The concept of our venues is to provide an
alternative to increasing prices for performers and audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe. We
aim:
- To provide professionally set-up and managed Fringe
venues, where there are no charges for audiences to watch shows, and no charges for performers to
hire the performance spaces. To allow performers to 'do the Fringe' without the substantial losses
traditionally incurred at the large venues.
|
- To allow performers to enjoy the Fringe again - by trying to provide
a community atmosphere and a support network from fellow performers, and also allow performers to
get on with what they should be doing (performing) without the financial and business worries of
the traditional approach to the Fringe.
|
- To grow and develop Free performances across the Fringe, while
supporting and working with other venues, promoters and performers that offer good value for
performances. To work with the Fringe to make things better, not to work against it.
|
- To try and make sure that everybody performing in our venues come
back from the Fringe having developed as a performer, achieved their objectives for taking a show
to the Fringe, and enjoyed their time in the venues.
|
- To programme the venues to take into account all performance types,
and all performers, by allowing space for both bigger name performers who wish to perform with us
instead of doing the Fringe the traditional way, but still making sure that new talent has space
to perform and develop.
|
|
| The Free Festival venues are organised by Laughing Horse
Comedy. Help with the overall running and of the venues and the event shared between many
volunteers, each of who have decided to give their time and knowledge to benefit all of the
performers taking part in the Free Shows in Edinburgh. These people include Alex
Petty, Mike Manera, Mike Belgrave, Steve Day, Kevin Shepherd, Jojo Sutherland, Richard
Coughlan, Donald Mack, Jay Sodagar, Dizzy High, Shelley Cooper, Rick Molland and Nik
Coppin. |
| |
|
|
The
Edinburgh Fringe was founded in 1947 by a number of performers who simply turned up at the
Invitation-only Edinburgh International Festival, and put on their own shows, creating a
Fringe Festival around the International Festival. Over the years since then, the Fringe
has continually expanded, but has still kept its original premise: an arts festival open
to anybody who wished to take part.
But problems have arisen for performers and
audiences. These are partly due to the Fringe's popularity, and partly due to
promoters and venue owners who have upped the cost of hiring spaces, and who have secured
more and more locations, making it a closed market for performers finding spaces. Originally,
it was an open arts festival that anyone could take part in. Now it is an open arts
festival that anyone can take part in — as long as they can afford it.
In recent years the costs associated with
bringing a show to the Fringe have spiraled. In some circumstances, a
performer can sell all the tickets for all the nights at his or her venue and still make a
loss, with the biggest complaint by Fringegoers, whether they are tourists or from
Edinburgh being the high price of tickets. Fringegoers have blamed artists for the
high ticket prices, but it’s usually the venue who sets the prices, often against the
wishes of performers.
What does this mean? The more a show
costs, the less people are willing to take a chance on it. If a show featuring an
unknown artist costs less than £5, you may take a chance on it If the same show
costs over £10, you probably won’t - A Fringe needs to be cheap, or else
people will merely see the performers who are already famous — and they don’t
need a Fringe! The only shows that put money in the pockets of the artists are
usually the shows of the already famous.
The History of the Free shows at
the Free Festival Venues
Laughing Horse promoters
Alex Petty and Kevin McCarron first came to the fringe several years before they started
running Fringe venues. Originally they wanted to run a comedy show at a traditional venue,
but soon realised that financially this would be a disaster, and remained as only Fringe
visitors for a number of years.
Over this time there was a Free show that
they visited numerous times, that copied the principles of busking and moved the busker
indoors - people watching the performance and contributing at the end. This eccentric
compere of this show had run his show for several years. moving from venue to venue, on a
free basis, but had never been able to expand this philosophy to encompass other
performers shows.
In 2004 Laughing Horse decided to try to
run a show under the same restraints, to see if the principle actually worked in a more
mainstream environment, and also sponsored the original show. In doing so set-up a
"Free Fringe" along with the orignal show's compere. Laughing Horse provided the
equipment and management for the venue and and also invited other performers to take the
space - one more 'The Fool', did. It was at this stage Alex and Kevin met Linsay Watts,
owner of 'Linsay's', who would prove to be instrumental in the expansion of the Free shows
and venues. The shows were successful, with good audiences - and with the support and hard
work of Linsay, and the promise of sponsorship by Belhaven Brewery to cover some costs, it
was decided to expand the shows the following year.
In 2005 a second room was added at
Linsay's, along with another venue - and Laughing Horse supplied equipment and programmed
the expanded roster of shows, with the assistant of Kevin Shepherd who organised
transportation of the equipment from London. This spurred more growth in 2006 to four
venues, and now in 2007 to eight venues - each year with the Laughing Horse bringing more
people to Edinburgh to help with the managing of the event.
At the end of 2006 Laughing Horse set up an
organisation group of performers, venue owners and promoters who would help shape the way
the venues would run in further years, now renaming what they were doing as "The Free
Festival", and distancing themselves from the original Free Show compere and his more
eccentric views or organising Fringe venues. These were people who wished to return the
following years and help expand the event, and assist new performers who would be taking
part.
In 2007, the "Free Festival"
Programme doubled in size again... with over 130 shows and 10 venues, in what was
the biggest and most eclectic selection of free Fringe shows there has ever been, with a
huge selection of comedy shows, groundbreaking Theatre, Music, Dance and Art. And now
we're working towards 2008...
If you are a perfromer who wishes to
perform with us, click here for details - our 2008 programme
will be available from May 2008.
In
2007, the Free venues were brought to you by....
| |
| Laughing
Horse Comedy |
| Technical Equipment,
Event Management, Advertising and Design |
| |
| Organising
Group 2007 |
| Alex Petty, Kevin
Shepherd, Jojo Sutherland, Donald Mack, Linsay Watts, Mike Belgrave, Mike Manera, Jay Sodagar,
Nik Coppin, Richard Coughlan and Dizzy High. |
|
| Programme
& Overal Event Managent |
| Alex Petty |
| |
| Website |
| Design - Alex Petty,
Updates and Additional Design (2006 & 2007) - Matt at Kreative |
| |
| Equiptment
Transport |
| Kevin 'The Driver'
Shepherd |
|
| Venue Rigging |
| Alex Petty, Kevin
Shepherd, Donald Mack, Dizzy High, Mike Belgrave, Mike Manera, Nik Coppin, Jojo Sutherland,
Rick Molland |
|
|
| With Thanks
to |
| All of the venue
Managers and staff for their continued support and effort, Linsay Watts from Linsay's, Robbie
Howie at the Meadow Bar, Hayden Anderson at the Jekyll & Hyde, James at the Counting House
and Pear Tree, Caladonian Heritable, Gavin at the RAF Club, Andy at Berlin, Ian and Tam at the
ECFC, Riauri at Ego, Charlie and Ed at the Underbelly. |
| John Campbell at the
Clan Campbell for his continued support and accomodation, without which musch less of this
would be possible. |
| Belhaven Brewery for the
comtinued Sponsorship |
| Western Commercial for
the Vans |
| Vicky De Lacy for
helping to organise discounted printing deal with Lee at Tenfold. |
| Alexis Dubas for offering discounted
design for performers. |
| All of the performers
who pulled-together in this and previous years and who have helped things run smoothly, and
everyone who helped with rigging and breaking down the venues and all the little jobs
throughout the year & Fringe. |
|
|
|
|
Supported
by |
| |
 |
 |
Western Commercial |
|
|
