Go backstage with two Fringe veterans, from bad reviews to performing abroad.

Chris Davis is bringing his ‘The 40-Year-Old Ballerino’ to the Fringe in Edinburgh and Philly this year. (Photo by Mike Chiodo.)

Chris Davis, one of Philly’s top solo theater creators, says there’s only one thing worse than people reading a negative review and deciding not to come to your show. The real tragedy is when people aren’t aware of your show in the first place.

“What happens in most shows is people don’t even know it’s happening,” he told me. He wants them to be able to decide: “You can’t force people to attend your shows,” but media coverage is the best way to get people in the door.

This is part of why we’re so proud of what we do at BSR: covering artists like Davis so our readers can find him. This is particularly important during the Fringe Festival, when artists are testing new work that may have a long life beyond its festival premiere and even represent Philly overseas.

High stakes for hometown artists

The stakes are high for artists like Davis. A successful run at home can mean the opportunity to perform internationally. This year, he’ll be performing his latest solo piece, The 40-Year-Old Ballerino (which he debuted in the 2024 Philly Fringe) at the Edinburgh Fringe (August 7-31).

Chris is an Edinburgh veteran. He had his debut there in 2014 with his show Drunk Lion, which got big crowds because of good reviews. He did the Edinburgh fest for six years straight, reviving Drunk Lion in 2015 and 2016. In 2019, he performed Drunk Lion and another of his shows, The Presented, every day (here’s the BSR review of that show’s 2025 Philly Fringe run.) Then the pandemic hit, and this will be his first time back in seven years. He hopes there will be some international curators in the audience.

“We’re gonna do everything”

Philly artists stand out in Edinburgh, Chris says, partly because despite that festival’s diverse European audience, artists from London (mostly comedy performers) dominate the programming. And he thinks the Scots have more affinity for Americans than they do for the Brits.

The “DIY, like, we’re gonna do everything spirit is definitely in it,” Davis said of what distinguishes Philly artists there. And with hundreds of stages, if a Philly artist gets good traction in the madness of the Edinburgh fest, that’s a real testament to the quality of the work they debuted at home.

“If you have a popular show, you’re famous for a month,” he said. Over the years, he’s had wildly popular shows, and middling ones. There are pros and cons to each for an artist trying to network. “If you’re popular, it’s great [but] people are jealous of you,” he said. “If you’re mid, people are nicer to you.”

Another Edinburgh return

Lee Minora is another notable Philly solo artist heading to Edinburgh this year. Her first outing there was in 2017, with her show Cheeks (she and Davis were roommates during the fest). Because she was part of the “Free Fringe” program, open to all artists without a fee, her show was “in a really weird bar where the door to the bathroom was onstage.” It was a “very hard” but “very exciting” experience.

Lee Minora’s ‘Baby Everything’ features audience interactions during a short run at FringeArts. (Photo by Johanna Austin, austinart.org.)

While there, she had the idea for her next show, White Feminist, which she performed in Edinburgh and Philly in 2018 (here’s my review). In Edinburgh, still part of the Free Fringe, “I ended up in this weird collection of what had been stables and my [venue] was so small … the size of a bedroom. It was so awesome and weird.” Flakes of plaster fell from the ceiling when people stomped in the room above.

A global leader in original theater

She says the Philly theater scene stands out internationally for its “robust creating community” full of artists who aren’t trying to fit into what a certain cultural economy demands, but are “explor[ing] what they want to explore.”

“What Chicago is to improv, Philly is to original theater,” she said, citing companies like Pig Iron and New Paradise Laboratories. The artists of Lightning Rod Special are joining Davis and Minora in Edinburgh this year, with LIONS, which premiered in last year’s Philly Fringe (here’s my review).

This year in Edinburgh, she’s bringing her newest show, Baby Everything (born in the 2025 Philly Fringe; here’s my review) and then revived for a winter run at FringeArts (here’s a review by Cameron Kelsall). And this year, the Edinburgh Fringe is presenting her, which means a slot at Summerhall, a historic festival venue (she noted it’s where the stage version of Baby Reindeer premiered before it became a Netflix hit).

A springboard for artists

And it turns out BSR coverage of Baby Everything is what helped Edinburgh curators select her: “Quotes from BSR were in my application for Summerhall,” Minora said. They’re on the show’s postcards, too: “It really does make a difference to roll up with some good press.” And when Minora needed to fundraise to support her trip, she used BSR excerpts in her successful campaign.

Lee Minora is bringing her ‘Baby Everything’ to the Edinburgh Fringe this year. (Photo by Johanna Austin, AustinArt.org.)

This is a major function of review coverage that flies under the radar as legacy media slashes the arts: creators need it to advance their work. Cultural media like BSR can be a springboard for Philly artists to take on the world.

On weathering “bad” reviews

Of course, not all reviews are positive. Minora and Davis have experienced it all.

“Media coverage can be really emotional,” Davis said. “We all know we want it,” but it can be “devastating,” especially for self-producing artists, when it’s mixed or negative.

But “even media coverage that’s bad is good,” Davis insisted. For example, he would almost rather have a one-star review than a middle-of-the-pack three-star one. It “provokes curiosity in people,” he explained.

The important thing is the strong reaction, which Davis rates as much better than apathy: “You want people to feel passionately about your show.” And there are always two sides to the coin: “Get a lot of love, you’ll have haters. Get a lot of hate, you’ll have people who love it.”

Chris Davis in ‘The 40-Year-Old Ballerino’. (Photo by Ashley Smith, Wide Eyed Studios.)

And reviews can help shape the work. Davis brought up my review of Ballerino, which I mostly liked alongside a specific critique.

“When I received it, I was like, I don’t like that, but to be totally honest, I agreed with it,” he said. The feedback informed a new version of the show, and I’m excited to see it (it’ll be onstage in this year’s Philly Fringe in West Philly, September 12-27).

Minora was blunt about media outlets cutting review coverage: “It’s bad for the artists in the city.” Yes, negative reviews are tough, but she feels “pretty resilient” about it: “On my best day, on my ego-less day, it’s a great way to know how the work is landing.” She also appreciates “the excitement of being in a city where critics have engaged with your work again and again.”

This year’s Fringe coverage is in your hands

We at BSR have been covering the Philly Fringe for 20 years. We are proud that our work is playing a direct role in helping local artists like Chris Davis and Lee Minora find international success. We want to keep doing that, but we need some extra help from our readers this year. That’s where the Fringe Coverage Friends Drive comes in.

We must add at least 30 new Friends of BSR (donors who give $72/year or $6 monthly) and five new Local Media Champions (donors who give $240/year or $20/month) by August 31 to support our 2026 Fringe coverage. The good news is that as of July 24, we have met 60 percent of that goal (THANK YOU!). But we need to close the gap. Will you join the readers who have stepped up this summer to ensure our Fringe coverage continues?

When you support our coverage, letting us continue the journalism that powers Philly artists, you are making an investment in our cultural scene that changes lives, and puts our hometown artists on a global stage.