History of Fringe Theatre Festivals
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (founded 1947) is the largest arts festival in the world. Though many shows at the Edinburgh Fringe could be considered fringe theatre, its remit also covers mainstream theatre, comedy, music and many other genres.
The largest fringe festival in the southern hemisphere, and second largest in the world, is the Adelaide Fringe Festival. The Adelaide Fringe evolved in the early 1970s as a reaction against the establishment and the then 'mainstream' Adelaide Festival of Arts. Today, although the two events are now inextricably linked, the Fringe Festival has overtaken the main Festival of Arts in terms of attendance. The oldest fringe festival in England, and third largest in the world is the Brighton Festival Fringe, which has provided Fringe activity alongside the main Brighton Festival since its creation in 1967.
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—Doris Lessing (b. 1919)