Fringe chief rejects elitism charge

THE director of the Fringe has rejected claims that Edinburgh is split between cultural "haves" and "have-nots" during its August festivals.

Speaking at the Wester Hailes Education Centre, Paul Gudgin said the Fringe had evolved as "the most accessible festival in the world".

Fringe Sunday, with an audience of 200,000 and free performances in the Royal Mile were "incredibly democratic" events.

However, Mr Gudgin was challenged by speakers who claimed the Fringe and the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) were not doing enough to encourage the widest participation throughout the city. "You have to find ways to persuade whole communities that they are welcome here in the centre," said the promoter Richard Demarco.

"The Festival cannot go on ignoring the fact that a vast number of Edinburgh’s citizenry live so far from the centre, that emotionally, intellectually and geographically they may as well be in Glasgow."

Mr Demarco was supported by the actor Tam Dean Burn and the writer Kevin Williamson. "The Fringe is highly successful festival, it isn’t going to go away, but it needs to open up," said Dean Burn.

"This isn’t an argument about elitism, but about access."

Williamson said that many people from Edinburgh’s housing estates felt uneasy about attending unfamiliar venues such as the Traverse Theatre or the Usher Hall, and more should be done to make the most of community venues.

They were speaking at a People’s Festival debate, organised by the Scottish Socialist MSP, Colin Fox. The People’s Festival has been established to take arts events to housing schemes far from the big city-centre venues.

Though sympathetic to these aims, Mr Gudgin rejected criticism of his organisation.

"One of the things about the way the Fringe has developed is it has become the most accessible festival in the world. Our reason for existing is not to get into every single community in Edinburgh, but to try to make it work for performers. In doing that, we think we do an incredibly good job at reaching the widest community," he said.

Insiders at the Fringe and the EIF point to the large number of free shows available and the two-for-one and 5 ticket deals which have proved popular.

While he welcomed these developments, Mr Fox said they were "tokenistic" and would not overcome a sense that the events were elitist. "It’s all very well saying there are 2,000 free shows on - but are the things people would like to see free?"

Sir Brian McMaster, the director of the EIF, was unable to attend. He is understood to be lunching with Mr Fox in the near future.