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Dateline: 28th August, 2008
Fringe Director Morgan Quits Jon Morgan, director of the Edinburgh Fringe who has only been in post since June 2007, has resigned. In a statement released today, he said, "I feel privileged to have worked for the Fringe. It is the greatest arts festival on the planet and plays an important role in developing and showcasing new performing talent on a world stage. However, the role of Fringe director has taken me away from my first love; producing and presenting exciting performance to audiences and my intention is to return to that more direct relationship with artists and audiences. "I have been considering this for some time, but felt it was important not to announce my departure before the festival so as to not impact on this year's festival. Following discussion with the Board I have now decided to step down with immediate effect, but I would like to stress that I will contribute fully to the independent review of the box office which was announced earlier this month. "I would like to thank the board for their support over the last year and I would especially pay tribute to the Fringe Society staff team who deliver vital services that underpin the festival. Every year they work tirelessly and well above the call of duty and this year, in particular, they have dealt with very challenging circumstances with hard work, patience and dedication." Although this year's ticket sales topped 1.5m for the third year running, they were down by around 10% on last year. Morgan attributes the fall to a combination of factors, including the poor weather and the credit crunch. One of his first jobs on taking over from Paul Gudgin was the selection of a new box office system which failed on the day after sales opened, throwing the whole booking system into chaos so that across-the-counter and telephone sales had to be halted for a time and online ticketing diverted to the individual venues. The repercussions, in terms of reconciling accounts, still continue.
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