‘I’ll never be rich’: Edinburgh fringe standups consider the cost of living – and comedy | Edinburgh Festival 2023

Edinburgh Festival 2023

As spending on acting and watching shows on the sidelines continues to rise, three comedians are asking their audiences to reassess what they value

Mon Aug 21 2023 05.09 EDT

Money changes hands at a number of Edinburgh Festival performances this year, and not just at the time of the traditional ‘bucket speech’ at the end of Free Fringe shows. Mary O’Connell fires notes with shiny money guns at the start of Money Princess. Tom Mayhew has a suitcase full of odds and ends, which he is trying to auction off to earn his first million. And Stanley Brooks, aka comedian Lewis Dunn, is paying his audience minimum wage to experience 10 seconds of dream work.

With rising prices and stagnating wages, we all think more about money. And on the fringes, where the cost of performing and watching shows continues to rise, it’s no surprise that many artists are taking up the subject. Krystal Evans, Tamsyn Kelly and Alison Spittle talk about growing up in poverty. Lane Kwederis lets us know what it means to be a financial dominatrix. Paddy Young cheekily researches landlords and the financial precariousness of renting in London. On the other hand, Fool’s Gold sees an artist struggling with his financial privilege.

Mayhew’s previous two shows have explored the reality of being poor. As someone who grew up with little money, he’s always wanted to see positive depictions of those on benefits and straight-up jokes about the issues that entrench inequality. This year’s show, which he says is “inspired by my dodgy Del Boy-esque dad,” is a quest to turn things around and get rich, where he questions whether money can really buy happiness.

“When you’ve always been preoccupied with money, it toughens you up and you can joke about it,” Mayhew says. “Sometimes it’s the people who have nothing who are very sensitive to it.”

Comedy is Mayhew’s passion and the only thing he spends money on – even when he was on £50 a week in benefits he would save money so he could travel to perform at comedy nights . On the show, he recounts his father’s bewilderment that junior comedians don’t always get paid. It can be shocking when the emotional investment you put into your art isn’t always reflected financially, he says.

O’Connell is exploring similar avenues. She always had a full-time job alongside stand-up and because she loved it so much, she didn’t believe you could make a living out of it. “I value my paid work more than acting. Comedy has always been something I snuck into.

When she started writing Money Princess, it was going to be a show about money anxiety, with O’Connell explaining why she judged other people’s financial decisions to be reckless and could never enjoy the moment. She describes herself as middle class, but in the current climate, becoming financially secure while living in London seemed a long way off.

Then something big happened that challenged her anxieties. She entered an OnlyFans comedy competition – and won £100,000. “It’s not enough to stop working,” she says, “but it’s a lot.”

The show takes us on the wild journey to his victory. All of this forced her to recontextualize her career. “I can’t understand that I’ve made the most money I’ve ever made from acting,” she says. “I still have trouble calling myself a comedian!”

For those who would also like to know how to get rich quick, the Stanley Brooks seminar might hold the answer. It was inspired by an actual encounter Dunn had, when he showed up for a job interview, only to be taken to a gas station to sell cosmetics. “The whole thing was a pyramid scheme,” Dunn explains. “The guy literally drew a pyramid and explained, I’m down and I have to go up. He was convinced that tomorrow he would be a millionaire.

Brooks’ character is inspired by this man, as well as shows such as The Apprentice. “It’s this idea that bravado and saying things like they mean something is better than actually knowing things,” he says.

In the get-rich-quick seminar, Brooks gives us business idea workshops, berates the audience for poor financial decisions, and reveals that running those sessions is his dream job. “The joke with Stanley is that he thinks ‘dream job’ means rich. But he’s wrong. He selfishly does the thing he loves, but he’ll blame you for not being rich.

The character predates the cost of living crisis, but is now more relevant than ever. “People are finding it funnier because they’re starting to see this person more, the YouTubers who say, ‘Get rich quick, you can make millions!'”

Mayhew also touches on the idea that there are quick fixes. “At the end of the show, I didn’t make a million because there’s no quick fix to poverty,” he says.

But there are glimmers of hope. Mayhew was one of 50 acts to get the new Keep It Fringe fund this year. He has performed on the Free Fringe in the past, and is doing so again this year, but feels the scholarship has given him rare financial security at the festival. “For the first time, I could do something creative without worrying about losing a lot of money. It’s such a great thing.

The three performers ask their audience to reevaluate what they value. “Ultimately, the end of the show says, I’ll probably never be rich, but you can still find joy in simple pleasures,” Mayhew says.

“I think we can all be a little more thrifty and open to wanting more for ourselves,” says O’Connell, “but I also think it’s important to only value joy.”

Dunn wants his audience to wonder if he’s happy doing what he does. “The thing is, I want to be a stand-up comedian,” he says. “Even if it costs me thousands of euros, even if it’s hard work, I still want to do it. And that’s why I’ll never be rich.