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It sparked my curiosity and I don’t mean it killed the cat when I
heard about the Edinburgh Fringe Festival that is dedicated to
theatrical circles. Funnily enough, Sri Lanka has two guys by the name
of Jehan who have already been part of it, if your name hasn’t been
mentioned please inform me. After all, you could be the third
Jehan.Jehan Mendis, a blogger and writer says that when he co-wrote uber
sausage - he was rather famous. It was brainstormed by him with a bunch
of friends from Warwick University where they performed it at the canal
cafe theatre in London, and the Edinburgh fringe festival in 1999. Not
surprisingly, they became known as the uber-sausage troupe, and had the
unique pleasure of being interviewed by Ali G. respec’ mun.
 Another playwright professional Jehan said that he went on the Fringe
as he was learning the tricks of the playwrighting trade during his
training days at the British Council, says Jehan, “I performed `Children
of the Sea in 2005 which won four major awards including the `Fringe
First’ and `Finding Marina’ in 2006 which brought Australian pop
sensation Kylie Minogue to Sri Lanka and Edinburgh”. He said that both
were directed by Tony Gough and says: “I was on the creative team as
well as being an actor and it was an honor to be part of it”.The
Edinburgh Fringe is rather like Hollywood meets Bollywood - millions go
chasing their dreams there but very few find it.Everyday like a prayer,
the organisers of the world’s largest arts festival warn all comedians,
actors and musicians that there’s no money for the pain but die-hard
optimists make sure they at least show their faces.
“There are always the rags to riches stories,” said Fringe director
Jon Morgan.
“The dark horses appear every year nobody had ever heard of.”
The competition is mind-blowing and stiff with nearly 19,000
performers hoping to claim to fame in more than 2,000 shows in this
yearly mayhem of artistic madness in the Scottish capital.
It is no joke that the Fringe Fest 2008 sold 1.5 million tickets
which set a new record where thousands from around the world wanted to
part of it.
Nevertheless, Morgan gives this stark warning:”They must know what
the territory is and we make sure we tell them. We say you are unlikely
to make any money in Edinburgh,” he said. However, the lure is
irresistible in a town that swarms every August with talent scouts and
TV producers.
Andrew Eaton, arts editor of The Scotsman newspaper said, “One day
you are working in a waffle bar, the next you get a role in a hit TV
show” said. As Richard Wray put it.” It is working out at about 9,000
pounds”. Richard is a Guardian journalist turned producer for a comic
show about the making of the 1960s Bond movie Casino Royale. “The show
must go on even it bankrupts the lot of us,” he said.
Comedians range from stupid to exhilarating at the Fringe which, for
just a handful, is a springboard to success. Award-winning stand-up
comic Mark Watson says: “I sold every ticket both my first two years but
barely broke even. The money you make is pitiful in relation to the
amount of work you do. It is all about raising your profile.” The Fringe
was founded when eight theatre companies turned up uninvited to the
inaugural Edinburgh International Festival in 1947.They aimed to take
advantage of the large theatre crowds and showcase their own, more
alternative, theatre. It got its name in the following year (1948) after
Robert Kemp, a Scottish playwright and journalist, wrote during the
second Edinburgh International Festival: `Round the fringe of official
Festival drama, there seems to be more private enterprise than
before.... I am afraid some of us are not going to be at home during the
evenings!’.
The rest they say - is history!
- Nilma
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