PR for the Edinburgh Fringe and beyond
My brain fog is finally lifting from Edinburgh Fringe 2025.
My brain fog is finally lifting from Edinburgh Fringe 2025.
A huge thanks to all the artists who trusted us with their projects, the venues we worked with, and the journalists who covered the shows.
I've been wrapped up in Fringe work most of the year, and of course, I got sick right as it all finished. I had plans to treat myself by seeing the David Hockney show in Paris before it closed (and an AI exhibition too), but then I got ill. I spent two days in bed, got well enough to make the trip, and then went back to bed. Two weeks later - after a course of antibiotics - I’m finally back in the land of the living.
This year’s Fringe was huge for me and the team. We worked on almost 20 projects from Austria, UK, USA, India, China and Ireland. Some were artists we’d worked with before, and lots were new to us. Some clients started early, others got in touch just before the opening night (!).
A big shout-out to the venues who recommended Opening Lines as potential PR people for their shows to check out, and to the journalists who gave us honest advice and tips.
The shows we worked on included theatre, comedy, spoken word and improv. From Anatomy of Pain digging into our health system, matchmaking comedy Opps by Olivia Raine Atwood, absurd farce The Marriage of Alice B Toklas by Gertrude Stein, country music story Midnight in Nashville, and Vacuum Girl - a live TV pilot. Musical theatre show Girl Pop! was about the biggest girl group of the noughties reuniting. And there was plenty more from improvised Shakespeare, to stories about race, social justice, and love letters to Black women (performed on skates, naturally!).
I teamed up again with publicist Jessie, who worked her magic securing coverage - especially from influencers and podcasts. She also lined up performance opportunities and kept everyone updated on awards and industry events. Andy, who’s based in Cyprus and a long-time collaborator, came through with his writing skills, and even got an internationally renowned weekly radio show to see one of our shows - they are now in talks about featuring the story.
I focused on networking with journalists, brainstorming creative ways to get our clients press coverage, organising photocalls and crafting some very special (posted!) VIP invites. We also tapped into our building’s network - working with custom gift makers, printers, photographers and poster distributors.
The coverage reports are now complete. We secured over 100 pieces across national press, specialist outlets, podcasts, social media and international titles. Interviews, reviews, features and shortlisting. From titles like The Scotsman, BBC, MSN, viral TikTok moments and major awards. Our clients got a great mix of traditional press, industry buzz and digital reach.
Was it perfect? Not quite. For shows that came to us last minute, or had very short runs, we found it trickier to get coverage. UK national broadsheet coverage was also tougher this year, so that’s something we'll look into.
With my lungs finally less liquid-filled (!), I’m now working on a UK film festival project. We’re also chatting with artists about future runs in London and the US. I’m even thinking of ways we can better support future music projects.
Fancy working with us? Please get in touch any time.
A huge thanks again to everyone who trusted us and supported the shows.
