It’s the 18th July, which means August is just around the corner, which means the biggest arts festival in the world – the Edinburgh Festival Fringe– is just around the corner. Having performed at five fringes already, naturally people want to know what I’m doing this year. The answer?

Sweet fuck all. Absolutely zero performances. And I am so excited.

EdFringe ’22 was by far the best one. I had so much fun, actually made money, and overall had a fantastic experience. But, despite all the success, it is still so draining. So much effort goes into it, and it’s not just over August. I basically start work in January. So that’s 8 months of work before the first performance. All on top of having an actual job,, hobbies and a social life. It’s bloody exhausting.

This year, I am taking a well earned year off. I just need a break from it all. I’m so bloody drained and tired. I want to use my holidays from work to go on holiday, and not go work a second, much more stressful job. Part of me does feel a bit shit about skipping a year. There is a pang of jealously when I see people I know posting about their shows. I love performing. I want to perform and rock the stage and make audiences laugh and cry and feel things and laugh and give me money. I love the part where they give me money.

But a much bigger part of me is saying “fuck that”. This August, I am going to relax. I’m going to relax hard.