Confessions of a Fringeoholic: David Gandy, a haggis burrito and downing gin

The tagline for this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe is 'Defy the Norm'. As in, expect the unexpected, and quite honestly I couldn’t think of a better slogan. Every hour of every day at the Fringe I am constantly surprised. I see and do things that I never could have predicted. Only yesterday I went to a lunchtime show expecting a few gentle midday giggles, and ended up part of the performance, holding a collage of David Gandy pictures and having my face drawn on with pink highlighter.

This level of surprise even extends to your diet. I’m a pretty unadventurous eater, my culinary repertoire consisting mainly of toast with various toppings and a decent spag bol (#adulting), and yet in this week alone, I’ve chowed down on a haggis burrito, macaroni pie, and a raw, vegan, organic ‘Snickers’ bar. All things I’d never usually munch, all totally delicious.

Nights out here can also escalate into tales of unanticipated drunken delights. A chum of mine went out for a 'quiet beer' after his show and ended up having dinner and four bottles of wine with an international cabaret star, before finding himself reading (or slurring) a section of The Chilcot Report in a shed at 5am as part of the Iraq Out Loud Project.
Even onstage in my own show I’m finding surprises. Only last night, after making some quips about my sturdy gin habit, my audience insisted I prove myself by downing a large G&T onstage. I’ve never felt so ALIVE.

I was also struck the other night by a strange feeling. Almost like I’ve… grown up a bit. Pushing my way into the sweaty humidity of C Main at night (I was going downstairs to perform in a late night cabaret line-up, not grind to Rihanna) I thought back over the many August evenings I have spent happily wriggling away on that dance floor, drinking too much and snogging people I shouldn’t before ping-ponging my way down Chambers Street home, ricocheting off the fine brickwork buildings.

Happy halcyon days and fond memories, which isn’t surprising – Edinburgh is full of them for me – but to find that I’d rather head home and have a crumpet and a cup of tea than down shots and scream karaoke to the Scottish sky? Well that, my friends, was perhaps the biggest surprise of the Fringe yet.

Katie Brennan's Quarter-Life Crisis is on at Underbelly Wee Coo at 22.50 until 29 August (not 15)

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