Fringe Protest Set To Cause Stir
Published 30th Mar 2004 by John O'Donoghue

The Brighton Festival this year will see local artists protesting about the fees they must pay to get a listing in the Festival Brochure. The sum this year is ?83 for 25 words, an amount many have found too high.

Mark Fahey, Co-ordinator of Rough Theatre, who are putting on four shows in the Festival, is leading the campaign.

'We plan to picket the Festival Fringe offices. We've had lots of enquiries since announcing our intentions, and we expect to hear from many more artists and companies before the Festival is over.

'Most Fringe companies play to audiences of 50 if they're lucky. By the time you take the Brochure fee out of an already stretched budget, there's not a lot left over for such necessities as wine, women and song.

'I think this is the thin end of the wedge. What's to stop the Festival putting up the fees to ?100 next year, and then to, say, ?150 the year after? Or to restrict entry in other ways, so that only the artists the Frestival invites can take part?

'Ten years ago all listings in the Brochure were free. We aim to restore the open access policy the Festival operated in the days of Gavin Henderson. I'm appalled at this creeping privatisation, which seems to be affecting every sphere of life in this country, from education to transport to medicine. Freedom For The Fringe!'

With previous controversies having dogged the Festival, such as last year's confusion over just who was running the Fringe, the Festival seems set for another turbulent episode in its long-running history.

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