Keep it Fringe fund 2024: recipients announced
22 May 2024
Bursaries of £2,500 to support artists bringing work to this year’s Fringe
Today, 22 May 2024, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society is delighted to announce the recipients of the 2024 Keep it Fringe fund, an initiative launched in 2023 to support Fringe artists bringing work to the festival. Rooted in the festival’s vision to give anyone a stage and everyone a seat, the fund was created to help artists make the most of the Edinburgh Fringe by removing some of the barriers they face in bringing their work.
Supported by £1 million from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) over two years (2024 and 2025), the Fringe Society is today announcing the successful 180 recipients of £2,500 bursaries this year. The fund received 749 applications, which were reviewed by 30 independent assessors.
This year’s recipients reflect the diversity and variety that makes up the Fringe. Work covers a range of subjects from immigration to fake news and imposter syndrome to séances, ADHD diagnoses to fortune cookies, and sibling dynamics to addiction, with companies and artists covering nearly every genre in the Fringe programme. Representing a mix of free and ticketed shows, 41% of the successful applicants identify as disabled or have a health condition, and more than one in three come from a working-class background.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer said: ‘The Fringe has launched the careers of generations of comedians, actors and writers by giving them a chance to showcase their work at the largest arts festival in the world.
‘This UK Government funding will help nurture future stars by giving them a helping hand to bring their talent to Edinburgh, while also ensuring the Fringe retains its reputation for supporting up-and-coming artists.’
Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: ‘We are massively grateful to DCMS for providing funding that has enabled us to continue the Keep it Fringe fund for another two years. We know that for many artists the financial challenges of putting on a show can prevent some from coming to the Fringe, and this funding will enable the Edinburgh Fringe to be more accessible to artists from across the UK.
‘As one of the greatest platforms for creative expression in the world, the Fringe offers artists the opportunity to gather, network with industry partners and explore future career opportunities. I encourage all artists to continue to reach out to our Artist Services team to see how we can provide further support as we hurtle towards this year's Festival Fringe.’
THE 180 SUCCESSFUL RECIPIENTS OF THE KEEP IT FRINGE FUND (alphabetical):
- ¡Ay Mija!
- “Why, Ifrah Why?”
- 1 Moment in Time
- 1 Murder: The Mind Reading Lawyer
- 2 Muslim 2 Furious: Mecca Drift
- Aaron Twitchen: Himbo
- A Brief Case of Crazy
- After Shakespeare - Richard III
- Alasdair Wallace & Tom Hutchinson - "Are We Not Men?"
- Alexander Bennett: Emotional Daredevil
- All the Fraudulent Horse Girls
- Ambitious Underachiever
- An Octopus, The Universe n Stuff
- Barbara Fernandez Singing, Sagging and Shagging
- The Beatbox Collective: 'What's Your Sound?'
- Bella Humphries: Square Peg
- Bellringers
- Best in Class
- Big Year
- Birdwatching
- Blodwen’s in Business
- BLUBBER
- Blues and Burlesque
- Bot Brothers: A Story of Our Times
- Brennan Reece: Me Me Me
- Burst
- Caravan Club with Miss Missy Heavens
- Carl Donnelly: Boosegumps
- Celtic Roots
- Chameleon
- The Chaos That Has Been and Will No Doubt Return
- Character Flaw
- A Chip Off the Gold Block
- CHOIN
- Chokeslam
- Chris Cook: The Art Of Taking Part
- Chris Tavener is Faking Cool
- Christian Dart: Bigger Than The Christmas Turkey
- Clownfishing
- Cobin Millage: Fifteen Pints With a Wax Figure of Renowned Painter Pablo Picasso
- Colin Hoult: Colin
- Comedy for the Curious
- Dani Johns: Cringe
- Crying Shame
- Darkside
- Deeptime Atomic Waste Pleasure Party
- Delighted
- Diary of a Gay Disaster
- Doom & Glitter: A Tribute To Tom Waits
- DRUM
- The Duchess of Buckingham Regrets to Inform You That Her Husband Is Dead
- Duck
- The Duncan Brothers: Blood Sword
- Edy Hurst's Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Himself
- Elaine Robertson: Delulu
- The Emu War: A New Musical
- Experiment Human
- Failure Project
- Finding Splashman
- Float
- For the Love of Spam
- FREAK OUT!
- The Freemartin
- Free Mason
- Galentine's Day
- Gamble
- Glass Crumpet's Best of 2024
- Gogo Boots Go
- Goldfish
- GOOD BOY
- The Good Iranian
- Granny Norbag Saves The Planet
- Grow
- HALF MAN || HALF BULL PART ONE: THESEUS & HALF MAN || HALF BULL PART TWO: DAEDALUS
- Hardly Working
- A History of Fortune Cookies
- How I Learned to Swim
- How to Catch a Book Witch
- Hysterical
- I am Claire Parry (very funny stand up)
- I Did Something I Shouldn't Have
- I Really Do Think This Will Change Your Life
- I See My Sister
- I Was Dancing In The Lesbian Bar
- Identities
- In Defiance of Gravity
- In the Round
- In The Sick of It
- Instructions
- Iona Fyfe
- Is the WiFi Good in Hell?
- It's the Economy, Stupid!
- Jake Donaldson: Spectacle
- Joe Kent-Walters is Frankie Monroe: LIVE!!!
- Josephine Lacey: Autism Mama
- Jukebox Jury
- Just Aretha
- Kate Hammer: Double Virgin On the Rocks (with a Twist)
- Kate-Lois Elliott: How to Belong Without Joining a Cult
- Lessons On Revolution
- LIFE
- LIMBO - a sonata for acrobatic violinist and acrobat
- Locomotive For Murder: The Improvised Whodunnit
- Logan, A One Woman Show (Because only one of us survived)
- Look After Your Knees
- Lorna Rose Treen: Skin Pigeon
- Lost Girl
- Louise Atkinson: She's Got The Look
- Love Your Work
- Made of Magic – poetry of rage & (be)longing
- make the Bed
- MANikin
- Maria Fedulova: Russian. Mafia. Family.
- Mark Nicholas This Is Not The Autistic You Are Looking For
- Material Girl
- Midsommar
- MIME CLUB
- Mind Milk
- Mitzi Fitz (WIP)
- My Brain is Soup, Your Hands are the Spoons
- Neurochatter
- Non Player Character
- Occupational Hazard
- Oh, Calm Down
- Paper Swans
- please DON'T see our show
- plewds
- Pool's Gold
- Psyche
- The Queen's Head
- Rachel Creeger: Ultimate Jewish Mother
- Rice
- Rockstar Magician
- RTFM (Read The F***ing Manual)
- Ruby Carr: eBae
- Saint
- Sam Dodghon's Memory is Full
- Sam Hickford
- Sam Hurst Magic! Mayhem! Memes
- Sarah Roberts: Silkworm
- SAVOY! - Everybody's Doing It
- Scaffolding
- The Screen Test
- Selena Mersey: Madonna/Whore
- Seymour Fucking Mace You Cunts
- Shapiro: A Pop Star Musical
- A Show About Tomorrow
- The Shroud Maker
- Sian Davies: Band of Gold
- Sing, Sign and Sensory
- Sisters Three
- Sisyphean Quick Fix
- Sitting Pretty with Kitty
- Snake Boy Takes Manhattan
- Son of a Bitch
- Sorry (I Broke Your Arms And Legs)
- Sour Candi
- Steffan Alun and Support: Free Stand-Up, but at What Cost
- Stephanie Laing: Rudder
- Summoning Sondheim
- Surrender
- Tam o'Shanter
- This Porno does not pass the Bechdel Test
- This Show Contains No Maths, and other lies
- Tit Swingers
- Tom Short – Succes
- Turbo Town
- Ugly Sisters
- waiting
- The Weird Sisters
- What songs may do...
- When Judas Met John: Songs of Dylan and Lennon
- Wish You Were Here
- With the Best Will in the World
- Wood Owl and the Box of Wonders
- The World Got So Dumb
- Yes, We're Related
- Yvonne Hughes is Absolutely Riddled
- Zac Zac Zoom: A Story of Wheels and (F)eels
THE ASSESSORS (alphabetical):
30 assessors supported the Fringe Society in reviewing the applications received. Thanks to the following for their support in the fast turnaround of these awards.
- Alex Howarth
- Apphia Campbell, Playwright and performer; Fringe Society elected board member
- Ashley Davies
- Bec Martin, Artistic Director of New Diorama
- Ben Humphrey, Artistic Director / Producer
- Charlotte Laidet, Festival Director Leicester Comedy Festival
- Chris Cooke, Co-Editor of ThreeWeeks
- Dan Kok, Producer/Programmer
- Ellen Tupman, member USA Board of Advisors to the Fringe Society
- Graeme Farrow, Artistic and Creative Director, Wales Millennium Centre
- Gemma Curtis, Head of Programming, Worthing Theatres and Museum
- Geoff Rowe, Founder, Leicester Comedy Festival
- Hannah Churchill, Freelance Script Reader and Dramaturg
- Jake Orr, Freelance Creative Producer
- JD Henshaw, Producer & Festival Director
- Jess Donn, Freelance Producer & Fundraiser, Associate Producer at Bechdel Theatre
- Jessica Toomey, Director, Frog and Bucket
- Kathryn Pierce, Founder/Director of Somewhere and co-Editor of Somewhere: For Us LGBTQ+ magazine
- Laura Guthrie, Artist Development Manager, Graeae Theatre Company
- Louisa Bartlett-Pestell, Director of Programming and Participation, artsdepot
- Live Comedy & Theatre Producer (anonymous)
- Matt Panesh, Independent Theatre Maker
- Murray Robertson, Arts Writer
- Natalia Mallo, Curator
- Neil Weir, Chair of Grid Iron Theatre Company and a judge for the Scottish Theatre Awards on the Fringe; Fringe Society Elected Board member
- Pax Lowey, Director: Actually Rather Good Comedy Festival and Camp Trans; freelance producer/programmer; elected member of the Fringe Society board
- Rachel O'Regan, F-Bomb Theatre
- Ruth McCarthy, Artistic Director, Outburst Arts
- Sasapin Siriwanij, the Artistic Director of BIPAM (Bangkok International Performing Arts Meeting)
- Sharon Burgess
Keep it Fringe 2024 – statistics
Important note: when reviewing year-on-year figures, please keep in mind that the recipients increased from 50 in 2023 to 180 in 2024.
Application statistics
| Number of applications | 749 |
| Number of awards | 180 |
| % of applications awarded funding | 24% |
Genre
| 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Applications | Awards | Applications | Awards | |
| Cabaret and Variety | 5.7% | 8% | 3.3% | 8% |
| Children's Shows | 1.9% | 3% | 2.1% | 0% |
| Comedy | 30.9% | 36% | 30.1% | 30% |
| Dance and Physical Theatre | 2.9% | 4% | 5.5% | 4% |
| Music | 4% | 3% | 4.5% | 0% |
| Musicals and Opera | 5.9% | 6% | 5.5% | 2% |
| Spoken word | 2.1% | 1% | 1.9% | 2% |
| Theatre | 46% | 39% | 47.2% | 54% |
Monitoring information
We asked the following questions to all applicants; responses were optional, with most open text fields to allow people to self-describe. Where applications were made on behalf of a company we asked the person completing the form to share their individual demographic data.
Location
| 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Applications | Awards | Applications | Awards | |
| England | 80% | 81% | 76% | 84% |
| Scotland | 15% | 16% | 20% | 10% |
| Northern Ireland | 3% | 1% | 1% | 4% |
| Wales | 1% | 2% | 2% | 2% |
| Other | 1% | 0% | 1% | 0% |
How would you describe your gender?
We had 62 gender identities self described – we have collated these into the three categories below:
| 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Applications | Awards | Applications | Awards | |
| Male / He | 39% | 33% | 37% | 28% |
| Female / She | 47% | 48% | 49% | 46% |
| Non-binary / self-defined | 12% | 12% | 13% | 14% |
| Not known / prefer not to say | 5% | 7% | 1% | 2% |
Age
| 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Applications | Awards | Applications | Awards | |
| Under 25 | 22% | 15% | 18% | 12% |
| 25 – 34 | 40% | 49% | 41% | 44% |
| 35 – 44 | 19% | 21% | 20% | 30% |
| 45 – 54 | 9% | 8% | 7% | 6% |
| Over 55 | 7% | 6% | 8% | 2% |
| Unknown | 1% | 1% | 6% | 6% |
Do you consider yourself to have a disability or health condition?
| 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Applications | Awards | Applications | Awards | |
| Yes | 12% | 40% | 30% | 48% |
| No | 59% | 44% | 53% | 40% |
| Prefer not to say / not answered | 28% | 14% | 13% | 8% |
| Not known | 1% | 1% | 5% | 4% |
How would you describe your sexual orientation?
We had 70 sexual orientations self-described – we have collated these into the categories below:
| 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Applications | Awards | Applications | Awards | |
| Bisexual | 20% | 19% | 19% | 14% |
| Gay | 6% | 5% | 6% | 8% |
| Heterosexual | 26% | 32% | 41% | 28% |
| Lesbian | 3% | 4% | 3% | 6% |
| Pansexual | 3% | 4% | 3% | 12% |
| Queer | 10% | 13% | 8% | 16% |
| Other (self-defined) | 3% | 3% | 3% | 6% |
| Prefer not to say / not answered | 17% | 19% | 17% | 10% |
Tell us your ethnic group
In 2024 we simplified the reporting – 2023 open text data is included below for completeness.
| Applications | Awards | |
| Black | 2% | 2% |
| East Asian | 2% | 2% |
| Mixed | 5% | 6% |
| South Asian | 2% | 2% |
| White | 84% | 82% |
| Other ethnic group | 5% | 8% |
2023 data – 179 different ethnic groups were self-defined across all applicants; noted below are the ethnic groups identified by the award recipients only.
| Awards | |
| Asian other | 2% |
| Black African | 2% |
| British | 2% |
| British / Canadian | 2% |
| British Greek | 2% |
| British Pakistani | 2% |
| Chinese | 2% |
| Chinese Indonesian | 2% |
| Jewish | 4% |
| Latinx | 2% |
| Mixed | 8% |
| Peranakan | 2% |
| Romanian | 2% |
| White Other | 14% |
| White British | 46% |
| Not known | 6% |
Socio-economic status
We used three questions provided by the Social Mobility Commission to capture data on the socio-economic status of applicants.
What was the occupation of your main household earner when you were about aged 14?
| 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Applications | Awards | Applications | Awards | |
| Professional | 47% | 39% | 43% | 38% |
| Intermediate | 13% | 13% | 13% | 12% |
| Working class | 27% | 34% | 22% | 32% |
| Not known / other | 13% | 14% | 22% | 18% |
Which type of school did you attend for the most time between the ages of 11 and 16?
| 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Applications | Awards | Applications | Awards | |
| A state-run or state-funded school | 67% | 67% | 66% | 68% |
| Attended school outside the UK | 14% | 13% | 11% | 6% |
| Independent or fee-paying school | 8% | 7% | 7% | 4% |
| Independent or fee-paying school, where I received a means-tested bursary covering 90% or more of the total cost of attending throughout my time there | 3% | 2% | 5% | 6% |
| I don't know | 0.4% | 1% | 1% | 2% |
| Prefer not to say | 7% | 11% | 11% | 14% |
If you finished school after 1980, were you eligible for free school meals at any point during your school years?
| 2024 | 2023 | |||
| Applications | Awards | Applications | Awards | |
| Yes | 27% | 33% | 27% | 46% |
| No | 36% | 29% | 34% | 18% |
| I don’t know | 7% | 14% | 15% | 16% |
| Not applicable / prefer not to say | 17% | 23% | 24% | 20% |
Thumbnail photo credit: Bizzard (2019), Assembly. Photographer: David Monteith-Hodge.