2011 Fringe to Inspire and Enthrall
What has 41,689 performances of 2,542 shows in 258 venues spread across one of the world’s favourite cities?
The 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, of course.
The 2011 Fringe programme is crammed full of the stories, reflections and experiences of artists, producers and companies from all over the world, and 2011 promises to be the biggest year yet.
Launching the programme, Kath M Mainland, Chief Executive of the Festival Fringe Society, said: .
“The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is still the first choice for performers, producers, venues, artists and creators to come and tell their story; we are proud that at the Fringe is still THE place to bring your work, with opportunities to amaze, enthral and excite audiences from both far away and close to home.”
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is known for its variety across a range of artforms from comedy and theatre to dance, rock, opera and cabaret, an art form that is appearing for the first time in its own category.
Highlights of the programme include the 25th anniversary of legendary Fringe institution Late ‘n Live, award winning companies, performers and productions returning to the Fringe and site specific work aplenty. Fringe First Award winning National Theatre of Scotland return after 2010’s Beautiful Burnout with David Greig’s The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart in the bar of Ghillie Dhu and The Wheel at the Traverse. 2010 Award winner Bryony Kimmings is back as part of Arts Council England (East): Escalator East to Edinburgh showcase, Kimming’s 7 Day Drunk (Assembly) will be created from the creative juices that flow when under the influence.
As part of Made In Scotland Lung Ha’s collaborate with Swedish company Unga Klara bringing Medea’s Children to Remarkable Arts at St George’s West in which the story is told from the perspective of the children. Stella Duffy modernises the tale in Medea at Assembly. Site specific Zecora Ura and Persis Jade Maraval perform their six hour long Hotel Medea at Summerhall. The show starts at 23.45 and ends at dawn with hot chocolate and breakfast provided.
As every year, at the Fringe in 2011 artists shrug off theatrical convention and take to any space that can support, expand and inform their work. Grid Iron will be celebrating their 10th year at the Fringe with What Remains in the University of Edinburgh Medical School’s Anatomy Department. Poet Ishbel McFarlane will be meeting her audience members under the departure boards for a ‘literal and literary’ tour to Glasgow by train in Even in Edinburgh/Glasgow. Arches new resident artist Adrian Howells asks May I Have The Pleasure...? at a wedding breakfast at the Point Hotel in which he recounts his experience of weddings as an oft used best man. For The Lounge Room Confabulators the site is your own home; Australian artists Stuart Bowden and Wil Greenway will charm your guests with a suitcase and more than a story or two.
Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop MSP said:“Every year the Fringe gets bigger and better and this year’s programme promises to delight and excite audiences from home and abroad. Offering a huge variety of work from an international band of talented performers, I’m sure there will be something for everyone to enjoy.
“Edinburgh’s Festivals contribute hugely to the Scottish economy, generating over a quarter of a billion pounds’ worth of additional revenue for Scotland last year. I’m delighted that our Expo Fund, through the Made In Scotland showcase, is promoting the wealth of Scotland’s creative talent at the Fringe and raising the profile of our world-class artists internationally.”
So why not grab your programme and get booking? There is more to see than ever before!
