ThreeWeeks co-Editor Caro Moses welcomes you to the Week Zero issue of ThreeWeeks at the Edinburgh Festival 2011.

Earlier this evening (actually, I’m writing this at three in the morning, so in theory, that was yesterday), whilst staring up at a very high ceiling (a sure sign that one is in Edinburgh), I reflected on the past fifteen years of my life and realised that every single one of them has been delineated and defined by the Edinburgh Festival. Even the year that I gave birth at the start of August, I had, by the time that event occurred, spent half the year putting together a team of aspiring reviewers and coming up with content for that year’s publications. I was still working on team lists when the contractions started.

It’s a testament to the power of the Festival, and in particular, the Fringe: this huge, pulsating mass of people and things that makes me want to come back every year, no matter what. ThreeWeeks, and the people behind it, all feel that pull, and we are not alone. It is fantastic and delightful to note that in our sixteenth year, all four cover stars from our very first year – Richard Herring, Stewart Lee, Mark Thomas and Jerry Sadowitz – are all back at the festival in 2011, and doing proper runs too, none of this “one night only” stuff.

Some people might call it not-moving-on. I’d call it sticking-with-a-good-thing. I think it would be a sad state of affairs if every famous and successful comedy act – or theatre group, or dance troupe – got to a point where they thought they were too big for the Fringe; it’s a great thing to see the established pros mixing with the unseasoned newcomers, and it’s part of what makes the Edinburgh Festival Fringe the brilliant and unique thing that it is.

Putting together this preview issue is usually a pretty tiring business, but by the time I’ve got around to writing this (a few hours before it goes to press) I’m still bursting with enthusiasm for the Fringe-beast, and so is everyone around me (I’m not the only one still up working in the middle of the night). We should be in bed, but we are still here, fuelled by the energy that the Festival always creates. I can’t wait to see our first issue in print. I can’t wait to begin the process of reviewing as many shows as we possibly can so that as many shows as possible will go home with that elusive review. I am really looking forward to fielding our 2011 team of highly talented writers; this year, they really are a crack troop.

That being the case, I suggest you not miss a word of it, especially if you’re looking for recommendations for how to fill your every waking Fringe hour with quality entertainment. Look out for our weekly and daily editions in venues all over the city, and check out our website or sign up for our daily e-newsletter. Take recommendations from us, and listen to word of mouth. But promise me to go and see at least one show you’ve never heard of, that probably doesn’t have a big PR machine, and that’s probably the sort of thing you wouldn’t normally bother with. I’m not the only person who will tell you that that’s what the Fringe is really about.

Caro Moses, co-Editor, ThreeWeeks