‘Keep it Fringe’ fund awards bursaries to help level the playing field

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society has announced 50 recipients of the Keep it Fringe fund, a new initiative intended to help level the playing field for artists.

The fund, which is supported by the Fleabag for Charity fund, as well as donations from individuals and Edinburgh Gin, is dispersing bursaries of £2,000 to a mixture of artists and companies bringing work to festival in 2023.

Applications to the fund, which was established this year, opened in early March. It received applications from 677 artists and companies, each of which was reviewed by two assessors.

The group of 23 assessors were tasked with identifying shows that capture the “defiant spirit” of the Fringe and are able to take advantage of the platform the festival provides to showcase untold stories.

The funded shows, which include a mixture of paid and free-entry performances, cover a broad range of subjects including climate action, OCD, parenthood, migration, love, death and the realities of rural life.

They will be performed across multiple genres, including musicals, stand-up, spoken word for children, plays, drag, performance art, variety and immersive theatre.

The Fringe Society highlighted the diversity of successful candidates. Nearly one in two are disabled or have a health condition and one in three come from a working-class background.

In addition to a £2,000 bursary, the 50 recipients of the fund will receive support to perform at the festival, including a share of £50,000 in advertising credits donated by TikTok.

They will also receive return tickets from electric rail provider Lumo from one of its UK hubs to Edinburgh.

“The number of applications received for the Keep it Fringe fund reflects the current economic climate and a need for significant support for artists coming to the Fringe,” said Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society.