XTRA: PRESS RELEASE - EDINBURGH FESTIVAL FRINGE LAUNCH 2007 - PROGRAMME
ANNOUNCED

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Embargoed until 10am 7 June 2007

FRINGE 2007: AND THE WINNER IS…

Mix a record breaking two thousand and fifty shows, sprinkle with seven new
awards,
add a teaspoonful of new venues and watch as the 61st Edinburgh Festival Fringe,
rises into the largest and tastiest festival to date. The Fringe continues to be
the
world’s most unique celebration of the arts and provides the best platform in
the
world for new work. This year a series of new awards confirms that Edinburgh is
still the essential destination for performers and producers.

Current TV announces its debut Current TV Comedy Award at this year’s Fringe.
The
station, founded by Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, is keen to showcase the best comedy
talent the Fringe has to offer and reward the winner with three commissioned
programmes for the channel. The Edinburgh International Festival Award offers a
Fringe show the opportunity to perform at the 2008 Edinburgh International
Festival
and The Edinburgh Evening News Drama Awards will recognise local amateur talent
in
music, comedy and drama. The Musical Theatre Matters Awards will offer a series
of
awards to support musical theatre, whilst The Arches Brick Award for Emergent
Talent
will commission a developing theatre company to perform at the venue. In
addition,
Amnesty International is expanding the Freedom of Expression Award by teaming up
with The Big Issue and launching a second charity comedy night and encouraging
audiences to vote via text for human rights issues, whilst The National Student
Drama Festival Award will offer a student show a one-week transfer to The
Pleasance
Theatre Islington. All of which means 2007 is truly the year to get stuck in.

Paul Gudgin, Director of the Fringe, says, “With over 2000 shows in the
programme
this year for the first time, I am pleased to see an increased interest from
organisations all over the country, keen to help nurture and support Fringe
artists
with this diverse range of new accolades.”

Theatre combines a desire to challenge and entertain in equal measure. The power
of
sexuality is explored in Venus As A Boy (National Theatre of Scotland), whilst
John
Peel’s life is examined in Teenage Kicks (Home Truths Present). Stonewall (Team
Angelica) looks back to the 1969 Manhattan Stonewall Inn Riots - a major
catalyst in
the progression of gay rights. In The Container (Nimble Fish) the audience
shares
the confines of a container with illegal immigrants travelling to the UK, while
RE:
ID (Gappad) questions what cultural identity really means for Polish immigrants
in
Scotland. David Greig explores two very different Scottish stories in Damascus
(Traverse Theatre Company) and Yellow Moon (TAG Theatre Company). Not For Sale
(Freefall Theatre Company) examines the devastating impact of human-trafficking
and
Miracle in Rwanda (Leslie Lewis Sword), tells the story of eight women who
survived
the Rwandan genocide by hiding in a room measuring three foot by four. Ravenhill
For
Breakfast (Paines Plough), is a 30 minute play written and rehearsed the day
prior
to performance, and for dinner and theatre in a city centre flat try, Just To(o)
Long(?) (Breathe/Escalator East to Edinburgh).

Tony! The Blair Musical (White Rose Theatre) and Tony Blair: The Musical (Io
Theatre
Company) prove the outgoing PM is still very much on people’s minds. Whilst
Chav:
It’s A Musical, Innit? (Crowded Logic Theatre Company), Jihad: The Musical (Silk
Circle Productions) and Asbo: The Musical (Z Theatre Company) suggest musicals
are
undergoing a satirical renaissance. Eurobeat: Almost Eurovision (Glynn Nicholas
Group/No Mates Productions) allows the audience to participate in their very own
Eurovision Song Contest, whilst Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical (Sexy Boys and
Girls
& Co. Present) and Orgasm: The Musical (Seven Dwarves Ltd) offer a very
different
type of aural stimulation.

And on that note, The Silent Disco, will be taking their brand of
headphone-related
clubbing to McEwan’s Hall, whilst Interpol, Jamie T and recently reformed
favourites, The Happy Mondays and James will all appear at T on the Fringe.
Long-term favourites the Soweto Gospel Choir return, as will the recent stars of
American Idol, the African Children’s Choir.

And continuing the international flavour, Argentina’s Fuerzabruta are bringing a
purpose-built, 1,200 seat venue to Ocean Terminal to house their hybrid mix of
physical theatre, dance and clubbing, whilst the team behind Fringe favourites,
Jump
will do all they can to escape from prison in Break Out! (Yegam & Sevensense
Company). Scottish Dance Theatre will be saying Sorry For The Missiles!, whilst
Andrew Dawson’s Leitmotif unites eight different directors utilising a recurring
theme. HipHopScotch (Dancebase) and Tom Tom Club (Strut & Fret Production House)
will bring hip-hop and break dancing to new audiences and South Africa’s House
of
the Holy Afro, (Third World Bunfight and Assembly) merges Gospel, Soul and
Afro-pop.

Materialism? Celebrity obsession? Lifestyle issues? Comedy turns its magnifying
glass on the very essence of contemporary life. Mark Watson ponders the
existential
in Can I Briefly Talk To You About The Point Of Life? whilst Ricky Gervais
examines
the nature of Fame! at a one-off date at Edinburgh Castle. Matthew Collins
explains,
How To Pimp Your Kids And Shop For Free At Waitrose and Dan Clark’s Unfangled
rejects technology in an attempt to reconnect with society. Reginald D. Hunter
responds to last year’s controversy with F*** You In The Age of Consequence and
Phil
Jupitus and Andre Vincent re-imagine Alice in Wonderland in Waiting For Alice,
whilst Frank Skinner, Rhona Cameron and Sean Hughes return for a series of
intimate
stand-up shows.

Children will be able to experience poetry and music with international
best-selling
author Louis de Bernieres in Nightingales, Elephants and Alexander Beetle (Louis
de
Bernieres and The Antonius Players). James Campbell’s Onomatopeia Society III
and
Spinistry of Moonerism (Fat Cat Productions) will share simultaneous stage time
and
casts. The Amazing Bubble Man shows that there’s more to bubbles than washing
the
dishes in The Greatest Bubble Show on Earth, whilst Does A Monster Live Next
Door?
(Tall Stories) asks one of life’s most important questions.

Linda Fabiani, Culture Minister MSP says, “”The Edinburgh Festival Fringe
continues
to get bigger and better every year with over 2,000 diverse shows on offer this
year. As well as being a showcase for some of the best creative talent from
Scotland and around the world, the Fringe, along with the other festivals, bring
tremendous economic benefits to the Scottish economy and tourist industry. I
look
forward to enjoying a variety of performances over the summer."

This year’s programme is sponsored by RBS. Allan Watt, Head of Group Brand
Communication says, "After 60 years, Edinburgh Festival Fringe remains one of
the
World's most recognized festivals and once again we are delighted to be
associated
with it."

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FRINGE NEWS: New director for Fringe 2007

After nine years of faithful service, long-standing Director of the Festival
Fringe
Paul Gudgin makes way for new man at the helm, Contact Theatre’s Executive
Producer
Jon Morgan.

Under Paul’s leadership the Fringe has grown exponentially, with the number of
performing companies, new venues and ticket sales continuing to rise year on
year.
Paul will continue to produce a variety of festival and event-related projects
both
in the UK and internationally.

At Contact Jon has been involved in a range of initiatives to encourage new and
emerging artists to develop exciting and innovative performance and has produced
work that has toured in the UK and internationally.

Fringe Junior Press Gang sponsored by Bank of Scotland

New for 2007, the Fringe Junior Press Gang, in conjunction with Bank of Scotland
and
Edinburgh Evening News, will introduce Edinburgh’s schoolchildren to the art of
reviewing, allowing them to test their skills and compete for the ultimate prize
of
seeing their work appear in the Edinburgh Evening News.

END of Written Press release

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Contacts
Your contacts at the Fringe Press Office this year:
Leroy Harris - Press & Marketing Manager
Andrew Borthwick - Web Editor
Anne McMeekin - Press & Marketing Officer
Duncan Fraser - Press & Marketing Officer
Hannah LeCoic - Press Accreditation (From July)
Nicky McKay - Press & Marketing Assistant
press@...
+44 (0) 131 240 1919

For full listings details, check out http://www.edfringe.com order a copy of
the
programme on http://www.edfringe.com/programmes (p&p charge applies), or pick
one
up from the Fringe Office, 180 High Street, Edinburgh; VisitScotland, HMV stores
nationwide and many other outlets. Check www.edfringe.com for details.

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FRINGE FACTS 2007

Fringe 2007 features 31,000 performances of 2,050 shows in 250 venues. Fringe
2006
featured 28,014 performances of 1,867 shows in 261 venues. Fringe 2005 featured
26,995 performances of 1,799 shows in 240 venues

An estimated 18,626 performers will be on stage at the Fringe in 2007. In 2006
there
were 16,990 performers

Theatre makes up 31% of the programme followed closely by Comedy with 30.5%
Music is
next with 17%, Children’s 5.5% Musicals & Opera totals, 5%. Dance & Physical
Theatre
weighs in at 4.5% Exhibitions is 3.5% and finally Events 3%

40% (815) of the shows are World Premieres and from the remaining 60% of the
programme 236 of the shows are European premieres and 93 are UK premieres

304 shows at Fringe 2007 are absolutely free, an increase of 127 shows from last
year

1.5 million tickets (1,531,606) were sold at the 2006 Fringe smashing all arts
festival records

In 2006, 56,368 tickets were bought in its opening week of ticket sales

The Fringe sells 108% more tickets than it did only 10 years ago (734,508 in
1996,
1,531,606 in 2006)

Countries with performers in the Fringe include Singapore, Iran, Japan,
Pakistan,
Korea, Turkey, Finland, Spain, the US, Mexico, Argentina and of course, the UK

The Fringe has a 75% market share of all attendance at Edinburgh’s year-round
festivals and annually generates around £75 million for the Edinburgh and
Scottish
economy

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