CALLBOARD: EAST TO EDINBURGH - 59E59’s own preview of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival

Brian Beirne, Managing Director of 59E59 Theaters

We are approaching one of my favorite times of year at 59E59 Theaters: the East to Edinburgh festival in July. This program provides a vital opportunity for American theater companies preparing for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, which takes place in Scotland every August. 

Fringe plays often strip theater to its core: performed with a well-crafted script, terrific actors, and minimal set or costumes. The playwright and cast conjure up a story, and trust their audience to join them in the world they create. 

WHAT IS A FRINGE FESTIVAL

Finding inspiration from the Edinburgh Fringe, there are Fringe festivals throughout North America that generally follow two principles: a) the work is not curated – theater companies are chosen first come-first served, or by lottery; and b) 100% of the box office receipts goes to the performing artists.

Many years ago (as my children say, "in the 20th Century"), I lived in Toronto and served as the President of the Board of Directors of the Toronto Fringe Festival. In the first 8-day festival, I saw an astonishing 14 plays and it was an introduction to an exciting, vibrant form of theater. During the Fringe, almost all performances are capped at one hour, and a single theater venue hosts multiple different plays throughout the day. The show sets up a half hour before the performance starts, and must vacate the theater within 15 minutes after it's over to allow the next production to set up. While you might see one show at 5:30PM, a completely different production will take the stage at 7:30PM.

As the work is not curated, the theater companies that are creating the work are able to bypass the normal gatekeepers and tastemakers who decide what gets to be on the theaters’ stages. I saw a one-person play about the life of Karl Jung, written and performed by a Jungian therapist. I attended a production of Daniel MacIvor’s Never Swim Alone by high school students, the quality of which was well above many professional companies. I saw the unsettling but hilarious clowns "Mump and Smoot" early in their careers, before their regular tours of Canada, the US, and internationally, including to Astor Place Theatre (before Blue Man Group).

This is truly grass roots theater - the artists are driven to create work that conforms to the restrictions 

HOW IT WORKS FOR ARTISTS

In 59E59’s East to Edinburgh festival, each participating company is given three performance slots in our Theater C, allowing them to perform under the exact same conditions they will encounter in Edinburgh. 

In the 20-plus years that 59E59 Theaters has hosted this festival, interest has exploded. We offer 45 performance times over three weeks for a total of 15 companies. In the past, it typically took two to three months to fill those positions. However, the timeline has accelerated dramatically. Two years ago, all slots filled within a week; last year, they were gone in a day; this year, we were oversubscribed within the very first minute of accepting applications.

That rapid growth speaks volumes about the energy and ambition of these theater companies.

HOW IT WORKS FOR AUDIENCES

Beyond the logistics, there is the art itself. These are small companies that self-produce their work, often driven by a playwright, director, or performer eager to bring their specific vision and voice to the stage. The lineup is extremely eclectic in both style and content, offering something truly unique for every theatergoer.

At a fringe festival, with a number of plays in a short period of time, there is a buzz and energy in the lobbies as audience members talk to each other, offering their recommendations. "What have you seen?"

At less than $20 a ticket, audiences can enjoy the thrill of adventurous new theater, often seeing two or more shows in a single day. The fun lies in the discovery: will it be a diamond in the rough, or just rough? At 59E59 we have been so impressed with some of these plays that we invited them back for multi-week runs in Theaters C and B. These productions all had sold out runs when they returned to us after Edinburgh. And while they were limited to one hour in the Fringe, we presented the full length of the plays as the playwrights intended.

• VIVIAN’S MUSIC, 1969 (2018): Inspired by real events, a 14-year-old black girl was shot by a white cop, igniting one of the worst race riots in American history. (This starred one of our former ushers!)
• A EULOGY FOR ROMAN (2023): A nervous young man tries to give a eulogy for his friend, but the ceremony unfolds into an interactive, unexpectedly funny take on grief. 
• ALEXANDER KLAUS, THE ONE-LEGGED SHOEMAKER MAN (2024): A Civil War story told in inventive rhyming verse. This achingly beautiful fairy tale raises the possibility of transforming pain into joy.
• THE ROSENBERG/STRANGE FRUIT PROJECT (2024): Strands of American history, political movements, and live music are intertwined to tell the story of the son of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who was adopted by the man who wrote “Strange Fruit” after their execution.
• POLISHING SHAKESPEARE (2025): A sharp comedy about “translating” Shakespeare into…English.

Global hits like Six and Operation Mincemeat originated at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as well as the stageplay and Netflix series Fleabag. The play Every Brilliant Thing, performing this spring on Broadway with Daniel Radcliffe, also started in Edinburgh. Before they created the Broadway hit Come From Away, its writers/composers had a record-breaking Toronto Fringe hit show called My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding.

East to Edinburgh is about giving American artists a real shot on international stages and we're thrilled to help them put their best foot forward - after all, you never know who'll be watching!

East to Edinburgh 2026 runs from July 7 - 26, 2026. More info here.