Fringe boss Tony Lankester is only two months into the job and is tasked today, along with his team, with launching the programme of some 3,000+ shows which will take place in two months’ time.
He is unfazed by the task ahead of him, citing his past experience in South Africa and London. While he admits is not looking to make too many changes from the off, one of the things he has actively turned his attention to is “resetting the relationship” with the big venues involved in the August festival.
Asked what was wrong with the relationship with bigger commercial venues such as Assembly, Underbelly the Gilded Balloon and others (who in past years have created their own entity called Edfest as one way of marketing their own shows), he is frank: “I think in general, everyone started talking over each other and stopped listening to each other.
“The fact is that the Fringe is this event, is this giant thing that can serve so many different needs and different agendas, and it is able to do that almost by accident, rather than design. That’s how it’s morphed and evolved over the years.
“And I think, there’s just an acceptance that it’s okay as a playground for everyone to come in and play, and there’s space for everyone. There’s space for the big commercial venues, and there’s space for small independent theatres. There’s space for the Free Fringe. There’s space for all those different elements to work alongside each other, because the DNA, the golden thread that runs through all of them, is we want to stage live performance – because it’s amazing.
“I think I do have an understanding of what it takes to run a venue. Prior to running the venue in London, I ran a festival in South Africa where we ran 60 venues ourselves.
“So I know what it takes to kit out a venue and to put seats in and to think about health and safety in the venue, and to put equipment on a stage and put lights on a stage and to build a stage. So I’m familiar with that terrain, so I know the challenges that the venues face on a daily basis. I know where those pain points are, so I can step into those conversations with some of that understanding.”
Watching brief
But otherwise this summer will be a time to look on as the new Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, but not to make any major pronouncements or changes.
He said: “I have a ton of ideas percolating in my head. None of them are fully formed and they’re just ideas that in my engagement particularly with the Fringe Society team, and in conversations and engagement with the various stakeholders, including the venues and artists I occasionally lob these things into the water to see how they land, and test some of these ideas.
“But I am absolutely not at the point where I am here to unveil the grand strategy. If anyone stepped into this job saying they’ve got all the answers nobody should believe them because it is a complex beast. It keeps getting described as an ecosystem – and that is the best way. The interrelated reliance of the different parts on each other is so complex that I don’t think one person or one entity can have all the answers.”
He said: “My approach coming into this has just been to come in with my eyes open to try and understand something of the belly of this beast. It’s a vast, complex machine. It’s one that I’m familiar with over the years. I’ve seen it from many different perspectives, so it’s really nice to see it from this side of the table for the first time, and I am stepping into it midstream for this year’s Fringe. So I’m really just keeping my hands off the moving parts.”
Is the Fringe dying?
As to whether the Fringe is a dying beast, he is emphatic that it is not. He said: “I think the programme that we have launched today shows us that despite what is happening in the broader context, despite the economic challenges that the world is facing at the moment, artists are still stepping up, and that’s why we do what we do.”
One of the areas which he is keen to shout about is the way the Society can invest with the Keep it Fringe fund which provides grants to artists to reduce some of the mainly financial barriers which would otherwise prevent them coming to Edinburgh.
Tony said: “It is an expensive venture. We’re not denying that, and a lot of the expenses are outside of our control. So, as the Fringe Society, what we do is we look at, what are the levers we can pull, what are the things that we can do that make a trip to Edinburgh as viable and attractive as possible for the artists, and for the audiences, and doing what we can to try and alleviate that pressure.
“I think some things that we’re doing now we couldn’t have imagined doing five or 10 years ago, but we’re doing it now because they’re important now, and it’s bearing fruit. And I think again, seeing the number of artists who are prepared to take the plunge, and make the journey to Edinburgh, I think is hugely positive. Would we like to see more of that kind of activity? Absolutely.”
Enabling role
He reminds us the Fringe Society has an enabling role, and a “fundamental part of the blueprint, of the development goals, of the business plan and business strategy of the Fringe Society is removing barriers. That is what we’re here to do – for artists, audiences and venues. For each one of those segments, if you like, my approach is to dive right in, try and understand the journey that all of them go on to take part in this Fringe event, and ask the question, how can the Fringe Society make the journey smoother?”
The print issue of the Fringe programme is out today, with thousands of copies spread all over the city including the Fringe office on the High Street where Mr Lankester and his team continue to work from while their new digs on Infirmary Street are renovated.
He said that the app is great to use during the festival, but the print edition still has its place. He said: “There’s something quite nice about making yourself a cup of tea, sitting down with the programme and a pen and paper and going old school for a bit to plan out your Fringe. A lot of people still love this.”
Coming to live in Edinburgh after London has been a “genuine breath of fresh air”. He said: “It’s an amazing city to live in. I was back in London this weekend and it really struck me for the first time just the difference in energy between the cities. I love London. I think it’s an amazing city to be in. It’s very exciting.
“But there’s something calming about Edinburgh, even amidst the hustle and bustle i the lifestyle here, the accessibility of the city, the way one moves around. So from a lifestyle point of view, living in Edinburgh is a dream. It’s absolutely wonderful. I’ve visited the city many times. I’ve never lived here before, so I think that’s the part that excites me the most personally.”
The Fringe programme is out today and can be collected from the Fringe Society office on the High Street as well as many other public venues.
We got the Chief Executive to step out onto the High Street for a while and hand some out to unsuspecting members of the public.. when he told us how much time would be needed to watch every single Fringe show.
