We started Festival Previews to help the public find the needles in the hay stack – the shows they would enjoy – and to provide a platform for performers to promote their shows without the usual journalistic slant.
As young students way back in the mid-1970’s we started going to the Edinburgh Festivals (mainly the Fringe). At that time you could see a great many shows with Fringe ticket prices at around 50p! We went from one show to the other; into a pub for a chat and a drink; then another show or two; then fish & chips and late into the evening with another show or two. It soon became a competition!
Perhaps the greatest joy was doing the “Edinburgh Walk-in”; walk into as many shows around the many fringe venues. From turkeys to gems the whole atmosphere was what we wanted to experience. As Henry Grattan so skilfully says “At twenty years of age, the will reigns; at thirty the wit; and at forty, the judgement”. This is why the festivals are so good; every age offers its unique perspective in every artistic genre.
Karin Goodwin of the Sunday Times sought comment from Richard Demarco, the Edinburgh arts impresario and fringe veteran who runs Rocket productions at the Roxy Art House. “He said that he hoped that Festival Previews would boost sales for offbeat shows.”
James Lark, author of the recently published guide book, The Fringe: Seeing It, Doing It, Surviving It says, “Some of the best shows are actually the ones in tiny venues, the ones that you have to take a risk on, and are unexpectedly brilliant.”
To us, this is what the Fringe is all about; seeing as many off-beat shows because there is such a lot of talent out there!
