it easy for people to try something they haven't heard of, they will. And if they don't like it - and however good or famous you are, there's always someone who doesn't like it - they don't feel resentment at having been ripped off. Because they haven't been."

Hill is intensely passionate about getting performers a fair deal. This is not just a guy bringing a bunch of shows up to Edinburgh, this is something close to a sociopolitical movement. Performers are expected to help each other with their shows, there is no real central organisation, there are no charges, hidden or otherwise. "Maybe 2 per cent of comedians make a profit in the Fringe. The rest make a loss. And it's their own money they lose, often five-figure sums. At the Free Fringe, the most you can lose is your Fringe fee and your accommodation."

After each show there is a bucket at the door that you can put some money in - or not. The odd thing is that the Free Fringe shows I have reviewed are the only ones I have ended up actually paying for, such has been the quality of the shows - because I wanted to.

You should take in some Free Fringe shows. What do you have to lose? The worst that can happen is you don't like the show. But at least here you can walk out without thinking: "Crikey, there goes £12." And you can experiment, see someone you've never heard of. Discover your own new favourite comics.

Remember when we all used to do that? As Hill says: "This is more like what a Fringe should be. There's no point having a Fringe Festival in which people only go to see acts who are already popular. That would be a mainstream festival, not a Fringe.

"At a Fringe people should be able to take risks. With the Free Fringe, they can."

Were I bringing a comedy show to Edinburgh next year, I would be giving three weeks on the Free Fringe some very serious thought. Over the years there have been many attempts at taking the Fringe back to its roots - giving the Fringe a Fringe. None has worked.

The comedy section of the brochure has come to dominate, and the Fringe increasingly looks like a trade fair. It is right that the people spearheading the best chance the Fringe has ever had to become a real Fringe again, are comics. The Fringe is dead, long live the Fringe.

• Free Fringe shows can be seen at the following venues: Laughing Horse @ Canon's Gait (Venue 78); Laughing Horse @ Jekyll & Hyde (Venue 259); Laughing Horse @ Lindsay's (venue 56) and Laughing Horse @ Meadow Bar (venue 264).

Listen to PBH being interviewed in 2006 on the history, philisophy and future of the Free Fringe, in a podcast.

link is here

credits

Enormous thanks to everybody who has helped so far. It's a team effort. And people have responded magnificently.

This site was designed by Nick Hodder

The logo was designed by Chris Lincé

Enormous help in finding venues for 2007 was provided by Stewart Wilson, Steph Ashford and Bill Dewar.

Thanks also to the venue managers who kept faith with us.

There are more credits to come. This is just the start.

PBH