Forget trawling through thousands of Fringe listings. We asked performers the weirdest, cheekiest questions we could think of – and more than 500 answered. Now, the best of those bite-sized “Fringe Quickies” have emerged victorious — claiming glory, bragging rights, and absolutely no actual prize.
#FringeQuickies is The Quinntessential Review’s bite-sized Edinburgh Fringe Q&A series — four quick-fire questions, each answered with just a few sentences. It’s fast, funny, and often a little revealing, giving you a glimpse of the show (and the performer) you won’t get from the programme blurb.
This year, the Quickies series exploded, featuring well over 500 performers and shows (that’s more than 10% of the entire Fringe programme). A handful also went “boosted”, helping us take the time off paid work in August to focus on the Fringe. (A massive thank you to our boosted performers for keeping the lights on!)
Boosted Fringe Quickies
Now, onto the main event: our Fringe Quickies “winners”. One goes to our personal favourite, the other to your favourite (the most viewed). The grand prize? Absolutely nothing… apart from those bragging rights for the rest of the Fringe.
Our favourite
We wanted someone who fits the Fringe Quickies vibe. Someone who takes a ridiculous prompt and totally owns it. We found our winner, and frankly, their answers stuck in our minds from the exact moment they hit our inbox.
Step forward, Fringe Quickie #229, Leviathan x Asmodeus. Saoirse O’Hooligan and Layla Adam brought exactly the kind of unhinged energy we were looking for. Their marketing plan for this PBH Free Fringe show? Creating dating app profiles to lure unsuspecting matches on first dates to see their comedy show. On top of surviving cancel culture by breaching the Geneva Convention, their ideal Fringe house party involves getting overwhelmed, regretting everything, and hiding in the bathroom playing Ethnoguessr. We have no notes.
Your favourite
This one’s simple: the Quickie that drew the most direct clicks (outside of our colossal doomscroll). We even adjusted for how long each had been live — no unfair advantage for the early birds.
And without further ado, your audience favourite is… Fringe Quickie #533, Thermodrama. Lydia Free and Coco Cottam gave the people exactly what they wanted.
Their answers serve up threats to flash-mob the Summerhall sauna-theatre (“Bring the seats to the bums”), self-care routines that involve downing an espresso and escaping to the Turkish sun, and a pre-performance ritual of standing in their underwear, holding hands, and whispering “PECORINO ROMANO”. As they rightly pointed out, anyone who has been at the Fringe for longer than 24 hours wouldn’t bat an eyelid.
Almost your favourites
Thermodrama pulled in the most eyeballs, but there was a very close second that was a massive hit with you all (and almost pipped Leviathan x Asmodeus for our own top spot)…
Alexander Moneypenny and Adam Tuffrey laid it all on the line in Fringe Quickie #517, The Shocking Truth About Flat Earth. We respect any performer willing to fund their Fringe run by selling their Granny to two shirtless Romanian brothers named Andrew and Tristan. Plus, if you see their show five times, Alex will literally give you his second-born child. Legally.
Thank you to everyone who submitted — we genuinely couldn’t do it without you. And to our boosted supporters, who give us the breathing room in August to focus on reviewing all the wonderful shows out there, we’re especially grateful. Keep the love going — discover all 500+ Quickies in the #FringeQuickies doomscroll.
Leave a Reply