Against the backdrop of the iconic Edinburgh Fringe, the world’s largest arts platform, it was announced this week in Edinburgh that South Africa’s National Arts Festival has been contracted to co-produce and present the first Fringe on the Arabian Peninsula.
The new Fringe Festival will debut in Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates, in January 2020. Speaking at the launch, National Arts Festival CEO Tony Lankester said he was delighted that their company could be part of this inaugural event.
“The National Arts Festival has been going for over 40 years and is the flagship festival in our country.
“South Africa also has a long trade relationship with the UAE and so this is a natural partnership for us – we’re looking forward to developing a unique, vibrant new festival in Sharjah,” Lankester said. The Sharjah Fringe, revealed during a biannual gathering of Fringe management at the World Fringe Congress, will be programmed on a selected basis, and will invite applications from producers of Children’s Theatre, Street Theatre, Circus and Family Theatre in the course of 2019.
“We’ll be looking for great, solid entertainment for young people and families, presented in English.
“We’ll be building hubs and venues across Sharjah to stage the work, using some global best practice and local expertise to bring these spaces to life,” Lankester said.The Festival is joined in the co-production agreement by Dubai-based Dolphin Creative, which specialises in street theatre festivals and have a long history with the Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown) event.
Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) executive chairperson, excellency Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal said: “Sharjah International Fringe Festival will be one of the biggest additions to the list of festivities and events which Sharjah attracts year on year, across all our destinations.
“The new festival also falls in line with our mission and vision to expand on our portfolio of strategic partnerships that introduce new experiences and unique offerings to our visitors and tourists in Sharjah,” Al Sarkal said.
“The Fringe Festival is a globally acclaimed concept known for presenting a melting pot of cultures and artistic performances.
“Year after year, we explore ideas and joint-ventures to facilitate and host global entertainment events in Sharjah, thanks to the growing demand of citizens and visitors, the diversified tourism projects in the emirate, and its growing tourism sector.
“Sharjah International Fringe Festival will become a regional attraction to visitors, with performances to communicate the emirate’s multi-cultural environment and community to visitors and tourists from all around the world.”
The enormous tourism potential of Fringe Festivals was touched on at the launch, with Shurooq acknowledging the power of the arts to drive global tourism and support local trade and small business.
Commenting on the Street Theatre programme, Dolphin Creative CEO Stuart Every acknowledged the importance of having a vibrant street culture at Fringe Festivals.
“Some of the best- known and most successful Fringe Festivals globally have street theatre and performances at their heart,” Every said.
“It is the ultimate in crowd-sourced entertainment and is a sure-fire way of reaching new audiences and building excitement around an event,” he said.