The Edinburgh Fringe


The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest arts festial in the world. During the month of August, the population of the city doubles from 500,000 to 1 million people, with almost 2000 different shows performed over the course of three weeks. It is one of the most amazing collection of artists and performances that one can hope to experience, and it has been the launching ground for a number of internationally acclaimed artists and shows. Shows in recent years to get their start at the Edinburgh Fringe include Thom Pain (based on nothing) and Jerry Springer: The Opera.

The Costs of Going

Taking a production to Scotland for the Fringe is expensive even in the best of times; with the current weakness of the US Dollar, it becomes even more so. Each of our company members is paying his or her own travel expenses to the festival, but that still leaves a lot of costs for the company to cover, including:

  • The Rental fee for our performance venue.
  • Advertising and entry fees for the festival as a whole.
  • Print advertising: posters, fliers, newspaper ads.
  • The cost of housing twelve company members for a month in Edinburgh.

    • A short list, but with the exchange rate and the high cost of housing at Festival time, this results in around $15,000 of bills, only about a third of which do we expect to recoup from ticket sales (fingers crossed).

    So why go?


    With the costs so high, you might be wondering why we should go to the festival at all. Here are what we feel are some compelling reasons:
  • Exposure of our company's work to a wider audience.
  • An international forum for the creative talents of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
  • An international calling card for the vibrant Cincinnati Arts Scene.
  • A fantastic learning experience for our young cast, including a first trip abroad for several cast memebers.
  • And finally, this may be the last chance. In the name of heightened national security, the UK's home office will soon be changing the rules that currently allow international companies to perform at the Edinburgh festival without the need for work visas. No one knows what this means for the Festival's future, but as international artists, it may be far mor difficult to participate in the years to come.

    • So that's why we're going. If you agree in any of these reasons, or even if you don't but admire us for having these convictions, please consider donating to help us make the show possible. Know Theatre of Cincinnati has generously joined us as a co-producer for our trip to edinburgh, allowing all donations to this production to be tax deductible under their 501(c)3 status. To contribute on-line please click here. Be sure to write "Hunger Warrior Theatre-Anna the Slut" in the comments box to guarantee that the donation will be processed properly.

    Thanks for your support. And please e-mail us at HungerWarriorTheatre@gmail.com for more information.