Edinburgh Fringe With Spice
EDINBURGH FRINGE WITH SPICE REPORT 2025
Created by LULA.XYZ
Assisted by Christopher Spring
“LULA.XYZ’s excellent and necessary Edinburgh Fringe with Spice project, made using the Fringe of Colour database, provides a vital reminder that global-majority artists have been at the fringe, even if the fringe does not always give them the welcome they deserve.”
Lyn Gardner
Did you know that out of nearly 4,000 shows at this year’s Edinburgh Fringe, fewer than 300 centre artists of colour?
Edinburgh Fringe With Spice spotlights shows by POC artists through a combined print and digital listing on OommoO.xyz. To democratise critical power to drive discovery, the platform enables audience feedback to live and travel with the work, affirming that a show’s life cycle does not start or end at the festival but evolves through it.
The need to support artists and audiences responds directly to structural inequalities within the world’s largest arts festival, where predominantly white shows and audiences continue to shape narratives, reviews and opportunity.
There were three primary initiatives at the centre of this year’s pilot:
Edinburgh Fringe with Spice: A dedicated book of all shows by non-white artists. Only possible thanks to the support from The City of Edinburgh Council, Culture and Wellbeing Service, Diversity and Inclusion Fund.
OommoO.xyz: A public-facing centralised digital space created by LULA.XYZ where Global Majority Shows are spotlighted and audience reviews drive discovery.
A free ticketing scheme for POC shows programmed by Underbelly to be distributed to new audiences. Providing active outreach at no cost to the artist (in partnership with Underbelly).
Demand and impact was clear: with coverage in Eastern Eye, Broadway World, The Stage, AndAsian, The Crush Bar and multiple mentions in Lyn Gardner’s columns being highlights.
Testimonies from POC artists and audiences who had said that “this was the first time they felt visible in the festival”.
On the platform audiences shared unfiltered reviews under names rarely seen in traditional print media. This allowed shows often missed by mainstream publications to gain recognition directly from audiences, celebrating artists beyond the “traditional, white, middle-class” lens and reaffirming that these stories are needed and wanted.
Further sector recognition followed at ISPA, where LULA.XYZ’s speech highlighted the need for community-led cultural infrastructure supported by major institutions. During that session, the CEO of the Fringe Society publicly acknowledged the systemic issues the work exposes and expressed his intention to support it moving forward. The video remains a powerful record of the industry’s recognition of LULA.XYZ’s impact.
LULA.XYZ’s work offers a scalable model for equity in audience engagement and artist visibility across the wider sector. With financial backing from Underbelly and Edinburgh Council for 2026 and support from allies such as Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, it continues to demonstrate how festivals and venues can reshape access to Global Majority work all year-round.
But for this movement to take root, it requires sustained investment and sector-wide commitment.
Without it, the progress made risks being lost, despite having already proven what the future of a more inclusive festival can look like.
Testimonies:
Reuben Kaye: “I can’t believe this hasn’t happened before, it’s outrageously helpful. It’s brilliant for audiences that want to see themselves reflected in the show. But also for programmers and creatives who are programming festivals to make sure that they are reflective of society - this is a really invaluable tool and I think the fringe should support it. It’s a very small group of people that put this whole thing together themselves with a minimal amount of funding. I think this should be part of every festival as well. “
Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/DNlMMpuzy2Z/?hl=en-gb
Lyn Gardner: And if nothing much changes for the vast majority, then maybe we need to rethink the fringe’s place in the ecosystem and what purpose it serves. If it works for the few but not more widely – in particular, if it doesn’t work for global-majority artists or those breaking with popular forms – what does that mean about the fringe as a marketplace for the wider industry?
LULA.XYZ’s excellent and necessary Edinburgh Fringe with Spice project, made using the Fringe of Colour database, provides a vital reminder that global-majority artists have been at the fringe, even if the fringe does not always give them the welcome they deserve.
Launch of Edinburgh Fringe With Spice: https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/edfringes-bias-towards-white-stories-tackled-with-global-majority-scheme
“But theatre’s difficulties are perhaps exacerbated this year, with exorbitant accommodation costs meaning that festival punters are coming for less time and on tighter budgets, so are seeing fewer shows. Often, the shows that slip off the list are lesser-known works, the pieces you were going to take a chance on. The one that sounds a mite challenging and may be a bit of a downer. The show made by the global-majority artist whose work you don’t know.” Lyn Gardner
Doing Black Things With My Black Friends: “Fringe of Colour and Edinburgh Fringe With Spice were invaluable in helping me find black shows at the years fringe. [Edinburgh Fringe With Spice] feels like another great way of supporting POC shows.”
Link 1: https://www.instagram.com/p/DNOapLeIlHJ/?hl=en-gb
Link 2: https://www.instagram.com/p/DNkW6sqoUd0/?hl=en-gb
A civil servant for the Scottish Government: “I have been coming to this festival for nearly 2 decades and I have never seen myself reflected in the programme. Thank you for this gift.” (Private conversation and email)
Jodie Adams, senior programmer for Underbelly: “The Edinburgh Fringe With Spice Initiative is a crucial new scheme from pioneering artist LULA.XYZ, building on the work of Fringe of Colour to ensure Global Majority artists and audiences are giving visibility and support at what is still an overwhelmingly white festival. Underbelly are delighted to be presenting Lula’s shows and to be supporting this initiative by donating free tickets to community groups at no cost to the artists, enabling them to see shows by Performers of Colour that they may otherwise not have seen. By boosting visibility to the Edinburgh Fringe With Spice brochure and website wherever possible we are hoping to encourage everyone across the festival to check out and support the work of all these fantastic artists and help amplify their voices.“
Tony Lankester, CEO of Fringe Society: “I think it's an inspiring project. Thank you for exercising your agency in the way that you've done that. I think it's, what you've achieved is extraordinary and we will support you going forward and we will find the partnerships and things that can help amplify what you're do because I think that's a great project and a great outcome, but I suspect it's the start of something.”
Taken from ISPA meeting at Edinburgh Fringe - see link: https://youtu.be/lUvXPaEssYY
What the innovation is:
A new visibility, outreach and discovery initiative for global majority artists at Edinburgh Fringe Festival
Includes a printed book of every global majority show
A public discovery platform (OommoO.xyz) created by LULA.XYZ and her team placing all shows led by global majority audiences online, this is a platform that includes
audience reviews, and 200 free outreach tickets for new global majority audiences
Why it is needed:
Fewer than 10% of almost 4,000 Fringe shows centre Artists of Colour
Reviewing culture currently undervalues or flattens global majority work with a lack of representation in critical authors and column inches
Audiences who want to see global majority stories struggle to find them
The industry publicly acknowledged the gap during the ISPA meeting and talked of the need for more initiatives worldwide to increase diversity
Evidence of impact:
Major press coverage across The Stage, Eastern Eye, Broadway World, AndAsian, Lyn Gardner’s column
Shortlisted for two awards
Widespread influencer engagement
Significant audience feedback calling it “long overdue” and “a vital tool”
Why it should win:
Tackles entrenched discrimination through practical, audience-centred tools
Demonstrates a scalable model with partners including Wolverhampton Grand and currently open to partnering with other companies in future.
Represents real structural change rather than platitudes
Urgently requires sector investment to survive beyond a pilot year