Theatre News: Fringe leader wants festival “madness” to return

The head of Edinburgh Festival Fringe has said she wants to see the “madness” return to next year’s event.

Speaking at an online debate about the cancellation of Edinburgh’s festivals this year, Chief Executive Shona McCarthy said “I want to see the Fringe as live as possible next year. I want to walk around corners and see the unexpected and the madness that you encounter on the streets of Edinburgh every August.”

Ms McCarthy also said she believes a scaled-back version of the Fringe, the world’s largest arts festival which hosted almost three million attendees in 2019, could help solve issues with expensive accommodation in Edinburgh during August.

The festival plans to develop more digital opportunities in the coming year, as they are central to internationalism and expanding audiences.

“We have to kind of retrain people that are coming to Edinburgh. Everybody expects to stay in the city centre, spill out of their accommodation and arrive at the show.

“Maybe one of the positive legacies to come out of all this is that it can’t possibly be at the same scale and accommodation providers will maybe be crying out for people to stay so that their rates become more affordable.”

Words by Blathnaid Corless.

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Image: David Monteith-Hodge // Edinburgh Festival Fringe