Comedian Matt Forde says cost of performing at Edinburgh Festival Fringe means comedy is 'becoming elitist' in the UK

29 April 2025, 15:32 | Updated: 30 April 2025, 06:36

Comedian Matt Forde has said comedy is 'becoming more elitist' as many comedians cannot afford to perform at Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Forde, 42, slammed the "Edinburgh model" for making it "almost impossible to become a working-class, successful comedian in this country”.

Providing evidence to a Commons select committee on the live comedy sector, he said: “A lot of comedy clubs, the money has gone backwards since when I first started gigging. The money has got worse.”

“People face higher costs and less money for the work that they’re doing, and then, really, until the birth of TikTok and social media, the main way really to get discovered as a comedian, to really get a career on the whole – and this isn’t true for everyone – was to really have a successful Edinburgh Festival.

"And performing at the Edinburgh Festival costs a fortune, and the single biggest cost is accommodation.

Read more: Fight breaks out at comedy gig after audience members 'get angry with persistent heckler'

Read more: The Alarm frontman Mike Peters dies aged 66 following battle with blood cancer

“The single biggest barrier to be able to perform, and indeed visit the Edinburgh Festival, is the exorbitant rents that landlords charge.

“And year after year it has gone up and up and up, and I think performers and audience members are prepared to pay a bit of a premium for staying in someone’s house that they’ve had to vacate for a month.

“But it is growing exponentially year on year on year, and that is meaning that comedy at that level is becoming more elitist.”

The comedian explained that the "only people" who can afford do hours of unpaid work to pursue their aspirations of becoming a full-time comedian "are privileged people".

Last year, former BBC presenter Gail Porter said exorbitant coats in her hometown of Edinburgh had left her "priced out" due to the soaring cost of accommodation.

Forde said: “The Edinburgh model is making it almost impossible to become a working-class successful comedian in this country, and the lack of recognition from Government, I should add, is part of that problem.”

The iconic comedy festival has helped launch the careers of top comedians and writers. Phoebe-Waller Bridge premiered her one-woman show Fleabag at the festival and Richard Gadd first performed his play-turned-hit-Netflix show Baby Reindeer to Fringe festival goers.

The comedian also praised Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels for introducing a British version of sketch show SNL to UK viewers on Sky.

He said: “I’m really excited that SNL is coming to the UK. I think it’s a very good thing. I think we need more topical comedy on telly. We need more sketch on telly”.

“You go to the Edinburgh Festival, you see amazing sketch shows, it’s a real breeding ground for talent. It’s a different discipline to individual stand-up, and there should be more of it on telly.

“But I think SNL in itself isn’t going to dramatically change the culture here.”

The Culture, Media and Sport evidence session is part of a series of hearings forming part of the State of Play inquiry, with everyone from UK creative industries.