Is Brand-Name Comedy Harming Edinburgh Fringe?

“Once upon a time, the Edinburgh festival fringe was all about finding the next big thing in Hungarian experimental theatre. Now, its integrity has disappeared as commercialism reigns, personified by big-name performers familiar from TV, such as Jimmy Carr, Ricky Gervais and Frank Skinner. That, at least, is the complaint from those who believe that household name comedy is drowning out more pioneering art.”