The Traverse and The Edinburgh Festivals
The Traverse Theatre was founded in 1963 by John Calder, Jim Haynes and Richard Demarco with the mission of continuing the spirit of the Edinburgh Festivals all year round.
During the Festivals in August, the Traverse continues to present cutting edge new writing, as well as new work of all kinds to an international audience. The Traverse is occasionally referred to as 'The Fringe venue that got away', reflecting its current status as a permanent and integral part of the Edinburgh arts scene throughout the year.
Today August remains the busiest time for the Traverse. During the 2010 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the Traverse played host to 18 shows. In a first for Scottish theatre, a series of specially commissioned rehearsed readings by Enda Walsh, Linda McLean, David Eldridge, Simon Stephens and Marina Carr were broadcast live on the 23 August 2010 to cinemas across the UK. One third of 2010 Scotsman Fringe First Award Winners were shows performed at the Traverse.
The Guardian theatre critic Lyn Gardner has described the Traverse's programme as, "The backbone to the Fringe programme. What you see there will often set the tone and tenor of the rest of the Fringe."
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Famous quotes containing the words traverse and/or festivals:
“The wind speeds her,
Blowing upon her hands
And watery back.
She touches the clouds, where she goes
In the circle of her traverse of the sea.”
—Wallace Stevens (1879–1955)
“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)