Playbill's FringeShip docks in Scotland August 8 to host theatre lovers at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe through August 15 (or August 8-11 with a new weekend package). Passengers won't have to go far to see some of the best the Festival has to offer. The floating hotel has arranged for some of the best Fringe shows to come aboard for on-ship performances available exclusively to FringeShip travelers.
That roster includes a Pleasance Theatre Trust Showcase, featuring Hold Onto Your Butts, Tom Brace: The Ride 4D, Ni Mi Madre, Bi Curious George: Queer Planet, Polly & Esther, Andrew Frost: Cards on the Table, Kafka's Metamorphosis The Musical, and The Jive Aces; a Playbill Fringe Picks Showcase featuring Rob Madge's My Son's a Queer (But What Can You Do?), Gwyneth Goes Skiing, and DIVA: Live From Hell! starring Luke Bayer; An Evening With Ginger Johnson and Kate Butch and Songs on the High Seas featuring Olivier winner Janie Dee and The Greatest Musical the World Has Ever Seen, both presented by Pleasance Theatre Trust; and To Free a Mockingbird writer and star Grace Aki, who will host the morning Fringe Showcase.
Other planned performances include Madge leading a piano singalong; Rachel Redleaf (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) previewing her show Too Much of a Good Thing; original Les Misérables cast member and Tony winner Frances Ruffelle with West End favorite Norman Bowman, performing some of their Fringe show The Scot and the Showgirl; and viral sensation and comedian Tim Murray performing some highlights from his Playbill Pick show Tim Murray Is Witches.
Also set to preview their Fringe offerings are I Wish My Life Were Like a Musical, Pear, Kevin Quantum: Anti-Gravity, Sophie's Surprise 29th, BATSU!, and Beats On Pointe. Comedian Rhys Nicholson will host the Underbelly and Gilded Balloon Fringe showcases.
Edinburgh's Festival Fringe is one of the largest arts festivals in the world. Last year's edition featured more than 3,500 different shows from 67 countries, and sold over 2.4 million tickets. Those numbers make it one of the most popular ticketed events in the world.
With room for up to 1,300 guests in private cabins and suites, the FringeShip is the ideal solution to the accommodation crisis currently plaguing Edinburgh. As the Fringe has grown, finding a place to stay during the festival has become as competitive of a sport as getting tickets to the hottest shows. With the FringeShip, fighting over increasingly limited rentals can be taken off of your to-do list.
The FringeShip is so much more than accommodation, however. Guests on the Playbill FringeShip will enjoy exclusive performances by the aforementioned Fringe performers in the FringeShip's Palladium theatre and cabaret lounge, access to a roundtrip coach service from Leith to the center of Edinburgh, and a variety of additional amenities on board the ship, including a wellness center, gym, two swimming pools, and a top deck open-air lounge with a late-night pizza parlor.
We firmly encourage everyone to partake in Edinburgh’s wonderful restaurants and bars (and our complementary coach service will be operating late into the night to ensure you have time to grab a pint after an evening show). But for those with stricter schedules or dietary needs, Playbill will always offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner service on the FringeShip. A drink package is also available for an additional fee.
A stay on the FringeShip begins at just $225 per day, per person, which is notably less than the average price paid by Fringe attendees for lodging in 2023. With three square meals included on top of the lodging price, the Playbill FringeShip endeavors to make the festival more accessible to overseas travelers who are already shouldering flight costs to visit Scotland.
Once you’re on the ship and settled in, Playbill is still here to ease your mind. While spontaneity and artistic risk-taking are encouraged at the Fringe, Playbill’s Fringe experts will be available to point you in the direction of some of the festival’s most exciting shows. Plus, we will have the already mentioned Fringe acts performing on the ship. No more missing that must-see cabaret performer due to a double-booked evening! Playbill is giving them another time slot to show off their skills, exclusively to ship passengers (entertainment is also included in the price of a FringeShip stay).
To learn more, visit FringeShip.com.
The FringeShip is operated by Ambassador Cruise Line, with significant sustainable efforts and carbon offsetting measures in place, in accordance with Leith’s climate change protocol.
