Welcome To The Fringe
Welcome To The Fringe
Sunday 23rd August 2015 – 11am
Welcome To The Fringe was set up to solve one basic problem. How can artists of limited financial means, and who live in areas of great conflict of political repression, get access to the world’s largest and most diverse arts festival?
The project has been developed through a collaboration between Forest Fringe, London’s Gate Theatre and the playwright David Greig, with significant support from the A. M. Qattan Foundation and the British Council. The project will bring some of Palestine’s most vibrant young artists to the festival for a week – providing them the opportunity to see work, build relationships, and, most vitally, perform their own work to a festival audience.
During their time in Edinburgh the artists will be buddied up with established local and fringe artists who will guide them through the festival, share work with them, open up performance opportunities and generally give our guests a taste of the unique Edinburgh fringe experience.
This week of activity will culminate in a special Welcome To The Fringe: Palestine day at Forrest Fringe: Out of The Blue on Sunday 23rd August when our guests will take over the venue and we’ll see performances of storytelling, poetry, stand up comedy, performance art and dance as well as showings of Palestinian short films, discussion events and a photography exhibition.
The centrepiece of the days events will be a performance of a new devised play called Shakespeare’s Sisters by Al Harah theatre company from Bethlehem.
The Welcome To The Fringe guest artists are:
1. Fida Ataya (Kufr Nemeh village – West Bank) – Storyteller
2. Farah Saleh (Ramallah) – Contemporary dance show
3. Yazan Ewidat (Ramallah) – Contemporary dance show with video
4. Ayman Nahas (Haifa) – Standup comedy
5. Al Harah Theatre (Bethlehem) – “Shakespeare’s Sisters” Play
6. Shagaf ensemble (Jenin) – Music
7. Alice Youssef (Ramallah) –Poet
Welcome To The Fringe aims to open up the Edinburgh Fringe experience to artists and performers from across the world who might otherwise not be able to come. In this first instance we have focused on Palestinian artists but we hope that if the initiative is successful we will be able to continue the project into future years and invite artists from other countries and marginalised groups.
Image of Farah Saleh (c) Daniel Grimm.
Forest Fringe Box Office: forestfringe.co.uk
Tags: Forest Fringe 15
