Almost a third of this year's Fringe shows are from Scotland, as full programme line-up announced
Some 923 of the 3,352 shows to be performed at this year’s Fringe are from Scotland
Almost a third of shows at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe are Scottish, organisers have revealed as the full line up for this year’s event was unveiled.
This year’s programme features work from 3,352 shows across 265 venues from 58 countries - slightly up on last year’s figure of 3,317.
New venues for this year include Hibernian FC’s Easter Road stadium, where former Chelsea FC trainee Alfie Cain will recall dashed aspirations and “the darkness and pressures” of football, while popular topics for shows overall include the apocalypse, rave culture, disability and sexuality, as well as “rebellious women”.
Portobello Town Hall will also host acts for the first time, with a mini-festival to celebrate Palestinian art and culture, Welcome to the Fringe, Palestine.
At Traverse Theatre, Gary McNair's award-winning show, A Gambler's Guide to Dying, returns for a special run to mark its 10th anniversary.
Some 923 shows are from Scotland, predominantly from Edinburgh with 657 acts represented, compared to 1,392 from the rest of the UK nations, while a total of 54 non-British nationalities are on the line-up.
Tony Lankester, chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: “Programme launch is such an exciting moment for everyone involved making the Fringe happen.
“Thank you to all the Fringe-makers – the artists, venues, workers, producers, technicians, promoters, support staff and audiences that bring their unmatched, exceptional energy to Edinburgh in August.
“This year’s Fringe programme is filled with every kind of performance, so whether you’re excited for theatre or circus, or the best of comedy, music, dance, children’s shows, magic or cabaret; get ready to dare to discover this August.”
This year’s Fringe will see a return of many famous faces and popular shows.
Comedian and three-time Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Josie Long’s show, Now Is the Time of Monsters, looks at the topic of “extinct, gigantic, charismatic megafauna” at Pleasance.
Meanwhile, Gilded Balloon marks its fortieth anniversary with ‘a series of special in-conversations featuring comedy greats’ including Jenny Eclair and Michelle McManus.
“Direct from a sell-out West End season”, Bill Bailey is at Edinburgh Playhouse with Thoughtifier while Miriam Margolyes brings “more characters, more Dickens and more fascinating stories about the man behind the classics” to Pleasance with Margolyes and Dickens: More Best Bits.
At Assembly, veteran Fringe performer David O'Doherty will perform his show, Highway to the David Zone and comedy veteran Karen Dunbar will return to the Fringe for a limited run of her stand-up tour’at Just the Tonic, while the popular Massaoke show Party like it’s 1999’ will be performed at Underbelly with “an epic 90s sing-along”.
Comedy is the most popular genre for performers, making up over a third of this year’s show at 1,214, followed by theatre, which boasts 930 shows. Musicals and opera account for a further 165 shows. There are 321 free shows and 529 Pay What You Can/Want shows.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.