The Live Comedy Association is calling on the Fringe Society to take immediate action to improve this year's Fringe experience for participants and provide much-needed transparency over key issues including the Fringe App.

The LCA has penned an open letter to the Fringe Society asking a number of questions and is inviting as many people in the comedy industry as possible to sign it.

The letter is mainly prompted by the news that there will be no Fringe App this year. Despite the fact that it has been said that the Fringe website offers similar functionality, comedians incuding Mark Watson and many others are unhappy about the news as well as unhappy about how it belatedly came out.

Many feel that their fee for registering their show, sometimes almost £400, should be reduced without the App. Others feel that if they had known that the App would not be happening they might not have registered their show. Registration is not compulsory for a show to be performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Earlier today (Monday) the Fringe Society responded to the outcry about he axed App via social media. Details here.

The text of the letter is as follows:

To Shona McCarthy, Fringe Society Chief Executive,

We are acts, agents, producers, PRs and other active participants of the Fringe. We are extremely dismayed that the Fringe have failed to provide an app this year and alarmed at the complete lack of communication to the stakeholders. After two years of lockdown, we feel little has been done to actively improve the Fringe experience for participants and now it’s becoming increasingly difficult to justify the expense of taking part. 

We have collated and outlined the main issues below:

Transparency

The Fringe was given a big funding grant during lockdown, where can we see how it was spent? What is the reasoning for not consulting with stakeholders about the lack of an app this year? There seems to have been little engagement with stakeholders this year.

App

Why is there no app this year? And worst of all, no communication, consultation or explanation offered. It is absolutely vital during the fringe, especially selling tickets on the day or closer to the time of the show. It is shocking that there is no reduction in registration fee either and that the way performers found out such a huge change to this year’s Fringe was a response to a tweet asking where the app was.

Website

The website search function is poor. Has this been discussed and is anything being done to improve it before the Fringe starts? One main concern is the lack of an easy to find search button for shows. If the Fringe is moving towards e-ticketing, what is going to be done to combat the generally weak wifi and spotty phone signal?

Accommodation

What is being done to help prevent the vastly inflated cost of accommodation during the Fringe? It is now at tipping point, acts are deciding they can’t afford to go this year. Acts, press, agents, and producers are losing money and this is the main cause. 

Trains

Accommodation is also severely affected by the train timetable to and from Glasgow which is cutting out the second city in Scotland from:

• Providing cheaper rent 

• Providing staff for the festival as late services are infrequent due to the current revised timetable

We are calling on the Fringe Society to lead lobbying efforts on transport in order to address this and to communicate the outcomes of this lobbying clearly with Fringe participants.

Press 

Why has there been a reduction in booking accommodation for press to come to the Fringe? Why has there been no investment in bringing more press up? We need press support this year as we recover from Covid especially. There are still key press seeking accommodation — as early in the run as possible as early reviews support ticket sales. We need to know what the Fringe is doing to remedy this and how the situation can be salvaged

Half Price Hut

There are rumours that the Half Price Hut may not be present this year. We require immediate clarification on this as this is an incredible useful resource for Fringe shows. 

We call upon the Fringe Society to address these concerns within the next 48 hours. These are all part of a much wider conversation about inclusivity, accessibility, and diversity at the Fringe and it is now time for immediate, meaningful action.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The letter will be formally sent at 6pm on Tuesday, July 5. Members of the comedy industry can sign the letter at the bottom here.