From Baby Reindeer to Fleabag, the Edinburgh Fringe has given the world some of the best British movies and shows.
Everybody’s talking about Baby Reindeer, Netflix’s newest series based on a true story and an Edinburgh Fringe show. Creator and star Richard Gadd tells his true story (with some different names and characterizations) of the stalker who capitalized on his vulnerability after a traumatic experience with sexual assault, while trying to make a living as a standup comedian. But the Netflix series isn’t the first iteration of the story.
In fact, Richard first told the story in his 2019 Edinburgh Fringe festival show, after the success of his previous show, Monkey See Monkey Do, bits of which were shown in Baby Reindeer. The show became a hit, expanding to a London run and now a Netflix series. And it’s not the only show that’s had a successful trajectory. Every August, thousands of artists and creators head to Edinburgh to debut their lifelong works, so we’re highlighting some of the shows that made it out of the festival and onto our screens.
The 2019 Edinburgh version of Baby Reindeer was a one-man show, so it was very different from what we’re seeing today and much more theatrical as Richard played every character. The Guardian wrote: “We never see Martha: she’s represented by a bar-stool. But we hear her voicemail messages and her emails scroll across the venue’s ceiling.” While the action is different from what we see on Netflix, the emotional essence seems the same as the review continues, “[Richard] presents himself as a disturbed soul, finding strange solace in Martha’s attraction to him.” Now, it’s the number one show on Netflix and Richard Gadd is a household name. Perhaps his newfound fame will elicit a sequel.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge is now the President of the Fringe Society, and clearly the success of her one-woman show led her there. She premiered Fleabag in 2013 at the Fringe’s Underbelly, which won a Fringe First Award. It was inspired by a friend who dared Phoebe to write a 10-minute sketch for a standup comedy night and voila! we have Fleabag, a series about a sex-obsessed woman based on a live show on the same topic.
Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement are known to us as the Flight of the Conchords guys and Taika Waititi collaborators. But before they became our favorite Kiwis, the duo performed three years in a row at the Edinburgh Fringe, which eventually led to their own BBC Radio show and their later HBO series.
Yes, we are going back in time to the debut of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead in 1966. The Edinburgh Fringe began in 1947 to rival the city’s invite-only Edinburgh International Festival. Although many festivals within the Edinburgh Fringe are now limited to invites and accepted applications, the festival as a whole is completely open to any performer, giving them the chance to bring their shows to a wider audience. In 1966, playwright Tom Stoppard debuted his new play in Edinburgh. It’s since gone to the West End, Broadway, and has been adapted into a 1990 film starring Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, and Richard Dreyfuss.
The Mighty Boosh may not be super well-known in America, but it’s a huge hit in the United Kingdom. Big time comedian Stewart Lee was part of the sketch show’s first rendition at the 1997 Edinburgh Fringe, but Noel Fielding and Julian Barratt returned with the sketch show in later years, winning the prestigious award for Best Newcomer. After 2000’s Autoboosh, they signed a BBC deal for three seasons of the show that many still binge and love.
Also in 1997, The League of Gentlemen took home the Edinburgh Comedy Award in 1997. Starring the not-at-all-famous sketch troupe consisting of Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith, Mark Gatiss, and Jeremy Dyson, The League of Gentlemen was later adapted for radio, television, and film, incorporating comedy and the thrilling nature of Royston Vasey.
Like Baby Reindeer and Fleabag, Hannah Gadsby’s hour-long show was a hit at the Edinburgh Fringe. They took home the Edinburgh Comedy Award and the show gained new life as a Netflix standup special. However, since its popularity boom, several standup comedians have taken to social media platforms to claim that Nanette “isn’t standup” because of its depth into subjects like homophobia and sexual violence. But Hannah did something even better than comedy — they transformed the genre entirely, paving the way for projects like Baby Reindeer while still becoming one of the most famous comedians in the world.
