An Edinburgh comedian says he has been forced to wild camp for the entire Fringe after accommodation proved too expensive.
Vash Pernikar, 33, has committed to living in a tent for the entirety of his festival run after he was unable to fork out for somewhere to stay for the month. Bringing his stand up show 'My Body Your Choice', up from London, the comedian told Edinburgh Live that he has been pitching and packing up his equipment every day just in order to be part of the atmosphere.
Running on a few hours of interrupted sleep a night and the adrenaline of his performances, Vash shared that despite being an unexperienced camper, he is pushing through to give the Fringe a go. However, the experience hasn't been quite what he had hoped for so far, with the 33-year-old saying:
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"I'm not a wild camper normally, it's something I have never really done before but this was down to a lack of money, accommodation was too expensive but I really wanted to do the Fringe show.
"I was imagining that it would be lovely but so far it's not quite been like that. It's been challenging, my show starts at 11.30pm and then I finish at around 12.30am and have to go to the 24/7 gym to get my tent from my locker.
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"It's the same in the morning, I have to pack up the tent each day and store it in my locker, the first three days I was in Holyrood Park and then on the fourth day I was told I couldn't stay there.
"Then I was ill and there was one night where it was so cold and unpleasant that I paid for two nights in a hostel, but even that was in a 30 person room and now I'm wild camping again.
"So far I have had two amazing shows but I'm still waiting to see if all this wild camping will be worth it. On one hand it's quieter and I guess you have your own room in the tent, but it gets very cold and you never get a full nights sleep."
Running his own stand up show at Canon's Gait, Vash is also conducting some free Fringe performances as well as launching a GoFundMe page to try and cover his costs.
Offering anyone who donates £50 a dinner at Wetherspoons, and a 'night in the tent' to anyone who forks out over £100, the funds will go towards the upkeep of the tent, or a night in a hotel if he raises enough.
With many performers across Edinburgh experiencing similar issues regarding the costs of staying for the festival, Vash added:
"I've been doing stand up for five years and was doing it almost every day before the pandemic. I did this show at the Brighton Fringe and it went well so I really wanted to do it up in Edinburgh.
"I think the accommodation issue is affecting a lot of people, I know some comedians that this year are in the smallest and most cramped room they have ever had for the Fringe. Others couldn't even afford to come and perform in the first place.
"I think there should be more done to help performers as without them there would be no Fringe, and Edinburgh wouldn't make the millions it does from this."
You can find more information on Vash's fundraiser here.
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