The Edinburgh Festival Fringe takes place every August for just over three weeks. It’s the world’s largest open access art festival where you and your classes can find theatre, comedy, circus, music, dance and much more in venues and streets all over Edinburgh. Additionally, street performers from around the world perform on the Royal Mile and at the Mound for thousands of people every day.
The Community Stage gives you the chance to bring your class or group and perform whatever piece of live theatre, music, comedy, storytelling or any other art form you like – a chance for your budding Fringe artists to experience being a street performer at the world-famous Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
After your performance, your class or group will have the opportunity to meet an experienced Fringe street performer, talk to them about what it takes to become a street artist and go on a walking tour of the Fringe street events.
Fringe Community Stage 2025: Schools Day
Background
In 2018, at one of our teacher consultations, there was a call for space to be made within the street events programme specifically for school-aged children and young people to perform.
This led to the successful pilot of our Schools on the street project in 2019. Over 100 young people, from schools across Edinburgh and beyond, performed on the Royal Mile on one of three days we’d set aside for the project. Community groups were invited to take part on one of the other days during the Fringe.
In 2023, the project was renamed as the Community Stage.
Fringe Community Stage 2025: Schools Day
Does your school have a class or group who would like to perform at the Fringe? Do you have a piece of theatre, poetry, circus, comedy, dance or small acoustic music acts you could perform? Or something else entirely?
Join us for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get on stage on the bustling High Street at the heart of the festival, amid street performers, human statues and the Fringe-going crowd. Our Community Stage is located by the Mercat Cross on the High Street, near St Giles Cathedral.
Schools are invited to take part between 11:00 and 18:00 on Thursday 21 August 2025.
Each slot on the stage is 30 minutes and must include all your set-up, performance and take down. Let us know if you’d like longer, and we will see what we can do. We can also supply details of stage dimensions, sound equipment and so on when you apply.
Groups are welcomed to the stage by a Fringe member of staff; a compere introduces them on stage, and a sound engineer helps with the technical set-up. Groups will also have the opportunity to join a tour of the Fringe street events and hear from a performer what it takes to be a professional. Please let us know if you’d like this included after your slot.
Groups are also encouraged to stay and experience the other acts on stage and support each other.
If you'd like to take part, please email [email protected] and let us know:
- about your idea or act
- how many students would be taking part
- your preferred time slot.
