EdFringe: Made in Edinburgh 2024
All Edinburgh’s Theatre at the Fringe in 2024
Edinburgh is once again hosting the greatest cultural event on earth. People from all over the world, who work in and love the performing arts, arrive here for three weeks of brilliant drama, dance, comedy and art.
Few who arrive appreciate that Edinburgh is not just the host to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Of course people think of the city as packed with venues and backdrops, but they may not realise the sheer scale of work being staged at the Fringe which is actively made in the city.
Ronnie Millar, Sammy Tait, Mandy Black, Iain Fraser and Lyzzie Dell in EPT’s 2012 production of Ne’er The Twain. Photo: Robert Fuller.
It has always been so. Edinburgh companies were prominent in the first ever fringe in 1947 – and one of those, Edinburgh People’s Theatre, is still performing in this, its 81st anniversary year, with a production of Ne’er the Twain.
If you are interested in the history of the Fringe, we have a great pair of features about the beginnings of the Fringe in 1947 by Bruce Cannon, who was a schoolboy at the time: The First Edinburgh Festival and Birth of the Fringe, which we published for the FRinge’s 70th birthday in 2017.
There were eight shows for that first Fringe; there are over 3,000 now. Faced with the option of choosing which part of the ever-expanding event to cover here on All Edinburgh Theatre, it seemed only right to concentrate on theatre (and musicals) that are Made in Edinburgh.
Of course that means all theatre that is Made In Edinburgh. Theatre staged by Edinburgh’s strong amateur scene and by the young companies made up of recent graduates from the universities, just as much as the companies packed with established, world-class actors.
There are grassroots companies who stage brilliant invigorating and engaging work throughout the year, professional companies which work without subsidy in the commercial sector and long-established companies which are recognised by Creative Scotland subsidy.
184 shows Made in Edinburgh
The numbers are higher than ever. After an extensive trawl through the listings, we have found a total of 184 productions made in Edinburgh, that are listed in the Theatre, Children’s and Musicals & Opera sections of the 2024 Fringe programme. There are also a few of the more theatrical offerings from the Music and Dance, Physical Theatre & Circus sections.
Breaking these down, there are fully 117 in the Theatre section alone. That is more than an eighth of the whole EdFringe theatre programme. For ease of listing, we have broken this down by amateur companies (15 productions), grassroots companies (68 productions), professional & funded companies (10 productions) and youth & student companies (24 productions).
The 18 shows for children get their own listing, as do the 27 shows in the Musicals and Opera section. Offerings in the Dance, Physical Theatre and Circus section of the Fringe programme are included with a choice of the more theatrical productions from the Cabaret and Variety section adding another 19 shows to the total.
Together, these shows cover all aspects of the fringe’s vibrant scene.
The classics are there, there is new writing, a lot of new writing, there are great modern Scottish writers and little known ones. There are productions by companies which are self-assured and focussed, there will – I don’t doubt – be those productions which are well-meaning, or by companies who think they have invented the wheel and even, although I hope not, those who really should have put more effort in.
What they will have in common is that they will be made in Edinburgh and several of them will have Edinburgh – in all its wonderful facets – on the stage itself.
Reviews and coverage
Our intention is to review as many theatre and musical theatre productions as is possible – while keeping up our reputation for criticism that is high quality, engaged and honest.
We are also publishing full listings of all those Made in Edinburgh shows. You can follow our coverage through the Made In Edinburgh and EdFringe 2024 tags, and the #MadeInEdinburgh hashtag on our Facebook, Instagram and X social media pages.
Thom Dibdin, Editor
Links
Here are the links to all our listings pages:
Theatre by Edinburgh’s Amateur companies.
Theatre by Edinburgh’s Grassroots companies.
Theatre by Edinburgh’s Youth and Student companies.
Theatre by Edinburgh’s Professional & Funded companies.
Theatre for children and young people.
Edinburgh-made Musical Theatre & Opera.
Edinburgh-made Music, Cabaret & Dance.
We are also proud to work with EPAD to produce and publish their annual listing of shows “created, performed or produced by Edinburgh’s theatre professionals” which is here.
NB: If you are staging a show that has been Made in Edinburgh and we have inadvertently left you out, please get in touch! Also, if you have not sent us a press release yet, please do so. You can contact us through the contact page.
ENDS
