US performers seek safety and risk at the Edinburgh Fringe

By Muvija M and Barbara Lewis

(Reuters) -Eddie Jen, a drag queen from San Francisco, wants to show that "America still fights for kindness", while Abby Govindan, a U.S. stand-up comic of Indian heritage, aims to convince audiences Texas is not what they think.

The performers are among those who make the number of U.S. acts at this year's Edinburgh Fringe the highest in at least a decade.

The Edinburgh International Festival, held every August, was established in the aftermath of World War Two with the goal of using culture to heal divisions.

It immediately spawned an unofficial Fringe that became bigger than the original festival, attracting thousands of more maverick performers in venues across the city.

This year's Fringe includes productions from Armenia to Zimbabwe, organisers say.

The percentage of U.S. acts is 12.1%, compared with 11.1% last year and 6.1% in 2014. No earlier data is available.

British acts have decreased to 69.8% of the total, from 71.2% in 2024, and 81.5% in 2014. Performers have said high costs, especially for accommodation, are a deterrent.

For U.S. artists, that can matter less. Their numbers had already risen as producers chose Edinburgh to test the appeal of musicals as a cheaper alternative to Broadway.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who changed laws on diversity after he returned to office in January, making many artists anxious about freedom of expression, is a factor.

Govindan said she would have brought her show "How to Embarrass Your Immigrant Parents" to Edinburgh "regardless of politics".

Her aims include doing justice to Texas, which she says is "commonly misrepresented as white and racist". "Houston, my hometown, is the most diverse city in the country," she said. 

Jen is also keen to get beyond stereotypes with "Seeking a Pen Pal for the End of the World" that tells the story of an immigrant drag queen exchanging letters with his high school English teacher - a retired, white, Republican woman from Bountiful, Utah.

"When Trump was re-elected in November, I wanted to let the world know that America still fights for kindness," Jen said.

The number of Canadian acts at the Fringe has hovered around 1% for the last decade.

Connor Malbeuf, who has lived in the United States for eight years, says the Fringe is "a safe space" for his show "Sorry: A Canadian's Apology for America".

"There’s no better neutral ground to comment on the absurdity, political landscape, and poke the bear without the bear threatening the possibility of deportation," he said.

For Govindan, whose comedy is established in the United States, Edinburgh amounts to healthy risk-taking.

"Being here is really pushing me out of my comfort zone in a way that is undoubtedly going to make me a better performer and comedian," she said.

(Reporting by Muvija. M and Barbara Lewis; Editing by Alison Williams)