Edinburgh Fringe
The Fringe story began in 1947, when the Edinburgh International Festival was launched. It was so successful that it inspired more performers than there was room for and so the Fringe was born.
An estimated 18,626 performers performed at the Fringe in 2007.
Theatre made up 31% of the programme followed closely by 30.5% comdey shows. Music is next at 17% and children’s shows, musicals & opera, dance & physical theatre all come in at about 5% each.
The Fringe is a very important time of year (it’s in August in case you’ve never been) for freelance theatre professionals and many relocate to Scotland’s capital for the summer (if you can call it a summer–it always rains).
The main sources of work would be in venues where you could be doing anything from operating the board to selling tickets to flyering, or working on a specific show, either your own production or someone else’s.
The financial risks of taking your own show to the Fringe are big, so do go first and see how others do it, and make sure you know what you’re taking on–many shows lose money.
Some Edinburgh Fringe venues and links
“Edinburgh Fringe is the centre of my professional calendar. I do five or six shows a year, usually designing the sound and lighting, sometimes as production manager.”
Nic Watson, 27, technician
