Why Edinburgh Festival Fringe needs its bad shows almost as much as the good

New Fringe Society chief is right to investigate ways to boost its commercial opportunities

“I'm not suggesting we put a Vodafone t-shirt on Hamlet,” new Fringe Society chief executive Tony Lankester has stressed. Despite this, one can almost hear the gears of a previously blocked writer’s brain whirring as they reimagine Hamlet in a world of corporate power struggles for their next show in a drafty church hall in August.

However, Lankester wasn’t spitballing play ideas but rather getting his defence in first after suggesting the festival should have “a tighter handle” on its commercial opportunities. “For a long time in the arts sector, commercialism has been a dirty word,” he lamented, adding that the Fringe Society was “sitting on a goldmine of incredible assets”.

Not every actor at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe can be a young Richard Burton (Picture: Keystone) | Getty Images

Making money out of goldmines seems a no-brainer and hopefully Lankester will be able to lead the Fringe towards greater prosperity and success. We certainly wish him well.

That said, we also very much hope this will not result in the demise of the most amateurish, ‘so-bad-it’s-good’ kind of shows that are such an integral part of the Fringe’s ethos or, indeed, ‘brand’. They helped dig that goldmine and things just wouldn’t be the same without them.