Performers have besieged the city, pamphleteers are lurking on street corners thrusting paper into the hands of unsuspecting tourists, and reviewers are hiding in the back of shows, hiding magical stars in their note-packed pockets. That’s right, the road to Edinburgh Festival season has come to an end, and so this column must be driven to the local veterinary centre and injected with barbiturates like so many columns before it. 

But as Road sputtered its final breaths, it told us about a female-led mentor scheme, the opening of Fringe By The Sea, Jazz Emu’s glorious return to Edinburgh and so much more. Read its last testament below. 

Funny Women launch The Glitter Project mentor scheme…

… that will host friendly events with comedy mentors to advise new female performers. The scheme will be fronted by Rachel Creeger, Louise Leigh and Pauline Eyre, who’ll be on hand to offer practical tips on how new acts can make the most of the festival.

Lynne Parker, founder of Funny Women says, ‘A longer-term goal is to create a Glitter Fund, an industry-wide initiative supporting those who don’t have the resources, accessibility, or financial means to pursue a comedy career.

‘Over 22 years I’ve seen so many talented and amazing performers, writers and creators from our awards and wider community events go on to have huge commercial success so this is an opportunity for us to come together, support new talent and ensure gender parity in our industry.'

Find out more about these free events here. 

Fringe By The Sea opens its doors…

… and will welcome its first headline act, Hot Chip, to the Big Top tonight. The North Berwick-based festival will take place from Friday 2–Sunday11 August and will welcome major music acts like Ash, Idlewild, The Jacksons and Del Amitri, alongside a host of comedy, cabaret, kids and live conversation events. 

Find the full programme here. 

Our latest Festival issue is out now…

… featuring acclaimed singer-songwriter Camille O’Sullivan on our front cover. We’ll also be chatting with a whole host of other Fringe performers, including former X Factor star Diana Vickers, creative sister powerhouse Jessie and Bebe Cave, up-and-coming comic Mel McGlensey, everyone’s favourite posho Ivo Graham and more. 

Pick up your free copy from stockists across Edinburgh or read the digital issue here. 

Acts are getting sweary at the Fringe…

… and we’re loving it. It used to be that a few simple asterisks made a poster kosher for the general public, but nowadays swear words in show titles are regularly obscured by a massive ‘censored’ sticker to protect sensitive souls from naughty words. A few highlights from the filth brigade include Seymour Fucking Mace You Cunts, who’ll also be performing an anniversary show Seymour Mace – Looking Stupid, Dressing Up And Saying Cunt A Lot: 35 Years Of Being A Fool. We awarded him four stars last year for his show Seymour Mace Does Drawring, writing, ‘Beneath his bile, the furiously creatives jokes and entertaining drawings there's an altruistic message: anyone, no matter the money in their bank account or prior experience, can be a creative person. Like spending an hour with an oddly aggressive art tutor, you may leave Seymour Mace Does Drawring feeling inspired to make some creations of your own.’ Read the full review here. 

Also swearing for money is Fuck Tomorrow: Jamie Lerner (pictured above), Shitty Mozart, Holy Shit Improv, Kate Butch: Wuthering Shites, Plants Are Total Bastards! and The Fannies One Night Stand. There’s plenty more where those came from; we recommend typing a few expletives into google alongside the word ‘Fringe’ and see what pops up. At the very least, it’ll make for an entertaining half an hour. 

Four stars or more 

Musical lothario Jazz Emu has sidled back into Edinburgh this month with his new show Knight Fever, which finds the songwriting genius (of a sort) headlining the Royal Variety Show and pitching for a ‘long-coveted’ knighthood. 

We loved Emu when he performed You Shouldn’t Have, awarding the tuneful extravaganza five stars. We wrote, ‘The onslaught of wit and foolery is relentlessly brilliant, executed with musical and physical panache. Emu manifests extraordinary cultural attunement and absurd attention to detail, as he sings about microwave dials and navigates a digital world that involves next-level CAPTCHA tests and Twitter attacks. When he eventually gives up trying to prove himself a good person, lyrics such as ‘engage in capitalism even more than I currently do’ are surprisingly catchy. So funky, so funny.’ Read the full review here. 

Catch Jazz Emu: Knight Fever at Pleasance Courtyard until Sunday 25 August. 

And so our journey is at an end, but our Edinburgh Festival coverage has only just begun. We'll be adding Fest show reviews, interviews with acts, and killer previews to the site for the rest of the month. Check into our special Edinburgh Festival site for a veritable bevvy of recommendations.