Aim

Help Fake Escape mark 10 years at Edinburgh Fringe with 3 bold shows across 3 iconic venues this August!

Ten Years Ago...

In 2016, Fake Escape took our very first production to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It was chaotic, terrifying, exhilarating and completely transformative. Ten years later, we are preparing to return to Edinburgh with our biggest Fringe season yet.

Today

2026 marks our Decade of Fringe, celebrating 10 years of ambition, risk, collaboration and some of the work we are proudest of. To mark this milestone, we are taking 3 wildly different shows to Edinburgh this August: Day of The Locust at Pleasance Courtyard: Attic, Don’t You Forget About Me at Assembly Roxy: Downstairs and Saving Britney at Underbelly George Square: Bluebell.

Each show represents a different part of who we are as a company.

Day of The Locust

Day of The Locust sees Pleasance favourite Callum Patrick Hughes detonate Nathanael West’s 1930s Great American Novel in a riotous gig theatre spectacle, where Hollywood’s Golden Age collides with an inflamed 21st century Los Angeles. The show features original music composed by Hughes and longtime friend of the company Josh Benfield.

Don't You Forget About Me

Don’t You Forget About Me asks what happens when 5 teenagers walk into detention in 1985 and, 40 years later, the forgotten 6th student hosts a reunion. It is a witty, nostalgic homage to John Hughes’ 80s cinema classic for anyone who wished life felt more like the movies. It also marks David Shopland’s return to the stage following his critically acclaimed 2023 Edinburgh Fringe solo show Raising Kane.

Saving Britney

Saving Britney is the WhatsOnStage Award nominated Off Broadway and UK sellout sensation returning to the Fringe with co creator Shereen Roushbaiani reprising the role. It is an hilarious and heart breaking nostalgic love letter to the 90s, seen through the eyes of the Princess of Pop’s biggest fan.

This season is directed by Fake Escape Artistic Director David Shopland alongside Fake Escape Associate Artist Roann Hassani McCloskey, bringing together artists who have helped shape the company’s work over the last decade as well as exciting collaborators joining us for this major anniversary year.

Why We Need Your Help

We have already worked incredibly hard to build the majority of the budget for this season. We have secured public funding towards the work, invested significant company time and resources and pulled together as much support as possible to make a season of this scale viable. We are hugely grateful for the support already received, because it has given the Decade of Fringe a serious foundation.

This Crowdfunder is one final, vital part of that bigger picture. Taking 3 shows to Edinburgh in the same year is a huge undertaking. Venue costs, accommodation, travel, marketing, technical support, design, production costs and artist fees all have to be covered before the festival even begins. The reality of making ambitious independent theatre at the world’s largest arts festival is that it requires a major collective effort.

We also know that this is a difficult time to ask people for support. We do not take any donation lightly. This campaign is about helping us get the season across the finish line in a way that protects the artists involved, strengthens the work and gives all 3 productions the best possible chance of reaching audiences, press and industry.

The money raised through this Crowdfunder will directly support the costs of getting these 3 productions to Edinburgh. It will help us pay artists and creative team members, support rehearsal and production costs, contribute towards travel and accommodation, create strong marketing materials and make sure each show has the best possible chance of reaching audiences, press and industry. Edinburgh has played a huge part in our company’s story and we want this anniversary season to be a proper statement of who we are, what we care about and the kind of theatre we still want to make.

Every donation, share and message of support helps us get there. Whether you have seen our work before, followed us from the beginning or are just discovering us now, we would be so grateful for your support as we take 3 shows to 3 venues and spend 1 very special month in Edinburgh!

Funding method

All or nothing – this project will only receive pledges if it reaches its target of £3,500 by 4th August 2026 at 5:38pm