Sixty years of grumbles, TikTok tourists and a global stage
Sixty years of grumbles, TikTok tourists and a global stage
The world's greatest arts shows is back in town
If you have ever battled your way down the Royal Mile during August, you’ll know festival season is not without its pinch points.
This weekend, and for the next three weeks, the Capital will see an influx of visitors from 170 different countries, flocking to attend the world's greatest art festival, writes Cat Thomson.
It is not, of course, a single festival, but several taking place concurrently within the city, as Edinburgh-based arts writer David Pollock, and author of Edinburgh’s Festivals (Luath Press), points out.
It has grown and grown over time from small-scale, post-war origins to the mega event it is today. Last year, 2,445,609 tickets were issued for performances at the Fringe alone, in 288 different venues. Many city residents may complain about the size of the Festival, but that isn’t a new phenomenon.
‘Chin-scratching articles are an annual sport’
"Ever since the Festival Fringe Society was established by a couple of dozen drama and revue groups in the late 1950s, there have been concerns that the Edinburgh Festival - and the Fringe in particular - has grown too big and unsustainable. The same point has been part of the discourse pretty much ever since. I can't remember a Festival which hasn't begun with a round of chin-scratching articles on what's to be done about the Festival, it's an annual sport,” Pollock reflects.
“Edinburgh as a city has always found a way to cope with the numbers and make the best of the Festival, although there are undoubtedly costs as well as benefits.
“The arrival of the internet took things to a new level. Thanks to online ticketing and greater awareness in general, visitor numbers more than doubled during the 2000s, plus Instagram and TikTok tourism has fuelled an increase in numbers more recently.”
That continuing growth looks unabated, this year's Festival Fringe programme launch on TikTok has been viewed 1.5 million times already.
Fringe rage and Fringe love
It may be that nearly everyone in Edinburgh suffers ‘Fringe rage’ at some point, with high ticket costs for some shows, huge crowds, traffic congestion and litter just a few of the issues that irk. But there is a clear local appetite for what the Festivals brings to our city, with 33 per cent of Fringe attendees coming from the wider Edinburgh area, and 15 per cent coming from the rest of Scotland, with only 10 per cent heading here from overseas.
Unsurprisingly Pollock is a fan. "I love the Festival, it's about as democratic as an arts landscape gets, due to the Fringe's open-access policy and it makes Edinburgh one of the most exciting places in the world for three weeks in August. All that's good about it should be preserved, but at the same time overtourism is a real problem for many cities in the 21st century and needs to be managed and mitigated.
“Criticism of the Festival's effects on Edinburgh are often valid, but ideally they'll come from a position of understanding how all the interconnected festivals work, and be able to separate what's a Festival problem from, for example, one of local government rules and planning, regulation of the short-term letting industry or the nature of capitalism."
Breaking down barriers
The influx of open-minded Festival goers provides local organisations, with an opportunity to break down boundaries and remove obstacles to participation in the arts. Despite serious funding issues earlier in the year, which threatened its survival, Edinburgh Deaf Festival is back for a third year between 9th-18th August 2024.
If you are a Strictly Come Dancing fan, you might recall a powerful performance that demonstrates how the arts can play a huge part in changing the narrative about disability. In one dance deaf actor Rose Ayling-Ellis, and her partner silenced the music halfway through one of their performances but kept on dancing, giving the audience a momentary experience of how the performance might be experienced by a deaf audience member. The pair went on to win the entire competition.
By challenging existing narratives about the deaf community, and using the transformative experience of the arts by showing what is possible rather than not, is one of the aims of the Edinburgh Deaf Festival.
This year’s executive producer Jamie Rea explains how important that is. “The Fringe offers a unique platform to reach a diverse audience, to showcase deaf stories performances, and promote inclusivity.”
This year they are premiering a new play - The Ghost of Alexander Blackwood - written by Nadia Nadarajah and directed by Benedetta Zanetti. The production explores Alexander Blackwood’s life.
He became deaf at age seven after contracting scarlet fever. Despite this, he went into education and became a pastor at the world’s first deaf church. In 1825, he helped found the first Deaf and Dumb Benevolent Society, which later became Deaf Action. The importance Blackwood played in shaping the deaf community in Scotland should not be underplayed.
A rich history
Rea explains why sharing his story is important. “Edinburgh has a rich deaf history, but outside of our community it’s not very well known. Without Alexander Blackwood, our present might look very different. He is partly the reason why Edinburgh has a large vibrant deaf community to this day.
“Sharing our history increases deaf awareness and the appreciation of our rich cultural heritage.
“Our doors are always open to everyone who wants to see a performance. We encourage hearing people to join us and experience our culture and performances. Because it is for everyone - you don’t need to understand BSL, and you will witness deaf performers doing what they do best – performing.
“Deaf people have unique skills and talents which can make for more inclusive environments in the arts. Not only that, but younger deaf people can also look up to deaf role models and recognise themselves in them, opening up more avenues in their futures.”
Rea explains his own career in the arts was inspired by a bursary offered by the Scottish deaf theatre company, Solar Bear. “I received a bursary to learn how to become a producer and shadowed the general manager at Solar Bear. I then prepared a cabaret show for the first Edinburgh Deaf Festival, which was a huge success. A year later, I saw a job ad from Deaf Action to be involved in the festival – I applied, and here I am.”
He loves seeing the entire team working hard to prepare for the festival. “Being part of the Fringe is an amazing experience. Some of our performances are Fringe registered, which is exciting as it gives deaf performers a platform at one of the biggest arts events in the world.”
If you want to see The Ghost of Alexander Blackwood (Venue 498, Blackwood Bar - 49 Albany St, EH1 3QY Aug 10-11, 16-18; full price £12, concessions £10) it is worth knowing in advance is that deaf applause is not a thunderous round of loud claps. Instead, there is a visual show of a sea of waving hands. Rea says: ” As a performer, seeing this type of applause is a very powerful visual – it is very touching and heartfelt, as we can see people have enjoyed our performance.”
The People’s Theatre
Another dedicated band of residents who prefer to get involved with the Fringe annually rather than watch from the audience are the Edinburgh People's Theatre (EPT).
EPT is the only remaining operational theatre company of the original eight which gate-crashed the Edinburgh Festival to kickstart the Fringe in 1947.
Stepping inside their headquarters in Mayfield Gardens, Newington, is like wandering into Aladdin’s cave of theatrical history. Anne Mackenzie, the director of this year's fringe show, led me through their two rehearsal areas, extensive costume and prop stores, and set-building workshop to show me around.
She says: “We are playing a small part in EPT’s long history, standing on the shoulders of past giants. We love doing what we do and are grateful to be part of it.”
Apart from during the COVID pandemic, the company have performed at the Fringe every year since it was founded. The group currently has around a hundred members, ranging in age from 18-80 years of age.
Members can audition for four or five performances throughout the year, but the Fringe run is the pinnacle of their year.
Mackenzie lives in Leith but originally comes from Derbyshire. She acknowledges that the Festival isn’t universally loved. “I know, this sounds like I’m a luvvie, but I'm not really. I’m delighted to be part of the Edinburgh Fringe. It's such an honour that people come and pay to see our show, it's amazing.
“We're lucky that we live in a place where people want to come to the Fringe but there is a place for the people of Edinburgh in the whole thing. If you are looking for a quality show that isn't going to break the bank, then Edinburgh People's Theatre is it. The name says it all.”
This year’s production is Ne'er the Twain (Venue 11, Mayfield Salisbury Church - Church Hall Aug 2-3, 5-10, 12-17 weekday evening and afternoon matinee on Saturdays full price £15 concessions £12).
She chuckles, “It is a comedy, so it's not Chekhov, but it's quite interesting as it explores very accurately historically how Leith became part of Edinburgh.” The play is set in Edinburgh in 1919, just before Leith became part of Edinburgh. It is set in a flat on the city’s boundary (the family's living room is in Leith and the lobby and the toilet are in Edinburgh).
During the day Mackenzie works as an education welfare officer and admits the role at times requires her acting skills. As you might expect there is a core of older members, but she is at pains to point out: “We also have younger people who have just finished acting courses and recognise this as quite a prestigious club and want to sort of keep their hand in until they get a professional job.”
They have non-acting support roles for people who would never dream of setting foot on stage, she admits: “We love those people, probably more than the actors.”
Making arts accessible to all
However, it isn’t all about ‘the smell of the greasepaint, the roar of the crowd,’ the social aspect of the group continues to play a huge part in the company’s longevity.
Lyzzie Dell, joined EPT 20 years ago after her husband died. Dell says: “I was really down, and a friend said why don't you come along? They made me feel so welcome and I've just stayed. They have become another family to me.”
This year Dell is starring as Nellie McIvor in the festival production. She points out: “Yes, the show is the ultimate thing, but it’s the rehearsing and being part of the team. And that team supports each other no matter whether you're making the tea or doing the props, sound, or lighting.”
Another stalwart is Mandy Black, who plays Jean McIvor this year. She made her EPT debut, as a dancer aged 7 and is still actively involved 50 years later. She says: “It's such a blast watching new performers doing their first Fringe. Because the show is on for a few weeks, you've got time to build it, and it takes on its own life. And getting a round of applause at the end, when you feel you deserved it, is the best feeling on earth. “
Gordon Braidwood, a retired chartered accountant and the current EPT treasurer who is also playing, Mr Murchison, the minister in the current production say he feels that local groups like EPT should be able to thrive during the festival.
He says: “Over the years I've seen The Fringe completely taken over by the big boys coming up from the south with the smaller groups just suffocating in amongst it all. But the Fringe needs to have a local presence.”
By the end of August, the entire city may be suffering from Festival fatigue but the dedicated bunch at Edinburgh People's Theatre are straight into casting the next production and dreaming of next year’s Fringe show. Mackenzie adds: “There is a constant rolling programme of shows, with each show cast before the end of the previous production. So, we are never, not rehearsing.”
If you fancy treading the board yourself, the group rehearse every Tuesday, Thursday evening and Sunday afternoon and holds regular play reading nights where they bring in outside experts to hold regular stagecraft or performing workshops. Mackenzie says: “We offer these free workshops to our members. One of our founding principles is to make theatre arts accessible.” The annual membership costs only £30 in the first year, and £25 thereafter.
Perhaps it is time to ditch the misplaced anger and recognise more of the positive effects of Edinburgh’s Festivals on life in the city. They are felt far beyond the end of the Festival season when we cheerfully wave goodbye to everyone for another year.