Big venue bid to draw more of the Fringe crowds west

IT HAS comfy seats, air conditioning, and the biggest shows in its history include events such as the International Urban Conference on Storm Drainage.

But now acts from the Whiffenpoofs singers to a frenzied German drum-and-dance show have been brought in to finally give the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) that elusive Fringe buzz.

Promoters hope a daring new programme will help to drag the heart of the Fringe away from the Old Town towards the West End.

Four years after the centre threw its hat in the Fringe as Venue 150, known for more than hosting big-ticket comics like Jimmy Carr, it is hoping to become a Fringe hub .

Sam Gough, the EICC's event manager, said the venue has "stopped apologising for not being a sweaty box".

"In the past people have just said that we are a corporate place for comedy," he said. "I would like to be known for creative vision."

The city-owned EICC hosts professional gatherings year round but festival demands for beds makes August a difficult conference month. It has hosted the Edinburgh International Television Festival for 12 years.

Its Fringe line-up this year includes Jimmy Carr, Rhod Gilbert, Jason Manford, and Fred MacAulay. The big-name comedians have pulling power to fill its maximum 1,200 seat space. More typical Fringe shows have also been put on the bill, but they have sold only a fraction of tickets.

With the Fringe centred increasingly on the Edinburgh University area in recent years, the EICC has been off the beaten track.

Mr Gough hopes that the new Ghillie Dhu venue in Rutland Place, and the Assembly's new presence in the Ross Bandstand in the West Princes Street Gardens, could open the Fringe westward.

"There is a general broadening out again," he said. "The Fringe is also celebrated for the fact that people go all over the place to see a great show."

The Whiffenpoofs from Yale University are a 14-strong all-male a capella choir founded in 1909.

They have performed for several US presidents and in the West Wing TV series, and will make their Edinburgh debut at the end of a world tour.

Rhythm Drum and Dance is bringing 13 breakdancers, tapdancers, and drummers to the stage from Berlin.

Producer Freddie Rutz has invested 100,000 in the show, including a huge poster campaign, a Fringe cavalcade appearance with free drums and "flashmob" instant performances across the city to pull punters in.

The venue had technical facilities, back-stage and storage space he needed, he said.