Over 21,000 performers in search of fame and infamy will gather in Edinburgh in August to put on 2,542 shows in a record year for the city’s Fringe, the largest annual arts festival of its kind in the world.
The flamboyant and exuberant Fringe, running from August 5-29, covers the full range of theatrical artistry, from cabaret through to comedy, opera, theatre and music. Impresarios, agents and scouts keenly watch the performances for new talent in an environment that has opened the door to many of Britain’s top performers for more than 60 years.
Fringe director Kath Mainland told at the launch of the festival’s programme on Thursday that international media exposure and the presence of over 1,000 festival directors, theatre programmers and talent scouts from around the world were key factors in attracting performers.
Several productions will mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, with the American High School Theatre Festival presenting ‘War at Home,’ “created out of the journals of students, teachers and community members after the attacks.”
In a one-man show, American Chris Wolfe explores how 9/11 affected a generation through television and the internet.
Edinburgh’s Cutting Edge Theatre Productions will premiere a new musical “11” weaving in stories of people whose lives have been affected by two world wars and 9/11 itself. One notable absence from the programme was political satire on Britain today. In fact, the genre has been a relative rarity on the Fringe since former prime minister Tony Blair was a target for satirical arrows back in 2007.
