The Festival Fringe has become too expensive for working class performers which will have a knock on effect on representation in the arts industry, a comic has warned.
Tom Mayhew, 30, voiced concerns over accessibility to the biggest arts festivals in the world which attracts thousands of performers each year.
READ MORE - Edinburgh comic says Fringe is now 'too expensive for working class performers'
With rising living costs and the uncertainty of how the festival will look this year due to Covid strains still around, Tom explained that this is the riskiest year yet with many performers unable to commit.
Fringe bosses, meanwhile, sought to assure the festival is for everyone and with help available for working class comics where available.
Tom is a working class comedian from Watford and has been coming to the Fringe for the last ten years.
When first arriving at the arts festival a decade ago, the Radio 4 show host started doing Free Fringe in the garden of the Three Sisters before moving to a bigger venue.
After losing money that year, and feeling alienated the comedian was crushed and questioned if there is a place for working class performers at the Fringe.
Speaking to Edinburgh Live Tom said: "I first did the 'Free Fringe' back in 2015 in this awful tent in the beer garden of the Three Sisters.
"The sound bled straight through, there were drunk people stumbling around outside and it definitely flooded more than once.
"It's called the Free Fringe but it's only really free for the people attending, it costs about £350 for programme entry, another £200 for flyers and accommodation in Edinburgh costs at least £1000.
"So by your first day of performing at the festival you are already at a loss of about £2000. You can make it back if you have a busy show, but if you don't you can be at a loss.
"You put thousands of pounds in, at the time I was working part time at Sainsbury's and doing the free Fringe was three and a half months of my income."
After doing Free Fringe the year after Tom did a show at one of the bigger venues - but at a bigger cost.
"2017 was the first time I did a show in a paid venue which was with Just the Tonic, the venue alone cost £1,800 for the month. This year I didn't earn the money back I was still working at Sainsbury's and I really lost money it was 70% of my annual wage.
"It was kind of soul destroying, I did walk away that year thinking the festival isn't for working class people like me.
"That's the thing about Edinburgh its always a lot of risk and its always a lot of money but rightly or wrongly it is something that can make your career.
"For most people who are live performers you have to do Edinburgh, in 2019 I got my Radio 4 show on the back of the Fringe but if I had done the show just three times in London, I wouldn't have gotten that.
"I don't have rich parents, I don't have contacts and I don't know a lot of people - that's why people who don't have these things to fall back on risk so much money" He said.
The pandemic has had a monumental impact on the performing arts industry on a whole, which in turn has made performing at the Fringe much riskier with many performers this year not sure what to expect.
Tom explained: "I think this year is going to be much harder, I'm still not earning the same as I was before the pandemic from comedy, and everything is still uncertain.
"It's so unknown what it is going to be like, how many tourists will be coming, what venues will still be open, will all the venues still be suitable with Covid?
"It feels like a much bigger risk than other years and it does feel elitist as it will stop performers who can't rely on their parents for back up."
He continued: "You will be more successful if you take your show to the Fringe and there are comedians who can't afford it, it does become a middle class festival.
"People give everything to come up and if they don't get any reviews it can be for nothing which can be hard when you are going against people with a £10k PR budget."
"The less you see the representation, the less you feel like you can do it yourself. The problem is people don't question how many working class performers there are at the Fringe and it can be hard to distinguish it in comedy.
"People who ride to the top quickest usually are from richer backgrounds, and there are a lot of really good working class comedians who end up saying this isn't for us."
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Finally the comedian explained: "The thing about Edinburgh is, it's not just about the cost of getting there, it's the world of the festival.
"Even if you gave a working class comedian £10k they'd still be at a disadvantage because it is so expensive, there are less working class punters, less working class reviewers, less working class journalists.
"It's the whole infrastructure you are surrounded by people who you can't relate to.
"That's why a lot of people are turning to crowdfunders to get some financial security, as the finance made through the box office won't be seen until October.
"A lot of people in the industry won't even consider it.
"I can afford accommodation this year because the venue is affordable and I'm doing it as cheaply as I can.
'But for a lot of us we will do more gigs this month than we have over the past three years - there's no where else in the UK you can do that."
Tom's show will be running during the whole three weeks of the Edinburgh Fringe this year at the Blunder Bus. You can follow his Twitter for updates here.
A Fringe Society spokesperson said: "The Fringe is for everyone, and it’s hugely important that working class artists and voices are represented at the festival. Where costs are a barrier to this, we will always work to support artists where we can.
"This includes helping performers to navigate affordable routes, such as taking part in free Fringe strands, exploring Pay What You Can models and looking at performers’ collectives or venue splits.
"To help tackle affordability, the Fringe Society has frozen registration fees for the last 13 years and has introduced a payment installation plan to help spread costs. We’ve also worked to secure over 1000 accommodation spaces with our partners at capped rates of £280 per week.
"In 2020, we ran our first pilot funding scheme to help creatives bring work to the Fringe after the pandemic, and we have worked with arts councils to lobby for support packages for artists to participate in the Fringe. We’d encourage artists to explore initiatives across the Fringe landscape, as there are several exciting awards and schemes out there to help support creatives at the festival.
"We work closely with a range of strategic partners, which included COMMON and still includes Something to Aim For, to help amplify and advocate for underrepresented voices on the Fringe.
"On the back of our work with COMMON, we will soon be launching our Working Class Producers Mentorship. This aims to provide strategic support to working-class producers who are bringing work to the Fringe."
