Storytelling Sunday– my first taste of the Fringe

I relish August in Edinburgh because of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival which sees the city filled with thousands of performers for three weeks of live entertainment buzz.  While waiting to see a show I was thinking back to my earliest experience of the Fringe and thought it would be a good story for Sian's Storytelling Sunday where we are all invited to share a story each month.

Come with me back to 1982.  I had finished my second year at University of Edinburgh but this story involves my old school.  During my secondary school years I’d enjoyed being involved in creating the costumes for the annual musical production and had continued to be involved when I left for University.  In 1982 we staged a little known musical called The Apple Tree which comprised three linked stories and so allowed for the 3 female singing stars to all shine.  I even have some photos of the production

For reasons now lost in the mists of time, the teachers decided that we would take the production to the Fringe. Thinking back is was quite an undertaking to take so many pupils to Edinburgh.  We staged the musical in a school and had good audiences for the week of our run.  The actors also did some singing stints to the crowds on the Royal Mile as part of the normal display to attract audiences.

So my first experience of the Fringe was as backstage crew to a production – my handwritten note on the back tells me my assistants were Angela, Linda and Dawn. 

The production went smoothly and I don’t recall any mishaps.

The real excitement came a few weeks later when we learnt that we had won a Fringe First Award.  To be eligible the production has to be the UK premier and although the musical had been written and debuted on Broadway in the 1960s it had never before been produced in the UK.  I was part of the group that went to receive our reward – and very proud and thrilled we all were.  This photo is not great quality but it does show us all celebrating afterwards with the award (and bubbles and cake). I’m on the far left.  Our musical director (and music teacher) Jimmy Reith is on the far right and the woman 2 in from him is the producer (and my English teacher) Celia Strachan. 

Good times and a fabulous introduction to all the energy of the Fringe Festival.