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The
Edinburgh Fringe
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Thoughts on the 2001 Fringe (1)Regular readers will know that normally I keep a Fringe Diary, but this year I didn't. I don't know whether it's age or simply that the Fringe has grown more hectic, but I simply didn't have time! However I have had time to pen a few thoughts on particular aspects of the 2001 Fringe (mainly written since arriving back to home, I have to admit). I hope you enjoy them. The VenuesThe Big Yins There is no doubt that the Assembly and the Pleasance are still the main Fringe venues. This year the Assembly staged 29 and the Pleasance 35 theatre shows, whilst the figures for comedy were sixteen for the Assembly and ten for the Pleasance. In total, however, including music and other shows, the Assembly presented 65 shows and the Plaesance a massive 157. It is the Gilded Balloon which scores highest on the comedy scale, presenting 46 shows: in total it presented 95 shows. The Assembly is limited in the number of shows it can put on at one time by the rooms available within the building: the Music Hall, the Ballroom, the Wildeman Room, the Supper Room and the Edinburgh Suite. This year the Gilded Balloon has shrunk somewhat, with just three venues: the original theatre in Cowgate, the Peppermint Lounge and the new venue at Teviot House, Bristo Place. The Pleasance, however, has expanded - yet again. The Pleasance Dome in Potterrow now has four spaces and, in the main venue, they have managed to find yet another small space - which has been the press office in recent years! But it isn't the number of spaces or even the number of shows which make the Assembly and the Pleasance the centre of the Fringe; it's mainly their attractiveness to punters, and here theare is an interesting comparison to be made. If you were to average out the ages of the punters for each venue, you would find probably a twenty year difference. There is no doubt that the average Assembly audience is older than the average Pleasance audience, although I have to say that this is based entirely on observation - I have absolutely no statistics to back it up! The big attraction at the Pleasance is undoubtedly the Courtyard, which is one of the meeting places. No matter what the weather (unless it is excessively wet), you will find it packed, with all the picnic style tables filled, lots of people standing around chatting, the bar packed, the coffee bar pretty full and the pasta place doing good business. The only equivalent at the Assembly is the Under Balcony Bar which is pretty busy but is not a patch on the Courtyard. The only relaxation area which comes close to the Courtyard (except High Street, of course) is the Traverse bar, which does very good business. The Pleasance Dome is pretty busy, too, but is probably just a wee bit too far off the beaten track to attract people other than those who are there for a show. Coming up on the Rails But two other venues are closing on the big two rapidly: C this year had five venues (C itself, C Too, C o2, C belle angele and C Underground) and five spaces in the main venue - and it presented over 120 shows, a massive number. And, after a small beginning at Southside a couple of years ago, Komedia from Brighton is catching up. It now has the Roman Eagle Lodge and St Stephens (new this year) and presented 66 shows. Southside now houses mainly comedy and music and St Stephens hosted a wide range of international companies. From small beginnings, the Garage, another international venue, is also growing. Its main venue, in Grindlay Court, has two spaces and this year it opened the Garage Chapiteau, a marquee in Princes Street Gardens. This year it presented 46 shows, including seven children's shows and nineteen dance/physical theatre. I wa surprised at the number of shows presented by Rocket venues (Kirk O'Field, St John's Hall, South Bridge Resource Centre and the Royal College of Surgeons) - 91 - because it is not a venue which makes a big impact. The big names head for the Pleasance and the Assembly, then C, then probably the Gilded Balloon. Altogether there are 81 venues presenting theatre or dance performances. Small wonder the Edinburgh Fringe is the biggest arts festival in the world! Too big? |
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