Written by: Howard Cohen
Published: Monday 18th August 2014

The biggest arts festival in the world brings together the comedy world like nothing else. From new acts just starting out to legends making a comeback, the 25 day run of gigs is a test of endurance that can push the performers to breaking point.

On the surface Edinburgh is a celebration - a place for all to celebrate their work amongst their contemporaries. I'm a relative newcomer to the festival, this year will be my fourth visit in a row. I've always gone up as part of my job - working in the world of online and TV comedy has meant making my way up there is vital to understanding the current state of play. Last year I was thrilled by the shows of Liam Williams, Beth Vyse and John Kearns. This year I'm excited to see Dane Baptiste, Paul F Taylor and the sisters Toby among many others.

But during my second visit, it became clear that the experience of spending the month performing in Edinburgh was far from a barrel of laughs. The pressure of tickets sales and the repetitive feel to performing the same show in the same venue for a month takes its toll on the comedians. I am friends with many and felt huge empathy that something which brings them such pleasure, could equally deliver them so much pain.

I had an old PD150 camera with me last year, so I asked a few comedians about the pains of Edinburgh... from a relative newbie in Joz Norris to the evergreen comedy philanthropist Harry Deansway. Hopefully this little film will shine a light on what can be a difficult month for comedians, and make anyone who watches it be nicer to comedians.