GET UNBORED WITH THE EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE:
2014 PROGRAMME LAUNCHED
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is back for 2014 with a programme that is bursting at the seams with exhilarating, inspiring and unforgettable festival shows and offering a truly unboring experience.
2014 will see 49,497 performances of 3,193 shows in 299 venues across Scotland’s capital city. The number of shows reflects an 11% increase on last year’s programme, making it the biggest ever in the history of the Fringe.
Audiences at the 2014 Fringe will have a new online ticketing experience that will improve the process for customers looking to search for shows and buy tickets. Ticketing on edfringe.com is now fully responsive and customers can now access it on any PC, tablet or mobile device, and will benefit from improved filtering options, the ability to export their search results, create their own calendar of events, and share booked and favourite shows. Additionally, audience members can now post reviews of any show they’ve seen directly onto edfringe.com, which will in turn benefit participants who can build up a picture of genuine audience responses. Participants will also be able to enrich their online show listings by sharing reviews, social media links, sneak previews and other media files. This is alongside the official Fringe App for Android and iOS which is already available. Once again the Fringe Society has increased the number of ticket collections points around the city, to make things easier for our audience. New collection points this year include the Institut français d’Ecosse in the west end of the city and, as announced last month, the Domestic Arrivals Hall at Edinburgh Airport. A full list of ticket collection points can be found online.
As the Edinburgh Festival Fringe constantly evolves, a number of new venues will be showcasing work this year. Riddle’s Court, an A-listed 16th Century courtyard house set behind the Royal Mile is once again in operation following extensive conservation work, and joins the C Group as venue C Cubed, while, rising like a phoenix, La Belle Angèle on Cowgate is reopening as a venue, following the devastating fire in 2002. Northern Stage is moving to a new venue at King’s Hall on Clerk Street, and the south side of the city also sees new venues Greenside @ Nicolson Square and C venues – C south, extending the presence of the Fringe in that neighbourhood. The Famous Spiegeltent will be located in St Andrew’s Square, alongside Stand in the Square, and a brand new open air stage. TheSpaceUK, which is celebrating 20 years at the Fringe this year, manages performance spaces across eight locations, plus a caravan on Niddry Street with a maximum audience capacity of just eight. 2014 also marks the 25th year as a Fringe venue for Universal Art’s Hill Street Theatre which will this year once again play host to the Festival of Solo Theatre.
This year sees the former Dance and Physical Theatre category expanded to become Dance, Circus and Physical Theatre in recognition of the growth and popularity of circus shows over the last couple of years. Spoken Word, which was introduced in 2012 sees an 88% increase in the number of shows since last year to a total of 124 – making up just under 4% of the total programme. Children’s shows have also seen a big increase in popularity this year, with 22% more shows in this category than in 2013. All other categories continue to remain very popular.
Kath M Mainland, Chief Executive of The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society said:
“This programme is the culmination of the creativity and hard work of thousands of people. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is many things to many people and part of the success of the Fringe is that whatever you are looking for, and in whatever capacity you are looking, you can almost certainly be satisfied by what you find.
“This year the Fringe includes 3,193 shows which is a record number of shows, but more importantly the programme offers the widest selection of international high quality arts and entertainment that you will find in any one place at any one time. A truly unique experience.
“This year is an incredibly important year for Scotland with major international cultural, sporting and political events taking place. With our eclectic range of shows and uniquely diverse range of voices the Fringe will, as always, be at the centre of things and promises to keep residents and visitors unbored.”
Fiona Hyslop, The Scottish Government‘s Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs said:
“As we welcome the world in 2014 to see the best that Scotland has to offer, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe will play a crucial role helping to attract visitors from all over the world to see and experience the diverse and extensive range of cultural and creative activity on offer.
“The Fringe is world renowned, boosting our international profile and providing a platform for Scottish artists and companies from around the world.
“Through the Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund the Scottish Government has awarded more than £15m to the Edinburgh festivals since 2007, including more than £3.2m for Made in Scotland at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. This demonstrates the Scottish Government’s firm commitment to supporting the festivals to give Scotland’s performers and companies the opportunity to promote our country’s rich culture, heritage and distinct identity on a world stage.”
Cllr. Steve Cardownie, the City of Edinburgh Council’s Festivals and Events Champion said:
“The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a hugely celebrated event in the Edinburgh calendar and this year promises once again to thrill, educate and entertain audiences across the capital. We are looking forward to welcoming artists, journalists and guests from around the globe to enjoy the world’s largest arts festival in the beautiful and historical setting of Edinburgh.”
Janet Archer, Chief Executive of Creative Scotland said:
“The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is an unrivalled opportunity for Scottish performers to access a whole host of influential contacts and to present their work on an International platform. It’s also a fantastic way for acts to compare and contrast their output to their creative counterparts from around the world.”
This year the Fringe Society has built a series of strong collaborative relationships with key transport infrastructure providers in order to help our dedicated audience to make the most of their time at the Fringe.
On 25 July the Fringe Society’s popular Glasgow Box Office will open for 2014 at Queen Street Station, Steve Montgomery, Managing Director of First ScotRail said:
“We are absolutely delighted to once again host the Fringe’s Glasgow Box Office at Queen Street Station.
“We know that a lot of our customers travelling between Glasgow and Edinburgh during August will want to take in some shows at what is the biggest and most exciting festival in the world and First ScotRail is committed to helping make the experience as smooth as possible.”
As mentioned earlier, this year also sees a Fringe Ticket Collection Point inside Edinburgh Airport for the first time.Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport said:
“Every summer we welcome thousands of passengers from all over the world into our airport. Many will be coming to experience the magic of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and this year we’ll have a Fringe ticket collection point in our terminal for the very first time. Passengers will soon be able to collect their tickets as soon as they arrive.
“We want all of our passengers to have the very best experience possible. We’re delighted to be working with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and have this fantastic facility available at Edinburgh Airport.”
Residents and visitors will also be able to keep an eye out for a Fringe branded bus which will be part of the Lothian Buses fleet travelling around the city. The Chief Executive of Transport for Edinburgh, Ian Craig said:
“The Fringe is an extremely exciting time for everyone in Edinburgh and we’re doing all we can to make sure that residents and visitors alike can move around the city with ease. Extra services will be laid on and we’d encourage all audience members to plan their journeys ahead of time using www.lothianbuses.com, so everyone can enjoy their festival experience without having to worry about how they’re getting home afterwards.”
Fringe Facts 2014
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2014 features 49,497 performances (up from 45,204 last year) of 3,193 shows (up from 2,871 shows last year) in 299 venues (up from 273 venues last year).
Comedy makes up 34% (compared to 33% last year)
Theatre makes up 28% (compared to 29% last year)
Music makes up 13% (compared to 14% last year)
Musicals and Opera make up 3% (compared to 4% last year)
Children’s Shows make up 5% (compared to 5% last year)
Dance, Circus & Physical Theatre make up 4% (compared to 4% last year)
Events make up 4% (compared to 4.5% last year)
Cabaret makes up 3% (compared to 3% last year)
Spoken Word makes up 4% (compared to 2% last year)
Exhibitions make up 2% (compared to 1.5% last year)
There are 825 free shows, 1,789 premieres and 47 different countries represented.
