|
Event Information:
Edinburgh Festival is a collective
term for several simultaneous arts
and cultural festivals that take
place during August each year in
Edinburgh, Scotland. These festivals
are arranged by a number of formally
unrelated organizations, meaning
there is no single event officially
termed the Edinburgh Festival. The
Edinburgh Festival, which is the
largest cultural event in the world,
traces its roots to 1947 when the
Edinburgh International Festival (EIF)
was established in a post-war effort
to "provide a platform for the
flowering of the human spirit". That
same year, eight theatrical
companies "gatecrashed" the official
Festival by organizing their own
event, outside the official auspices
of the EIF; this started the
movement which grew into the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe (EFF). The
EFF is also referred to as the
Edinburgh Fringe, the Fringe, or
(incorrectly) the Edinburgh Fringe
Festival.
The
Edinburgh Festival Fringe (The
Fringe) is the world’s largest arts
festival. Established in 1946 as an
alternative to the Edinburgh
International Festival, it takes
place in Scotland's capital during
four weeks every August. The Fringe
mostly attracts events from the
performing arts, particularly
theatre and comedy (which has seen
substantial growth in recent years,)
although dance and music also figure
significantly: in 2009 35% of shows
were comedy and 28% were theatre.
Theatre events can range from the
classics of ancient Greece, William
Shakespeare and Samuel Beckett, to
modern works, and in 2009 37% of
shows were world premieres. However,
there is no selection committee to
approve the entries – it is an
unjuried festival – so any type of
event is possible: the Fringe often
showcases experimental works which
might not be admitted to a more
formal festival. In addition to
ticketed events (included in the
programme), there is an ongoing
street fair, particularly on the
Royal Mile. The organizers are the
Festival Fringe Society: they
publish the programme, sell tickets
and offer advice to performers from
the Fringe office on the Royal Mile.
For
many groups at the Fringe the
ultimate goal is a favourable review
which, apart from the welcome kudos,
may help to minimise any financial
losses that are suffered in putting
on the show. Edinburgh based
newspaper The Scotsman, often seen
as the 'bible' of the Edinburgh
Festival for its comprehensive
coverage, originally aimed to review
every show on the Fringe. They now
have to be more selective, as there
are simply too many shows to cover,
although they do see more or less
every new play being staged as part
of the Fringe's theatre programme
because of their Fringe First
awards.
Local
Weather:
|
