Where there’s a will, there’s a way to the Edinburgh Fringe

Each August brings on the widely renowned Edinburgh Festival Fringe. This year, Warwick students and alumni will be taking an array of shows to Scotland for the 31-day celebration of all things theatre, performance, and comedy. But why is the Edinburgh Fringe so important?

The Fringe sees over 3,500 shows – spanning plays, musicals, installations, and comedy – all surpassing expectations of genre (you never know what you’re going to get). I’m lucky to be going to the Fringe this summer with the Hart and Sparks Theatre Company as an assistant producer for Trashed, a new contemporary show which focuses on female friendships, heartache, and toxic relationships, whilst also exploring belief and the growing pains of young adulthood. The Boar Arts has recently interviewed the company’s writers, who value writing honest feminist depictions of relationships in all forms on stage.

As an assistant producer going to the fringe, producing for Warwick Drama productions before has elevated my experience in budgeting and research (from insurance policies to accommodation), and has also given me industry-level experience and credits which I can use to propel myself professionally post-university. You see, by participating in any aspect of the production, be it direction, production, writing, performing, tech and marketing, you’re able to fulfil and finesse your role to a professional standard. Sure, it may take a while to get there, but in the end you’ve learnt integral skills and lessons across the process, and all people involved in the show have a foot in the creative industry door as a student.

The Edinburgh Fringe is important largely due to the chances and opportunities provided to students, graduates, and fresh faces in the creative industries

Warwick Drama is taking six vastly different shows to the Fringe this summer by current students and alumni, showcasing how eclectic and unexpected the Edinburgh Fringe can be:

• Trashed: Hart and Sparks Theatre Company
• Last Orders: Originally written through Freshblood New Writing
• The Improv Musical: Musical Theatre Warwick’s flagship show
• The Freemartin: Speakbeast Theatre Company
• I’d like a job please: Serious Billy Productions
• Please DON’T see our show: Not a Gym Productions

The Edinburgh Fringe is important largely due to the chances and opportunities provided to students, graduates, and fresh faces in the creative industries. This is what allows for new theatre, West End transfers, breakout artists, and up-and-coming productions to gain rightful publicity. Celebrities and West End stars also get the opportunity to show off anything they’ve been working on, or take part in workshops across the month, which is exciting! As the Fringe is always an unexpected programme, artists are able to reach an overwhelmingly wider demographic in their audience pool, which allows for raw reactions, hot-of-the-press reviews, and a wider outreach.

I personally think, as a theatre student and creative myself, that Edinburgh Fringe is an integral part of keeping the creative industries alive

On the point of outreach, Edinburgh is a city rich in architecture and culture, with the fringe keeping that alive on the Royal Mile. Artists’ flyers, markets, and performance snippets from their shows create an encouraging buzz around the city. Casts dress in their uniformed merch – such as T-shirts, hoodies, and sandwich boards – and parade the Royal Mile in vivid style as they draw people in with their innovative, attention-grabbing strategy.

On the flipside, whilst the Fringe keeps the creative industries vital and burning bright, it must be said that inflation and price rises have made it more expensive to visit or perform. People are beginning to question if it’s worth going to the festival, with some articles dating back to 2022. I personally think, as a theatre student and creative myself, that Edinburgh Fringe is an integral part of keeping the creative industries alive. Although the government may put the arts on the back-burner and dismiss funding them, the Edinburgh Fringe – which, whilst it isn’t the only fringe UK-wide or internationally but is the most popular and renowned – gives creatives, artists, and production teams the chance to celebrate their craft, be with like-minded people, network, and show-off their hard work. Indeed, I appreciate the financial hardships surrounding getting there. But if there’s even a slim chance that you could get funding, grants, sponsorships, or crowdfunding, if you have a passion and vision, you have to see it through. Where there’s a will, there’s a way (to the Edinburgh Fringe)!