@sugarcoatedsisters Guide to The Fringe

The 2024 Edinburgh Festival Fringe is well underway! As the Official Virtual Stage for the third year running, TikTok will once again be supporting emerging talent to reach new audiences, and enable a global community to embrace the magic of the Edinburgh Fringe.

With more talent than ever heading to Edinburgh, it can be tricky to navigate the festival, or even know where to start, whether you are visiting the city for the first time, or making your Fringe debut. So, who better to ask for advice than comedy stars and Fringe veterans, @sugarcoatedsisters?

Tabby and Chloe are an award-winning musical comedy double-act and real-life siblings. Since joining TikTok in January 2021 they have gained over 963.2k followers, through their cult musical skits. Their catchy videos cover everything from dating to politics. Their original debut show 'Bittersweet' was a smash hit at the Fringe, and following its success, the show transferred to Soho Theatre for another sold out run.

This year, Tabby & Chloe are back alongside some of the of the most exciting names in comedy, as part of The TiKTok Variety Show. Hosted by TikTok starlet Coco Sarel, and featuring comedian Joanne McNally, alongside Abi Clarke,Christopher Hall, Henry Rowley, Kim Blythe, Shabaz Ali, Reuben Kaye and Fatiha El-Ghorri, performers will take to the iconic Udderbelly stage for a two-hour variety show on Wednesday, 14 August at 21:15.

You can still grab a ticket to the TikTok Variety Show here.

So whether you're a first time visitor looking to experience all that the city has to offer, or a performing, Tabby and Chloe are here to help, with all the tips and tricks to surviving and thriving during the world's largest performing arts event.

Fringe first-timers

Be spontaneous: As well as booking shows in advance, leave space in your schedule to catch some last minute performances on the Edinburgh Fringe App. Some of the best shows we've seen were ones we found out about randomly, for example by walking past a venue and seeing an interesting poster or even by receiving a flyer on the day of the show!

☁️ Beware of Scottish weather: Edinburgh in August can be boiling hot, but it can also be rainy and windy. So we'd suggest coming prepared for all scenarios: bring some shorts as well as a raincoat and umbrella, just in case!

Soak up the atmosphere: When you see a show at a venue such as Pleasance Courtyard or Assembly Gardens, try to schedule some downtime. There's a lot of amazing food around and hanging out in the hustle and bustle of the venues is a great chance to soak up the Fringe vibe.

Explore the city: Away from the drama, Edinburgh is an incredible city to explore! Our top activity is climbing Arthur's Seat! It's free, easy to access from the city centre, you get a welcome breath of fresh air, and a stunning view.

️ Let TikTok be your guide: Make sure to check out the #EdFringe hashtag on TikTok to find out about new shows and any other fun Fringe news. There are many amazing acts this year. But if you can catch Sarah Hester Ross...Is What? then make sure you do! It's a brilliant hour of musical comedy and her singing voice is second to none. You can also follow@edfringeand iconic venues like Pleasance, Underbelly and Gilded Balloon to check out the action from the ground.

Making a Fringe debut

Pace yourself: If you're doing the whole month at the Fringe, resilience and pacing yourself is important. Our show is pretty much sung all the way through and despite being very careful, we both lost our voices half way through our run. Luckily, the timing coincided with our day off, so we only had to cancel two shows before we could sing again.

✏️ Bring a Printer: Someone told us to bring a printer, stapler, ink and scissors so we could print out any great reviews, quotes, or media appearances to help us promote our show. This way, we were able to stick them on our flyers and posters as soon as they came out! This was extremely useful advice and having these items with us saved a lot of time and hassle.

✨ Make the most of the audience: It's a truly amazing experience performing to a Fringe audience. You never know exactly what type of crowd you're going to get each night, so it keeps you on your toes and teaches you a lot. It's an honour and a privilege...there's just nothing like it!

Use your community: Our TikTok following was a huge help to us during our Fringe debut. One of our followers commented on one of our videos saying she was coming from the midwest. We thought she meant the West Midlands but it turns out she was from the midwest, Illinois! She told us she hadn't even heard of the Fringe, but she saw our TikTok about it and went all the way to Edinburgh to see our live show! Meeting her made us feel profoundly grateful and showed us the power of online communities.

New to TikTok and keen to learn more about#EdFringe? It couldn't be easier, simply download the app for free via the Apple App Store, Google Play or Amazon.

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