Fringe Theatre - History of Fringe Theatre Festivals

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.

Read more about this topic:  Fringe Theatre

Famous quotes containing the words history of, history, fringe, theatre and/or festivals:

    “The history of a soldier’s wound beguiles the pain of it.”
    —Laurence Sterne (1713–1768)

    “... in America ... children are instructed in the virtues of the system they live under, as though history had achieved a happy ending in American civics.”
    —Mary McCarthy (1912–1989)

    “In the Japanese
    tongue of the
    mind’s eye one
    two syllable word
    tells of
    the fringe of rain....”
    —Denise Levertov (b. 1923)

    “... the theatre demanded of its members stamina, good digestion, the ability to adjust, and a strong sense of humor. There was no discomfort an actor didn’t learn to endure. To survive, we had to be horses and we were.”
    —Helen Hayes (1900–1993)

    “Why wont they let a year die without bringing in a new one on the instant, cant they use birth control on time? I want an interregnum. The stupid years patter on with unrelenting feet, never stopping—rising to little monotonous peaks in our imaginations at festivals like New Year’s and Easter and Christmas—But, goodness, why need they do it?”
    —John Dos Passos (1896–1970)