Everything can change after the Edinburgh Fringe. Perform the right show in the right way with the right people in the room, and you could follow in the footsteps of countless others who have gone on to illustrious careers. Your show could find itself gracing the theatres of the West End, or happily homed on the BBC.<\/p>\n
Here are 10 performers who have made this transition from Fringe to fame:<\/p>\n
The late actor made his Edinburgh debut fresh out of drama school in 1976, playing both Friar Peter in\u00a0Measure for Measure<\/em>\u00a0and Wittipol in\u00a0The Devil is an Ass<\/em>. This double bill at the Assembly Rooms marked his first major acting role. He would go on to work with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the BBC, and appear in many beloved films, such as\u00a0Love Actually<\/em>, Hans Gruber in\u00a0Die Hard<\/em>, and Severus Snape in the\u00a0Harry Potter<\/em>\u00a0franchise (the first instance of a choice in the fandom\u2019s dream cast coming true).<\/p>\n The comedy-genius first performed in Edinburgh with Oxford Theatre Group in 1973 \u2013 surprisingly playing a straight role! He would then return with Dundee University Theatre Group in 1975, and again in 1976 with Oxford Revue. This was the magic year for him, as he performed alongside Richard Curtis (who went on to write\u00a0Blackadder<\/em>\u00a0and co-write\u00a0Mr Bean<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 both staples of Atkinson\u2019s career) and was spotted by television producer John Lloyd. Since then, his comedic shenanigans have known no bounds. He\u2019s appeared on stage, radio, television, and the big screen as the titular role in\u00a0Johnny English<\/em>, and the voice of Zazu in the much-loved\u00a0The Lion King<\/em>.<\/p>\n Coogan\u2019s Edinburgh experience is a great example of why you shouldn\u2019t lose heart if your first Edinburgh performance isn\u2019t the roaring success you hoped. He first performed comedy at the Fringe in 1990, but his warm-up act, Frank Skinner, constantly upstaged him. But Coogan returned in 1992 with John Thomson, showcasing character personas Paul Calf and Alan Partridge. This won them the Perrier Award, and Alan Partridge has since starred in his own TV series and feature film.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Never Mind the Buzzcocks<\/em>\u00a0regular came to the Fringe in 1992 as a stand-up comedian, and won second place in the Daily Telegraph Open Mic Award final (losing first to Frankie Boyle). This successful appearance got him signed by Avalon Management, and led to him meeting his would-be partner in crime, Julian Barratt. Both would return to the Fringe in 1998 and take it by storm with\u00a0The Mighty Boosh<\/em>, securing both the Best Newcomer Award, and a radio series adaptation of the show soon after.\u00a0The Mighty Boosh<\/em>\u00a0has since gone on to become a cult TV series, and Fielding has been everything from an actor in\u00a0The IT Crowd<\/em>\u00a0to a musician, author and even a presenter for\u00a0The Great British Bake Off<\/em>.<\/p>\n We all know him as the hilarious host of his own chat show, the voice of\u00a0The Eurovision Song Contest<\/em>, and Father Noel in\u00a0Father Ted<\/em>. But in 1991, he was an Irish-housewife-esque Mother Teresa in\u00a0Mother Teresa of Calcutta\u2019s Grand Farewell Tour<\/em>. Norton performed his drag at the Pleasance, and made the press when he was mistakenly thought to represent the real Mother Teresa by Scottish Television\u2019s religious affairs department. He returned to the Fringe in 1993 with\u00a0The Karen Carpenter Bar and Grill<\/em>, and soon rose to fame through appearances as a regular panellist on\u00a0Loose Ends<\/em>, and an award-winning performance as a stand-in host on Jack Docherty\u2019s late-night talk show.<\/p>\n The crowned \u2018Queen of Comedy\u2019 had plenty of false starts before finding success at the Fringe. She first went in 1994 with the show\u00a0Hurrell and Hart<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 a self-professed \u2018terrible\u2019 show which was cancelled most nights due to no audience. But she didn\u2019t give up. She returned in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005, with a new show each time. 2005 saw her performing in\u00a0Miranda Hart\u2019s House Party<\/em>, in which she had finally perfected the comedy we would one day enjoy in successful TV show\u00a0Miranda<\/em>.<\/p>\n The infamous comedian made his Edinburgh debut at the Gilded Balloon in 2000, as one third of the stand-up show\u00a0Pablo Diablo\u2019s Cryptic Triptych<\/em>. The show went well \u2013 Brand had a glass thrown at him onstage, got into trouble for hiring trouble-making youngsters to do promotional work, and was chucked out for throwing a microphone stand at a tough audience. He returned in 2004 with one-man confessional show\u00a0Better Now<\/em>, giving an honest account of his heroin addiction. He would return again in 2005 with\u00a0Eroticised Humour<\/em>\u00a0and go on to launch a nationwide tour of\u00a0Shame<\/em>\u00a0in 2006.<\/p>\n Technically not one person, but you can\u2019t have Mel without Sue, or vice versa. The hilarious double act got off to a fantastic start at Edinburgh in 1993, where they won the Daily Express Best Newcomers Award for\u00a0Naked Brunch<\/em>. They then brought the character-comedy shows\u00a0Kittens Go Grrrrr<\/em>\u00a0to the Fringe in 1994, and\u00a0Planet Pussycat<\/em>\u00a0in 1996. This led to appearances on\u00a0French & Saunders<\/em>, which in turn launched their presenting career in 1997 with\u00a0Late Lunch<\/em>\u00a0on Channel 4.<\/p>\n The award-winning actress first attended the Fringe with Sasha Hails in 1991, as part of the student drama group they co-founded at Cambridge University. The group was called Talking Tongues, and their show\u00a0Slight Possession<\/em>\u00a0was a two-hander improv that earned Weisz a Guardian Youth Drama Award. When they transferred the show to the Gate Theatre in Notting Hill, Weisz was spotted by an agent, and has since gone on to star in\u00a0The Mummy<\/em>,\u00a0The Whistleblower<\/em>, and recent success\u00a0The Favourite<\/em>.<\/p>\nRowan Atkinson<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Steve Coogan<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Noel Fielding<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Graham Norton<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Miranda Hart<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Russell Brand<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Melanie Giedroyc & Susan Perkins (a.k.a. Mel & Sue)<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Rachel Weisz<\/h4>\n
Robin Williams<\/h4>\n