Fringe community setting the stage for next generation of talent with Royal Mile performances

Tweedbank Primary pupils on the Fringe Community Stage | Contributed

The Community Stage will be springing up on the Royal Mile for two days this week, giving hundreds of people drawn from 16 community groups and five schools the chance to perform in front of huge crowds in what is one of the liveliest parts of the city during the festival.

"The Fringe Community Stage allows children and young people from across Edinburgh to feel involved in the city's biggest festival,” says Imogen Young, Project Director at the BIG project.

“We work with children and young people in south-west Edinburgh who rarely have the opportunity to access the arts, let alone perform on stage. For the past three years, the Fringe Community Stage has provided a space for children and young people to build their confidence and feel like stars."

The Community Stage was created following a 2018 consultation with teachers, who said they wanted an easier way for pupils to experience what it’s like to put on a show at the Fringe.

The first performances took place the following year, and the response was so positive that community groups soon began asking how they could get involved too.

“It has been growing steadily ever since,” says Julie Laerkholm, Community Engagement Officer with the Fringe Society. “Last year we had over 200 performers, and this year it looks like it could be even bigger.”

The Community Stage gives pupils and community groups a chance to perform at the Fringe | Contributed

The Community Stage is an important way of keeping the spirit of the Fringe alive, giving schools and community groups a rare opportunity to perform on a dedicated stage on the Royal Mile.

And Raul C. Pradas, music teacher at Woodlands School, who supports children and young people with additional support needs, said: “The opportunity to perform on the Fringe Community Stage will allow our pupils the chance to showcase their talents in an inclusive and supportive environment.

“It will also help to build their confidence, develop their social skills and strengthen their sense of belonging within the local community.”

As well as increasing their confidence the Community Stage is a way for local people to take their place at the heart of the Fringe.

Royal Mile Primary said: “Performing on the Fringe Community Stage is incredibly special to our Royal Mile Primary pupils. The Fringe happens quite literally on our doorstep, so it is important to us that our pupils don’t just watch the festival happen around them, but feel that they belong in it and have a right to be part of it.”

Royal Mile Primary pupils are among those set to perform on the stage this year | Contributed

The performers are helped by a professional sound crew from project partners Totally Sound, as well as having the chance to meet some of the street performers on the Royal Mile who lend their expertise to help draw in a crowd.

And the experience is one that could be an important first step towards a career in performing - that might one day see them return to an even bigger stage in the Fringe.

“The community groups are really excited to have the opportunity,” says Julie. “They can find the Fringe quite hard to access and it might be that the people who are in those groups are thinking the Fringe is not for me, so if they've been supported that helps them overcome that. Ultimately we hope this makes people feel welcome and feel that they are a part of Fringe.”

This year's performances on the Fringe Community Stage will be held on Thursday, August 27, and Friday, August 28, between 11am and 6pm. The stage is kindly supported by Balfour Beatty and Careys. For full details of the line-up visit the website at edfringe.com/community-stage