On the Fringes
From humble beginnings to multi-million pound businesses, how the Fringe festival concept has evolved.
Welcome to the twelfth edition of my monthly newsletter, all about arts festivals. So, that make it my one year anniversary! A very warm hello to my new subscribers and to all my existing subscribers.
Now that the international fringe festival season is underway, I’ve been reflecting on the origins of fringe festivals and their journeys to the major events we see today.1
When I was working long hours as part of the original Manchester International Festival team building the first festival, I was asked more than once – why don’t you set up a fringe festival too? Now clearly, it’s a naïve question to ask from individuals who had no concept of what creating a major festival (or any festival) from scratch entails.2 However, it also highlighted the lack of understanding about the origins and ethos of fringe festivals.
Historically fringe festivals were usually set up by a group of independent artists in reaction to a place’s main arts festival, programmed by an Artistic Director. The first fringe festival dates back to 1947, when eight theatre groups turned up uninvited to perform at the Edinburgh International Festival (launched that year). They staged their shows on the ‘fringe’ of the Festival, hence the name – Edinburgh Festival Fringe (not Edinburgh Fringe Festival as you so often hear, but it’s EdFringe for short).3 Though the Festival Fringe Society, responsible for delivering the Festival Fringe, was not established until 1958. ‘The ethos of the original ‘fringe’ was written into the Society’s constitution ensuring no vetting of the festival’s programme’ - in other words, an open access festival with no central programme curation.4 Now, Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the biggest fringe festival globally and there are fringe festivals the world over.
Close behind in size is the Adelaide Fringe Festival, which finished this year’s edition on Sunday. Its origins date back to 1960 when a small group of independent artists presented shows on the ‘fringe’ because they felt there was limited opportunity for local talent within the Adelaide International Festival of Arts.5
And this story is mirrored in the origin stories of many fringe festivals. Now we see that some of these fringe festivals have overtaken their international festival counterparts, not just in scale but often also in profile. How many times do you hear people say they’re going to ‘the festival’ in Edinburgh, meaning the Festival Fringe?
Presenting Adelaide Fringe is now a $35 million activity each year. According to the festival’s website, 13% of which is provided by the State Government. The remainder is earned through Partnerships, ticketing fees, registrations and other business activity, as well as Arts Unlimited, Adelaide Fringe's Foundation.6 Whereas, last year’s income for Edinburgh Festival Fringe was just over £5.5m, with expenditure exceeding income by just over £225k, according to its 2024 annual review.7 You can see why the Festival Fringe Society has been so vocal in its need for additional financial support. Whilst at the other end of the scale, many fringe festivals are run by small arts organisations, artists, venues and in many cases, by volunteers.
Theatre producer Richard Jordan, writing in a series of recent articles in The Stage, detailed his meticulous advance planning and self-curated programme for his visit to this year’s Adelaide Fringe, as well as the development of venue programme curation by independent producers.8 Any performer or group can technically present a show at a fringe festival - if they have the money, support and opportunity. However, increasingly at the bigger fringe festivals, there is an artistic selection process taking place at many fringe festival venues, as individual venue producers look to establish their own brand within the festival.
All fringe festivals provide an important platform for emerging and established talent (performers, writers, directors etc.) to try out new work, develop their creative practice, build audience recognition, meet theatre and other festival producers, secure media reviews and take that next step in their careers.
But, in a sea of thousands of shows and hundreds of venues, with ever-increasing ticket prices, the challenge for audiences has increased tenfold. If you’re not prepared, like Richard Jordan, to spend hours scouring through programmes, reviews and recommendations well in advance of your visit to create your own curated show list, the chances are your festival experience will not meet your expectations. Taking a punt on a new show from a company you’ve never heard of in an unknown venue is of course part of the joy and risk of fringe festivals - but in a cost of living crisis, how much risk are audiences prepared to take? I know I don’t take the kind of risks I did when I was younger solely because of the increased ticket prices and making the most of my limited time at a festival. So, is it any wonder that audiences will gravitate to venues that establish a profile within a fringe festival, whether that’s for cabaret, dance and physical theatre, big name comedy, live art, emerging artists, circus, new writing, established theatre companies, etc.? And not just audiences, but also reviewers and producers, making it even harder for those unknown artists and companies without team support (e.g. producer, publicist, manager) to cut through and generate a buzz that leads not only to strong audience attendance, covering costs (let alone making a profit), and crucially to secure future paid work.
The original grassroots activism that led to the creation of so many of the fringe festivals has evolved into a multi-million pound/dollar business requiring substantial public subsidy and private investment. Not only that, but cities (and it’s usually a city) are now reliant on these festivals to deliver to wider political agendas in terms of economic impact and national/international profile. That’s not a criticism, just a fact.
I’ll leave my final words to producer Richard Jordan writing in The Stage, ‘revisiting a show and watching how something evolves is crucial for both artists and audiences. But this, sadly, seems to happen less when the focus of fringe festivals across the globe is becoming more about selling tour-ready works than enabling experimentation […] without continued and affordable platforms for shows to be revised and revisited within a fringe environment, where audiences are encouraged to be a part of this process and to keep coming back, we risk a culture of abandonment that will rob us of great theatre.’9
UK News
Job opportunities
Hull’s Freedom Festival is recruiting for an Executive Director, but you’ll have to be quick as the deadline is Sunday 30 March.
There are Facilitation Traineeship opportunities available at this year’s Lumiere Durham.
Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival is looking for a Festival Coordinator and a Marketing Manager. Deadline Wednesday 2 April.
Edinburgh International Festival is on the lookout for a Digital Content Officer and a Marketing Officer.
Call outs and artist commissions
The Being Human Festival, led by the School of Advanced Studies at the University of London is inviting humanities researchers and other staff from universities and research organisations to take part in this year’s festival.
Lancashire’s British Textiles Biennial has four new artist commission opportunities. The deadline is today, Friday 28 March for three of the commissions and Monday 14 April for the latter opportunity.
Beach of Dreams announces nine artist commissions taking place around the UK coastline in May.
The open call is now live for Glasgow-based arts organisations, artist-led initiatives, individual curators and artists to apply for selection in next summer’s Glasgow International 2026.
Croydon Council and Milton Keynes Council have joined together to offer an outdoor arts commission to be presented as part of the Midsummer Festival in Milton Keynes (June 2025) and Croydon Harvest featuring the Walnut Fair (October 2025).
Burnley Words Festival is inviting proposals from artists, authors and publishers for this year’s festival in May.
Edinburgh festivals
In an interview with The Stage, outgoing Chief Executive Shona McCarthy reflects on her time at EdFringe.
The Scottish Government has given a one-off £300k funding package to EdFringe to ‘safeguard its future’.
Get browsing now as the first EdFringe shows have just been announced.
Summerhall Arts has secured a 10-year lease for the Summerhall Edinburgh Fringe venue after recently being added to Creative Scotland’s new multi-year funding portfolio, though they are still seeking further financial support.
Edinburgh International Children’s Festival Director, Noel Jordan is stepping down at the end of October after 10 years in the role.
Edinburgh International Festival hosted a Sustainability in Practice showcase last month highlighting sustainability initiatives across the cultural sector.
Edinburgh will host the European Festivals Association Festivals Summit 2025 next month.
New festivals
Southwark Playhouse has announced a new festival for early career artists – FORGE Festival, borne out of their FORGE artist development programme piloted last summer.
The upcoming inaugural Three Sixty festival in April at the Roundhouse could uncover the careers of the ‘Daniel Kaluuyas of the future’ according to Chief Executive Marcus Davey. Associate Artistic Director Kaluuya’s new youth theatre company will perform in the festival. The festival includes a mix of music, spoken word, theatre, visual arts, podcasts and club nights, ‘amplifying the voices of today’s vital and unapologetic artists’.
Show of Hands is a new jazz festival taking place in Somerset over the May bank holiday weekend in 2026, and they’re crowdfunding for support.
Worcester City Council has been awarded Arts Council England Place Partnership funding and will deliver a series of festivals with members of the local community plus skills development programmes for young people.
Festival cancellations, postponements
Cambridge Folk Festival has reported a loss of £320k in 2024 according to Cambridge Council documentation, leading to its cancellation this year. The festival will return in 2026.
Now Play This Festival of Experimental Game Design at Somerset House in London will close after next month’s 11th edition, citing the challenging funding landscape as the reason.
Awards
Cambridge Folk Festival and Green Gathering were two of the big UK winners at this year’s International A Greener Future Awards.
Programme and new appointment announcements
Manchester International Festival revealed its lineup for this year’s festival with the theme of ‘Dream Differently’. Highlights include ‘A Single Man’, a co-production with the Royal Ballet, ‘Football City, Art United’ pairing footballers with artists for a new exhibition and ‘The Herds’, a stampede of life-sized animal puppets.
The full programme for this year’s Hay Festival is out now.
The title for next year’s British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale is ‘Geology of Britannic Repair’, exploring the ‘relationship between architecture and colonisation as parallel, interconnected systems’.
New venues and programme announcement for this year’s Liverpool Biennial, kicking off in June.
Delighted to see Manchester Classical returns to Bridgewater Hall in July featuring the Hallé Orchestra and Choirs, BBC Philharmonic, Manchester Collective, AMC Gospel Choir, Riot Ensemble, English National Opera and more. Top tip - book tickets early for Jonny Greenwood performing Steve Reich with the Hallé.
The wonderful Bristol-based Paraorchestra is heading to perform at the Holland Festival in June this year.
Hampshire’s Grange Festival has appointed Guy Verrall-Withers to the new role of Director of Audiences and Impact.
International news
Findings from a recent European Festival Survey and discussions at the latest YOUROPE European Festival Summit highlight a worrying increase in Right-wing political pressure on festival organisers in some European countries.
Copenhagen Opera Festival reveals new leadership.
Sydney’s biggest festival Vivid launches its programme with the theme of ‘Dream.’
Diriyah Contemporary Art Biennale in Saudi Arabia announces the curators for next year’s festival.
MOMENTUM, the Nordic Biennale of Contemporary Art, has announced its participating artists for this year’s festival launching in June under the title ‘Between/Worlds: Resonant Ecologies’.
Hyundai Motor Company launches its ‘Hyundai Translocal Series’, with a co-curated exhibition at Cheongju Craft Biennale in Korea in September 2025, followed by exhibitions at National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy in India, and the Whitworth in Manchester, UK, focusing on the theme of ‘craft and community’.
Documenta 16 has announced its artistic direction under new leadership for the next edition in 2027.
The theme for November’s Taipei Biennial is ‘Whispers on the Horizon’ exploring the concept of yearning, and the festival has revealed its list of participating artists.
Switzerland and the Nordic countries announce their artist selections for Venice Biennale 2026.
UK upcoming highlights
Head to Leeds for the Photo North Festival with exhibitions, talks, screenings, Q&As and a Market at the Carriageworks.
Based at the Unity Theatre, Liverpool Improvisation Festival features shows, workshops, an Improv Jam, and covers clowning, comedy, puppetry, storytelling and theatre. Festival weekend passes have already sold out but tickets are still available across the weekend.
In Glasgow, there’s Buzzcut, the live art festival.
The V&A’s Performance Festival returns with talks, workshops, film screenings, live performances, trails, tours and displays. Choose from up close encounters with costumes worn by comedian Lily Savage, or view designs and costumes from The Crown, or join in an exploration of David Bowie’s creative process for his last album, or have a go at a virtual try-on digital experience. Also in London, Histfest returns to the British Library, and the Latin music festival La Linea celebrates its 25th Anniversary next month. Southbank Centre’s new festival Multitudes reimagines orchestral music for all the senses by orchestras, dancers, visual arts, poets and MCs.
The Festival of Debate is the largest annual politics festival in the UK and takes place across South Yorkshire.
Bournemouth Writing Festival inspires writers to write with practical and hands-on events, talks, workshops, a Poetry Hub, Literary Agent 1-2-1s, networking and even a Headshot Photo Studio.
April Film Festivals include the Barbican’s Chronic Youth Film Festival, celebrating its 10th anniversary, Hebden Bridge Film Festival in West Yorkshire, and Sands: International Film Festival of St Andrews in Scotland.
The Beltane Fire Festival takes over Calton Hill overlooking the city of Edinburgh at the end of the month. This year’s Edinburgh Science Festival explores the challenges of living on a planet with finite resources, through the lens of science fiction and space exploration, with the theme ‘Spaceship Earth’.
This year’s National Student Drama Festival moves to the Curve Leicester showcasing the talents of 16-26 year old theatre makers.
Now in its fourth year, the annual theatre festival - Forge Festival in Windermere in the Lake District - is co-designed with young people across Cumbria, empowering them to tell their story through original performances co-created with professional artists from The Knotted Project.
Kent’s international arts festival, Canterbury Festival includes classical concerts, gigs, theatre, circus, talks, walks, family events, science and more.
Klezmer music, dance and song takes over Youlgrave in Derbyshire for KlezNorth.
International upcoming highlights
Festival du Livres de Paris takes place in the Grand Palais and this year features a Gallery of the Sea, Cabaret Extra! and a Children’s Village.
Rewire in The Hague is the ‘annual festival for adventurous music’ in The Netherlands. Croatia hosts Music Biennale Zagreb dedicated to contemporary music with ‘Broken Relationships’ as this year’s theme.
New York City Fringe Festival boasts 100% of box office proceeds going directly to the artists whose work is being presented.
Freemantle International Street Arts Festival in Perth, Australia celebrates its 25th anniversary. On the other side of the country is the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
This year’s Spring Forward Festival celebrating dance is part of the official programme of the European Capital of Culture 2025 Nova Gorica – Gorizia.
So many film festivals in April, highlights include Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival in Toronto, Canada; in the USA, there’s San Francisco International Film Festival, Turner Classic Movies Festival in where else but Hollywood (one day I’ll get to this festival!), and JFilm Festival In Pittsburgh celebrating the best in Jewish film. And if you’re in America, you can also stream the 2025 Past, Present, Future Dance Film Festival on the ALL ARTS broadcast channel.
Outside North America and Canada, other film festivals include Qumra film festival in Doha, Qatar providing mentorship and talent development for filmmakers from Qatar; Visions du Reel in Switzerland; Fantaspo International Fantastic Film Festival in Brazil; Sunny Bunny LGBTQIA+ Film Festival in Ukraine; and another on my bucket list, the Timeless Film Festival in Warsaw, Poland.
Big thanks to my friend and photographer Joel Chester Fildes for the use of his images of Oakfest in Accrington, Lancashire.
P.S. If you liked this post and you’re reading this as a Substack subscriber, please click on the heart at the bottom or top of this post. It helps others to discover PalmerSquared on Festivals and I’ll be very thankful.
See you next month for more festival news, stories, and insights.
Definition of fringe festivals, http://www.worldfringe.com/what-is-a-fringe/
There have been various incarnations of a Greater Manchester Fringe Festival over the years. It has now become an annual festival.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe history, https://www.edfringe.com/about-us/history-of-the-fringe/
Ibid.
Adelaide Fringe history, https://adelaidefringe.com.au/history
Adelaide Fringe costs, https://adelaidefringe.com.au/about-us
Edinburgh Fringe Society 2024 review, https://www.edfringe.com/about-us/the-fringe-society/our-review-of-the-year/
Richard Jordan, The Stage, https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/timing-is-everything-the-art-of-planning-your-festival-and-fringe-schedule-richard-jordan-adelaide-festival-and-fringe; https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/curating-a-strong-fringe-programme-is-as-important-as-the-shows-themselves-adelaide-gill-hicks-martha-lott; https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/could-a-fast-growing-global-fringe-circuit-dim-edinburghs-spotlight; https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/from-edinburgh-to-adelaide-the-global-value-of-fringe-festivals; https://www.thestage.co.uk/opinion/fringe-festivals-can-offer-crucial-artistic-development-so-why-dont-more-get-it-right-richard-jordan-adelaide-fringe-strange-chaos
Ibid.
Happy anniversary Helen.