The official 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe programme has just been published.
The programme contains the range of work performed at the Fringe, spanning the genres of theatre, dance, circus, physical theatre, comedy, music, musicals, opera, cabaret, variety, children’s shows, spoken word, exhibitions and events.
The theme for this year’s programme cover and the wider Fringe marketing campaign is a well known colloquial phrase, Fill Yer Boots, which is apparently defined by the Collins English Dictionary as a phrase meaning, ‘to get as much of something valuable or desirable as you can’ – a message that the Society says encapsulates the unrivalled range and diversity of the incredible shows on offer at the Fringe.
This year’s programme features work in 3,013 shows, with themes tackling some of the most topical issues in the world today, from the NHS to mental health, gender and gender identity, neurodiversity, race and racial identity, politics, class and climate action. This year’s festival brings together performers from across the globe; from homegrown talent to international artists – brand new and established acts alike.
The Fringe is recognised as one of the most important cultural events with performers from 68 countries appearing in venues across Edinburgh this August. This is a key moment to support them by going to see work across the variety of genres.
Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: “Getting the programme out into the world is such an important moment for everyone involved in the Fringe, and most of all for the thousands of artists coming to Edinburgh this August. The ideas, originality and passion that performers bring to Fringe stages every year is testament to the role that Edinburgh plays in celebrating and promoting their work to the world. The Fringe ‘23 programme is bursting with every kind of live performance, so whether theatre premieres are your thing, or the best of live comedy, street arts or circus, jump straight in and Fill Yer Boots with as much as you can.
“To all the artists, venues, workers, technicians, promoters and support staff, thank you for making it happen, we wish you a wonderful Fringe. To Edinburgh’s local business community, we thank you for your continued support, and to Edinburgh and Scotland’s residents who come out in their thousands, and all our Fringe-goers who keep this phenomenal event relevant and sustained by coming to see the work, we can’t wait to explore the Fringe programme with you this August.”
The platform for career development that the Fringe offers to artists can be transformational, and many participate in the festival with the desire to be seen, to be recognised for their work, and to benefit from areas such as onward touring or broadcast opportunities.
This August marks the 10th anniversary of that moment for Fringe Society President Phoebe Waller-Bridge, whose Fringe show Fleabag was first performed in Edinburgh in August 2013. It went on to great things.
With her first-hand experience of the importance of the Fringe, Phoebe said: “I am so proud to continue to be a part of this phenomenal event, 10 years after Fleabag premiered there. This programme will hit the Fringe with the creative wildness, political provocation and huge cultural impact that the festival delivers year after year, at a time when we need it most. We need help processing what the hell is going on in the world as well as being treated with the imaginative escape that only the immersive experience of the Fringe can provide. Whether your appetite is for theatre, dance, music, circus or street performing, August in Edinburgh will have it all. The only thing it needs now, is YOU!”
