Departures: The Ultimate Guide To The Edinburgh Festival (Sponsored)

I’ve always avoided going to comedy gigs. Due to the combination of my questionable fashion sense and oft-experimental haircuts, I tend to assume that comedians would see me as sweet manna from heaven and I would have to endure 15 minutes of ribbing from someone who, ironically, I could have bullied in school. However, I do love the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and I even break my rule of not stepping into comedy venues (sitting at the back wearing a beanie hat and shades, naturally), as you can often see some of the best new comics on the scene. The only issue that can arise is to make sure that you see everyone you want to see; that’s where Departures comes in.

The beauty of Departures lies in its simplicity; it’s an easily navigable app that details every show that is on during the festival, with a colour code chart to show you which shows are almost sold out, a free show, two for one tickets or a preview show. You can swipe the screen to move the Departures Board along and select various shows; once you click on the show’s title, you are taken to the Information Page, which gives you everything that you need to know about the show, including a brief précis of the star or group performing, where and when it’s being held and a timer to say how long you have until it begins.

What I really like about the app is that you can click through to buy tickets, either online or by phoning the Box Office, which is a really nice touch as it can be such a hassle to switch between app and browser. Another cool feature is that you can filter out which types of shows that you want to appear on your Departures Board, personalising the feed that you get; so, if you like comedy shows, just tick the ‘Comedy’ box and uncheck the rest and see a list of potential venues where various shades of piss may be taken out of you and your friends. Good luck…

Summary

This is a really useful, well-designed app that will come in handy for anyone wanting to make the most out of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Just stay away from the front of the stage…

Pros

• I really like the layout and the colour scheme; simple, yet effective.
• The navigation is straightforward and easy to follow.
• The fact that you can decide which genres of shows come up on your feed means that you’ll always know when your favourite act is playing.

Room For Improvement

If it could come equipped with an arsenal of brilliant heckles, I’d consider shelling out a fee. Seriously.