The Stage

Edinburgh Fringe unveils “strong” theatre programme

Published Thursday 9 June 2011 at 17:44 by Thom Dibdin

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme that launched today is not only the biggest ever but, with a total of 761 theatre productions, it also features more theatre than ever before.

While this does not return theatre to the proportion it enjoyed until 2008, when its percentage level dipped below comedy for the first time, the increase of 56 productions over last year represents a rise of a percentage point – to 30% of the programme.

Speaking to The Stage, chief executive of the Fringe Society Kath Mainland said: “There is a really strong theatre programme. There are interesting things in interesting spaces, such as Summer Hall, a venue which Battersea Arts Centre have been involved in. There will be some interesting stuff there, I suspect, which is not in the programme ‚Äì scratch [productions] in the Forest Fringe style.”

The rise in theatre is attributable in part to the British Council’s biennial showcase, taking place in the final week of the fringe, which includes 20 theatre productions. There are also the 12 theatre productions being promoted through the Made in Scotland showcase.

These include productions such as last year’s Roadkill, which returns for a week as part of the British Council Showcase, and TAG’s The Monster in the Hall, which features in both.

Many of the showcase productions are in the West End/New Town area where individual theatres tend to focus on theatre rather than comedy. Universal Arts at the New Town Theatre on George Street have 14 theatre productions, the Traverse where many of the British Council Showcase production are are being staged, has 17, and ReMarkable Arts with a majority of the Made in Scotland productions has 35 pieces of theatre.

Speaking to The Stage at the launch of the Traverse’s programme, artistic director Dominic Hill said: “This year, it is much more about plays, it is about writing and good playwrights. I loved last year’s programme, but it feels like this year they are big, meaty plays. We have Zinnie Harris, Lynda Radley, Mark Ravenhill, David Harrower and David Greig, all with big, meaty plays.

“That thrills me because the playwright has to be at the heart of what the Traverse does. However much there is lots of devised work, and stuff going on in the world, I think you need writers, you need people who will sit in rooms and write plays and I think our programme this year celebrates that.”

Outside the showcases, the National Theatre of Scotland is bringing two of its own shows – The Wheel, written by Zinnie Harris and directed by Vicky Featherstone and The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart created by writer David Greig and director Wils Wilson. It is also involved as a co-producer in a further two.

The commitment to theatre stretches across the board. Of the big five venues, Assembly has 33 theatre productions at Assembly Hall and its new base on George Square, the various C venues have 97, the Pleasance 62 at the Courtyard and Dome, Underbelly 36 at the Pasture and Cowgate, and the Gilded Balloon has 15.

The bigger houses by necessity attract the bigger names. Pleasance has bagged both Steven Berkoff, who joins the cast of his Oedipus as Creon for the Edinburgh run, and Julian Sands in a celebration of Harold Pinter, directed by John Malkovich. Assembly has attracted Simon Callow in Tuesday at Tescos, which performs at the Mound.

Addressing the difficulties put upon the fringe by the increased concentration of venues in the university quarter, described to The Stage by Tommy Sheppard of The Stand as “making life shittier for the rest of us,” Mainland acknowledged that there might be difficulties and said that the Fringe Society is constantly striving to find new venues.

“You can only build a venue in a space that is empty and available,” she said. “There is not a very great deal we can do about that. The venues team spend a lot of time in the winter looking for spaces and if they have found spaces, trying to help companies set up in them.

“Yes it will be more concentrated up there [in George Square] and that will make it a different dynamic, undoubtedly. But I genuinely think that as an audience member, if you see a show that is interesting you will go to the venue where it is on. It is not as if Edinburgh is an enormous city where to get to the West End is a huge distance.”