Edinburgh Festival Fringe comedian Will Robbins vows to carry on after 'boycott' graffiti on his show poster

On Tuesday night, comedian Will Robbins’ main promotional poster, situated in a prime spot at the Pleasance, was graffitied with “Boycott the Fringe”.

Will is making his debut as a solo act at Fringe this year, ahead of his BBC Radio 4 series released this month, with a show that reflects on his rare form of dwarfism and how this has impacted him throughout his life. 

The comedian is refusing to let this petty vandalism bring him down and has also told the promotional company responsible for the poster that he is happy for the graffiti to remain, meaning he faces no extra costs for replacing it, ahead of what is already an expensive month for all up and coming acts at the world’s largest arts festival.

Comedian Will Robbins' promotion poster for his first solo Fringe run was covered in 'Boycott the Fringe' graffiti on Tuesday, July 30, ahead of his first show on Wednesday, July 31. | Multitude Media

Speaking ahead of the first show of his month-long run on Wednesday night, Will admitted he was a “bit sad” when he first saw the graffiti, but was now quick to joke about it.

He said: “When I first saw it I was a bit annoyed. Now I think it’s fine. You can still see all the details about my show on the poster. And with it being about boycotting the Fringe as a whole, it’s at least not a personal attack on me.

“I was a bit sad when I first saw the poster had been graffitied, but at the end of the day, who cares? And I have got a couple of other posters dotted about, however, this was my biggest, and in the best spot.

“I guess I was just unlucky it was me who had my poster covered in graffiti. I didn’t know there was an anti-Fringe element in Edinburgh. It must be a Fringe worker who thinks they are underpaid, which is fine if that’s their gripe, I get it.

“I thought it was about my receding hairline, but obviously it’s not. I believe other acts’ posters have had the same treatment.

“I got offered a replacement poster but I said to just leave it. At least my poster stands out now, it will catch people’s eyes if nothing else. It’s defacing someone’s art, but at this stage I’m just going to leave it.”

In true ‘keep calm and carry on’ British fashion, Will admitted he will add his poster experience into his Fringe routine.

He said: “I think I’ll mention it at the top of my shows, why not get some laughs out of it? It’s a funny story after all.

“However, I don’t want people to boycott the Fringe, otherwise I will be playing to an empty room for a month.

“This is my first hour in Edinburgh, I have been up here with other people before, on a double and triple bill. So I’m still buzzing at my first solo Fringe run, I have done all the right steps before this to get here.”